Herald Press comes knocking!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving Monday!

Here at Mennonite Girls Can Cook we are thanking God for the food we have. .

the privilege of friendships we share . .

and now we are thanking God for the blessing of a book contract.

So many of you have requested that we make a book and we are happy to announce that the project is well underway.

Early in April we were contacted by Herald Press. (click on this link for their press release).

They wondered if we had ever considered writing a cookbook.

OH ..yes . .we had.

When we began the blog we decided that it would be a publisher contacting us instead of us finding them.

We knew that in due time.  .

it would happen.. .

and it did.

Conference telephone calls with the Publisher. .

many many emails between the "girls". .

and the project which we have been working on behind the scenes began.

Our spring and summer flew by.

We selected recipes. .

we baked and tweaked and cooked . . .

 and enlisted our friends and family to help us eat our test products.

We developed concepts of colors and decided on a theme.

We watched the weather for perfect photography skies.

And then.  .

we planned a party to sign our contract.

On September 1st with our photographer to witness the event. .

we all signed our names on the book contract with the publisher.

After the contract was signed we enjoyed a photography session as a group for the cookbook and spent the day celebrating.

Our efforts are now safely in the hands of capable editors and design teams.

It is a joy to be able to have a purpose that is greater than ourselves.

Our dream to feed some hungry children with the proceeds will be realized.

We humbly thank each of you for your generous encouragement.

Your comments and emails are valued and appreciated so much.

Herald Press has an offer for those of you who love to shop ahead.

(click here for the link to the Herald Press webstore.)

We are delighted to have you along for the journey.

All of you who are kind enough to comment and share our excitement on this post ..

 will have your name put in the teapot. . and one week from today we will do a draw. .

for a complimentary copy of the book when it is released in Spring 2011.

Many thanks to our Photographer for today's photos.

 Just Be. Beatriz Photography

Comments are now closed. ...thank you for entering for the cookbook...Winner will be announced on Monday.

Our Final Day

It’s late Thursday evening as I sit down to view the photos that are supposed to capture the events of the day. They say a picture is worth a thousand words . . . and yet, I know that neither words nor pictures are adequate to describe the emotions of the friendships forged in these three days.

We carpooled in twos and threes, gathering as a group in Chilliwack’s beautiful Minter Garden. Some took advantage of the sunshine for their drive in.

By now we are getting rather good at seeing the right photo op and quickly finding a willing participant to take on a slew of cameras. The little business card tucked into their possession just might bring them to this site and see what all the fuss is about. (Top -left to right - Judy, Marg, Lovella -Middle - Julie, Betty, Anneliese, Bev - sitting at the bottom - Ellen, Kathy, Charlotte.)

We strolled along meandering paths through lush flowering gardens . . .

Stopping on bridges …

with our cameras in hand, giving each other tips on photography . . .

and Lovella showing us how it’s done.

We talked about things that don’t matter . . . and things that do.

Although summer is quickly coming to an end, the gardeners have done a great job keeping the grounds beautiful and showing off what’s in season.

The smiles came easy!

Our final meal was hosted by Julie in her Clubhouse . . .

A true Mennonite meal of Borscht, Zwieback and Schnetki! Just what we would have ordered by this time!

We laughed . . . we cried and we encouraged one another as we allowed ourselves to be real . . . and in doing this, we each realized our unique fit into a group where we are loved the way we are. . . yet challenged to grow and be who we were meant to be . . . in this season of our lives.

Thank you to Marg and Kathy for the entertainment and organizing our first of - hopefully many - mini re-treats!

Mennonite Girls Having Fun

Morning coffee with my guests...the prairie girls Betty and Charlotte.

We received a warm welcome on Judy's front porch.

The table settings along with name tags were a cheery welcome for our morning brunch.

We did feel welcome! It was all so beautiful!

Judy put on a real spread!

Food, friends and fellowship.

After brunch Bev and her husband Harv treated us to a mini cruise on beautiful Harrison.

A little beach stop...Anneliese and Betty had some fun on a rope swing....

and we stopped to take a group shot....one of many!

Marg and I served a light snack.

Enjoying girlfriend time while relaxing and taking in the beauty of God's creation.

The Harrison Hotel in the distance as we headed back to shore.

What a treat this was!

Bev's lovely yard and pond.

On the patio I spotted the zucchini blossoms that Bev picked up at Lepp Farm Market yesterday.

They were so pretty and delicious.

Bev in her kitchen.

Fresh!

Sharing a meal and our hearts.

Bev had chosen a scripture verse for each of us which was printed on the inside of the beautiful place cards she had made. Tears came freely as we went around the table and read each verse....each one so fitting for our personal lives.

Our last stop of the day was at Marg's home, where we gathered around her beautiful island,

and found comfy spots to sit and relax.

Marg's home turned into a quiet spa retreat for the evening.

She served us fresh blackberries picked today by her daughter....

...as well as her wonderful Hazelnut Torte.

The sunset was beautiful as our day came to a close.

We are heading out for another great day.

Tomorrow morning Anneliese will tell you all about it.

Mennonite Girls Come Together

At precisely 10 am the Mennonite Girls Can Cook planned to meet at the airport to welcome our out of towners...

Betty and Charlotte our two prairie girls and Ellen our south of the border girl. .

and us Valley Girls. . ..

all together at last.

How could we have known that just over two years ago we would  not only created a place where we could share our family favorites . .but that we would also have become such close friends.

Daily emails and lots of phone calls.  .and much planning brought us to our first ever reunion.

Kathy and Marg were unanimously nominated to be the social committee and did us proud at the airport.

They showed up a wee bit after the rest of the waiters. .

had us all nearly falling on the floor in laughter. .

as they had ALL the people waiting for friends and family. .

entertained.

They were thanked as they left .. for the fashion show.

With lots of laughter and tears and hugs . .

we were off to my house for "high tea". . .casual style.

We kept smiling at each other . .

and  had ourselves a bit of lunch.

The social committee girls had our first day all mapped out. 

Our first stop was Neufeld Farms our first sponsor.

When I sent out letters to some of our local businesses . ..

they were the first to call and agreed to send money each month to MCC to feed hungry children .  .

and in turn we have them listed on our sidebar.

Do they know how to make girls feel welcome or what?

A sign . .imagine that.

Keri. .a blogger herself ..

understood the camera's and with 10 stuffed in her pocket or slung around her neck. .

snapped away.

Our next stop was our second to join sponsor. .

Lepp Farm Market.

Charlotte gave us the tour of their beautiful new facility and before we knew it.  .an hour had passed as we chatted back and forth.

We feel so blessed to have both these businesses that our locals love . .

sharing our heart to feed the hungry.

Towards the end of the afternoon. .

we went to Anneliese's house to enjoy her special hospitality.

We relaxed in her peaceful and beautiful home. .

while she served us appys and finished creating her delicious meal.

After we had our two  . .yes  ..two desserts . .

Julie shared with us from God's word. .   .

and we ended the evening each praying for the girl on our left.

It's hard to put it into words. .

it was so special.

OH. .but the time has not ended. .

Tomorrow . .our social committee has a day planned.  .

and Kathy will give you the recap on Wednesday morning.

All for now. .

with love,