This column will wrap up March 2023 and another month down in history. It’s unbelievable how fast time goes.
We
moved to Michigan from Indiana in March 2004, which is 19 years
already. Lots of changes in those 19 years. Our oldest child was 9 when
we moved, and we only had our six oldest children. In May 2004, daughter
Lovina was born, and then Kevin in 2005.
We have been helping
daughter Loretta and Dustin, and hopefully next week we can go again.
They will host church services at their house at the end of April, Lord
willing. This is their first time hosting it. On Saturday, son Joseph
and daughter Lovina and Daniel (Lovina’s special friend and Dustin’s
brother) were helping. Lovina cleaned out some cabinets, and the boys
helped Dustin get some more trim on that wasn’t finished from when they
remodeled their house. The services will be held in their pole barn, so
that has to be cleaned out yet.
On Saturday we had supper at
daughter Elizabeth and Tim’s house. Tim had the grill and deep fryer
going. On the menu was grilled ham, fries, cheese curds, cheese, chips,
cinnamon rolls, cookies, ice cream bars, and ice cream sandwiches. All
of our family was there except son Joseph and daughter Lovina. After
supper, we played games.
On Sunday, Joe and I were the only ones
home all day. In the afternoon we walked across the road to daughter
Loretta and Dustin’s house. We played Marble Chase with them, and they
told us to stay for supper. They put pepper poppers and ham on the
grill. After supper, we played Marble Chase again. Joe and I were teamed
up against Dustin and Loretta, and we were ahead in the games we won.
We probably should’ve quit while we were ahead. Haha! They ended up
winning the most games. It can get pretty exciting, and it’s always fun
to see which team wins. Denzel was happy watching and sitting on our
laps until he decided he should move the marbles, too. He’s okay letting
me hold him until Grandpa Joe comes around, then he wants to go there.
For some reason, it’s way more fun hanging out with Grandpa.
Yesterday,
daughter Elizabeth dropped her daughters Allison, 3, and Andrea, 1, off
here before she picked Tim up from work. They took Timothy (T.J.) to
the doctor and they changed his cast to see how his finger is doing.
The
doctor said it’s healing well but his finger won’t look normal the way
it did before. He won’t have a fingernail on it, and it’s going to be
shorter than it was. Basically, what they did is use the part that was
cut off to cover the open wound. By doing this they didn’t have to cut
below the first joint. It won’t look normal but at least it wasn’t worse
than that. T.J. was excited to show us his new cast, and this time the
doctor put on a blue cast. Last time it was white, so he was glad he
could have a colored one. T.J. is an active little boy, so it was a good
thing he had the cast changed. His other one looked dirty already.
Typical for a 4-year-old boy.
Abigail, 6, came off the bus here,
and she was glad to spend some time here before her parents came to pick
the three girls up. We enjoyed having the girls here.
Daughter
Verena came home after her dentist appointment yesterday and stayed the
night. Today daughters Elizabeth, Susan, and Loretta and all their
little ones will come for the day. I want to get a breakfast casserole
in the oven soon so it’s ready to eat when they come. It’s been a while
since they all came home for a day together. Susan has a few more to
bring than she used to, but she enjoys it. She is a good mother to their
five little ones.
Ervin and Susan left their five children here
Saturday while they went to town. Five children from ages 3 to 6 makes
for never a dull moment. They are all precious. God’s blessings!
Cinnamon Bun Cake
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Topping:
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2/3 cup chopped nuts, optional
Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
In
a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, milk, eggs, and
vanilla. Once combined well, slowly stir in 2 tablespoons melted butter.
Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
In another
large bowl, mix the two sticks of softened butter, brown sugar, flour,
cinnamon, and nuts until well combined. Drop evenly over cake batter by
the tablespoon and use a knife to marble swirl through the cake.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out nearly clean from the center.
Place
powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth.
Drizzle over warm cake. Best served warm straight from the oven or then
at room temperature.
Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by
Lovina Eicher, Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife, and mother of eight.
Her newest cookbook, Amish Family Recipes, is available wherever books
are sold. Readers can write to Eicher at Lovina’s Amish Kitchen, PO Box
234, Sturgis, MI 49091 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope
for a reply); or email LovinasAmishKitchen@MennoMedia.org and your
message will be passed on to her to read. She does not personally
respond to emails.