Don’t start the new year without making these Soft & Chewy Ginger Cookies. One last hoorah before you start being health conscious on January 1st. Of course, you could make them after the new year and just add up all the health benefits ginger has and consider it a “healthy” snack. 😉 That’s what I’ll be telling myself anyway! 

As 2016 comes to an end, I can’t help but realize that each passing year is flying by faster and faster. This year was no exception. 2016 was the year we said goodbye to diapers. (forever) After buying diapers for the last 10 years for 5 children, this is a HUGE deal and very bittersweet too! We started a woodworking business on ETSY that is growing exponentially, providing our family with financial freedom. 2016 is also the year I took on the daunting task of being room mom for my 4 school-age kids, proving I can run on less sleep than I originally thought. (sigh) Being in charge of each of their holiday parties, daily volunteer schedules, monthly Meet The Masters art projects, weekly emails and reminders, class budgets and capturing it all as class photographer has proven to be a full-time job. Without making such a commitment, I would not have that time with my kids while they’re in school nor the relationship with their teachers and classmates. As stressful as it is, I honestly love doing it. This year was a huge memory maker for my oldest son, Cayden, as I took him to California on a 1:1 trip, just him and I. Turning 9 is a fun time in our family and we celebrated for a whole week visiting old friends, La Jolla beach, hiking Big Bear mountain, riding the Alpine Slide, visiting the San Diego and LA Temples, witnessing rescued sea lions being released, and experiencing his first plane flight. We hosted our second Thanksgiving feast in our home this year. This time around we had 25 friends and family join us for a heartwarming night around 1 long, candle lit table in our backyard. We look forward to many more! I end this year with a bit of fear in my heart as my father approaches surgery for a large mass found in his neck. Biopsies won’t be done until after the mass is removed which leaves us all in suspense. My prayer is to receive good news within the next few weeks and to only worry about him recuperating from this 1 surgery. I’m the ultimate ‘daddy’s girl’ and having to see him suffer makes me physically ill. I have faith that his lifelong healthy lifestyle will grant him the freedom to move past this quickly and indefinitely.

I look forward to 2017 and all it will unfold. I’m grateful for all my many blessings this past year and pray that I’ll be worthy of many more in 2017. I’m excited to share more delicious recipes with you as I create them. Wishing you and your family a healthy, happy and prosperous new year!

This last recipe of the year is one you won’t want to pass up! Put aside your feelings for gingerbread cookies if you’re not a fan, this recipe doesn’t compare!! I haven’t found one person yet that hasn’t eaten a second cookie. It’s one of those ‘OMG moments from the very first bite’ kind of cookie. I made these cookies for 5 little girls at a movie night playdate. After making 3 dozen cookies and sending home 6 cookies to their parents, I had 5 cookies left! FIVE! They ate and ate and ate these cookies never asking for popcorn. Lol Be sure to have milk readily available cuz these babies aren’t complete without a tall glass.

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