Cinnamon Rolls and Other Smells

MMMMM! Cinnamon Rolls! I can smell them now. My 10-year-old loves the smell of bacon frying and Orange Danish Rolls (I'm not ambitious enough to make my own) in the oven.

When he was younger, we read the book "The Kissing Hand" and we started doing that. I'd kiss the palm of his hand before school and he had it with him all day and could press it to his cheek whenever he needed it. On days when he's feeling a little down, he still sticks out his hand and asks for a reload.

Our family of 8 has many little memory-makers at our house. One of my favorites is growing a small garden together. In the suburbs, it's nothing huge. But each child loves to be the chosen one to go pick tomatoes for the salad or herbs for the entree.

Quickly, I have to add to your point of the sense of smell. Did you know that it is your strongest sense of recollection? Adults can be instantly taken back into childhood experiences with one hint of a certain scent. I love how God uses that to assist us in understanding how precious our prayers are to Him. (Rev. 5:8; Psalm 141:2)

Thanks for leading ladies in love!

This is an amazing thought. I will begin to make a list and be more intentional about what my children will remember when they are older. Thanks!

I can attest to the fact that your cinnamon rolls are delicious! Thank you for sharing....it's always a good day when you show up with a warm package of cinnamon rolls for me, I mean, my family. Your boys will always remember it.

I am deliberate about baking cookies after hockey practices, and having good food to eat for dinner as often as I can. And I'm deliberate in having fun with my kids. Every kid should have the gift of a parent who delights in them, who enjoys them. Never underestimate the power of laughter.

What a great post, Priscilla. I will be thinking about things I can add to my own list today! Love this.

I have been reading the I Take Joy blog for quite awhile now and these thoughts run very similar to what her ministry is about. I've been being more purposeful in what I bring into our home and what traditions and memories we'll be making with our daughter.

My daughter is only 5 but I'm realizing she really notices any changes made in the home. I took $20 this past Christmas and bought little touches to add to our house for Christmas that made all the difference in our home. She loved it.

The smells of our home are pumpkin bread baking! This is a wonderful memory for me from my childhood and one I'm passing down. We always doubled the recipe when I was growing up and also used the miniloaf pans. This way we always had 5-6 loaves to package and give out to family, friends, Sunday school teachers, etc. as an expression of love and appreciation for their contributions. My daughter has been doing this now since she was 3 and loves it!

Thanks Priscilla for sharing this today. As mothers, we become so busy with everyday duties of life and home added to constant unexpected stresses that we need to gentle reminders that we must be purposeful in our parenting!

Priscilla, I love this thought. To be intentional about creating a childhood. I do this, but never knew what to call it. Of course, I ALWAYS have room for improvement. I've never made a list, though the thoughts are always swimming around in my head. I'm making a list today.

Smells are important to me. I love walking into my parent's home to this day and smelling 'home'. My dad's pot roast, my Mom's bread. Soothing.

My 8 year old already says cookies baking smells like home to her. When we arrive home from a vacation, I immediately prepare cookies to start baking in the oven. Even before suitcases are unpacked or laundry started. I want our home to be inviting. There's so much more ... going to jot it down.

Love you!

I'm very interested in this "bubbling liquid concoction" aka bread. I am twenty-two but very old fashion. My neighbor has a starter that is over a hundred years old! Could someone give me information about how to begin and what to add ever week. Thank You!

Girl, all I could say when I saw that picture was GOT MILK?!?

Those look DELICIOUS!!!

And the roast? Well, I have crafted that because it is a favorite memory of mine and I do it for my family to this day. The key is the crock pot!!

I have a list, too. At the top of mine is that they will remember the time that we spent together far more than any gift they were given.

But I need to fine tune my list.

What a great thought!

I'm so glad you are blogging!!

Blessings,
Dori

I LOVE this idea and post! In such a hurry-hurry society it's good to be reminded of things like these. You know, when I was growing up one of my dearest friends lived with her grandmother most of the time. Always, without fail, her grandmother made her cinnamon rolls in the morning before school. To this day I have thought of that so many times. I didn't have the advantage of having any kind of breakfast made for me at my home. I always associated the love that my friend received with the sweetness of her grandmother to make those cinnamon rolls for her. I had the joy of spending the night there a few times on a school night. I couldn't wait to wake up the next morning for some loved served up in the form of a cinnamon roll!

You BETTER BELIEVE I do this for my own two girls. Yes sirreee.

You're a blessing.

Thanks for sharing this Priscilla, I just love it. I'm not a Mom but I was raised in such a family culture. One of my fave childhood memories was of my dad waking us up in the dark of night or wee hours in the morning for some adventure, usually it was to go skiing on Saturday mornings in the NC mountains. We'd wake up to a mountain sunrise and a day of skiing. It would be that or an all night journey to Florida to see my grandparents and dad would let us do his hair and paint his fingernails while he drove and pretended not to notice. I'm an adventuress to this day because of it!

Thanks for sharing this Priscilla, I just love it. I'm not a Mom but I was raised in such a family culture. One of my fave childhood memories was of my dad waking us up in the dark of night or wee hours in the morning for some adventure, usually it was to go skiing on Saturday mornings in the NC mountains. We'd wake up to a mountain sunrise and a day of skiing. It would be that or an all night journey to Florida to see my grandparents and dad would let us do his hair and paint his fingernails while he drove and pretended not to notice. I'm an adventuress to this day because of it!

Nettie's rolls - they are the most incredible roll I have ever had!! Family breakfasts before school and devotion time. (This is a memory for me - when we were involved in activities in HS it was the ONLY family meal we had together so we started breakfasts when our oldest daughter started 1st grade to carry on this tradition.) Summer walks and bike rides. Playing board games. Family movies.

Thanks for causing me to think about this and for being more intentional about our memories!!!

how much what we do for our children means to them. Last year, in early May, I thought that I was creating unhealthy habits in my children by baking them 2 chocolate chip cookies before bed. It started as a once a week event but transitioned into a nightly event.
Though we eat generally healthy, I became concerned that I was starting this bad habit and decided that I was going to put it to a STOP!! I figured that once the dough ran out that I'd not buy anymore.
About a week later, I attended a Mother's Day program at my daughter's class (in 2nd grade). As I expected, she'd drawn me a card that read "Happy Mother's Day" on the outside. On the inside it read "My mom shows me she loves me because she bakes me cookies before I go to bed at night" I was floored! She'd even drawn a picture of me putting cookies in an oven.
While I thinking busy thinking about eating habits, cost of cookie dough, etc. I never occurred to me that she only saw it as an expression of my love. Needless to say, every night before bed my girls get 2 freshly baked warm from the oven cookies. They are smaller than they used to be, but it's the highlight of their night.

WOW!! I thought I was being intentional regarding childhood memories but I think I need to start a list now. My oldest son turned 13 today and I feels as though I only have a short time left to create memories that he will never forget and even pass on to his children.
Priscilla thanks so much for encouraging me to be more intentional about creating childhood memories for my 3 precious boys.

Dearest Priscilla,

I am anxiously awaiting an invitation to come over to eat cinnamon rolls. Haha. That picture is to die for.

Sincerely,

Amber

On the serious side, I thank the Lord everyday for my childhood and my parents. They were selfless and always encouraged me. Never underestimate the power of a hug, telling your kiddos that you love them, and that they are capable and smart. One of my favorite memories is sitting under our big pecan tree with my Dad and him telling me that I could be anything I wanted. He was the best. Such a tremedous blessing to have a great childhood!

Need recipes! They look too good! Thank you for this post! My life has been turned upside down for about a year and a half and I have forgotten to be intentional what it is that God laid on my heart so many years ago when we were trying to have kids. God graciously gave us two girls through adoption and I am so blessed. A few of the things He laid on my heart are: Home full of music and laughter where kids can feel free to be kids, nightly worship time in God's Word and singing and praying, catching fire flies, extended family grandparents aunts uncles cousins, Sunday dinner, these are a few thanks for the reminder you will never know how much it meant to me!
Love,
Crissy

You have put a great challenge before us!
Not long ago, I was thinking about the scripture that tells us to number our days and how it related to parenting. So I figured up how many days until each of my kids turned 18 and realized how short of a time I have to make an eternal impact. (Of course I realize that parenting doesn't stop at 18 and you can always make an impact but I thought it was a good timeline!)

And on another note, have you ever shared your dough recipe? I'd love to use it. I've never baked bread from scratch but have been wanting to start.

Love you dearly!!!!

my twitter id: sicdadams

Hey there friends,
So many of you have asked me for a recipe for my cinnamon rolls. I'd love to share it except that the main ingredient is one that you can't find in a store. As I mentioned to Mikella in one of the posts above, it requires bread Starter. This concoction can't be purchased, it has to be given to you by someone else who has it. Weird but true.
So, my recipe might not do anyone any good who doesn't have it.
However, I highly recommend The Pioneer Woman's recipe. While I haven't made them I've only heard INCREDIBLY amazing things about them! You can find her on line or her cookbook in bookstores everywhere.
And don't forget, we had a wonderful conversation about recipes back in January and another one in December. Scrumptious and delicious recipes shared by tons of women. Check them out and add to the collection when you have time.
Priscilla

Wonderful thoughts! Thank you for sharing them. I have 4 children of my own. I want to be more intentional about creating a good childhood for them. :)

I love this post. I, too, have tried to create a thoughtful, meaningful, purposeful childhood for my three children. One is in college, another is a sophomore and the youngest is in 7th grade. Time is going by so fast... and it is such an important thing to do. Thanks for sharing.

Hi! I found you from Boomama's blog. Your thoughts on Cinnamon Rolls sure took me back to sweet memories from my own childhood. My grandma made the most wonderful homemade cinnamon rolls, too. Just closing my eyes right now makes me feel like I can taste and SMELL them. Grandma was an elementary teacher and whenever there was a "snow day", she would make a couple of pans of cinnamon rolls. She would call around 2:00 in the afternoon to see if anyone could come a get some. We ALWAYS managed! There was never too much snow to keep from going the 1/4 mile to her house to get a warm batch of her delicious rolls. We would have gone by dog sled, if necessary!

Grandma went home to be with the Lord in '98. Oh, how I wish I had had her show me how to make her cinnamon rolls. I have the recipe but they just aren't the same.

My children like the smell of my sour cream cookies baking and my lasagna and garlic bread.(Not necessarily at the same time) At least, those are the most requested foods I get from them whenever they are coming home. And, I always oblige. Take care.

I would LOVE if you posted the cinnamon rolls recipe!!

I want my daughter to remember coming home to cookies, daddy making pancakes, mommy playing on the floor, doing crafts, praying together, knowing her friends were always welcomed, and laughing a lot!

Being intentional about creating memories for our families is one of the greatest things we can do. I've made it apart of my lifestyle to create memories that I pray they will remember for a lifetime. It's the small things like racing them in the park after school or having movie nights or taking mini-vacations. I pray that they will look back over their childhood and remember it as being great.

Thank you for reminding us to do this!