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

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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!

 

 

 

A gift from a friend

I received my first Christmas present today! UPS delivered lots of boxes and I thought they were all gifts I had ordered for others. One return address didn't look familiar and I didn't remember ordering from this company. The reason was... a friend sent me a Christmas gift! This friend is a gift to me all year long! I will always think of her when I use this pretty mug.

Thank you Jenny....

I love my new mug!

 

She continues to touch lives...

 

This is one of my favorite pictures of my daughter Amy. 

It was taken in Honduras in 1998, just weeks before she went home to the Lord. She loved children, so it seems so natural to see her with these little ones. I love the smiles on all their faces! I thank the Lord for the opportunity He gave her to go to Honduras.  She is still touching lives there with a scholarship we give each year in her memory. This year we are so thrilled to have enough money to present two scholarships of $1,000 each to two graduates of Ruach International Christian Academy in Comayagua, Honduras. This graduation and presentation will take place Sunday evening. This year they have arranged it so that we that cannot be there can watch it live. I can hardly wait to see the surprised faces when the names of the scholarship winners are announced!

 

Life of thanksgiving

November... the month we celebrate Thanksgiving. I love that this month causes us to think about all that the Lord does for us.  This morning I am thinking about all the other days.  Do I remember to thank Him?  I want my life to be a life of thanksgiving. I want my life to make a difference in other's lives so they can rejoice and give thanks to God.

I want to celebrate the greatness of God everyday.

Psalm 95:1-6 - O Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, And a great King above all gods, In whose hand are the depths of the earth; The peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it; And His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

 

Psalm 28:7 -The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.

1 Chronicles 16:8 - Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.



Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds. ~ Theodore Roosevelt, 1901

Let's have a heart of thanksgiving every day!

Colossians 3:15 - And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

 

Scholarship time...

Each year we give a scholarship in memory of our daughter Amy. Jim will be traveling to Honduras this month to make the presentation to a senior in Ruach International Christian Academy. To know we are blessing a young person that might not be able to attend college without this help is so wonderful. We could never thank our friends and family enough for helping make this happen. We are so glad we have been able to keep in touch with some of the students that have received scholarships!

 

My sister, Stephanie and Jim presenting last year's scholarship

Amy Elizabeth Pack Memorial Scholarship

 Last year we presented a $1,000 scholarship to Pedro Paul Luna Aguilar from Ruach International Christian Academy. He is currently attending college in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

We love hearing back from the students that have been presented this scholarship and see their dream for an education coming true. For example, two years ago we presented two scholarships which went to Gerson Acosta and Johany Acosta. Today they are both in medical school in Tegucigalpa.  Another young man named Carlos is also a med student in Tegucigalpa.  Celestino Garcia is a senior at ORU this year and was just selected as the $20,000 Whole Person Scholarship Winner from ORU. This scholarship program has been established to recognize those students who are well-rounded and dream of furthering their education.

We are excited to be able to present another scholarship this year to a graduating senior from Ruach International Christian Academy. Jim will be attending this graduation and presenting the scholarship.

Helping another young person fulfill their dream is a blessing to us, as is keeping Amy’s life story and testimony alive!

 

 

Friends and Family

Jim had a meeting in Minneapolis and because it was so close to our friends Sally and Ron's house I went with him.

It is wonderful to be with long time friends that you feel so comfortable with. We laughed together, cried together, and talked and talked.  One day Ron walked in the room and reminded us how many words women had and he was sure were were using all of them. We were making up for all the days, months, years we are not together.

 As we sat by the fire visiting that first morning we looked outside and saw snowflakes!

 

 

 

 

When we were on the plane flying home I could not help but think of this verse as we looked out the window. 

 

 The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Psalm 19:1

 

 

 

 

 While we were gone, Colette and Ashlynn's school had the children dress as their favorite book character and bring that book to school. I am so glad both mothers sent me pictures of the girls!

Colette dressed as Kaya, one of the American Girl dolls.

She carried the book that was her story.

 

 

Ashlynn was Angelina Ballerina.  Angelina is a is a ballerina that is a mouse!

Ashlynn made the cutest little mouse.  

 

 

I am thankful for the opportunity to visit our friends

and thankful to come back home to family!