Sweet Moment

I was standing in line at Target yesterday waiting to buy my groceries.  A mom with her little girl who looked to be 7 yr. old was in front of me.  I watched as the little girl patiently waited.  As I watched her I heard in my heart "give that little girl $5".  I rarely have cash but thought if I had a $5 bill in my purse I would give it to her. I DID have one.  My heart started beating fast and I was so excited to do this! I told her mom I had been watching her daughter and how sweetly she was waiting for her mom to finish purchasing her groceries. I asked if I could give her the money I held in my hand for Christmas. The mother smiled and acknowledged that I could.  I walked over to the little girl, talked to her a little and told her Merry Christmas as I gave her the money.  She never said anything but her smile said it all. I talked to the mom about what a sweet girl her daughter was and turned to pay for my groceries. The mom turned around and gave me a cupcake that she had just purchased.  She told me her daughter wanted me to have it and Merry Christmas.  I was so touched by her kindness.  As I was thanking the little girl her smile grew larger.  This all took place in just a few minutes and was a small act, but the blessing that came from it will last much longer.  Each of us are affected by a touch of kindness...either by giving or receiving or like this situation by both. I'll never really know how the exchange I had with this family touched them but as I listen to God and allow Him to lead me I can know that it is in His plan for us to show love to others. 

 

 



Home

My brother in law, Warren, went home to the Lord this morning. He was a wonderful husband, dad, grandfather, pastor, friend and of course brother in law. I believe he finished well!

I love what our niece Kelly, his granddaughter, writes about his life on her blog! 

Kelly has also included pictures on her blog : http://kellyranck.com/an-ode-great-is-thy-faithfulness/

Warren Ranck can best be described by the following song. Not only was it the soundtrack to his life, but it was the rhythm to his step, the pulse to his overflowing heart, the passion that drove him to, without fail, stand and sing at the top of his lungs, and the joy that flowed through the constant praise from his lips.

"Great is Thy Faithfulness"

Great is Thy faithfulness, oh God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

 

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

 

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

 

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

 

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

 

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

 

 

Corn Casserole

Everytime I make corn casserole I think of my mom! She was a good cook and there's many things she made that I wish I knew how to make. Most of the time she just put something together without a recipe.  Corn Casserole is one thing that she had a recipe for and I am so glad.  I have cooked it for years for family and friends and often am asked for the recipe.  That happened again recently so here it is!

Mom's Corn Casserole

I can Creamed Corn
1 can Corn
1 cup sour cream
1 stick melted butter
1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix

Mix well.  Pour into baking dish and cook for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Carson

Carson Luke arrived on May 9. 

 

first time to be held by Nana & Pa (his namesake)

 

 

 

Big sister Ashlynn was so happy!

 

 

 

He is three weeks old and so very precious!

 

 

Another year older...

 

 

Our precious granddaughter, Ashlynn Kate will be 6 yr. old tomorrow.

We celebrated her birthday as a family yesterday. 

 

She requested poppy seed chicken, rice, broccoli and rolls for her birthday dinner and strawberry cupcakes for her "cake"!

 

We are so thankful that even though Stephanie is in Honduras she was able to share in the celebration with us over Skype. After Ashlynn opened her gifts from Aunt Stephanie we all took turns talking to her!

 

Dinner, gifts, dessert

and lots of laughter filled our home last night.

 

What a fun celebration!

 

We thank the Lord for His gift of Ashlynn to our family!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love this bag...

Isn't this a pretty Vera Bradley bag?  I sure think it is!  Some months ago I admired it when a friend came to my house for Bible study. Today she came to my house for a baby shower and gifted me with her bag! She remembered I liked it and now wanted me to have it.  I could not believe it and was touched by her kindness! In fact I had tears as I tried to thank her.  I do hope she knows how much it means to me! I will love using this bag and always think of her as I do!

Sweet surprise

 

Years ago I made strawberry jam for my mom and gave it to her in this jar. I made the top for the jar. It's one of the things I kept after she passed away. I found it recently and gave it to my daughter, Stacy. Tonight she called and said she had a surprise for us. Imagine my surprise when she walked in and handed me this jar...

containing homemade blackberry jam!

 

Not only will homemade biscuits taste wonderful tomorrow morning with this jam, but I will have sweet memories of my mom!

Thank you, Stacy, for this gift!

National Pie Day!

Today is National Pie Day.  I couldn't let this day pass without baking a pie. I tried a new recipe, Warm Apple-Buttermilk Custard Pie! Doesn't that sound good? Here is the recipe!


1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated piecrusts (I made mine because I love home made ones)

1/2 cup butter or margarine, divided

2 Granny smith apples, peeled and sliced

3/4 cup sugar, divided

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided

1 1/3 cups sugar

4 large eggs

Click to see savings

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Preparation

1. Fit piecrust into a 9-inch pieplate according to package directions; fold edges under, and crimp. Prick bottom and sides of piecrust with a fork.
2. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add apple, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Cook, sitrring occasionally, 3 to 5 minutes or until apple is tender; set aside.
3. Beat 1/4 cup butter and 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. A eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears. Add 2 tablespoons flour and vanilla, beating until blended. Add buttermilk, beating until smooth.
4. Spoon apple mixture into piecrust; pour buttermilk mixture over apple mixture.
5. Bake at 300º for 30 minutes. Stir 3 tablespoons butter, remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon until crumbly. Sprinkle over pie. Bake 40 more minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 1 hour before serving.

Enjoy!

New Year...Old Letters

 

 

 

2013...a new year. We started our morning with coffee, homemade cinnamon rolls, and Jim's scrambled eggs. 

 

After breakfast we sat at the kitchen table and read

cards and letters

 my mother in law had saved over the years.

 

Jim handed me one of the letters and it was from his aunt. Reading her letter was like hearing her talk. I was holding in my hand a letter telling about her day, her family, the weather, her friends she had been with and ending with asking about my mother in law and her family. There were other letters and cards and two touched my heart as they were written by my two daughters, Stacy and Amy. The thing that was very meaningful to Jim was a large brown envelope addressed to his mom from his Uncle Jim, the uncle he is named after. His uncle was in the Army and had sent his mom a linen handkerchief as her Christmas gift in 1943, four years before he was born.

 

I began to think about how we have lost the art of letter writing. Holding a letter written by a loved one, seeing their writing, being blessed again by their encouraging words, or laughing at something funny they wrote is something we miss with text messages, facebook status', and email. These forms of communication are great but I am thankful for cards and letters that I can read over and over... and remember.

 

 

 

 

Thoughtful

 

My friend Sharon was at my house this week-end. I had my table set with my Christmas dishes.  She told me she has the same dishes. She also buys a dated plate every year. A fun thing about her doing this is at their Christmas dinner each family member uses the plate with the year they were born. Tonight Sharon came over again and this time had a beautiful gift bag which she gave me.  Inside was a beautiful dated Christmas plate.  It didn't have just any date, but the year that our daughter, Amy, went home to the Lord!

 

The plate is so pretty and so meaningful to us...

a very special gift from a thoughtful, sweet friend!