Happy Birthday Shawna

Today is Shawna's birthday. She is our precious daughter of our heart! She is married to Austin and they have a beautiful daughter, Ashlynn Kate. Shawna has a giving and caring heart. She loves to serve and help others. She is a great cook and often brings by something she has baked. She is a wonderful wife, mommy and friend. We are so grateful the Lord brought her into our lives 10 years ago.

Happy Birthday Shawna!

Happy Birthday Travis

Today is our son-in-law's birthday! We are so thankful that Travis is in our family and truly feel like he is a son. He is a wonderful husband to our precious daughter, Stacy. He has a great sense of humor and when family is together he is sure to make us laugh! If help is needed we know we can call on him because he has a servant's heart. He is always ready for a game of golf or watching sports with Jim. Stacy and I often talk about how much they are alike. We thank the Lord that He brought Travis into Stacy's life...and ours!

Happy Birthday Travis!

I was trying to think of what to fix for dinner tonight and remembered a soup I had not fixed for a long time. The recipe comes from a recipe book called Once-A-Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson & Mary Beth Lagerborg. It contains recipes and instructions on freezing meals a month (or less). The soup recipe is called Hearty Hamburger Tomato Stew. I plan to freeze what we didn't eat tonight. I served cornbread muffins with it.

Enjoy!

HEARTY HAMBURGER TOMATO STEW
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
1 1/4 cups chopped onion
2 cups peeled and sliced carrots
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 16-ounce can cut green beans, drained
1 16-ounce can corn, drained
3 stalks sliced celery
1 46-ounce can tomato juice
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon celery seed
Salt & pepper to taste

Brown ground beef or turkey in a large saucepan. Mix in remaining ingredients; bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer covered 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool and freeze.

To prepare for serving, thaw stew. Then bring to a boil; reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes.

Makes 8 servings

Trust His heart...

This song keeps going through my mind. It is where I am today! Is there something you are walking through where you can't see His plan? If so, read the words to this song and do as it says...Trust His heart!

All things work for the good

Though sometimes we can't

See how they could

Struggles that break our hearts in two

Sometimes blind us to the truth

Our Father knows what's best for us

His ways are not our own

So when your pathway grows dim

And you just can't see him,

Remember He's still on the throne

God is too wise to be mistaken

God is too good to be unkind

So when you don't understand

When you don't see his plan

When you can't trace his hand

Trust His Heart

He sees the master plan

He holds the future in his hand,

Don't live as those who have no hope,

While our hope is found in him.

We see the present clearly

But he sees the first and last

And like a tapestry

He's weaving you and me,

To someday be just like him

He alone is faithful and true

He alone knows what is best for you

When you can't trace his hand

When you don't see his plan

When you don't understand

Trust His Heart

(Trust His Heart, Babbie Mason)

Jesus will never leave us...

An out of town friend visited us this week end. It was very good to see him. One of the first things he told us was about the loss in his pastor's life. We know his pastor and were so saddened to hear that his 19 yr. old son was killed in a car wreck in August. My heart still hurts deeply for them. Our 21 yr. old daughter went to be with the Lord on a warm August day also, 11 years ago. I pray the Lord will continue to comfort and give them strength as they wake each morning and live this new normal. I know He will because He has done this for us!

Our friend had given this young man a book for his graduation called Jesus Calling . Each day is written as if Jesus Himself were speaking to you. He shared with us that his pastor had read the devotion that was written on the day his son went home to the Lord. I am always amazed at God's timing. Here is the devotion for that day. I hope you will realize the love God has for you as you read it!

I am yours for all eternity. I am the Alpha and the Omega: the One who is and was and is to come. The world you inhabit is a place of constant changes-more than your mind can absorb without going into shock. Even the body you inhabit is changing relentlessly, in spite of modern science's attempts to prolong youth and life indefinitely. I, however, am the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Because I never change, your relationship with Me provides a rock-solid foundation for your life. I will never leave your side. When you move on from this life to the next, My Presence beside you will shine brighter with each step. You have nothing to fear, because I am with you for all time and throughout eternity.
(~ Sarah Young)

I made small loaves of pumpkin bread for our Apples of Gold ladies a couple weeks ago. One of them requested the recipe so thought I would post it here too. I tasted pumpkin bread for the first time when I was about 16 yr. old. The lady that made it for me gave me the recipe and I was so glad that my mother made it often in the fall and winter. When I married I began making it and it is the only recipe I have ever used for pumpkin bread. I hope it becomes one of your favorite recipes!


Pumpkin Bread

3 C. sugar
1 C. oil
4 eggs
1 ½ t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
3 ½ C. flour
2 t. soda
1 can pumpkin
1 ½ C. pecans (or walnuts if you prefer)
2/3 C. cold water

Combine sugar and oil. Add eggs and beat. Add salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour and soda alternately with water. Add pumpkin. Add nuts. Stir well.
Grease bread pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 70 minutes. Turn out and cool.
Makes 2-3 loaves. Bread freezes well.

Happy Birthday Joshua!

Last week we decided to go to Ft. Riley, KS and celebrate Joshua's 21st birthday with him. We left around 6:45 Friday morning and arrived early afternoon. We stopped in Florence, KS for lunch. We realized that this might be the last place to eat for miles and it turned out that it was. We ate a hamburger as we continued our drive.

We picked up Joshua on post and headed to Manhattan for dinner at a bar-b-que restaurant.

We had a great dinner and had fun giving him gifts and cards!






Saturday we picked him up and took him to a late breakfast at Cracker Barrel!







We had a wonderful time with him but the hours went by too fast, Soon we were headed back to Texas!