Cookie Baking Night 03/17/14

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night: In attendance this evening: Ethan, Carissa, and Alli. Tonight we made sugar cookies with cream cheese frosting. 

We thought as long as it was St. Patrick's Day, we would make green frosting for our cookies. 

As long as they're already green, might as well add a few "Spring-like" sprinkles.

Mmm. Tasty.

Tonight we read chapter 10 in our book Sammy and His Shepherd. Chapter 10 is titled "Surely Goodness and Mercy Shall Follow Me All the Days of My Life". This chapter talked about and beautifully illustrated the concepts of mercy and grace, a well-timed lesson for our group this evening. 

We ended the evening with a lively game of Zingo. 

As usual, a fun time was had by all!

Niece and Nephew Musings 03/12/14

Nope. It's not Cookie Baking Night tonight. It just looks a little like it. Tonight we babysat three nieces and nephews (Alli and her two brothers, Rylar and Enzo) on Greg's side of the family and it happened to be on the same night Emily (niece on my side of the family) was scheduled to spend the evening with us, so she joined in the fun. It was a little younger of a crowd than we're used to (Alli is 3, Rylar is 2, and Enzo is 7 months), but it was a good time all the same. Emily is 13 years old now and eager to hone her babysitting skills. She was a big help. We even did a little cookie baking project (more like a sorting and melting project, but close enough). We thank God for the opportunity to serve Him this way and spend some time with the nieces and nephews this evening.

It's okay, you can say it, he's adorable. (Not quite crawling yet but poised for action at any moment). 

A little coloring 

A little handwashing

A little baby holding 

A little sorting 

(sorting out all the yellow M&Ms--excellent project for the little ones I might add)

A little eating 

(Rylar will be joining us at Cookie Baking Nights in December--this was a good trial run for us all)

Cookie Baking Night 03/03/14

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

Tonight, Carissa helped me prepare part of our supper. She made the fruit smoothies.

She cut up the fruit.

She added the fruit and some fruit juice to the blender. 

She blended. (And the fruit smoothies were delicious, I might add). 

Continuing with our fruit theme: For our "cookie" this evening we turned these very ripe bananas (that have been hanging out in my freezer for quite some time) into tasty banana bread (the kids were a little skeptical that those bananas could turn into anything tasty, but I think they came around in the end). Click here to view my favorite banana bread recipe. 

Tonight we also read chapter 9 from Sammy and His Shepherd by Susan Hunt. Chapter 9 is titled "You Anoint My Head With Oil; My Cup Overflows". 

My favorite line from this chapter was this: "Precious pondered all that Sammy had told her about their shepherd. After a while, she turned to Sammy and said: "Since our shepherd bought me, I have been living as if there was only a drop of his love in my cup. And I think I was afraid that the last drop would be gone any minute. I think I'm beginning to understand that my cup will never be empty. It is always overflowing with his love." This statement led to a conversation about Jesus, our Good Shepherd, and his abundant love. 

Again, I recommend checking out this book as it leads to many thoughtful conversations about Jesus. 

Supper (complete with fruit smoothies), banana bread, and a Bible lesson is all we had time for tonight. It was a full evening, and the time went quickly. 

As usual, a fun time was had by all.