Just Reverse . . .

. . . these posts! I don't know how they got posted in reverse order, but they did! Anyway, the picnic post comes first, as you can tell by the commentary at the beginning of the baking post.

Rewarded!

So today (Monday) I took the berries the children picked for me and put them into one of Danny's favorite treats -- berry philo/phyllo/fillo (and all other variations thereof!).

I brush each sheet of philo dough with melted butter and sprinkle with natural sugar (or brush with agave nectar). Then I lay the berries out in the middle of the stacked philo sheets, sprinkle with more sugar and roll or close up, jelly-roll style, on a parchment paper-covered cookie sheet.

I like to slash the wrapped package on the diagonal every few inches, to make separating it into servable slices easier.

Then the top is brush with more -- guess what? -- butter! and sprinkle with more sugar before baking.

Before the "roll" goes into the oven for 15 - 18 minutes.

The reward! Seeing my sweetie enjoy his treat with a cup of hot tea.

Danny truly enjoys the things I do for him, and that makes me happy!

Beautiful Lord's Day

This weekend, the sweet older granddaughters organized a wonderful picnic/berry picking for yesterday after church. So after the meeting, each church family headed out to the "Enchanted Forest" on our property with picnic basket and berry bucket in hand. This has been a hard year for berries, since we are just now getting rain and have had months of drought. But the children and some of the parents were determined and diligent and took home enough for a cobbler or berries for ice cream. Sweet Kitty picked for Grandmother and Granddaddy. She figured that it was our property, she would make it easy on us and get the thorn pricks! Thank you, Kitty!

Danny and I enjoying chicken salad sandwiches and ICED TEA!!

The Dischers and Terrie and Amanda get a little shade from the Durango.

The Stricklens find the pines to their liking. Mary Stricklen and Sarah Discher made wonderful homemade chocolate cakes to share with everyone.

Josiah Waldman (red shirt) turned 6 yesterday, so our picnic was a birthday celebration, too! Baby Isaac, in his daddy's arms, is getting so big!

We had the pleasure of the company of Frank Doolin and his boys, but we didn't give him enough notice for him to bring his trademark fried chicken. Nobody starved, though!

Terrie Tanner, Renee Waldman, and Beth Discher discuss things wise Proverbs 31 mothers talk about. What a blessing to have women of God who care and share with one another!

Molly with William and his treasured berries.

Callie and Amanda's take, mid-harvest

The children found two little owls in the woods. Here is one of them (bottom center of picture). I have no idea what kind it is, but the children were excited about it.

Visionary fathers discussing things of God. We are blessed with strong men in our fellowship -- men who lead their families faithfully. (Eddie was in the berry patch, determined to take home sweet berries!)

CJ and Willie found an airplane!

Time to go, but men always find important things to talk about!

The ladies weren't quite finished either!

Little people patiently waiting to take their delicious treasure home! The end of a wonderful Lord's Day!

Joyful Mothers of Children!! (Psalm 113:9)

What a blessing today to spend time with my precious mother, Frances, this Mother's Day. Our family (at least those who still live in the area!) had a wonderful dinner at daughter Molly's house after church -- lasagna, homemade bread, home grown green beans and squash, salad, and lots of yummy desserts!

My mother has always been my role model and shining example of what a mother should be. Most of all, she has blessed me with a constant and consistent picture of godly, biblical womanhood. Through all the joys and sorrows of her life, she has lived out a consecrated walk with the Lord before her children, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren. Her quiet confidence is always there, and her knowledge of God's Word is brought to bear in every situation. Many daughters have done virtuously, but she excels them all! I arise up and call her blessed. I love you, Mother. Happy Mother's Day!

Sweet daughter Beth and her family spent hours loading photographs for me onto 28 CD's!! What a wonderful, personalized Mother's Day gift! Beth is the joyful mother of 7 children -- number 8 is still in the oven, planning to make his/her arrival on July 11. What a blessing!

Sweet daughter Molly can always be counted on for something meaningful and green! Here, she and her family presented me with a wonderfully fragrant gardenia bush. It has several blooms already opened and is waiting for the rest of the gift -- Molly's expert help in placing and planting the bush at our house. Molly is the joyful mother of 6 children.

Sweet daughter Katie (Arkansas) and sweet daughter-in-law Ashley (Missouri) called to wish me the best of the day, wishing they could be here in person. They got together on the Missouri property for a cookout, with chef Jason doing the honors. Katie is the joyful mother of 8 children, and Ashley is the mother of Savannah, who is expecting a baby brother or sister in December!

What a blessing to have a family that honors mothers! The Bible says, "There is a generation that . . . doth not bless their mothers" (Prov. 30:11) When children are not taught to honor their parents, they will not honor God, and the end result will be the decay of the culture in less than a generation! What a good thing our traditions are, when they are based on the principles in God's Word. May God bless all the mothers who are striving to raise up the next generation in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Thank you, Lord, for my mother, and for the wonderful mothers my daughters have become.

Make Them Known, Declare Them . . .

"Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:
That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments"
Psalm 78:1-7

It was our privilege recently to have the 7 oldest granddaughters stay over for the night after a family get-together. As the evening came to a close, it was time for Granddaddy to break the Bread of Life to us, as he does with me most every night. He shared with me and the girls from Deuteronomy, pointing out portions that might need explanation. The girls asked insightful questions and offered sound discussion with biblical reasoning. We were impressed.

Do you notice the generations in the above portion of Psalm 78?

1) "Our fathers" (could go back for many generations)

2) "We" (counting that as my generation)

3) "Our children" (my children)

4) "The generation to come (my grandchildren)

5) "Their children" (my unborn great-grandchildren)

At least 5 generations are listed here, with instructions to never neglect the passing on of the faithfulness of God. Not only is His Word to be diligently sown into their hearts and everyday practice, but the stories of His workings in our lives and the lives of our fathers are to continue to be passed down. Why???

verse 7: That they might

1) set their hope in God

2) not forget His works

3) keep His commandments

What more could we ask for, for our precious descendants, than to have hope in the Lord for the coming hard days by not forgetting His works which we have related to them faithfully, so that they will keep His commandments and reap all the benefits of obedience? His ways never fail.

What a blessing it was to hear their strong faith and ability to "give an answer"! How blessed to know that the 5th generation will be in the hands of good, godly mothers! What a privilege we have been given to participate in their lives -- it is as it should be. Thank you, Lord, for your perfect plan for families. May you send them strong men of God and give them many children for your Kingdom!

Another Road Trip -- Part 2

(Mary, the picture-posting queen, assures me that sometimes the pictures go where you don't want them to go, and there is no way to make them go back, so the first picture will just have to stay where it is!)

When we drove back into the property on this trip, we found forsythia in bloom! How spring-y! When my children were little and we lived in Indiana, we would tire of the endless winter about mid-March. We went out and cut forsythia branches and bring them inside. We put them in water to force the early blooms so we could have a touch of spring. Beautiful!

Also, see the brick wall in the bottom left corner of the above picture? It is a retaining wall along the patio in back of the house. In this picture, you can see a few of the hundreds of tulips that had come up along the wall. Hopefully, they did not freeze and die! They will be beautiful also. What a miracle spring is! We tend to forget its magnitude here in Florida, but it surely sends out a message of hope every year!

"For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;" Song of Solomon 2:11-12

Ashley looks relieved to be in Missouri -- finally! She drove the Tahoe and followed Jason driving the U-Haul rental truck.

Jason and Ashley came in about 10:30 at night. Everyone pitched in and started unloading the truck. This was one of those "hit the ground running" trips for them. They had encountered several obstacles along the way, but God's amazing grace was sufficient!

Katie made a special effort this trip to meet up with us every day or so and let one or two children spend the night with us. What a blessing to spend time with them one on one, talking and listening! Here is Joey with Granddaddy in the RV.

Although they enjoyed being with Florida family, these boys were glad to get home! After all, they are men of God with work to do. And besides, there's no cooking like Mama's cooking, right?

One evening, we went to Katie's for supper in the new kitchen cabin. Here little Sam and Savannah get to know each other better. The storage boxes make the perfect size tables for little people!

Andrew and Katie in the cheery new yellow kitchen!

Above, Rachel and her big brother RG, and below, Katie and Samuel. The Millers met us in Flippin Arkansas (yes, that's the real name of the town . . . don't ask me . . .) for supper at a quaint little restaurant named Sodie's, in the train depot. Pleasant times after a hard day's work.

Rachel was our sweet little companion at the home show. Jason and Danny manned this vendor booth for the new business, Wood Re New, a restoring service for log homes, decks, fences, etc. Jason will handle the business in a five county MO/AR area. I think it will do well.

Here are Ashley, Benny, Savannah, Joey, and Grandmother at a nice cafe/grill we found during the Mountain Home Arkansas spring home show. They served their own delicious grassfed beef, so we came back several times.

Well, this does seem to be a time of transition for the Frodge clan. The Millers have been in Arkansas for a year now. The Jason Frodges are now in Missouri, about an hour from the Millers. The Dischers have their little house up for sale, in preparation for a move, as soon as possible, to Missouri, also. (Check our their house blog! http://floridacountryhouse.blogspot.com/ ) The Dan Frodges have been back and forth (!), and the Stricklens are firmly rooted in Florida. What is next, Lord? Thank You for your faithfulness, through quiet times and unsettled times. You have a plan, and we gladly place our family in Your providential hands.

Oh, No!! Not Another Road Trip!!?? Part 1

Well, yes, another road trip!  Cousins Matthew and Peter turned 16 in the last few months, and it has been our privilege to take (well, for Granddaddy to take) grandsons who turn 16 on a canoe trip with cousins and friends.  So Matthew and Daniel flew down for the occasion, which happened to coincide with Uncle Jason and Aunt Ashley's move to Missouri.  Jason and Danny have bought a business in the Gainesville, Missouri, area, which Jason will manage and work (and I do mean work -- it's a wood treatment business, and there are lots of log homes, decks, etc., in the Bull Shoals area of Missouri/Arkansas.)  So this was an ideal time to hit the road and take Matthew and Daniel home to Arkansas!  Here we go!

What a privilege to have Matthew to talk to for two whole days!  Matthew isn't much of a chatter, which is a good thing, but he thinks deeply and comes up with great observations and theological conclusions.  Since they moved to Arkansas, we have missed hearing his thoughts as he grows into manhood. 

One of Daniel's "quieter" moments in the RV.  Daniel, too, surprises us with the depth of his contemplations.  He and Matthew both have a dry wit and love to come up with "zingers".  What a blessing to spend time with them!

Our other traveling companion -- Ashley's good doggie, Spencer.  We had intended to meet them as they came up from Ft. Lauderdale, but they were delayed behind us, so we ended up with a canine companion all the way to Missouri.  Spencer has been living with us the last year or so, but he has been an "outdoor" dog -- both Danny's and my preference.  So the boys washed and washed him so he would be tolerable in the RV.  I must say, he was a good doggie all the way.  He never misbehaved and was always considerate.  He is loving his new farm home in Missouri.  Bye-bye, Spencer.  We will miss you!

Boys love buffets -- at least these boys do!  We ate most meals in the RV, but we had to have one good buffet along the way!

Finally there!  It is much greener than February.  The sun shone most of the time, but when we left on

April 6, it was downright C-O-L-D!!  It was supposed to freeze that night -- hope the hundreds of tulips and daffodils made it! 

R.G. came up after work to help unload Jason's moving truck, but since they had been delayed, he ate supper with us and went back home to Arkansas.  We didn't get to spend a lot of time with him, but we were so blessed by the man of God he is becoming. 

Every evening, I was blessed to watch and listen as Granddaddy broke the Bread of Life and young men asked questions and added insights.  I could not help but think of the strong faithful arrows going into a time I won't see.  Thank you, Lord, for these precious times, and the little glimpse into the future that they give us.

Part 2:  Moving In