Grandma's Apple Cake, Home-made Applesauce

“Autumn is the bite of
the first fall apple”
C.Petrowsky

 

an apple a day keeps the doctor away

 

Recipes
This first one
is from my g’ma’s
recipe files:

 

*Homemade Applesauce*
really really yummy, especially right after you make it and it’s still warm

 

“Here are bowls of oatmeal, with whole pints of cream, large dishes of baked apples, the big blue platter full of sizzling ham, with many eggs disposed upon it; here are hot cakes piled by the tens and dozens, with melting butter and brown sugar between them, and hashed brown potatoes, Graham bread and white bread, fresh butter, honey, jam, milk and the steaming pot of coffee.  Here are doughnuts or gingerbread to accompany the coffee cups’ second filling, and then-for he was a boy in New England-my father likes just one medium-size wedge of apple pie to top off the meal and finish the foundation for a good day’s work.”  Rose Wilder Lane

“‘An apple is a great thing.  There are so many different kinds of apples, Johnny, and so many ways to use them.  You can eat apples right off the tree.  Or you can make them into apple pies and apple cakes, and apple butter and apple sauce-and apple cider!  You can roast apples, bake apples, and boil apples,’ said Mr. Crawford.  He picked an apple off one of the trees and took a bite.  The juice rolled down his chin.”   From Johnny Appleseed

 

Apples

A blog for my Birthday boy!

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Today is my son David’s 4th birthday!

I remember when he was born and how in love I was with him.

 

 

 

 

I love you David . . . . .

Happy Birthday!

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Little Boy with eyes of blue. . . . . .

 

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Little baby feet. . . . . . .

 

 

 

Grandpa Bales' hands

 

 

 

                         

 

 

 

 

 

In Grandpa’s arms.

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The two Davids!  He is named after my brother. . . . .

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“I carried you in under my heart, my sweet, and I sheltered you safe from alarms, ’till one wonderful day, the dear Lord looked down and my darling lay safe in my arms.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Got to understand the lad-
he’s not eager to be bad.
If the right he always knew,
He would be as old as you.
Were he now exceeding wise,
He’d be just about your size.
When he does things that annoy,
Don’t forget–He’s just a boy.

 

 

 

 

 

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Carefree

Rain

Boys

Puddles

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A little boy grows up so fast. . . .

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       Our THird Son ,

Our first david . . . . . .

There will never be another you!

 

 

 

David Lloyd

DSCN25520001 4 years

I am so blessed by you, David.  I love your bright, happy personality.  I love your endless energy and curiousity.  You are my son and I am so very proud of you.  Happy birthday sweetie!

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“What do you want for breakfast today, David?”I asked this morning.
“Uh. . . . . .
CAKE”,
he said, without skipping a beat

Weekend snapshots

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My brother Nathan and his wife Melissa came for a visit

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Melissa and Nathan are expecting a baby girl in November

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Caleb needs a little snack

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Caleb, you lost your steering wheel!

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Patches took my seat

 

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I spent some time writing in my journal.

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The  boys were given a 4-wheeler this weekend.  This is Jacob.

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Jacob getting on the 4-wheeler, Ethan just had his turn.

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They even took on a different attitude, confident and tough boys.

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They had more fun when they knew I was watching them.

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Autumn

 

I’ve been meditating a lot on the phrase in Revelation 8:17, “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”  

When I imagine God wiping the tears from my eyes, my soul is filled with a feeling of safety and love because God cares about me as a Father, and loves me more than I can comprehend! 

One of the areas in my spiritual life that I have come to value is honest and truthful prayer to God. I can humbly tell Him my struggles and know that He will give me what I need to overcome the challenges I face in my spiritual walk. Being honest (about my sins and my need for Him) is humbling and freeing.  After all,”The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Ps. 51:17 

When we show God our humble hearts, we are showing Him that we are teachable and tenderhearted. Soft clay is much easier to mold! (“O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we are the work of thy hand”, Isaiah 64:8)

May our prayers be offered up to God with the pleasing sacrifice of humility.

 

PRAY

Comfort in distress. . . . . .

Proverbs 17:22   “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” Charles Bridges comments on this verse in part by saying…“If I be a pardoned sinner, an accepted child of God, what earthly trouble can sink me?”  and again, “All earthly enjoyments are now doubly blest with heavenly sunshine.”

“What shall separate us from the love of Christ?. . .  .shall distress?  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.  Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of Christ”  Rom. 8

For the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters:  and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. 

I am feeling a little bit low.  I’m thankful for it, though, because it is driving me to the Lord.  I’m being very enriched by my Bible reading and the Proverbs verse w/comment was sent to me from Dad.

Heavenly Sunshine

Update:  I’m feeling better now.  After we were done with school, I took the kids to the bookstore and I had a “decaf. Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte”.  On the way back home, we stopped at a fruit stand and spent over 30 dollars on fresh apples.  I was shocked at the price.  We eat our money in this house!

Living Well

This is entirely copied from from a booklet that someone gave me.  I thought it extremely fascinating, not only to believers (we all have to face death unless Christ returns first), but also for an unbeliever, who may be searching for truth and the right way to die.

Famous Last Words

Napoleon Bonaparte, the famous military strategist of France, said, while waiting for death, “I die before my time, and my body will be given back to the earth.  Such is the fate of him who has been called the great Napoleon.  What an abyss between my deep misery and the eternal kingdom of Christ!”

Voltaire, the noted French infidel, said to his doctor: “I am abandoned by God and man!  I will gave you half of what I am worth if you will give me six months’ life.  Then I shall go to Hell, and you will go with me.  O Christ, O Jesus Christ!”

Thomas Hobbes, a skeptic who corrupted some of England’s great men, sighed: “If I had the whole world, I would give it to live one day.  I shall be glad to find a hole to creep out of the world at.  About to take a leap into the dark!”

M.F.Rich, an atheist, cried, “I would rather lie on a stove and broil for a million years than go into eternity with the eternal horrors that hang over my soul!  I have given my immortality for gold, and its weight sinks me into an endless, hopeless, helpless Hell.”

Sire Thomas Scott, on his deathbed, said, “Until this moment I thought there was neither a God nor a Hell.  Now I know and feel  that there are both, and I am doomed to perdition by the just judgment of the Almighty.”

Dwight L. Moody, the great evangelist, exclaimed, “I see earth receding; Heaven is opening.  God is calling!”

John Wesley, English preacher and religious leader, said with confidence: “The best of all is, God is with us!”

Mrs. Catherine Booth, wife of the Salvation Army General, said joyfully, “The waters are rising, but so am I. I am not going under, but over.  Do not be concerned about dying; go on living well. The dying will be right.”

Mrs. Ann Hasseltine Judson, missionary to Burma and wife of Adoniram Judson, faced death with these words, “Oh, the happy day will soon come when we shall meet all our friends who are now scattered–meet to part no more in our Heavenly Father’s house.”

Samuel Rutherford met death with this attitude: “I am the happiest pass to which man ever came.  Christ is mine and I am His; and there is nothing now between me and resurrection, except–Paradise.”

What a difference in these famous last words!  Why?

The Bible has the answer.  “He that believeth on the Son (Jesus Christ) hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:35)

*A personal faith is Jesus Christ made–and still makes–the difference!

The modern outlook is, “It doesn’t matter what you believe so long as you’re sincere.  The important thing is to believe something!”

But this doesn’t work in real life, nor in real death.  Napoleon, Voltaire, Hobbes, Rich and Scott all believed in something–but it didn’t help them!  The other five believed in Someone–JESUS CHRIST, and this personal belief brought personal peace, even in the hour of death.

The soul who can claim, “The Lord is my shepherd,” is the only one who can truthfully conclude, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of eath, I will fear no evil; for thou (God) art with me” (from Psalm 23)

Remember, Christ’s famous last words were: “It is finished. . . Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (John 19:30, Luke 23:46).  He completed full and free forgiveness for you.  There is nothing you can or need to do to be converted from your sins, except believe!  “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts16:31)

Will you believe Christ? 

If you will, you can say with the Apostle Paul: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phillipians 1;21)

What better last words could you say?

~ Nathanael Olson

“Do not be concerned about dying;
Go on LIVING WELL.”
-C.Booth

Pumpkin Knot Rolls

*COOK WITH SOMEONE

This is the time of year to be using recipes calling for Pumpkin. 

I tried this recipe a few years ago, it’s a “keeper”.

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Loneliness:

I read this in a book recently and was able to apply the author’s thoughts to myself because as a stay-at-home mom who prefers to be home all the time, I tend to start losing myself in my SELF.  Does that make sense?  Sometimes when I go to church, I’m around all these people, and I almost want to cry because I don’t know how to deal with people anymore.  When I read this quote, I realized why.  (It’s not healthy to be isolated from people).  I think some stay-at-home moms need to make more of an effort to get out into the community and be with other people.

“I am something of a recluse by nature.  When you live on your own for a long time, however, your personality changes because you go too much into yourself and you lose the ability to be social, to understand what is and isn’t normal behavior.  There is an entire world inside youself, and if you let yourself, you can get so deep inside it you will forget the way to the surface.  Other people help keep our souls alive, just like food and water does with our body.”

“I know that feeling, that feeling of walking out into the darkness.  When I lived alone it was very hard for me to be around people.  I would leave parties early.  I would leave church before worship was over so I didn’t have to stand around and talk.  The presence of people would agitate me.  I was so used to being able to daydream and keep myself company that other people were an intrusion.  It was terribly unhealthy.”

“Lonliness is something that happens to us, but I think it is something that we can move ourselves out of.  I think a person who is lonely should dig into a community, give himself to a community, humble himself before his friends, initiate community, teach other people to care for each other, love each other.  Jesus does not want us floating through space or sitting in front of our televisions.  Jesus wants us interacting, eating together, laughing together, praying together. “

*LOOK AT OLD PICTURES WITH SOMEONE:

A old Picture of my Dad:

(Boys will be Boys. . . . .)

*PLAY A GAME WITH SOMEONE:

I heard someone say on tv that they perferred board games over the now ultra-cool  video games.  He said that he thinks board games are more of a social game.  I suppose that is true, considering the fact that it’s impossible to play a board game all by myself.  When was the last time I played a game with someone?  I think I played UNO with the kids a few weeks ago.   When I was pregnant w/our first baby, Rich and I  played UNO and ate oranges and almonds every night.  We kept a running score and I still have that paper with our scores on it somewhere.  Some of my favorite memories of growing up in my family was when we used to all sit around the table and play PIT.  Boy, was that fun! 

Baby Amanda, Shanda, David. . . .I love this picture because I am SO HAPPY.  My mom made the nightgown I am wearing and she put my hair up in “rags”, to make curls.

*STAY IN TOUCH WITH SOMEONE WITH PHONE CALLS, EMAILS, LETTERS, VISITS:

IS SPENDING 45 MINUTES ON THE PHONE WITH A FRIEND A WASTE OF TIME?  No, I don’t think so.  We need each other. . . .I just talked to Kathy and we had a great conversation, we laughed and talked and when I hung up I was smiling. 

I love to send emails back and forth with my friends and my family. . . . .these relationships are so important to me and it’s a bright spot in my day to hear from them.  I also have some pen-pals. . . . .including a elderly woman who is a shut-in. 

When you give of yourself in maintaining the relationships in your life, it makes you feel so good.  Whenever I get lonely I try to do something for someone else.

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letters from Jo

Be Social

More from Shanda-Land:

I had just a few more pictures from this weekend that I wanted to put here on my blog.  The  first one was one that I took on my walk in the woods in NH.  Do you know that the woods in NH smell vividly of Balsam?  *smells wonderful! *   Rich and I both thought the water looked exceptionally clear and clean.  We sat here for a while watching the water.

 

Here is a picture of yours truly, feeling very shy.  She is feeling shy because there are about 25 people in this scene that you cannot see, but she can.  Seriously, you know those pull-offs on the sides of roads that are there so people can pull over and enjoy the view?  The scenic pull-offs in NH were very crowded!  Everyone seemed to want to pull over, park their cars, get out with their cameras, and take pictures!  We actually had to circle around while we waited for a parking spot.  Just look at those mountains behind me. . . . the road we traveled went right through them, around them, above them, and beneath them.

Lets face it, one of the most enjoyable parts to my weekend away was being able to relax and read as much as I wanted.  There were several meals in restaurants that Rich and I ate with books in our hands, reading.  Just like you can bond with someone in total silence, you can also bond with someone in silence, while reading. . . . . . . .

My sister, Amanda, with her baby daughter, Naomi.  Amanda and her husband watched the kids for us and I had to get a picture of the girls for Mom.  Isn’t Nae-Nae getting big?  Baby girl, baby girl, baby girl, baby girl.

 

Today:  Today has been great because Rich was working from home, we had dentist appointments.  Before we went I did some school with the kids and I didn’t know he was paying any attention until he told me in the van that he could tell I liked it and that he thinks I’m going to be great at it.  I’m not saying this because I’m proud of myself, I’m just saying it because I soaked up the encouragement like a dry sponge. 
After our appts, we had a picnic at the park. 
When we got home, the kids had quiet time. 
I spent time in my hammock with a kitten and a book. 
When the kids got up, they immediately ran outside and jumped in the pond to swim.  They are so funny.  Their new thing is using the cheap plastic kiddie pool for a boat.  We asked Jacob if there was water in it and he said, “Just a couple inches!” in a very optimistic tone, while busily using a stick for a paddle.

 

 

Above the Clouds. . . . . . . .

 

“Since 1861, guests have journeyed to the 6,288 ft. summit of Mt. Washington, the highest peak in the Northeast.  Remarkable views of the Presidential Mountain Range, the White Mountain National Forest and beyond await as you travel through four different climate zones and dramatically changing terrain . . . . .”

-From the pamphlet advertising the “Mt Washington Auto Road” that Rich and I decided to experience while we were in New Hampshire this weekend.  The drive up and down the mountain was absolutely amazing.   We were in a van with 6 other people and we were in the backseat.  Our driver was a young man who was very knowledgable about the mountain.  I was entertained with education and not silliness!  There were no guardrails on the mountain and I felt like my life was hanging in the balance at certain times, but all in all it was remarkable.  We kept being told that it was one of the best days to go up, with very rare, clear views all the way out to the Atlantic Ocean!  Rich and I were thrilled because it was the day of our anniversary.  We felt like it was a gift from God. 

This was taken before getting in the van to go on our ride up the mountain.

II can’t imagine a more romantic place to be than above the clouds!

Pictures just do not do justice to the wonder of the sights around us.  It was like a whole other world!

 

“I never get tired of the blue sky”
~Vincent van Gogh

 

Well, ladies, do you see it?  My new necklace?  Rich presented me with a “blue box” for our anniversary and that chunka gold was in it. . . . . .

“I Love Being Here with You”
On the Tippy Top of Mt Washington

This is a picture that I took while looking out the window of the van on the way back down the mountain.  There were no guardrails and I felt scared imagining that one wrong jerk of the wheel would send us to an early grave!  Do you see the water down below?  It’s actually a large lake. 

“Of Rocks and trees
Of skies and seas-
his hand the wonders wrought”

 

Life is an ocean
Love is a boat
in troubled waters it keeps us afloat
When we started the voyage
There was just ME and YOU. . . . . . .

Now gathered ’round us,
We have our own crew!

 

Tomorrow Rich and I celebrate our 11th year of marriage!

“For by Him were all things created, . . . . . .
all things were created by Him, and for Him:
He is before all things, and by Him
all things consist.”  Colossians 1:16a, c, 17

“If you live for your private pleasure at the expense of your spouse, you are living against yourself and destroying your own hightest joy.  But if you devote yourself with all your heart to the holy joy of your spouse, you will also be living for your joy and making marriage after the image of Christ and His church”  John Piper

“A woman was not made out of his head to top him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him; but out of his side, to be equal to him; under his arm to be protected; and near his heart to be loved.”  Matthew Henry

 

Rich and Shanda                  What God hath joined together. . . . . . .