When the Children Returned

Before Easter, Jack asked if they'd be looking for eggs at our house this year ...

did he remember last year?  

Most likely last year was one they will all remember ... 

maybe not the fact that we did not eat dinner together, 

but looking for treats we had hidden in each of their own yards, still made it special.  

This year, on Good Friday, we celebrated our first Easter in this house.

There were plenty of new hiding spots and

we were all grateful that the rain held off.

The goal was to find a basket or treat bag with your name on it

and keep quiet if you found someone else's ...

and while they looked, they collected individual eggs strewn about. 

Someone found theirs! 

I tell myself that next year I will not take pictures but simply catch the 

feeling I sense when they have gathered their loot.

Or is it the photos that bring back that feeling?  

A new yard, a new place to sit and unpack

and start reading

or merely get to the bottom of the bag.

New frisbees soon went sailing across the yard and the rain still held off.

It was so good to be together ...

the smallest ones coloring,

girls whispering secrets in the playhouse,

boys getting out the basketball,

adults visiting ...

and then we had a second meal, even if just leftovers.

Just the way the adult kids remembered it to be 

back in their own childhood. 

And we all took for granted that Oma never ran out of food. 

❤❤❤

Easter Joy

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!In His great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hopethrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.1 Peter 1:3

Year after year, I'm amazed at the miracle of life as I observe the first signs of buds appearing and then, maybe a week or so later the lime green hue creating a natural arbor, as leaves begin to open over the path I walk. It is an amazing sight to see bare trees and straggly, lifeless bushes planted in a mulch of decaying leaves come to life again. I marvel at the birds flitting about and the ducks pairing off, all creating their little nests for life to go on. 

And if seeing is not enough, in God's written Word I read,

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty; darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over it. Genesis 1:1

We know what happened next. God created out of nothing. He spoke and it came to be. That's the kind of God we have. What's more, not only did and does He reveal His power in nature, He showed His love by sending His Son to take the penalty of death for us. And from the dead, He raised Him up! 

Just like He will raise up all who believe in Him. The One who is able to make something out of nothing. The One who makes life out of death because He is the author of life. In Him we have everlasting hope. Isn't that just the best news to celebrate on this Easter Sunday?

"Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, 

but in every leaf in the spring-time."    ~ Martin Luther

 

A Year Later at Mom's Home

In March 2020 my H and I visited mom over lunch time and 

at the end of our visit carefully expressed that we may not be able to see her for some time.

Of course, no one had any idea of any real "ifs" and how long!

I can't let my thoughts go on to wonder what she has felt. 

Last week I received a call from her home 

to say that I could sign up for my vaccination to be her essential visitor.

I got vaccinated. 

And more good news ...

I do not need to make an appointment to see her.

So today I simply went and rang the doorbell,

put on the full PPE gear and was escorted up the elevator.

Once in her room I could take off the face shield,

which made it so much nicer.

It's been a long time ...

and all I wanted was to hold her hand,

put my face near hers, speak while looking at her eyes ...

I got it all and more ... 

a look of "how nice to see you!" 

which brought tears to my eyes right off the bat. 

A few "ya" responses, listening to music, praying, reading her Bible and lunch, 

all in the comfort of her neat and tidy room. 

I can't even express how grateful we are for her amazing caregivers.

As I leafed through her Bible I found little notes tucked inside,

notes and underlined verses that tell so much about her.

In this particular note it seemed to me she had jotted down thoughts to share

before singing somewhere.

This is who she was and is, self taught in English writing as an adult and

determined not to let a new language stop her.

Today it's stacks of CDs and a player for caregivers to turn on.

Her way of sharing what's meaningful to her

even while her voice is gone.

❤❤❤

A Year Later

Last year at the end of February

life was busy with packing up our old home and buidling a new one,

 so we decided to connect via a random midweek date with the local grands.

My H and I each picked up one family of kids and

met at A&W for burgers and fries. 

My words at the end of my February 26th post read,

"It brings tears to my eyes 

to realize how quickly these days go by and how

so much about this post will change in no time.

It's a good time to appreciate what's normal today."

To say it again, I had no idea how things would transpire,

this being said before any Covid restrictions.

It was two weeks later when life, as we knew it, changed.

Springtime was awkward, to say the least,

Summer time, better with outdoor visits and

in October we were ever so grateful 

to have the whole family around the Thanksgiving table

before our Indonesia family left. 

After long winter isolation practices, we finally had these eight all together again.

The way it progressed still makes me smile,

as it became evident that no one wanted to miss out. 

We enjoyed hot dogs, chips, veggies and s'mores around the fire pit

and from the littlest to the biggest,

each one was delighted for a the sense of normalcy and being able to be together.

I'll finish this one off with a comment from Jack to his dad,

"We had so much fun, I can't even tell you what we all did!" 

Easy entertainment when it's so appreciated. 

My wish is that you also feel the hope of Spring

and the return to normal visits. 

The message we listened to last Sunday came from Ecclesiastes 7:1-4

which talks about "mourning being better than feasting."

A first look at these verses simply does not make sense,

but in talking about it, we had to admit that hard times 

truly do make us think about what is important,

while happy times can make us forget and take a lot for granted. 

Even a sad face can be good for the heart if it

causes us to order our priorities.

Psalm 90:12 is a prayer to

"Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

💛💛💛

 

Tea Party Across the Ocean

November was the month when Covid restrictions tightened 

so much so that we were not to have anyone in our homes.

It was also the month that our Indonesia family finally got their visas to return

after a hasty departure back in March.

The hard thing in the timing was that we could not have a final family get-together

and, instead of the tea party I had planned for the girls,

I packed up a tin box with a variety of teas, tea cups, 

sugar cubes, cookies and dried flowers from our garden.

In my disappointment, this "tea party in a box"  filled that desire to create something special.

Whereas we had many wonderful memories tucked away,

it was time to pack one up for these best friends who had been separated for some time.

Life overseas filled up quickly with much of the same .... quarantines, family life and school.

We celebrated Christmas the way that many celebrated around the world.

And the day came when the tin box got unpacked, treats were prepared

and the after-school tea and craft party came about

with Grammy as the unseen but very happy guest. 

In a strange way the  tea party may give me an excuse to write,

but in a greater way, 

I have come to see that the opportunities 

and life experiences our grandchildren are having

may outweigh the times they cannot be at our table.

Life may well  be more like many parents would wish for their kids,

simple, with a focus on loving people rather than things.

I can't quite express what I see, 

safe to say that I can't help but take pride in this girl,

the friends she cares about 

and her unselfish attitude in how she lives her life. 

We love you, Makenna!

Blaettertorte Tutorial

Baking a cake for a special occasion will often find me going back to a family favorite that we call Blaettertorte in German. Others know it as Napoleon Torte. As you will see, it consists of layers of large cookies that bake up crisp, but soften once you layer them with a filling, turning the baked layers into more of a cake texture. We layer it with a vanilla custard or homemade chocolate pudding. It's not a very sweet cake, as far as cakes go, a simple delicious softness that could be compared to a cheesecake but  not as rich. Those who want to, drizzle the vanilla torte with raspberry sauce. 

I've shared the recipe on the MGCC blog. You'll find it here Today I'll add a little video clip that may be helpful. 

I shape the pastry into a log and refrigerate it for a couple of hours.

Then I divide it into 12 slices,

so that each slice can be rolled into an 8 inch cookie.

I prepare the layers when I have time and freeze them for when I decide to fill a cake.

This recipe makes 2 layered cakes.

 We all like a homemade vanilla custard, mild and not so sweet.

Once cooled I mix in some whipped cream. 

The cake needs to sit at least 12 hours but just gets better,

the longer it sits. 

I hope this tutorial helps.

It gives me joy when I can inspire someone to successfully try a new recipe.