Spring has sprung!

Finally warmer weather is making it's appearance known in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. What makes the warmer weather even better is the fact our back yard has been revamped by a good friend. The yard looks new with fresh bark dust, nicely mown grass and no weeds to be seen. What a difference a little hard work makes in making a back yard presentable.

The warmer weather makes me want to spend more time outside reading a book (yes, even in the cooler weather) with a glass of wine or soda sitting on the table. Or even tossing the tennis balls for the Tori dog to play with.

With Spring comes allergies, the desire to do some deep cleaning and finally putting away of the Christmas decorations and taking down the Christmas tree. Yes, mine is still up with all the decorations in the lower living area. Since we don't use this room, it was logical to just leave it up.

Also with the Spring comes the desire to make new things in the kitchen and I'm ready to try and make some of those new recipes I've been wanting to make for quite some time. Developing new cookies has become kind of a hobby especially since I supply the gun club with cookies for sale. I've been working on my molasses cookie and think its finally perfected and ready for publishing. So here it is.

Have a great Spring and don't work too hard cleaning. Take time to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the glorious surroundings God has given us to look at.
Molasses Ginger Surprise cookies
3/4 cup softened butter
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Cream the above until light and fluffy.

Add 3/4 cup molasses and incorporate this into the creamed mixture.

Add 4 cups flour
2 cups oatmeal
1 package of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix until all is incorporated. Drop by spoonfuls or use an ice cream scoop. After placing the cookies on cookie sheets, refrigerate until firm. This takes a few hours. I usually put all the cookies on one sheet and then when they are firm, move them to parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for about 10-12 minutes until the centers of the cookies are set. This makes about 22 very large cookies or about 4 dozen normal sized cookies.

Happy Easter!!!! Growing up, my mother had a habit of dressing my sister and I alike at Easter time. She also did that to my two younger sister. We'd get home sewn dresses in different colors, wear wristlet gloves and hair bands in our hair. In the mornings, we'd get up to find a small chocolate rabbit waiting for us. We'd then troop to church in our finery. After church, it was time to go to my grandmother's house for a big banquet consisting of ham, potatoes, salads and all the fixins. My grandmother would then hide Easter Eggs around the house and if nice outside around the yard as well. Then all the kids would go hunting for all the Easter eggs. What fun we had finding those eggs. When we reached our teens, we got to hide the Easter eggs for our smaller siblings and then watch them as they hunted for those elusive Easter eggs.

Times certainly have changed. I still try to get a chocolate bunny for my kids or whoever is staying with us and then the last few years, I've been making a big breakfast for our church crew consisting of the singers, production crew and staff. I pull out all the stops and make it special. These people are giving of themselves to serve our church and so I make sure to give them something special by serving them. This year, I'm making egg enchiladas and oatmeal.

When I was younger, I served my church by playing keyboard, but now I serve in a different way by cooking for the staff and crew. The egg enchiladas are a new recipe and one that looks good so this is what I'm sharing with you. It doesn't matter whether you have a big banquet or breakfast, or even go out to dinner, as long as you celebrate Easter by serving the One who gave His life for us - Jesus Christ.

May you have a blessed Easter and put your trust and faith into Jesus who gave his life for us.

Egg Enchiladas

12 eggs
2/3 cup half and half
1 pound sausage
1 cup diced onions
1 Jalopeano pepper
1/2 cup diced red and green pepper

3 cups whole milk
2 cups shredded cheese
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour

12 enchiladas

Cook the vegetables until tender. In a separate bowl beat eggs with the half and half and add to the vegetables. Cook on low heat until the eggs are set and done. Add the cooked sausage.

Make the sauce by melting the butter and mixing in the flour. Cook out the flour until the raw taste is gone. Add the whole milk and cook until thickened. This is a basic rue. Add the shredded cheese and take off the heat.

Assemble the enchiladas by putting some of the scrambled egg mixture on the enchilada with 1/3 cup of the sauce. Roll the tortilla and place in a 8 x 13 baking dish. Once all the egg mixture is gone, cover the tortillas with the remaining sauce and bake until the mixture is heated through. Serves 12 people. Of course use salt and pepper to taste.

What did my grandmother, and mother think?

I just spent four days watching my grandson, Jonah in Washington State while his mommy went to visit his daddy at a school in Philadelphia.

How does one keep up with an almost two year old? I don't know how I did it, but I did!! Watching Jonah play for the few days I was with him made me start thinking. What did my grandmother think of me when I was little, or did my own mother have the same thoughts as I did while watching my own little girl.

When my mother and father went away for the night, my siblings and I would stay at my Grandma's house. I remember her as always stern but her food was good and she made us feel at home and we enjoyed being at her house. Did she think we were cute while we played or pretended in games? One day I will know what she thought as I see her in heaven and ask all those questions I wanted to ask long ago.

My own mother watched my daughter while I attended undergraduate school. I know from talking to my daughter my mother taught her how to count change and shop in a grocery store. I know there were many other things my mother taught her grand- daughter but how did my mother feel watching my daughter pretend and play games? Did she have the same feelings as I did watching Jonah? Again, these are things I may ask my mother once I get to heaven.

What made the biggest impression the last few days - is loving my grandson is easy and watching him play, jabber, and just all around jump around with his toys, playing with the bouncy balls, and other antics - this all made me smile. What made me smile the most was at night I would read to him and then sing "Jesus Loves Me this I know." When I sung to him, he would close eyes and just cuddle. Nothing better than those cuddles.

God has so blessed us with children who have children and watching all these children grow is precious as an adult. One we need to cherish and hold true to our families. I thank God he has blessed me with so many grandchildren and even though some of those grandchildren live in different cities, I love each one with tenderness and the hope each child will grow in God's love and accept the wonderful gift he has in His son, Jesus Christ.

In keeping with a recent posting, I did something new for this grandson. I made him a peanut butter sandwich for the first time in his life and he loved it. So here is a ramped up version of a grilled PBJ sandwich. If you've never tried this, you need to try it at least once.

Grilled PBJ

2 slices any type of bread
Peanut butter
jam of your choice
butter

Spread one side of your bread with peanut butter and place in a skillet with a bit of melted butter in it. Top with the other slice of bread that has been spread with jam. Brown one side at a time. When you get ready to turn the sandwich, melt a bit more butter in the pan and flip the sandwich. Eat hot.

The phone call that changed my life....

Have you ever had a single phone call change your life? I had a phone call 30 years ago changing my life forever. About this time of the year, I tell the story of how my life changed for the better based on the phone call I received February 8, 1982.

The call came at 4:00 in the afternoon and I was home alone doing what I did every day at this time, thinking of supper and what to make. The caller was from the Oklahoma Children's Baptist Home and getting a call from my social worker was common because she would call every once in awhile asking how I was doing. This phone call started out like any other call with the social worker. I let her know I wasn't working and I was thinking of what I would fix for supper. She paused then proceeded to tell me, "You are now the proud parent of a little baby girl." I sat there stunned to say the least!!! I said, "What did you say?" She reiterated again that I was now the proud parent of a 1 month old little girl. I started screaming, "Are you kidding? Are you sure? Me??? How? What? When? where was this little girl?" The caller said she could call back when I was a bit calmer, but at this point, I didn't want the caller to hang up! Like any parent, I wanted to know if this little girl had 10 toes and 10 fingers, what she looked like, how long was she, and how much did she weigh when she was born.

After writing down all the information (I knew I wouldn't remember anything she told me so I had to write it down), the caller wanted to know if I had a named picked out for this little girl - all I could think of was Sarah Elizabeth because both were Biblical names and both women waited until they were older when they had their children. I didn't even hesitate with the name and I didn't even consult my husband at the time about the name. The name just seemed like the right one and it seemed so fitting. The caller said they would start calling the little girl Sarah right away and have her name on all the paperwork ready for us when we picked her up.

The caller had one other thing to tell me, "We need you and your husband to pick up Sarah on Wednesday at 1 in the afternoon." At the time, we lived in Lawton and driving to Tulsa was a 4 hour drive. Basically, I had one evening and 24 hours to get ready for a newborn baby. What was I thinking??? Was I really ready to have a little baby come into my life? Panic attacks don't usually happen, but I found myself having a panic attack and I called my mother to give her the news.

The first thing she said she did was cry for the birth mother for giving up her little girl so I could have a newborn baby and the second thing she said she did was cry for me because I finally had a child - one I had prayed for since the beginning of my marriage 10 years earlier. My mother calmed my fears and reminded me I grew up the oldest girl in the family and had cared for all the smaller siblings my mother had. (There were 3 smaller children eventually in our family so caring for them came naturally.)

The adoption agency said this little girl was the prettiest baby they had seen in 10 years and she definitely was coming into my home. I remember holding her for the first time, tears streaming down my face looking into her quiet sleeping face being overwhelmed with instant love. The love that only comes between a mother and her child.

I am so thankful and grateful to the Lord above for his gift to me. Sometimes I'm overwhelmed God gave me the desires of my heart to have a baby and nurture that baby into an adult. I now see the love she has for her son and am constantly reminded of God's initial gift to me.

Just last year this beautiful daughter found her birth family and she now has a pair of twin sisters and a brother whom she has met and learned to love. She also has met the wonderful woman who was selfless in giving me the opportunity to raise a daughter who is beautiful inside and out. I'm thankful God has given her the gift of a birth family as well as an adoptive family. Happy Adoption day Sarah!!!!!

One of Sarah's favorite things to eat growing up was my banana bread so this is the recipe I'm sharing today.

Sarah's banana bread
1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
2 eggs
cream the above ingredients until light and fluffy

Add 1/2 cup sour cream and 2 cups flour. When blended, add 3 mashed ripe bananas and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. Bake in a loaf pan for about 45 minutes until the center is done. While still in the pan, brush the top of the loaf with 2 Tablespoons melted butter 3 Tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Remove the loaf from the pan and when cool, slice, spread with butter and eat. Very yummy....

Resolved, Resolution -

Resolution - the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc; the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute, firmness of purpose.

Have you ever made a resolution and stuck to it? My husband and I saw the movie "Courageous" where four men resolved to make changes in their lives impacting their families and walk with the Lord. We both were moved by the movie and checked out the website.

On the website, there was a Bible study geared towards men and women called, "Honor". My husband leads a Community Group for our church and we've been following a classic type of Bible study where we discuss and ask questions about the pastor's sermon from the Sunday before. We've been doing this for several years but when we saw the "Honor" Bible study, we thought, "Wouldn't it be a good idea to see if our group would be interested in changing our format and going through the study."

After ordering the leader's kit and reading the study booklets, we discussed changing our Bible study with our group to follow the movie and "Honor" format.

For me, there is a booklet included in the study called, "The resolution for Women." I've been reading this book now for about a week and am so impressed with its content I decided to write about it on my blog.

The first resolution in the book reads as follows: "I DO SOLEMNLY RESOLVE to embrace my current season of life and will maximize my time in it. I will resist the urge to hurry through or circumvent any portion of my journey but will live with a spirit of contentment." (The Resolution for Women, page 6)

Wow! I was immediately reminded I need to embrace my current season in life and felt God was speaking through his Holy Spirit to change a few things in my life.

1. I need to be more flexible in my lifestyle, changing as my life changes

2. Being "retired" means I don't have a schedule to follow and I don't have to "Hurry" through my life. I need to enjoy it

3. I need to work on being content with what God has given me

I'm looking forward to see what other "gems" God will give me as I journey through this Bible study. I also believe God has been prompting me to finish my book, "Shelter from the Storm" this year. Writing, I want it to be perfect and edit as I write, but usually go through and edit the whole thing. I need to write without editing and once its completed, then edit the finished product.

Finally, I'm claiming 2 Corinthians 9:8 as I journey through this next year and "resolve" to accomplish the goals I have set for myself.

Coming up with a recipe for this post has been difficult so I'm resolving to try a new recipe every month to expand our culinary tastes. This is a new recipe I tried out last night. It was a hit with those who ate them and my husband ate his share - 4.....

Garlic butter biscuits

1 cup Biscuit mix (buttermilk baking mix)
1/2 cup shredded mexican cheese (cheddar and jack mix)
1/2 cup milk

Mix and drop by small spoon fulls onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 for about 8 minutes until the biscuits are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and while still hot, spoon on the following mixture:

3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/8 teaspoon dried parsley leaves.

This will make about 12 small biscuits and they are yummy.

Snow and Rain, oh my!!

The rain this past week has been unbelievable even for Oregon! With rain measuring over 7 inches in one week, our ground is sodden, wet and squishy if there ever was such a word.

Starting the week, we had quite a bit of snow and I enjoyed watching the falling snow create a winter wonderland. Once the snow ended, the rain began and didn't stop until today when there was a bit of sun showing; but that didn't last long either because when I was outside, I felt raindrops again.

Mike and I were fortunate because our power did not go out and we were able to stay warm and dry. Learning how to live without power can be trying and hard on those who don't know how to cope with it. Living on the farm growing up, my family lost their power on a regular basis - sometimes living without power for several days. One time when we lost power, my mother had homemade rolls rising and a pot of soup on the stove. When I got home from school, she had the camp stove out finishing up the soup but had to throw away the rolls. We bundled up and stayed dry with a fire in the fireplace. After supper, we all sat around the table bundled up with a lantern playing card and board games to. pass the time away

Hearing of the power losses in both Oregon and Washington reminded me I should have some type of emergency kit ready in case our power went out. Here's the recipe for a simple but important reminder to keep things, "In Case of Emergency."

Emergency Kit

First Aid Kit
Bottled water
Sleeping bags
Camp stove
canned food in the Pantry that needs little or no heating
Powdered milk
Flashlights for every member of the family
Extra toilet paper
Games to play to pass the time away
Books to read by light of the flashlight

Replace the food on a regular basis so you have fresh non-outdated food. I'm sure I forgot something on the list, but you can build your kit specifically for your family. My daughter's family lost their power in Washington and she did a great job coping and adapting to the difficult time until the power came back on.

First taste of snow!

The appearance of snow outside my window this morning brought back so many memories of growing up on the farm. The winter months would bring their excitement of snow, riding on the tractor while my Dad would clear the snow or building the biggest snowmen of all time. My bother and sister would make snow forts too so we could throw snowballs at each other. Or even walking with my brother in the snow trying to trip each other so we'd end up in the snow either face down or face up.

My mother would bundle us up with our farm boots, woolen gloves, and baggies. Yes, I said baggies. My mother was a genious when it came to improvising!! She would let us put on the gloves and boots, but then we would add the baggies to our gloves held in place by rubberbands and also the boots were covered in plastic bags held in place with rubber bands. Who knew back then you'd be able to find tools like rubber bands and baggies doubling as winter wear gear....Yep, she was a genious, and yes, our hands got cold but they stayed dry. Same for the feet.

After playing outside until our hands were frozen (at least we thought so), we'd end up standing or sitting next to the fireplace warming our hands and feet with a cup of hot cocoa. What warm and cozy memories of the snow. Even to this day, I get excited about the snow and didn't get much sleep last night anticipating the first sight of the snow this morning.

My mother would also make ice cream snow so this is the recipe for this post. If you do make this, be sure to get your snow from a clean source (most snow now isn't as clean as it used to be). Growing up, making the ice cream snow was almost as much fun as playing in it.

Ice cream snow

2 cups of snow
1/2 cup of cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons of sugar

Keep the snow cold while mixing your other ingredients together. Then pour the cream mixture over the snow and scoop the snow into either a cone or dish. Enjoy.