~My Favorite Apple Recipes~

Thanks to Bro. Bacle & Mrs. Annie we have apples! So, I am making some

fried apples for the kids. I love apples....and all of the delicious goodies you

can make with them. I thought I would share a few of my favorites.

Enjoy!

MRS. ANNIE'S APPLE DUMPLINGS

2 gold apples

2 cans crescent rolls

1 T. cinnamon

2 sticks butter

2 c. sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1 (12-oz) sprite

Preheat oven to 350. Peel and core apples; slice them into 8 wedges. unroll crescent rolls and separate. Place 1 wedge of apple in each roll, roll up and place seam side down into a 13 x 9 inch greased baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon; set aside. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add sugar and vanilla; mix well and pour over rolls. Pour soft drink over top and bake for 30 minutes. Remove and let stand for 45 minutes before serving.

CARAMEL APPLES

8 apples

1 c. butter

2 c. packed brown sugar

1 c. light corn syrup

1 (14-oz) can sweetened cond. milk

2 T. vanilla

8 sticks

In a heavy saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and milk;

bring to boil over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until a candy

thermometer reads 248 degrees (firm ball stage) about 30-40 minutes.

Remove from heat; add vanilla. Insert wooden sticks into the apples.

Dip each apple into hot caramel mixture; turn to coat. Holding by

the stick, sprinkle with nuts or whatever you want while the caramel is

still warm. Set on buttered wax paper to cool. (you can always take

the short cut and buy the caramels-but these are much better)

FRIED APPLES
10 apples, peeled, cored and quartered
1/4 stick butter
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 cup water
In a heavy sauce pan, melt butter and add remaining ingredients. Simmer until apples are tender.

Where Does The Time Go?

Isn't it incredible how time flies?

One day things are fine, my children are sweet and innocent and

climbing on my lap wanting kisses and boo boo's fixed....

....and in what seems like such a short time later....
....my boys are three and four inches taller than I am.... ....talking about cars, softball, hunting and of'course..... girls. My baby....now, not so much a baby....is counting down
the inches until she too....is taller than mom. More than once, I have been accused of being an 'over-protective' mom.....
Guess What? I don't care.
Who is going to take care of my children if I don't ? The world?

Proverbs 22:6 ~
'Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.'

That's great parental advice, but do we apply it? We love to train our children, but are we training them in the things that really matter? Are we spending more hours a week at softball games and watching television than studying the Bible with our families?

Raising kids to become strong Christians doesn't just happen. We are their role models and if we want our children to follow God, then we have to lead the way. Too often we worry about giving our children the material things this world has to offer and not teaching them about what Jesus has to offer.

If children "learn what they live," then just what are they learning at home?

I'm Sorry!

Psalms 51:10 Create in me a clean
heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
I find myself continually talking to the kids about being truly sorry.
When one wrongs the other I say, 'Tell your brother or sister you

are sorry.'......just to hear them murmur a fake, half pronounced - sorry.

Then I find myself saying, 'Say it like you mean it.'

Then they say an ever so rehearsed - sorry, just to please mom

and go on about their business as if they are off the hook.....

I thought of a common scenario and had to ask myself. What would I feel like if one day my kids realized that they could consistently disobey me and rationalize that “It’s ok, no matter what I do, mom will always love and forgive me”. I can tell you, I think it would probably really hurt. We want our kids to be loving and honest and behave well toward us and others....not just because they should....but because they want to.

How much more must our heavenly Father want these things from us?

How must He feel when we consistently allow ourselves to behave badly

because we know He’s a loving and forgiving Father?

I don’t know about you, but I need a radical change of heart today.

I need the Lord to perform some open-heart surgery.

We need to be the kind of children who yearn to love the Lord and

put Him and His will above every other desire.

There’s so much work to be done!

~ Thank You ~

I want to thank everyone for your prayers and kind words regarding

my father. The doctors finally called yesterday afternoon with the results.

The tumor they found behind his eye is cancer.....

the good news is.....that is the only one.

Once again, God has chosen to heal him through the doctors

at M.D.Anderson.They are gonna treat him with radiation and are

confident that this will take care of it. Mom & dad are heading

back to Houston to meet with the doctors on Monday.

Please continue to pray for them....as they travel back and forth from

Kentucky to Texas....and during his treatments. The traveling alone would

drive me nuts....not to mention my mom is having to home-school my sister

during all of this too.

I will keep you updated on his progress.

Thanks again for all your prayers!

Happy Birthday

......to my Dad!

Today he is -- years old!

I would tell you, because I know he hardly ever gets on the computer

and he has no way of seeing it on here....but things have always had

a mysterious way of getting back to him. ;o}

The last ten years have been really trying for my dad and family. In 1998 he was diagnosed with cancer. He went through an intense treatment that required months of painful and often times intolerable therapy at M.D. Anderson's cancer center in Houston Texas. Despite the odds, he made a full recovery and had been in remission for about 8 years. (despite the fact that the radiation left the vertebrae in his neck brittle

requiring surgery in 2006)

Then last year, what seemed to be a routine sinus infection turned out to be cancer once again. Back to Houston for another round of treatments. Again, against the odds, another full recovery was in the works. Last week, back in Houston at a routine exam.....the doctors say they have found it again. This time, it appears to be behind his eye and just under his brain.

Today....on his birthday.....of all days....he will find out the extent of the cancer.

I know, there are no good days to find out something like this.....but my mother has always made sure that our birthday and every holiday was extra special. I want dad to have an extra special day today. I want the doctor to walk in the room with a smile and say, "Jerry, the tests were wrong, you are cancer free."

Now, that would make one special birthday!

I know God can heal him.....he has time and time again through the hands of man.

Please say a prayer for them both....that God will give them peace and understanding and that

they will be able to praise Him no matter the results.