Yogurt Blueberry Pancakes for Sunday Mornings...

Janel (aka: NellieBellie) shares her beliefs that food has the power to create lasting memories, relationships, and moments.

Over the years of being a mother, I have learned to value the small moments in the day and week. I have found that as my children have gotten older, I miss the small minutes of their younger selves. Lego's on the floor after my son played with them for hours, make-up on the floor because my daughter was playing dress-up, and bits of cereal all over the table after breakfast because my small ones couldn't quite manage to keep their spot clean.

Those moments gone past make current Sunday morning breakfasts all the sweeter. Our weekend breakfasts are a tradition that has lived on through the growth of my children. Although the days might change depending on schedule, the portions have grown (especially for the teen boy...oi!), the faces have matured, and the conversation has grown in intelligence, the morning coffee and pancakes have not.

We still gather around the table for coffee made by Dad (and only Dad! No other is the same.), and blueberry pancakes stacked high with real Minnesota maple syrup. You will find the kids with sleepy eyes, bundled in a blanket, with feet tucked up under them, often trying to sneak the dog a bit or two, and quietly talking to each other while sipping coffee.

As a mother, these quiet moments are fuel for busy, loud, and sometimes chaotic moments later in the week. It is in these quiet breakfasts that I gather strength and hope and resolve to keep teaching my children the value of people, the value of hard work, and the value of quiet moments reflecting on all you have.

Around blueberry pancakes, my children have grown into people that make their mama so very proud. Around blueberry pancakes, this mama can see glimpses of those amazing adults they will become. And around simple blueberry pancakes, my heart gets a wee bit fuller and bigger and stronger.

The world needs weekend breakfasts like this. Little pauses in time to simply sit quietly and enjoy your people, reflecting on the good moments that have come your way. And blueberry pancakes.