Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Sorry I have taken so long to post and to update myself on your lovely blogs. For some reason, our laptop has suddenly decided not to work on our network. Until we get that fixed, I can't be online as much because I'd be sitting in our office all day and not getting anything else accomplished!

I wanted to share a recipe with you.

I just made this, and believe me -- it is soooooo yummy! The best thing about this recipe is that you can eat some and still have plenty to share!

This yields 3 loaves ...

Here's what you need:

3 cups white sugar
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground allspice
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins
1 cup vegetable oil

I always make my breads without raisins and nuts, but it is still super yummy.

Here's what you do -- so easy!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7 x 3 inch loaf pans.
Mix oil, sugar, and eggs together in a large bowl. Mix in pumpkin puree and water. Stir together flour, soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add to the pumpkin mixture, and mix until just combined. Stir in nuts and raisins. Divide batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 1 hour. Cool on wire racks.

I got some foil pans at the store so I could give a couple of loaves away, and they took about 15 minutes longer to cook. Check the bread after an hour and make sure it's done.

Recipe from allrecipes.com

The Garden of Friendship - Helping Others

This is more of a thank you post then an exhortation! Some of you I know personally, and others I know from "blog-land." I have seen the servant's hearts that you have.

One of the ways that we can be good friends is to find little helpful things to do that will make our friend's lives easier.

This post is about my sister, but of course she is my friend as well.

Right now, hubby is very busy and has to be away overnight at times. This is a difficult season for our little family even though it is temporary. I don't like being home alone overnight, and our little daughter misses her Daddy and is sad when he isn't there to tuck her in. We know that he is doing this for the good of our whole family and that it is hard for him too. We only have eight weeks left - Yippee!! God has been faithful as always.

But I digress. My sister has been sweet enough to come over and stay with us when hubby is away. This makes life very happy and we look forward to our "girlie" weekends. I don't know how she puts up with Selena saying "hi dee-dee" over and over and over. And over.

see the smile on Lena's face?

So thank you so much Neesie, for helping us through this season of life. We are going to have so much fun pumpkin picking tomorrow.

Sixteenth Birthday Party

I wanted to share with you the idea of a Proverbs 31 birthday party. My parents had one for me when I turned sixteen, and the effects were far reaching.


Unbeknownst to me, each invited guest was to give me a gift based on one of the verses in Proverbs 31:10-31. Each gift was to be for my hopechest, and was to be saved for the future (for marriage if God so blessed me).

I still have the cards and gifts that were given to me ...

For example:
verse 15 "She also rises while it is yet night ..." I received a beautiful porcelain clock.
verse 16 "She considers a field and buys it..." I recieved a lovely couch throw with embroidered seed packets on it.
verse 18 "... her lamp does not go out by night." I received an elegant crystal lamp, and two pairs of candlesticks -- one brass and one crystal.
verse 21 "...for all her household is clothed with scarlet. She makes tapestry for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple." I received some absolutely lovely purple material and a sewing box.

These are just some of the things I received on that birthday. I also received a gorgeous apron, some cookbooks, vases, and even a set of dishes! It was such a surprise - I knew about the party but not the Proverbs 31/hopechest theme.

Everyone wrote out the verse that they were representing with their gift, and a note to me. These things are reflected all around my home today. People kept up with the theme for future gifts for me also.

When I got married, it was so exciting to take out each carefully wrapped item and show my husband the things I had saved for our future home. I also remember that when we had secured an apartment that we would live in, and my mom and I went to start cleaning and moving in, that I was able to decorate with table scarves, candles and doilies right away.

Do you have any memorable party ideas? If so, leave it in a comment or email me at joyousmommie@girlinside.com.