Monday, October 31, 2011

One year ago, November 2nd

 Our grandson, Alexander Lee

Our grandbaby, Alex, passed away one year ago, November 2nd from SMA
Spinal Muscular Atrophy

 

 Alex in his pepere's arms

Alex was just 3 months old when he died, and he has left a giant hole in our hearts.
Our consolation is that one day we shall see him again, healed and made whole.



 precious


 After major surgery which would allow him to be fed thru his stomach


 We had the family over the Sunday before Alex died for a big family dinner, not knowing he would only be with us another 2 days.
At this point he was not able to cry anymore, but he could make little noises


 I LOVE this photo of him looking straight into my eyes, my heart...



 Just a couple of minutes of our dear grandson
I believe this is the only video clip anyone has of him...
You can hear him trying to laugh out loud here!


Our last visit together...


"Praise You In This Storm"

I was sure by now

God You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls

I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when

I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to you
And you raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You

But as the thunder rolls

I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away


And I'll praise You in this storm

And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm


I lift my eyes unto the hills

Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth


 
In Christ alone,
Cindy










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Monday, October 17, 2011

A Plethora of Autumn Busyness

 Calendula Infused Oil

I gathered organic calendula petals way back in July and infused them in an olive oil base.
Yesterday I mixed the strained oil with...



 Natural beeswax, lavender oil, and vitamin E

...the above ingredients and made...


 Calendula Salve

...this!

Calendula salve is good for a plethora of ailments.
Diaper rash, chapped lips, scrapes, scratches, rashes, etc.
I have some at my bedside table for soft nighttime lips and chapped hands.
You can do what you want with yours!
Internet searches show this sells for up to $12.99 for an ounce.
I made 6 4oz jars for under $5.00


 Pear & Ginger preserves and Spiced Cranberries

I am attending a homemade/handmade swap this Sunday and wanted to add a few specialty items to my plethora of goodies I am swapping.
The pears were perfectly ripe (see photo below) at the farmers market on Saturday, along with the 1st of the locally grown cranberries.
Small batch preserving is right up my alley, as I am not one to go through 12 jars of any one kind of jam in a years time.
The Spiced Cranberries will be perfect served over a block of cream cheese during holiday entertaining.
Perfect to bring as a hostess gift, too!


 Fuzzy

He's getting a bit on in age, and spends most of his days sleeping on a cushioned dining room chair.

 Farmboy cutting soap

I am in the process of refurbishing my handmade soap supply, and since I could not cut/draw a straight line if my life depended on it, I have to have Pete hand cut all my soaps.


 Farmers market haul

Apples, pears, cranberries...oh, my!


 Honey Crisp apples

A favorite around here, tho I must confess that apples give me a stomach ache.
I will eat 1/2 an apple or a small glass of cider, but that's all I can tolerate.
Dang!

Winter Tea Blends

Some of the ingredients I harvested myself, and some were purchased thru Mountain Rose Herbs.
I am drinking a cup of the Nourishing Infusion even now...

Whew!
So that's the update from around here.

I pray all is well with you and yours...

In Christ alone,
Cindy

PS...I hope you don't mind, but I increased the size of my blog's font. I have a hard enough time reading some of the smaller fonts, and this way anyone else that has that problem won't have it while reading over here!
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Monday, October 10, 2011

Apple Grunt, revisited

APPLE GRUNT

It's apple season here in West Michigan, so I thought I would pull this old post out of the archives and re-visit it!


Long, long ago, as a young girl growing up, we lived a few doors down from a good Catholic family, with, shall we say, MANY children! Mrs. Thayer was a stay-at-home mom, while my mom was a single parent, working in a factory. One of the advantages of living near a good Catholic family was the many children they had. Mr. & Mrs. T had, I think, 12 of them. So...no matter what your age, you could always find someone to play with at the T's! I had Joanie, my sis had Jean Ann...and unbeknownest to me...
Farmboy had Dave, 2nd oldest of the T's.
Mrs. Thayer baked. My mom did not.
One of Mrs. T's favorites was Apple Grunt.
And whenever Mrs. T baked Apple Grunt, I was there, begging from Joanie. So...Joanie would sneak me a piece of the familys dessert, and I would be happy.
Meanwhile...
Dave T. was sneakin' Farmboy a piece of the dessert.
Keep in mind...
I did not even know Farmboy existed at this point in time.
He was 3 years older, and lived 6 blocks away, but our paths had never crossed. (tho he says he remembers me as the cute 6th grader from St. James Parochial School...but I kind of doubt it!!)
After we were married, I got the coveted recipe from Mrs. Thayer, and have been making it at least once every winter since then.

Apple Grunt

6-8 apples, peeled, cored, sliced
1 TBL cinnamon
1 cup sugar
3 TBL flour
2 teas. nutmeg
Mix above and place in well buttered 8x8 pan.

In separate bowl:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
dash salt
1 TBL melted butter
1/2 cup milk
dash vanilla
Mix and pour over apples.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Memories are made of this.
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Sunday, October 02, 2011

Praying...like crazy

 Country driveway

I said I would be back shortly...
I lied.

A lot going on here at our little farmette.
Burdens that need to be lifted...





 Autumn pond

Algae all over the pond this time of year...
Kind of like the gunky way my heart feels at times.....


  Still

Our pastor said this morning when you see insurmountable odds looming in front of you...
it is time to...

PRAY LIKE CRAZY

When you have been praying faithfully for something and have not seen results...

PRAY LIKE CRAZY

When all seems lost...

PRAY LIKE CRAZY

When all around you seem to be on the wide path...
PRAY LIKE CRAZY


 I do believe I will/must be taking some time to...
pray like crazy.

Join me this week as I intercede for lost family and friends...

Praying like crazy, 
In Christ alone,
Cindy

And let me know if there is someone you'd like me to join you in prayer for...
"For where 2 or 3 are gathered together in My name, there I am in the midst of them..." Mt. 18:20
"...save others, snatching them out of the fire..." Jude 1:23

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