“It’s almost always been just the three of us. My boys and I are so close. They know and respect me as their momma, but they are two of my best friends as well,” shared Hope Dearman, a resident of Mobile.
“They’ve seen me strong, they’ve seen me weak. They’ve seen me win, they’ve seen me lose. But through it all, they’ve seen me grab hold of God, get back up, and go after my dreams for us again.”
Hope is a single mom to two very athletic teenage boys, Micah (15), who plays football, and KJ (13), who plays basketball and soccer. Recently, her niece Jenna (22) also moved in with them.
“We are a huge sports family, both watching and playing. I was raised on Alabama football,” Hope said passionately. “We love life. We love God. We love our family & friends, and we love the water. We are always on the go.”
By day, Hope works full-time as an operations manager at GPM National, a staffing agency. By night, and on weekends, she is building her own small floral business, Bouquet Your Day. This business was birthed out of an unexpected family tragedy, a year ago, and has grown into something beautiful — she has quickly started working to provide arrangements for weddings, pageants and so much more.
“Working full-time and running my own business is hard. There are times when sleep is rare and the days and nights are long, but the result is always worth it,” said Hope. “Flowers bring a smile to people’s faces and they brighten up the worst of days. I would love to be able to dedicate more time towards it, but right now I have to do what I can, when I can.”
With the family’s hectic schedule, dinner around the kitchen table is very rare. Most nights, after working and then joyfully spending hours at a ball field, Hope will make dinner, fix the plates, and just eat dinner in the boys’ room with them. She says as long as they are all spending time together, it doesn’t matter where it is spent.
One of Hope’s go-to dinners is Dirty Rice with Italian Green Beans. These were both staples at the church potlucks she grew up on. She loves to make this meal because it is comforting, and because the recipe can be easily altered and made with ingredients already on hand.
“As a single mom, there have been times when we’ve had plenty and times when we’ve had very little. This dirty rice is filling. It’s easy and simple but it’s a home-cooked meal,” Hope shared. “The beautiful thing is that you can make this when it’s all you have or just because you want to. Either way, your family’s bellies will be full and your heart will be full knowing that.”
Dirty Rice with a Side of Italian Green Beans
Ingredients:
- 1-2 Bags of Boil-in-a-Bag Rice
- 1 lb ground beef or turkey
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1-2 tbsp of garlic, minced
- 1-2 tbsp butter
- 3-4 tbsp of beef broth (optional)
- Tony’s Seasoning, to taste
- Onion Powder, to taste
- Garlic Powder, to taste
- 1-2 tsp of Salt
- 1-2 tsp of Pepper
- 4-5 slices of Bacon
- 2 cans of Italian Green Beans, drained
- 3-4 tbsp onion, minced
Directions for the Dirty Rice:
- Boil 1 to 2 bags of boil-in-a-bag rice, following the instructions on the box.
- While rice is cooking, sauté the onion and garlic in the butter for 1-2 minutes.
- Brown the ground beef or ground turkey
- Season the meat with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and as much Tony’s as you want. Measure with your heart!
- Drain any fat off the meat once done and then mix in rice.
- Add more seasonings to taste. Tony’s is what makes it for me. Sometimes I add in a little beef broth for flavor.
Directions for Italian Green Beans:
- Season with pepper and minced onion, warm through, and serve.
- Add your slices of bacon to a pot on medium-high heat.
- Once your bacon is pretty much done cooking, add in your drained cans of Italian green beans.
Author: Gabriele Jones
Gabriele has been married to her husband Daniel for 16 years. Together they have three incredible children - two boys, ages 15 and eight, and a sweet girl who joined the family last summer. She is a full time Pink Cadillac Sales Director for Mary Kay Cosmetics. When she isn’t spending time with family or building her business, she supports her husband who is the Lead Pastor and Planter of Forward Church in Foley.
