Cookie Baking Night 12/07/15

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Carissa, Rylar, and Alli. Tonight was Rylar's birthday choice (he turned 4 years old just a few days ago). As is our tradition here at Cookie Baking Nights, the birthday person gets to choose what we have for supper and what we make for our "cookie". For supper, Rylar chose macaroni and cheese, bananas, grapes, and chocolate milk (and I threw in a few chicken nuggets for good measure). For his cookie, he was having a hard time articulating his choice. "Hot Chocolate Cookie" was mentioned several times. If you're wondering what that is, so am I. I finally suggested the treat that seemed to be his favorite this year, and he readily agreed to it. So, in the end, Rylar chose to make chocolate dipped marshmallows on a stick. 

First, there's the work of putting all the marshmallows on sticks. Tedious work, but fun work. 

Next, we start dipping. We chose chocolate and white chocolate and sprinkled with colored sugar and chocolate sprinkles (ahhh, nothing like a big lump of sugar, dipped in sugar, and sprinkled with sugar--and then you send them home with the children). 

The finished products. (Here's a tip: The best carrier/transporter I've found for this treat is a block of florist foam wrapped in aluminum foil--works nicely). 

We also read from Leading Little Ones to God by Marian Schoolland. Tonight we read lesson 19 titled "How Sin Came Into the World", which took us back to Genesis 3:1-6 in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. We talked about what sin is, who Satan is, and who God is. We had a lively discussion around this subject, and the children were eager to engage in the conversation. 

Tonight was our last Cookie Baking Night for 2015. We'll take a break for a few weeks and resume again in the new year. 

As usual, a fun time was had by all. 

Niece and Nephew Christmas Party 2015

Today was our 12th annual Niece and Nephew Christmas Party.We lost the teenagers this year to a scheduling conflict, but the party did go on, and a fun time it was. In attendance this year: Ethan, Carissa, Alli, and Rylar. This year, we kept the party all in-house.

We started by decorating a few Christmas ornaments. 

Even Clara and Greg got in on the act. 

And don't forget our annual gingerbread house cookie decorating event. As usual, our personalities came out in our individual decorating styles.

                                                 

                                                                                                     

And it is part of our tradition to play the dice game for small prizes. The kids love this part. 

We also took some time during our party to talk about why we celebrate Christmas and what it is really about. Since Leading Little Ones to God has been our book of choice for our Bible lessons, I used it to tell the Christmas story as well. We read the lesson titled "Jesus Came From Heaven". It was fun to talk through with the children just what it could have meant for Jesus to give up all the riches of heaven and all the glory he is worthy of receiving and come to earth and be born as a baby. They engaged with the lesson from beginning to end, from smallest to largest. My favorite part was when we came to the suggested Bible reading to accompany the lesson. It's often a large passage of Scripture, but this time it was just two verses. John 3:16-17. My mom and dad were in the room listening to the story with us and I knew that my mom had memorized these two verses when she was a child. I asked her to recite them, and she did. 

John 3:16-17

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeith in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. 

Another Niece and Nephew Christmas party has come and gone, and as usual, it held great meaning for us, both in the opportunity we have to be in the lives of our young nieces and nephews and in the joy of sharing the knowledge of who Jesus Christ is with them.