Special Easter Eggs

I wanted to share an idea for special Easter eggs that were given to our family many years ago (when my kids were very young).  They were given to us by my mother-in-law, Lynda.  She had made them at a Relief Society "home making meeting" at her ward.  They were not filled with the decadence of chocolate or the yumminess of sugary jelly beans, but they were even more wonderful, for these eggs helped us to remind our family about the true meaning behind Easter.  I was so impressed with them that I have made them for families at church all through the years, and I am now delighted to have the chance to pass the "gift" of these neat eggs along to you.

This project requires one dozen plastic eggs, plus a few extra items which are posted at the end of the list of scriptures.  Most of the items are fairly easy to get – many of them can be found at a Wal-Mart, Dollar General, etc.  The only item that requires a little searching are the communion/sacrament cups that are used for egg #1.  I actually found a place that sells these cups online; it is a company called Cokesbury.  A package of 100 plastic, disposable cups sells for $6.00 (although with tax and shipping my total cost was a $10 plus some change).  If you want to check them out, click here.  I also noticed some cups while I was at Party City, but I’m not sure if they are small enough to fit into the eggs – I didn’t have one with me.  However, it was basically a disposable individual condiment cup, and I’m sure those are available other places.

The idea is that you use little stickers (garage sale type) to number your eggs #1 - #12. 

Then, you print out the scriptures.  I have tested each of these images and although they aren’t EXACTLY the size of my original, they are pretty decent.  All you have to do is click on each page (below) and print it out.

Once the three pages are printed out, you will cut the scriptures into individual strips.  Then you put scripture #1 and item #1 (the cup) into egg #1.  Do this for all twelve eggs.

On Easter, have your family open each egg and read each scripture in numerical order.  It is a really fun way to bring the Easter story to life.  Hope you enjoy it!

Healthy Lifestyles…Our January Activity

For our “Thursday” night meeting in January our topic was (surprise!):  Healthy Lifestyles.  We are lucky to have people living in our ward who have a variety of backgrounds and training, so finding instructors to help us was easy.

Karen B. taught us a lesson on the “word of wisdom”.  It had a lot of thought-provoking ideas and the main thing that I took from it is that so many members of the church think that just because they don’t smoke or drink alcohol, etc. (all of the “shalt nots” from the word of wisdom) they are living this principle.  But really, to truly be living the principle you need to be eating right and taking care of your health in general.  There was a quote read which talked about food being best when it is in its most natural state.  This makes a lot of sense.  I have tried to find an article similar to what she was saying, (including the quote), and this may not be it, but this is pretty close: 

“President Benson has also counseled us about the importance of maintaining a good diet. “In general, the more food we eat in its natural state and the less it is refined without additives, the healthier it will be for us” (Ensign, Nov. 1974, p. 66).”

That was from an article, “Not for the Body,”  by  Elder Harold G.  Hillam of the Seventy,  New Era, July 1992, 4 (To read the whole article, click here)

In general, I learned that I have a lot of work to do on this principle, but Karen stressed that since it is not just a temporal principle, but a spiritual one as well, I can receive divine assistance as I strive to keep it.

Jennifer R. (who did NOT want her picture taken, even though I thought she looked cute that night) is a dietician, and she did a great job teaching the nutrition portion of the class.  Unfortunately, I could not write fast enough to record all of the wonderful information she shared with us, but here are the things that stuck out to me:

• Fiber is very important!  We should have 25-30 grams of fiber per day. 
• Make sure your bread is made from whole wheat flour, and eat whole grain pasta.
• Brown or wild rice is better for you than white rice.
• Fruits are better than fruit juice because of the fiber factor.
• We need 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day.  A serving of vegetables is 1 cup of leafy green vegetables or ½ cup of cooked vegetables.
• Drink milk!  We need our dairy.  However, we should have skim milk (preferred) or 1% (acceptable).
• A serving size of meat is 3 ounces, or about the size of your palm (that’s YOUR palm, not your husband’s big palm).
• We should have fish twice a week; be aware that canned fish has a lot of salt.
• When talking about the benefits of an Omega 3 supplement, she mentioned that Omega 3 has blood thinning effects, so people with health conditions should consult a doctor.  (I didn’t know that!)
• Olive oil and canola oil are the preferred cooking oils.  Don’t let the oil get so hot that it starts smoking, for this will change its properties (I didn’t know that, either!).
• And of course, DRINK MORE WATER!

A website that Jennifer really likes is RD411.com (click here)

In fact, here are the links, by title, for the handouts that we were given:

Herbs:  A Guide for Cooking With Herbs

Cooking for One or Two

Meal  Plan:  1800 Calories

Meal Plan:  1500 Calories

Fiber Basics

Dining Out Successfully

Fruits and Vegetables:  Easy Ways to Add More to Your Diet

Dinner Suggestions That Are Fast and Healthy

The final part of the evening was our exercise portion.  Tiina C. is not only a ward member, but is also an instructor at an area gym.  She was kind enough to lead us through some exercises.

Here’s Tiina striking a pose for me:

Unfortunately, you really just had to be there to really catch it.  I can tell you that she stressed strength training for women and told us that you can still be soft and feminine while muscular.  She also talked a lot about doing exercise for “core strength”.  Having strong abdominal and back muscles just helps your overall stature and movement.  Also, form is everything while doing exercise.  It is about safety and not doing more harm than good.  We had a really good time, and I was able to do some squats without having my kneecaps shoot across the room.  Hooray!

Afterwards, we had refreshments.  We had a make-your-own fruit and yogurt parfait bar with several flavors of yogurt, as well as some fresh fruit:

Topped with granola made by Rachel H:

Granola

4 cups of oats

1 cup of Wheat germ

¼ cup of oil

¾ cup of honey

- Mix altogether and put on a cookie sheet pan

- Cook at 300 for 16-18 minutes

We had some muffins, also made by Rachel, on the side:

Whole Wheat Brown Sugar Muffins

½ c butter
1 c brown sugar
1 egg
¼ t vanilla

---cream together

1 t baking powder
1 c milk
2 c whole wheat flour
Chopped nuts*

Mix baking powder & flour
Slowly add milk & flour mix (a little milk then a little flour)

Bake 425 degrees
12-15 minutes

If giggling and chatting and enthusiasm are any measure, the activity was a big success.  We had so much fun we couldn’t even get out of the building on time!

Relief Society Dinner 2010

This dinner was the first big shindig over which I had responsibility as 2^nd Counselor.  Luckily I had a committee that helped me plan and execute this event.  When it was time to set up the tables and put out the cloths, dinnerware, food, etc., I would have never made it for sure.

Our original plan had been “A Christ-Centered Christmas” with nativity sets for the centerpieces on the table, but when we learned that the ward party was already going to have that, we had to come up with another idea.  We settled on “The Gifts of Christmas” and focused on the gifts that the Savior has given to all mankind.  Sister McDaniel did a beautiful job of wrapping some boxes and placing tags on them that reflected these gifts:  “Peace”, “The Gift of the Atonement”, “Hope”, etc.  We used these as our centerpieces:

After the meal, but before the dessert, we went into the Relief Society room where Sister McDaniel read a short story about having a simple Christmas.  She then played, “The Nativity” DVD which she had brought.  It showed scenes depicting Christ’s birth and his mortal life, with music from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the background.  Near the end, Gordon B. Hinckley said a few words (Sister McDaniel told us that this was one of the last “video” appearances he had made before he passed away.)  This video really helped to give the feeling that we wanted to have in our meeting.  Here’s how she had the room set up:

After the video, we presented them with our gift to them:  a loaf of “homemade” pumpkin bread (recipe to be found at the end of the blog).  I baked, wrapped, and decorated 50 of these little loaves and was quite happy to see them finally go:

Here is a close-up of the tag that Sister McDaniel made to put on them:

Of course, anyone who knows me also knows that I will find “decadence” in anything that I am doing, even if it is a church Christmas party.  Well, I found it:  Chocolaty, gooey, sweet, womanly decadence!

This dessert is so sweet, so rich, and so chocolately that a couple of my teeth didn’t even wait for the tooth decay to set in; they just popped out right there at the table.  But let me tell you, it was worth it.  Luckily for me, Sister Hair agreed to give me the recipe for this little creature (also found at the end of this blog).

Well, that’s it.  I survived my first official dinner as 2^nd Counselor, and I think that the sisters had a good, fun, uplifting time.  I can’t lie, though; I am glad that our next dinner is not until March!

Recipe for Pumpkin Bread

Sister  Hair’s original recipe is as follows:

1 Spice cake mix

1 30 oz. can of Pumpkin puree

4 eggs

350 until toothpick out barely moist.  There's no time on the recipe...so I would start out at about 15 or 20 minutes.

I don’t know if I’m just a bad cook, or if it was due to the fact that the thermostat in my oven is slightly off, but I tried a couple of batches and the original recipe didn’t work for me.  So I modified it a bit, and had better luck.  Here is what I did for the loaves we gave out at the dinner:

1 Spice cake mix (I used Duncan Hines, 18.25 oz)

1 15-oz can of pumpkin puree

4 eggs

As I said, my thermostat is off just a bit, so I baked the recipe at 365° and checked it at 30 minutes.  It was almost done, so I let it cook for between 3-5 more minutes (at this stage you just have to watch it like a hawk).  This worked great for me and I was happy to have a recipe that makes something good without too much work.  This makes between 4-5 of the mini loaves (3 x 5 pans) depending on how full you fill them.  I tried to fill them between ½ to 2/3 full of batter.

Now, as promised, here is that decadent recipe for Sister Hair’s great dessert (I can’t wait to try it!):

Recipe for Hot Fudge Bar

Dough:

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

3 cups quick oats

1 tsp salt

2.5 cups flour

Filling:

2 cups milk chocolate chips

1 cup sweetened condensed milk

3 tbsp margarine

2 tsp vanilla

Mix together dough ingredients.  Pat 2/3 mix in 9 x 13 pan to cover bottom.  Melt filling ingredients on low heat and pour over batter.  Sprinkle remaining 1/3 dough mixture on top.  Bake 350 for 15-20. Do not over bake.

Ward Christmas Party 2010

I wish I had more pictures and a more thorough report of the ward (congregation) Christmas party.  Unfortunately, that was a very busy day for me and I ended up getting there a few minutes late.  Attendance at this party was just great; so great, in fact, that there were no chairs left by the time we got to the line for dinner, and I ended up eating in the kitchen.  This worked out for me since it gave me a chance to chat with the bishop’s wife.

I did manage to get a few pictures to show what the committee did for this party, and hopefully it’s enough to give you a feel for it.  It was all about Christ and the spirit of service.  The centerpieces for the tables were nativity sets which the committee had asked families to bring from home.  (This was actually our plan for the Relief Society activity and when we learned that it was already happening at the ward party, we had to quickly come up with a Plan B.)   Anyway, here are a couple of shots of how cute that turned out:

Sure enough, the “Giving Tree” was there with tags which listed needs and Christmas wishes to be met or acts of service that could be performed by those who wished to participate.  There was a table with a couple of sisters keeping a log so that the committee could know which tags had been taken and would be able to track it.

People brought all kinds of personal use products which were going to be given to a boys’ home/shelter and our missionaries:

Those of all ages were able to help stuff the products in these cute little drawstring bags that some sisters in the ward had made:

When they were done, it looked like this:

The committee had set up a little “forest” of trees and I saw many families having their pictures made in front of them. 

I asked my baby boy if he would let me take his picture, and he “joyfully” agreed:

In between all of the various activities there was much singing of Christmas carols, and visiting and eating, and children running around with their friends.  The committee did a great job of proving that service during the Christmas season can be fun!

How Cute Is This?!

I am so lucky that I have a committee to help me with this Relief Society stuff.  When it was time for us to plan the activity/meeting for December (a Christmas dinner), I had a couple of ideas, but it was only during a planning meeting that everything came together -- each member had some really great ideas of their own.


When I said that I would like to have some handouts to help remind people about the dinner, Sister McDaniel volunteered to make those.  Imagine my delight when she showed up last Sunday with a box full of these cute little invitations!  Even the box in which they were carried was wrapped and had a pretty bow going around it.


I photographed the invitation on a red background so that it would show up better.  The idea is a simple one:  a white strip of paper with the info, trimmed with some decorative scissors, then topped off with a "package" ornament glued onto the side.  So simple, yet so very effective and cute!  That is just right up my alley because I've always said that we often make things harder than they have to be.  Way to go, Sister McDaniel!

Our Ward Christmas Party

I never thought I’d say this (what with being a hermit and all), but I really am kind of excited about this year’s ward Christmas party.  While I can’t imagine there ever being a Christmas party that wasn’t good, the ward Activities Committee is putting something together this year that is totally different from what we’ve done in the past and probably qualifies as great.  This year’s party is early in the season (December 4^th) and it actually will have each of those who attend engaged in some sort of service project.  I think it is so wonderful!

The actual invitations for the party were much prettier than this, but for some reason all I could find was a copy of a copy I had made to give to someone.  However, this still will give you an idea of what they have planned for us:

Here is the list of items that we can bring:

I think this will be a great mix of just sheer fun and doing something worthwhile.  I will try to get some pictures of that night!

Homemade Granola Bars

At the last RS meeting (my first in awhile) we had a demonstration on how to make homemade granola bars.  They were really good and are a great way to use any oats you mights have stacked up in your food storage.  Here is the recipe that was given at the meeting:

Homemade Granola Bars
4-1/2 cups rolled oats (regular, not quick)
1 cup flour (I like to use whole wheat flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

Optional: 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (raisins, dried cranberries, and other dried fruit, whatever you like!)

Combine all ingredients but the chocolate chips (or whatever optional ingredients you are putting in). Mix and then add the chocolate chips in and mix again. Press into a greased pan (Pam works great!). Bake at 325 degrees for 18-22 minutes. Enjoy!!

**This is a basic recipe. . . if you like other things, try putting them in and make it your own recipe! Nuts, seeds, coconut, peanut butter. . . the options are endless! Note that if you add a lot of optional ingredients, you might want to increase the butter and honey in order for the mixture to be cohesive and not too dry.**