Fall Hymn Sing

The worship pastor at our church does incorporate the occasional hymn on Sunday mornings but I realized Allison wasn't going to really learn the old hymns well if she didn't hear them a bit more often. So we started a quarterly 'Hymn Sing' this month. We invited a handful of friends over and Mark put together a collection of well known hymns. We sang them. Allison & the other kids danced and ran around. We're not sure how much they absorbed but we will keep trying! I enjoy having the opportunity to sing some of my favorite songs as well. We're looking forward to our future quarterly gatherings. Here are some pictures of Allison dancing....

And Benji Boy playing with the remote...he actually was probably the best behaved kiddo of the night. He sat rather quietly on his chair. Way to go Benji!

And to wrap up the evening I made Nanaimo Bars from scratch (and learned all sorts of history about the Canadian Nanaimo bar which I then repeated to my Canadian co-worker the next day, much to her amusement since she already knew all about them!). I used this Nanaimo Bars III recipe from AllRecipes.com (I used vanilla pudding instead of custard powder). They were fantastic! And I pulled out the Hot Apple Cider recipe given to me by my dear friend Myra who now lives in a climate that is much too warm for hot cider. Here is her recipe, it was quite the hit. I skipped the rum, it was a hymn sing after all! That and we don't have any around here.

Myra's Hot Apple Cider

2 qts Apple Cider
3/4 to 1 c. Lemon Juice Concentrate
1 c. firmly packed Brown Sugar
8 whole Cloves
2 Cinnamon Sticks
3/4 c. Rum (optional)

In a large saucepan combine all ingredients (except rum). Bring to boil. Reduce heat & simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove spices and add rum just before serving (if desired).

So Jodi, Mel, Claire & Cara Lynn, I can now say you have the recipes you asked for!