ResurectionCookies

RESURRECTION COOKIES
To be made the evening before Easter.

You need: 1c. whole pecans, 1 tsp. vinegar, 3 egg whites,
pinch salt, 1c. sugar, zipper baggie, wooden spoon, tape, Bible.



Preheat oven to 300 BEFORE BEGINNING.

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.
Explain that after Jesus was arrested He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.


Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl.
Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.


Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life.
Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.


Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl.
Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.
Read Luke 23:27.


So far the ingredients are not very appetizing.

Add 1 c. sugar.
Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know this and how to belong to Him. Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.


Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed.
Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.


Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet.
Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matt. 27:57-60.



Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.

Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door.
Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matt.27:65-66.


GO TO BED!
Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie.

Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty! Read Matt. 28:1-9


Happy Easter!...from our home to yours!!!

Yummy!!!

...a word that has been in Taylor's vocabulary lately.

Not because she is eating something she particularly likes. Nope. She has been saying this every time she witnesses someone kiss.

It doesn't matter if it's someone she knows or if it's on a movie or t.v.

Breck always yells out..."Ewe, gross!!!"

Taylor follows with..."Yummy!!!"

HappyBelatedBirthday

My wonderful hubs had a birthday this past weekend, so we celebrated him good! He doesn't think that it's a big deal to celebrate his birthday....so the girls and I set out to prove him wrong!

I surprised him with tickets to see his all time favorite comedian, Jim Gafigan. The show isn't for a couple months but there's nothing better than pulling off a good surprise!...he didn't have a clue!


The girls couldn't wait to give him their present...all week, Taylor had told him, "We didn't buy you anything for your birthday daddy!"...gotta love her!



We finally had a chance to sit down last night and play daddy's new game, Lego Creationary...fun, but kind of hard!


Happy Birthday hon!

You are worth celebrating!!!!

We love you!

TheTot

As we walked by The Disney Store, Taylor looked in the display window and announced..."I want dose Minnie Mouse shoes!"

This little girl loves her Minnie Mouse...and the little ballet slippers where quite cute!

Sooo...

....this mommy caved!

She loves them!...and wears them everywhere.

ThursdayMornings

Throughout the years, our Thursday mornings have involved a variety of activities that have come and gone.

Story hour. MOTtT's. Lounging in our p.j.'s. Playing outside. Swimming lessons. Tennis lessons. Getting groceries. Swimming at aunt Ne's pool. Playing with the neighbor kids. Going for a bike ride. Playing at the park. Donuts at Martin's.

The list goes on and on of activities that have filled our Thursday mornings. Some are routine and some are fly by the seat of your pants.

Only one has remained faithful through the years...trash day. Every Thursday morning the trash man makes a stop at our curb. Some of those mornings we are frantically running around, emptying the inside trash cans while we hear his truck getting closer to our stop....come on, I know you've all been there!

Some mornings the trash can is sitting paitiently by the curb, waiting to be emptied.

Other mornings, it is sitting paitiently, with a little bit of company.....



For whatever reason, Kaicee has always loved watching the trash man dump our trash. When she was a toddler, we would sometimes sit at the end of our driveway, watching the trash man make his way around our road until he finally made the stop at our house. If it was cold or rainy, we would watch from the window...and always make sure to wave when he saw us watching. When we saw the trash man through out town, he always recognized us.

She has now passed this love on to her two little sisters who now join her...at the curb on sunny days or by the window on cold days.

I sometimes wonder...when will she outgrow this love? Will she ever?

More importantly....Do I really want her to?

...cuz that would mean that she's growing up.

RainyDayRainbows

Rainy morning = lazy morning.

It's 10:15 and we are just now eating breakfast...but oh, is it yummy!

I tried my hand at this recipe, and I have to say, they are quite tasty!

HeLovesMe!

Mmmm....nothing better than a shamrock chai latte from Main Street Coffee Shop.
My absolute favorite!...and the hubs brought one home for me this morning when he was done studying.
The pic may not be that great, but trust me, the drink was de-lish!
I'll definitely be on the mend now!

SpringBreakInOurPJ's

So far, we have spent our entire Spring Break in our PJ's! The girls have played so well together and have watched way more than our normal share of tv and movies. I have taken at least a two hour nap...every. single. day!!! Today, I slept for almost 3 1/2 hours!!!!

I'm feeling a little better each day but am doing my best not to overdo it...I have too many people checking up on me to overdo it! ;) I have been overwhelmed by family and friends, my hubby and girls included, who have cared so much....calling or texting to see how I'm doing, praying, making meals, watching the girls, doing my laundry, cleaning the house, getting groceries, helping out at Epic...I am loved!!!

Thanks so much...you all know who you are!

Pnuemonia,Pleurisy,&TheER

Last night I had a chance to catch up with a friend from high school that I haven't seen in years...she was my nurse at the ER.

After a few hours of wishing away the sharp pains I was having in my chest, I finally woke Brooks up at about 12:30....crying and trying to catch my breath. The pains had become so bad that I couldn't take a breath and I was starting to get very scared.

Our first phone call was to a wonderful nurse-friend from Epic, Karleen, who advised us to head to the ER (and also offered to drive 35 minutes, each way, to come sit with the girls while we went!) The next call was to my mom, who came to stay with the girls so we didn't have to drag them out.

The X-ray results....pneumonia in both lungs. The pain I was having, and still am, came from pleurisy...inflammation of my lungs from all the gunk. Jayme, my friend from school, was a wonderful nurse who sent me on my way after a relaxing cocktail of Motrin, Tylenol, and Vicadin to help me sleep.

Good,Good,&Good!

CT scan...still waiting to hear from my family doctor, but the radiologist said everything looked clear...just lots of nasty gunk in my lungs.

Epic...we had our first preview service at our new building today and all went well! For those of you who don't know, Epic Church is our 1 year old church that we have helped plant. We previously have been meeting at Meadows Edge Elementary School until we were offered a building...amazing story how it all worked out...read more here.

Spring Break...looking forward to a fun filled week with the girls!!!