Life Changes

A few weeks ago, I went into Toys R Us to find a birthday gift for my son.  I saw this neat butterfly kit, but I didn't buy it at the time.  Later, I found it again at TJMaxx for a cheaper price.  I also had a gift card for TJMaxx, so I went ahead and picked it up. 

You have to go online (or you can send it by snail mail) to order your caterpillars.  We got three in the mail.  Remember to open it up quickly because they are living creatures inside. 

The critters come in a neat cup that has gooey stuff on the bottom (that's their food). 

My son named is caterpillars, which I thought was cute. They soon became like pets. We checked in with them every day to see how much they grew.  In about 10 days, they began to make their cocoons. chrysalis (thanks Sara)

Once they have spun themselves into their cozy new homes, you need to open the cup and gently take them out.  They will be fixed onto the top of the lid which has a thin piece of paper.  Take the paper and safety pin it onto the mesh container. 

They will remain in this state for about a week or more.  You want to keep checking because once they have hatched from their chrysalis, you need to start feeding them sugar water. Here is Ben waiting for them to come out.  He's playing peek-a-boo with them. 

So, the big day arrived and one by one they emerged. 

Now, following the directions, you pick fresh flowers from your yard (or get some from a friend or store) and put droplets of sugar water on them.  The butterflies feed off of these.  Ours were so hungry, the minute I put the flowers in, they landed on them and went to town.  I guess they did go through a lot of hard work to break free from their cocoons ...er...chrysalis :). 

We went to the library to find a book about butterflies that a 3 year old would understand.  I found a cute one called the "Crunching, Munching Caterpillar."  It's about a caterpillar that notices all kinds of animals that can fly and wishes he could fly too. 

So, after a few days (remember to add the sugar water daily), the family went out to our small garden and released them. 

One landed on our dog Maggie!

This was one of the neatest things we've done together as a family. It's very simple to do. If you can't find them in the stores, you may want to go online and see if you can order the kit directly from the company.  We enjoyed doing this so much, I'm sure we'll do it again next year.

Have you ever done this? I'd love to hear about your experience. Or do you have another idea of a fun science project for a toddler?

I serve a risen Savior!

Happy Easter Everyone!
I wanted to share with you a book my Sunday School class read this year during the Lenten season. We're actually finishing it up next week. 
It's called "24 Hours the Changed the World" by Adam Hamilton. Amazon's link to the book.
I have discovered so much about the Holy Land and the time of Jesus. I wish I had read the book before our trip over there four years ago!
Pastor Hamilton takes viewers to special Holy Land sites. YouTube of Adam telling you about his book. The book and video are very easy to follow and are eye-opening. He has done his homework! 
For instance, I learned that a cross wasn't the entire cross. One only had to carry the middle part. The tall, lengthy part was already in the ground at the destination. And a cross usually weighed about 100 pounds. I told one of the kids at church that and she exclaimed, "Yowza, that's the size of my big brother!" 
I hope you all have a blessed year. And remember that the Good News is not a secret. It's somethings we should be excited about and tell everyone we know! 

Nest cookies

I've seen these around blogs and thought they were super cute to do for my Bible study group.  I had no idea how easy they would be to put together. I f you have a big kid who loves to bake or do crafts, they will really enjoy doing these. 

Ingredients:

12 oz. package of La Choy (or any brand I guess) chow mein noodles

12 oz. package of Hershey butterscotch morsels (1 3/4 cup). When I was at the store, I saw that there were chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. I think I will do those next time!

1 box of egg shaped Whoppers mini Robin eggs (or jelly beans, some kind of candy shaped like eggs).

How to make them:

Spray glass microwaveable bowl with nonstick spray (this helps with clean up)

Put the morsels in the bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals.

  

Mix in between each time until the consistency is like that of smooth peanut butter. 

Slowly add in the noodles a little at a time so that you can get all of them covered. 

Put parchment paper down on a baking sheet and spoon/form your nests out. 

If the butterscotch noodles start to dry out, just zap them again for 30 more seconds to make loose again. 

Place the eggs in your nest. After you have filled up your baking sheet, slowly pull the entire sheet of nests out onto a table to allow yourself more work space. 

Mine made 20 nests with eggs and one without. So, I ate the one without! I must say, these are super sweet. You will want to have some milk on hand to wash it all down. And you can probably get away with making double the amount, mine were kinda on the big side (they fit in the palm of my hand). 

These would be great to make with kids if you are reading about Spring, birds or the outdoors. 

These would also be cute for a tea or shower. 

Holiday Ham

When we lived in Dothan, Alabama, I was a reporter for the newspaper, but I also wrote obituaries.  That, along with being a pastor's wife, gave me an opportunity to develop relationships with the local funeral homes. 

There was one that use to send home a ham with every family they served.  What a great idea right?  Most people have out-of-town guests in their home and are too busy to really cook a real meal.  And ham can be used in so many ways.  

But their ham was really well known.  It had a special glaze to it that made it so tasty.  It was a family recipe that they used.  And I convinced them to let me write about it for a holiday story - recipe and all.  So here it is, both the recipe and the story.  

Since Easter is right around the corner, I know a lot of you are starting to shop for your holiday ham now.  If you are at the store and want to use this recipe, be sure to pick up a big brown paper bag while you are there (it's part of the process).  I've made it before and got rave reviews.  I hope you like it too.

 

p.s. This story is pre-edit version. I didn't have any ham pictures, so I just put up Easter ones instead.

A traditional ham

Corrina Sisk-Casson

Christy Shelley opened an oven door to check on the ham she had place in a couple of hours earlier. The sweet aroma of brown sugar and the juices of the ham mingling together floated through the air. 

As a funeral director at Byrd Funeral Home, Shelley bakes between one to six hams a day for the families they serve. Each ham is made with extra tender loving care. To carry on the 20-year tradition, each staff person learns how to make the ham within their first week at the funeral home. The hams are so well known, that when Shelley is invited to a party, she is often asked to bring a ham along with her. 

The recipe has been in Robert Byrd’s family for centuries. His great-grandmother, Flowers Espy, came up with it. Byrd describes his grandmother as a tiny woman who would put a lot of love into the food she made for her family. 

“She was the old-fashioned kind of grandma. My mom said they would serve a meal on Saturday afternoon and they’d be around the table eating - there was nothing instant back then. She would take a bite and say, ‘I just wish everybody  I loved had some of this,’ She was sweet to the core,” Byrd said.

When the funeral home opened in 1983, Byrd wanted to do something to make the business stand out from the others. He heard about how a funeral home up north would give families turkeys. Then it hit him that he could do the same, but with his great-grandmother’s cherished ham recipe. 

“I can tell you that when we receive our acknowledgment cards that it is rare that the ham isn’t mentioned,” Shelley said. “Hopefully we have gotten each family a ham.”

When the funeral home gets a death call they immediately put the ham in the oven to bake. The ham recipe is one of the most requested items. Shelley explained that people need to read the recipe in full before they begin, because there are a few places where mistakes can happen and the ham won’t turn out as well. 

Three things are especially important to keep in mind when making the ham. First, the ham needs to be turned fat side up. Second, always bake it in a brown paper bag. She said that she tried foil once and it took on the taste of the foil. And last, the sauce goes on after the ham has baked for three hours. Right after the ham is out of the oven and is still hot, that is the time to drizzle the sauce over the meat. 

Shelley says one of the keys to making their hams so good is because they start with quality meats. She noted that the hams from Kelley Foods of Elba is unlike the hams from a grocery store. Kelley Foods is not open to regular consumers. However, some stores such as Johnson’s Meats in Malvern stocks the special ham. 

At one time, the folks at Byrd Funeral Home tried to stop doing the hams, but the people just kept asking for the flavorful meat. Byrd laughed and said it was fine with him because he loves doing it for the people they serve. 

“I don’t think anyone gets tired of the ham,” Shelley said, “I have eaten at many places and have traveled all over and had other ham. I have not personally found a ham that would outdo the Byrd ham.”

Corrina Sisk-Casson is a freelance writer. She can be reached at corrinacasson1@aol.com.

To make the ham Start with a 10-12 pound smoked 

and cured ham Pre-heat oven to 425-450 degrees Unwrap and remove any tough hide, if present Turn the ham fat side up and score like a checkerboard Place the ham in a regular brown paper grocery bag, fold over and tuck Place in a foil-lined 9 x 14 baking pan Make sure the bag is not touching any part of your oven Bake for approximately three hours. You may also bake at a lower heat 350-375 degrees for about four hours, if desired When done, cut the bag with scissors and put your ham on a platter You may punch holes in the top and pour several cups of the sauce over the ham If you plan to serve the ham later, immediately wrap and seal the ham with several layers of plastic wrap 

and then, over the plastic wrap, a layer of tin foil to hold the heat in. You may let the ham sit out at room temperature for about an hour to absorb the sauce as the sauce will seemand steam through the warm meat. If you fix the ham later, simply cut the meat and then drizzle the sauce over each piece. Serving size 20.

Sauce recipe Take a plastic or glass quart container and fill it half full of plain yellow mustard Next, fill the container with light and dark brown sugar You will have the same amount of mustard as you do sugar Add a teaspoon or two of ground cloves to your taste Stir well or mix with a mixer until it is creamy smooth and has a caramel color consistency Store unrefrigerated Makes 1 quart