Cookie Baking Night 02/05/2018

Tonight was our first Cookie Baking Night of this year. In attendance this evening: Allison, Rylar, and Enzo.

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, we made peanut butter cookies with chocolate hearts in the middle. 

For our Bible lesson tonight, we read from "Does God know how to Tie Shoes?" by Nancy White Carlstrom. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it. It's a story of a little girl asking her parents questions about God. The parents answer each question from Scripture. 

Here's an example: 

"Does God know how to tie shoes, Papa?

By His Word the heavens and earth were made. He breathed and the stars took their place.

Mama, how does God talk?

Sometimes He whispers in a still, small voice. Like when you hold a seashell to your ear. Sometimes He roars over the water and His glory thunders." 

taken from Psalm 33:6 and Psalm 29:3-4

An added attention getter for our particular audience is that the little girl in the book asking the questions is named Katrina. The kids were surprised to hear my name in a book, and they giggled everytime they heard it. 

We finished the evening with a little art project taken from "365 Things to Make and Do" by Usborne books. This is also a book I highly recommend. It has a lot of fun ideas in it. 

We made robot pictures by cutting out various pictures from assorted magazines. 

We then assembled the pieces together into a robot shape. 

As usual, a fun time was had by all. 

Cookie Baking Night 12/18/2017

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night and our annual Niece and Nephew Christmas party. 

We started by making our own french pizzas for supper.

We decorated a Christmas bag to take home our goodies

Next, as is our tradition, we decorated a gingerbread house cookie

Enzo & Uncle Greg

Rylar

Allison

Uncle Greg

Ethan

Aunt Katrina 

Carissa

We played the dice game for small prizes

We read about the reason we celebrate Christmas to begin with (from the Bible). We learned how Jesus humbled himself and became a man. He started His life on earth as we all did, as a baby. When we sing classic Christmas Carols like "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" we're singing about the great Savior of the world who came to this earth to die for us, forgive us of our sins, and reconcile us to God. Oh, what a story! Oh, what a Savior!

And on that note of the Good News, we say: Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. 

Cookie Baking Night 12/4/17

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Carissa, Allison, Rylar, and Enzo.
Tonight was Rylar's birthday choice (he turned 6 years old yesterday).
For supper he chose: pizza, peaches, strawberries, and oranges
For his cookie he chose: chocolate chip cookies

Ho-hum. Another day. Another cup of flour to measure. 

We had a slightly traumatic egg cracking experience (no egg in the bowl, egg on the pants, egg on the floor, tears were present). Egg cracking is like horse falling off, I suppose. You have to get right back in there and do it again or you'll forever be afraid. With some coaxing, Rylar cracked four more eggs and was a pro by the end. 

Welcom home, Uncle Greg! We missed you so!

For our Bible time tonight we read lesson 6 from Leading Little Ones to God titled "God Sent His Son". This launched us into a lively conversation on why we celebrate Christmas and what it means. We also read John 14:8-10 from the Bible. 

Rylar got to choose the games we played tonight since it was his birthday choice. He chose "Sequence for Kids", a classic, and we played several rousing games of it. 

Happy Birthday Rylar! We love you so!

As usual, a fun time was had by all. 

Caregiving-You Start, I'll Chime In (Prayer) 12/03/2017

My mom has always been a prayer partner in every sense of the word. When you pray with her, you do not pray alone. She interrupts and adds to prayers. She confirms and pleads. She boisterously praises and joyfully claps her hands. She sings and recites Scripture. All this happens alongside, in the middle of, and on top of my prayers.

We have this conversation a lot. "Do you want me to start or do you want to start the prayer?" 

"You start. I'll chime in," she says.  And chime in, she does. 

I suppose this would annoy other people. I've learned to find a rhythm and keep going in the midst of the interruptions. It bothered me at one time, but it doesn't bother me any longer. I'm used to it, and now I enjoy it. I know the day will come when I will miss the "chiming in". 

Cookie Baking Night 11/20/17

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Emily, Ethan, Carissa, Allison, Rylar, and Enzo.
Tonight was a special night in two ways. It was Emily's birthday choice, and it was Emily's Cookie Baking Night graduation. In a week, Emily will turn 17 years old. (This boggles my mind). She has moved from child to teenager and is moving into young adult. Cookie Baking Nights do not hold the same awe for her as they once did (and that is expected to happen for everyone). I suggested to her that we honor and celebrate the time she's spent here with a proper celebration. She agreed that would be a good idea. But one question bubbled to the surface (with a little bit of panic in the voice), "Does this mean I can't ever come to Cookie Baking Night again?" Nope. You're welcome anytime, kiddo.

For her "birthday choice" meal she chose: Lasagna (a vegetarian pan, please), garlic bread, peaches, and punch (punch because it is a graduation after all).
For her cookie she chose: Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies

Now I ask you, what's a graduation without a hat and a couple picture boards? Oh, we had them!

("Do I really have to wear the hat?", she asked.  Yes. It's a graduation. Humor your aunt, please). 

What's an Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookie you may ask? Exactly what it sounds like. Take an Oreo cookie, wrap some chocolate chip cookie dough around it, bake it, and voila!

The gang's all here

We read a lesson tonight from Leading Little One's to God and Emily read the Scripture for us one last official time. 

For Emily's game choice tonight, we dug out the air hockey table and played a few games. (They always loved that). 

Emily's graduation gift was the tied fleece blanket she made at Cookie Baking Night several years ago (she's asked many times when she can take that home with her). 

It was a fun night and a little bittersweet for the aunt. We all shared our favorite Cookie Baking Night memories about Emily. We will miss her as a regular attendee. 

Not "just another" Cookie Baking Night has come and gone. This one was a landmark in time, the start of a tradition, with other 17-year-old graduations to follow in the future. And, as usual, a fun time was had by all!

Caregiving-Serving With Joy (11/02/2017)

Not long into this caregiving journey, I made up my mind to carry out my tasks cheerfully. There are times when I don't want to do it. There are times when I'm tired. There are times when there is little cooperation in the process of getting the job done. Those things don't need to make a difference in whether I do the job cheerfully or not. It needs to be done. Being angry and frustrated about it accomplishes nothing productive, so I make the decision to be cheerful in the moment. It's just a few minutes. When the task is done, time marches on, and I can return to whatever task I felt to be important in that moment. I remind myself of this truth often: It is not just about a task. It is about loving another human being, and it's about doing it well. It's about accomplishing the purposes of God for that moment. It's about representing Him well.