Cookie Baking Night 03/09/2020

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Carissa, Allison, and Rylar. Tonight we made: "The Best Soft & Chewy M&M Cookies" with mini M&Ms and mini chocolate chips. I have to say, I think they lived up to the hype.

For our Bible time tonight, we started something new. 

We're going to start asking ourselves a series of questions and then answer them with what we know from the Bible. 

Tonight's we worked on two questions:

Question 1: Who made you?

Answer 1: God made you.

How do we know this? The Bible says: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male female he created them. Genesis 1:27

Question 2: What else did God create?

Answer 2: God created all things. 

How do we know this?  The Bible says: For by him all things are created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. Colossians 1:16

These may seem like very simple questions with simple answers, but in our present world they are pretty big questions with answers that seem to vary. I thought it would be worth our time to explore these questions, find out what the Bible says and talk about what that looks like in the world. 

We have a big range of ages at Cookie Baking Nights these days. The discussion around these seemingly small questions was very interesting, to say the least. We look foward to exploring it some more in the months ahead. 

Another topic of conversation this evening was our upcoming family trip to Florida. Everyone's excited to go to Disney World and Universal Park. We're all leaving here at different times and arriving in Florida at different times, but we'll have several days together to spend as a family taking in the sights and visiting some of the amusement parks. So, next Cookie Baking Night will be on the road. 

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

Cookie Baking Night 02/24/2020

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Carissa, Allison, and Rylar.

Tonight, we made Oatmeal Scotchies

A little cookie baking, a little relaxing. That's how we roll. 

Cookie Baking Night 02/10/2020

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Carissa, Allison, Rylar, and Enzo. Tonight we made the classic "peanut blossoms" that are so popular at Christmastime, except we put a Valentine twist on it. Instead of chocolate kisses or stars, we used a chocolate heart in the middle of the cookie.

Yummy!

As usual, a fun time was had by all. 

Cookie Baking Night 01/27/2020

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Carissa, Allison, Rylar, and Enzo.
Tonight we made Cinnamon Polar Bears.

We rolled the dough into balls to make the shape of a bear head. 

We added chocolate chips for eyes and cinnamon cadies for the noses. 

The finished product. As usual, a fun time was had by all. 

Cookie Baking Night 01/13/20

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Ethan, Carissa, Allison, Rylar, and Enzo. Tonight was Ethan's birthday choice. He turns 17 in a few days. For supper, he chose pizza (with banana peppers) and for his cookie, chocolate chip cookies.

Tonight was also Ethan's Cookie Baking Night graduation. As the nieces and nephews  turn 17, we have a graduation party. This gives them the opportunity to make the decision if they want to keep coming to Cookie Baking Nights on a regular basis or not or as we like to say "join the ranks of alumni". It also gives their aunt and uncle a chance to have a little closure, look at all the pictures we've taken over the years, tell sappy stories of how we remember when they were "this big", and genuinely celebrate the blessing it's been to have them here all these years. 

We love you, Ethan! Our doors are always open to you. 

Cookie Baking Night 12/16/19

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night AND our annual Niece and Nephew Christmas party. In attendance this evening: Carissa, Allison, Rylar, and Enzo (unfortunately, Ethan was home ill this evening. We missed him).

Our tradition at the Niece and Nephew Christmas party is that we decorate a gingerbread house "cookie"

Uncle Greg looks forward to this as much as the kids do (seriously). 

My theory is that you can see everyone's personality in the way they decorate their cookies. This year was no exception (and it's fun to see this theory develop as the kids grow and mature). 

"thoughtful"

"detailed"

"designed"

"all guns a blazin"

Uncle Greg is the kind of artist who looks at a canvas and says "What do you want to be?" I think he nailed this one. 

To the frustration of the baker, this year the cookies turned out very crackly. The kids said to themselves "nothing a lot of frosting can't cure" but Greg saw it and said to himself "there's an old man in there". 

Aunt Katrina looked at that cookie and said, "I'm flipping it over and using the back of the cookie". My style is "simplicity". If you look back through the many Niece and Nephew Christmas party posts, you'll see that all my cookies are a slight variation on the same theme. 

The other favorite part of party evening is the "dice game". We play for small prizes. 

Enzo with his loot.

Also in attendance this evening were Rusty and Peanuts (the family cockatiels). Greg got a pretty good close up of Rusty. 

Another Cookie Baking Night and another Niece and Nephew Christmas Party has come and gone and, as usual, a fun time was had by all (even Rusty and Peanuts). 

Cookie Baking Night 12/02/19

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Ethan, Carissa, Allison, Rylar, and Enzo. Tonight was Rylar's birthday choice (he turns 8 years old tomorrow). For supper, he chose cheese pizza, strawberries and oranges. For his cookie he chose molasses cookies (he said is favorite part is rolling them in the sugar).

One day he's 3 and the next day he's 8. These Cookie Baking Night years go fast. We're grateful to be a part of their lives in this way.