Monday Gratitudes

What's your favorite fruit?
. What would summer be like if there were no fresh fruits? BORING!
This is one of my favorite times of year
I'm grateful that fresh fruit is in abundance and tastes so yummy. I love watermelon, grapes, peaches, plums, strawberries, etc. Oh the list could go on,
but my absolute favorite fruit has to be bing cherries. My parents had 2 huge bing cherry trees in our back yard and when the cherries were ripe that is where you could always find us, not to mention the neighbor kids as well.
Such fond memories of spitting out the seeds and seeing who could spit the farthest or flick them the farthest.
Give me a big juicy, crunchy, sweet bing cherry any time of day! I don't even mind the pit; If it wasn't for the pit - to slow me down - I'd definitely eat them even faster. Love Cherries!

Monday Gratitudes

We had so much fun in Nauvoo this weekend. The kids were able to take a horse drawn wagon ride, pull handcarts, see the Nauvoo Temple, and participate in a number of pioneer games. The high light was getting to see the Nauvoo Pageant.
I didn't know this before but Nauvoo was once home to thousands of settlers and rivaled its neighbor Chicago in size. It's a pretty amazing place to visit.
I'm grateful to be close to so many wonderful places.

Summer with Isaak

Isaak has a lot of outdoor pets. His favorites are his toads. They even have names. The other morning he found one of his toads smashed on our driveway. It was so sad. He had to give him a proper burial. He placed twigs around it, so that we wouldn't accidently step on him.
The next photo is Isaak with his cub scout troop. They were putting on a funny skit. He loves scouts. It's fun to watch him grow and see his interests change.

Try-it Tuesdays Ebelskivers

These light, fluffy pancakes are delicious! Tastes great with lingonberry or raspberry jam. You can even fill them with berries of any kind or my kids favorite nutella! You can buy an ebelskiver pan at Williams sonoma
3 eggs, separated
2 C buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk on hand you can make some by mixing 2 Tbs lemon juice with enough milk to make 2 cups and letting it sit for 5 minutes )
2 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbs sugar
Zest of 1/2 lemon or 1/2 tsp almond extract
2 Tbs oil
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, granulated sugar, salt and lemon zest. Set aside.

In another bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks. Whisk in the buttermilk and oil. Whisk the yolk mixture into the flour mixture until well combined; the mixture will be lumpy. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff but not dry peaks form. Gently fold the whites into the batter in two additions.

Put 1/2 tsp. butter in each well of a filled-pancake pan. Place over medium heat and heat until the butter begins to bubble. Pour 2 Tbs. batter into each well, Cook until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Using 2 wooden skewers turn the pancakes over and cook until golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a plate.
Dust the pancakes with confectioner’s sugar and serve warm. Makes about 30.

Monday Gratitudes

Wow, truly so many things to be grateful for!
First off my family!
Friends!
And grateful that we had such a nice and safe 4th of July weekend!

I am truly thankful to live in this beautiful country!
The United States is truly an amazing country!
We have almost every climate type.
We have people from all nations and walks of life.
We are blessed to be leaders in scientific research and have some wonderful technological advances. I personally love having a washing machine and dryer!
We also have the worlds oldest surviving constitution!
Another thing that makes our country unique is out Patriotism.
God Bless America!

Happy 4th of July!

Why do we celebrate the 4th of July?
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in the history of the United States. It signifies the colonies’ break from England and the rule of George III. On July 2, 1776 Congress voted to declare independence from England. After two days of debate and some changes to the document, on July 4th, Congress voted to accept the Declaration of Independence. This is why we celebrate July 4th as Independence Day. It's the birthday of our great country. I am thankful for those that came before me to pave the way of freedom

Try-it Tuesdays Chocolate Cherry Bread

If you like chocolate and cherries together- then this recipe is for you!

2 3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
2 Xlarge eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup cream or milk
3/4 cup sour cream
2 cups cherries (maraschino or dried)
1 cup chocolate pieces

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. Add melted butter to the dry mix until the mixture is crumby or powder dust. Add 2 cups of cherries & 1 cup of your favorite chocolate pieces. Mix well into the dry mixture. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, vanilla, cream & sour cream. Mix until smooth & well blended. Add liquid egg mixture to the dry mixture by folding together until just incorporated throughout. Place in a well-greased large bread pan or 2 small bread pans. Top the mix with a few of the cherries & sprinkle with sugar. Place in a hot oven: 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and continue baking 35-45 minutes or until the center springs back on touch.
Cool and top with your favorite drizzle

Land of Lincoln-Monday Gratitudes

I love living in this place where I'm surrounded by history of all kinds. When I reflect on the past and consider the trials that Lincoln went through it amazes me that he still had so much wisdom. It probably came from going through all those trials. A quote that I recently came across -is really one that needs to be read by every American.I would love to know your thoughts!
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence.
You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.

.....Abraham Lincoln

Still Here

It's been so long since I've posted anything that I feel rusty. Just a few days after my last post, I suffered a Stroke. I know Crazy, huh! I've gone through numerous tests and am really in great shape except for the part of my brain that processes my vision. It is slowly getting better - or is my typing just getting better? Who knows!
For the past 5 months they would not allow me to drive so I've been feeling like a prisoner. Running on the bike trail in front of my house everyday has really helped to break up the monotony. I also think it has helped me to heal quicker.?
My sincere thanks to all of you for the kind e-mails, pretty flowers and the awesome support, packages, Loved the packages!! I wish I could personally thank each one of you, I will someday. I want you to know that I'm so thankful for your love and prayers. It truly means a lot to me.

Here we go again?!!!

This picture describes what the last couple of weeks/month feels like. Before my server drops me again- I'm still having server issues and the fourth guy from my internet company is coming tomorrow to hopefully fix the problem? We'll see. I'm starting to get quotes from other companies. One word sums it all up FRUSTRATION!