I made a comment to Jacqueline about Annie not "blogging" in such a long time and she reminded me that I hadn't blogged in a very long time either.

It has been a while - a very busy "while".

Part of my travels were with Annie in Wichita. She now lives there and will soon be Mrs. Jared Johnson. When I say that, I am overwhelmed! God, in His way and in His time has brought these two together. Annie's future mother-in-law, Lorana commented about how a little boy born in California grew up and now is to marry a girl born in Phillipsburg, Kansas. Their paths came close, but never crossed until the summer Annie went to Wichita to start work on her Master's Degree and now they are counting down the days (maybe hours for them) until Saturday, July 18, 2009 when they will become husband and wife.

It's been neat to see this highly organized, very efficient daughter of mine become this giggly, lighthearted woman in love whose focus is Jared and their wedding. I think she had to work very hard to stay focused in the final months of her school year. For many years we prayed for her and her future mate. As her Mother, I felt like she would be a great wife and mother and I just couldn't imagine God meant for her to spend her life alone. There were times when one of us was impatient and we would remind each other that God was in control and would work things out in His time.

Annie's time has come. All of us who know and love Annie, know that Jared was worth the wait. He loves Annie and has filled her life with love. More importantly, Jared loves the Lord and together they will serve God, have a Christ centered home and be great workers for Him and the Church!

I was with Annie in Hutchinson last week when she had some pictures taken for her Bridal Portrait. While I was zipping up her gown she made me promise not to cry. Let me tell you - I had to look away a couple of times and gather my composure lest I start crying! She looked so happy, so in love and I just can't describe how I felt....

Saturday will be a JOYFUL day, but I think some parents, some sisters and some other family and friends are going to shed some tears of happiness, joy and thanksgiving for the union in marriage of Annie and Jared.

It's Cherry Time!

The previous 4 posts are backwards - I wrote steps 1 - 4 about cherry time in the ordered we do them so they appear backward to you. Please scroll down and enjoy the blogs about cherry time and making pies!

It's Cherry time! Step Four - Delivering the pies

We delivered our pies after lunch. Our last stop was Grandma Keesee's. We weren't able to reach her by phone so she got a nice surprise.













Our 2nd stop was the flowers hop - a delivery to Grammy. The pie was for Grammy and Pop and I think Brenda shared with the girls at the flower shop first.

Our first stop was MaMaw Wood's. She was glad to receive her pie! She's glad there is Splenda to sweeten one for her.

It's Cherry Time! Step Three is making pie crust.

Finally - we get to make the pies. Megan was so excited about making the pie dough herself. She had lots of questions: "Why do we always use Crisco?" "Why do we use ice cold water?"...

I got my recipe from my Grandma Goldie Wood. One year when she and Grandpa came to Arizona she decided it was time to teach me the art of pie making. I can still remember those short little fingers rolling out the dough. She always used lard in those days and she believed the dough was just better if you used ice water. (You always made your ice water BEFORE you did anything else.) Today brought back some memories.




Megan liked rolling out the dough too. She made a pie for Grammy and Pop and then a special Splenda sweetened one for MaMaw Wood. She makes yummy dough!






Clint had to pick out his apron after he picked and pitted some more cherries.

Clint made the moistest dough I have ever seen. He is very independent about his pie making just like Miss Meg. He made a pie for Grandma Keesee and one for his family. He made a design on his top crust.

It's Cherry time! Next you pit them.

This is probably the most tedious work of the whole pie baking experience. Megan dropped out first - she was READY TO BAKE some pies. I dropped out second and Clint went out and picked some more to pit when he was done.
We were all sticky and messy when the pitting was finished

It's Cherry time! First You Pick Them

The cherries are ripe and my pickers were ready. Clint came for our annual cherry pie baking day. The last few years he has picked some and pitted a few but he was in a working mode today.

Megan hasn't bake pies with us before, and she got in on the picking and pitting. I must say that I think she enjoys making the pies the most!


Clint got busy a picked a whole bunch of cherries - he was so busy I couldn't get a picture of his face until later!


Clint works with a smile on his face










Megan was happy to start picking, but she didn't like it when bugs and mosquitoes started buzzing around!


Megan loved it when she found a whole cluster of cherries - that takes minimal effort.

Is this a ripe one?

Homemade Pizzas

When I picked Megan and Clint up from Tennis Camp on Wednesday, they reminded me that I said we would make Pizzas the next time they came over. We had to make a trip to the store to get our ingredients. Our menu was going to be Pizza and Fruit Kabobs.





Clint used canned biscuits to make the pizza dough and Megan added the sauce. We topped the pizzas with cheese, sausage, and pepperoni. Megan made one very large one with LOTS of sausage. She made sure no one else got that one when they came out of the oven.








Our fruit kabobs had kiwi, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, & bananas. This is one of Clint's favorite things to make. I think we've been making them together ever since he was in Preschool.

I have lots of great memories of my time with Megan and Clint. It's been a blessing to have them around. I really appreciate their Mom and Dad sharing them.

Aren't they going to make a cute flower girl & ring bearer?

Time With Megan & Clint

Megan and Clint spent most of the day with me on Wednesday. I picked them up from Tennis Camp at 10:00 (by the way, they both voiced a request for a tennis racquet and balls for their July birthdays.)

First on our agenda was games. We played some Uno and had some good laughs. Clint likes to peek at the top card and add a few rules of his own to the game.

Next, Clint and I played checkers and Megan built with dominoes. I really had to think ahead and pay close attention to beat Clint. PaPaw would have loved to play with him - watch out Uncle Jeremy because he just might beat you!

After lunch MaMaw came over and played some Uno and Checkers. She and Clint are tied at one game a piece in Checkers. Maybe they can challenge each other next week to see who is the champion.

Later we played "school" upstairs and both kids took turns being the teacher. Meg and I were partners for math and she really has a sharp mind. After school, we played a few rounds of "I Spy".

A day of fun and games is good for a person. I had a nice relaxing day with alot of FUN thrown in. Children know how to have fun and use their imaginations, too bad we don't do both more often as adults. I was tired when they left, but a day with Megan and Clint was just what I needed.