Happy Birthday to our dear daughter Katie. So thankful that God surprised us with a little girl.
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Click over to the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog to get the easy recipe for this tasty appetizer. A good addition to your New Year’s Eve festivities or game day.
It’s still a little messy around here but we are enjoying running water and a cook top again. The backsplash should all be on the wall sometime later today and then tomorrow or Monday the grouting can be done. It’s nice to know that for sure it will all be done well before Christmas.
Our little Addy is enjoying new foods introduced into her diet. Our DIL sent us this latest photo. It makes me smile. She’s eating pumpkin, chicken, and pear. Jamie makes Addy’s food instead of using overly processed baby food from the store.
Last night we had a little birthday party dinner for our Daughter in law/love, Laura. We enjoyed Lovella’s Cocktail Sausage Wreath as an appetizer and it was a big hit! I’m going to make it again on Wednesday for our Small Group Christmas gathering. Click on Lovella’s name to head over to Mennonite Girls Can Cook to see the method.
I’m learning so many new things from my SIL Kelly’s Advent in Art series. Today is Day 2 Mosaic in Chora Church, Turkey. I’m getting an art history lesson that I’ve never had before.
Happy first Advent weekend everyone!
Click on over to the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog to see the easy recipe for these French Toast Rollups that are a fun way to serve breakfast or brunch.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at the home of dear friends with so much good food and good cheer. There were 44 of us!
When we came home last evening we noticed several homes in our neighborhood had put up their Christmas lights. It’s time for the “Season of Light”. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5 (ESV)
Today is Black Friday. Are you shopping today?
These photos were taken Tuesday October 17th. Auntie and Baba were Addy sitting while her mommy was at Bible Study.
We got a kick out of all her expressions and those eyebrows!
Looking at Auntie Katie and reaching for her hand.
We were tiring her out.
Tuesday the guys made a run to the dump and then were in the forest getting a supply of wood with a permit. When they brought the Lodge Pole Pines home they cut it down into sixteen inch rounds to Chop later. I was watching Addy while all the wood activity went on so I didn’t get a photo of the wood. After they cut and stacked it we got ready for dinner out at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Chewelah, El Ranchito.
Addy looks like a pro in the restaurant highchair. The padded high chair and shopping cart seat covers are such a great invention. I found this one in near new condition at Goodwill for $3.99. This was another full day with everyone dropping into bed early.
Back to the present: Our kitchen is ready for measurements to make templates to cut and prepare the quartz for installation. The new sink arrived today and the new cook top arrived last Friday. We picked the tile company we are going with for the back splash. We won’t purchase the tile till after the counters are installed. I’m parting with some items that have been on my counters forever and a day. I hope to get good photos for the before and after.
Today is Halloween. No tricks but I have a treat for you over at Mennonite Girls Can Cook. Click here to get the recipe for this treat…
I’m looking forward to seeing all the cute little trick or treaters tonight and shouting out a hello to their parents standing back and watching them approach our door. I’ll try to keep track as to how many come. I’ve got my old tupperware bowl full to the brim with a variety of candy. Do you get many trick or treaters?
Head over to Mennonite Girls Can Cook to see how to put these Poblano boats together.
My back is a little better today I’m happy to say.
Happy Thanksgiving Day to all our friends in Canada!
Click over to Mennonite Girls Can Cook for Flashback Friday featuring my Apple Walnut Crisp.
I think I’ll use the same recipe using some of our ripe pears. It’s a recipe we enjoy.
Yesterday Dear and I worked hard for several hours moving things around at this old house and taking some things out to the garage to store. Before I could take photos Dear had things moved about. I’ll share some before and after photos soon.
Hello September! We’ll soon be singing that great Beatles tune with these words in the lyrics, “Will you still need me, will you still feed me”.
Head on over to Mennonite Girls Can Cook to see the recipe for this cobbler. I like it because you can use frozen or fresh fruit and the cake topping doesn’t get soggy. I made a larger one with a mix of apples and blueberries, too. Serve it cake side up or cake side down.
They say we are finally going to get some relief from our dry days and heat and smoke filled skies soon. I hope so.
Click on over to Mennonite Girls Can Cook for the instructions to put together this Marinated Cheese Platter. It’s easy and great for a crowd.
Hope your last day of 2016 is filled with good things and here’s a prayer for 2017…
A New Year’s Prayer
May God make your year a happy one!
Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain,
But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes;
Not by making your path easy,
But by making you sturdy to travel any path;
Not by taking hardships from you,
But by taking fear from your heart;
Not by granting you unbroken sunshine,
But by keeping your face bright, even in the shadows;
Not by making your life always pleasant,
But by showing you when people and their causes need you most,
and by making you anxious to be there to help.
God’s love, peace, hope and joy to you for the year ahead.
Anon.
1. For my Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice Friday post I’ll start with this Pumpkin Spice Cake that’s easy to make. I posted it on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog this week and you can click HERE to get the recipe.
In tandem with my cake above is this collage. Do you have a Jiffi-Sift? We’ve never given ours a name but everyone in the family knows what to grab when you want to lightly dust powdered sugar on anything like French Toast and Spice Cake. I have a post about my Tupperware Jiffi-Sift here. Some of you call powdered sugar icing sugar.
2. On a nice day it’s good to take a little drive to see something different from your regular views. This was taken from the car while we traveled on Highway 9 north past Snohomish. That’s Mount Baker covered with snow and just beyond are our Canadian neighbors.
3. Never stop singing! That’s my motto amongst a few others. This is our little girl (sweet and sassy) singing at her wedding. Photo credit to Jeremy Leffel.
4. Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice that’s what little girls are made of. Continuing on with my Friday theme this week I’m sharing this news again because it’s worthy of repeating. We are grandparents for the first time and our granddaughter should be born sometime in late March or early April if she decides to be late. We are praying for a healthy babe and uncomplicated delivery.
5. And here is this next photo my sister took of my dear old pop who is 93 and is carrying on. Still enjoying his recliner and making jigsaw puzzles. When I call him he says “I’m getting weaker, but I’m okay dochenka”. Dochenka is an endearing word for daughter in Russian. Then he always asks us to pray for him.
Thankful for these nice things in my life: Cake and other sweet treats, views to enjoy, daughters that delight, new life to anticipate with joy, old Pop to cherish.
What are some of your favorite things that you are thankful for?
Linking up to Friday’s Fave Five with Susanne and Foodie Friday and Everything Else at Rattlebridge Farm.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 