Easter Story Cookies

Here's the recipe for the cookies we shared in our Easter Eggs at the Primary Activity. It's our family's favorite tradition for now ; )

Ingredients:
1 cup whole pecans
1 tsp vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
1 zipper baggie
1 wooden spoon
masking tape
Bible

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 F.
2. Place pecans in a zipper baggie and let children beat them with a wooden spoon to break them into small pieces (leave in bag until the last--used as last ingredient).
**Explain that after Jesus' arrest, he was beaten by Roman soldiers. READ John 19:1-3.
3. Let each child smell the vinegar. Pour 1 tsp vinegar into the mixing bowl.
**Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. READ John 19:28-30.
4. Add egg whites to vinegar.
**Tell the children that eggs represent life.
**Explai that Jesus gave his life so that we could be resurrected and have eternal life. READ John 10:10-11.
5. 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 during the crucifixion. READ Luke 23:27.
Ask your children if any of the ingredients used to this point seem very appetizing.
6. Add 1 cup of sugar.
**Explain that the sweetest part of the Easter story is that Jesus died because he loves us, He wants us to know and belong to him and be able to return to the Father. READ Psalm 34:8. Read John 3:16.
7. Beat with mixer on high speed for 12-15 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.
8. Fold in the broken nuts. Drop the dough by teaspoons onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper.
**Explain that each mound of dough represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60.
9. Put the cookie sheet into the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and help them seal the oven door.
**Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.
10. Go to bed! Or proceed with the events of the night and leave the cookies in the oven until morning.
**Explain that the children might feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus followers despaired when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20,22.
11. Before the children are up the next morning, remove the tape and open the oven door. After the children awaken, gather them in the kitchen and give everyone a cookie. Tell them to notice how the surface is cracked and to take a bite. The cookies will be hollow.
**Explain that on the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. When they understood what it meant, they rejoiced! Read John 11:25-26.

Old Books

Moons LDS Bookstore has a shipment of used books for sale..... cheap.

I was there this afternoon and got quite a few good books for $1, $1.50, $2.00. Among them was the biography of Howard W. Hunter ($4.) and other good books. The woman told me that they got the books from DI. She said DI had so many that they were going to just get rid of them.

So, if there are any bargain hunters in the ward. Have fun!

Empty Nesters

Is YOUR nest empty? If so, you are invited to come to our empty nester activities. These are sponsored by no one and endorsed by no one. We are just a bunch of friends who decided to get together and have a little fun. All empty nesters are invited!

Last night's activity was a "birthday party." We ate dinner, ate birthday cake, and celebrated the fact that we are alive. Afterwards we played some games. We learned some new things about each other. Cheri wishes she could spend 1 million $ in one day. Mike W. wishes he could own a Harley. Beckie wishes she could dance salsa. David wishes he could speak Spanish fluently. Joe wants to ride a motorcycle, Debi W. wants to run her own company. Debbie C. wishes she could travel the world. Richard and Mike C. wish they could retire, while Beth just wishes she could go on a cruise. Sue says she would simply love to go skydiving!

Want to know what they would NEVER EVER do? We made some lists. Beth says she would never shoplift anything. Cheri will never climb a mountain. Richard will never parachute jump. Mike W. will never be a snake charmer and his wife Debi, will never pilot an airplane. Beckie would never want to rob a bank. David says no to eating caviar. Joe says he will never ever eat Shushi and Sue doesn't ever want to learn to speak Chinese. Mike C. does not want to be asked to be Scoutmaster and his wife, Debbie C. says she will never lie, cheat, or steal!

We laughed a lot and shared some interesting birthday memories. All too soon, the evening was over. If you have an empty nest, keep your ears open for details of the next activity. If you don't, see what you have to look forward to when your nest is empty? :)

Wana be green with your remodeling...look what I found!!!!

Discount Home Warehouse-Architectural Salvage

This place is awesome!! If your wanting to remodel something and don't want to pay retail, this is the place to go! They demo all kinds of houses and get all the good stuff out beforehand and bring it back to their warehouse to sell for 30-90% off retail. This place is huge...so if you going to go...have a plan of what you want because you could literally spend hours just looking around saying...ooohhhhh, what if I...??? The website is cool, but going there and seeing all the stuff is WOW!!!

Whole Wheat Bread Recipe Recommended by Sue

(For 1 1/2 pound bread machine)

1 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
3 to 3 1/2 cups White Whole Wheat or Traditional Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup sunflower, sesame or flax seeds, or a combination (optional)
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

Put all of the ingredients into the bread pan in the order listed. Program for basic white bread, and press Start.

FHE for a year!

I found this today and had to share! Mondays are crazy for us and too often I'm throwing something together last minute, but this is all put together and it even goes right along with the primary theme.

FHE for a year 

I found it on this blog. She has some great ideas so check it out when you get a second!

Craft fair?

I was wondering if anyone knows of any local cities that do craft fairs? They were all over Utah and Ohio, but I can't seem to find any here! I've found a few that are the big professional kind, but I'm thinking a little smaller. I wanted to do a booth and see if I can't make so vacation money, heaven knows I need one! Anyway any info would be super helpful! Thanks ladies!