There's just something about orchards that I feel drawn to.

I'm not exactly sure what it is. Ever since I first visited an orchard, I have dreamed of owning one someday. There is a simplistic beauty that I appreciate: The branches that are heavy-laden with fruit. The comfortable atmosphere of the produce store. The row after row of beautiful apple trees.

Today I visited Anderson Orchards, located in Moorseville, Indiana. Although not quite yet fall time, the orchard still provided early harvests of apples along with a plentiful amount of peaches, pears, and plums.

Looking through the colorful varieties of fruit the orchard offered, I also began to notice the business of the store. The customers picked through the produce while employees helped load cars and point out certain items. Looking more carefully, there were even more employees carting apples to and fro from behind the building, where I'm assuming the sorting of freshly picked apples happened. Outside of the store, trucks and tractors disappeared into the acres of apple trees with their own responsibilities.

I decided to do a little more observing out in the quietness of the orchard. I selected then left my produce at the counter before venturing out amongst the trees. There was peace. There was fresh clean air. There was clear blue skies. I slowly walked through the isle of trees, snapping pictures and soaking in the scenery. I was soon accompanied by a friend, the Anderson's old family dog. Together, we wandered around as I took in the magnitude of what it means to run such a business.

I began to inspect even the smallest detail of operating an orchard. There were stakes to support the trees, sprays to keep away bugs and diseases, mulch, equipment, costs of upkeep for the equipment, pruning shears, signs to distinguish the trees… Every little detail had to be there to keep the orchard in tip top condition. Suddenly, I was appreciative of the owners and their hard work. My small friend and I examined the fruit-laden trees, and I have since been struck with the Biblical analogy of Jesus being the vine and His followers the branches.

John 15:5 says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." 

The mature trees were absolutely bursting with fruit! The trees were healthy, and obviously well cared for. How well do we tend to our branches in Christ? How fruitful are we for Him? Do we work hard to grow in Jesus, to cultivate our faith, to harvest spiritual fruit? It takes hard efforts and dedication. An orchard as lovely as the one I visited today wasn't built in a day. Neither is our fruit in Him. But if we don't start making strides, our branches will wither and die and will need to be pruned. 

How fruitful is your orchard, then? Are you producing love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control (Galatians 5 22-23)? Let your branches bend with the weight of it all! Refresh yourself in the nourishment that the true Vine brings. Tend to your orchard. The harvest will be beautiful. 

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I love baking! I love baking even when members of my family are too lazy to bake for themselves and pass over the responsibility to me! That's what happened this past weekend when my sister needed a delicious dessert for her in-law's get together. And it is the same dessert I'm excited to share with you! Peanut Butter Bars!

This peanut butter bar recipe has been within our family for years! It is bound to show up at our yearly family reunion, and there are never ever leftovers to take home! These bars are quick and super simple to whip up! They are filled with oats and peanut butter, but the topping is everyone's favorite! Simi sweet chips and a peanut butter glaze. Need I say more?

First, get all your ingredients together (I bet you have practically everything already tucked away somewhere in your kitchen!): 1/2 cup of butter (or margarine), 1/2 cup sugar and the same amount of brown sugar, 1 egg, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 cup of cooking oats, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, and at least a cup of semi sweet chocolate chips.

In a mixing bowl, you'll want to cream together your softened butter, sugars, and peanut butter. A simple way of softening your butter is to either lay it out a few hours before making the bar, or softening it in the same bowl you'll use to mix your wet ingredients right before hand.

Next, add your egg and vanilla then mix well. 

In a separate bowl, combine your flour, oats, baking soda and salt; add into the wet mixture and stir thoroughly. 

Spread into a greased (or sprayed with Pam) 9 x 13 baking pan. 

Have a blast while sprinkling the top with semi-sweet chocolate chips! Just because the recipe calls for a cup doesn't mean you can't add more! Go for it! 

Bake at 350 F for 20 to 25 minutes. Our oven is fast and made our bars ready around 18 minutes, so be sure to check that your bars don't get too brown! Cool them for 10 minutes, then combine your glaze ingredients. 

The glaze is tempting to eat just by itself, and super duper easy to make! You'll need (at least) 1/2 cup of confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter, and 2 tablespoons of milk. Whisk those ingredients together to get your yummy glaze! You'll want your glaze a little thicker so it'll hold well and not slide around all over your bars. To make a thicker glaze, simply add in more confectioners' sugar, and continue to mix ingredients until you reach your desired consistency! 

Once your glaze is whipped up, it'll be time for the final touch! Evenly drizzle your peanut butter glaze on top of your bars and voila!!! You have your easy peasy, yummy peanut butter bar! 

My mother did a wonderful job of evenly adding the glaze! 

Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients: 

-1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

-1/2 cup of sugar

-1/2 cup of packed brown sugar

-1/2 cup of peanut butter

-1 egg, beaten

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1 cup of all purpose flour

-1/2 a cup of quick cooking oats

-1/4 teaspoon of salt

-1 teaspoon of baking soda

-1 cup (or more, you rebel!) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Glaze Ingredients:

-1/2 cup of confectioners' sugar (probably a bit more to get a thickened consistency!)

-2 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter

-2 tablespoons of milk

Directions: 

In mixing bowl, cream butter, sugars, and peanut butter. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, and salt; stir into creamed mixture. Spread into a greased 13 x 9 in baking pan. Sprinkle liberally with chocolate chips. Bake at 350 F for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle evenly over your yummy bars! Enjoy! 

I am a professional Disney fanatic. 

I tear up watching Disney trailers. 

I would live at Disney World if I could.

And although I am highly skeptical of re-makes, my mom and I were still thrilled to see "Pete's Dragon." And, to no surprise on my part, I cried. Not exactly at the movie. I started tearing up way before the previews even started. 

You see, mom and I were the first to arrive at the theater for the movie. We thought that it being opening weekend the place would be packed. Nope! We settled into our seats half an hour before the movie started and began chowing down on our candy. Not much later, a man with his wife and two kids showed up laughing because he was so worried about the theater being sold out, too. 

A few more minutes passed. My mom and I were in the middle of a conversation when a young man suddenly bounded into the theater, excitedly glancing around.

"Is this the theater for regular Pete's Dragon?" he asked, waving his ticket around. 

I smiled and between me, my mom, and the family we told the young man that yes, it was the right theater. We watched as he anxiously scanned the multitude of seats.

"I have to save a seat! I have to get my seat!" He worriedly exclaimed.

The father of the family who had gotten there after my mom and I grinned and said "I think you've got plenty of seats to choose from!" 

The young man began mumbling to himself as he searched for the perfect seat, trying out one before moving down a few seats to check out another. When he finally selected his declared seat, he jumped up and began looking around again. Another family or two had made their way into the theater and this seemed to make the young man a little nervous. He leaned forward and tapped the father's shoulder in the isle in front of him. 

"Sir, sir, I need to leave but could you please be sure no one gets my seat? This is my seat here and I don't want anyone to get it. Can you save my seat? Can you watch my seat?" 

The father stood and patted the young man's shoulder. 

"You know what? I'll sit in your seat to be sure no one takes it."

I began tearing up as I watched the young man excitedly point out his place in the empty isle. The gentleman seriously nodded and sat down. The young man hurried away, his seat now safely secured.

I blinked back the remainder of my tears, thanking the gentleman for his kindness.

The young man was autistic. 

The gentleman didn't have to go the extra mile and sit in the seat to "be sure no one would take it." But he did. He went out of his way to reassure and show kindness to the young man, even though the theater was practically empty. 

This small act of kindness made a huge impact on me. Even after "Pete's Dragon" started (and yes, I teared up throughout that, too!) and the credits rolled, I thought about how we all have the opportunity to share kindness. Sometimes in big ways, sometimes in smaller, more subtle ways. But it really doesn't matter. Kindness, no matter how big, makes an impact.

I'm sorry if you came to read a review about "Pete's Dragon," which I did enjoy! It was a bit slow in some parts, but full of the typical Disney magic. If you are expecting it to be anything like the original, I'm sorry, but you'll be disappointed. I believe the writers made a smart move in making their own story out of the title rather than replicating the original. I also am always impressed to see a movie with a simple message that promotes love and family and friendship, which "Pete's Dragon" superbly accomplished. 

On Christmas of 2014, my beautiful mom gave me one of the greatest gifts I could ever ask for: A book. "The Auschwitz Escape" by Joel. C. Rosenberg, to be exact. I am ashamed to say that it took me almost two years to pick it up as I kept other books on the forefront of my reading list. Last night I finished this amazing, enveloping story that is based on true events from the Auschwitz concentration camp.

There aren't a lot of books I consider true page turners, but this novel is an exception. Although it is 103 chapters with 461 pages, I read it within two weeks… Which is pretty good for me, at least!

I cracked open the pages in the middle of rocking a sleeping baby (to prevent me from sleeping, too!) and was hooked from that point on. The first chapter started off with a bang. Literally.

I had never known about the horrific overtaking of Sedan, France by the Nazis, but within the first few pages I felt like I was smack dab in the middle of it. From there, you follow the stories of fictional characters Jacob Weisz and Jean-Luc Leclerc (Luc for short), and are caught up in an intense, sickening war where killing a Jew was like smashing a bug in the Nazi's eyes. The two main characters wind up in the Auschwitz death camp where they are witnesses and victims to the camp's horrific torture. Desperate to flee from the atrocities and to plead on the behalf of political help, Jacob and Luc find themselves apart of an elaborate and dangerous plan to escape. One wrong move, and not only are their lives at stake, but the lives of hundreds of thousands.

I highly recommend this gripping book, but you must be prepared for pretty gruesome, heart-breaking stories… Page after page of them. There were several times I had to close the book, too overcome with emotion to continue. I had to even stop reading this before going to bed so I wouldn't be prone to having nightmares. At times I would whizz through the short chapters, daring to hope for a "comic relief" of sorts. But being a realistic depiction of a such a terrible place, I'm sad to say there were few glimpses of any happiness.

Although the majority of characters were fictitious, a lot of the twisted events that happened at Auschwitz were true. The author does a superb job of not just drawing you into the story, but landing you right there in the middle of the death camp, wondering if you were going to survive till the next chapter.

"The Auschwitz Escape"is a volume of treasure. It strengthened my faith in the human spirit, my knowledge in the events that happened during the Holocaust, and my belief that God is in ultimate control of even the darkest days.

Why hello there!
Thank you so much for giving this a read! I wanted my first post to be a tiny snippet of who I am and what my hopes are for this particular blog, so I appreciate you dropping by to learn what "Whimsy" is all about!

For starters, my name is Hannah Eagan. I live in Indiana with a current household of seven (that will soon be changing as my sister, brother in law, and two year old nephew will be moving into a new house around Thanksgiving!). My love for Jesus and His work comes first and foremost in my life, and I am always anxious to see where He next leads me. Between writing, working, and studying, I enjoy playing with my nephew, reading, watching favorite shows and movies, and traveling!

I started this blog because I have a passion for writing and sharing my random musings. I am amidst storyboarding for several books I am (attempting!) to write, so in the meantime I thought I would make some new friends! (hint hint: You!)

"Whimsy Words of Wisdom" will be a hodgepodge of my journey with diabetes, inspirational reflections, book and film reviews, random tips and tricks, and other little "words of wisdom" to peek into.  Food is something that I love to explore and have fun with! Eating mediterranean is new territory for me, but I'm excited to try flavorful, clean ways of cooking!

Through my "Whimsy" blog, I hope to get to know you better, and that together we can discover new and exciting tidbits of life! Much love!