Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Family Reunion Pineapple Puff

I dropped the ball on this one ... for anyone holding their breath for the Pineapple Puff recipe from the CG Christmas Party - sorry.

Here it is -

Pineapple Puff Recipe
from Doreen DeLuca

5 slices of bread
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 can crushed pineapple (20 oz), drained

Yeilds: 4 servings (double or triple etc for more, you will be happy you did)

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 1 1/2 quart casserole.

- Trim crusts from bread and cut into 1” cubes (I like adding the crust to the mix)

- Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until well combined. Stir in pineapple. Fold in bread cubes.

- Bake in prepared casserole at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until brown on top.

Enjoy!

Friday, January 11, 2008

We Are Family...

Sing it with me everyone!
I hope that you all got to see the presentation last Sunday…it was a great reminder that, as big as our church is, we really are a family! It was fun to watch the video and realize that I was a part of many of the events of the past year. Brass on the Grass…that’s when Mandy & I did Christmas in July…Youth Camp…an event in Emily’s spiritual life that she will never forget…Miracle on Main Street…not so long ago, but something that Justin will look back on as a highlight of his elementary years.
Something happened yesterday that re-emphasized this for me. My kids were at Compass and had brought lunch to stay for afternoon classes. I got a call from a friend at lunch time to let me know that Emily was sick, so I began preparing to go pick her up, bring her home and turn back around to pick up Justin & Lexie from afternoon class. Before I got out the door, she called me back to say that Toni had offered to bring Emily home for me. The next call was from Sara to let me know that Emily had left with Lexie’s lunch, was it ok for her to eat some macaroni & cheese that another mom had brought? This small example just reminded me once again that I have a great family…one that will care for my kids when I’m not with them, even just to save me the inconvenience of rushing back & forth a few miles. I have always felt that no matter how big the church is, “my church” is the group that I serve, serve with and am served by. Even with all of the changes in our CG over the years, God has allowed me to develop relationships with everyone who he adds to our group and to be grateful for the experience of knowing them. It is always hard when people leave, but I have learned that God puts different people in our lives for different times and we can enjoy the benefits of an ever-changing family, but a family nonetheless.