First Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 9:6

6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

After decorating and getting our tree up last night, I felt a little more 'christmasy' (more pictures to come). I guess it really doesn't take all that much. I do love this time of year. But most of all, I love the rich depth we find in remembering Jesus Christ's birth, and all the exciting prophecies of old leading up to it.

This morning, we reflected over these things with some passages of Scripture H had pulled out. It touched me even more deeply this time upon reading because we are going through Matthew in BSF this year. All the new things I am learning through the training I am receiving and through teaching these kids is extremely precious.

I had risen early and made Mandelkrans (*see previous post) and we lit our first candle in our red candle wreath that I uncovered in our unpacking ;) (A little red spray paint made it look more festive.)

Oh yes, a little about the Mandelkrans -

I felt like I was wrestling the dough for 15 minutes of tiring kneading and pulling, stretching and rolling. The dough was just not how I expected it would be. But it finally became malleable enough for me to drape over a bundt pan and fill with a crushed almond and craisin mixture. It tasted delicious. It was a lot of work though ;)

I think next Sunday I am going to try this recipe I saw on Rachel Ray last week :) Looks a little easier - and I love french toast!

French Toast Cups with Fresh Fruit and Cream

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• Dash of vanilla extract, optional
• Dash of fresh nutmeg, optional
• 8 slices white or wheat sandwich bread
• 1 pint fresh berries such as strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries
• Whipped cream

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Spray the inside of each cup of a 6-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg. Cut a slit in the corner of each slice of bread from the middle of the slice to the edge.

Dip each slice of bread in the egg mixture then lightly press it into a cup of the muffin tin, overlapping the pieces where you cut the slit to make it fit into the cup without tearing.

Bake the French toast cups for 12-14 minutes, until they're light golden brown.

Allow the cups to cool slightly in the muffin tin before removing them. To serve, arrange the cups on a platter and fill each one with fresh fruit and top with whipped cream.

Hope you had a blessed Sabbath!