Maple Nut Chiffon Cake

I made this cake for the group of ladies that I travel with. We are meeting today to eat for Diana's birthday, so I am carrying through with a promise I made. When we were in Canada, we ate maple flavored items, because it is a local item up there. We had maple cookies, maple ice cream, etc. I made the comment that back when I was in high school I made a Grand Champion Maple Cake in FHA and 4H. So the conversation went on and that I was to make a cake to share with them. Last night I carried through and made the cake. After this I got my Canada pictures out and relived the trip. 

Friday Fotos

The church we worked on last week on the mission trip.

Cade and Cali

It is Friday, and I am getting my pictures uploaded. Chad, I hope you are pleased with me. I am still pulling for you to win Diana's Christmas towels tomorrow.

He's Back

Yes, Rick, my husband, the energized bunny, is back. I do not know if I mentioned that he has not been feeling well for the last 10 days. He had the shingles. Saturday he finally went to the doctor and got some medicine. The medicine made the shingles stop hurting, but it made him feel lethargic. So that meant from Saturday until Tuesday, we did not do too much. We did what normal people do, at a normal pace. He called me yesterday, and told me that he stopped taking his medicine. WOW! He came home from work ready to work. You have to realize that he gets home at 5:30. We went and picked the garden. He mowed our yard - 2 acres. We used the peaches that we brought home from Missouri to make Peach Jam. We made 4 batches. At this point I am sweating from the hot kitchen and am ready to go sit on the patio. That lasted every bit of 5 minutes. He then said that he was ready to go paint the bathroom that we are in the process of redoing. An hour and a half later - it was finished. I knew without a doubt that he was back to normal, as normal as Rick can be.

God is Great...People are Crazy

"God is great,

Beer is good, 

People are crazy!"

While traveling almost 2000 miles last week, there is no telling how many times we heard this song played on the radio; it was the number two song of the week. I did not listened to the words or the story of the song until Rick pointed it out. It was a cute song after I realized the story that went with this chorus.  

I will only comment on the two lines that I have some knowledge about - lines 1 and 3. I totally agree with the old man that "God is great." Each day I am more amazed with Him and His attributes. The more personal my relationship is with God, the greater He becomes. Now for the other line, "people are crazy," this one is not as black and white. I can say that I personally am getting a little crazier each year, but I have deserved the right to be crazy. This reminded me of a poem that one of my students read for UIL back when I was a sponsor/coach for poetry interpretation.

When I am Old I Will Wear Purple

When I am Old I will wear Purple! When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple - -  With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves and satin sandles, And say we've no money for butter. I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells and run with my stick along public railings, and make up for the sobriety of my youth. I shall go out in my slippers in the rain and pick flowers in other people's gardens and learn to spit! You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat and eat three pounds of sausages at ago, or only bread and pickles for a week, and hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes. But now we must have clothes that keep us dry, and pay our rent and not swear in the street, and set a good example for the children. We must have friends to dinner and read the papers. But maybe I ought to practice a little now? So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised when suddenly I am old, And start to wear purple! --Jenny Joseph

Friends and relatives that know me well may think that I fall into the later category or that I am practicing way too much. Whichever it is - so far the fifties have treated me well, and God is even greater!

Saying Bye is Hard to Do

The last day of a Mission Trip is such an emotional experience. Today the devotion was on encouragement, then we gave  verbal "roses" to each other. As humans it is so hard for us to take compliments. Then when this time was over, their preacher and his wife spoke about their gratitude for us coming to work. I know that we build for the glory of God; but when these churches tell us how much it means to them for us to come, it just makes us work that much harder the last afternoon so we can even accomplish more for them.

About three o'clock we get the signal that it is time to stop and bring all the tools in for inventory. After the counting and loading, this is the real tear jerker. We stand amazed at what God accomplished through us - physically for their church and socially for our church.  New levels of friendships are formed when you work and sweat with people side-by-side. 

Also I cannot praise enough our youth. This year's group was just remarkable. Even though they were young, they were so eager to learn and so willing to do anything. As always, we cannot do it without the youth. 

Building for the Glory of God

Tomorrow is the last day of our mission trip. Again this week just reinforces what an awesome God we serve. Each year the right people for the job go on the trip. This year was no exception; we had the right people for the job. The teenagers were excellent. The new people jumped right in and worked wonderful with the group. 

Several things especially blessed me. First, Dawn and Bill Arrington were a blessing. Bill is getting over bypass surgery, and Dawn had knee surgery last Monday. The doctor told her no way could she go after having the surgery. She was distraught over this. Finally on Thursday night she told Bill that if Delois Heath and Sandy Garner could both go with cancer, she could go with her knee. Bill gave a devotion on Monday that was such a testimony. They both had such a sweet spirit and so grateful that were able to get to be a part of this.

I am always amazed that so many use this week as their family vacation. As a teacher that is on summer break, I really do not sacrifice anything for this trip other than my own bed. I always hope that these people will be blessed for using their vacation time in such a way.

I was outside of the church unloading some trash, where I overheard the preacher here was talking on a cellphone to someone else. He was telling this other person that he really needed to come out to the church to see ALL these people working. He said it was a sight to see. Not only were they ALL working, they actually knew what they were doing. 

Again I give God all the glory for another great mission trip. As always, I was blessed for Him letting me be apart of it.

The World Wide Tour

We left out Friday at noon for our 2 ½ day tour. We started in Hot Springs with a walking tour of the bathouses, the hot springs and parks, and old hotels. We arrived outside of Hot Springs about 11 PM. Saturday morning we continued driving toward Memphis. We stopped at West Memphis for the dog races. Rick was much luckier than I was. I studied the race guides way too much. Betting on dog races is truly a “crap shoot.” We had to leave before they were over, because we had tickets for Larry, the Cable Guy in Tunica, Mississippi, and we had to “git her done.” So away we went. We arrived at Tunica in time to get our tickets at Will Call and grab a bite before the show. After the show, we started our casino hopping. The casinos were better to me than they were to Rick. I actually won two 30 dollar bonus rounds on a 15 cent bet. By midnight our eyes were stinging, and it was time to find a bed for the night. Sunday morning we were on the road again – this time to see if Elvis had left the building. We did the Platinum tour of Graceland. He was nowhere to be found. The memories of Elvis were great. After lunch we headed to Campbell, Missouri to meet up with the rest of the group.

Friday Fotos

The World Wide Tour

Rick and I on vacation.

Arlington Hotel

Hot Springs, Ark.

Hot Springs Bath House

Foto Friday

For my Friday's Fotos, I will choose some pictures from this holiday weekend.

Kaiya, Greg's dog, gets to come spend several weeks with us. This is a rare occasion when she was actually outside. She likes to be inside with the air condition.

Cousins at the firework stand.

Here we are doing grandparent duty with Cade and Cali. Rick is playing in bubbles.

July 4th - Family, Food and Fireworks

July 4th is another holiday with great memories for the Scoggins family. As we do everything, this holiday was always a big deal. When Diana and I were little girls, we always had Roman Candles and Black Jack firecrackers. For two sissy little girls, we did blow up our share of things with firecrackers. Some years we would go with the Kinnairds to the Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells. A fruit market with huge peaches was a stop that would be made on the way home. Other years they would come to Gunter with ice chests and baskets of food.

As time went on and our children were born, we wanted them to share the same excitement of the Fourth as we had. The day that we would go pick out the fireworks was an all day affair. The kids would have their checklists and their newspapers where they would decide which stand had the best deals. After the fireworks were purchased, then the real fun began. They would then line up the fireworks in which order they would shoot the fireworks off. Lists were made again. This would go on for several days with adjustments made each day. Then the day would finally come. Whether it was at our lakehouse or one of our houses, there would be food, homemade ice cream, and grandparents to oooH! and aaaaH! over each firework.

Now for the present - things have only changed to more and  bigger fireworks. With Greg's firework business, we still are making memories - good food, great family time, and fantastic firework shows. We are still so blessed to share a great holiday with those we love. My wish for you is that you and your family will have a great Happy 4th of July.