Dutch Oven Gathering - 2013

It is that time of year...



Combine some hot coals, a stack of cast iron pots, and a group of friends and you have a fun evening with good food.



 Last weekend was our annual dutch oven gathering. We invite everyone we know who owns a dutch oven to a cook-off.




As usual, it was a blistering hot day, made even hotter by the hot coals.



 We women left the men slave over their pots while we sat in the shade and chatted.

 

A row of future dutch oven chefs observe!



As usual, the results were worth eating. I'm always amazed at the variety of foods that can be cooked in a dutch oven. Our plates were not big enough but I tried to take a little taste of everything!

This year the options included:

 

sesame chicken,

 

shrimp in a feta cheese sauce,

 

cherry cream cheese cobbler,


meat loaf,

 

sticky buns,

 

pizza,

 

rolled flank steak, and much more.

The vote for the favorite food proclaimed Bill the winner with his seafood chowder!


 

Looking forward to more good time next year!

 To see past Dutch Oven Gatherings -2012, 2011, 2010, 2009

Blessed...by you

Thank you so much for your well wishes and prayers. I was thinking this afternoon of how much you all have blessed my life. Thank you so much for your friendship and notes of encouragement.

As you all probably guessed, the last month has been a little crazy. Some of it I've already mentioned here, such as my daughter's eye injury. Thankfully she has had complete healing. The last time we visited the eye doctor, her vision was 20/20 - in both eyes! We are so thankful. And I was glad to hear that we didn't need to visit the eye doctor again for a month. I was a little weary of the trip - and the city traffic! There is a possibility that the scar tissue on her eye could some day distort her vision and cause her to need glasses in the future but we are thanking the Lord that it wasn't any worse.

And yes, you all guessed correctly that we are anticipating another baby to join our family. Our children think that January is much too long to wait! This pregnancy is a much anticipated answer to prayer - though I feel a little guilty being so happy - when I know that so many of you would love to have even one child. My relatively short brush with infertility has given me a tender heart toward all of you who look at the expectant bloom of motherhood with your own empty arms. If I could, I wrap all of you in a big hug and cry with you. I'm crying just typing this. I pray that the Lord will give you a special comfort today.

The month of June held several reminders of the preciousness of life and the hope found in Jesus' resurrection power. Our church family experienced three funerals within two weeks. Two were elderly ladies who had run the race of life well and were ready to leave the suffering of their frail bodies to experience the joys of God's presence.

But the other was a tiny baby, only 5 oz., a stillborn who had never experienced any of the joys or sorrows of this world. I stood at her graveside, looking at her tiny little hand prints, my heart breaking for the grief of her parents, and all the other parents who have mourned the fleeting life of their babies. I thought of how God says He knows us by name even when we are being formed in the womb (Is 49:1) and I know that not only can He carry us through our grief, He can care for our babies also. But oh how we ache for the loss of dreams and memories.

So between camping, family trips, picnics, and funerals, with fatigue sapping my energy and stealing my brain cells, I haven't felt much like writing recently. I am thankful I have felt well (I don't know what morning sickness is) but many days I am bone weary. I am hoping for a second wind in the second trimester but I remember how busy, and tiring, summer can be.

Thanks again for your love and concern for our family.

Music to My Ears

One of the most beautiful sounds a mother can hear...

A steady heartbeat.

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee: for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.     Psalm 139:13-14

Strawberry-Rhubarb Hand Pies

A crisp dough with juicy filling with the taste of June. Delightful!



Dice 3/4 cup strawberries and 3/4 cup rhubarb.



Toss the fruit with cornstarch and sugar.



Mix up your favorite pie crust or use the recipe below. I like a little sweeter dough so that it has a crisp sugar cookie taste.



Roll out the dough and cut with a biscuit cutter (about 2 1/4 inch).



Spoon a teaspoon or two of fruit filling in the center of the dough circle. Dampen the edges of the dough with water and top with another dough circle.

 

With a fork, crimp the edges. Cut a slit on the top.

Bake until lightly browned.

 
Strawberry-Rhubarb Hand Pies

3/4 cup diced strawberries
3/4 cup diced rhubarb
1 T cornstarch
2 T sugar
2 1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup lard or shortening
3 T cold water

Toss the finely diced fruit with cornstarch and 2 T. sugar.
Mix flour, salt, and 1/4 cup sugar. Cut in butter and lard. Stir in water. Knead slightly. Roll out the dough and cut with a biscuit cutter (about 2 1/4 inch).

Spoon a teaspoon or two of fruit filling in the center of the dough circle. Dampen the edges of the dough with water and top with another dough circle. With a fork, crimp the edges. Cut a slit on the top. Optional: You may brush tops with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Eat warm or at room temperature. These are best eaten in a day or two.

In July I want to try these with blueberries and rhubarb - or maybe even raspberries!

Abundance

Is there any month better than June?

Especially in the garden.

Asparagus, broccoli, and spinach have ended.

But taking their place is red beets,



strawberries,



and sugar peas.

Thank the Lord for His abundant gifts.

Priority

"Having a heart of sympathy for your children will mean, by necessity, choosing a less busy lifestyle. It will mean lowering your expectations about what can and must be accomplished in a day. If it means winning your child's heart, though, the trade offs are well worth the results." Sally Clarkston

You may have guessed that life has been busy here. I didn't plan to take a blogging break, but somehow writing has fallen to the bottom of the list. Some day I'll be back, but I'm not making any promises of how soon that will be.

Hope you are taking time to enjoy your children today. 

The Lord is Good

Thanks so much for praying for our daughter's eyesight.

On Friday we visited the eye specialist again and he was impressed by how much better it looked in 24 hours. He said that she will probably have permanent scar damage. I asked him how the scar will affect her eyesight. He said that since it is not affecting her eyesight now, it probably won't ever. But if it was a couple millimeters higher, closer to the center of her eye, it would be completely different report. "She is blessed," he said.

I was so glad the doctor said "blessed" and not "lucky" because we truly do feel blessed by God.

Today (Saturday) her eye looks even better than yesterday. She can open it wider and she doesn't shield her eyes with her hands when she walks into a bright room. The doctor said that light sensitivity is common in eye injuries. Yesterday she didn't want to go outside, even with sunglasses on, but today she has been running in and out almost like normal.



It is so good to see our cheerful, bright-eyed daughter return! I admit that my faith was rather shaky this week. When Ed walked out the door with a sobbing child with swollen eyes, I wondered if she'd ever see again. I thought over all the things I could have done differently to avoid the accident. Definitely a "bad-mommy" moment.

I had to cling to the knowledge that God is sovereign and always good. He loves Brooke even more than we do and can take anything that happens to her and work it out for His glory. The life of Fanny Crosby, the blind lady who wrote so many beloved hymns, came to mind. I'm so glad we can trust God to bring healing, or peace, whichever He has for us.

Thanks again for remembering us.