I’m Lovina’s daughter Susan. I wanted to help Mom out and write an article for her. I’m not sure how Mom does it, knowing what to write every week. I have a hard time just doing one article.

This Monday morning, the children are all in school except Ervin Jay. He’s sleeping in the swing right now. He loves the rocking motion! With this quiet moment, I decided to quickly write something.

Yesterday, I attended church for the first time with Ervin Jay. We were all excited to take him to church and show him to everyone. He was a good little boy and slept most of the time. I had plenty of babysitters. It has been four years since I’ve taken care of a baby, so I had to learn all over again.

On Thursday, December 7, my husband Ervin’s family all came for family night and to meet Ervin Jay. It was really an enjoyable night. Supper was brought in, and it was a relaxing evening for me.

On Friday, December 8, Mose’s family came to see the baby. They also brought supper.

On Saturday, December 9, Ervin’s brother Steven and his girlfriend Marla; Ervin’s grandparents; his Aunt Liz and Uncle Christy; Aunt Beth; and two of Ervin’s cousins (who are Christy and Liz’s boys) CJ and Lyndon and girlfriend Rhonda brought supper in and also wanted to see the baby. I enjoyed not having to make supper for a while. It seems I eat better if I don’t make it.

Thursday, December 14, will be three years since Mose passed. I often see Mose in our children, Jennifer and Ryan. Grief never goes away; it just gets easier to handle. Even though our lives have moved on, Mose will always still hold a special place in it. We love to have conversations with the children about Mose and Sarah, and it keeps the memories alive. Precious memories—how they linger.

Ryan still holds on to Mose’s church hat that Mose would wear every time to church. I still remember Ryan would beg Mose for his hat, and Mose would let him play with it. I would warn Mose that he shouldn’t let Ryan play with it because he’d make it dirty and crunch it. Sunday morning, Mose would be sitting there scrubbing his hat so it wouldn’t look dirty before wearing it to church.

I’ve learned to not take our loved ones for granted. Be with them while they are here with us, and don’t wait until it’s too late. It can change in the blink of an eye. God’s plans aren’t always our way.

We have a busy month this December. On December 24, Mom and Dad will have church services at their house. Then the plans are that we will stay for the night, and we will stay for Christmas day. On December 30, we will go to Omer and Rose’s (Sarah’s parents) for Christmas with all of them. Omer and Rose are really nice people. They treat me like part of their family. I feel comfortable with them and love spending time there. All the children love going.

On January 6, we will go to Ervin’s parents’ house for Christmas. It will also be Ervin’s Mom’s birthday the same day.

December 17 is Mose’s family Christmas gathering. We are afraid we won’t make it this year. Sometimes we can’t make it to all four family’s gatherings, but we try our best.

With six children, life can be overwhelming, but that’s okay. I love each and every one of the children. They are a blessing from God. Without God, our lives would be empty and cold hearted. God is love.

I think I’ve written enough. I’m not as funny as sister Lovina or as interesting as Mom! I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I’ll share Ervin’s mother’s pumpkin bars recipe. She brought the bars on family night, and everyone loved them; there weren’t any left.

Pumpkin Bars
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
4 eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Mix oil, sugar, pumpkin, and eggs until well combined. Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and allspice in a separate bowl. Stir dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until thoroughly combined. Spread batter into greased 13 x 18-inch pan or two 9 x 13-inch pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

For frosting, mix together the cream cheese and butter until smooth; stir in vanilla. Add powdered sugar, mixing until smooth. Spread on top of the cooled cake.

Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife, and mother of eight. Her newest cookbook, Amish Family Recipes, is available wherever books are sold.  Because Lovina is Old Order Amish, she does not have email or a telephone in her home. Lovina does not respond to comments on this website, if you would like to contact her directly, click here.