From the heart of a 6 yr. old

Yesterday Colette, age 6, drew a picture.  When she finished she called me to see it!  I was amazed at the drawing.

If you look closely in the black area you will see the word God with an arrow pointing to the figure.

In one hand is Cashmere, her cat that died, and in the other hand is our Amy (Amee is how she wrote it), who is with the Lord. 

It reminded me of this scripture:

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;

Isaiah 49:16 

 I love the yellow around and through God. It is like light! As we were looking at it she said: "I wish there were cameras in heaven and then someone there could send us a picture of God and we would know what he REALLY looks like."

Fun day at the park...

After an extremely hot summer I am so happy for cooler fall days.  Saturday I took Colette and Ashlynn to the park. They both love to swing! They saw a tree nearby and it became a fun spot to sit and play on!!

Happy days of Autumn!

Cinnamon-Apple Crostata

I found a new recipe that looked easy and I thought would taste good.  I made it and it was a hit with everyone. I made it again the next day. Today my nephew, Joshua, made it. We are having it for dessert tonight!

  I hope you will try it! If you like apple pie you will love this!

Cinnamon-Apple Crostata

INGREDIENTS:

Crust

1 box Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

Filling

1/2 cup sugar

4 teaspoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

4 cups thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples (4 medium)

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons chopped pecans or walnuts

Topping

Whipped cream, if desired

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oven to 450°F. Remove pie crust from pouch; place flat on ungreased cookie sheet.
• In medium bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar, the cornstarch and cinnamon. Gently stir in apples. Spoon apple mixture onto center of crust, spreading to within 2 inches of edge. Fold crust edge over filling to form 2-inch border, pleating crust as necessary. Brush crust edge with water; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar.
• Bake 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Sprinkle pecans over apple mixture. Bake 5 to 15 minutes longer or until apples are tender. Serve with whipped cream.

Here is the link to the recipe: Cinnamon-Apple Crostata

Precious in His Sight

Do you ever wonder if you are making a difference in another person's life?  My sister Stephanie is a missionary in Honduras.  She teaches at Ruach International School.  She had an experience with her high school class that she wrote about on her blog.  A blessing came from a bad situation.  I hope you will read and realize that the time you are investing in another  person is not in vain.

I love reading about all her experiences in Honduras...be sure to scroll down for other stories.

Precious in His Sight



Today is the first day of fall...enjoy!

Sweet surprise

We drove home from Gulf Shores today. A sweet surprise awaited us. Hannah had been house and dog setting for us while we were gone. I walked into the kitchen and there on the counter was a

beautiful bouquet of flowers 

and a welcome home note! 

Thank you Hannah!

I have a happy heart tonight!

Memories were made...

We woke at 6 a.m. today to watch the sunrise! We sat on a bench waiting and suddenly this orange ball appears. The sky was full of clouds so we were not even sure we would see it. It was so fun watching it coming up, waking the world.

Have never seen the sun looking like this but it is due to all the clouds!

~~Till next year!

Family fun at the beach!

"The LORD on high is mightier than

the noise of many waters,

yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. - Psalm 93:4"

We are at Gulf Shores again for our family vacation!

What an awesome week the Lord is giving us!

Ice cream and cookie night!

Uncle Josh is hoping to catch a big fish!

So are Shawna and Austin!

Games while Mommy & Daddy fish!

Dinner at a favorite resturant !

She sure knows how to relax and enjoy a vacation!!!

 

Getting to know you...

We had such a fun time at Bible study on Tuesday. Because it was our first day I wanted the ladies to start getting to know each other. When they arrived each one chose a penny. They would then look at the date and think of something that happened that year in their life. They were to find someone and the two of them would share. Then they were to go to another lady and do the same thing. It was a lot of fun and a good mixer for any get together.

Each week we are going to do another fun thing called Life in a Bag.  I demonstrated how it would work.  Chose a bag. I chose one that a friend had given me. Put 5 things in the bag. The first 4 tell about who you are and the 5th one is what God has been showing you this year. Do not go over 5 minutes. First I showed a picture of Jim and told how we met when we were 9 yr. old. Next I showed a picture of Stacy and Travis, Amy, Shawna and Austin and Ashlynn. Then I pulled out a pie plate and talked about loving to bake pies and that my love for that came from my parents. Next came a sea shell. I explained that I had taught at a Bible College in Kiev for two weeks. A sweet, newly married couple went to the shore for their honeymoon. They gave me a pretty shell from this trip. Last came a pretty card that a friend sent me. She has sent me a card every week since Amy went home to the Lord. This one said, Trust in the Lord. It came on a day that I really needed to trust him. That is what He has been teaching me lately...Trust Me!

I am looking forward to these next 10 weeks with these precious ladies and hearing their stories!

Fresh Brewed Life

Tomorrow is the first day of our fall Ladies Bible Study.  I had no idea the number of ladies that would sign up.  Believing there would be 12 I ordered that many books. I ordered more and more books each week as the ladies signed up.  I am so excited that we have 30 ladies in our group. Tomorrow these beautiful ladies will sit around the tables and open up their hearts as we begin our study Fresh-Brewed Life, by Nicole Johnson. I am so excited to see what God is going to do in each of our lives.

This is what she says about her book:

"Living a Fresh Brewed Life requires that women encounter a beautiful awakening in three areas. First, to God as they respond to His tender, passionate love for them; second to themselves as they embrace their identities as women, their gifts, and their dreams; and third to others as they learn to love and communicate in ways that bring joy and closeness."

Are you involved in a Bible study?  What are you studying?

What are the odds?

Jim plays ball in the house with Molly every evening.  He throws the ball and bounces it off the wall expecting to catch it if Molly doesn't catch it first.  Last night when he threw it, the ball  bounced off the wall and he and Molly both missed catching it.

Instead the ball hit a tea cup, knocking it off the saucer and 

the ball landed in the cup!