Crafty Secrets

Almost all the crafts I’m working on are gifts. So I don’t want to write very much about them right now. BUT, I will share some pictures. I’m really enjoying making all of these, and can’t wait to give them away!

Grandaddy’s Visit

 

We were so blessed to get to spend most of this week with my dad. Luke especially loved spending time with Grandaddy! They read books, played, and washed dishes together. One of my favorite things they did was make up a Grandaddy – Luke language. Hilarious! The first thing Luke did each morning was ask where Grandaddy was. Levi got in on the fun with lots of cuddles and tickles.

I’m so thankful that my boys have such a wise, godly man to learn from and to respect. I’m so grateful to God that we got to have this sweet, unexpected visit with my dad! What a blessing!

Recipe of the Week~ Grandma’s Brownies

I often just make brownies from a mix, but this week, I just wanted to make something yummy and familiar. This recipe has been passed down through my family. My grandma used to make them for school events when my mom was young, and when I was in boarding school and college, she would make a batch and send them to me. So I just love these brownies! And I’d like to share the recipe with you!

You need a 13×13 pan for this recipe, which is not a common size. I haven’t had success when I’ve tried it in a different size pan, but you might be able to adjust the temperature/cooking time, and make it work.

Ingredients

• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 c. cocoa
• 1 c. butter
• 2 c. sugar
• 4 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 1/2 c. flour, sifted
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 c. chopped pecans (I use 1 cup, and walnuts are okay too)
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter, and stir in cocoa and sugar. Beat eggs in mixing bowl, slightly, add chocolate mixture and beat well. Sift together baking powder, flour, and salt. Add to chocolate mixture and mix well, slowly at first. Add vanilla and nuts and stir in. Bake about 20-30 minutes or until flattened out and firm. Don’t overbake.

Icing

• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 2 rounded Tablespoons cocoa
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• a little milk

Mix dry ingredients well in a small pot. Add milk a little at a time. Make it creamy, but not runny. It does not take much. Melt over heat, stirring constantly. Add vanilla. Spread evenly over brownies while they’re still warm. Let cool as long as you can stand it before eating them!

 

5 Minute Friday: Grateful

Today, I am grateful~

101.  to the God who made this tilt-a-whirl!

102.  for summer fun

103.  for little friends

104.  and encouraging mama-friends

105.   for the incredible gift of unexpected time with my dad

106.  family all cuddled up in my home

107.  for strength and encouragement from the living and active Word of God

108.  that the Lord God is wisely and kindly sovereign over all things, even those that I wouldn’t have chosen

109.  for laundry helpers

This is a prompt from the Gypsy Mama. Go check out her blog, and the other Five Minute Friday posts.

Week in Pictures

So, life is a little busy around here these days. I don’t have much time for crafting or reading or extra fun stuff, much less blogging about it. But I did want to share a few quick pictures of our days with you!

1) Gift sewing     2) Fun with my family     3) Walks in the gorgeous weather     
4) Hanging out with this cutie     5) First tomatoes     6) Daddy cuddles 

5 Minute Friday: Motherhood Should Come With…

At least one extra arm! And a few extra hours in the day, and energy to use those hours well.

In reality, I think the thing I need most in motherhood is to set my heart and mind on my heavenly Father. I realize every day how very sinful and lacking I am, and how I need so much the wisdom and grace and strength and joy that can only come from God. I want to badly to mother my sons well (and honor God as I do so), but I fail dreadfully unless I am abiding in God. I find that if I am seeking Him and loving him, I am enabled to be patient and fun and consistent, but if I loose focus, and wander off into distraction and self-focus, my sin becomes all too apparent. And my sin is what keeps me from mothering well. I cannot love and serve my children and love and serve myself at the same time.

This is a prompt from the Gypsy Mama. Go check out her blog, and the other Five Minute Friday posts.

Thankfulness

95. Rain and thunderstorms
96. My baby and his daddy laughing together

97. Corn on the cob
98. Peekaboo!

99. Coloring with Luke
100. Bright colors on grey days

Book Review~ The Person of Christ

I started reading The Person of Christ by Donald Macleod before Christmas, and finally finished it this weekend. I enjoyed reading this book SO much! Macleod addressed several aspects of Jesus’ person, work, and character that I hadn’t really ever before thought on. I found myself marveling at my Savior repeatedly as I gained new understanding of the many intricacies of Christ. I was spurred on to read this book from a conversation with some good friends on how Jesus, as a human, had to learn some things. That just boggles my mind, and makes the condescension of the incarnation even more amazing. I also spent a lot of time, especially around Easter, considering, with awe, the suffering and death of my Redeemer.

This book is not scholarly, but it’s not easy, fluffy, reading either, which I liked. I could understand what he was saying, but I also had to think about it quite a bit. The writing is clear and engaging, and the content is rich. I so enjoyed pondering new depths of my Savior. I also enjoyed that the book is structured around the history of the understanding and study of Christ, and Macleod explains various positions on Jesus, and then points us to Jesus as the Bible reveals Him.

I will be reading at least some of the other books in this series, and probably will read this one again, which is quite a high recommendation from me. You should read it too!

5 Minute Friday: If I knew I could, I would

If I knew I could, I would do everything well! I’ve been feeling pulled and tugged between the many roles God has blessed me with. I’m thankful for each of them: wife, mama, homemaker, friend, daughter, reader… I feel like I can’t do any of them as well as I would like to. I could happily spend all day just playing with, reading to, and cuddling my boys, not to mention serving and hanging out with my husband. And then there are other people that I want to know and love, and somehow our home has to be kept running, and I’d like to read and craft a little bit. I love all of these roles and responsibilities, and am so very thankful to my Father for this season of life. So if I could, I would do all these things well, and completely, and so much better than I do.

This is a prompt from the Gypsy Mama. Go check out her blog, and the other Five Minute Friday posts.

Palm Sunday

The boys and I all have colds so we stayed away from our Sunday worship gathering yesterday. I had grand plans of sweet time with Luke in the morning reading the Scripture passages that teach us of Palm Sunday, and doing a little craft. Instead, we spent an hour battling over his breakfast. But after resolving that, and a little bit of down time, we did proceed to celebrate Palm Sunday together. I’m so thankful that the Lord has given me time to spend with my little guys, especially to enjoy God’s grace to us together.

We’ve been reading Easter story books all through Lent, so I just read straight from my Bible the passage in Matthew and Mark that tell of Jesus humbly entering Jerusalem and the crowds gathered around them. Luke wanted to draw a donkey, so we did that. I drew one for him to copy, and I am so proud of how well he did drawing the donkey (I helped with the head).

Luke loves to cut, so we made some palm branches from green construction paper and had a parade for Jesus. That was super fun, marching around the house and shouting “Hosanna!” together.

Later that evening, after lunch and naps, we made our Easter mountain. All growing up, my family made mud sculptures, and this is a way to carry on that tradition with a little twist to make it our own. Mud is not as easily available here as clay, and it’s much more messy… We had a good time working on it all together.

At least until I set off the smoke alarm while we were baking it. I’m really good at that: setting off the smoke alarm!  Anyway, with the Easter mountain, we’ll get to act out much of the story of the week leading up the Jesus death and resurrection. I’m really excited about this tangible way to explain this crucial story to Luke. We made pipe cleaner people, and little props like palm branches and paper coins. So far we’ve acted out the triumphal entry and Jesus cleansing the temple.