Here’s a typical day for me:

4:30 a.m. – The alarm rings. Time to get up. My husband Joe gets ready for work while I pack something for breakfast, which he’ll eat at break. He doesn’t want to eat this early. It seems by the time he gets all his medicine taken, he isn’t hungry.

5:10 a.m. – Joe leaves for work.

6 a.m. – I walk over to daughter Loretta and Dustin’s house. Dustin is leaving for work. Loretta and the boys are still in bed. Seven-month-old Kylie wakes up, and I change her diaper and make a bottle for her. I lay her back in her bed after some snuggles. I take a nap on the recliner.

7:30 a.m. – Byron wakes up but goes back to sleep on the recliner with me. He turned 2 on Aug. 7.

8:10 a.m. – Denzel, 3, wakes up and smiles when he sees I’m there. He crawls onto the recliner with Byron and me.

8:30 a.m. – The boys want to get up and ask me to get them “cocoa milk,” which is actually Nestle’s Quik and milk. I brought a mug of coffee along, but I decided to make myself a glass of chocolate milk. Both boys stand there and smile like it’s funny to see Grandma drinking chocolate milk with them. I hardly ever drink any, but it does taste good for a change. I remember daughter Elizabeth saying that Grandma Coblentz always added more chocolate to their milk than I did. I think maybe I might be doing the same for my grandchildren. It’s so easy to spoil them. I help Loretta into her mobility scooter, and Kylie is ready to get up, too.

9:15 a.m. – Loretta and I head over to our house with the children. Daughter Lovina decides to come over, bringing a few dozen eggs from their chickens.

9:45 a.m. – Breakfast is pancakes, smokies and fried eggs. After breakfast, Loretta and Lovina stuff banana peppers with cream cheese and shredded cheese and wrap them with bacon. This will be for tonight’s supper at Dustin’s. After that, Lovina heads back home. Benjamin mows our pasture field. He didn’t have to work today. I mix up dough for 12 loaves of bread. I have to take some to church on Sunday and make extra for us.

The boys want to go over to “visit” Daniel Ray and Verena. Daniel and Verena fill the kiddie pool with water for the boys to play in and cool off. The boys think it’s funny to throw water at Verena. They laugh when Verena acts all surprised that she is wet now. They must have inherited that “Coblentz blood” and the love to throw water at someone. Ha!

1 p.m. – Joe is home from work. The boys are glad to see Grandpa is home. I put the risen dough into bread pans. I make a light lunch for everyone who wants to eat.

2 p.m. – Dustin is home, so Loretta heads home with the children. She has a wagon hooked behind her scooter for the boys and Kylie to sit in. The children will be ready for a nap when they get home.

I bake the bread, and while that is baking, I do other jobs around the house.

6:30 p.m. – We sit around the grill while Dustin makes supper on it. Daniel and Lovina come over to join us. Daniel Ray and Verena have his family at their house for supper tonight. After the dishes are done, we play some games before heading home to bed.

Saturday was a great turnout for the South Bend book signing. Many thanks to everyone who stopped by. You have no idea how your encouraging words help. Writing this column doesn’t pay much, and sometimes life is so busy that it’s hard to find time to write. After meeting and talking with everyone, it motivates me to keep writing. May God bless your kind hearts.

Also, thank you for buying cookbooks, which helps more than you know. I also want to thank my daughter Elizabeth, son-in-law Tim and grandchildren T.J. and Allison for going with me. The children’s highlight was looking out the back door of the booth and seeing the trains go by.

A thank you to the farmers market staff for their hospitality! This is a great market held indoors, rain or shine. Last but not least, a great thank you to my good friend Ruth, who made it possible for me to be there. Without her, I don’t think I would still be penning this column. Bless her heart!

God’s blessings!

Zucchini Garlic Bites

1 cup shredded zucchini (squeeze out excess moisture)

1 egg

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup breadcrumbs

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine zucchini, egg, Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs and seasonings. Shape into small balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden and firm. Makes six.

• Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, an 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, P.O. 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.