We are driving.....

..to Devon on Thursday.........

....to visit these two, I can't wait, and we have just found out that they are going to have a baby brother in February!!!!

Family Photo

With having a daughter and her family living in South Africa, our other daughter and her family living 4 hours drive away in Devon and our sons and daughter in law in London, it is rare that we all get together and have a family photo taken so here is a picure my son made of our family, he first did it before the twins were born and then added them later. That's my eldest son on the left (who did the work) then my youngest daughter, her husband and twins, then me and my husband, (I'm pretty pleased with the waistline...not so with the hair!) my eldest daughter, her husband and the boys, my youngest son and his wife and finally my Mum. Pretty good eh?

No Reply?

People tell me I am a 'no reply' blogger...what does that mean please? And how do I change that if I want to?

Preserving

I love making preserves, we used to have a big garden with lots of plum trees and so making chutneys and jams became a regular event. Now we dont have the trees but I still enjoy preserving. I have a fruit & veg box delivered each week and any produce that I dont use that week gets prepared and frozen and then I use these up at a later date and if not it gets put in jam or chutney. This then gets put into the cupboard and used for Harvest Celebrations or given to family and friends as gifts, especially at Christmas.

Quick Fruit Jam

500g prepared fruit

500g jam sugar

Clean, dry, warmed jam jars

A small plate or saucer in freezer to chill

1. Place sugar in a bowl and put in the oven to warm through, with jars

2. Put fruit in heavy-based pan over very low heat, stirring gently until juice starts to run.

3. Stir in the warmed sugar and keep stirring until the sugar and fruit mixture liquifies

4. Increase heat and bring to a roliing boil for 4 mins. remove from heat.

5. Pour a teaspoon of jam onto the chilled plate - wait a minute and then gently push it with you finger. If a wrinkled skin forms it is ready, if not, boil for another minute or two and re-test.

6. Leave jam to stand for 15 minutes and then stir to disperse the fruit evenly through the jam

7. Pour jam into warmed jars and replace lids when cooled

Pear & Courgette Chutney

Makes about 2 litres

1kg of pears, peeled, cored and diced

500g courgette, peeled and diced

500g chopped onions

500g raisins

2 cloves garlic peeled and chopped

5cm fresh ginger, roughly chopped

750 mil cider vinegar

500g light muscovado suger

1.5 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 tablespoon allspice

1. Put pears, courgette, onions & raisins into large non-reactive pan

2. In a blender, combine garlic, ginger and a splash of vinegar, blend to paste and add to pan. Addthe rest of the vinegar, sugar and salt

3. Bruise peppercorns and allspice with a pestle and mortar and ties them loosely in muslin

4. Put pan on low to medium heat and stir frequently until the sugar has dissolved completely and some liquid has been drawn from the fruit and vegetable. Add the spice bag and cook the mixture down slowly, stirring more frequently as it thickens.

5. When it is well cooked, remove the spice bag aand pot chutney in sterilised jars. Coll before sealing.

Farm Visit

I had to post these photo's from my son in laws blog, taken at a recent farm visit. The third picture shows a view of inside the chicken coop where you can see the twins excited little faces as they peep inside!

Birthday Boy!

Today is my Grandson Jesse's 4th Birthday, we have been so blessed since he came into our lives when he was 5 months old. Below is a birthday photo of the whole family. Joseph will celebrate his birthday next month.

Our Hope in God

Psalm 37:7-11

7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when men succeed in their ways,

when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;

do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For evil men will be cut off,

but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;

though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land

and enjoy great peace.

My daughter (on the right) and her friend at Ground Zero a day or two after 9/11, helping out with the ministry where they worked

Grandsons

I haven't posted these little guys for a while so I thought I better had....this is what happens when we live so far away and only see them about twice a year. I cant take the praise for these lovely photo's because I took them off my daughters blog. But they do show what cute little Grandsons I have!!

London Buildings

I love the fact that we can jump on a train and be in London within 35 minutes. Its great to walk around different areas and look up at the buildings. Old, new, tall, short, different architectual designs and styles. I thought I would share some photo's.

Wings like Eagles

Yesterday we had the pleasure of attending the wedding of our youth pastor and a young lady from our church, it was a beautiful day, ceremony and reception. My husband spoke from

Isaiah 40:31 Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint.

At the end of his message he played I Will Rise by Chris Tomlin. The chorus says

I will rise when He calls my name

No more sorrow, no more pan

I will rise on eagles wings

before my God, fall on my knees

And Rise

I will rise

Both this scripture and the song are an amazing expression of how our Father lifts us up and empowers us to soar like eagles, and in response to that we fall on our knees and worship Him