Storms, Rainbows, and Trust

I've been on a hiatus, again, for the last couple of weeks. So much has been going on in our house lately. First off, I want to tell everyone how much I love my husband! Dave had no clue what he signed up for when he signed his name on our marriage license 10 years ago! We celebrated 10 years on March 20th! Where has the time gone?! Oh yeah . . .we've been raising 3 precious gifts from God (and trying to maintain our sanity)!!

I want to share something very dear to my heart w/ you today. It has been a difficult 16 months for us here in the Bittinger household. Our move from KS to IN was "a God thing". He knew that we were in need of His help, but that we were "blinded" to the need of it, due to life, as we knew it. So, shortly after moving here, we found ourselves facing the possibility of losing our family, and each other. Selfishness had crept into each of our hearts, and there was no longer room for each other. We began going to counseling, and working on learning to love, laugh, trust, and live together again. Don't think that this deterred Satan from trying to destroy us! He then attacked us through bringing my depression back. There were many dark days . . . .days that I was afraid for myself and my children. Days that Dave didn't know what he would come home to. I was finally able to find help through medicine, and the days got much brighter. I'm happy to report that God healed me from this horrid pit of despair, a little over 3 months ago! His sweet spirit has been a daily gift in my life. But Satan still wasn't done w/ me! He and his demons came for me in a very vivid and frightening dream one night, but as I spoke the name,"JESUS", those demons fled. The past several weeks, I have been going through w/draws from my Rx. The days have not been pretty! But, praise God, I'm at the end of that "journey"!

Dave and I have latched onto the song "Bring the Rain" during this time. In fact we sang it at church this past Sunday - whew! I made it through w/o crying! We've been in a dark storm this past year, a storm that caused me to build a lot of walls between me and my family/friends. I'm so sorry! I can't believe some of the things that I did/said. The good news is that I can now see the Rainbow! God never left me during the storm. He kept His hand on me, protecting me from the worst of it. The storm was never about me . . . .it was all about Him and all for His Glory! God is good! His ways are not our own, but His ways are the right ways, even when we can't see that.

I share this with you, so that I can give God the glory for all that He has done for us! I am so amazed at how much He love us . . .me! I can't believe that it took me so long to sense, experience, and accept His love. I am His instrument.

So, what is your storm? Does it seem to be lasting forever? Just remember that the storm is for His Glory. He wants you to praise Him during this time. Yes, it is hard to do that. Yes, you can be upset that you are hurting. Yes, He feels each pain you feel, and He sees those tears too. The rainbow is just over the horizon. It isn't that far away. Trust Him; reach out to Him; accept the storm as a time for growth. God is in control!

Sisters Part 2

I've yet to find my granola recipe . . .something tells me that it will require some deep cleaning before I can find the cook book! So, unfortunately, we will all have to wait for that yummy snack!

Meanwhile, I thought I'd continue w/ my Sister series.

I met Terrie on my first visit to Indiana when Dave and I were starting to date. She was so welcoming and kind. I remember feeling like a duck out of water, as I entered into the very conservative world. My family was conservative, but I had been on my own for almost 2 years, so I didn't exactly look the part! :-) Terrie has always been such a great friend to me. We share a love for shopping, drinking an ice cold fountain coke first thing in the morning, eating chocolate (as an emotional treat), and loving on our kids. Our husbands are so much alike that we don't even have to guess how they will react to things! We love to laugh - life is too short to be serious! We call each other weekly, to check on each other, vent, laugh, and say, "You'll never believe what my husband did today!" She's a great friend, and I'm so fortunate to have her as a sister-in-law!

Here are a few of her tasty recipes. Did I mention that she is a great cook? I learned from her, how to make "Bittinger" pot roast, complete w/ noodles cooked in the gravy . . . mmmm maybe I'll have to do that this week! Enjoy!

Corn Bread Layered Salad
6-8 servings

1 8 1/2 oz box cornbread mix cooked
6 green onions
1 med green pepper chopped
1 15 oz can corn (drained)
1 15 oz can red beans (drained and rinsed)
3/4 c mayo
3/4 c sour cream
1 t ranch dressing
4 T sugar
2 tomatoes (chopped)
1/2 c shredded cheese

Prepare and bake corn bread according to pkg directions (cool); crumble into 2 qt glass bowl
layer next 3 ingredients- (pepper/corn/beans); in small bowl combine mayo, sour cream, dressing and sugar. Spread dressing mixture over vegetables. Sprinkle w/ tomatoes and cheese.

Maple French Toast Casserole
6 servings

7 c cubed texas toast
1 8 oz cream cheese
1 c heavy whipping cream (warmed to 70 to 80*)
1/ c maple syrup
6 eggs
1/2 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon
dash of salt
sausage links, cooked and chopped

Place bread in greased 2 qt baking dish, press down gently. In small mixing bowl beat cream cheese till fluffy, gradually add in whipping cream and syrup; mix well. Whisk together eggs,vanilla,cinnamon, salt; add to cream cheese mixture pour evenly over bread. Add chopped sausages . Cover and refigerate overnight. Remove from fridge 30 min- before baking; Add topping (recipe follows), cover and bake at 375* for 25 min- uncover and bake 25 min longer or until center is set and top is golden brown. Serve with syrup.

topping
4 T butter
3 T sugar
2 t cinnamon
make a crumble and pour on top prior to baking

I'm still here!!

I've been "away" for a few days, visiting my family in KS, last weekend, and enjoying time w/ my "ailing" Uncle, as he stayed w/ us the first part of the week. (He is recovering from shoulder surgery, and he and his family were needing reprieve from each other :-) ) We had a great time w/ him, the kids loved having Uncle Jon here to play w/ them. We even took in the new Lego Castle at the Children's Museum, of course, Uncle Jon gave in and bought each of the kids a toy from the gift shop!

I'm looking forward to getting back in the groove of posting on there. Tomorrow I'm headed to the store to pick up items to make one of my family's favorite snacks . . . homemade honey granola. I'm hoping to get it made and be able to post pics by tomorrow night. It is sooooo yummy!

Meanwhile, enjoy the rest of your evening, and give someone close to you a big hug! Here are 4 of my favorite people to hug! Thanks for checking in and come back for more tomorrow!