Blessings on your special day, Theda!

The 1949 babies are required to write the number 60 this year!!!

Feel like I should whisper it!  If the next 10 years go as swiftly as the last 10 years.....oh my! Maybe I should change the subject!! 

(We're in the process of singing Happy Birthday to Theda. She is our forerunner!)

It was a meaningful time celebrating this special day in Theda's life!

For my new friends on xanga, you've already met Nancy (some people just don't cooperate  ) and Theda.

You have not met Erma until now. Isn't it a joy to observe our friends displaying the spiritual gift our Heavenly Father has given to each of them!! Erma uses her gift so beautifully. I'd like to describe her in just a sentence or two but I'm not sure how to do that. I'll try. She is a quiet servant.....meeting needs in others' lives. She and Bob see needs and carry out a plan! They are Jesus' hands and feet to many.

The Shelter of Friendship

"God knew the seasons of life

would bring laughter and tears,

and for both He created

the blessing called friendship....

a comfort in stormy times,

a joy in happy times

and a place of acceptance."

Throughout this year, I'll introduce  more of the "49'er Friendships."

P.S.  To treat Nancy and Erma with respect, I need to tell you they are not writing  60 this year.....but they are not far behind!

Sleep-over!

It's been quite awhile since we had a sleep-over! We decided now would be a good time while Jere and Barb enjoy a "Valentine evening" with their Sunday School class.

Three times our youngest grandchild came to me, while playing, and said, "Grandma, I hardly ever get a chance to sleep on an air mattress. May I sleep on it?" I told him we'll need to talk about that later. After his third word for word request, I said, "Darin, we have two air mattresses and three boys! What do you think we should do?!"  He smiled! He left the kitchen and went to talk to his brothers and came back to tell me that Matthew (our oldest grandchild) said he will sleep in the bed. The simple joys of childhood are so precious to observe!

I love to read to our grandchildren.  It was a privilege tonight to read and pray together before sleeping.  This devotional has questions to offer to the younger children. Seth is very attentive; I'm not sure what Darin is thinking!!  I so appreciate Matthew's attitude as he willingly helps in the younger ones' activities.

Rise and Shine! 

Guess who was doing just that before Grandma awoke Saturday morning?!   Nevin always gets up early to have his devotions. It wasn't too much later that he heard little feet coming to the study/playroom to give him company!

We had a beautiful sunny morning. Why not get some exercise! As a young girl when we had cousins over for a meal, we often played volley-over afterwards. As the ball goes over the roof, if the other side catches it, they can come around either side of the building and then try to tag you with the ball!

First,  you don't know if they caught it!

Second, if they did, you don't know which corner they will come flying around to tag you!!!

Third, if they do hit you with the ball you are then on their team!

Matthew and Seth are both ready to claim this ball!! 

Until Seth gets a little taller, it goes best to stand backwards to get more "oomph"  to his throw!! And it works for him!! (That's Pa. Dutch, Amber ... plan to get back to you about that! ) One time Matthew came flying around the corner....I was within his range and actually felt the air of the whizzing ball past my ear!! That was close enough to being on the other team....and maybe getting a headache!! We really enjoy this game - tumbles and all!

Uno was fun! Darin couldn't always hold all his cards, especially when he had the Draw Four card placed on him.  Then he would lay them all out on the table..... and you are to try not to look at them!!   (I'm drinking a Moroccan Mint Tea....it tastes very similar to what we call our spearmint meadow tea. It's one of those comforting teas.)

We just finished a cookie which happened to have icing on top!! How is a new four year old supposed to eat that - without making a mess?! During the meal he said, "Grandma, you are a good maker!" That was music to a Grandma's ears!

 More memories to add to my album! I'm grateful for each one!

February 13

"How great is the love the Father

has lavished on us, that we should be called

the children of God! And that is what we are!"  I John 3:1 NIV

♥

An early - Happy Valentine's Day to you -

from one "family of God, daughter, to another!"

Love and Blessings, Cordy

This is especially for Jennifer and Michele!

(I'd like to encourage my other friends to try the xange site I have printed below!)

If you grew up in Lancaster Co., PA.

you ate and most likely learned to make Shoo-Fly Pie

if your Mother enjoyed baking!

Jennifer....it is a Pennsylvania Dutch specialty. Before I was married I worked at a farmer's market for my aunt and uncle; the tourists were very interested in tasting Shoo-Fly pie!

Michele....I'm happy to share my recipe with you. I'll place it at the end of this entry.

I want to encourage both of you to go to this xanga address I have below. I do not know Kay, personally, but I have REALLY enjoyed trying her recipes!

FOR HER SHOO-FLY PIE recipe, follow this:

 www.kitchenscrapbook.com  Once you are there, scroll almost to the bottom of that first page  and you will come to her Shoo-Fly Pie recipe. I really wanted to bring you here as I think you will enjoy seeing her step-by-step process.

I hope you will enjoy looking through her other entries as well!

If you try the pie recipe, leave me know how your family likes it!!

This is my recipe, Michele. It is very similar to Kay's. Her recipe is titled "Wet Bottom Shoo-Fly Pie;" I prefer a more cake-like topping and less "goo!"  (I'm in the minority for that opinion!)

Crumbs: 1 c. flour     1 Tbsp. butter    2/3 c. brown sugar

Mix with electirc mixer; then reserve 1/2 c. for the top of pie.

Into the remaining crumbs add the following: 1 egg     1 c. molasses    1 c. boiling water  1 tsp. soda

Mix well  and pour into unbaked 9" pie shell. Top with crumbs reserved at the beginning of the recipe.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10 mins - reduce heat to 350 degrees for 30 mins.

Be sure to serve this with vanilla ice cream!!   If you order this pie at a restaurant, they will ask if you want it warmed! It's yummy either way! (If you don't care for molasses, this may not be a favorite! Therefore, I use Kings Table Syrup - that gives a very good mild flavor!)

By now you know

Friendship is high on my list!

I have a friend in VA. who said she loves tea but it tastes much better when shared with a friend!!  I agree! But I probably would prefer to share coffee with you instead. That's why I thoroughly enjoy having coffee at my devotions.....I'm in the presence of a Friend.....Savior and Friend!  

Theda will be having surgery on her foot this month so we went with dessert instead of  our normal dinner menu. How could we be disappointed -with shoo fly pie, cherry pie, apple crisp.........yummy!  (I think I have some friends on xanga who may have never tasted shoo fly pie!) 

These friendships go back to Sunday School, grade school, and some to high school.   Who can imagine life without Nancy (in the blue?! )    The other four of us only learned to know her when she came to our school in her junior year and then soon to our church. Most of us were married within the same year so we have gone through the baby days together, teenage years, and then the empty nest!  We attend the same church but rarely find this extended time to visit together. So this evening is extra special.

Our tradition was to spend  New Year's Eve together....but then years ago decided to change it to a January evening.  This way we can babysit our grandchildren so our children can  enjoy an evening out December 31st!

This part of the evening is really meaningful. First, we ladies have to purpose to stop chatting!     Then we  gather together and have a time of sharing prayer request and praises. Usually we go around the circle and pray for each other and the requests mentioned. It's a precious bonding of friendship and being strengthened spiritually. 

(Dale and Lucille, above)

There is something special I could say about each of these friends but it would take lots of room on here! I love you, Becky, Nancy, Cille and Theda and am so grateful for your friendship!

     "As you honor and celebrate your friends,  create a collage of photos, not     only for memories' sake, but also for love's sake. When you walk past the bulletin board, at least one photo will catch your eye and give you the nudge to pray for that person or to thank God for that particular happy memory."  ~Life is for Living by Anita Yoder                       

Reminiscing......

When:  February 5, 1967

Where:  The home of my Parents

Why:  First date with Nevin!!!

Nevin has some vacation days remaining so I asked if he would take the 5th as another vacation day! I wanted to honor him today......to thank him for that wonderful day quite long ago and do something he would enjoy as he does so well at participating in things I enjoy. 

We started our day with breakfast at a nearby restaurant. We reminisced about that first date. He says he came to our door that day in 1967 in fear and trembling!!   

Our first stop was at the Harley Davidson Factory in York. We had a very informative and enjoyable tour. They made over 303,000 last year. Before Nevin bought his car he had a cycle that went 50 mph when there was no headwind!!   So I thought this tour would be something he would enjoy - and he did! Notice we had a little entertainment before the tour began!! 

Please excuse the poor quality of this picture but just had to show you!! Two work buddies were discussing Bald eagles.  One of them saw two that had just caught a duck.  Then another time he saw several Bald eagles at Muddy Run Reservoir sitting around an unfrozen spot on the Reservoir pulling out fish. One of the generous work buddies allowed us to borrow his spotting scope....and so we went to Muddy Run.  To our delight, after much searching, we saw these two enjoying the 19 degree weather.  They were so very clear through the scope.....but not from the camera. We watched for quite awhile;  it felt like such a privilege! What a majestic bird! 

They might have been enjoying this cold weather but we aren't quite as tough; we set up the scope in the back of the van!!   We were so grateful for this experience to be able to spot them! It felt like a gift from the Lord!

Look above the fence and notice the four geese feeding on underground plants! It's amazing how our Creator designed these geese!! They act like it's a Sunday afternoon picnic!

Driving through the park we were treated with deer crossing!

I started our day with laughter and closed it with tears. When we came home, we watched the DVD - Fireproof!! Once again I stand in awe of the power of God to change lives!!! They were tears of joy! 

It's now the close of this special evening. Thank You, Jesus, for bringing our lives together.....for that knock on our livingroom door from a 17 year old young man whom I've loved for 42 years! 

These words caught my eye -

and my heart.....

"You are richer today if you have laughed,

given or forgiven."

I found this picture of giving - one grandchild helping his little sister.

(Thank you, Bradley, for blessing Kelly.)

Late Monday afternoon I went for groceries. My eye caught this sign in the gift shop area. I was blessed. 

Seth and Darin....

This little wish list holds a boy's attention for quite awhile!

(It's included in each little train purchase!)

I think Darin (right) can't believe what he missed on his paper!! 

I pondered my last two entries.....

"Preparing my heart to say goodbye for a year;" and my "January 17th" entry.

I thought of Jeff and Kris saying goodbye until  -  Heaven!

Oh Heavenly Father, in their quiet times how I pray they will hear You whisper

"Peace, my child."

One Highlight of January -

The Joy of Fellowship!

This is what the two following pictures SHOULD look like!

We hike in the Fall with Glenn and Rachel - Frank and Lois. We could not find a weekend to fit everyone's schedule so we had our fellowship here in January - without the hike. (I knew that sometimes we can have a balmy afternoon in January....maybe we can hike!! Not this time - we had light snow.)

The gift of friendship is one I treasure deeply. Dear Lois has been dealing with Bells Palsy since August 24th.   If you have any experience in this that would be helpful, you can find Lois at http://www.xanga.com/reedseven 

Nevin had a hard time getting Rachel's picture with her eyes open!!  We'll have to try this next time, Rachel!!

 Grain Bin

Because of interest, I decided to put this heavy duty grain bin on the blog for anyone that is interested in building one for themselves.  (Before I forget it I guess you all know that you can highlight the words and pictures -- starting at the top and dragging your curser down to the bottom and copy -- go to "Microsoft Office Word", open it up and paste it on a new page, then print it out if you want.)  I used sch. 40 pipe  (except for the handle) to make this toy that hopefully would endure the test of little boys.  After more then a year it seems to be holding up well.

The Grain Bin is made of 6" pipe and stands 24" plus the 5/8" x 12" x 11" pc of wood under it.  The end of the shoot is 8 1/4" off the floor.  It depends on the height of your equipment, you could drop it some.  All the corn inside, below the shoot adds to the weight and stability of the whole thing.  The bottom of the hole (where the shoot goes through the bin wall) is 9 3/8" from the bottom of the pipe (bin).   Measuring along the outside bottom of the shoot there is 5 1/4" showing.  Because of the slope of the shoot, the hole in the bin is oblong.  For a stable shoot it is important to get it to fit snug.  Once the brace is fastened  to the shoot, before drilling the hole in the bin, pull down, putting tension on the shoot to give it greater stability.   I guess you notice the rope at the top of the bin for carrying; when full of corn it does have weight.  I hope you have as much fun as I did.  The reward is watching the little ones (and ones that aren't so little enjoying it.)  Oh yes, an easy way to scrape the corn together on a pile ( that ends up on the floor) is using a yard stick and scooping up the pile with a dust pan or whatever.

The handle is 6 1/2" x 1/2" ID, heated and bent on a 45 degree.  I used two eye bolts to fasten it.

The shoot is 9"x 1" ID with a 23 degree slope.  The brace under the shoot is a 1" slice of 6" sch. 40 pipe.  The circumference measures 7".  The eye bolt at the end of the spring (the corn wanted to hang-up on the nut inside the shoot) I ground the nut to match the curvature of the pipe that it wouldn't stick in very much.  The spring is 1/2"x2".

The screw at the end of the shoot that goes through the brace is countersunk and has the head ground off some so it doesn't interfere with the corn sliding out.

Inside the bin I have a screw in the shoot to keep it from coming out (don't have it sticking through - so it doesn't catch the corn).

The gate is a 4"pc. of 5/8" ID pipe fastened by two eye screws.    The accuracy of predrilling these holes is important to how all this will work and fit in each other.

I used lock tight on some of the nuts so they don't back off.

This wouldn't get first prize for eye appeal, but the grandchildren don't mind!