Gloria’s butterscotch granola.
Submitted photo
It’s a quiet Monday morning, and all six children are sound asleep at the moment. The week stretches ahead untouched. I wonder what it holds? God alone knows, but with him to guide, it will be excellent and safe. Last week, children Jesse and Elijah had their last four days of kindergarten; now, this week, it has come to a close for the year, and I will be teaching them at home. They want to go back to school to visit their friends and siblings sometime soon. School is only a skip and a hop from our house, they can even watch the children through the narrow strip of woods during recess time.
It is amazing how it works; on school days, the solace of being in the house with little Joshua is relished, and then on days with Jesse and Elijah back home, there is that rich joy of both mothering and teaching them. They miss school and are eager to be in first grade next year.
Yesterday, a brother in church shared that we need time to rest and time to be active. It clicked with me. That’s it. I need quiet and rest, which energizes me to keep mothering and leading when the flock is all gathered at home. I am eager for them to be in first grade, but I am also thankful it won’t happen until next fall.
In addition to doing school, I plan to wrap up what I can on our project of remodeling portions of the bathroom this week. Last week the children helped me paint it. They were excited about wearing painted clothes like Mom. I explained that it was an old dress I had made before Daddy and I were married, and now it could be used for painting.
Little Joshua was a hilarious sight in an old, oversized T-shirt and inside-out sweatpants (my mom had taught me to wear clothes inside out for painting if I wanted to use them again). Last week, while the older children were still in school, Joshua patiently knelt in the bathroom closet and brushed away, pleased with his work. Ultimately, he was super excited for the children to come home from school so he could show them his accomplishments.
We also plan to get new flooring to replace the old moldy one. My Dad is helping with details beyond my skills, including doors and trim that need to be replaced.
Each step of the process is promising, but it will be a blessing to have it all done and everything back in place. I shake my head at everything I take for granted every day. Lord, teach us to thank you more for little things!
For breakfast this morning, we’ll have granola, which Julia and Austin helped me make last week. They decided to help me make enough to stock the freezer for the summer. Enjoy a bowl of fresh granola!
GLORIA’S BUTTERSCOTCH GRANOLA
10 cups oatmeal
2 package graham crackers (crushed)
2 cups coconut (optional)
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
3 /4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups of butter
1 cup of butterscotch chips
Instructions
Melt butter and add to dry ingredients.
Spread evenly on 2 large cookie sheets.
Bake at 300 for 40 minutes.
Stir every 5 – 10 minutes.
Add butterscotch chips during the last minute of baking.
Gloria Yoder is an Amish mom, writer, and homemaker in rural Illinois. The Yoders travel primarily by horse-drawn buggy and live next to the settlement’s one-room school-house. Readers can write to Gloria at 10510 E. 350th Ave., Flat Rock, IL 62427.
