Last night, Randy and I turned to YouTube and began to watch Mark Lowry! He is well known for his being a part of the Gaither Vocal Band, his humor and His testimony! As we watched episode after episode, we came to one that Mark was talking about the interruptions we have in our lives! And it is in these interruptions, that we see Christ more in our circumstances! As we listened, I sat there with tears in my eyes, thinking back over the last 28 years of marriage. Today is our 28th anniversary and oh the stories I could share! But as I think back about the interruptions that God allowed and how each time, He has proved His faithfulness and love for us, it is just amazing!

When Randy and I first married, we knew we weren’t (and had not been) living a life that gave God glory for the last few years. We had become pretty self absorbed and thought that traveling and entertaining and just going and doing whatever we wanted was the perfect life! But God….He began to work on our hearts and draw us back to Him and gave us a desire to live for more than just ourselves. Most of you know our story of how one Sunday in church Randy looked down at me during the invitation and said quietly, “if we are going to make a go of our marriage, it’s going to take more than just love with our history! We need to dedicate it to the Lord!”

For the last 28 years we have had several interruptions, moves to two different states, loss of employment, a diagnosis of Parkinson’s, a prodigal child and losing all 4 parents within a 5 yr span! Each interruption taught us that God is always there with us! That the battles we fight are not ours, but His! He desires us to lean on Him and depend on Him for our spiritual growth. Two days ago I read in Jesus Calling (which my DIL Shannon gave me for Christmas) this sentence:

“When you criticize or complain, you are acting as if you think you could run the world better than I do.” …God

It convicted my heart immensely. Had I complained about these “interruptions”? You bet I had! Had I not been thankful for how He carried us through each one? No I had not!

It is after 28 years of marriage to my sweet husband that I am so thankful that he has always showed me that God should be my rock, my joy and my strength. Randy is very quiet, in fact because of the PK he has so much trouble Even speaking these last two years. But when he does, he does not complain or criticize! EVER. He has taught me so much spiritually! His life points me to God by his faithfulness to me, to our blended family, our precious Church family but most of all, Jesus! We are learning together to accept the interruptions God allows in our lives and to look for the glimpses of Gods goodness as we walk in the path that He has just for us! We are deeply grateful for all The Lord has done for us. He has always gone above and beyond anything we had ever hoped for! He has provided, protected and guided us in the hardest of days!

It is with a grateful heart that I want to thank God for His goodness and love for us, and also to say thanks to The best husband I could ever imagine! Happy Anniversary to Mr Peter Pumpkin, Aka Frosty and Mr Randy (he got that name when he use to style and color my hair)!

May any future Interruptions be accepted with grateful hearts and dependency on our Father God!

Hebrews 4:16 “ Let us then approach the throne of Grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Knowing that everyone who reads Chocolatecastles doesn’t live near a H‑E‑B, I still wanted to pass on some great finds.

Growing up in Corpus Christi, H‑E‑B wasn’t a big deal to us. They were everywhere and we just knew that we had a choice to shop there or go to Albertsons or KMart. (Yes I’m that old)

So when they began to pop up here in North Texas I really didn’t think too much about that. After all, what was the hype about? But then it opened…..what a difference! Each time we go we find more reasons to love it! Don’t get me started on the Mexican wedding cookies covered with cinnamon sugar! We almost eat the entire container on the way home!

But these newest finds are really something I just had to share. First of all store bought cookies are usually not my cup of tea, but on my,

And the Cowboy cookies…Randy fell in love with these so he eats those waiting on me to make his fav oatmeal cookies! Don’t tell our Dr!

So today when we were wondering what to have for lunch, I went to the pantry to look at what we had. There in the soup shelf was the new can of beef Taco soup from….you guessed it, H‑E‑B. What I want to tell you is this. Most tomato soups taste exactly the same. This taco soup was different and had such a great Mexican flavor I have not found in a canned soup. The other soup I have fallen in love with is HEB’s Cream of Poblano. I have used it In my enchilada sauce, in green chicken green chile soup and even just as a soup for lunch. Randy had the H‑E‑B brand of chile today. I crumbled up some tortilla chips in the bottom of the bowl, sprinkled sharp cheddar then poured the Chile over that. He said it was really good.

Have I realized what all the hype is about with H‑E‑B? You bet I have and always love our trips there to shop. Don’t forget to try their 1/2 corn 1/2 flour tortillas which you find on the International aisle! Makes great enchiladas!

Strawberry, Blackberry & Blueberry Pie

Because strawberries aren’t very sweet right now and H‑E‑B has Sweet Karoline blackberries that are AMAZING right now and I had frozen blueberries on hand, I decided to make a triple berry pie! Also FYI H‑E‑B has 1 lb containers of strawberries for $.97! So am I running back to the store for more strawberries at that price?? Yes indeed I am. Decided to make two strawberry pies for a dinner party Friday night. Topped with homemade whipped cream, it will be a wonderful way to end a meal with friends!
But tonight to have dessert while Mr Randy and I watch The Wheel & Will Trent, we will reward ourselves with this triple berry pie! Since we worked out in garage trying to reduce our 24 plastic tubs of seasonal decor down to 10 tubs, we feel that we should reward ourselves with a delicious and beautiful pie!
Bake a one crust pie crust according to directions (or make your own crust which always taste better)
Slice 1 lb of cleaned fresh strawberries and add 1/2 cup of blueberries (either fresh or frozen)
1 cup (the 8 oz container) of sweet Karoline Blackberries. (If you have not had these, run don’t walk to your nearest H‑E‑B and they are worth the $2.97).
Combine all berries in a bowl and while crust is cooling after baking it, make the syrup!
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
3 tables corn starch
1 small package of strawberry jello

Combine the sugar and cornstarch to the water over medium heat. Stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened!
Remove from heat and stir in the package of jello and mix until smooth.
Set mixture aside for 20-30 min (I put mine in fridge for 15 min)
After mixture has cooled a little. Pour over the combined bowl of berries. Then pour directly into cooled pie shell. Set in fridge and allow the syrup to thicken and keep in fridge until ready to serve. Make whipped cream and cover the top of berries.

A simple and light dessert after a meal makes this cake a winner. And if made the day before, keeps beautifully in the fridge so you don’t have to do all the cooking the day of serving!

1 Duncan Hines lemon cake mix

1 cup of water

1/3 cup oil

4 eggs at room temperature

1 small package lemon instant pudding

Mix all ingredients in large bowl for 2 min, and pour into greased baking pan

(I used a 9×13 pan last night)

Bake according to directions on box for the size pan you use. Mine baked for 23,min. When cake has cooled, I cut it immediately half (from long side to long side).

Frosting

1 can Lucky Leaf lemon pie filling

4 oz softened cream cheese

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tables lemon zest to sprinkle on top

Beat the above ingredients together until well blended. Then add 8 oz tub of extra creamy Cool Whip. Stir well. Put between cake layers and frost top and sides as well! Sprinkle lemon zest on top.

Keep covered in fridge! Make at least 4 hrs (or up to 24 hrs) before serving!

Yesterday, because we are whimps, we stayed inside all day from the artic cold front that makes me want to just bake and bake. because we are staying home, I figured that I would make Angel Biscuits! But, when I realized I didn’t have any yeast, it dawned on me that i had everything i needed to make a cheesecake pie! So gathering the cream cheese, sour cream and graham cracker crumbs, I set to work making dessert which will last 3-4 nights. and i have to say, this recipe I found online from Sally’s Baking Recipes*is really good and really easy ! We ended up topping it with cherry pie filling!

16 ounces (452g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

1/4 cup powdered sugar (I added this to give it more of a softer texture)

1/4 cup (60g) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

_ 2 large eggs, at room temperature

Either use a bought Graham cracker crust or make your own according to the directions on the box!

Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Make the filling in the next step as the crust bakes.

Make the filling: Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and granulated and powdered sugar together on medium-high speed in a large bowl until the mixture is smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the sour cream, vanilla extract, and lemon juice, and then beat until fully combined and very smooth. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed to combine—you don’t want any lumps. Then on medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until just blended. After the second egg is incorporated into the batter, stop mixing. If you still see some lumps at this point, switch to a whisk and whisk by hand just until you break up the large lumps. Some small lumps are OK. 396
Lower the oven temperature (from baking homemade crust from 350 to 325°F (163°C) and spread the cheesecake filling into crust.

Bake 35 min or until filling is set (check after 25 to see if you need to add a vented foil cover to prevent browning). I didn’t need one. It baked the full 35 min!

Remove from oven and set aside to cook for 1 hr then place in fridge for at least 2 hrs before cutting. If storing in fridge more than two hours, cover the pie! Top with cherry pie filling or topping of your choice!

Sally this recipe is a winner and thanks for sharing it!!!

Christmas 2023 is behind us and as we look forward to a new year ahead, it is always exciting to think of what may happen in the new year! As Randy and I sit each night (well not each night as we do get out of the house every few weeks to go grab a hamburger or pizza). But, as most evenings find us waddling to our comfy chairs after dinner and seeing if we can solve the puzzles on The Wheel (we feel that it makes us sound not quite so old to say The Wheel instead of Wheel of Fortune), we have now joined the really old folks and see if we can at least answer one question on Jeopardy, each night! We have finally figured out that we actually do know sometimes more than one answer, but we also realize that we are slower than the young whippersnappers that are vying for the money in actually understanding the question! As I listen to their answers, I’m still sitting there trying to figure out what the question is in order to see if I know the answer! So it is true what they ( whoever they are) say, your brain does slow down as we age! We sit and stare at each other and Randy says (I’m still trying to figure out what that last question is asking!

So we sit night after night and see if our brains actually might begin to turn from mush to Mensa brains ! We are still waiting!

But Christmas has come and gone and we have a stack of returns just like everyone else! A brand new toaster that worked for 4 days before shooting the bread slices out! A pair of jeans that I ordered for Frosty that are 10” too small in the waist! And one bottle of perfume that I received! We have both realized that no matter how expensive the perfume, no one can smell it on me as the Ben Gay that covers now 25% of my body covers up any attempt at trying to smell good. In fact, the drawer that is right beside my easy chair use to be filled with seasonal coasters I could change out as seasons changed. It had a fingernail file I kept so as I sat at night watching TV I could file my nails as needed! We kept the EarPods in it, a candle lighter for the nights we wanted the scented candles burning……but that was 2022! Just a year later, all these items have been replaced with: Triple antibiotic for when Randy falls and skins his knees (due to Parkinsons balance problems), lidocaine for our sciatica that pops up quite regularly, and the most pungent of them all…a giant tube of Ben Gay! In fact, as soon as I open the drawer, the aroma fills the living room and any scented candle is quickly overpowered! Our home has become the perfect advertisement of what it is like to walk into a nursing home! So I am giving up perfume! We figure with the money we save buying it, allows us to buy more Ben Gay and jars of lidocaine for our aches and pains! Besides, who needs perfume to watch The Wheel?