Early and Excited!

~Daffodowndilly” by A.A. Milne.
She wore her yellow sun-bonnet,
She wore her greenest gown;
She turned to the south wind
And curtsied up and down.
She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbour:
“Winter is dead.”
I’m just a little early to welcome Spring but it is one of my favorite seasons. The other favorite is Autumn. I’m hoping to find some daffodils while we are on a little overnight or two in our neighboring state. These daffodil photos are from March of 2016. We sisters got together for a couple days of adventuring around La Conner for a nice meal and the Mount Vernon (Skagit Valley) area to enjoy the fields of daffodils. This area would soon (April) be filled with tulips!

I keep harping on my sisters that it is time for another sister weekend. Maybe in Dallas or Arizona??

This week is to be one full week of celebrating the oldest and one of the youngest in our family. Addy will turn 7 this week! All our kids will be arriving the end of the week for a extended weekend of fun. Greg and I are enjoying the first couple of days in Coeur d Alene, Idaho. A lovely destination where we can enjoy nice walks along the lake and also enjoy a variety of restaurants for some good food.

I will be hit and miss online for the next few days.

Are you excited for Spring?

Easter Carol ~ Hymn

Easter Carol

Oh, the gladness and the glo­ry
Of the tender East­er story,
Christ is ris­en! Christ is ris­en!
Do you hear the angels say?
All the bells triumphant ring it,
All the choirs celestial sing it,
And the gentle zephyrs wing it
Thro’ the skies this sacred day.

Oh, the wondrous transformation,
Working out the world’s sal­va­tion!
Christ, the cru­ci­fied Re­deem­er,
Once consigned to darkest gloom,
Changing shadow into splendor,
With His love so sweet and tender,
Son of God, our true defender,
Rising deathless from the tomb.

Oh, the light of East­er morning,
All the earth and sky adorning!
Oh, how restful, how refreshing
Is its sacredness and love!
On my heart its peace is stealing,
Like a gentle balm of healing,
Christ, my ris­en Lord, revealing,
Throned in majesty above.

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1892.

Simple Strawberry Sauce

 

This simple sauce would be a nice topping for shortcake or you could try it on your Blintzes or Easter Paska.

Simple Strawberry Topping

1/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pint strawberries stemmed and halved

Combine sugar, vanilla and 2/3 of the strawberries in a saucepan. Over medium high heat cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, approx. 5 minutes. Remover from heat.

Smooth out sauce with a whisk, immersion blender, or standing blender. Stir remaining 1/3 strawberries into sauce.

Serve as a topping over ice cream, angel food cake, shortcake, waffles, etc. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Note: You can throw in some fresh blueberries, too, with the remaining strawberries.

 

Media Birthday Greetings 2024

My birthday was yesterday and the celebrations will continue for a few days and into next week. I wanted to save the greetings that I enjoyed yesterday on Facebook and Instagram.

From our son, Josh:

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!! I love you so much! Hoping you have a wonderful day! Already looking forward to our next adventure together!!

From our dil, Laura:

Happy birthday, Mom B! So thankful to God for you—who He created you to be, and for all the ways you reflect His love. Praying you know how deeply & dearly loved you are, today & always! I love you, I love you, I love you!

From our niece, Michelle and fam:

Happy Happy Birthday to you, dear Auntie E!! Love this fun memory of adventuring with you (even though we had to fight against being weather whiners🙈😅) and love you dearly!! Hope you’re having a wonderful day full of reminders of how much you’re loved by so many, including the Anthonys!

From my friend, Heidi:

Happy Birthday Ellen! I’m so thankful for our friendship and so blessed to have you in my life all these years! We hold so many precious memories together and I pray for God’s continual blessings in your life! I love you my forever friend!

From my sister Vera:

Happiest of birthdays to my dear sister Ellen. You have always been there for me and I am so thankful that you always spur me on to love the Lord with all my heart. May the Lord pour out His abundant blessings on you throughout this new year.

Thank you, Vera, for the card that came in the mail yesterday, too.

From our niece, Jenna: That’s her in my arms many years ago…

Happy Birthday, Auntie Ellen!! We love you so very much! Have fun celebrating 🥳💜🥳💜

All of our kids sent a video greeting to me early on my birthday. It was so fun to receive those.

Friends and family texted and what’s app’d me, too. I am so grateful for all the kind words and special greetings I received.

Now I look forward to what my 73rd year holds.

Thank you all for making my day!

Truth for Today #92

Thursday March 14th

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth again this year!

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you! 

Psalm 16:5-11:

The LORD is my portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me. I will bless the LORD who has counseled me; Indeed, my mind instructs me in he night. I have set the LORD continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will you allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Isaiah 45:22:

“Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.”
~
From Vera:
~
”O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you. Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord God of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel.“
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭69‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬
~
From Jennifer:
~
“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” Colossians 3:15
~
From Gloria:
~
James 1:12

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

From Josh:
~
Happy Birthday, Mom!

Hebrews 12:4 4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

Not even close! Praise Jesus for his resistance and shed blood for us!

Doing the Math Hodgepodge

It’s time for Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you, Jo, for the questions!

1. Thursday is National Pi Day…are you good at math? What was the last thing you had to calculate? Did you use your head or technology? Last slice of pie you ate? 

I am good at basic math but not in the advanced stuff like algebra, trigonometry, calculus and such. My brain remembers numbers for some reason. I can still remember birthdays of some of my classmates in high school. On Monday I had to make a simple calculation of how long I’ve been blogging so I took 2024, minus 2007 to come up with 17. I used my desk calculator to come up with that. That comes out to Seventeen years of blogging. The last slice of pie was at Thanksgiving.

2. What makes a house a home? 

The easy answer is love. For me, a home is a comfortable peaceful place where I can be real and enjoy loving others and being loved. Cozy furniture helps. Too much formality in decor makes me stiff unless you throw in an overstuffed chair with an ottoman.

3. Your current favorite green thing? 

We bought some new wall art with blue flowers and mossy green leaves for our Master Bedroom and added some mossy green to the bed with pillows. It was nice to freshen up the Master Bedroom. Did you know that it’s not kosher to call a Master Bedroom a Master Bedroom anymore? Oye Vey! It is still the Master Bedroom at our house.

4. How do you define achievement? How does your personal definition look similar to, or different than, society’s definition? What’s something you think is worth achieving in life? 

Achievement is being able to accept who you are and what your talents are and using those talents everyday in big and small ways. Achievement can happen everyday without applause from the world. Society would add fame and money as the benchmark to achievement. If your talents and hard work reap a monetary gain, that is a bonus. As a mom, raising children is a worthwhile achievement.  Contentment is worth achieving in life.

5. What song is a good soundtrack for your life right now? 

This is hubby and my song for last year and pretty much always. I’ll share a stanza and the refrain…

My Worth is not in What I Own…

My worth is not in what I ownNot in the strength of flesh and boneBut in the costly wounds of loveAt the cross

And I rejoice in my RedeemerGreatest Treasure,Wellspring of my soulAnd I will trust in Him, no other.My soul is satisfied in Him alone.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Not only is tomorrow Pi day but it is my birthday. If I take the current year and subtract my birth year from it, I calculate that I will be 73 on Pi day! A blast from my past for your enjoyment. Sheriff John was a favorite!

I’m Late, I’m Late…

…for a very important date!

The photo above is of my brother Steve creating my blog for me.

In March of 2007 when my brother told me he was going to start a blog for me I was a little afraid that I wouldn’t be able to handle the technology. He convinced me everything would be ok. We were at Greg’s brother’s home in Anaheim Hills, California. We started brain storming about what I should name it. We came up with a few fun names but the way I came up with my keeper is…

 

a. I’m generally a very happy person.

b. I’m also someone who wonders about a lot of things and have a deep need to know.

So as we were discussing point a and b my husband came up with The Happy Wonderer.

As far as the purpose of my blog I chose “to Honor and Encourage”. I’m an encourager to people around me and I wanted that reflected in the relationships I’d develop on my blog. It is very important to me to Honor Jesus Christ who is my LORD.  I want my words and posts to be things that will encourage people and be something that won’t reflect poorly on my relationship with Jesus.

My blog was born on March 3, 2007 which means I’m a little late in celebrating my 17th Bloggy Anniversary! 

I’ve had a few headers over the course of the 17 years.

Conwy Castle from our trip to Wales, Scotland and England in 2006 was one of my first headers. Greg took that photo.

I had a different view of this table from our Mennonite Girls Can Cook Tea to celebrate our second cookbook as my header for a few years.

My current header is just a stock header that I find easy to look at.

I used Photobucket for several years to store and post my photos to my blog and sadly they stopped being a free service and hijacked my photos.  They will let me have them again if I’m willing to pay but it is more than I want to pay. That was very disappointing to me. I have a lot of clean-up to do on my older posts.

I did have some technical challenges off and on with my blog and my brother Steve was my go to person who could fix things for me at the beginning.

I’m not participating in many blog carnivals anymore. They were very helpful at the beginning to get connected with others in the blogging community. Blue Monday, Tablescape Thursday, Photo Hunters, Friday Feast, Mosaic Monday, ABC Wednesday, WFMW, Show and Tell, Thankful Thursday, Friday’s Fave Five, Sky Watch, Recipe Round-Up, Ruby Tuesday, Before and After,  Wordless Wednesday, and many more were fun to join.

These days I’m participating in Hodgepodge Wednesday. On Thursdays I have my Truth for Today Bible Verse posts. Sundays are my Hymn days. The rest of the days are for what’s happening with family, our country bungalow, weather, travels and other events.

A big thanks to my brother Steve for nudging me into this fun activity that has opened up so much more of the world to me. Blogging has also improved my photography and given me ‘eyes to see’.

Lovella’s Blog is what connected me to my Mennonite Girls and my life is better because of my relationship with these ladies.

I’m grateful for the many friendships that have developed over the years with fellow bloggers. I met my walking buddy, Willow, in Camarillo through our blogs. I’ve been able to meet up with other bloggers from California, Kansas, Canada, Utah and Washington.

Thank you for visiting my blog and for the comments you leave. I have one survey question for fellow bloggers and those of you who leave comments. Do you prefer a reply to any comments even if it isn’t a question that you leave on a blog or would you rather someone visits your blog in return and reads and comments on your posts? Hope that question makes sense.

Thirteen

Thirteen years ago these two got married at the Courthouse in Jacksonville, North Carolina just before Andrew shipped out for a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

A year later on their one year anniversary we had a lovely wedding for them surrounded by family and friends in Seattle, Washington. Our pop, Katie’s Dzedushka (grandfather), prayed a blessing over them.

Happy 13th Anniversary to Andrew and Katie. We love the two of you together! God bless you and keep you!

Again the Lord of Light and Life ~ Hymn

Again the Lord of Light and Life

Again the Lord of light and life
Awakes the kindling ray,
Unseals the eyelids of the morn,
And pours increasing day.

O what a night was that which wrapped
The heathen world in gloom!
O what a Sun which rose this day
Triumphant from the tomb!

This day be grateful homage paid,
And loud hosannas sung;
Let gladness dwell in every heart,
And praise on every tongue.

Ten thousand different lips shall join
To hail this welcome morn,
Which scatters blessings from its wings
To nations yet unborn.

Jesus, the friend of human kind,
With strong compassion moved,
Descended like a pitying God,
To save the souls He loved.

The powers of darkness leagued in vain
To bind His soul in death;
He shook their kingdom when He fell,
With His expiring breath.

Not long the toils of hell could keep
The Hope of Judah’s line;
Corruption never could take hold
On aught so much divine.

And now His conquering chariot wheels
Ascend the lofty skies;
While broke beneath his powerful cross,
Death’s iron scepter lies.

Exalted high at God’s right hand,
And Lord of all below;
Thro’ Him is pardoning love dispensed,
And boundless blessings flow.

And still for erring, guilty man
A brother’s pity flows;
And still His bleeding heart is touched
With memory of our woes.

To Thee, my Savior and my king,
Glad homage let me give;
And stand prepared, like Thee, to die,
With Thee that I might live.

Words: Anna L. Barbauld, (1743-1825).

There are so many beautiful hymns for Easter that I’m starting early and will probably go later in posting them. Thank you Jesus for all your sacrifices for us!

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is a easy Crock Pot soup my high school girlfriend Nancy shared with me that is filling and will warm you up.

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup chunky salsa (mild, medium or hot)
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 Cups frozen corn
1 can (approx 15 oz.) black beans rinsed and drained
2 cans (10-3/4 oz. each) cream of chicken soup
1 can (approx 15 oz.) diced tomatoes with jalapenos or green chilies ( choose according to the spice level/heat  you prefer)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 or 2 6inch corn tortillas cut into strips
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 Cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Stir the salsa, chicken, corn and beans in a 4 quart slow cooker/crock pot.

2. Stir the soup, tomatoes, water, cumin together in a separate bowl. Pour over the crock mixture.

3. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours or on high for 2 to 2-1/2 hours.

4. Stir in tortilla strips, cheese and cilantro. Cover and cook an additional 15 minutes.

Enjoy with warm tortillas or corn bread!