Monday, April 20, 2020

April

Earlier this month we enjoyed the first of our springtime flowers, crocuses. My little girl loves flowers and was excited to pick dainty bouquets for our kitchen table. In the picture above you can see her collection of bouquets in her tiny tea cups.
 Jemimah loves to color, and I am grateful to find a wonderful variety of coloring pages through Pinterest. I am always especially pleased to find scripture verses for her to color. Over the past two months Jemimah has memorized all of the verses comprising the Romans Road. It truly blesses my heart to hear my daughter recite the many scriptures she has memorized over the past year.
 Our new hens have begun egg production! After a long winter of not collecting any eggs it has been wonderful to have an abundance of eggs to share once again. Since we have a variety of breeds this time, it is nice to take note of the variances of the egg shell colors. My sister commented how some of the eggs are almost mauve in their hue.
 Over the winter Jemimah learned to embroider. Embroidery was one of my favorite pastimes when I was a youngster, however I will admit I didn't learn to embroider quite as young as Jemimah has. She spent many painstaking hours creating this precious kitty tea towel for me. I know that I will treasure it forever!
 My most recently completed project is a crocheted afghan. It has been quite a while since I crocheted an afghan. It had been on my mind that I would like to crochet an afghan for our living room.
My grandma was quite prolific in her crocheting of afghans. All three of her children, as well as some grandchildren were gifted with multiple hand crocheted afghans. Growing up I always loved to nap under one of grandma's afghans. I thought of my grandma a lot while crocheting this afghan. It was my grandma who taught me to crochet, and this pattern is very similar to a pattern she crocheted a number of times.
 I am really pleased with the end result! It is super cozy and I love the stitch pattern. It was fun to crochet as it was not overly repetitive, but was simple to memorize.
Did you all have a nice Resurrection Sunday? We did, even if it was quiet and different. One of the special treats we enjoyed this Easter was chocolate cream pie. I thought I would share the recipe today. Over the past few years it has become a family favorite and one of my most requested desserts to bring to family gatherings. In fact my one sister always asks me to make her a chocolate cream pie for her birthday and wedding anniversary. : )

Chocolate Cream Pie

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix ingredients well in a medium saucepan. Then add:

3 3/4 cups milk (I recommend whole milk)
Cook over medium-high heat. Stir constantly. Mixture will come to a boil. Boil 1 minute or until the pudding is thick. Then add:

3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix well. Pour into an already baked pie crust. Chill in refrigerator until completely cool. I typically allow my pie to cool overnight in the refrigerator. Then top with homemade whipped cream, and if you are feeling extra festive maybe some sprinkles.

To close I would like to share a devotional I recently read in David Jeremiah's daily devotional Turning Points.
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 Unwavering
The Lord has promised good things.
Numbers 10:29

In his commentary on the book of Joshua, John Calvin wrote, “Our faith, unless founded solely on [God’s] promise, must be continually wavering…. Faith ought properly to recline on the truth of God alone.”
[1]
Are you troubled today? The Bible says, “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion” (Psalm 27:5).

Do you feel weak? The Lord declares, “My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Are you anxious about how a situation will work out? Proverbs 3:5-6 says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

For every pulsing thought, there is a pulsating Scripture. There’s always a Bible verse waiting to be requisitioned to your need. Search it out and write it on the tablet of your mind. If our faith is founded solely on God’s promises, we’ll be unwavering.

That which God promises to us in word he seals by act.
John Calvin
 
 "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
2 Peter 1:2-4


19 comments:

  1. Oh what a treasure Jemimah made you! My oldest is 36 so it will be so precious to you as the years go by. Your afghan is lovely! Such a nice pattern. I have made many for our home and many babies in the family. Happy Spring!

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    1. Thank you so much, Angela! Happy Spring to you too! : )

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  2. DEAR SARA: QUE HERMOSA MANTA, COMO ME GUSTA TEJER CROCHET, MI ABUELA MATERNA ME ENSEÑO, ELLA ERA COMO TU ABUELA, TEJIA GRANDES MANTAS PARA TODOS Y ASI APRENDI YO, TAMBIEN MI TIA ME ENSEÑO A BORDAR, APRENDI ALREDEDOR DE LOS 12 AÑOS Y HOY TENGO 60 Y LO SIGO HACIENDO, CUANTAS BENDICIONES OBTENEMOS DE NUESTRAS ABUELAS Y TIAS, TODO ESE ARTE ANTIGUO ES TAN BELLO, ES UNA LASTIMA QUE LAS JOVENES, YA NO QUIERAN APRENDER EN ESTAS EPOCAS, SON COSAS TAN UTILES EN LA VIDA, PERO HOY TODO ESE ARTE ANTIGUO LO VEN COMO ALGO VIEJO, FUERA DE MODA, QUE PENA. VEO QUE TU PEQUEÑA HIJA ES MUY PROLIJA PINTANDO, Y QUE BENDICION QUE YA MEMORICE LAS ESCRITURAS, DOBLEMENTE BENDECIDA SARA. ESPERO QUE TU Y TU FAMILIA ESTEN A SALVO DE ESTE VIRUS. BENDICIONES DESDE BUENOS AIRES.

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    1. Thank you for your sweet comment! Yes, I am so grateful to have had wonderful grandmothers in my life to pass down their giftings to me and my sisters. Crocheting and knitting bring me much satisfaction. May you have a blessed day!

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  3. Oh Sarah, how lovely it was to visit with you this morning. I always enjoying reading about the happenings in your corner of the world. ♥ I just can't believe Jemimah is already old enough to be learning embroidery (and a beautiful job of the kitty she did too!)... And how precious she is memorizing Scripture - what a blessing! ♥
    Your crocheted afghan is stunning, Sarah...I love the pattern! I am hoping to learn how to crochet sometime this year...I actually just recently picked up my knitting again! {{smiles}}
    How exciting that your hens have started laying...so wonderful to have fresh, new laid eggs to use and share with others! I am hoping we will be able to get chickens again...I miss watching them scratch about and love being able to gather eggs on a daily basis!
    May the rest of your week be a lovely one...thank you for sharing sweet encouragement this morning.
    Much love to you!
    ~ Kelly-Anne

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    1. Thank you, Kelly-Anne! I think you will enjoy crocheting. I love to knit, but find crocheting to be a lot easier. Also, I feel like my crocheted projects move along more quickly.

      I hope you will be able to get chickens again. They are fun to watch and are a lot smarter than people think.

      May you have a blessed day!

      Sarah

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  4. Your crochet is so lovely, and reminds me of the things my Grandma used to do.

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  5. How sweet that she made you the kitten piece :-) Your afghan looks cozy and easy to wrap around the shoulders when you need a hug from Gma.
    Happy Tuesday.

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    1. Thank you for stopping by! : )

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    2. Your post was an old fashioned dose of pure sunshine for me. How wonderful your daughter is learning such a timeless skill such as embroidery. I don't have a daughter or granddaughter (yet) to pass those skills to, but it just brought joy to my heart to read about your daughter learning such a beautiful skill. I love her name. Our grandsons have old fashioned names, Josiah and Jebudiah, and we get comments all the time about their names. Have a blessed day!

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    3. Thank you! I love your grandson's names, especially Josiah. : )

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  6. You have had a nice April. Thank you for sharing these highlights! It feels like I've had a visit with you after reading your posts.
    How precious it must be to hear your little girl recite scripture. I am inspired to teach my eldest son the Romans road. I think he would be able to start at his age and I also think it would greatly benefit him.
    I love Spring flowers. I have been taking walks in the woods around us, and I am excited to see what will be coming into bloom every time I go out. :)

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    1. Thank you! : ) Yes, some of the verses took her a little longer to memorize, but it was wonderful for her to learn and understand fully each verse.

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  7. That is so sweet that your little girl is already learning to embroider...her project is adorable! I have been recently able to teach two of my young nieces some needlework, but I have yet to show them how to do embroidery. I'm sure they would love it if I can get them started on it!

    Your Afghan is lovely also. It has been years since I last crocheted one myself. I am definitely not lacking the supply of yarn, so I should make another one soon. :)

    Thank you also for sharing the devotional, it was a blessing.

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    1. Thank you! That is wonderful that you are sharing your gifts with your nieces! Those will be special memories for them always. : )

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  8. The treasure of flowers in tea cups, the delight of fresh eggs, the special touch of needlework and a treasure of God's word to fill a child's mind.

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  9. I now want Chocolate Creme Pie. Happy Sunday.
    www.rsrue.blogspot.com

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