Empty Tomb Cookies

Happy Good Friday!  And it is a good Friday, indeed!  A friend at church told me about these cookies and I can't WAIT to do this with the girls tomorrow evening!  The crux of the recipe is that you make these cookies while reading corresponding scripture that the steps in the recipe symbolize.  Then in the morning, when you open the oven (tomb) the cookies are hollow and empty!!  It's a great way to impress upon kids the meaning of Easter...  Here is a link to the recipe but I've also copied it below:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole pecans, in a plastic baggie
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 3 egg whites
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 
  

Directions:

Prep Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 1/2 day

1. 1Preheat oven to 300 degrees--you MUST do it now. Also, gather a cooking mallet, kitchen mixer, masking tape and Bible.
2. 2 Read John 19:1-3 ~ Jesus was beaten for our sins; beat the nuts with a cooking mallet; set aside.
3. 3 Read John 19:28-30 - Jesus drank something like vinegar (gall), sniff the fragrance, dip finger in and taste, too; place the vinegar in a mixing bowl.
4. 4 Read John 10:10-11 - Egg whites symbolize Jesus' holy, innocent life; add whites to the bowl with the vinegar.
5. 5 Read Luke 23:27 - the bitter tears of the women; taste a few grains, remember your own sins; add the salt to the bowl.
6. 6 Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16 - Sweet salvation! Taste and see; add to the bowl.
7. 7 Crank up the mixer and let it go while you read from Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3; let the mixer go for about 12-15 MINUTES; this needs to be VERY stiff!
8. 8 Read Matthew 27:57-60 - Fold the nuts into the egg-sugar mixture; this symbolizes the rocks in the garden.
9. 9 Using a scoop or knife & spoon, drop by spoon into mounds (to resemble a rocky tomb); put into the oven and turn it OFF!
10. 10 Read Matthew 27:65-66 - The tomb is sealed; use two pieces of tape (5-6 inches long) to "seal" the door edges (symbolically).
11. 11 Read John 16:20 & 22 - Consider these passages, then go to bed!
12. 12 NEXT MORNING: Read Matthew 28:1-9 - Jesus is risen! Behold--the empty tomb! Unseal the oven door, take out the cookies, break or bite one in half -- it should be hollow inside---empty---just like the Tomb!
13. 13 He is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!

Video of the Week - Week 11 - The Band

As the last picture in my Project 365 shows, there was a roving band that made an appearance at our place.  I also captured some of it on video (so you could hear the music) and see the cute little dancers they had ;-)

Project 365 Days 72-78

Day 72 - March 13

This was actually taken at the end of this week, not the beginning, but I needed a filler!  The horses were running and frolicking in the pasture and it looks like Star (grey pony on the right) and Magic (grey horse on the left) are going to butt heads like bulls!

Day 73 - March 14

Another cute shot from our "we're adopting again" photo shoot.  So thankful for the love these sisters have for each other!

Day 74 - March 15

This is a picture of a miracle.  It's very hard to grow many things here in Texas because of the very hot and very cold climate changes we get (well, at least it's hard for me!).  I'm infamous for buying plants only to have them die on me for a variety of reasons, most of them due to me!  So last year, I bought these small peony bush saplings.  I know.  Peonies.  Of all the kinds of plants to try and grow, I pick one of the hardest!  And I didn't give them much hope of surviving once fall set in.  They weren't looking that great.  But to my surprise, this is what I noticed in the flower beds!  Beautiful, healthy looking growth!  I was so excited!  And they are MUCH bigger now.  If I'm lucky enough to keep them alive and thriving, I will be sure to post the first blooms!!

Day 75 - March 16

Can't remember what the girls were doing here  - play acting something.  I think they might have been pretending to be dogs.  Or some kind of other animal.  And then they just stopped, and sat quietly like that for awhile, staring off into the pastures.

Day 76 - March 17

While it doesn't seem to make sense, we actually have a lot of cardinals here where we live in Texas.  This male and what I presume to be his mate, visit the area under one of our trees in the backyard frequently (thanks to all the deer corn the girls have spread around).  I've been trying hard to get a good shot of these two - I had my lens zoomed all the way in and then I cropped it down even further to get this shot.  I've tried to go outside and get closer but they fly away and I don't have the patience to wait quietly for them to return.  But I'll keep trying!  Anyway, aren't their colors gorgeous!?

Day 77 - March 18

Loved this sunrise that was peeking out behind the clouds this morning.  For a brief few minutes, it was reflecting beautifully in the tank (pond) in the lower pasture.  It made the tank look like it was magically glowing.  

Day 78 - March 19

I absolutely love this shot.  We had our friends over for dinner and the girls played dress up.  Then they decided to form a band and took it out on the road.  Their first stop?  The Old Barn where they played to pastures of horses.  It was quite an event.  And one I'm glad to have captured on film.  Or hard drive. ;-)

Video of the Week - Week 10 - Awana

The girls love Awana and I love hearing them say their verses!

Project 365 Days 65-71

Well I'm a little nervous how the coming weeks of Project 365 will turn out because we've been so busy and I haven't been picking up my camera much.  There will probably be a lot of fillers in the next few weeks (that is if I can get caught up! ;-)

Day 65 - March 6

I was practicing taking some pictures in front of some white boards I bought for backdrops and Amelia was my willing subject as long as we had her baby in the picture as well.  This is one of two very special, loved dolls of Amelia's.  

Day 66 - March 7

This is Ava with HER doll!  We got her this American Girl doll for Christmas and it was made to look like her.  The hair, especially, is a dead on match!  Once summer rolls around it won't match so much because Ava's hair gets SO blonde in the summer!  The other thing about this picture is that Ava was very sick on this day - 101.5 degree temp.  You can see it in her eyes - but she still looks cute and she still really wanted to have a picture taken with her doll like Amelia did.

Day 67 - March 8

Spring is finally on its way and my pear trees are blossoming!  Love the pinkish red color that is seen before the white flower pops out!

Day 68 - March 9

Jason got a new motorcycle (Triumph Street Triple) and Amelia wanted to try on Daddy's new helmet!  She was laughing hysterically even though she couldn't see herself.  Too funny.

Day 69 - March 10

It was a warm, windy afternoon and I was playing around with pictures using the sun.  This would have been perfect if the trees in the background were out of the way and their silhouettes were against the sun.  Still a decent shot...

Day 70 - March 11

This was taken the same day as the picture before (told ya there would be a lot of fillers!!).  Amelia is so cute when she squats down like that.  I think she was pouring dirt on her baby's head (yes, the same baby she so cherished in the first picture this week) and then she'd stand up and spin the baby around to watch the dirt fly off her head.  

Day 71 - March 12

Our pool chemicals were having some weird reaction to each other and created this purple film over much of the plaster.  Our awesome pool guy (remember that picture of him servicing our pool in 20 degree weather?) researched the problem and found out that luckily, it was a fairly cheap fix.  We just had to drain the pool.  He power washed some areas and then we filled it back up.  Voila!  Purple film gone!  So anyway, when the pool was completely empty, I had the girls go stand in the very bottom for a freaky looking picture.  That was really weird to stand in the bottom of an empty pool.

Until next time...