Ammon & Carter: Easter 2015
Happy Easter Everyone: “He’s alive, and he is risen”
Easter 2015
Category Archives: Family
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
Our Lord and Savior, Jesus, was human like us. He did not want to endure the physical pain of his upcoming crucifixion. From Mark 14:36, Jesus implores to God in the Garden of Gethsemane “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” The “Abba” is Aramaic for “Daddy”. It reminds me so much of when Carter wants something and says “Please, Daddy!”, and my heart either wrenches and gives in or I say “No” to what Carter wants.
God’s answer was for Jesus to endure the cross and be the sacrificial lamb for all mankind. My human heart can only imagine the anguish God was feeling for Jesus to die for us. An angel came from God and comforted Jesus (Luke 24: 43) so as to fortify him for the excruciating death that awaited him.
I also think of the 12 disciples being “cowards”, but yet, what would I have done? Do I betray Jesus like Judas did (Matthew 26: 47-49)? Do I like money, cars, clothes, traveling, or food more than Jesus and put them before my love and dedication to him? Sometimes I feel that I would have run like everyone but Peter and John. However, Peter snuck around and denied that he knew Jesus. Tradition tells that John and his family was well-received in high Jerusalem circles and probably mingled with the crowds during those early morning hours being as close to Jesus as could even until Jesus gave up his Spirit on the cross (John 19:25-27). Oh, how I would love to think that I would stay by Jesus’ side until the end.
No matter what, Jesus still loves me like he loved Judas until the end. Jesus STILL called Judas “friend” (Matthew 26: 50): Unbelievable and remarkable! However, that’s Jesus! He is LOVE and forgiveness!
Tonight as we lay down in our cozy beds for a great night’s rest, let’s remember our tired and sleepless Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and getting ready to face the death on the cross so he could be our sacrificial lamb and take on our sins. What a man and what a savior! Thank you, Jesus!
St. Patrick’s Day 2015
My 1st 4 Leaf Clover of 2015 was found on St. Patrick’s Day!!
St. Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin, Ireland: June 13, 2011 I’ve always enjoyed all the “wearing of the green” and the leprechauns on St. Patrick’s Day. However, it wasn’t until our day in Dublin, Ireland June of 2011, that I felt a “spiritual conncetion” with Saint Patrick. I had even read several times yet without absorbing much history of Saint Patrick to really know his story.
St. Patrick
He had been taken from homeland in Wales (Great Britain) to be a slave in Ireland. He was approximately 16, and by his early 20s he had made it back to Wales. He then became a minister and returned to Ireland. He writes that he “baptized thousands of people”. He ordained priests to lead the new Christian communities. He converted wealthy women, some of whom became nuns in the face of family opposition. He also dealt with the sons of kings, converting them too.
Carter, Nana, Haven, & Ammon (admiring the vaulted ceilings)
June 13, 2011: St. Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin, Ireland
My favorite building in Dublin, Ireland was St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It had such a warmth and “spirit” about it. It wasn’t like other cathedrals I have been in where it was like a museum instead of a place of worship. St. Patrick’s work was filled with love and giving, and his spirit seems to permeate his cathedral.
Snomageddon 2015 for the Caylor-Browns
Thursday February 26, 2015 Sledding #Snowmageddon
The Awesome Day began with 8 inches of snow and a jaunt through the yard with my 11 year old Black and Tan Coonhound, Ferd .
The Caylor-Brown’s House February 26, 2015 #Snomageddon
As usual, the barn shines in its contrast from the snowy-gray Grindstone Mountain.
Our Barn, Play Park, & the edge of our upper field at the foot of Grindstone Mountain
We had to make our own sled run: How?
Step 1: Find the fall line and “path of least resistance” usually by sledding yourself.
Step 2: Have a person sit on the sled and drag that person to make a slick run.
Step 3: Keep trying to use the same run to over and over. After several runs, you can see and feel the track.
Ammon & Carter make snow angels on Snowmageddon Day = February 26, 2015
Thursday February 26, 2015 #Snowmageddon up on Grindstone Mountain
After sledding, Ammon and Carter had school: Math, Social Studies, and Handwriting. When lunch was over, Carter, Ammon, & Daddy S went up on the base of Grindstone Mountain while I cut small trees with the chain saw and made sure our tractor was running in the freezing weather.
We finished the day with an awesome Dinner: Baked Honey Ham, Creamed Corn, Baked Beans, Stuffing, and Cranberry Sauce.
Snowmageddon Dinner
Winter’s Full Moon (5 Steps to a Winter, Artistic Masterpiece)
After an autumn watercolor project turned out so nicely for Ammon and Carter, I decided to try one for winter.
Need (Suggested beginning doses: more paint for darker color OR add more water to lighten it up)
1 Plastic Cup
4 tsp. Water
2 drops Watercolor Paint (Van Gogh #506-Ultramarine)
1 White Oil Pastel Crayon (Holbein Oil Pastel)
Water Color Paper
1 Paintbrush
Step 1: On the Watercolor Paper, Etch out the Winter Scene lightly with a pencil. Carter, Ammon, and I elected to take a perfectly round object to trace our moon. You and yours can draw a moon anyway you wish.
Step 2: Thoroughly color in all objects you want to appear white with the Oil Pastel.
Step 3: Add drops of paint to the water and mix. It doesn’t look like much, but it is PLENTY. Once again if the paint wasn’t dark enough add paint droplets and if it was too dark, add a few drops of water at a time to the glass. Keep a practice Watercolor sheet handy to experiment.
Step 4: Paint! Make sure you saturate the paper. The oil pastel will repel the water (oil doesn’t mix with water).
Step 5: Find a flat place for your painting to dry.
As you can see from the intro photo, we had them framed. We painted the paintings on the 1st Day of Winter, allowed them to dry, then framed them on December 23 just in time to flank the mantel for Christmas. There they will remain until spring.
Kids Prepare General Tso’s Chicken for Chinese New Year
General Tso’s from the Caylor-Browns
Ammon & Carter are From the Year of the Rat (2008), so we made them Rat Masks for some Chinese New Year “ownership”
Ammon & Carter are “Rats”!
Ammon & Carter flank the Ingredients
Chicken 2 ½ lbs. of skinless uncooked chicken strips Chicken Coating (before frying) ½ tsp. Salt ¼ tsp. Black Pepper 2 Egg Whites 3 Tbs. Cornstarch Sauce ½ cup cold water 1 Tbs. cornstarch ½ cup Brown sugar ¼ tsp. Ground ginger ¼ tsp. Crushed red pepper 1 Tbs. Hoisin sauce 2 Tbs. Soy sauce 3 Tbs. Ketchup
Step 1: Marinating the Chicken Thoroughly rinse then marinate the uncooked chicken breast strips with approximately ¼ cup soy sauce in a gallon freezer bag. Place the freezer bag in a refrigerator crisper. I know marinating often only takes minutes, but I choose to marinate for at least 12-18 hours ahead of time.
Step 2: Baking the Chicken Set the oven 350° 1-2 hours before mealtime. Place the marinated chicken breast in a baking dish. I keep the marinate on for added flavor as well as adding water so as to submerge the chicken (keep it moist, if you will). Cover with the dish’s lid or aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour.
Step 3: Making the Sauce while the chicken bakes In a bowl, mix the cornstarch with COLD water (remember corn starch CLUMPS in warm water). Wisk thoroughly. Add the brown sugar, Hoisin sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, ground ginger, and crushed pepper. Set aside. *If you choose and are blessed with lots of skillets, you may want to pour this sauce in another skillet while the chicken cubes brown. I tried it only one time (seen below), and I didn’t like the clutter on the range eyes.
Ammon Stirs the General Tso sauce
Carter takes his turn with General Tso sauce
Step 4: Making the chicken coating before frying the baked chicken Take out the baked chicken and allow it to cool (strips cool QUCKLY). While it is cooling heat your favorite wok or skillet (ours is cast iron….woo hoo! I love cooking with cast iron!) on a low-medium heat with 2 Tbs. of oil. Cut the chicken into cubes. In a bowl, mix the Corn Starch, Salt, Pepper, & Egg whites. Transfer the liquid into a Gallon plastic zipper bag. Place the cubed chicken in the bag as well then shake, shake, shake (Ammon & Carter love it… we often sing “Shake your chicken” to the tune of “Shake your Booty”). Turn the skillet up to medium high and pour in the chicken turning occasionally to allow the batter to brown. No need to check chicken temperature, it was baked through in the oven. When the cubes are browned, turn the heat down to simmer/heat. Add your sauce over the cubes. For approximately 10 minutes, stir occasionally making sure the cubes are covered with the sauce.
Step 5: Putting it all Together Pour the liquid over your Chicken cubes, and Guess what? General Tso’s Chicken is done. Serve over steamed broccoli and whole-grain rice of which both I can share another preparation recipe another day.
DIY Mardi Gras Bread in Minutes
Ingredients for Monkey Bread
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cans ( Our cans were 13 oz) Pillsbury™ Flaky Supreme Refrigerated Cinnamon Rolls
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
¾ cup butter or margarine, melted
Step 1: Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease 12-cup fluted pan (Bundt Cake Pan if you’re “Old School” LOL)
Step 2: Have your child/children either cut (case knife) or pull apart the rolls in half. Arrange in the fluted pan.
Step 3: In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and butter: pour over cinnamon roll pieces.
Step 4: Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in the center. Turn upside down onto serving plate.
Ingredients for Glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 Tablespoons heavy cream (or milk for a less creamy texture)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Step 5: Top the Cake with Glaze & Sprinkles
Top the Cake with Gold, Purple, & Green Sprinkles. We found all 3 sprinkles at our local Party City store.
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Valentine Cookies in Less than an Hour
My Carter & Ammon (just 6 years old!) made these Delicious & Quick Valentine Cookie from scratch!
Sugar cookies
INGREDIENTS:
1 Cup butter, softened
1 Cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups all purpose flour
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350° F.
In the bowl of your mixer cream butter and sugar until smooth.
Beat in extracts and in large bowl. Continue reading
Three Kings Day: January 6
“Isn’t it overwhelming that even Jesus’ jubilant birth with the magi offering him awesome gifts prophetically points to his somber death on the cross which is Jesus’ gift to us?”– Haven Caylor
The “yonder star” guides us to Jesus, the “perfect light”
Not being raised Roman Catholic, you can imagine my riveted 13 year old attention to the story of Spain’s Three Kings Day December 1979. 1979-1980 was my first school year to study the Spanish language, and with the language Hispanic culture.
This Varnell, Georgia, country boy, Protestant-Christian had never heard of Three Kings Day. Yes, the Roman Catholics had Santa Claus, but they also had the Three Kings who left presents for children on January 6 . The holiday with its best title as Epiphany has been around the Christian world for over 1,600 years. Many modern scholars say that the magi arrived in Bethlehem and gave Jesus his gifts on January 6.
The Magi (Ancient Astronomers probably from Babylon) followed the Star of Bethlehem to the place where Jesus was. The Jewish nation had been exiled into Babylon (returned to the Holy Land 70 years later) in approximately 600 B. C., and scholarly, Babylonian men had documented and studied the Jewish prophecies concerning the coming Messiah. These Magi were the 1st Gentile believers in Jesus Christ.
Of course we have no idea how many magi came to adore and worship the baby Jesus, but with the Bible mentioning gold, frankincense and myrrh, people say 3 Kings.
Here is a short explanation of the meaning of the three gifts from http://www.gotquestions.org/gold-frankincense-myrrh.html#ixzz2pcptzSE9:
Gold is a precious metal and as such was a very valuable commodity. Its value could very well have financed Joseph and Mary’s trip to Egypt. The Bible does not tell us any other significance to these three gifts; however, tradition has it that there is a deeper meaning for each of the three. Gold is a symbol of divinity and is mentioned throughout the Bible. Pagan idols were often made from gold and the Ark of the Covenant was overlaid with gold (Exodus 25:10-17). The gift of gold to the Christ child was symbolic of His divinity—God in flesh.
Frankincense is a white resin or gum. It is obtained from a tree by making incisions in the bark and allowing the gum to flow out. It is highly fragrant when burned and was therefore used in worship, where it was burned as a pleasant offering to God (Exodus 30:34). Frankincense is a symbol of holiness and righteousness. The gift of frankincense to the Christ child was symbolic of His willingness to become a sacrifice, wholly giving Himself up, analogous to a burnt offering.
Myrrh was also a product of Arabia, and was obtained from a tree in the same manner as frankincense. It was a spice and was used in embalming. It was also sometimes mingled with wine to form an article of drink. Such a drink was given to our Savior when He was about to be crucified, as a stupefying potion (Mark 15:23). In other words, it would make his body numb. Matthew 27:34 refers to it as “gall.” Myrrh symbolizes bitterness, suffering, and affliction.
The baby Jesus would grow to suffer greatly as a man and would pay the ultimate price when He gave His life on the cross for all who would believe in Him.
Our remarkable savior refused the gall (Matthew 27:33 – 34). He loved us enough to take on our sins FULL FORCE! Isn’t it overwhelming that even Jesus’ jubilant birth with the magi offering him awesome gifts prophetically points to his somber death on the cross which is Jesus’ gift to us?
Okay, there is a very brief explanation of the Three Kings (LOL). I absolutely LOVE the hymn “We Three Kings”. The key and the harmony are perfect, and it always sends chills down my spine and puts tears in my eyes when I hear/sing about the birth of Jesus the Christ child. Enjoy!
5 Tips on how to Keep a Youngster up on New Year’s Eve: Happy 2015
Ammon & Carter usher in 2015
5 Tips to Keep up a Youngster for New Year
1)Party! Party Hats & horns broke out around 11:00 PM New Year’s Eve kept our children engaged. We also watched the exciting sights and sounds of “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve”: A 40 year tradition for Sean and Haven.
2)Talk it up for several days beforehand. On New Year’s Eve morning, the first thing Carter said was, “Happy last day of 2014!” when he got out of bed.
3)Toast the New Year before bedtime just in case they fall asleep: Carter and Ammon knew the New Year was a special occasion when we broke out the chilled Champagne glasses and drank our Welch’s Sparkling White Grape Juice. We also joined hands and prayed for 2015 before we toasted. They loved it and kept on toasting to each other.
4)Late, lite snacks high in protein with caffeine: Ammon & Carter ate some peanut butter and crackers around 9:00 PM. Our soft drink of choice in this household is Coke Zero. Ammon & Carter drank quite a bit. Don’t worry, it was all “gone” from their systems by 12:30 AM 😉
5)Play some new,exciting game several hours before midnight. . Ammon had received a Monster High Share or Scare game. All 4 of us played. We couldn’t believe that Carter enjoyed it too. We played for over an hour, and I think it got us to about 11:00 PM!
Not the best video to watch, but the audio is great. I’ve always loved “Auld Lang Syne”…The Good Old Days. Of course when it is sung slower, it is so melancholy and lonesome, but Mariah jazzes it up and gives it that happy, new, fresh feeling that the New Year deserves.
I wish there was a better title like “The Passed Loved Ones”, because that is really what it is about for me: Daddy, Nanny, Granddaddy, Mamaw Wimpy, and my dear, dear “Adopted” Grandmother, Remell Hall. Oh, how much I miss them, and “We’ll take a cup o’ kindness for old lang syne!”
To My “Old Lang Syne” departed loved ones, Ammon, Carter, Sean, and all of you all. Happy 2015
Friends, loved-ones, and relatives, keep your eyes on Jesus every day in 2015. He is the way, the truth, and the life. If you already have a relationship with him and love him, maybe make a conscious effort to “fall in love” anew with Jesus the Christ every single day. I hope and pray that God blesses every one of you with your best, calendar year ever. With lots of love, Haven
Haven's Ideals by Haven Caylor-Brown 