Memories of Grandpa

Abby and Grandpa

Yesterday my Grandpa went to Heaven. Do you know what a relief it is to say that? For as long as I can remember, we prayed for my Grandpa to be saved. About three years ago he was saved. Praise God his suffering and pain are over!

I want to share with you one of my favourite memories of Grandpa. When I was about 10 years old I got sick and had to stay home from school. My Mom and Grandma had already made plans to go somewhere, so Grandpa got to baby sit me. I got to spend the afternoon with Grandpa by myself. That didn't happen very often since I had 5 other siblings. I don't remember much from that day except he kept bringing me food. He kept finding more and more snacks for me to eat. He even let me have one of his special ice cream sandwiches! Any time we would go to Grandpa and Grandma's house he would make sure we had plenty to eat.

Grandpa loved fishing and every summer we would spend hours out on the lake fishing with him. He loved to use nightcrawlers and cane fishing poles.

He also loved the woods and would take us for 4-wheeler rides or walks through the acres and acres of property they owned.

In the winter we would go for rides on the snowmobiles. Grandpa had a collection of old snowmobiles that he kept fixed up for us to ride on.

Grandpa liked to fix things (or putter around as Grandma would say!) and there were always bikes for us to ride when we went to their house. I'll always remember his old barn full of projects he was working on.

This past February we got to spend some time with Grandpa while we were in the States. He got to meet Abby for the very first time. The second time we went to see him Abby (who doesn't like to sit still at all) sat in his lap and just "talked" to him for about 20 minutes. He looked so happy holding her.

Grandpa is gone and I'll miss him, but I'm so glad I have wonderful memories of him. I love you, Grandpa!

Sunday and a Yummy Recipe

We had a good service yesterday. Sunday morning we had 79 in church. My husband preached from Psalm 23. People always seem to use it at funerals, but it is really all about life. It was a great message!

Sunday evening we started our Bible Challenge. Through the month of April we will be having different competitions on Sunday evenings. Last night we split up into 2 teams and had our first competition. Tonight we played a game to see who could name the most Bible characters. Each team chose 5 people to compete. Each person was given a different letter of the alphabet and one minute to come up with as many names of people and places they could for that letter. I am pleased to say that our team won!

Below is a picture of Abby from yesterday afternoon. She found my purse and carried it around with her for about an hour. What a girl! Here she was waiting for Daddy to take her out to the car.

Abby loves to "help" in the kitchen. Here she is this afternoon helping me get lunch ready.

And this picture is for my sister. Her house burned down about 6 months ago and they have been living in cabin while the new house was being built. She was commenting about how little counter space there was in the rented place. I told her she had more than me. I don't think she believed me. So, here is a picture just for her to show her just how much counter space I have. By the way, their new home is built and she has a ton of counter space now!

While we're talking about kitchens, here is a yummy recipe we tried last week. If you like pork chops with applesauce, you'll love this!

Apple and Brown Sugar Pork Chops

2 pork chops

1 Granny Smith apple - chopped into small pieces

1 stick butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

Slice chops into small, thin strips.

In skillet, add 3/4 of the stick of butter and the brown sugar. Add the pork strips and cook on Medium heat until pork is just cooked through.

Add the rest of the butter and the apples and cook until apples are slightly softened, but not limp.

***My notes***

I didn't add the second lot of butter and it turned out fine. We served this over savory brown rice. It made 3 generous servings.

Have a great day!

Abby and Her "Friends"

Had to post this photo. Abby and all of her stuffed animals. It must be a hereditary thing to have so many stuffed animals. It used to drive my Mom crazy with how many stuffed animals I had. I guess that's hereditary too. I find these things all over the house! It's worth it though, to have this precious little girl!