Embracing Him

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11)

This past spring, a local Christian bookstore held a children’s event. JT and I took the girls over to enjoy storytime, crafts, and games. The children who attended had an opportunity to participate in a coloring contest. Sweet Pea was especially eager to partake as her ability to color within the lines has improved and she wanted to showcase her progress.

Two days after the event, I received a phone call from a staff member at the bookstore telling me that Sweet Pea was one of the coloring contest winners. I brought her back to the store where she picked up her gift card prize. When I asked what she would buy, Sweet Pea explained that she wanted buy a “Bible for big kids” because she no longer wanted to use a “baby Bible” like her little sister.

After thirty minutes of meticulous Bible inspection and careful comparison, Sweet Pea finally found the Bible she liked, 100 Bible Stories 100 Bible Songs by Steven Elkins. I think she picked a winner as this a fantastic children’s Bible that offers a wide variety of Bible stories from the Old and New Testaments. As an added bonus, the book includes a collection of 100 Bible songs. Some songs are the traditional children’s favorites I learned in Sunday school, other songs are new tunes I’ve never heard, while some songs are the lovely hymns we often sing in church.

Though the girlies enjoy singing along with the Bible song CDs, they also enjoy singing the tunes acapella. After church on Sunday, Sweet Pea and Sugar Plum were feeling especially musical. They snatched up their microphone and sang Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho and Who Did Swallow Jonah? They were so enthusiastic that I asked JT to grab the video camera. Of course we think the girlies’ singing is fabulous, but what’s even more wonderful is that using songs, they’re making space for God’s word in their hearts!

It’s another Photographic Friday over at Bona Vita and this week’s theme is Celebrating Christmas.

One of Sweet Pea’s friends came to play today, so I had to make sure they had a fun Christmas activity to enjoy. To help celebrate the season, the children created adorable Graham Cracker “Gingerbread” Houses.

This is the precious little house Sweet Pea and Sugar Plum constructed with a bit of help from Mommy. The construction was truly a joint effort: Sweet Pea decorated the house while Sugar Plum made sure the sidewalk was well paved! However, at some point during construction, the sidewalk was nibbled! What a surprise!

The children had a blast creating their houses! If you would like to make a Graham Cracker “Gingerbread” House with a little one you know, you simply need to gather a few easy to find materials and let your little one’s creative juices flow!

Graham Cracker “Gingerbread” House

1/2 pint milk carton (like the ones children have during school lunch)
1 (16 ounce) container of vanilla frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/2 graham crackers
assorted candies (gummy bears, Skittles, M&Ms, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, etc)
Ziploc sandwich bag

Thoroughly rinse out the milk carton. Allow it to dry completely and staple the carton shut.

Place the icing into a medium size mixing bowl. Add powdered sugar a 1/2 cup at a time and mix until icing reaches a stiff, yet spreadable, consistency. You may need more or less powdered sugar. (Keep in mind that the icing needs to be stiff enough so that the graham crackers will adhere to the milk carton.)

Break the long graham crackers into two equal sections. This will give you 4 squares that will fit nearly perfectly on the sides of the milk carton and form the house’s walls.

Break the remaining graham cracker in half. This will cover the narrow sides of the house, forming a roof.

Spread icing on the flat side of the graham crackers and “glue” them to the sides of the milk carton to create the walls and roof. Press gently to help the crackers adhere to the milk carton.

Create your own pastry bag by adding a bit of icing to the Ziploc bag sealing the bag shut. (Be sure to get all of the air out of the bag before sealing it shut.) Squeeze the icing over to one corner of the bag. Use scissors to snip the corner of the bag so that you can pipe out the icing.

Use your Ziploc pastry bag to pipe out the icing needed to fill in any gaps between the crackers and to fill in the empty spots on the roof not covered by graham crackers. Place candies along the piped icing to decorate the house.

Get creative! Use the pastry bag to create doors and windows on the house. Pipe dots of icing and “glue” the candies onto the house however you wish.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. (Psalm 133:1)

Sweet Pea’s birthday is still a few days away, but we celebrated today. She and several friends got together for a birthday bash at a local pretzel factory. While the pretzels baked, the children decorated bags to carry their pretzels home in, sang Happy Birthday to Sweet Pea, and enjoyed cupcakes and pretzels.

I created a cupcake tower in blue and made a  Barbie cake to match. Sweet Pea loved the Barbie cake and she and her friends gobbled up the cupcakes very quickly.

Our beautiful birthday girl takes a break from all the festivities to enjoy her snack: delicious soft pretzel nuggets and a cold drink box.

A couple of friends have fun working to shape their pretzel dough into works of art!

It’s clear Sugar Plum enjoyed her cupcake as well. If you look carefully you can spot lots of blue icing in her nostrils!