All American Apple Pie Making

First you start with an apple almost as big as you are!

"Many hands make light work!"

Miss Betty Crocker Gerhardt

Sisters!

I was feeling discouraged earlier.  Many things can add to discouragement but there's nothing like adding a little loneliness to the brew to make things a whole lot worse.  I was in my kitchen feeling sorry for myself and alone with no one to help.  Dinner to finish making, dishes to do, counters to clean, table to find... I thought about asking the girls to help but they were upstairs playing so nicely with their little sister that I didn't want to disturb them. 

The guys are never recruited to make dinner or clean the kitchen unless I happen to be gone during the dinner hour which is extremely rare.  We all have work to do and we're always busy.  Each of us has our allotted jobs.  Sometimes they change with the seasons or they change with less than a moments notice, but usually they are dependable work.  We enjoy it.

So I start in where I left off, the homemade cabbage soup bubbling away on the stove, the dishes half done and a pie yet to be made.  I worked alone for awhile and then I realized I really did need all three girls to help or pie making had to be left behind.  So I headed upstairs to tell them that I really needed them to help.  I wasn't mad or upset or put out, I just really needed them.  Funny how just yesterday I was giving them "jobs" to do for the fun of it or just to keep them busy but now I really benefit from their level of work.  They were playing mommies and dress up and said they were just coming down to see if I needed any help!  I would've pulled out my handkerchief then and there, had I one!

So off to the kitchen we marched and had the grandest time visiting and making pie all together.  No one was in a hurry to get it done, we were just enjoying one an other's company.  We all know we need each other and there has to be teamwork to get our daily tasks done.  Every one here has an important role in our family.  This is why we are here in Alaska.  It is hard.  It is demanding and yes, tiring but at the end of each moment spent together there is love, laughter, and good memories.  There is also times of tears and frustration and wanting to quit but thank God He gives us the grace we need as we humble ourselves before Him.  AND if we don't humble ourselves, He will.