Cookie Baking Night 04/04/2016

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Emily, Ethan, Carissa, Alli, and Rylar.

The evening started with a lively game of Zingo

followed by a little homework doing by Ethan 

And then on with the baking. Tonight we decided to use up the bananas from the freezer and make some banana bread. When it was pointed out to me that banana bread is not a cookie, I suggested we focus on the "baking night" part of Cookie Baking Night this evening. The kids laughed and then recounted all the other things we make from time to time that are not actually cookies (like pumpkin patch brownies, dirt cups, etc.)

We made two kinds of banana bread, cinnamon-walnut and chocolate chip. 

Here's Aunt Katrina's tip of the day with banana bread. Line the pan with parchment paper before you pour in the batter. When the bread is done baking, you can lift it out of the pan by the parchment paper. That leaves you with an easy-to-clean pan and an easier way to cut banana bread. 

Tonight was filled with special treats for us. We went on our first walk of the season to the local gas station for a treat (something to drink tonight, a little too cold for ice cream yet) and Uncle Greg came with us! It was a fun time. 

Our Bible time this evening was a sweet time as well. We read from Leading Little Ones to God by Marian Schoolland. We read lesson 28 titled "God Cares For Us". This lesson took us back to the life of King David when he was a shepherd. We talked about how David took good care of his sheep as a shepherd. We also learned how Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd. He takes good care of his sheep, and we are his sheep. When we got to the part of the lesson where we would read from the Bible, our text tonight was Psalm 23, and I asked my mom, Clara, if she would recite it for us, as I knew she had this one memorized. She was concerned she wouldn't remember it all as her memory is not the same since her stroke last year, but she recited it perfectly. It was a great lesson for us to see how God's Word hidden in our hearts remains there and stands the test of time and illness. God is truly faithful!

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. 

Tonight's Cookie Baking Night was filled with sweet moments and sweet treats and, as usual, a fun time was had by all. 

Just for fun

Uncle Greg the Human Jungle Gym

Enzo (2-1/2) and Rylar (4) had some fun with Uncle Greg at a family birthday party this weekend. Warning: Some of the pictures are blurry because action shots come with a price. 

Enzo has a lot of words in his 2-1/2 year old vocabulary, but very few of them make there way into a full sentence. In keeping with that theme, after struggling for a few minutes to push Uncle Greg over in his own strength he finally uttered one single word "Hard". He's little, but wise. 

By the expressions on all the faces, you'll be hard pressed to know just who was having the most fun, the boys or Uncle Greg. 

Cookie Baking Night 03/21/16

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Emily, Ethan, Carissa, Alli, and Rylar.

Tonight, while I was making supper, the kids played in the best toy in the world, a big ol' box. I knew the little ones would have fun with it but it was the older ones that we couldn't keep out of it. It was pretty funny to see 6 foot 1 inch (or so) Ethan crawl his way into the big box. Who needs electronic gadgets when you have a big box, I say.

Tonight we made spring flower sugar cookies. As usual, the fun is in the decorating, and everyone has their own style.

This is what happens when you turn your back on a 4 year old armed with a full container of sprinkles. Lesson learned. 

Today we took our first Cookie Baking Night walk since last fall. Thanks to Daylight Savings time and the official start of spring, the days are lighter longer and the weather is warmer. Clara even joined us for our walk (hers was more like a roll).

Awwww

Since Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday (Easter) are at the end of this week, we thought it was fitting to skip ahead in our Leading Little Ones to God lessons. Emily read lesson 40 for us titled "Jesus Died for Us" (John 19:11-18) and I read lesson 41 "Jesus Lives Again" (John 21:1-8). 

As usual, a fun time was had by all. 

Cookie Baking Night 03/08/16

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Emily, Carissa, Alli, and Rylar.
We made our traditional "beginning of spring" cookie, birds nests.

Cookie Baking Night 02/02/16

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Alli and Rylar.

First, they spent a little time coloring pictures with Clara.

Tonight we made Valentine cookies (aka peanut blossoms with a chocolate heart in the middle). 

First, we unwrapped all the chocolate hearts.

Then we made the cookie dough.

Next, the dropping of the dough onto the cookie sheets. They love that part. 

And finally, we get to put the chocolate heart on the warm cookie. 

We also spent some time tonight reading from "Leading Little Ones to God" by Marian Schoolland. We read lesson 23 titled "What the Law Means" and we learned what it means to put God first through reading in 1 Kings 17 about Elijah and the poor widow who trusted God  and gave what little bit of food she had left to feed Elijah. God honored her obedience and provided for her. 

It was a small crowd at Cookie Baking Night tonight, but it was an enthusiastic one. And, as usual, a fun time was had by all. 

Caregiving-Home Health Care Aide 01/31/16

 My 15-year-old niece, Emily, is more than happy to come over to our house and work odd jobs for money. I do believe I am one of her main sources of income (me and her grandparents). She texted me today and said, "Can I come over sometime this week and work?" That's when inspiration hit me. I decided to hire her as a home health care aide. I've been wanting to do some cleaning in the basement for quite some time but I usually need to stay on the main level of the house to care for Mama. I figured Emily could sit with her grandma and color a picture or talk or watch TV with her while I do some work in the basement. We agreed on a mutually satisfactory fee, and she set to work. 

This ended up being a tremendous help to me. I spent two hours in the basement cleaning our bedroom and another hour doing odd jobs around the house while Mama and Emily hung out together and colored pictures. 

We settled up at the end of the evening, and when I was taking Emily home she said, "You just let me know whenever you want me to come over and color with Grandma again."

Cookie Baking Night 01/25/16

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Emily, Ethan, Alli, and Rylar. Tonight was also Ethan's birthday choice. (He turned 13 years old a little over a week ago; that's right, we now have two teenagers at Cookie Baking Nights). For his supper choice: Pizza, french fries, and peaches. For his cookie choice: Chocolate Chip Cookies.

We also had opportunity to read from Leading Little Ones to God by Marian Schoolland. We read lesson 22 "How God Gave Us His Law" We read Exodus 19:16-19 from the Bible and talked about the power and holiness of God. We read the 10 commandments from the Bible and talked about what each one of them means. And we talked about how, many years later, Jesus came to this earth and fulfilled every commandment and every part of the law through his life. He kept the law (was sinless) where we could not. That's why the sacrifice of his life on the cross paid the penalty of sin for us. Pretty amazing!

Even though Ethan is now a teenager, he still takes time to play with his little cousins, and they do enjoy it so. 

Another Cookie Baking Night has come and gone and, as usual, a fun time was had by all.