4 a.m. My alarm rings and I get up to start another day. Daughter Verena gets ready to go across the road to stay with daughter Loretta and her boys until Dustin comes home from work. I always watch at the door to make sure she gets across the road and to their house okay.

4:25 a.m. Daughter Lovina gets a ride here with her husband Daniel on his way to work. She goes up to her former bedroom to get some more sleep since it’s still so early.

4:30 a.m. I’m helping get some food packed for son Benjamin’s lunch. He usually doesn’t want breakfast. He leaves a little after 4:30. He’s working 10 hour days at the factory.

4:45 a.m. I start packing my husband Joe’s lunch and make him a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich. I use tortilla soft shells instead of bread for the sandwich. I had plenty of leftovers from last night when the family was all here for supper for their lunches.

5:10 a.m. Joe leaves for work. I take a nap in my recliner. I can tell it’s Monday and it’s hard to get started.

7:15 a.m. I had a great nap and feel much more rested. I do some work at my desk—including paying bills and getting it ready for the mail, etc. Then I gather laundry and throw it down to the basement through our “laundry shoot” (which is only a vent I take out of the floor).

8:30 a.m. Lovina is washing dishes and sweeping floors while I help son Kevin get in his mobility scooter. He takes the mail out for me.

9:30 a.m. I wash the laundry and hang it out on the lines after eating breakfast first.

12:30 p.m. I’m finally done with the laundry. Verena is back home.

1:30 p.m. Loretta brings her two little boys over here while she and Dustin leave for town. Verena gets Byron to take a nap, but Denzel is full of energy. They are so precious! He knows where Grandpa and Grandma keep their candy, and he also knows where the Nesquik powder is. He gets the can out and stands by the refrigerator wanting milk. I give him some Smarties, and he goes to the drawer and gets a small container out to put the Smarties in. He is happy and walking around smiling. Sometimes I give him some chewable vitamins instead of Smarties and he thinks it’s candy. He loves the vitamins.

2 p.m. The girls start making a potato and meat casserole, but Daniel comes to pick Lovina up before it’s done, so I help Verena. After it’s done, Verena takes it over to a family from our church for their supper. They are having some struggles right now, and I wrote a note of encouragement along. Verena said the young mother was so encouraged from this. Do we realize how small acts of kindness can make someone’s day so much brighter?

While Verena is gone I make another meat and potato casserole for us and one for Dustin and Loretta’s supper. I sent the rest of the soup from last night home with Lovina and Daniel. Daniel and Lovina made the campfire soup over the open fire last night while Joe and son-in-law Tim grilled 20 pounds of chicken. Our whole family came here after church services, and Joseph and Grace came for awhile after arriving home from their honeymoon. So our menu was campfire stew, grilled chicken, cheese, crackers, ice cream, and watermelon. It was good to have everyone here.

3 p.m. Joe is home from work. Denzel runs out to meet him. He takes Grandpa’s hand and leads him to where the Smarties are. Haha! They sure do catch on fast. Byron wakes up and wants Grandpa’s attention too. Byron is walking short distances.

4 p.m. Benjamin is home from work, and Denzel runs out to greet him too. He carries Benjamin’s lunch bucket in and opens it to see if he can find any goodies left. I get the laundry off the lines, and Denzel collects the clothespins from me and puts them in the bag for me. He feels so good to be helping Grandma.

5:30 p.m. Loretta is here to get the boys. She is very glad that we have supper ready for her to take home.

6:30 p.m. Supper is ready. We have leftover chicken with the casserole.

8:30 p.m. Everyone is ready for bed. It feels good to sit in my recliner again. I like to read before going to bed. Benjamin left with a friend and isn’t home yet. If I fall asleep in the recliner, he’ll wake me up when he comes home.

10 p.m. Benjamin is home, and I of course had fallen asleep in the recliner. I will go to bed and set the alarm again for 4 a.m. Good night, and God’s many blessings to all of you.

Congratulations to nephew Benjamin and Crystal! They were blessed with a son on September 10 (granddaughter Abigail’s 8th birthday). They named him Wesley Benjamin. Isaiah is proud of his little baby brother.

Cream Pie
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
Pinch salt
1 cup cream
1 cup scalded milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, separated
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust

Mix together white sugar, brown sugar, flour, and salt; then mix in cream, milk, vanilla, and egg yolks. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until foamy, then fold into cream mixture. Pour into unbaked pie crust. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit for another 30 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean when inserted in the center.

Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife, and mother of eight. Her three cookbooks, The Cherished Table, The Essential Amish Cookbook, and Amish Family Recipes, are available wherever books are sold. Readers can write to Eicher at Lovina’s Amish Kitchen, PO Box 234, Sturgis, MI 49091 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply); or email  LovinasAmishKitchen@MennoMedia.org and your message will be passed on to her to read. She does not personally respond to emails.