THE AMISH COOK

BY GLORIA YODER

You may or may not want to join us on last night’s adventures. I was deep into my first sleep when I was awakened by a little voice calling me from down the hallway. It was Jesse. After soothing him, I flopped back into our cozy warm bed, itching for a good night before dawn. Moments later, there was another, “Mama!” followed by another call then another. This time it was Austin and I immediately knew that it was something out of the ordinary and that there was a stomach bug going around. As I came to his aid, Elijah’s desperate cry met my ears. Daddy took care of him.

“This is crazy,” I told myself, “Both boys throwing up at the same time!” Before I had time to clean up after Elijah in our bedroom, it was Jesse’s turn. Poor little fellows. I have no idea how Julia and Rayni managed to sleep right through all those howls, piercing the midnight stillness. After cleaning up Jesse, I tucked him back to bed and tackled our bedroom floor, the bed, and everything else that had come in the line of fire. By then, Austin was nestled on a crib mattress on our bedroom floor. He patiently waited as I cleaned and disinfected. 

Wryly I told him that I thought Elijah did have a big supper last night. In the meanwhile, Daddy rocked miserable little Elijah. Hours pasted as Austin worked on retching out the stomach flu time and again. After several hours of minimal sleep for both of us, I gave him some sparkling water to help replace the stomach acids he lost; this worked marvelously. The next time I awoke, I was impressed to discover that we had both slept for a whole hour.

By daybreak we had a collection of tissue boxes, paper towels, a heap of wet clothes and pillows, and the likes.

Rayni and Jesse had the stomach flu the day before, so it wasn’t a complete surprise, yet who is ever actually ready for the stomach flu? I can’t say that I am. Yet it’s like I reminded Austin this morning, of the verse in Romans 5:3 that says, “Tribulation worketh patience.” We do gain patience through our rough times.

Just before Daniel went to work in the shop this morning, he made a dash to the garage informing me that he needed to get something. Upon his return, I noticed a piece of blue ribboning in his hand. Stepping over to me, he slipped it over my head and pinned it together in the front. “You are a blue ribbon mother!” he declared. Ah, bless his dear heart. As I went through my day, tending to the needs of my little ones, I was greatly encouraged by his amazing thoughtfulness in encouraging me in this way. Am I doing what I can to encourage others?

Now, as I write, I’m lying on the living room floor, with children on all sides. Things have quieted down enough to where I could tackle this writing assignment, which I thoroughly enjoy.

The children and I just finished looking through a seed catalog, trying to get our seed order together for our garden this summer. and distract little minds from their sickness, all in one. When Julia and Austin told me how much they would like to order some flowers, I explained to them how my aunt once told me that my flowers run around. You should have seen Austin’s big eyes as he tried to wrap his mind around that one. “You are one of those flowers. Our children are the flowers,” I explained. 

I further told him how annual flowers are just more practical for our stage in life with little darlings, so we’ll keep taking care of the ones we already have.

Now for a super simple recipe for more of you moms who have a time crunch for one reason or another. Join us as we make last-minute tortilla wedges. Seriously, your imagination is the limit to these. Any meats, toppings, or sauces of your choice can be used, such as barbecue sauce, salsa, or ranch. For a quick sweet snack, try toasting a flour tortilla on both sides with a dab of butter then spread jelly on top.

Easy Tortilla Pizza Wedges

 flour tortillas

pizza sauce

hamburger, fried and seasoned

pepperoni

cheese of your choice

Layer on tortillas in order given. Bake at 350 until hot and cheese has melted. Cut into wedges, pizza style. This is a great last-minute option when all your other menu brainstorms have failed or even a great idea for tea parties. Other toppings such as diced onions, peppers, mushrooms, olives, or even chicken dices with pineapple tidbits are great piled on top!