Grateful Prayer | Thankful Heart

Cream Cheese Apple Dip

By Lorraine

Easy recipe for Cream cheese apple dip is a perfect way to enjoy crisp, Autumn apples. Just three ingredients mixed together for a healthy snack.
Crisp autumn days are here at last and that brings thoughts of hayrides, farm visits and apple picking.  One of the best ways to enjoy the beautiful apples so readily available right now is in their most natural state. Wash and slice and serve with dip for snacking or with lunch. Cream cheese apple dip is super easy to whip up.Continue Reading

counting my blessings

By Lorraine

 Since we don’t see these precious grands as often as our others, photos from Jill are greatly appreciated!
These were taken just as the kids were heading back to school.
Perfect weather, and a very dear friend visiting from Texas made for an extra special outside brunch to celebrate birthdays.
An Autumn Carnival was the theme for Grandparents Day at Keri and Noah’s school.
The weather was perfect for a full morning of activities with both sets of grandparents loving these two kiddos.
and a reminder why I really blog…
John called my attention recently to the kids at the computer.  I was so surprised to see them having fun perusing my blog and laughing at posts that include them. When they scroll to the bottom of each page they see the list of labels I add to each post making it easy for them to click and and go every post that is about them.
It truly warmed my heart to see this.
❤
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows
James 1:17

Pansy Crepes with Sweetened Cream Cheese

By Lorraine

I have heard of adding flowers to salads and using them as garnish, but never thought about pressing them into crepes.
With inspiration from a sweet friend…
and one blooming pansy plant outside the front door…
 I didn’t hesitate make a batch of pretty pansy crepes.
Since the recipe in the article called for buckwheat flour that I didn’t have in the pantry, I pulled out my very old, basic crepe recipe.
Though the pansies didn’t add much to the flavor, they sure did make for a pretty and unique presentation!
(I have to admit, they were a little weird to eat)
The original recipe came from a new book, Cooking with Flowers (Quirk Books) by Miche Bacher and includes a recipe for Pansy Syrup to be served with the pansy crepes.

Pansy Crepes with Sweetened Cream Cheese
PRINT RECIPE
yield 6-7 crepes
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 Tbs light brown sugar
1 Tbs veg oil (or melted butter, cooled)
dash ground cinnamon
dash ground nutmeg
dash ginger
Pansy flowers (most florist’ blossoms have been chemically treated and are not safe to eat,  If you don’t have untreated flowers growing in your own garden, look for edible flowers at farmer’s markets or natural food stores)
NOTE: I trimmed the pansies removing as much green and leaves as possible.  If you trim too close, the petals will separate. Since I had so few flowers, I simply pressed some of the individual petals into the crepe.
Combine ingredients and mix well with a whisk. Refrigerate 1 hour. (this allows flour particles to swell and soften so crepes are light in texture)
Heat a non-stick, 6-inch pan to medium hot; Pour 3 Tbs of batter (just shy of a 1/3 cup measure) into pan quickly tilt pan in all directions so batter covers bottom in a thin film.  Cook 1 minute.  
Working quickly, briefly remove pan from heat and place pansies, face side up, onto the crepe, pressing gently.  Flip crepe and cook 30 seconds longer. Place onto a rack or towel to cool.

Spread with cream cheese filling and fold into quarters; sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, if desired.

Cream Cheese Filling

1 8-oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla; stir until smooth.

December Highlights

By Lorraine

 outside vignettes
 inside

 

 Our weekly Bible Study Community Group having a blast at our annual Christmas Dinner
 The dearest folks that bring so much encouragement, wisdom, prayers and love to us and each other every week.
John’s Company Holiday Party.
Abbey is an employee here too, since July and someone took a photo of her and the co-founder/Executive Vice President because they are the youngest and the oldest employees.
 Christmas Eve at Jamie’s playing “Don’t Eat Cashew!” game.
Enjoying the ambiance and Christmas Eve peacefulness of her warm home.
Christmas morning with Abbey
Watched (over and over) a heartwarming video of NY grandkids singing to us via cell phone video.
 Erin, AJ and Jared & Jamie, Josh and family arrived late afternoon. They learned that Cashew was being extra mischievous and hid all of the Christmas presents. After dashing throughout the house, Keri was the first to find them in a large cabinet that recently housed our TV. 
 such fun
 chilling after dinner
 Look of fright on Chloe’s face as PopPop takes her photo.
She is a bit uncertain of him as were two other grandkids when they were babies.
Some little ones love guys and some prefer girls but they all come to love him when they get a little older.
Here he is trying to to divert her attention so she realizes he really is a nice PopPop
One of my favorite shots
The adults were still chatting in the dining room after dessert and I walked into the kitchen and noticed the kids playing with the trains and talking about the village houses and which are there favorite.  Noah even remembered which ones were his NY cousins’ favorite.
It was so sweet to hear see them having a quiet moment at the end of some busy days.
Notice Caleb looking over the sofa arm 🙂

Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Galette

By Lorraine

 
Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Galette with a filling of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, Parmesan basil and zucchini in a thick crust. Serve as an appetizer or dinner entrée.
Looking for a fresh side dish to take along to a summer party or cookout? Cherry tomato mozzarella and zucchini pie is brimming with fresh veggies and full of flavor. It travels well and be served as an appetizer, a side dish or even an entrée.  

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Best Buds

By Lorraine

Friday afternoon I picked up our oldest granddaughter, Keri then her sweet friend, Annika, for a weekend full of fun activities.  These adorable little girls were a delight and had my heart smiling continually as I listened and watched their interaction.
Anni is the granddaughter of my very dear friend of 28 years.
Our kids grew up together and are close friends.
Now, the children of our kids are growing up together and forming sweet friendships.
After getting PopPop and Jared, our first stop was McDonald’s for dinner and giggles. Even at 9-years old, the girls still had fun climbing and sliding in the Playland gym.
Next it was to our local high school to see a delightful production of Annie followed by ice-cream sundaes with all the toppings at home.
It was a late night, but Keri and Anni were up early and helped me make a pancake and sausage breakfast with tea in their own birthday-month tea cups. (The girls are 20 days apart in age)
 Heaven knows why the kids are all fascinated about our crawl space.  They couldn’t resist helping PopPop bring up boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations.
 Then it was outside to gather leaves… again.  Our yard did not look like we already spent days raking/blowing/hauling leaves to the front curb, so Jared, Keri and Anni helped PopPop gather more for the leaf collection trucks coming this week.
It didn’t take much coaxing from Keri and Anni for me to get out my childhood Barbie dolls. The girls played for a couple of hours on my bed enjoying the same dolls I played with at their age.
There were also pots of tea with cream and sugar cubes, art work created, Mad Libs to chuckle over and hours of chatter.
 More Ice-cream, the Muppet’s Christmas Carol movie and finally bedtime.
Our church has two campus’s and this morning we will attend church at their campus and then enjoy a fellowship lunch together after service.
I haven’t done one ounce of decorating yet but I sure did enjoy every moment with these two cuties.

Celebrating Grads

By Lorraine

Saturday we had a party to celebrate Erin’s college graduation and Jared’s middle school graduation

 Jared listened intently as Pop-Pop shared and prayed for our oldest grandson
 Our first-born and slightly strong-willed daughter was a little apprehensive when her dad called her to his side and began to share her accomplishments.  He reminded her of her first word, “I-will-do-it“, and how that trait along with her determination, perseverance and hard-work helped her to obtain her degree while maintaining a home, career and being a mom.  This much-loved daughter has boundless energy, creativity and personality. She is talkative, bold and opinionated. 
She weathered being the oldest child and gracefully forgave us of the many errors we made as parents.
(this Einstein art was a gift to Erin made by Abbey)

 So that Erin always remembers that others appreciate and admire her many gifts and talents,
I made this subway art for her.

~ Erin Lee ~
 Some of the friends and family that celebrated with us
 I saw the candy poster on facebook and copied the idea for Jared
Sunday afternoon we gathered again to celebrate the graduation of another sweet girl.  Karli, (Top right photo between her brother and dad) is the daughter of my late cousin, Tammy.
Karli, and her younger brother and sister lost their mom in a car accident twelve years ago.  She recently received her Doctorate of Pharmacy.

My cousin Karen (Karli’s aunt) was showing off her 1st grandbaby, Emma Katherine
♥
My cousin, Caroline (in the orange dress and Karen’s sister), has a daughter who is getting married in August. So we still have some more celebrations to come!

Whirlwind

By Lorraine

As we get older, it seems we get busier and busier.  Our days have been filled with weddings, showers, graduations, parties, birthdays and get-togethers.  Nary a week goes by that we don’t have an opportunity to gather and celebrate life and milestones.
Our oldest grandson, Jared, graduated Thursday night from Middle School and is heading to high school in SeptemberContinue Reading

Think on These Things #16 ~ Psalm 37:3

By Lorraine

This past Wednesday evening, we had our end-of-year Community Group Bible study with a barbecue dinner.  Everyone brought a dish to share and we had a great time eating and chatting with each other outside on the patio.
The timing worked and we were joined by dear missionary friends who shared their work in Bangladesh.
 Evaluating the many blessings and the difficulties over the past couple of years with the many projects they oversee, Psalm 37:3  is the verse that has been encouraging them as they Point People to the Provider.

their prayer… that we understand God’s will,
gain spiritual wisdom.
please and honor God,
bear good fruit,
grow in knowing God,
be filled with God’s strength,
have endurance and patience,
remain joyful in Christ, and
give thanks always.
(prayer taken from Colossians 1:9-18)

~✿~
Has God impressed on your heart something special this week?
Was there a Scripture verse, a song, a quote, a poem or an encouraging word that came your way and caused you to pause.
I’d love for you to share.

Here’s how:
Please link directly to your post, NOT your blog.
In order to link, you will need to leave a link back in your post to this Think on These Things
or you can include theThink on These Things
button by copying and pasting the code below onto your post (while in html not compose)

With a Grateful Prayer and a Thankful Heart

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Stepping Out

By Lorraine

 on the town
and
of my comfort zone
 We attended a beautiful wedding this Saturday of a dear young man that works with John.
His lovely wife was stunning to all and especially to her beloved as she gracefully walked up the isle to him to begin a lifetime together.
Everything about the day was elegant and full of special moments.
We were honored to be able share this day with this
a very sweet couple.
♥
And, yes, I wore red shoes.
I think the last pair of red shoes I wore were Buster Brown’s.
I found the little black dress on sale at Christmastime when I wasn’t really looking for a dress.  The price was so right I brought it home.
But it needed something.
My sweet, beautiful and fun-loving friend, Susan told me to stop by and she would see if she had some accessories to help me dress-up the outfit.

Just for fun, I brought along a dress my niece loaned me.  A sleek, long black dress with boa feathers that had to be the most amusing dress I have ever tried on.  Yes, I looked like Cruella Deville and left tiny feathers whenever I moved about, but oh, what FUN!

After our laugh (and Susan’s suggestion I not wear the boa dress to Bible study) she shared a beautiful silk scarf that was perfect with the dress. So I didn’t have to continually fidget to keep the scarf in place, I tied a knot in front.
We agreed a long, silver necklace with chunky beads that her son bought for her worked too.

My sister, my sister-in-law and my daughter, Erin all suggested red shoes.
So off to DSW and guess what I found on the clearance shelf.
Not just a pair of red shoes but also, at 70% off, a red bag.
Still hesitant, I chatted with the lady at the register as I paid for the red shoes and a sensible pair of black patent leather shoes .  This older, soft-spoken, reserved lady told me,
“Wear the red ones.  There’s nothing like red shoes.”

And to perk up my dashing husband’s suit, Abbey and I found a new red tie for him!

Easy Lemon Curd Food Gift

By Lorraine

 
Delicious spread for toast, scones, waffles, cheesecake, muffins or yogurt. Easy, foolproof microwave recipe for making lemon curd in no time.
The holiday season is such a busy one it is hard to squeeze in all of the shopping, decorating, entertaining, baking, and cooking we hope to accomplish. You may have friends, coworkers, teachers and neighbors that you’d like to give a gift to. This sweet gift of homemade lemon curd is not just unique, delicious and pretty but it is really quick and easy to make.
 
 

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White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread

By Lorraine

 
I am getting together with three of my dearest friends for a small Christmas Cookie Exchange.
Wanting to try a recipe I had in my file for a few years I finally made these pretty little cookies.
White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread are tiny in size yet are BIG on flavor. Each cookie measures just over 1.5-inches but could easily be made larger by rolling bigger balls.

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