Praying Hyde's Gravesite

We had the privilege of visiting John Hyde's gravesite (known as Praying Hyde) in Carthage, Illinois a few days ago. He was used of God as a man who demonstrated believing prayer and as one who saw mighty revivals in India.

Making Fall Cookies!

Every year we make Fall Cookies! John, Jr. enjoys doing this, and it's fun to see him more capable of doing this kind of thing the older he gets. Our favorite Sugar Cookie recipe works great for cut-out cookies. It's from our friend Toni Flanders, and I'm going to include the recipe, in case you need a good Sugar Cookie recipe this Fall!

Sugar Cookies

2/3 c. shortening
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
4 tsp. milk
2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Thoroughly cream shortening, sugar, and vanilla. Add egg; beat until light and fluffy. Stir in milk. sift together dry ingredients; blend into creamed mixture. Chill one hour. [Be sure to do this! We forgot ... i.e. didn't read the directions ... and wondered why things weren't going well. Now we know! So we threw the dough in the fridge, and rescued the cookies from being total failures.]

Roll out cookies. [Use powdered sugar instead of flour - a tip from my friend Amy Koski!] Cut into desired shapes. Bake at 375 degrees for 5-6 minutes. Do not overbake; do not roll too thin; this gives you a softer cookie. Yield: 2 dozen cookies.

When cool, frost the cookies. Blend 1 stick softened butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, and enough milk to desired consistency. A tsp. or capful of vanilla, orange or almond extract (our favorite) gives a good flavor. Depending on the season, blend in your desired colors with food coloring.

Meeting the Mags in the Minny

It was wonderful to finally meet some of Peter Magnuson's family while we were in Minneapolis this past week! Peter used to be at our church in Ann Arbor during law school at U of M. Here is his sister Kirsten (Kiki) and his brother James. [Do I see a slight smile on his face?] And of course John, Jr. in the middle of them all! It was great to meet Peter's sweet mother, Betsy. Definitely a kindred spirit, and I wish I could see her more often! Just wanted you all in Ann Arbor, especially Tabitha, to see this and envy us that we got to see Peter!

A special gift!

John, Jr.'s cousins, Jesse and Mary Faith Williams, gave him a special gift of Playmobil Lego Knights. John, Jr. was excited because he had been looking at these in a catalog and wanting to get them. He has loved playing with them! We enjoyed staying with Jesse and Mary Faith while our RV was being repaired. They took such wonderful care of us!

Our Annual Search for Pumpkins

Here are more pictures of our pumpkin shopping trip!

Our Annual Search for Pumpkins

Every Fall we enjoy finding our pumpkins for our trailer. It's quite an event because we are in a different location each Fall. Each year we seem to always find a really special pumpkin patch where each one of us select our own unique pumpkin. This year we went to a fun place in the Milwaukee area, and here are some pictures of our little outing.

Knights in Shining Armor

John, Jr. is really into the medieval thing! Here he is with his Gillmore cousins - all dressed up as knights and princesses. He loved going to their house many times throughout the week we were there, and he enjoyed sitting with them during the evening services. I loved watching them enjoying each other!