Cookie Baking Night (07/25/16)

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance: Emily, Carissa, Alli, and Rylar. Tonight was my Dad-Larry's birthday choice. He definitely picked a crowd pleaser with spaghetti, bread, and peaches. For his cookie he chose bird nests (he loves that cookie more than anyone I know).

Tonight, for Bible time, we returned to our book God's Names by Sally Michael. Tonight we learned about Jehovah, Yahweh, I AM our God who is self-existent.

" The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything." Acts 17:24-25

Last time we learned that God, is Elohim, the Strong Creator who made everything. This time we learned about Jehovah, I AM, who doesn't need anything but instead gives everything. What a great God we serve!

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

Cookie Baking Night 07/11/16

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Emily, Carissa, Alli, and Rylar. Since we have more members in our immediate household than we used to, we've added more birthday choice nights. Tonight was Clara's (my mom's) birthday choice (she'll be celebrating 70 years in just a few days). For supper she chose a dish my Scottish (paternal) grandmother used to make frequently. We always called it potatoes, hamburger, and beans, for lack of a better name. It is boiled potatoes, browned hamburger with bullion added, and pork and beans. Each element is put in its own dish on the table but layered on one's plate and sprinkled with Worcestershire sauce. For her cookie, she chose the Molasses Crinkle. (Sorry, I'm working on my skill of taking pictures of everyone in attendance, especially the birthday people, but I haven't perfected it yet. It's a work in progress).

For tonight, for our Bible time, we returned to the book God's Names by Sally Michael. We spent a long time talking about what it means to have a name and what our name says about us (including our given names and nicknames). We learned that the Bible has more than 200 names for God, and if we count all the names, titles, and nicknames of God, there are over 700 names. God's names tell us about Him. The name we learned about tonight is Elohim, which means Strong Creator. It's fitting that the first name we learned tells us that God created the world, and the first verse in the Bible tells us the same thing: Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." We're looking forward to learning who God is through learning His names. 

Hmm. I made the mistake of leaving my phone on the table for a few seconds, and the teen and tween went selfie crazy. Lesson learned. 

Clearly, as usual, a fun time was had by all. 

Cookie Baking Night 06/27/16

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Emily, Ethan, Carissa, Alli, and Rylar.
It was birthday choice (she turns 11 in just a few days). For supper she chose: Chicken Alfredo, tator tots, and berries with cream. For her cookie: Dirt Cups.

We also took a walk to the local gas station (Uncle Greg came with us) for an ice cream treat. 

For our Bible time tonight, we tried something new: Memorization. We started with Psalm 23. It was disastrous. Concentration was low and attention was wandering. We will regroup and come at it differently next time. God's Word is worth the effort of hiding it in our hearts, so we won't give up that easily (at least this aunt won't). 

Despite a few less than warm and fuzzy moments, as usual, a fun time was had by all. 

Happy Birthday, Greg!

Today is (my husband) Greg's birthday. Phrases or words that describe Greg: Computer whiz, smartest man I know, eternal optimist, patient (the patience he shows with me is the characteristic in him that most makes me want to be like Jesus), funny, interesting, adventurous, one who is rarely found without something on his head at a family gathering (this picture is one of the rare cases where it happens to be a hat).

Happy Birthday, My Love. I praise God for you, and I'm ever so glad you were born!

Cookie Baking Night 06/13/16

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Ethan, Carissa, Alli, and Rylar.
Tonight was Uncle Greg's birthday choice (his birthday is on Wednesday). For supper, he chose Chicken Pockets and for his cookie he chose Molasses Crinkles.

It was a lively night and time got away from us this evening. We managed to get the cookies baked and read our Bible lesson (Leading Little Ones to God: #32 "Jesus Came From Heaven") and before you knew it, it was time to go. But I assure you, as usual, a fun time was had by all. 

Cookie Baking Night

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Emily, Alli, and Rylar. Tonight we made strawberry-rhubarb crisp.

First, we had to pick the rhubarb, so we headed to the backyard. Rhubarb grows best in an area where it's shady and wet. We've had a lot of cloudy, rainy days lately, so the rhubarb is perfect for the picking.

This is the first time the youngest ones have picked the rhubarb. Rylar was a little skeptical about it. When I told him we were going to use it in our dessert, he said, "That doesn't look like something you can eat." He sure did enjoy the process of picking it though. 

We brought it in the house and cut it and cleaned it up.

Then we added a few strawberries and some sugar and added a topping and it was ready to bake. 

We spent most of our time tonight picking rhubarb and preparing the dessert, but we did have enough time for our Bible time. Tonight we read lesson 30 from Leading Little Ones to God by Marian Schoolland. It was titled "God's Angels Watch Over Us" which brought us through the story of Daniel in the Lion's Den.And we also read the lesson from Daniel 6:16-23 in the Bible. We talked about how much Daniel trusted God and how he refused to bow down to anyone else even if it meant he would be thrown into a den of hungry lions. God sent His angels to protect him. God is trustworthy and worthy of praise. 

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

P.S.

Here's my standard strawberry-rhubarb crisp recipe

3 cups chopped rhubarb

3 cups strawberries (frozen or fresh)

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla (or flavored liqueur or flavor extract of choice)

Place fruit, sugar, and extract in 9x13 inch pain and toss together until coated.

Topping: 

1 pkg oatmeal cookie mix (dry)

 1 stick (1/2 cup) softened butter

Mix together topping until crumbly and sprinkle generously over fruit mixture until it is completely covered. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until topping is golden brown and fruit mixture bubbles up on the sides. 

Serve warm with vanilla or strawberry ice cream on top

Enjoy!

Cookie Baking Night 05/02/16

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

Tonight, the action started right away. For supper, we had french bread pizza (sliced french bread, pizza sauce, toppings, bake at 350 degrees about 10 minutes, until cheese is melted). Everyone had the opportunity to make their own and choose their own toppings. It was a hit. 

For our cookie tonight, we made M&M cookies with white chocolate chips. 

The secret to M&M cookies is to skip putting any M&Ms in the batter. Put all the M&Ms on the outside of the cookie. That way they remain visible and they don't bake into the batter. My secret recipe for M&M cookie dough, a package of sugar cookie mix. 

After a lively Bible time (Leading Little Ones to God), we went for a walk. It was a beautiful night and we had some energy to burn off. 

As usual, a fun time was had by all.