Yesterday, my husband, Joe, and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe so many years have passed. We were married on my brother, Albert's birthday. He would have turned 60, but God had other plans for Albert. As I thought about the first birthday that Albert never got to celebrate with her, my thoughts turned to Albert's widow, Sarah. Albert has two sons and a daughter-in-law who share the same birthday.
Our son Benjamin celebrated his 25th birthday on July 14th. He invited our whole family over for dinner on Sunday evening. Everyone brought something, and Benjamin got pizza and chicken wings for everyone to enjoy. We cooked a variety of dishes and once again ate out on the front porch.
My grandson Denzel turned 2 on July 10th so Loretta made and brought a cake for him. I think she made the cake so well. It was so cute to see Denzel's reaction when we lit the candles and sang “Happy Birthday” to him. He understood it was for him and walked around smiling at all of us while we sang.
Sister Verena recently spent five days in Barn, Indiana. She was attending a reunion of her paternal family from Koblenz. We would have loved to have gone, but with the expense of weddings and building a new barn this year, it wasn't possible. Verena stayed with Sisters Liz and Levi during her stay.
One evening, my uncle Andy, who is 80 years old, took her home. Verna and Andy came to visit and joined us for dinner. I had prepared breakfast pizza for dinner that night. It was great meeting Andy. I couldn't believe he was already 80 years old. Andy attended the wedding of his daughters Lovina and Daniel with their daughters Jane and Verena (my cousins) which I didn't get to see much so it was nice to have them come and see me again.
My father grew up in a family of 13 siblings: 10 boys and 3 girls. Six of them have passed away. All seven of the remaining siblings were able to attend the Koblenz reunion. It would have been wonderful to see them all again. It was great to see Uncle Melvin (my father's brother) and Katherine, who were also able to attend Lovina's wedding. My father passed away 24 years ago, so it's always nice to see his family. I have a lot of fun and fond memories of the Koblenz reunion. The “water fight” was one of my favorites. When the Koblenzes splashed water on each other, few stayed dry. I think my grandchildren have inherited this. They love the water fight. Maybe Grandma taught them how to do it. Hahaha!
My son Joseph and his best friend Grace plan to announce that they are getting married on Sunday, September 6th, if the Lord wills. I am happy for this young couple, but it will be very hard to see another child leave home to start a new family. May God continue to guide them as they take the next step in their lives.
Joseph and Grace's wedding will be in my daughter Loretta and Dustin's barn across from our house. Grace is Dustin and Danielle's sister. We suggested they have the wedding here, but Joseph said one wedding this year was enough.
Joseph and Grace will live six miles from where Grace lives now. Joseph will be 22 next week. It seems he was born just a few years ago. My mother was with us when the midwife came and she was not feeling well. She had fever, we found out later. Little did we know that eight weeks later her life on earth would be over. So when Joseph was a few months old, I wrote her weekly column for her, which she continued to write for 11 years until her death at age 66.
I have finally finished responding to the letters I received from my wonderful readers. I want to thank you for your encouraging words and apologize for the delay in responding.
God bless you all as you journey into the unknown future!
Stuffed zucchini
We have lots of zucchini from the garden and this is a great way to use them up – sometimes I wrap them in tinfoil and put them on the grill.
2 medium zucchinis (about 8 inches long)
1/2 pound ground beef or sausage
1/4 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/3 cup milk
1/8 tsp dill
1 cup spaghetti sauce
1 cup shredded cheese
Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out the flesh, leaving 1/4 inch of shell. Chop the flesh and set aside. Sauté the meat and onion. Drain. Add the flesh, breadcrumbs, milk and dill. Spoon into the zucchini shells. Place in a greased 2-quart dish and top with spaghetti sauce and cheese. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Serves 2.
Lovina's Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, an Old Order Amish author, cook, wife, and mother of eight children. Readers can send a letter to Eicher at Lovina's Amish Kitchen, PO Box 234, Sturgis, MI 49091 (please include a stamped self-addressed envelope for return mail) or email LovinasAmishKitchen@MennoMedia.org and Eicher will send your message for reading. Eicher does not personally respond to emails.
