This morning I started a new Bible study, The Blessing. This touched me very much and made me wonder if I had truly blessed my own children enough with the words that they longed to hear. As I read Genesis 27 and the story of the struggle between Jacob and Esau, I had to reflect about how I treated my own children and even how my parents raised me. I know that I failed miserably but I hope that I made some effort to praise my children and to bless each one of them in their own right.
Unlike Jacob and Esau, my children will receive few worldly things. We are a family of modest means. My blessing to each of them is an introduction to Our Father in heaven and His Precious Son. I pray that God will bless them continually in all that they do and that they will walk with Him each minute of the day. I pray they will make wise choices and honor Him. This is still my prayer each morning. I pray that this is passed on through the generations of this family.
As a grandma, I can look back and see that I have learned so much. Some of it was a little late, but it is never to late to try to do better. So to my spouse, children, grandchildren, I love you and you have my blessings in what you strive to do. (it better be good)
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Ummmmm Good!!!!
Before I even get started on this post, I am aggrivated that I didn't take a picture of this lucious concoction that I thought up all by my self. I didn't but I am going to tell you just how good it is and how to make it.
I had the ladies from my HCE club here today. It is the beginning of a new year and we had a lot of things to talk about. We are for Family and Community and we do a lot of good things. That is another story and maybe I have posted on that before.
Anyhow, there are a lot of good cooks in this group and I wanted something different. I also wanted something with CHOCOLATE. I have been off chocolate since Christmas and thought 2 weeks was long enough. I needed a fix. I recently ate a dessert with this wonderful chocolate layer on the bottom and decided to use that for the beginning. I also wanted fruit and thought about a citrus sauce. The fruit is the healthy part (if there is one). This creation turned out pretty good but I am not sure what I am going to call it.
Maybe I will call it Marilyn's Magnificent Dessert
Choclate layer:
One Devils Food Cake Mix
3/4 cups Butter (calories, calories, calories)
1 egg
Mix together until a thick dough forms (cookie type dough) and press into a large pan. (mine was just larger that a 9X13 but a 9X13 would probably be okay.) Bake for 18 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and flatten the crust out as it will rise when baking. You want it have a crust effect to put the next layer in.
Cream Cheese Filling:
8 ounces low fat cream cheese
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup powdered sugar
container of cool whip (I used 1- 8 oz container and about 1/3 of another for the pan I was using)
Beat this mixture until light and fluffy and put on the cooled chocolate layer. Refrigerate.
Citrus Sauce
1 cup Sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
Mix the sugar and cornstarch and add the juices, bring to a boil while stirring. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Mixture will thicken as it cools. If it is too thick when cooled, just add a little water or more juice to get to the consistence that you like.
Fresh or frozen berries. I used blueberries, blackberries and strawberries.
To assemble, Just do each piece as you put it on a serving dish or let individuals do their own thing.
Cut the cheesecake into pieces of your liking and top with the cooled citrus sauce. Top with berries. (I did not sweeten the berries.)
This was so good. And all gone. Too Bad, I wish I had thought about doing a post on it and you could see just how good it is for yourself. Try it, you'll like it.
I had the ladies from my HCE club here today. It is the beginning of a new year and we had a lot of things to talk about. We are for Family and Community and we do a lot of good things. That is another story and maybe I have posted on that before.
Anyhow, there are a lot of good cooks in this group and I wanted something different. I also wanted something with CHOCOLATE. I have been off chocolate since Christmas and thought 2 weeks was long enough. I needed a fix. I recently ate a dessert with this wonderful chocolate layer on the bottom and decided to use that for the beginning. I also wanted fruit and thought about a citrus sauce. The fruit is the healthy part (if there is one). This creation turned out pretty good but I am not sure what I am going to call it.
Maybe I will call it Marilyn's Magnificent Dessert
Choclate layer:
One Devils Food Cake Mix
3/4 cups Butter (calories, calories, calories)
1 egg
Mix together until a thick dough forms (cookie type dough) and press into a large pan. (mine was just larger that a 9X13 but a 9X13 would probably be okay.) Bake for 18 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and flatten the crust out as it will rise when baking. You want it have a crust effect to put the next layer in.
Cream Cheese Filling:
8 ounces low fat cream cheese
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup powdered sugar
container of cool whip (I used 1- 8 oz container and about 1/3 of another for the pan I was using)
Beat this mixture until light and fluffy and put on the cooled chocolate layer. Refrigerate.
Citrus Sauce
1 cup Sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
Mix the sugar and cornstarch and add the juices, bring to a boil while stirring. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Mixture will thicken as it cools. If it is too thick when cooled, just add a little water or more juice to get to the consistence that you like.
Fresh or frozen berries. I used blueberries, blackberries and strawberries.
To assemble, Just do each piece as you put it on a serving dish or let individuals do their own thing.
Cut the cheesecake into pieces of your liking and top with the cooled citrus sauce. Top with berries. (I did not sweeten the berries.)
This was so good. And all gone. Too Bad, I wish I had thought about doing a post on it and you could see just how good it is for yourself. Try it, you'll like it.
Friday, January 8, 2010
I am Thankful
Well, I was going to ignore this completely but since I have been tagged twice, I suppose that I have to reciprocate. This is also why I don't like Facebook. I do not like to be tagged or sent anything that I have to feel like if I don't do it, something bad will happen. But there are a lot of things that I do like. It will be hard to name just 10 when God has given us so many beautiful things and we have created so many things ourselves. I will try to list a few of them.
First and foremost, I love the Lord. I know that He will take me through all of the things that I encounter and will love me dispite all of my shortfalls. It is only proper that He should be listed first.
The Rancher, He is the love of my life, He makes me laugh, He even makes me cry, but he is my sweetheart and has been for almost 48 years. Together we have raised a family built this ranch and served the Lord.
My children. Sometimes I have wondered why but through all things, thick and thin I love them and am thankful for the things that each one has taught me. My gray hairs is my helmet of shinning armor that I have acquired in raising them.
My grandchildren, they are all so smart and precious. They are the smartest kids in the world, Well, the smartest ones in my world and I just love them to pieces.
My Moms, Yes I have two of them. My mother and the Ranchers mother. Each one taught me so many things. I love them both and Thank God for them each day. It is a blessing to reach this age and still have my mothers. I am also thankful for my sisters and my brothers. I appreciate them now that I am older.
That I live where I live. I have never lived far from here, but when I came to this desolate land, I missed the tree lined river that I had grown up on. I missed TREES period. With Gods help, we have managed to grow some on this old Hill and I am thankful.
The country that I live in and that I can go to the church that I love every Sunday and even everyday if I so desire. I love my Bible Study friends and the priviledge to explore the things that were preserved and brought down through the beginning of time in His Word. Isn't it amazing.
My friends and neighbors, who encourage me, laugh with me, help and are there through thick and thin. Some have been with me since I was a girl and even if we live apart, I know that they will be there for me.
I am thankful that I can go outside on a clear day and see for 14 miles and know that all is well in the world. Thank You God for my sight even if I do wear tri-focals, and I am thankful for technology that I can hear the birds sing and the voices of my family laugh and sing, for without hearing aids, this is not always possible.
I am thankful for so many things. I am thankful for those that sent this to me even if I didn't want to do it. It made me stop and think about the things that really matter.
Tonight, I am thankful for a warm house, a gas heater and an electric blanket and someone to snuggle up with in this sub zero weather.
I shall not tag anyone, as I don't know who to tag. But if you read this and care to list 10 things you are thankful for, let me know. Have a Thankful week-end.
First and foremost, I love the Lord. I know that He will take me through all of the things that I encounter and will love me dispite all of my shortfalls. It is only proper that He should be listed first.
The Rancher, He is the love of my life, He makes me laugh, He even makes me cry, but he is my sweetheart and has been for almost 48 years. Together we have raised a family built this ranch and served the Lord.
My children. Sometimes I have wondered why but through all things, thick and thin I love them and am thankful for the things that each one has taught me. My gray hairs is my helmet of shinning armor that I have acquired in raising them.
My grandchildren, they are all so smart and precious. They are the smartest kids in the world, Well, the smartest ones in my world and I just love them to pieces.
My Moms, Yes I have two of them. My mother and the Ranchers mother. Each one taught me so many things. I love them both and Thank God for them each day. It is a blessing to reach this age and still have my mothers. I am also thankful for my sisters and my brothers. I appreciate them now that I am older.
That I live where I live. I have never lived far from here, but when I came to this desolate land, I missed the tree lined river that I had grown up on. I missed TREES period. With Gods help, we have managed to grow some on this old Hill and I am thankful.
The country that I live in and that I can go to the church that I love every Sunday and even everyday if I so desire. I love my Bible Study friends and the priviledge to explore the things that were preserved and brought down through the beginning of time in His Word. Isn't it amazing.
My friends and neighbors, who encourage me, laugh with me, help and are there through thick and thin. Some have been with me since I was a girl and even if we live apart, I know that they will be there for me.
I am thankful that I can go outside on a clear day and see for 14 miles and know that all is well in the world. Thank You God for my sight even if I do wear tri-focals, and I am thankful for technology that I can hear the birds sing and the voices of my family laugh and sing, for without hearing aids, this is not always possible.
I am thankful for so many things. I am thankful for those that sent this to me even if I didn't want to do it. It made me stop and think about the things that really matter.
Tonight, I am thankful for a warm house, a gas heater and an electric blanket and someone to snuggle up with in this sub zero weather.
I shall not tag anyone, as I don't know who to tag. But if you read this and care to list 10 things you are thankful for, let me know. Have a Thankful week-end.
Did You Know????
It is so dang cold outside that if you spit, it freezes the minute it hits the ground. That is not a lie. It is COLD!!! It was O degrees at 6 AM this morning. (I don't know how to do a degrees symbol, does anybody?) I am sure that you all needed to know that bit of information. The Rancher has spent hours thawing wells, hauling water breaking ice and just being aggrivated about the whole mess. Yesterday the wind chill was -17, but hey, I am thankful that I don't live in North Dakota where it was -50. Is this an indication that there really is no such thing as GLOBAL WARMING. I have doubted that all along but nobody asked my opinion. So----Who is ready for SPRING?
Spring--I love it, It is my favotite time of year, next to Fall. I just love the changes I guess, I even like the Winter and Heat of the Summer, but I do appreciate a nice gentle Spring day, when things are turning green and everything is coming to life. Which reminds me, we are having some baby calves.(Someone didn't get the bulls separated from the cows in time). We have a bottle calf as of yesterday. One more thing to do out in the cold. I feel sorry for the poor little thing all by himself trying to keep warm. He is in the chicken house to keep out of the weather. That space became available recently thanks to the preditors in our neighborhood.
And did you know that you can put anti-fungus drops in your eye and live through it? It didn't help the dry eye problem but the rancher sure learned to put his glasses on before he grabbed the bottle and plopped down on the bed for this nightly routine. After waking our visiting Nurse, who helped us with a good eye wash, we laughed and laughed. Well, anyhow, maybe he won't get toenail fungus in THAT eye. Which reminds me---
Since we live here all alone most of the time, we sometimes go about in our undies as we leave the bathroom for the bedroom. The Rancher had left the bedroom door open that adjoins the den. We think nothing of this, as the bathroom is adjacent to the bedroom. One of our older granddaughters who was quite young at the time, Yelled at Grandpa, " Grandpa, don't you know you are naked?, Put your glasses on". Turns out that was what she noticed, Grandpa didn't have his glasses on. She is the same granddaughter that chewed on her hair all of the time when she was little. One day Grandpa(who is bald) said, Honey, don't chew on your hair. Look what happens when you do that. He unbuttoned his shirt to display his very hairy belly, and little sugar pie never chewed on her hair again. She didn't want it growing out of her belly like Grandpa's. Did you know that would happen. Me neither.
And did you know that your skeleton accounts for 20% of your body wieght? (I'm very large boned)
And did you know about the plummer who's sign reads "A good flush beats a full house?"
With that I shall close.
Spring--I love it, It is my favotite time of year, next to Fall. I just love the changes I guess, I even like the Winter and Heat of the Summer, but I do appreciate a nice gentle Spring day, when things are turning green and everything is coming to life. Which reminds me, we are having some baby calves.(Someone didn't get the bulls separated from the cows in time). We have a bottle calf as of yesterday. One more thing to do out in the cold. I feel sorry for the poor little thing all by himself trying to keep warm. He is in the chicken house to keep out of the weather. That space became available recently thanks to the preditors in our neighborhood.
And did you know that you can put anti-fungus drops in your eye and live through it? It didn't help the dry eye problem but the rancher sure learned to put his glasses on before he grabbed the bottle and plopped down on the bed for this nightly routine. After waking our visiting Nurse, who helped us with a good eye wash, we laughed and laughed. Well, anyhow, maybe he won't get toenail fungus in THAT eye. Which reminds me---
Since we live here all alone most of the time, we sometimes go about in our undies as we leave the bathroom for the bedroom. The Rancher had left the bedroom door open that adjoins the den. We think nothing of this, as the bathroom is adjacent to the bedroom. One of our older granddaughters who was quite young at the time, Yelled at Grandpa, " Grandpa, don't you know you are naked?, Put your glasses on". Turns out that was what she noticed, Grandpa didn't have his glasses on. She is the same granddaughter that chewed on her hair all of the time when she was little. One day Grandpa(who is bald) said, Honey, don't chew on your hair. Look what happens when you do that. He unbuttoned his shirt to display his very hairy belly, and little sugar pie never chewed on her hair again. She didn't want it growing out of her belly like Grandpa's. Did you know that would happen. Me neither.
And did you know that your skeleton accounts for 20% of your body wieght? (I'm very large boned)
And did you know about the plummer who's sign reads "A good flush beats a full house?"
With that I shall close.
Monday, January 4, 2010
And then there were None
The Bobcat won!! Or maybe it was the Coyote, I am not sure but yesterday the last of my chicken flock disappeared. There were only 4 and they were getting old but I enjoyed them. Two years ago when the Rancher and Son came home from town with 24 baby chicks (all pullets) I was in total shock. We had not had chickens on this Ranch for years. We still had a chicken house, feeders, waters, brooder so why not chickens? I should have known when Son, cleaned out the old coop and brought fresh straw and sand in that they were up to something. They brought a lovely assortment of 23 chicks. They argued there were 24 but one must have flew the coop before they got home as I only had 23.
I enjoyed watching them grow and loved the beautiful brown eggs that they produced. They grandchildren ran for the chicken house everytime they thought of it to bring in the fresh eggs. For awhile there were more than we could all use. I gave them away, as I wanted to share the gift of abundance that the Lord had provided. Alas, that will be no more. I had to buy eggs before Thanksgiving and was shocked at what they cost. Now I will be planning on getting a new flock of chicks in the Spring and building a more sturdy fence.
The Bobcats, racoon, and Coyotes all were the ruin of my little flock. No matter the time of day, they were not afraid to approach in the shelter belt and pick out their favorite meal. They even devoured my last guina fowl. Not all of them escaped the traps that the Rancher and I set out but some are very sly and returned time and again.
Maybe if I don't get more chicks, I can talk The Rancher into going on more little trips in the 5th wheel. After all I won't have so many chores. Never mind---He informed me that He didn't get rid of the Cows. One can always dream-----
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Happy Birthday Baby!!!!
Well, She is my baby granddaughter. Today she is 8 years old. We have always celebrated her birthday with her but today she is going to go ice skating with a friend, her Mom and Sister. We will spend New Years day with her is the weather is good. Have a great day Popcorn, we love you.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Happy Anniversary
Happy Anniversary to my oldest daughter and wonderful son-in-law. Twenty Four years and still on your honeymoon. Quite an accomplishment in this day and age. We are so proud of you and we love you.
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