Indescribable

First of all I just want to let you all know that my little L FINALLY rolled over today!

OK, now for the topic of my post. M came across this video on YouTube the other day that I wanted to share with you. It is by Louie Giglio and he is speaking on how great our God is. I've never heard of Louie before, but I really enjoyed listening to him. His speech is divided into 5 parts, each about 10 minutes long, so you don't even have to listen to it all at once if you don't have time. It is a good reminder of how insignificantly small we are in comparison to the rest of God's creation, yet He still cares for us so much more than anything else! He truly is indescribable! Enjoy!

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Tasty Tuesday Recipe List

Here is a list of links to all my Tasty Tuesday recipes that I've posted. Enjoy and happy cooking!

5 Minute Ice Cream

Apple Streusel Muffins

Autumn Chowder

Bing Candy Bars

Berry Delicious Tart

Blueberry Banana Bread

Blueberry Yogurt Muffins

Butter Mints

Caramel Corn

Cauliflower Ham Casserole

Chicken Alfredo

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Tetrazzini

Chicken or Turkey Broth

Chewy Granola Bars

Chocolate Dessert With Raspberry Sauce

Cinnamon Rolls

Cowboy Stew

Creamy Chicken and Veggies in the Crock Pot

Creamy Peppermint Patties

Crescent Rolls

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

Eggnog Cookies

Eggnog Cream Pie

Eggnog Pancakes

Fresh Blueberry Pie

Frosted Peppermint Brownies

Gummy Candy

Granola

Monster Cookies

Oatmeal Molassas Bread

No Knead Bread

Peanut Butter Cup Bars

Peanut Butter Honey Fudge

Ranch Style Thighs

Raspberry Streusel Coffee Cake

Resurrection Cookies

Rich Mashed Potatoes

Roast Chicken Pizza

Sloppy Joes

Sour Cream (Homemade)

Sourdough Bread

Sourdough Crackers

Sourdough Starter

Sourdough Waffles

Strawberry Pink Lemonade

Taco Soup

Toffee

Tootsie Rolls

Tuscan Beef Stew

Two-Tone Fudge

Vanilla (Homemade)

Waffles

Whole Wheat Bread

Yogurt

Zucchini Bread

Zucchini Pizza

Zucchini Salsa

Resurrection Cookies

This week we tried a recipe called Resurrection Cookies. It is a cute way to help the kids better understand the Easter story. They also had a lot of fun. Try it with your kids!

You'll need: Bible, 1 c pecans, 1 tsp. vinegar, 3 egg whites, pinch of salt, 1 c granulated sugar, 1 qt. or gal. size zipper bag, wooden spoon, tape

Before you start, preheat the oven to 300 and line a cookie sheet with wax paper (I used tin foil because I was completely out of waxed paper).

First, have the kids crush, smash, and beat the pecans and while they do it share with them that this is what the Roman soldiers did to Jesus' body. Read John 19:1-3.

Before you add the vinegar to the mixing bowl let the children smell the vinegar. Explain to them that this is what Jesus was offered to drink. Read Read John 19:28-30.

They didn't think it smelled too good and didn't think it would make a good drink.

To the vinegar, add egg whites. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each kid's hand and let them taste it. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sins. Read Luke 23:27.

They were not liking the taste of it.

Next, the story turns sweet. Add 1 cup of sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a 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 & John 3:1-3.

And of course you can't mix anything without licking the beater when you are done (at least at our house you can't)!

Fold in the broken nuts. Drop mixture by spoonfuls onto waxed paper. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Place 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.

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.

J was so sad about leaving them, but every time I tried to get a picture of him, he smiled for me.

The next morning...open the oven and remove the cookies. Notice - the cookies are hollow! On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9.

Our newest additions

This weekend we added a couple additions to our farm. We won a pair of goats at the Youth Fair auction on Friday! Actually J won them, he did a very nice job of bidding (with a little help from Daddy and Grandpa). They are very cute, only about 2 weeks old. Both males. They already love jumping around and butting heads with each other. Now we need to find some good names for them. Any suggestions??

Making the switch

After having L, I've found that taking 3 kids to the store is not the easiest thing in the world to do. (The car carts do make it easier, but still it can be challenging.) So I started looking into ways to cut out trips to the store. One thing that I always needed was diapers, so I thought I'd look into cloth, not really thinking I'd give it a try, but it was worth a look. I was expecting to find the old standard flat cloth, pins, and covers. Boy has there been a HUGE change in cloth! I found a TON of info and different kinds of diapers now available. The flat prefolds with pins and covers are still there, but there are also many that are just as easy as the disposables. Shortly after I found out one of my college friends uses cloth and she recommended a few brands and styles to try. So I decided to give a few a try. For a few weeks it was like Christmas around here for me. I was getting a new package in the mail every couple days. I was amazed at how soft all the diapers were! So I decided to take the plunge and switch to cloth. I know, you are all thinking "She's CRAZY!" but they really are as easy as disposables and WAY cheaper! After deciding which kind I liked the most, I made a large order and they finally arrive yesterday. Now I can finally quit wasting money on the disposables and save myself a few trips to the store all at the same time! (And for any of you mommies reading this who might be interested, please feel free to ask me more or click on one of the links on the right side of my blog!)

Pruning time

This weekend M decided to finally prune out all the dead branches from our shade tree. There was quite a few of them. When it came time to clean them up, he thought he would see if he could get everything in one load, and he did it! It really doesn't look nearly as impressive in the picture as it did in real life. And he made it all the way to the burn pile without losing any!

Ranch-Style Thighs

My J is the pickiest eater in the world. Mostly he won't eat much of anything I serve for dinner(unlike S who can eat as much as her daddy at dinner!). He does pretty good though for breakfast and lunch, so I don't have to worry about him too much. Still, it nice to see him eat a decent dinner when I finally find something he does like. And last night I found something he really LOVED - Ranch-Style Thighs. I thought I would share it here for all those of you with picky eaters who wanted to give it a try. (The rest of you should try it too, it is pretty good!)


1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
4 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
1/2 cup ranch salad dressing

Directions: In a shallow bowl or large resealable plastic bag, combine crumbs, Parmesan cheese, cornmeal and Italian seasoning. Dip chicken in salad dressing, then coat with crumb mixture. Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 45-50 minutes or until juices run clear.