It is Tuesday at 5:30 a.m. My husband Joe and son Benjamin left for work. Son Kevin is still sleeping. All is quiet, and I really would love to flop back on my recliner and get a few extra winks, but this column won’t write itself, and it needs to get out today. I leave this morning with daughter Verena and daughter-in-law Grace to go help daughter Susan. More of the family will go help today and some will go tonight. Some of the men folks will go tonight to assist Ervin with his work. Ervin and Susan will host church services at their place on Sunday, Lord willing. Daughter Elizabeth will take a casserole and the rest of us will all take a dish too so it’s easy on Susan.

This past weekend, two of our daughters had anniversaries. Happy first anniversary to Verena and Daniel Ray (June 20), and happy second anniversary to Lovina and Daniel (June 21). After preparing for a wedding the last two years I welcomed the break of just regular work this June.

My thoughts and prayers are with my cousins as they mourn the loss of their mother, my Aunt Mary Coblentz, aged 86. Mary died June 10. She was married to Uncle Jake (my dad’s brother) in 1957. Uncle Jake passed away in 2018. Jake and Mary would often sing or yodel together with Jake playing the guitar at our Coblentz family reunions. He always had a joke to tell. Precious memories!

On Friday, Verena, Emma and I spent the day in Berne, Indiana. We attended the wedding of Nathan Eicher and Lovina Graber. Lovina is our cousin Susan’s only daughter. She has quite a few brothers. They had a lovely wedding, and we were served a delicious meal. I told Lovina that she will now share my name, Lovina Eicher.

It was nice to see where Susan lives. We grew up next door to each other. We visited with cousins and friends that we don’t often see.

The menu consisted of mashed potatoes, gravy, buttered noodles, dressing, broasted chicken, vegetable pizza, cheese, homemade bread, butter and strawberry jam. Dessert was four different kinds of pie: rhubarb custard, peach, pecan and strawberry. Also, mocha pudding and fruit kabobs. Hopefully I remembered everything on the menu, but it was a very tasty meal. Of course, we also received the traditional candy bar to enjoy later.

We then left the wedding and traveled the few miles to sister Leah and Paul’s house. They recently built a new house after tearing down their old one. This was the first time I got to see it. When we arrived, no one was home so we wrote a note and left. Down the road we passed Paul and Leah heading home so we turned around and went back. Leah was surprised and happy to see us. She showed us her new house. We didn’t leave empty handed. She reminded me of Mother wanting to send a jar of this or that along home with us to taste. Leah will be 67 in August and is the oldest of my siblings. Paul will be 70 next month. They still have their youngest son Paul Jr. at home with them. I’m sure they are glad for his help around the farm. I think they both do well for their age but I’m sure they feel the aches and pains of growing older.

I arrived back home around 5:30 p.m. Dustin and Loretta hosted our monthly “Family Night” so I quickly prepared the food I was supposed to take and we headed across the road. Everyone was there already and we were a little late. We were the closest and still were the last ones! It was a night well spent with family, making memories. The grandchildren were sweet as ever. They grow much too fast.

Sunday was Father’s Day. We were all served ice cream sandwiches with lunch after church and the fathers all were served pop as well. My father died in 2000, but I still have many precious memories of him. He was a great example to me, and I will forever treasure the years I did have with him. He taught me a lot, and in his free time he was often sitting on his hickory rocker with the Bible on his lap. He loved to read and watch birds, squirrels and all kinds of wildlife. Rest in peace dear father!

God’s blessings to all!

Frozen Mocha Dessert

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons instant coffee

1 tablespoon hot water

¼ cup melted butter

3 cups crumbled Oreo cookies

16 ounces cream cheese

½ cup chocolate syrup

1 can sweetened condensed milk

16-ounce container whipped topping

A small amount caramel syrup (or chocolate syrup)

Directions:

Dissolve coffee in hot water. Mix butter with cookie crumbs. Put 2 ½ cups of crumbs on bottom of 9×13 pan. Reserve ½ cup for top. Combine cream cheese, coffee mixture, sweetened condensed milk and chocolate syrup. Beat well and add whipped topping and place over crumbs. Spread reserved crumbs over top. Cover and freeze a few days before serving. Drizzle with caramel syrup before serving.

Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife and mother of eight. Her three cookbooks, “The Cherished Table,” “The Essential Amish Cookbook” and “Amish Family Recipes,” are available wherever books are sold. Readers can write to Eicher at Lovina’s Amish Kitchen, PO Box 234, Sturgis, MI 49091 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply); or email questionsforlovina@gmail.com and your message will be passed on to her to read. She does not personally respond to emails.