Catching Up

     My ten year old daughter made her first dessert alone today. She did a really good job of it too. So much so, that one of my sons commented on how good the peanut butter cup brownies were and when I told him Alaina had made them, he clamped his mouth shut in surprise. I told him it was okay to compliment his sister, which he did with a little coaxing. Having that specific knowledge did not slow him down after dinner though. He dug into those brownies without any problem.
     I remember the day when I made my first dessert by myself. The dessert was Rice Krispy Treats and I was very proud of my accomplishments when I presented them to my family. That was the start of my love for baking and throughout my teen  years I perfected my God given talents by baking for my family. There was never a shortage of people who were willing to sample the cookie dough, or taste the batter as I poured it into the pan. 
      I admit I made many flops, but one certain time sticks in my mind when I had a little accident with the mixer. I was happily mixing up something at the table and leaned down to check how everything looked. My long hair fell over my shoulder and the mixer quickly snatched it up and twirled it around, pulling my head down with it. In a panic I quickly hollered for help and my brother came running to unplug the machine. Needless to say, that batch of whatever I was making went into the garbage. Nobody enjoys finding hair in their food!
     My ten year old was not the only one who accomplished something today. This was the first Saturday since we started school where I was actually home all day. I made the most of my time cleaning and working to rearrange much of the bedrooms for some new furniture (new to us that is) that Joe was going to set up. We got everything done and now I am completely exhausted but happy that part is done. Now I can go back to school on Monday having a load off the back of my mind.
     School is going very well and every day the six children I teach make some kind of comment that puts a smile on my face. You never know what children will say and they sure do keep me on my toes. Teaching kindergarten is the easy part; what I find tough is trying to keep up with all the other stuff I need to do in the short few hours that I am home. True, it has only been three weeks into it and they say it takes six weeks to adjust to a new schedule, so in that case, we are halfway through it. Maybe in another week or two I will be okay with the new normal. 
     We spent a wonderful time with my family up at Smuggler's Notch, Vermont, last weekend, and got some good quality time in. The children were thrilled to be able to see their cousins, and we even had all nine of the cousins at our condo one night. We managed to get them all to sleep by midnight and there were no mishaps or tears, which meant I could sleep well too. God blessed the weather and kept the rain away the Monday it was predicted to be stormy. It was on that day that I became convinced that the weathermen are always wrong because there are people out there praying that their predictions will not come to pass. God answers so many prayers of people praying against the rain that it makes the weather people look bad! It was always that way when we went to visit my grandparents for a week in the summer. I can still hear my grandfather (who was not saved) saying, "Yes, today is going to be nice, but the next few days are supposed to be rainy. Doesn't look like we will be able to get out and do much this week."
     My dad would always smile and say, "We will see." It never ceased to amaze my grandfather at how the sun would come up the next morning without a rain cloud in the sky, and the weather would be perfect the entire week. My grandfather was convinced that the weathermen did not know what they were talking about, but God always got the glory from my family. I am happy to say my grandfather did see the Light a few days before he passed away, when my dad sat down and gave him the Gospel one more time. I cannot wait to see him in heaven someday!
     I know this is a bit different than the normal blogs I write, but I wanted to touch base with all of you and let you know what was going on in the Simmons household. Sorry if I went off on a bit of a rabbit trail, but I never tire of remembering the days of my youth.  If you did not see the special links on the home page of my site, make sure you scroll down to the bottom of page. I have a link to a free story I wrote (and some other stories from other authors too), plus another link to a writer's website where we will blog about important things to know when it comes to writing. 
      Have a blessed Lord's day tomorrow! May you feel His presence as you worship Him!

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