Friendship Bread

It is about time I wrote a blog about Friendship Bread. Mark and I have been making this delicious stuff for 5 years and one month.  The reason I know the exact amount of time is because my sister, Cheryl, brought over a loaf of cinnamon bread the day before Ben and Lynn's wedding.  She was making sure we had enough food for our family that came for our son's celebration. To make a long story short, we fell in love with it and have been making it ever since.
If you don't know about this amazing bread, just google "Amish Friendship Bread." Mark and I have made cinnamon, chocolate chip, orange cranberry, chocolate peanut butter, chocolate mint, strawberry, banana nut, butterscotch, pumpkin and cookies and cream.  I am sure I have left out one.  The reason I would waste a blog on this is because making friendship bread is so much more than just ...making friendship bread.
I would have given it up long ago but Mark always wants to continue to make it.  You have to bake it every ten days.  You have to "feed" it on every 6th day.  My life revolves around this silly bread. Why would I agree to this? Glad you asked.
Mark and I have traditions that we try to keep even when we are tired. We go grocery shopping at  Walmart every Saturday afternoon.  We ride our bikes on Saturday.  We pray together in the same spot every morning. We definitely have that sign above our bed that says "Always kiss me goodnight." There are a lot of "always" in our marriage.  We always pray as soon as possible when we are angry with each other. That keeps me from committing murder and getting my name in the paper and vice versa:)
Making friendship bread together is a sign that we do not have to travel to Hawaii to celebrate our marriage. We can make bread together and sit on the back porch and it will be enough.   The system is simple.  Mark stirs. I put in the ingredients. In the background, we play Rascal Flatts.  Once the bread is in the oven, we practice our dancing.
When Mark holds out his arm to invite me to dance, it is a sign that we are okay. We are okay even if there is more month than money. We are okay even if our kids are struggling.  Most of all, we are okay if life seems dark and does not make sense.
Other great things about friendship bread is that we share a loaf of cinnamon right out of the oven with our 85 year old neighbor, Bill. He loves it and cuts a slice the minute we deliver.  We bring friendship bread to our Sunday School every Sunday morning. I bring friendship bread to my girl's advisory at school.  Only my advisory gets this treat because it makes them feel special from the other students. I have brought friendship bread to a neighbor who lost her husband. I have given friendship bread to so many people but our freezer always seems to have a loaf just when I need it.
Here is a link to making the bread.
http://www.momswhothink.com/bread-recipes/amish-friendship-bread.html
Here is the guy who makes bread with me:)