The Power of Words

During school today, I presented my daughter with these two spoons. The one on the left has coffee grounds, a chunk of old toast, empty grape vine and a strip of fruit snack wrapper. The other had honey.

Me: "Which would you like to eat?"
Noelle: (after giving me a quizzical look) "The one with the honey."
Me: "Why?"
Noelle: "Because it is sweet and looks good."
Me: (Wiggling the garbage spoon a bit) "Well, why don't you want this one?"
Noelle: "Because it is yucky and full of gross stuff."
Me: "Where do you think I got this stuff?"
Noelle: "Um...from the garbage?"
Me: "Right! God says in Proverbs 16:24, "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."

We had a great conversation about how important it is to speak good and kind words to people, because people don't want to hear meanness and other garbage coming out of our mouth. I think this was a very powerful lesson that she will always remember!

Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (6 oz)

Directions
Heat oven to 350F. In large bowl, stir brown sugar and butter until blended. Stir in vanilla and egg until light and fluffy. Stir in oats, flour, baking soda and salt; stir in chocolate chips. Onto ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Notes
I give this recipe a 5-star rating! I had all of the ingredients on hand, and I only had to dirty one bowl. The cookies were flavorful and had the perfect blend of chewy and crispiness. It would be very simple to substitute a cup of raisins instead of the chocolate chips too! This one is definitely going to the front of the cookie section in my recipe box!

Our Newest Family Member

Meet our new kitten! At first glance, he appears to be a black kitten, but in the sunlight he is a rich, dark espresso brown. He has a sweet disposition and is very tolerant of the children fussing over him. His name is Truffle.