snow

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Shanda

Our mailbox peeks out from a snowbank just like the majority of our neighbor’s mailboxes. I saw one that was wrapped around and around with duck tape, in a furious attempt to keep it from being broken off by the snowplows.

We haven’t had snowfall in a few days but what we have, old snow, is deep and interesting. Caleb’s school assembly was put off until the end of March because there is too much snow piled in the parking lot and as a result, not enough room for people to park.

Sarah keeps busy indoors. She especially enjoys making herself a house out of all the couch cushions. It’s good harmless fun and she’s always thoughtful to include her stuffed animals.

This is the look Parker always gives me when I go into the kitchen. “Are you about to give me a treat?”

Another thing Sarah likes to do is have hot chocolate under the table.

I made scalloped potatoes and ham yesterday for dinner.

With ham from a pig that Rich’s Dad raised and butchered for us. Delicious.

Dusted with paprika right before covering it with foil, popping it into the oven and heading off to the library.

She wore it in the car but not in the library, thankfully.

Our library looks different in the Winter.

Caleb requested books about Football. It’s his latest passion and interest, although he assured me that does still like snakes.

I usually peruse the “NEW” bookshelf and there were some absolutely delightful books to borrow. I read them out loud last night.

The Lion and the Bird. A Lion helps an injured bird and they spend the winter together and become friends. A sweet book with lots of pages of thoughtful illustrations. Heartwarming.

What to Do When You’re Sent to Your Room, Moms of boys will laugh through this one. I loved it.

Go to Sleep, Little Farm. Gorgeous artwork and a lovely soothing story, creatively worded and a joy to read aloud.

Sam and Dave dig a Hole. If only they knew what they kept missing! I read this to Seth and he said, “Read it again!” which is a sure sign of a good book. Drink chocolate milk and eat animal crackers while reading.

I Wish I had a Pet. Illustrated with whimsical pictures of felt mice and other animals. Very creative and my favorite book from the stack.

Davy’s vinegar egg experiments continue! This one is being turned to “rubber”. He is greatly influenced by youtube videos and he made his own tutorial.

Seth got home from school and got cozy on Sarah’s couch cushions with the remote.

Sarah’s been taking trips to the garage to ride her bike. She’s never out there for very long. She’s funny.

Grace has a leak in her ceiling so Rich went up on the roof to shovel off some of the snow and ice.

He said that when he was a teenager he and a couple friends drove around hiring themselves out, shoveling roofs after a heavy snowfall. They made a good bit of money doing it, too.

These pictures were all taken yesterday. Today Jacob is home with a bad cold. He is currently sleeping on the couch. Sarah and I are in the new room listening to iTunes “Princess Radio”. I have a sleeping cat by my side. David and Ethan will be home soon because they have a half day of school.

I have a 3:45 appointment to get my hair done.

How are you today?

Hope you have a wonderful day and spend a little time nurturing yourself. You are loved, my friends!

RECIPES:

scalloped potatoes and ham, my favorite way to make them
soft ginger cookies (easy–I didn’t even bother using the mixer)

bluebirds of happiness & crock pot recipe

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Shanda

It is a cold, dark, and peaceful Saturday. My husband is away, at a wrestling tournament with our teenage boys. Dear daughter Grace is out shopping and lunching with a much loved friend.

I am home with David, Caleb, Seth, and Sarah. David is in Ethan’s room, reading. Caleb is downstairs playing, Seth and Sarah are napping. Small Sarah Joy has been ill since the 31st. With lots of tender loving care, her fever is finally gone and the bright redness of her cheeks has faded away. She’s still rather grumpy, but is getting her appetite back.

David has a slice of apple under a mound of salt in the kitchen. He says he is making an apple mummy and asked me to please not touch it. Soon I will do a blog post all about his Christmas Vacation Science Experiments.

There is a crock pot with chicken dinner slowly cooking on the counter. As I type, I am listening to the noises of the dishwasher and the washing machine. How thankful I am for my “maids”, doing the hard work for me. I mopped the floor earlier, and Grace vacuumed before she left.

Do you still have your Christmas tree up? We do, and it looks so pretty today. The house lights are off and the teeny white bulbs of the tree are glowing, and golden tinsel garland is glittery.

My legs are under a soft, warm blanket and the dog is at the other end of the couch, settling down for a nap.

My sister gave me a new bird feeder, which I hung on a post just outside the door, on the porch. I am facing the door from where I sit, and I can see chickadees taking turns flying in for a sunflower seed, and racing away with it to eat in the tree in the garden. The only motion I see are the birds outside the window, there is no wind today.

We have seven chickens and are collecting one single egg a day. Now that Christmas is over, I am determined to do what I can to nurture the hens, hoping that will a little extra care and attention we may get two eggs per day. Three would be nice. Four would be joyous.

It was on my way to the coop yesterday that gave me the topic for this blog entry.

I had bought a container of dehydrated mealworms to give to the hens for a treat. The hens adore mealworms. Yesterday, I walked to the coop, with only the thought of how happy they would be to have some delicious mealworms scattered into the grass to peck. Two cats caught up with me to join the fun.

If you have the eyes to see, and the necessary curiosity, you will soon come to realize that no two days are alike outside in God’s beautiful world. And I’m not just talking about the weather. There is endless delight in nature and almost always *something* exciting enough to journal, or blog about.

Yes, today is a cloudy day, but yesterday was sunshine. There was not a hint of warmth to the sun, but the birds still seemed to enjoy it because they were everywhere. I saw a bright red cardinal and several blue jays, along with the common chickadees.

But the tiny unexpected *something* which thrilled my heart, made me stop midway to the coop, prompted me to put the mealworm container down in the grass and turn back to the house to get my camera, were the bluebirds.

The only time I notice them on our property is this time of year, and their visits take me by surprise.

I counted at least six this time, sitting up in tree branches, in the sunshine.

Bluebirds possess *a stunning shade of* blue feathers, all along their backs. The breast is white over a burnt orange color. They kept their suspicious faces toward me, which meant that regardless of my prayers, I didn’t get to gaze upon their blue plumage as much as I would have liked……

And, as soon as they sensed that I was a bit too close for comfort, they would silently and gently fly to yet another tree…..

The blue in the sky matched their feathers.

Again I got too close, and away they flew.

I said goodbye to the bluebirds and sat at the edge of the pond. It was frozen over and admirably smooth. It wasn’t strong enough for me to stand on, but little Samantha-cat slipped and skated her way across the ice.

I scooted a small stone out to her and she batted it all over, slipping now and then.

I had a vision of a beautifully illustrated children’s book about blue birds and an ice-skating kitty cat. But this blog post will have to suffice……(maybe)…..

Creamy Mushroom Chicken

6 boneless chicken-breast halves
12 oz jar mushroom gravy
1 cup milk
8 oz package cream cheese, cubed
4.5 oz can chopped green chilies
1 pkg. dry Italian salad dressing

1. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
2. Cover, cook on low 6 hours.
3. Serve over broccoli, mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7

tasting goodness

Posted on November 29, 2014 by Shanda

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.” Psalm 34:8

Enough snow fell on the day before Thanksgiving that the children have been able to go outside and play with their snow boards and sleds. The sunshine was so bright yesterday that it hurt my eyes.

Still, it is a pleasure to feel the cold on my face, and to breath in the fresh air.

I cautioned the children way too many times to steer AWAY from the trees and pond and road.

David lined his boots with garbage bags.

Our house sits on a hill, a hill steep enough for the children to go down……such a joy for them.

Seth threw a snow ball at his Mama.

He had gloves on that were way to big. In this family, they just grab anything and hope for the best.

Hats, mittens, and gloves stress me out.

We went for a walk around and said hello to the hens.

The children slid down the rock like it was a slide and then I think the chicken tried it, too.

David chased Billy up a tree. Billy went carefully and silently around and around to find the best way to get back down.

He is a smart cat.

Thanksgiving 2014

I planned, I shopped, I fussed, I baked, I did a hundred little things, and then…….it was over.

I am a little tired and blue today, so I decided to blog about our wonderful day, to cheer myself up.

The Lord is good.

My sister said that her heart was warmed, as David gently stirred the pot with her and talked about things.

Later, Jason told me he thought David was so smart and had an engineering type of mind.

My niece Abigail peeled potatoes with Grace. 10 pounds of potatoes.

With a cup of cheer in my hand and my handsome husband. I am so thankful for Rich. Today he caught me before I fell on the ice outside…it took me a few steps to gather my balance and he made me laugh by staying strong and saying dryly, “You okay? This is just like walking with a newborn calf that can’t get his legs under himself!”

On Thanksgiving Day, Abbie turned fourteen.

Grace and Naomi played with their Bitty Babies. Sarah’s room is still a total disaster from all the playing (searching for the doll stuff). Aren’t they adorable? I love everything about this picture.

Handsome brother Isaac, and son Jacob.

Michael came over, too, and there was a game of Monopoly that lasted for hours.

Abbie and Cassandra

My beautiful daughter Grace.

Grace practiced her french braiding skills on Aunt Cassandra.

Rich fell asleep after dinner and clean up. Jason fell asleep in the recliner, too. It’s the smart thing to do on Thanksgiving day.

The children colored with the smelly markers.

Then, it was time for birthday cake. I’m so thankful that we were able to spend the day with Abbie. She’s a beautiful young lady and we are proud of her. It was a blessing to end Thanksgiving day with birthday cake.

also remembering….

early morning phone call from brother Dave
weston got wet in the pond
we took family portraits for christmas cards
sarah wore a red ribbon
i burnt the rolls
but the pies were to die for
we lost sarah outside; it turned out she was with her brother E
aunt amanda made ethan proud of his muscles
laughing over the Andy Griffeth show
we cheered up aunt cassandra because she was sad and missing her family
rich was quiet all day until 9pm. then he went for a run and then wanted to take me out shopping. (no)
jacob dressed up in a tie
food was wonderfully good, so was the drink
seth was especially energetic and was the child most likely to get reprimanded
ending the day with a nice phone conversation with mom and dad

*****

Thanks for stopping by the blog today, friends!
You are loved.

“The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation.” Psalm 18:46

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1

“All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness….” Psalm 25:10

attitude of gratitude

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Shanda

If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until it gets so ugly you can hardly bear to look at it. A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely. ~Roald Dahl

Oh Roald Dahl, you are such an interesting person. I love how you take truth and get it down our throats with a spoonful of good humor.

Here are a few little happenings that I am thankful for:

1. A morning of sunshine

Got no checkbooks, got no banks,
Still I’d like to express my thanks –
I got the sun in the morning and the moon at night.
~Irving Berlin

2. We went to the day spa, Sarah and I.

She was so fascinated by the yellow goo being squirted in my hair that I had to get out the phone and take a picture. She loves watching me get my hair done.

Rich told me to relax at the spa and I said, “Yes, but, how can I relax if I have Sarah with me?” “Oh Shan, she’s adorable! You let her get her nails done. See if they can get her in.”

I did ask, but the ladies were all booked up so I asked Amy (my hairdresser) to take Sarah in the other room to pick out some nail polish. While my hair processed I myself gave Sarah her manicure, including base coat and top coat.

3. Seth had a program at school so I buttoned him up in a handsome dress shirt (over a t-shirt). I fussed quite a bit with the hair, too. (you can sort of tell by the picture that he was ready to be let go again, right?)

Later, when Sarah and I arrived to school for the assembly, in walked Seth with the dress shirt OFF and looking all ordinary.

4. Breakfast at the diner.

5. My two oldest boys; Jacob (in back) and Ethan.

6. Michael and Seth (Sunday)

7. Reading books to silly Sarah.

8. The ice melted on Monday. I sent Seth out on the porch to feel the air, “There IS no air!” was his observation. It was a windless, warmish day. When they came home from school we went outside. Before I could stop them, Dave and Seth had their shoes and socks off in the stream. It really wasn’t warm enough for it, and their little feet turned pink.

9. Dave caught a crayfish which was a joy because every other sign of life in the waters was missing (frogs, turtles, fish).

How many of my friends are in the kitchen this week in preparations for Thanksgiving Day? I’m in the kitchen as I type. My body is sitting on the couch in the living room, but my mind is over there in the kitchen thinking about what I need to do next!

10. Yesterday I made my roll dough using my Grandma’s recipe. After the first rise, I formed the rolls.

I placed them in their pans, wrapped them up, and put them in the freezer. Tomorrow I will take them out, let them rise the second time, and bake them.

11. Yesterday we also did our big grocery trip for everything we needed on this list:

I would rather stay in the kitchen cooking all day than go to the store! So I was very happy to get it done.

12. We had a mini-thanksgivng feast yesterday. Jacob and Ethan had to miss their football thanksgiving dinner because their game was moved up a day. They were disappointed about it so I decided to surprise them. When they got home from school at 2:30 everything was ready. I roasted a butterball turkey breast, made (frozen) mashed potatoes, homemade gravy, corn, and cranberry sauce. I saved out some of my roll dough in order to make a couple little loaves of bread, too.

Not only did my children come home (Dave, Jacob, Grace, and Ethan) but also two extras. I loved watching them fill up their plates and go sit down in the dining room together.

13. Last night was Senior night at the football game. It was cold, but we had a lot of fun watching Jacob play his last game.

This is one of those pictures that I look at and see him as my own little baby, behind those eyes and that face, he’s still there.

14. sisters

I hope you have a lovely day today!

There is snow falling outside and it will be a cozy day to make pies.

timmy the mouse…beans…concord grapes

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Shanda

“After a mouse has been studied it should be set free, even though it be one of the quite pestiferous field mice. The moral effect of killing an animal after a child has become thoroughly interested in it and its life is always bad.” ~Anna Botsford Comstock

GOOD morning! How are you today? Did you have a nice Labor Day weekend? We did, too. A little bit of everything…rest, play, work, fun, and so on. The children are back to school today and I just taught little Sarah how to use the vacuum cleaner to clean up her own cookie crumbs. She did a great job. Now she’s going to watch Franklin (the turtle cartoon) until I’m done with my blog-writing, and then we’re going to the library for some new story books to read for the week.

Do you know what I think is fun about life right now? The unpredictable way of it, the way you can take a break on the porch with a stack of cookbooks and be interrupted by a mouse! Or when you host a Bible study at your house and someone’s grandparents bring you a bag of fresh garden beans. Or, when a little one is too sick to go to church and you end up going for a walk and find ripe grapes!

Who would have guessed these little events would happen to us this weekend, just small parts of the whole of course, (we did much more), but these are a few of my favorite things that happened in our family as we moved from August into September……..and enjoyed an extra day in the week-end. *I love my family*

“I SMELL A MOUSE”

I was, like I mentioned, sitting on the porch looking up recipes for green bean side dishes…..when superhero David rescued an adorable deer mouth from the jaws of death. He promptly put it in a bucket and gave it a cheerio. Seth was an onlooker, looking but not touching, but then when big sister arrived on the scene, she promptly named him TIMMY and picked him up!

I had told the boys not to touch it.

David was offended because it was HIS MOUSE. And she wouldn’t give it back! She said she loved Timmy.

She tried to put Timmy back in his bucket but he ran up her arm!

So she kept him longer. She said he loved her, too!

David continued to be annoyed.

Annoyed and stressed out. Grace was bonding with the field mouse. It is my belief that the mouse was in shock and didn’t know what was going on.

They started going into the house to show Dad but I began to yell about how unwise that idea was……what if Timmy got away?

So Grace came back, yelling at her brothers to stop trying to take him away from her…..not sure what Sarah’s doing…..

Grace, Seth, David, and Sarah marched in a line to the woods and released the mouse with blessings for a long and happy life.

I left the porch and set to work on my green bean side dish.

I used a recipe from the old cookbook Kara gave me through the mail (thank you, dear dear friend!!)

The beans were wonderful. I washed them, trimmed them up, and cooked them in a pot of water until they were just right (we like them soft).

Meanwhile, I fried three slices of chopped bacon and then sautéed finely chopped onion (3/4 cup) in the bacon grease.

When the beans were done, I added them to the onions and bacon, and seasoned them with salt, pepper, and paprika.

Rich and I ate them all for dinner (that’s all we ate). Grace tried them, too. They were delicious.

I took this picture while the beans were boiling.

We had a strange little illness go around the family…consisting of a stomach ache and head ache. Sarah threw up one night, but the others just had the aches. Caleb had it in the night before church and said he couldn’t go, he “just couldn’t stand it” if he went to church. Consequently, Rich left with the other children and I stayed home with Caleb…..after resting all morning and giving him Advil, I decided it wouldn’t hurt for us to go on a gentle stroll down the road.

He took a plastic bag in order to collect wild concord grapes. They were sour; our walk was punctuated by the sound of him vigorously spitting them back out…….I politely refused his generous offers of grapes from the bag.

They are abundant this year……and smell so good, much better than they taste. However, Rich also likes eating them. Later on, he was delighted to discover Caleb’s bag of them on the kitchen counter.

I made jam from them last year but we still have a few jars left so I’m not tempted to do anything with them this year.

The neighbor’s cows.

***

I hope you have a wonderful day where ever you are, school, work, home….isn’t it marvelous that God sheds his blessings (big and small) on us no matter what we’re doing? I’m thankful for time to get things done, an opportunity to write to my friends here in blog-land, a trip to the library, a beautiful warm day, with health and energy to do what I need to do for my family. God is good.

You are loved.

“Gentleness towards self and others makes life a little lighter.” Deborah Day

good morning glories

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Shanda

a simply lovely life.

It’s so good to be home, with this contented feeling after having a relaxing morning with my husband and children. I drank hot caramel coffee from a fiestaware mug on the porch in the clean morning air. I looked at a Mary Jane Butters magazine full of wholesome food and craft ideas….photos of the outdoors, chickens, flowers, gardens. I guess it inspired me to set the magazine aside and get my camera. With the mug in my hand, and the camera around my neck, I wandered around taking pictures, noticing and enjoying the morning.

Day by day and with each passing moment, strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in y Father’s wise bestowment, I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure gives unto each day what He deems best–
Lovingly, it’s part of pain and pleasure, mingling toil with peace and rest. ~Carolina Berg

Sam is a little one year old female cat who loves being outside. She only comes in the house to eat cat food now and then. We beg her to stay and let us pet her but she wants to be out. We find her all over; at the stream, running up a tree, catching baby birds and eating them (so wrong), curled up on the porch. The only time she shows us love is if WE go OUTSIDE. Nine times out of ten if we go out for a walk, she shows up out of nowhere to “flirt” with us. She was with me as I took at the rest of these outdoor pictures…….

Rich played catch (football) with Seth & Sarah and then they did some pushups together.

I let out the chickens and gathered two eggs. Now I was juggling the camera, coffee, eggs, and no pockets. I love it.

Someone found a lovely place to sleep last night. See the moth?

This is called cardinal flower and it grows wild along our stream. It’s been said that it is the most true red flower…..

I was sitting on a big rock with Sam on my lap when I took the picture.

We spent some time cleaning and I made roasted vegetables; one squash peeled and cubed, one red onion, and two potatoes. Lots of salt and pepper, a healthy drizzle of olive oil. Roast at 400, take the pan out after 20 minutes to flip and stir the veggies. Let roast for another 20 minutes of so, until done (soft when pricked by fork). Rich and I love to eat vegetables this way. You can also add carrot, or a bulb of garlic with the top cut off and oil drizzled over top.

Billy, sleeping on our bed.

It’s been a quiet, nice morning. Now that Jacob and Ethan are home from football we are going to take them, plus Caleb and Seth, out school shopping.

As thy days so shall thy strength be. Deuteronomy 33:25

pretty little lunch (broccoli salad)

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Shanda

Aunt Mary’s Broccoli Salad

3 heads of broccoli
1 lb. bacon
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup onion, chopped fine
3 T. vinegar
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup sugar

Fry bacon, drain, and crumble. Combine bacon with cut up broccoli and onion. Mix vinegar, mayo, and sugar together, drizzle over cut up broccoli mixture. Top with cheese.

This is a simply delicious, and nutritious, salad that I’ve made twice in the last month. It keeps well in the refrigerator, and is a perfect little lunch, side dish, or snack.

The recipe can be adjusted according to taste. I use less bacon and only half the sugar, to make it more healthy.

Enjoy!

homemade noodles

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Shanda

Hannah brought a favorite family recipe with her so she could make dinner for us. First, she simmered two chickens in water to cover. When they were tender, she turned off the stovetop and took them out of the pot to let them cool. Meanwhile, she mixed up a batch of homemade noodles and let them dry slightly, on a cookie sheet.

Once the chicken was cool enough to handle, she picked all the meat off the bones, resulting in a nice big bowl of meat.

She skimmed the fat off the broth and adjusted the seasonings with chicken bouillon, & salt.

Once the broth was back to boiling, she dropped the noodles in, and added the chicken.

She made a big pot of fluffy mashed potatoes and we ate the noodles and broth in bowls, on top of the potatoes. The meal was a labor of love, and pure, filling, comfort food. She left me with her noodle recipe, so I can make them myself. You can try them, too.

Hannah’s Noodles

4-5 eggs, slightly beaten
add 1/2 tsp salt,
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
stir in flour-stiff enough (but not too stiff!) so it won’t stick to hands (about 2.5 cups)-add gradually
roll out dough, 1/4 at a time, VERY VERY THIN, add flour so it doesn’t stick
roll up, slice

Lay noodles out on cookie sheets to dry.

Add to boiling broth, a few at a time.

cookie dough brownies

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Shanda

This recipe is from a 2004 Hospital Guild community cookbook which was given to me by Rich’s Grandma.

We make regular brownies constantly at our house, and they never disappoint us, but sometimes it’s nice to “put the icing on the cake”, or in this case COOKIE DOUGH on the brownie, making a favorite treat extra special.

Yes, these are extra special brownies, which cause the children to be extra thankful.

Recently, my seven year old and I made them together, which was a great lesson for him in patience, as these brownies require several more steps than the typical recipe.

He said they were worth the wait.

They were gone in less than 24 hours.

We hope you try them, too. They would taste wonderful with a glass of cold milk for the children at the table, with a hot mug of coffee for Mama as she reads her magazine, or on a plate for Dad as he watches the evening news.

Cookie Dough Brownies

Brownies:

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional (I omitted them)

Preheat oven to 350. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa, and salt. Add oil, eggs and vanilla; beat at medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in nuts, if desired. Pour into a greased 9 by 13 baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center is dry. Cool completely on wire rack.

Filling:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 T. milk
1 cup flour

Cream butter and sugars in a mixing bowl, add milk and vanilla, mix well. Beat in flour and spread over brownies; chill until firm.

Glaze:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 T. shortening
3/4 cup chopped nuts, optional (I omitted them)

Melt chocolate chips and shortening in a saucepan, stirring until smooth. Spread over chilled filling. Immediately sprinkle with nuts, pressing down slightly.

Makes 3 dozen brownies

grandma’s french crust apple pie

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Shanda

“No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past…….” Laurie Colwin

Family recipes connect us to a different time. I wonder where Grandma got her recipe for French Crust Apple Pie? I am thankful to have it, as it reminds me of the many years my large family of parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins gathered at our Grandparent’s house for Holiday meals. She and Grandpa are gone now, and the big farm house belongs to someone else…..

I have a copy of the recipe in the family cookbook my aunt put together for us, and decided to make it for our Thanksgiving dessert. When I tasted a warm bite of apple pie not long from the oven, I closed my eyes and smiled. I was transported back to Grandma’s house, and missed her and her cooking, very much. The same feeling came back to me, even as I ate it for days after, at room temperature. It is perfectly seasoned, cuts wonderfully, and tastes better as it “sits” on the counter, making for days of yummy snacking, if it lasts that long.

The fact that this pie never gets boring, after all these years, speaks volumes of it’s deliciousness!

I began making my Thanksgiving pies when I put Seth and Sarah down for naps last Wednesday. My plan was to have Jacob, Ethan, and Grace help me peel the apples. However, they called from the school bus to ask if they could go to their friends’ house, and I was left to peel alone. Let me assure you, my right hand was aching by the time I peeled, cored, and sliced enough apples for four pies.

I don’t like making pie crust. I haven’t mastered it even after 16 years of marriage. So I had mercy on myself and bought frozen crusts at the grocery store.

I filled each pan with lots of apples and there was about a cup or so of apples leftover, for a sweet little snack….