Resurrection Cookies/Easter Story Cookies

Hello my friends!!!!

I hope you are having a wonderful week!

It is absoulutely gorgeous today!!!

Sunny, in the 80's!!!

Alabama the Beautiful at it's finest!!!

I'm so super excited today to tell you that I was informed last night that I have won something!!!

My first Blog contest win!!!!

YAY!!!!!!

And the best part is that I know its a

'God Thang'!!!

Do you remember a couple weeks ago when I lost

my new French Decorating Book because I

left it on the back of my Car?

Well, now I'm getting a new book!

I won The New Book from Country Living!

Country Color Combinations

from Stephanie over at

The Whispering Creek House!!!!

I'm so super excited!

Make sure you visit her over there!

She has an absolutely wonderful site

and you will want to follow her I'm sure!!!

Thanks again Stephanie!

I'll be like a little kid now,

checking to see if I've got it yet!!!

Are you all ready for Easter?

I sure am but above all,

I'm so Thankful and Humbled by

the gift that we celebrate on Easter.

The gift of Eternal Life through

the Death and Resurrection

of Jesus Christ!

I wanted to share with you

a recipe I just love

and can't wait to try out with

my little ones on Saturday night.

I have seen several different versions

of this recipe,

But this one from

Traci at Beneath my Heart

is the best in my opinion.

These are her words and photos.

I wanted to share them with you exactly

so nothing would be missed.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Wednesdays with Wanda
My mom was the first food editor for Home Life Magazine from 1993-96.

Every month, she would submit an article for the magazine. One of her favorite recipes that she submitted was “Easter Story Cookies”.

If you “google” Easter Story Cookies”, there will be several links to other websites that mention Mom’s article as their source for this recipe.

Some people refer to these as Resurrection Cookies. They are a great activity to do with small children to help them understand and remember the true meaning of Easter.

You will need:


Your family Bible
1 cup sugar
1 cup whole pecans
1 zip-lock baggie

1 wooden spoon
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 egg whites
tape

Preheat oven to 300° F.

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.



Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers made a crown of long, sharp thorns and put it on his head, and they put a royal purple robe on him. "Hail! King of the Jews!" they mocked, and they hit him with their fists.

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.

Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 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.


The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

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.




A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him.

Luke 23:27

So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know we belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him

Psalm 34:8

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 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 Isaiah1:18 and John 3:1-3.

“Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD.
"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

Isaiah 1:18

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

John 3:1-3

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

As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.

Matthew 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 Matthew 27:65-66.


"Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

Matthew 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 16:20-22.

I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

John 16:20-22

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 Matthew 28:1-9.

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.


Matthew 28:1-9




What a fun and delicious way to celebrate the Easter Story!

***********************************************************
So....

What ya think?

Are we gonna take the time out with our kiddo's to make these?

I am.

I intended to last year, but didn't.

Yet, we did manage to get Easter Eggs dyed.

HMMMMMM......

And I want my kids to have the Easter Story Fresh in their minds before they wake up

Before the 'Easter Bunny'.

And which is more important?!!!!

You got it.

I really wanna say a huge THANK YOU to Traci over at http://beneathmyheart.blogspot.com/.

And don't forget to check out her

Wednesdays with Wanda posts!

I'm going to try to make Wanda's recipe for

Poppy Seed Bread

to Bless some people in the next couple days.

It looks delish!!!!

Thank you so much for reading my friends

And I hope you have a wonderful Easter Weekend!!!

God Bless You All!!!

Why?

Why would anybody sale something like this?

I have no idea.

But their loss,
is most definitely my gain!

I found these today at a yard sale for $1. $1!!!!!!!

I love them!

I have some that are not on a stand at home.

I bought them at an estate sale years ago

and I have another pair that's made into a lamp

(why, I have no idea).

I just had to show you what someone would sell for a dollar.

I guess there are people who are not as sentimental as I am.

What about you?

Did your mother have your baby shoes bronzed?

Or are you more like me,

Lucky to have a couple of my baby pics at all!!!?????

Maybe that's why I'm so sentimental!

Hmmmmmm.....

Mark Twain

A few years ago,

When I had some serious decisions to make,

but I was so scared that I would make a terrible mistake,

one of my friends quoted an elderly friend of his as saying,

'When your old, and you look back at your life,

you don't regret the things you tried and failed,

you regret the things you never tried.'

So I went for it.

Times have not always been easy.

As a matter of fact,

there have probably been more hard times than easy times,

but I've always went back to that statement.

And I don't regret the decision I made

to go for it!

Well today, I came across a quote that was so similar to that quote.

But this one was attributed to Mark Twain....

'Twenty years from now

you will be more disappointed

buy the things you didn't do

than by the ones you did.

So throw off the bowlines,

Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover.

Wow, I love that.

What Every Woman Should Know

I came across this piece yesterday,

'30 things Every Woman should know and have before she's 30'.

And while I've read version's of it before,

several things in it really clicked this time.

It could be, that the older

(and wiser)

I get,

the more relevance it has to my life.

I looked it up

and it was originally written

in 1997

by Pamela Redmond Satran

in the Glamour Magazine.

I read her original,

And I changed the title to

'What Every Woman Should Know and Have'

Because all of us didn't know

and have these things by 30.

Some of us are still working on them.

Then I added a few lines from others

I've read,

and then I added a couple of my own.

I'd love for you to comment and leave some

of your words of wisdom that

you've learned along the way as well.

Or even some that we're all still striving for.

As I age and mature

I'm finding out that life is SO far from perfect!

But that it is a wonderful life to live!

So here it is, Enjoy....

What Every Woman should have:

1.One old boyfriend you can imagine going back to and one who reminds you of how far you’ve come.

2.A decent piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in your family.

3.Something perfect to wear if the employer or man of your dreams wants to see you in an hour.

4.A purse, a suitcase and an umbrella you’re not ashamed to be seen carrying.

5.A youth you’re content to move beyond.

6.A past juicy enough that you’re looking forward to retelling it in your old age.

7.The realization that you are actually going to have an old age—and some money set aside to help fund it.

8.An e-mail address, a voice mailbox and a bank account—all of which nobody has access to but you.

9.A résumé that is not even the slightest bit padded.

10.One friend who always makes you laugh and one who lets you cry.

11.A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill and a black lace bra.

12.Something ridiculously expensive that you bought for yourself, just because you deserve it.

13.The belief that you deserve it.

14.A skin-care regimen, an exercise routine and a plan for dealing with those few other facets of life that don’t get better after 30.

15.A solid start on a satisfying career, a satisfying relationship and all those other facets of life that do get better.

16. Enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own, even if she never wants to or needs to.

16.A feeling of control over her destiny.

17. A good friend that will help you move and a best friend that will help you move a body!

What Every Woman Should Know:

1.How to fall in love without losing yourself.

2.How you feel about having kids, and if you've already raised your kids, the peace in knowing

you did the best you could.

3.How to quit a job, break up with a man and confront a friend without ruining the friendship.

4.When to try harder and when to walk away.

5.How to kiss in a way that communicates perfectly what you would and wouldn’t like to happen next.

6.The names of: the secretary of state, your great-grandmother and the best tailor in town.

7.How to live alone, even if you don’t like to.

8.How to take control of your own birthday.

9.That you can’t change the length of your calves, the width of your hips or the nature of your parents.

10.That your childhood may not have been perfect, but it’s over.

11.What you would and wouldn’t do for money or love.

12.That nobody gets away with smoking, drinking, doing drugs or not flossing for very long.

13.Who you can trust, who you can’t and why you shouldn’t take it personally.

14.Not to apologize for something that isn’t your fault.

15.Why they say life begins at 30.

16. Where to go when your soul needs soothing; be it to her best friend's kitchen table, or a charming Inn in the woods.

Browsing around at Anthropology

Hello My Bloggy Friends.

I thought I would share with you some photos

I snapped (with my cell phone)

a couple weekends ago

when I was privileged enough

to get to go to the Anthropology store

at a nearby outside Shopping Center.

Its always a treat for me to go

and get wonderful ideas

of how they can make the simple,

utilitarian pieces,

and make them extraordinary!

Often, just by how they arrange their merchandise.

My wonderful, patient,

and loving husband

as well as my two youngest,

well behaved children

accompanied me on this venture,

however, they all gave out

after a few minutes

and just sat down on some

of the wonderful pieces of worn

and comfortable pieces of furniture

they happen to have there

(I wonder if that's happened before? HMMMM).

Anyhoo, on this trip,

I actually got to buy something there!!!

Which is actually,

I'm almost ashamed to say it....

the first time, EVER

at this wonderful store!!!

(but I hope not the last!)

Remember, I posted a this pic of this a couple weeks ago?

These spice jars were on clearance

for under $2 each!!!!

I know....

Don't hate me.

I tried to find numbers in order,

but I was too late for that.

So I just went for random numbers.

But actually,

now that I have them,

I like the random numbers better!!!

My 8 year old son, Jonah,

used his $2 he had saved to buy himself one.

Takin' after his mama.

I'm so proud!

He has his jar

in his room

with his very smallest rocks in his collection.

So after I looked through the store once,

I then went through and snapped a few pics

to share with you.

How great is this mirror on an old door!!!!

This looks just like one of those

70's Gold Mirrors

you find at garage sales all the time!!!!

But the paint and distressing makes all the difference!!!

I can recreate this one for sure!!!!

And there is my cute (and sometimes goofy)

husband's reflection

in the awesome mirror.

Moss covered foam block?!!!!

Ahhhhh, yeah, I think I can do that!!!!

Moss covered foam ball???

Yeah again!!!!

I like these shelves,

and if you will look closer at the way the pitcher is hanging....

Looks like iron S hooks,

Love those.

Do you see the spoon?

Here it is close up....

Really cute idea to stamp

old silver or silver plate spoons

to label plants.

I love that idea!!!

Random cuteness!

That cute little decorator

over there looking at knobs is

my Jonah.

I love the primitive boxes used as a shelves.

Well, there he is again!!!

And there is my most beautiful daughter, Deidra.

She's 12 and she informed me that

she LOVES this bed!

I think you can really mix and match

anything you like these days!!!!

Who would have ever thought ruffles would come back?

Especially on the front of blouses????!!!!

They say that home design

follows fashion design.

I guess the comforter and

lots of the pillows I've seen lately

proves thats true!!!

And this last pic is of the store next door

that my pre-teen dragged me into.

Oh Lord, help me!

Goin on 16!!!

Well,

I hope you enjoyed our little tour of
Anthropology.

I have now officially subscribed to their
catalog,

and actually already gotten it in the mail.

But it's not as good as the store,

moss covered outside walls and all.


Luv it!!!

.

My Poor Poor Book

Do you ever feel like saying,

Why me?

I'm sure you do,

everybody does, right?

Well I have kind of a funny story for you.

I have been drooling over a huge,

hand blown cloche

at Trish Land for MONTHS now.

They are beautiful as well as expensive.

So I finally put one on lay-a-way.

I thought....

I won't feel as guilty,

if I just pay maybe $5 here and there.

Well, God stepped in.

I had gotten some really cool

Enamel French House Numbers

from a Rummage Sale

and when I took them in for my friend

to see that owns the shop...

She just had to have them!

She basically said I wasn't leaving with them.

Don't get me wrong,

I LIKED them,

and I'm really sure I coulda' took her

if it had come down to it...

But to save all that.......

I traded her for the beautiful Cloche

I've been wanting.........

(Sorry, bad pics, took with my cell phone)

and she also threw in several

other things in to make it EVEN MORE

appealing to me.

One thing that closed the deal

was this DELIGHTFUL French Decorating Book.

The LAST one in the store I have to say.

I loved it!!!

It was LOADED

with wonderful photographs

that I had only begun to explore.

Yes....

I said had.

Yesterday,

In my haste to get home from work

and unload the car

to get 2 kids to

2 separate ball practices,

on 2 completely different sides of town.....

I (notice I have NO ONE else to blame here)

must have left my prized book

and a Victoria magazine on the back of my car.

I didn't even think of it

until we got to the ball field

and I started to look for it

so I could longingly savor the glorious photographs of France and all the wonderful
decorating that is only French

while my kids played in the red dirt.

So I called our 17yr old son

still at home,

he went to the street to look for it for me.

He found the Victoria magazine,

that I had gotten at the THRIFT STORE

by the way.

My book, however,

my $40 book

that I probably wouldn't,

in a million years,

buy for myself,

gone.

Not a sign of it anywhere.

Oh well,

easy come.........

Apothocary Jars -n- eggs

Hello My Friends.

I hope you are all are having a wonderful day!!!

Can you believe it's finally turning spring?!!!!

I'm so glad!!!!

Although..... in my world.....

this means freezing while watching the kids at baseball/softball practices!!!!

I mean....Burrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

But pretty soon.....

We'll all be so hot and sunburned and we will wish for just a little breeze!!!!!

I haven't done a lot of

Easter Decorating yet.......

even though......

I've had the best of intentions!!!!

I did do a quick project for a table at my office.

I thought you might like to have a peek!!!!

My Supplies......

These apothecary jars I got at TJ Maxx

a while back.

I love the size of these

and they were very inexpensive!!!

One of them is a little uneven

on the bottom

and will rock back and forth just a little bit...

but that doesn't bother me in the least!!!

Do you know how many ways you can use an apothecary jar!!!!!!

The possibilities are endless!!!

I had some of these other things

from left over projects at home.

The little eggs and chicks

are on sale at Hobby Lobby and

are about a dollar!!!!

For the whole pack!!!

I just layered

some of the spanish moss

and green moss

and put in some of the eggs and chicks in.

Cute huh?
These cute rabbits I found about a month ago at the Thrift Store.

Mrs. Rabbit needs a little basket or something.


Here's the whole little scene so far.

I know I will probably add some more fufu

but I though they turned out to be cute.

I purchased the Amazing Grace plaque

with the rusty nail

last year for the office,

and I've kept it out all year.


I'll probably end up taking one of these jars

home and paring each one with a cloche.

I think that will look good,

but I thought I'd give you a quick,

easy and cheap idea to decorate for Easter.


Have you started decorating yet?