Amish Cook: Warm hearts and warm mugs

0

Everyday life our household continues to be quite eventful with our four little ones! Some days flow smoothly with meeven getting a chance to sew a couple stitches on a dress or do some mending, while at other times I wonder if I reallyget anything done or have the needed management skills to care for these darlings. Recently I made the comment toDaniel, “The only thing I got done this forenoon is a little bit of laundry!”

His response came back, “Are you sure you didn’t get a lot done? Did you take care of the children?”

I saw what he was getting to. “You are right,” I acknowledged.

He then asked me to replace my negative comment with a positive note, such as, “I got a lot done today!” He knew thatfor me to hear myself say those simple, yet encouraging words would give myself a boost in the right direction. Yes, apositive outlook does make the most incredible difference, even in the midst of negative situations.

We do face many challenges, yet we do feel so blessed in countless ways.

Daughter Julia is still my standby helper with many little tasks, whether it’s helping with the dishes, folding laundry,cleaning, or baby sitting. She takes it quite seriously that she is my “maid.” Three year old Austin has been a big helperfor me as well. He does well with hanging up laundry on our little clothes rack or picking up toys or playing with Rayni.Even though it did take some time for him and one year old Rayni to learn how to blend as they played and shared toys,they really are adjusting well. Cutest of all is when they see each other after waking from their naps; they croon and fussover each other like little love birds. Two and a half month old Jesse is a highlight in our family. His huge smiles with hislittle mouth wide open is enough to capture anyone’s heart. Julia keeps telling me things Jesse “said” as he was cooing ather. Then of course there is “Baby Dear” that we’re eagerly waiting on, which is due in eight weeks. “Baby” is a topic thatis daily discussed at our house. Julia is still trying her best to figure out if it will be a boy or girl, and asking me to guesswhat I think it might be. “I simply don’t know,” I’ve told her time and again. Perhaps we’ll do an ultra sound and find out,we’ll have to see.

Between Christmas and New Years I’ve been enjoying the luxury of having my husband home most of the time! What ismore enjoyable than first thing in the morning, sitting in the living room with a mug of hot chocolate and watching thebirds feasting away at the feeder? Daniel is always very diligent in making sure his feathered friends all get fed properlyduring the winter months.

Not only do I enjoy having hubby around the house, it is a super treat for the children as well. They relish their timeswith Daddy, especially when they have his undivided attention. He does come up with the most unique ideas, that’s forsure. The children’s favorite as of now is having Daddy lay on the living room floor, flat on his back, while they tie up hishands and feet with their jump ropes. Once they’re ready he’ll jump up, pretending to be a bear, wiggling his way loose,then playfully chases them.

Another favorite around here is hide and go seek. It’s been years since my girlhood days of playing in our basement withour friends from church where we had countless games of hide and go seek. Now 15 years later I love watching myhusband, Daniel, and our children play hide and go seek. Tonight they shrieked with delight when Daniel suggested thatthey have a couple games of it. This time Daniel held little Jesse and took him with him wherever he went to hide or lookfor the children. Cousin Josiah, who is four years old, is spending the day with us while his parents are helping distributefood for those in need in Indianapolis IN. This only added to the fun, now they had one more person to hide. Usually it’sDaniel who helps them play games as such, but tonight after they had played a while Daniel told me he would like for meto join them. I had just finished the dishes and decided it sounds like a good idea.

As I found a hiding place behind a door I was amazed how that same feeling of suspense creeped up on me, just as itdid years ago, as I eagerly waited in hopes of getting “free” before I would be found. The most hilarious moment for mewas when Daniel and I raced from the kitchen to the living room to our “base” where I wanted to tag before he reachedit. We both laughed heartily as we dashed for base, the little girl part of me needs to add that, yes, I did beat him! (Onlybecause I had a head start, of course.) The children just relished watching Mom and Daddy help them play their games.As you can imagine, after some time it was time to have everything keyed down a bit. That’s when Daniel told them he’llread a couple stories to them from their favorite story books also giving Mom a chance to write!

Here is our favorite hot chocolate recipe, something that many of you will probably welcome this month as temperatureshave been around zero in many places. For a healthier twist, we like to use maple syrup instead of sugar!

HOMEMADE HOT CHOCOLATE

1 /3 cup water

1/4 cup cocoa

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Mix well and then add 1 quart of milk, stirring constantly while heating. Add vanilla. Serve with a dab of whipped creamin each mug or serve with mini-marshmallows.

Reheats well, but boils over easily. Serves 4

https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Amish_CookCMYK-8.jpg

By Gloria Yoder

Amish Cook

Gloria is Amish and lives in a rural horse and buggy settlement in Illinois. Readers with questions or comments can write to Gloria at P.O. Box 157, Middletown, Ohio 45042. Viewpoints expressed in the article are the work of the author. The Daily Advocate does not endorse these viewpoints or the independent activities of the author.

No posts to display