Hearts in Service

These cookies are very easy to make and can be as chewy or crunchy as you like. If you like a chewier cookie, just bake them a minute or two less. Combine 2 cups all purpose flour, 2 tsp. baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt in a bowl. In a heavy saucepan, melt 10 Tbsp. butter over low heat, add 12 Tbsp. cocoa powder and blend well, until smooth. Stir in 2 cups of sugar until well combined. Add 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract and 4 extra large eggs, one at a time. Add flour mixture and mix well. Cover teh dough and refrigerate until well chilled (at least 2 hours). The dough will never get really stiff, but is won't roll into nice balls if it's warm. Roll the dough into 3/4" balls, then roll in powdered sugar. Place 2 inches apart on a greased cookies sheet. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 8 minutes. Enjoy!

We had a wonderful day today. I think this was one of the most relaxing holidays I've had in a long time. It was good food, lots of laughter and fun. I found a napkin fold that I tried out. The table looked very festive. We had a separate table for the kids. Normally, you cook all day and the meal lasts about 15 minutes. We spent nearly 2 hours just eating, talking and enjoying one another. Lily was a very happy baby today. I think everyone had fun. I hope you all had a very blessed day with family and friends.

I've been making these cookies for years now and the children love them. The longer they sit, the spicier they become. You can frost them if you choose but we just eat them plain. I doubled the recipe but I'm just giving you the original. Place 2/3 cup butter or margarine, 1/3 cup each granulated sugar and firmly packed brown sugar, and 2 Tbsp. dark corn syrup in a medium-size pan. Heat over medium heat and stir until butter is melted. Remove from heat and add 2 tsp. each ground ginger and cloves and 3 tsp. ground cinnamon. Mix 2 tsp. baking soda into 1/4 cup water and add to the butter mixture. Stir in 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour until well mixed. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or for up to 3 days. On a floured board, roll out dough, a portion at a time, to a thickness of 1/16 inch. Cut out with cookie cutters. Place cookies slightly apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until slightly d...

I made place cards today for Thanksgiving dinner. I think they turned out so cute. I made them out of blank note cards and added scrapbook papers for the background, wrote their names with a glue pen and then sprinkled on glitter and added some really cute Thanksgiving stickers. I also decided to write a note inside each card, letting the person know why I am thankful for them. Here are some of the finished cards: I got the rest of my grocery shopping done today so I'm all ready for my house guests this week.

I love this recipe. It's so easy and you can make the caramel as hard or as soft as you like. If you want to just eat it like candy, then boil it longer. If you are going to use it as a topping for ice cream, apple crisp or to dip apples in, don't boil it as long. First, melt 1 cup of butter. If you don't want brown flecks in your caramel, don't let the butter scorch like I did :-(! Add 2 1/4 cups brown sugar, 1 cup of light corn syrup, 1/8 tsp. salt, and 1-15 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk (whoever invented this stuff should get a medal). Bring to a boil and heat to 245 degrees fahrenheit. Remove from the heat and add 1 tsp. of vanilla. Beat for a few minutes. Pour into a buttered 9x13" pan. Let cool and cut into squares while still slightly soft. Store in the refrigerator. See the little brown flecks? That's because the butter scorched. You don't want yours to look like that! If you just want the caramel as a topping, let cool and then pou...

Emily is reading about the early settlers and one of the activities that she chose to do today was candlemaking. First we melted parrafin with a couple of crayons for color. Then she took a wick and started dipping it. As time went on the candle began to get larger. She tried her hand a couple of different kinds. She is going to make the small double candles and tie them with a pretty bow to make tree ornaments. This was the first time I ever made candles. I think she did a great job for her first time!

I'm so thankful for the many girls that have been coming to 3D Girls on Thursday nights. We are up to 18 girls now and they certainly are a noisy bunch. Last night we did a Thanksgiving devotional and then practiced our songs for our church's Christmas program. We ate cupcakes. Then the girls made Thanksgiving cards. Many of these girls come from homes where their parents do not know the Lord. This has been a wonderful opportunity to teach them about Jesus and to reach out to their families. I'm so thankful for all of them!

I went to Walmart the other day to purchase a tablecloth and napkins. After pricing the napkins and then looking at fabric, I found it would be cheaper to make the napkins. I bought some beautiful, deep red linen. After cutting it out and trying to hem it, I realized that the napkins were going to be a bit too small. So I pulled out some fall fabric that I had and made some binding. Here is the final result. There is more red in the binding than shows up in this picture. The colors look great with the tablecloth I chose. I've had a very productive week - the centerpiece is finished, the linens are set and most of my shopping is done. For more Thanksgiving ideas and posts, check out Kelli's blog.

In my quest to fight my children's allergies and to be frugal, I started making my own laundry soap. It is so easy and much less expensive. I use Ivory Soap which is the cheapest soap you can buy. Grate 2-4 oz. bars (or 1-8 oz. bar) in a food processor. You can do this by hand but I find it easier this way. Put in a large pot and add 1 gallon of water. Put it on the stove on a medium high setting and whisk the soap until it is totally dissolved. This will take a few minutes. I find it easier to start it cooking and then come back every few moments to give it a good stir. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for 5 minutes or so to make sure the soap is totally dissolved. Watch it or it will boil over and you will end up with a super clean stove top! Let it cool completely and then pour into gallon jugs. You can use old laundry detergent bottles, milk jugs or anything else you have around. When it's done, let it sit for a day or two and it will gel up. In fa...

Today I spent some time making a centerpiece for my table for Thanksgiving. I didn't purchase anything new and just used items around the house. I layered popcorn, white beans, split peas and wild rice in a jar and added a candle. Then I put the jar on a glass plate and sprinkled the different legumes around the plate. I added tea lights, pinecones, wheat, and whole nutmeg. I put a sticker on the jar that I had and viola! A Thanksgiving Centerpiece It's not the greatest but it was inexpensive and took about 15 minutes. For more Thanksgiving ideas check out Kelli's Blog.

In the comment section of my post yesterday, Dove requested the recipe. Here you go! :-) Ingredients: * 3 Large eggs * 1 1/8 cups evaporated milk * 3 cups creamed corn * 3 Tbsp. butter * 3 Tbsp. brown sugar * 3 Tbsp. corn starch mixed in 3 tblsp water * 3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg * 3/8 tsp. salt * 3/8 tsp. pepper Preparation: Pre-heat oven to 350°. Butter a 2-quart baking dish. Beat eggs and milk in a large bowl; stir in remaining ingredients and pour mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake 45 minutes, or until slightly browned and a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Serves 4.

My children have begun the countdown to Thanksgiving. Every day they tell me how many days are left before the big day arrives. You would think they would be talking about Christmas, but no, they are looking forward to their grandparents arrival and the big dinner. I'm feeling the pressure to come up with something spectacular so I thought I would post my Thanksgiving menu so I can begin planning out the cooking schedule. We will have 13 all together for Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving Menu Main Meal Roast turkey with cornbread dressing Mashed potatoes & gravy Sweet potato casserole Homemade dinner rolls Butternut squash Corn pudding Tossed salad Jello salad Dessert Pies - pumpkin, apple, blueberry Pumpkin cheesecake Carmel apple crisp Beverages Sparkling cider Coffee Tea I'll probably tweak this a bit but many of these are old favorites so I can't mess with the menu too much. :-) The leftovers are the best part of the whole meal! For more Thanksgiving ideas, menu...

The girls from 3D Girls Club packed 16 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child the other night. I love this program because it's such a tangible way for children to give to other children. They brought in all their items to pack in the boxes and were so excited to do this. We had spent the month talking about missions and what missionaries do. Last week we had a missionary speak to the girls and then this week they were able to do something "hands-on" to reach out to those less fortunate. Everyone in our church seems to get into the spirit. Today was the day we had to turn in our boxes and it's always nice to think about blessing a child in this way. For more information on this program, check out Samaritan's Purse website.

This is probably one of the best sugar cookie recipes I have ever found. You don't have to chill the dough and they are very flavorful even without the sugar or frosting on top. Cream together 1 cup softened butter and 1 cup sugar. Add one egg and 1 tsp. vanilla. (Sorry for the blurry picture) Sift together 3 cups, all-purpose flour and 2 tsp. baking powder. Gradually add to the butter mixture. Form the dough into a smooth ball. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Cut wtih cookie cutters. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and sprinkle with sugar. (Skip the sugar and wait until cool to frost) Bake at 400 degrees for 6 minutes. They shouldn't brown at all. Obviously, I didn't listen! Enjoy!