Paper Bag

I love getting farm-fresh "real" eggs! And if the seller is out of old egg cartons, then the eggs come in paper bags! It think they are even more fun this way - more realistically farm fresh! :)

(Mom recently found a double yolk... Does anyone know if that is twins? This "city girl" doesn't know much about raising chickens...) :)

Finished Object Friday - A Candy Cake

A friend of ours turned the big 3-0 a few weeks ago. And to help him celebrate I, of course..., made him a cake! I had a hard time figuring out what kind of cake to make because I had already made him an ambulance cake a few years ago. When I saw this cake (and another similar) on Pinterest, I knew it would be a good one for him!

It was very easy, quick and fun! Also a big hit! Funny thing though, several people thought it was a bowl of candy! (It fit right in with all the other candy bowls on the table.)

I ended up making a three layer cake (If I'm remembering right, I actually tripled my cake recipe. It made enough for 3 9 in. round pans with a little extra to make a couple of cupcakes) The three layers were just right to make it tall enough for the Kit Kat around it, and to make it like a bowl. I also used Mini M&Ms which I thought were more in proportion to the cake size and much cuter.

Anyway, it was a big hit, and chocolate OVERLOAD! YUM! :) Welcome to the 30's, Andrew!! :)

I know it's late in the day... but I'd still love to see what you have been up to lately! We can just have a "Finished Object Weekend!" :) 

Book Review - The Maid of Fairborne Hall

I've had this book finished for a while, but it has taken me a little while to slow down enough to actually get a review written. Any time I have a chance to review a book by Julie Klassen, I will take it! It seems like Christian authors tend to be a dime a dozen, and some write better than others. You can tell the authors that take time to research information about their era (if historical) and really take the time to "flesh out" their characters. Julie Klassen is one of those authors. Once I get into one of her books, I can kiss a "reasonable" bedtime goodbye! :)

In this story, Margaret Macy, a wealthy socialite in 19th century, is forced to flee her home. She finds refuge working as a maid in the home of a man who's love she once spurned. Will she be found out, or will her disguise be enough to keep her hidden?

The story is written in the frame work of an English manor. The author paints a true picture of how a large home such as this was run. Klassen's novels are set in the same time period as those by Jane Austen, but she gives a wider perspective on how society was as a whole, not just focusing on the wealthy. The characters really make this book, and any of her books really. There is only one of her novels that I didn't care for quite as much as the rest for some reason. But any of the other books, I just need think of them, and I remember the heroines...  maybe not by name, but I remember their stories. And it's been quite a while since I read her first one. (A quick note here: Her first book, while excellent, I would be careful recommending to younger readers because of the nature of the content.)

A thank you to Bethany House for providing me this copy for review. My opinions are my own.

Finished Object Friday: A Good Friday Object Lesson

As many of you know, Mark and I attend a small church here in East Texas. One of my main jobs in the church has been helping with the children. We have had kids off and on through the years, but we have had one family of kids that have been coming almost two years! They are such a joy to teach because they love to learn about Jesus. We have several more kids in our class, including the little girls that you see pop in here every now and then. My friend Lorie and I have been co-teaching (and Angie too, when she is home). We have several other helpers as well - my mom, for one, who plays the keyboard in our classroom. Sometime in the future I would like to do a post just to show the setup of our classroom and tell some of the things that we are using for discipline techniques and memory keys.

Anyway, for today I wanted to share the special activity I did with them Wednesday night to help us all to think on the awesome sacrifice that Jesus made when He died on the cross. First I read this book to them - a story about a town that was so caught up in all the fancy part of Easter, that they forgot what it was all about. Then I talked about why Jesus had to die on the cross and that He took on Himself the sins of the world - all of our sins. We read scripture verses about the burden He took to Calvary. Then each of us (teachers included) wrote the phrase "My Sins" on a piece of paper and nailed it to the cross. We talked about how we can leave our sins on the cross, that we don't have to carry them anymore.

(Sorry about the shabby phone pic... wish I would have grabbed my real camera...)

It was rather a hectic evening - everyone was kindof wound up. But I hope that even years down the road, that they will remember this lesson and the prayer we prayed!

And I hope that you can take something away from this as well. Maybe you have kids (or church kids) of your own and you are inspired by my little activity. On this Good Friday, may we remember that Jesus took our sins on Himself and bore our burden.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; 

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. 

Isaiah 53:4-5

Just some news....

No big news yet... except for the fact that our home study is finished!!! We are within sight of one goal... getting our profile "in the book" from which birth parents choose the family for their baby! We do have some more paperwork and a "dear prospective birthparent" letter to write. So your continued prayers are appreciated! This whole process, while sometimes slow, has been very positive! We have really enjoyed working with each person at our agency, and we really appreciate all the support we have received from so many of our friends and family!

But in other news... Whew. The month of March just flew by!! Like in the past few years, my grandmother was able to fly down from her home in Idaho and be with us for about four weeks.We enjoyed doing things with her - like visiting some pretty sites around East Texas - March is the perfect time of year to come visit this area!

 My parents - we enjoyed having both Mom and Dad off work for spring break. We sure missed having my sister here, though!

We also enjoyed having some friends visit! The spring flowers are so pretty! We spent part of one afternoon just looking around (and taking lots of pictures!) :)

Our tradition while Grandma is down here, is for her to help me put my garden in. Here is this year's garden. Fewer plants in this area. I decided to grow my cucumbers over by our (new!) fence and let them climb the chain link instead of all my tomato plants! :) 

So that is a (very brief) synopsis of our last month! Hopefully, I will be a little better blogger in April! :) Next post: Finished Object Friday!