First of all, Happy 30th Birthday to son-in-law Dustin! His birthday is today, October 8. Wishing him many more happy, healthy years!
Dustin and Loretta live across the road from us, and he has been a great help to us when we needed something done around here. It is also nice to have their two little boys close by. They are growing so fast! Byron, 1, tries to mimic everything his older brother Denzel, 2, does.
Yesterday afternoon, both little boys came out with me to bring the laundry in. To keep them entertained, I threw the clothes pins on the ground, and they put them in the clothes pin bag for me. They were proud that they could “help” Grandma.
Ervin and Susan brought over their three youngest boys (Ryan, 5, Curtis, 5, and Ervin Jr., 11 months) yesterday while they took Kaitlyn, 8, to the dentist. Ervin Jr. is growing so fast and is a joy to have here. He is walking with help of holding onto furniture but not on his own yet.
Susan will bring them over again this morning. She has several kidney stones and has had a lot of pain already. She has an appointment this morning at the doctor. I really do hope they can do something for her so she gets relief from the pain.
I told her to bring her laundry along and I’d wash it for her. She has her hands full with six children aged 8 and younger. She does well, though, and enjoys being a mother to all of them.
Daughters Elizabeth, Loretta, and Lovina also plan to come today. We always enjoy spending a day together. I told sister Verena she can come join us too!
It is a cold morning with the temperature at 41 degrees at 6 a.m. I imagine we will be getting a frost soon. It will be good to be done with gardening and mowing for the year.
Last Thursday, we attended the wedding of nephew Andrew and Diane. They had a nice wedding and a very nice day for it.
It was good to see the rest of my family and spend the day with them. We were served two very good meals, and all of us siblings and spouses sat together to eat each time.
We sure do miss those that aren’t here with us anymore. May they rest in peace. They are gone but never forgotten.
Today, sister Liz and Levi have a public auction to sell the property they have lived on for 32 years since the start of their marriage. This will be a change for them, but I am sure they will enjoy their new home. They bought land in a community 45 minutes from here, so we will be closer than the two hours we live from them now. Levi’s daughters and families are also moving to the same community, and they will be closer to their son Levi Jr. as well.
I wish them God’s blessings in this new adventure in life.
Sunday communion services were held in the church that used to be the other half of our church district. This was the first time having services since the division. Daughter Elizabeth, Tim, and family, daughter Susan, Ervin, and family, daughter Lovina and Daniel all attended church, so this is their district now.
They ordained a new minister in their church Sunday after communion services. Joe and I attended the ordination.
We took Stormy (our 24-year-old pony) and the pony buggy. Granddaughters Abigail, 8, and Allison, 4, and grandson Ryan, 5, spent the day here with us and went with us to the ordination so they could go home with their parents. Ryan had a toothache and Abigail had a headache, so they decided to come here while their parents and siblings attended communion.
It was nice having them here. Everyone else was sleeping in, so I played a game called Quick Cups with them. The object of the game is to match your colors of cups with the colors on the card. It was time well spent for me. Grandchildren are so precious. They have such an innocence about them at this age, and I love spending time with them.
Ryan found a toy that Joe used to take to church for him after his Daddy Mose died almost four years ago. He said, “Grandma, this is the toy I used to play with in church when I sat with Grandpa after my Daddy Mose died.” So touching!
God bless you all, and my prayers are with all the victims of the hurricanes. May God be with you!
Cinnamon Apple Crisp
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups sliced apples
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease an 8 x 8-inch baking dish. In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, butter, and flour until the mixture becomes crumbly. Arrange the sliced apples evenly in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the apples and pour the water evenly over the top. Spread the crumb mixture evenly over the apples, covering them completely. Bake for 40–45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the apples are tender.
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.
I am enjoying reading your newest Cookbook. Our local Library had it. Thank you for sharing your daily life.
Have you ever heard about using the water from cooking red beets to make tea to dissolve kidney stones?It would be worth a try.
when I worked decades ago with some hospital patients who had kidney stones, some had extracorporeal (spelling?) shock wave lithotripsy, where they could sit in water, and the stones could be dissolved. Instead of having an incision. I did not see the equipment but worked with them when they came back to a hospital room.