Dear Blog

Dear blog,
Despite indications otherwise, I have not abandoned yea!

Let me begin, by saying it has been all shades of crazy busy around here. Undoubtedly the biggest struggle has been all the work keeping the ol laptop up and running, as we battle all manner of 2010 sickness (even before 2010).

I have a new respect for the ability and limits to my trusty Blackberry and personally believe there should be a special kind of punishment for those tech devils who create and distribute viral illness's for the sole purpose of vandalizing.


Okay, with that out of my system:

When last I blogged, we had just finished up the blanket drive for the Christmas mission to McDowell County, West Virginia.

Within days of leaving for McDowell, Mary and I were honored to serve up a special luncheon for many of our core group of workers and friends who helped see more than 15 football fields worth of fleece made into 500 plus blankets for our Appalachian neighbors.

The display a homage to

Susan May Warren's

'The Great Christmas Bowl'

Some of the most precious ladies I know

Good Company!
Good food

Great fun!

How I love these gals!


Dear Mary, thank you for inviting me to join in this blessed adventure in fleece.
So many lives touched by a simple gift and our huge God.

Two days after the luncheon, I joined 21 others as part of a mission team to bring a little Christmas to several hundred families in McDowell County, WV.

I have never been so humbled in my life. Assisting with the big Christmas bash held for more than 500 that weekend paled in comparison to the privilege of spending time in these Appalachian hills and hollers visiting many proud people and hearing remarkable stories of perseverance and courage in the face of incredibly challenging circumstances.

Deborah shared such a story

Mother of three, grandmother to several, Deborah and her family live outside of Welsh in this newly built home. When we visited, Deborah, she and her youngest son (not pictured) had just moved into this roughly 800 sq foot home 4 months earlier.

Prior to that they were living in their family home a few yards down the hill

Deborah's husband was a Vietnam veteran, had health issues related to exposure to Agent Orange and ultimately killed himself, in this home in front of his children.

Deborah's only daughter was murdered in North Carolina after moving there to become a nurse. Deborah's youngest son was born with his umbilical cord around his neck depriving him of oxygen for some time. Deborah was told he would never be fully functional. The boy was recently diagnosed with dyslexia but according to Deborah, has a photographic memory, with complete recall of anything he is read, shown or instructed. He should graduate high school this year and hopes to be accepted to technical trade school to become a licenced mechanic like his older brother.

Deborah says the children were raised that there is no such word as 'can't'.

Deborah proudly displayed how self sufficient they are with gardens she cans and freezes from, their ginormous hog, goats and a pen full of chickens.

This family is so grateful for their many blessings. Deborah says their new house (built this past summer) is like her home of dreams. For the first time in her life she has built in closets and stays very warm and dry. This grandmother shared that up until a week or so before we visited it was so snug inside they had no need to even turn on the heat; that's how well her new home is insulated.

Last winter, Deborah and her son lived in a small corner of her old family home, as the majority of the structure was unlivable and had caved in due to leaks in the roof. Deborah would not allow anyone in to visit at her old place as the floors were full of large holes she had resourcefully packed with clothing filled plastic trash bags, and this embarrassed her. Deborah and her son physically huddled around a single heater last winter to survive the elements.

You can hear such pride when Deborah talks about her Mama's amazing wood cook stove (she has preserved under tarp in the old house). To hear her tell it, her stove is better than any Viking or La Cornufe and nothing beats it for canning, especially keeping her jars just right for packing. The only missing in Deborah's house o dreams is a small shed to house her two freezers. As you can see, these appliances are currently set up and operating out in the open.

This was our view as we trekked up the winding path of Deborah's homestead bringing sack lunches, meeting Deborah and some of her family for the first time. After visiting with Deborah and hearing her testimony we sang some carols and invited the family to join us for Christmas fellowship on Saturday.

oh, and

Deborah's eldest son, daughter in law and 2 grandchildren live in this RV at the base of the hill.

The next day......

We went to Iaeger Elementary School to celebrate Christmas with hundreds of folks from the community.

In the beginning

Everyone registered

were given sack lunches, vouchers for use at the Hope Chest thrift shop

The party guest loved this:

Everyone got a free photo taken. Folks could pick up their print later in the week.

For many, this might be the only family group photo they own.

Finishing their lunches and waiting for the show to begin

Another Georgia church provided Christmas entertainment

The tables are set and ready for shoppers

Look at all the happy faces!

Socks!!! Socks!!!

Glorious Socks!!!!

more than 1200 pair....Woo Hoo!!!

and what a blast it was to let everyone and I mean every one choose a fleece tie blanket!!!

( i about got in trouble because of hold ups in the line because

there were so many beautiful choices)

Precious!

Look what she picked out for Christmas

A wonderful group of new friends, great cooks, hearty carolers, adequate drivers (grin grin) and big hearted lovers of all peoples and Christ. What a blessing you are!

To be continued....

Help!! In search of berry simple recipes

I got a call this week from a friend asking if I wanted her to pick us up some blueberries. Seems a local church had a farmer bringing a truckload of the tasty fruit in yesterday morning. They were selling these juicy gems by the gallon bag, at a dollar a pound no less. I said sure, we'll take a couple of bags.

I picked plenty of blueberries as a child and frequently buy those little tubs sold at the local market for about $4 a pack, but I can not say I have ever purchased - much less used 2 lbs of blue berries at a one time.

This is where my husband reminds me "You don't get out much, do you?"

After bringing home our eight dollars of berry's, it just seems wrong to freeze them all, so I suggested we pull several cookbooks from the shelf and find some more varied uses for our berries.

The first thing out of Kyra's mouth was "Pie, let's make blueberry pie".

First off folks...as a rule...I am not a pie baker. Me and crust just can't seem to get together. While I can be quite flaky at times, my crust...not so much.

There are many things I enjoy doing but pie baking is not at the top of that list....truth be told, not ON the list. I leave pure pie baking to those more gifted than I...folks like my niece Dorothy for one.

Take a look at what she can do with fresh apples!

This is from scratch y'all, nothing pre-made here.

Secondly, let me say as recently as a month ago Kyra turned her nose up at the offering of blueberry muffins and announced she that while she use to enjoy them...back when she was 5, since turning 6 her taste had changed and she really is not so fond of blueberries anymore.

So the 'let's make pie' comment surprised me, until I recalled our pie making experiences throughout the years. The child does not realize baking homemade pie usually doesn't involve pulling the crust from the freezer - thank you Madame Pillsbury and company.

It took the girl 3 years to eat all the parts of a pumpkin pie: whipped topping at 2, topping and filling at 3 and topping to crust by age 4. For my baby grand, pie is an acquired taste.

As usual, I digress.

So, after perusing cookbooks and the Internet at large we have become sufficiently inspired to create some new fresh and tasty treats, living beyond our usual smoothies and cereal topping.

Daring uh?

Georgia Jan make preserves look so simple and my grandmother would be sooo proud! That has become a possibility, we're thinking with Splenda??? Trying to keep Mr. B from going into insulin shock don't you know.

Anyway, wish us luck and if you have an berry simple recipes sugar free or not please drop us a line or send us a link, we would love to hear from you!

Repeating...Every 8 Seconds

**Please forgive me if you read the

Fore His Glory blog.

I am duplicating my post as this subject is worth redundancy**

A group of Siesta's from around the country and over seas, joined together to compile a 338 page cookbook.

Now this is not just any ole cookbook.

This grassroots culinary catalog has an abundance of delectable recipes, beautiful photography, plus an assortment of family stories and sayings to boot!

Take a look at the index to get a feel for what's inside.

Filet Mignon with Blackberries...Yum!

The real treasure is that all proceeds will be donated to Life Outreach International whose ministries include drilling water wells in third world countries, where every 8 seconds someone dies from a waterborne disease. Those effected most are children...many of whom die before they reach the age of 5.

With so little, we can do so much!

The Siesta created this book in honor of Beth Moore and the entire Living Proof staff, who are big supporters of providing 'Living Water' to the all the world.

Consider giving books for Christmas, Birthdays, Newlyweds, a Teachers gift...you get the picture.

The cookbooks are $18 each with an additional $6 for shipping. There will be a discount in shipping cost for orders of two or more books.

We've installed a little button on our web bar that will allow you to place an order for books with Holly of Crownlaiddown. Holly is the lead Siesta, who organized and produced the entire project, for her we are most grateful.

Once you press the 'Order Here' button, you'll be brought to an order form. After completing the form, press 'send' to have the information sent to Holly, who will then contact you with a total and various payment options.

Pass it On!

We quickly forward inspirational stories and videos via email all the time... as we lift prayer and praise for the content shared...this should be no exception.


Pass it on, let others partake of the blessing.