Baking Cookies

We made two of our Christmas favorites today: snickerdoodles and molasses cookies. Here they are cooling on the paper, in all their crinkly, sprinkly glory!

These recipes come from a church cookbook of one of our previous ministries. If you ever have the chance to purchase church cookbooks, do! They are always full of time-tested, frugal, and delicious recipes. We've had visiting missionaries request church cookbooks, so with that recommendation you can't go wrong.

So here are these two wonderful church cookbook recipes for you to enjoy...

Snickerdoodles

1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
1/2 c. shortening
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 c. flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Cream together first 4 ingredients, then mix in next 4. Shape dough into walnut sized balls. Roll tops of balls in sugar/cinnamon mixture. Place balls about 2 inces apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

Soft Molasses Cookies

1/2 c. shortening
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vinegar
1/4 c. dark molasses
2 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. ginger

Cream shortening, sugar, and eggs. Add vinegar and molasses. Mix in dry ingredients. Roll into walnut sized balls. Roll tops of balls in white sugar. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Tomorrow I hope to make a couple more types of cookies and some Fruit Delight, all for Christmas Eve celebrations. I don't always enjoy cooking, but this time of year makes me want to warm up the oven and smell the spices. Mmmmmm....

Menu Plan Monday - Family Favorites Edition

Hello! This is my first Menu Plan Monday. Thanks for stopping by!

We're a family 7, striving to eat nutritionally, frugally, and at home! We're also a very busy ministry family plus I am a college student and work part time. Drive thrus have a certain appeal...

Today for Family Favorites Edition, I'm going to share one of our favorite Christmas traditions - Jesus' Birthday Cake. I'll also share our favorite chocolate cake and icing recipe.

Every Christmas morning, we enjoy a chocolate cake with chocolate icing, the favorite birthday choice in our household. With my younger children's help, we make the cake on Christmas Eve. The next morning we light candles and sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus, blow out the candles and enjoy chocolate cake for breakfast. This tradition helps our children focus on the true meaning of Christmas. And when else can we have chocolate cake for breakfast!?!

Our favorite chocolate cake recipe is from Beverly Nye's book, "A Family Raised on Rainbows". This book is long out of print but hopefully is available from your library. It was written in the 70s, but still is a great read for any homemaker. This cake is very moist and fairly light. Yum!!

Delicious Chocolate Cake

Beat together:
1 c. vegetable oil
1 c. buttermilk (you can substitute 1 tsp. vinegar in bottom of measuring cup and use sweet milk)
2 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla

Add:
2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
1 tbsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Add:
1 c. boiling water

Bake in 9x12 inch pan or 3 round pans at 325 degrees for one hour.

The following icing recipe is from Beverly Nye's "Everyone's a Homemaker". It's a rich chocolate icing that makes the above cake down right dangerous!

Frosting

2 c. powdered sugar
2-3 tbsp. butter or margarine
dash of salt
hot water to make frosting consistency

For chocolate, add 1/2 c. cocoa.
For lemon, 2 tbsp. lemon juice and 1 tsp. grated rind OR 1/2 tsp. extract
Experiment with any pureed fruit or extract.

I'm also sharing our weekly menu. I've tried to keep this week simple and cheap. We're hosting Christmas Eve lunch here, so I really want to concentrate on that meal! I've linked most recipes so you can give them a try.

Monday - Dirty Rice from Hillbilly Housewife

Tuesday - Bean & Bacon Bit Soup from Hillbilly Housewife

Christmas Eve Lunch - Ham, Au Gratin Potatoes, Green Beans, 7 layer salad, Overnight Rolls, Cherry Delight, Pumpkin Pie

Thursday - Jesus' Birthday cake for breakfast, lunch at my parents, left overs for supper

Friday - Skillet Beans & Cornbread

Saturday - Homemade Pizza

Sunday - Crockpot Chili & Cornbread

Merry Christmas everyone!

Sunday Silence

And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name." Luke 1:46-49

Aunt Chick's Santa Cookie Cutter

I have a special, childhood memory attached to a specific cookie cutter. I believe we only made these cookies a few times in my childhood. They were very labor intensive, but oh my I loved them. The little raisin eyes, the sparkly sugar, the coconut "fur"...

By the time I was out on my own my mom's cookie cutter was cracked and fragile. She had given up on making Santa cookies. I searched. I tried various cutters, but nothing gave the molded features, nothing satisfied.

Then three years ago I stumbled across these cookie cutters. They looked like the cutter from my childhood! I ordered one and Hallelujah! Yes, it was that chubby cheeked Santa that I remembered.

Now every Christmas, my children look forward to making Santas. Yes, they are labor intensive. I have to set aside a couple days for these cookies. The kitchen becomes a complete mess. The cookies fly in the face of my goal to keep the nativity our prime focus. But, oh to see the sparkle in my children's eyes! And to know I passed on a special tradition from my childhood. Life is good!

Here are this year's Santa cookies, made yesterday and this morning. We're taking these jolly elves to dance class and Brownies. These cookies are meant to be shared!

Check out the history of the nostalgic Aunt Chick's cutters, recipes, decorating instructions, and how to get your own at Gramma's Cutters.

It's Been Almost a Year...

The past few days I've felt the itch to get back on here. It may be the season. Christmas brings out all these things in me that don't seem to surface during the rest of the year. With that in mind, I've tried to ignore this urge, shrugging it off. But here I am. I finally gave in.

So I make no promises how often or how long I'll post. I know myself too well. But if you happen to stumble by this blog, thank you. Your presence and time is appreciated. I hope you find something here to encourage you and to help you on your journey. I hope you can find a bit of breeze here that helps you fly higher.

Sunday Silence

He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' " Ezekiel 37:2-6

Sunday Silence

Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." - John 4:13-14

Big Thoughts

We're back home from our wonderful week of retreat. Today's a snow day...again! I have loads of laundry and housework and church work to do. But I wish I could curl up in a corner and think big thoughts.

• I want to process the retreat, think about what I've taken away and what that means in my life.
• I desperately need to pray and evaluate the tears and broken heart of my littlest boy, who once again got in trouble at school. Is the strict legalism of this place harming my child?
• I want to contemplate my oldest going off to college and pray for God to help him in this decision making process.
• I want to seek God about what to get off my plate and what to put on. I can feel that He is changing my ministry, but it's so blurry right now.
• And...I have to make some kind of sense out of the last episode of Lost Season 2!

Well, I have some big thoughts in this head of mine.

...except for the Lost Season 2 comment, ignore that one...

Good thoughts. I like these thoughts because I know that they lead somewhere. As I think and pray and listen, God will reveal to me the answers. And in the revealing I will get to know Him better.

Always a good thing.

13 Things About Ohio's Amish Country

Brian and I have been, at the Pastors & Wives retreat this week in Sugarcreek, OH. It's been a great time and God has given me much to take home with me and ponder.

Tomorrow is our last day here. So in honor of this mini-vacation in Ohio's Amish Country, I will share this Thursday 13.

1. Holmes County, Ohio, has the world's largest population of Amish, not Lancaster, PA.


2. Amish and many Mennonites speak a unique blend of high German, called Pennsylvannia Dutch. They read the Bible and worship in traditional high German. So the Amish are fluent in three languages.


3. World Crafts, located in Kidron, is part of the Mennonite project: 10,000 Villages. This is my favorite store in all of Ohio's Amish Country. They sell ethnic arts and crafts from around the world. The profits return to the local artist. I love, love, love the nativity sets!


4. Lehman's Hardware, also in Kidron, is world famous for their non-electric appliances. They've even furnished Hollywood with period appropriate pieces.


5. I have found nowhere else in my limited travels, where you are regularly served mashed potatoes, homemade stuffing, homemade noodles, homemade rolls, and gravy IN THE SAME MEAL. Carb heaven.


6. There are many cheese factories in Ohio's Amish Country. Amish dairy farmers refuse some of the technology required for "approved" drinking milk. So they make cheese, wonderful cheese I might add.


7. At Heini's Cheese try free samples of green moon cheese, chocolate cheeses, peanut butter cheese, and more. My favorite: lacy baby swiss.


8. Attention seamstresses! You must, must, must go to Zinck's fabric warehouse. Sorry, no website, but you can find them in Berlin. They sell fabric at outrageous prices. I bought two bolts of denim there, the stuff that Amish men's pants are made out of. Virtually indestructable. I've made slipcovers, blue jeans, shopping bags, purses, and more out of that stuff. Ten years later I have just now used it all up.


9. Ohio's Amish Country is "touristy" but it only takes a turn or two to get onto a township road and enter another world. Just today within five minutes we saw two one room Amish school houses, kids at recess throwing snowballs, fields of shocked corn, multiple buggies, and lines of laundry hanging on porches.


10. Ohio's Amish drive around in square topped buggies. We used to live near Berne, IN, where the bishops would not allow their people to use covered buggies. Those poor people would drive around in open buggies using black umbrellas to block the wind.


11. This region is not only home to Amish, but also multiple groups of Mennonites, Dunkards, Hutterites, and Brethren. You will find endless variati on the prayer cap and cape dress.


12. What I admire about the Amish: Their work ethic and their purposeful removal of distractions. I think this has given them a strong family bond that we struggle to achieve today.


13. What burdens me for the Amish: We have romanticized these people. We forget or don't take time to learn that their religion keeps many of them in fear. There is no freedom to be different, to question, or to leave. Those who do pay a huge price emotionally. There is much we can learn from these hard-working people, but not all the lessons are positive.

I hope you've enjoyed my little tour through Ohio's Amish Country. It's a great place to visit!!

Changing the World - One Life at a Time

EDITED: I wrote this post last night and have decided to include it on Works for Me Wednesday.

...rather than my black beans and rice burrito recipe...

Yes, the following is what works for me this Wednesday - realizing that changing our world is done one person at a time, one act of love at a time. For other great WFMW tips see Shannon's Rocks in My Dryer.

---

I've been following the Compassion International Blog Tour. Amazing stuff has been chronicled over there and I encourage you to check it out. I consider the people who do these type of ministries to be my heroes.

But there are people in my own little church who are equally my heroes. I want to give them and the God empowering them my own bit of praise.

• D & J leaving this Friday for their umpteenth medical mission trip, this time to Belize. Next month to Honduras.


• D & E, already a family of 6, who just brought home little A from Ethiopia because they felt God called them to make a difference in the life of an orphan.


• S & H who are in the midst of the adoption roller coaster, going through depression and doubt, because they feel called to bring home a little orphan girl from Vietnam.


• The 20 odd kids in our little church who raised $700 to buy 10 goats and share the love of Jesus with needy families.


• E who is graduating this spring and starting her ministry journey with CAMA, as a single woman. Brave girl.

I am privileged to call these people my friends. I worship with them almost every week. And they, in the power of Christ, are changing our world...one act of service at a time.

Pastor's & Wives Retreat

I'm headed out the door to one of my favorite events, our district's Pastor's Wives Retreat, held at the Carlisle Inn in Sugarcreek, OH.

I wrote about it a bit here.

I can't wait!

The Inn has wireless, so I may post a bit. If I don't, you'll know why.

Agape and Apologetix

Last night was our annual Agape Dinner. Our church family always has a lot of fun at this event.

We do an Agape Dinner in place of the traditional Valentine's Banquet, including the whole church family. It's a time celebrating God's love, especially the evidence of that love in the past year.

Everyone brings a pot of soup to share. Together we enjoy testimonies, music, games, and entertainment. This year we had Pastor Brain and the Elders, aka my husband and the elder board. They did a lip sync to Apologetix's Baa We're Lambs. It was a big hit!

Are you familiar with Apologetix? They are a Christian parody band. Baa We're Lambs is a parody of Beach Boy's Barbara Ann. Here's a cute You Tube of the song to get your Monday started off right. The lyrics are below.

Baa Baa Baa Baa Baa we're lambs
Baa Baa Baa Baa Baa Baa
I'm a lamb -- in God's hand -- I'm a lamb
He's got a flock of lambs who know Him
Robbers cannot steal 'em from His hand
Baa Baa Baa Baa we're lambs
Went through the fence, lookin' for some friends
God saw me scram so He brought me back again
Cause I'm a lamb in God's hand
You got to follow where He's goin'
God'll take you in the Promised Land

CHORUS: Baa! We're lambs, Baa!
We're lambs, Baa! We're lambs ...

Tried many moves -- Tried getting loose
Tried petting zoos but I knew they wouldn't do
Cause I'm a lamb in God's hand
You got to follow where He's goin'
God'll take you in the Promised Land
Baa Baa Baa Baa we're lambs

CHORUS: Baa! We're lambs,
Baa! We're lambs, Baa! We're lambs ...

Sunday Silence

The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." Genesis 12:1

Saturdays As Me

Today I pay for my frivolous fun. I will pull out my pastor's wife super hero cape...

which in my mind looks like the 1969 LGB Little Red Riding Hood...

I will lace up my tennis shoes and fly like the wind.

Saturdays are crunch day in a ministry family. If the week was busy, if everything didn't get done, it has to be done today. Sometimes we've been up till early morning hours preparing for worship the next day.

Today will include copying last week's sermon tapes, copying bulletins, preparing for communion, packing tubs of supplies for our Sunday evening Agape Dinner, and making a slideshow of 2007 pictures.

In addition to dispensing hugs, snacks, stories, and a listening ear as resident mom.

Probably not every pastor's wife is as involved in her husband's ministry as me. But I am. And I wouldn't change it. Before I even dated Brian I felt called to ministry. I wasn't sure how to define it as a young single woman, but I trusted that God would.

And God did. I have the privilege of working as a ministry partner with my husband.

Being a pastor's wife looks like many things. Today, for me, it will look like a blur.

There and Back Again

Just a little over 24 hours ago, I did something very unusual. I followed a whim.

I traded places with my husband, went with my son to Malone College, spent the night in a hotel watching Lost, and hung out with college kids today.

It was an alternate universe!

I did all the driving in a metro area. Don't laugh! Canton is metro compared to Southern Ohio.

I was alone in a hotel and stayed up late...and did I mention I watched Lost?!? You see, I just currently finished season 1 on DVD. So last night was a huge jump in the story line for me. I have at least one thousand questions, but I loved every minute of it.

I slept in, took a leisurely shower. Ate lunch with college kids...a western omelette the size of tire.

Then we toured the nearest C&MA church, Whipple Heights and saw their awesome facility and programs.

We scrounged around a huge Salvation Army store, blew off our evening play, and ate at Cracker Barrell.

At the Country Store I bought myself a watch with beaded bracelet. I never, never buy myself anything. And never, never, never purchase myself anything on impulse.

After all that fun we decided to come home early and surprise everyone.

Their reaction?

They were mad! Well, frustrated probably is a better description. Because I came home before they could cover their tracks and clean up the horrible mess they'd made in the last 24 hours.

Oh well. Unusual whims sometimes end that way. I don't regret a thing.

I will now return to my predictable life, satisfied with my little fling.

13 Things I Love About My Husband

He...

1. is a glass half-full kind of guy
2. drops anything to please me
3. has a beautiful singing voice
4. is a great preacher
5. rarely says an unkind, critcal or negative word
6. lets the two littles sit on his shoulder and comb his hair
7. always has a smile
8. he is an overcomer
9. keeps me supplied with diet coke
10. actually wants to go shopping with me
11. has a beard
12. wears a cool leather coat
13. chooses me as his favorite companion

Happy Valentines Day, Brian!

This post is listed on the Thursday Thirteen.

Valentine Crayons - WFMW

Yesterday, during our snow day, the two littles and I made valentine crayons. I found the idea over at Family Fun.

To do this frugal and fun project you need:

• two blonde willing helpers, hair color optional

• heart shaped muffin tins or silicon baking cups, we used the silicon baking cups from Wilson which cost just under $9 and made this project no longer frugal!! But hey, the $9 was worth it for the fun we've had...and we'll re-use them.


• old, broken, junky crayons, any church basement is a good source for these if you don't have your own...just ask first.

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.

Peel the crayons. This step will help you experience, in a slight way, Chinese Bamboo torture.

Break crayons into 1" or so pieces and fill your muffin cups to slightly overflowing. If you used mini-cups bake for 10 to 15 minutes. We used full-sized cups and it took 30 minutes to melt the crayons. Let cool. Pop out.

While baking these I thought we'd done something wrong. Coming out of the oven my crayons looked like tie-dye gone wrong, not like the Family Fun pic. But this was because I was looking at the bottom of the crayon.

Thankfully when we popped out the cool crayon they looked wonderful!

The next step will be to package these cuties. We will put a card behind them in a treat bag. Optional sayings could be:

• You color my world!
• Valentine, you make my heart melt!
• Happy Valentine's Day, for "crayon" out loud!

We have another snow day today, so we may be trying this valentine idea too!

For more great tips for your life in general, go to Works For Me Wednesday, hosted this week by Don't Try This At Home!

Snow Day

Ah, the warm cozy feeling of a snow day. I love it! The kids are all home. The two littles are out frolicking in the back yard. And I'm contemplating what this day might hold.

Valentine crafts with Jodan and Else Annah.

A crockpot of taco meat.

Felted slippers.

An Inspector Morse episode.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I was up past midnight in hopes of a snow day. My husband and older boys were finishing Lost season 1. It was riveting again.

My hope was not in vain. I...am...so...relieved.

I don't function well on little sleep...oh, and Lost season 2 is in transit. Yippee!

Thank you to all who visited me during the Big Bloggy Move. That was so fun!

The Big Bloggy Move

Christy at After a Cup of Coffee...Or Two is hosting The Big Bloggy Move and today is the day!

You'll find a list of brand new blogs, brand new designs, and brand new homes. Christy was inspired to host The Big Bloggy Move because she moved her blog...today...to it's own domain. Congratulations Christy!

Little ol' me fits under the category of "new blog". So I want to welcome you to I Can Fly!

I started my blog to chronicle the the good things in my life. I have found my mind too often consumed with the negative. This morning I'm reminded of Philippians 4:8...

"...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Who am I? I'm a child of God, wife to a Pastor, mother to 5, soapmaker, children's ministry director, and jack of all trades. I love vintage hence my Little Golden Book blog theme.I have a son on the autism spectrum. Our marriage and ministry has survived addiction.

If you would like read more of my story, click on the Ps. 103 button in the left column or explore my categories. I pray you feel welcomed and encouraged while you visit with me today!

Sunday Silence

"Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him..." Psalm 32:2