Dad's Dollar Origami

(Sorry this picture is sideways)

Dad made some dollar origami for mom. It is really neat. He made a shirt, heart, star, and a ring. I like the star and the ring the best. :)

Christmas!

On Christmas Eve we went to my grandma and grandpa E's house for dinner. After dinner we opened presents with them and my Aunt Missy and Uncle Kip. Then on Christmas morning we opened presents at our house. From mom and dad I received a guitar! I am really excited to learn how to play it. :)
In the evening we went over to my grandma V's house to spend time with dad's side of the family.
We always have a lot of fun!

I hope you all had a fun Christmas with friends and family!

On December 10th we memorized Isaiah 9:6.

"For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his
shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

We started memorizing John 15:5-17 on December 11th.

"I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to m Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
As my Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his masters business. Instead, I have called you my friends, for everything I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other."

The Christmas Season is Here!

This year instead of doing an advent calendar we decided to memorize a verse from the Bible every day till Christmas that has something to do with Jesus Christ. Yesterday we memorized John 1:1-2.

In the beginning was the word,

and the Word with God,

and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.

We memorized Matthew 1:18 today. (We will also be memorizing Matthew 1:19-25 .)

This is how the birth 0f Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;
make known among the nations
what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the
Lord rejoice.
Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always.

(Psalms 105:1-4)

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for all that God has given us. We have a lot to be thankful for, because God has blessed us in so many ways!

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures
forever;
his faithfulness continues through all
generations.

(Psalms 100)

Cupcakes!

This past week we have been getting ready for Ellen's birthday. For her birthday party we made some cupcakes. They are really good! (The recipe said the cocoa and vinegar would react and cause the batter to turn red, however it did not work for us. It also said you needed regular cocoa for this to work, not dutch processed cocoa. We thought we used the right cocoa. In addition we used beet juice for the red dye, but that did not do much for the batter. It did make the frosting a nice pink color, though.)

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice)
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 2 teaspoons red food coloring (recommended: Select natural food coloring. We used beet juice.)

Frosting:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Red food coloring ( We just used beet juice)
  
• Special equipment: pastry bag and large round tip

Directions

Cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder, and fine sea salt together onto a piece of waxed paper. Mix the eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, vinegar, and food coloring in a standing mixer. Using the paddle attachment, on medium speed, beat until well combined. Turn down the mixer speed and slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing until totally smooth, about 3 minutes.

Line a standard 12 cupcake tin with the liners (preferably silver). Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full with the batter and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pans for 5 to 10 minutes, then remove them from the pans. Cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

Frosting: In a standing mixer, on medium speed, cream the butter until smooth. Turn down the mixer speed and slowly add the powdered sugar, salt, milk, and vanilla and mix until smooth and creamy. (We added just a little bit of beet juice till the frosting was a light pink color.)

Optional decorate with sprinkles :)