There are 17 days until my daughter Lovina and Daniel's wedding, and while a lot is being accomplished, there is still a lot to be done.
I have sewn a dress for myself, a cape and an apron, I also sewed a dress for my daughter Verena's wedding, I have not yet sewn Lovina's wedding dress, it keeps getting postponed to another day.
My sisters Verena and Emma, my nieces Elizabeth, Emma, and Crystal, and my daughters Elizabeth, Susan, and Loretta are all coming over to help out today. I have a list of things to do: make more noodles for the wedding; I need about 40 pounds of them, but I made half of them another day. I also need to make some rhubarb juice to can for future use. I also have some strawberries here that need to be made into jam for the wedding. And if I have time, I'll clean some more windows.
On Saturday, my daughters, Elizabeth and Susan, cleaned the living room and dining room windows and washed the screens. The basement and back porch windows still need cleaning, as well as the bathroom and kitchen windows. We have over 40 windows in our house, so it will take a while to clean them all.
Last night, my daughter Verena's best friend, Daniel Ray, went with her to the eye doctor to pick up her new glasses. After they returned, Daniel Ray and Verena cleaned half the windows of the pole barn where they will be getting married.
Last Saturday, the men in our family – my husband Joe, my sons Benjamin and Joseph, my sons-in-law Tim, Irvin, and Dustin, and our best friends Daniel, Daniel Ray, and Clint (Daniel, Dustin, and Grace's brothers) poured 31 yards of concrete into our new pole barn. Trees that had been dead for some time were cut down and the wood was hauled away. We also weeded and tilled the yard. Grace (Joseph's best friend) and the girls washed the windows and helped prepare lunch, which included haystacks, pumpkin bars, pudding cake, watermelon, and ice cream.
For breakfast, we had breakfast burritos. Verena and Lovina made 50 of them the day before so we only had to heat them up on Saturday morning. The men wanted to wait to eat them until the concrete was poured. The truck arrived at 7am and poured the concrete in a few hours. Some of the men had to stay behind to finish the concrete so the others could do other jobs around here. What would we do without our families? We are so grateful for all the help they gave us in planning the wedding.
Yesterday, Daniel had a day off from the factory, so he and Lovina went to his house. While Daniel was mowing the lawn, she was preparing the house. She has already moved a lot of our belongings there. It is always sad to see another one of our children's belongings leave our house, but life goes on. I wish them a very happy and healthy life as God always guides them. Daniel and Lovina will stay at their lakeside house for a week after the wedding. Once all the work is done, they will be able to relax and enjoy their married life.
Tomorrow afternoon we are leaving for Kentucky for the wedding of my nephews Isaac and Susan. Isaac is the son of Joe's sister Salome and Morris, and Susan is the daughter of my cousin David. We will be meeting our relatives at the wedding. I have been asked to cook, and so have my daughters Elizabeth and Susan, but I cannot attend the wedding. My sister Emma is also a cook, and my sons Joseph and Grace are waiters. A driver will pick us up in a 15-passenger van. Those going are my sister Verena and Emma, my sons Jacob and Steven, Joe and I, my sons Benjamin, Kevin, Joseph (and Grace), and my daughter Verena (and Danielle Ray). We leave late tomorrow afternoon and, Lord willing, will be back home Friday night.
I left a voicemail for my sister-in-law Sarah Eileen, telling her how worried I was about her and her family. I was happy to hear back from her. They are doing well as expected. I miss Albert so much. May God comfort them. Rest in peace dear brother. God bless all!
I am so excited to get my hands on your newest cookbook, “The Cherished Table.” All the hard work my girls and I put into it was worth it! Here is one recipe from the new book:
Barbecue beef sandwich
3 pounds of roast beef
3 bell peppers (seeded and chopped)
2 cups chopped onion
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Place all ingredients in a large dutch oven or roasting pan. Cook at 350F for 2-3 hours or until beef is tender. (I cooked this in the oven, but you can also cook it on high in a crockpot.) Serve on sandwich buns. It's like a pulled pork sandwich, but with beef.
