i love snow

First of all I need to start this off with a big fat

thank you

for all the response to my last post.  You humble me with your kind words, thoughtful letters, text messages,  fb comments, & comments on this blog.  We all experience loss at some point in our lives don't we?  So I think we all can relate on some level...and to have you share some of those with me~and others who just honestly haven't went through loss on that level~but  still take time to let me know how they related to my story....it means a lot to me.  To draw others in to a more personal to Christ, or to inspire a relationship with him & to relate to others on a deeper level is really a cool thing that a blog can do.  I had no idea how healing it can be to write when I started this...but it has been.  And what a bonus to make friends through this venue.

So just to let you know

YOU ROCK!! 

 and I appreciate you. 

For those of you who do not live around here....last night it started to snow.  After it had been raining.  All. day.  And I don't know about you....but I love me some snow.  If it's gonna be cold, and it's gonna be Christmas soon....Let it SNOW.  I will have a change of heart come February......but for now....

 I love to see their excitement.  I love to see everything that turned brown this fall covered with white. 

 And to top it off...there was a 2 hour DELAY!  I LOVE TO SLEEP IN.  Don't you?  So since we had so much time before school.....we just went out and had a looksie~at all the fluff. 

O.k. well there are some negative effects of the snow....there goes this young tree~not sure if it will make it.  The snow was SO heavy.  And the tree hugger lover that my husband is...was very disappointed about this.

What a view on the way to school this morning.  It truly is a winter wonderland.

The only other thing I don't care for is....this long drive that needs to be shoveled.  This little lady helped me and I had intentions of shoveling the entire thing...but then decided about 3 minutes into it to just shovel tire tracks.  Yeah, I'm an overachiever like that. ha ha ha.  (75 feet is a long way to shovel.)

And just one house cleaning thing I'd like to take care of......

To my anonymous comment leaver from the last post~Not sure why you didn't leave your name, but one little quote I'd like to give you. 

"Imitation Is The Best Form Of Flattery"

Charles Caleb Colton



a 23 year old note

This past April just a couple of days before Easter I was felling very lonely for my mom who died when I was 13.  I'm not sure what triggered the emptiness but it was strong and I remember laying in bed talking to Donovan about who she was & what she was like.  We've talked many times about her, because he never met her.  They say that time heals and I think that is very true.  But once in a while I ache to talk to her, to ask her why she waited 8 years between her 1st and 2nd babies.  How was it to have her 2nd & 3rd thirteen  months apart? What was it like to go through nursing school?  How did she like being away from home for the first time while in college in Ft. Wayne?  I also wondered how on earth she coped when she got the news that she had terminal cancer, and had 3 daughters who would grow up without a mom~and leaving her husband.  There are times when I ache so badly to smell her and hear her voice again. 

And then on Easter Sunday after we finished lunch at my Aunt Fran & Uncle Paul's (my mom's youngest brother) my aunt came over and stood right in front of me and said, "I have something for you." While holding an envelope.  She hesitated and showed me the writing on the envelope.  I FROZE.  It was my mom's handwriting.  In a sealed envelope.  She told me that she had had it for a while and didn't want to mail it when she found it weeks earlier.  She came across it in some piles of papers that had been stored away. 

I could feel myself shake with awe & tear up with emotion to have such a gift.

At first I thought it was a note to open at a certain season of my life...some family members thought she would do that for us girls since she knew that she was going to die.  But as I read the words I realized that it must have been written while she was at U of M receiving chemo or some other cancer treatment. 

Her words she had written some 20 + years ago seemed so relevant to my very feelings I had been have of missing her the previous days.  She wrote "I love you! I miss you.  I'm glad your having a good time @ Fran's.  ( I must have been spending the week/weekend at my Aunt & Uncles~which I did a lot while she was in the hospital) You are my sweetheart!!  I have an IV & another black & blue spot.  But they're giving me good pain medication.  I slept good last night.  Help Fran do some work! Aren't you glad you're not @ Jackie's! I heard about your shopping trip to get groceries!!  Love you more than the whole world! Mom"

WOW~Even though it was written so long ago...I like to think that Jesus let me hear from her a little from  Heaven.  I'm not sure if he operates like that...but it was like salve on an open wound.  I love that it said "I miss you." and "I'm glad you're having a good time at Fran's" Which I was...it is always very special to be included in a family Holiday.  We often celebrate birthday's and holiday's with my Aunt Fran & Uncle Paul just as I had done grow up as a little girl.  So being there on Easter is a tradition and it would be cool to think that maybe she could get a glimpse of me and my husband and children.  Maybe, just maybe God let her have a looksie to see us....I like to think she would be glad to see we have a place to be on a special holiday.  

 

 

I'm not sure what she was talking about when she wrote..."aren't you glad you're not @ Jackies?" :) But the part where she wrote "I love you more than the whole world" reminded me that I was dear to her...and given the chance no matter how deep & wide her love for me....I'm sure she would never

 trade Heaven to be on earth.

So if she can see and or read from heaven....I have a little note for her.

Dear Mom, I love you.  I miss you!!  I have so many unanswered questions and things I can't wait to talk to you about one day in Heaven.  I want to thank you for the memories you made for us while we were little.  I have vivid remembrances of how you made birthday's and Christmas' so special.  I trying to duplicate some of those things for my own children, your grandchildren. I tell them about you....I named our 2nd daughter after you, giving her your name for her middle name.  I think you would be proud of her and how she is learning to write and spell "Faye"  I can imagine if you were here you would gobble all 4 of your grandchildren up and kiss them as much as I like to.  I know you would love Donovan and be proud of the husband he is to me.  He is Godly and treats me so well. 
I'm thankful that you made Jesus a part of our everyday life when we were little.  That is the reason I have peace~when I miss you so badly...because I have the promise of Heaven.  I love you mom.  I love you more than the whole world. xoxox!  Heather



winners!

This morning I did a little drawing (well not really) I just picked the 2 only eligible winners.  :)

I had 2 anonymous comments for the pie....sorry peeps....you gotta give me your names to win. 

And 2 that lived to far away to deliver~sorry my long lost ~"you live to far away" friends. 

So the 2 left win.  Congrats Melissa & Janelle! 

Now...there was one little commenter that came in after I did my "Drawing" that really wasn't drawn.  And for that cool little blogger comment leaver...I gave a loaf of sour dough bread~as a consolation prize.  Because technically I didn't have an end time for the little contest.

 So now you know. 

The contest is over.

 But keep your little eyes open another one is coming up soon!!!
   

want some pumpkin pie????

If you would have asked me 20 years ago my favorite way to spend a Friday night....It would not have been to stay home & make pie.  Not even close.  But tonight was rated as one of my favorites in my fav book thus far.  I love me some family time.  And I love my kids.  I love esp. when I can bake and my hubby cleans up after me.  And I love pumpkin pie.  And while we're on the subject of love....I wanna share a couple of recipes with you that I l.o.V.e!! perfect timing if I do say myself ~for the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday.

And don't get me wrong I do love a date night too on a Friday night.  But...after working from 10:30 p.m. last night until 8:30 this morning ~ I needed some catch up sleep today and after I got some shut eye...I worked on some pies for a fund raiser for Isabella's school program tomorrow.

And I'm just gonna say...pies have always intimidated me.  For like 15 years.  I've been buying pie crusts for years now from a bakery.  But some time back I tasted my sister-in-laws pie and loved the crust.  It has good texture & flavor and holds together so nicely!!   And VERY easy to make & it turns out great!! Thanks to Arlene for this!

Here's the recipe:
Makes 3 crusts:
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup shortening
Mix together with pastry cutter

1 egg beaten
1 tsp. vinegar
1/3 cup cold water
Mix together in separate bowl and then stir into flour mixture with spoon.  Just until combined.

And for me it is partly making the crust and partly knowing how to make the edges not look stupid.  Well after watching other people for years ~something finally clicked and I got it.  I hope I can encourage you if you don't already make your own crusts.

 After rolling out~I leave 1 - 1 1/2 inches overhang of pie crust. 

 Then you pinch it together to make it stand up straight. 

 Then go back around and with one finger pinch like you're pinching someone just with the tips of your fingers....and with the other hand use just your pointer to push into the pinch.  There's many ways to do the edge...but I found this to look uniform and to be the easiest for me to learn.  

 While I was rolling out the pie crusts....William was spelling his name with bananas.  Random I know. And I love that it kept him busy for like 30 minutes.  O.k. well maybe not that long...but a good 20.  Which is like magic when 6 people are in the kitchen. 

While I was still working on crusts~ Isabella was working on the pumpkin pie filling....loving this stage where she is such a big help in the kitchen.  She doubled the recipe so we have 5.  And William???? ~well he just loves to get into any possible photo op.  Nice banana eating face son.

And would you like to know my Aunt's pumpkin pie filling???  Because it is delish!  And simple enough...

Here it is. 
Fran's Pumpkin Pie
4 eggs beaten
1- (29 oz) pumpkin
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
2 cans evaporated milk (3 cups)
Bake at 425 for 15 min. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for 40-50 minutes. 
The thing I love best about this recipe is the consistency.  And the spices are perfect.  Not to heavy~but a great flavor with just a little hint of sweet.  Yummy! Can not wait until it get's out of the oven!!!!

Suzy & Jack used the left over dough for cinnamon & sugar pie crust "cookies"~one of the things my mom used to let me do. I hardly take the time to let them create.  But I love a laid back night when we can all be doing things we love to do.  Livin' the dream folks. 

And here is the finished product.....

Would you like to try some??  If you are local...I would like to bring you a piece.  How about leaving me a comment telling me your favorite Thanksgiving food & 2 random winners will win a piece of pie.  Drawing ends Sunday. 

Good luck my little blogger friends.