moving to tumblr...cherry blossoms in washinton DC
The meaning of easter for my children...
lots of friends..
lots of easter eggs...
lots of chocolate and candies...
;)all these are also a gift from God.
the meaning of easter; the meaning of life; the cornerstone of christianity
My question - that which at the age of fifty brought me to the verge of suicide - was the simplest of questions, lying in the soul of every man...a question without an answer to which one cannot live. It was:'What will come of what I am today and tomorrow? What will come of my whole life? Why should i live, why wish for anything, or do anything?' It can also be expressed thus: Is there any meaning in my life that the inevitable death awaiting me does not destroy? - Leo Tolstoy, A Confession
17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles[c] off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[d] Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (John 11:17 - 27)
The Resurrection
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus'[a] head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple,who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.
Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene (John 20:1-18)
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her,“Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,[b] “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31)
Brazilian carrot cake with brigadeiro frosting and a princess play date
This is a long overdue post and i finally found time to share this wonderful recipe after 13 days of traveling in th States!
A month ago, my Brazilian friend left a comment about the Patricia Scarpin's Brazilian Carrot cake in my previous post: Spring and flu. Shortly after my daughter and hubby have recovered from their illnesses, she kindly invited me and my girls to her place for a play date and tea to celebrate the recovery of flu!
I was so grateful for her! She not only baked the delicious cake for us, but also shared her recipe which she got from her grandma with me and with you! S is a talented interior designer with good taste and a good eye and one can easily tell by just observing the things around her house. :) You can follow her on pininterest here.
The girls and i had so much fun and cake too! It's very different from what we are used to: with grated carrot, walnut, spices and cream cheese maple syrup frosting! This brazilian carrot cake does not contain any spices or nuts. It's clean tasting, light and moist!
The brigadeiro frosting is sooo nice and reminds me of the old school coffee shop coffee in Singapore where condensed milk is used to sweeten the coffee!
Ingredients:
03 medium size carrots (if you use those small organic ones, you can put 04)
04 eggs
01 cup of canola oil
02 cups of sugar
02 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
01 table spoon of baking powder
Method:
1. Pre heat the oven at 350F and grease the bundt cake tin with butter or line 2 twelve-holes muffin trays with cupcake cases
2. Peel the carrots and cut them into manageable pieces
3. Blend the carrots, oil, eggs and sugar in a blender(you may add one cup of sugar at a time)until you get a smooth cream
4. Pour the cream into a large mixing bowl and mix in the sifted flour and baking soda
Mix well
5. Pour the mixture into the bundt cake tin and bake for 35 minutes or until golden
For cupcakes, bake for about 20 to 25 mins
How to make the brigadeiro frosting:
Buvette: a cafeteria; a bar
Breakfast at buvette
The high line, New York
We went to this beautiful park that was once an elevated railway track used to transport meat throughout the town during the first quarter of 1900. It was built as a result of too many deaths from ground level railway.
We were amazed by how this abandoned track could be transformed into a beautiful and modern park that cuts through the city of manhattan: it not only gives its visitors a good view of the city among the beautiful vegetation and flowers but also a glimpse of the city's historical past! What's even more amazing is that this is a result of a community driven project and not a government one!
It was such a pleasant walk at the park this morning!
art and craft: Lizzie's ballon pig
Anyway, it's also interesting that we can have a glimpse of what's in Lizzie's mind by looking at the things she make. Sometimes, the stuff she makes surprise us! I'm also beginning to think that she's an introvert and art and craft helps her to express herself. I used to think that it's better to be an extrovert rather than an introvert. But my husband told me recently that being an introvert is not a bad thing according to the book quiet that reveals the power of introverts!
ok enough of my digression above, lizzie made a balloon miss piggy this afternoon using the paper flower and celery rose print that we made previously!
I thought her piggy's set of shiny teeth was really funny! But Lizzie was super proud of it! In her eyes, this piggy is a real beauty!!!!! How interesting!
art and craft: celery rose print!
I didn't have an ink pad so we used paint. To have a clear pattern, just coat the end of the stems with a thin layer of paint, press it hard against the paper to spread the stems out a little to create more distinct rose petals. :)
It was fun!
the things i do with my girls
Finally, the big kid (my hubby) and small kid (my eldest daughter)are fit to go to school again! But when Lizzie was still very ill, we stayed at home a lot. The children not only watched a lot of cartoons on netflix, but also baked a lot and did a lot of art and crafts with me! I was glad that i had so much junk at home!
We baked cookies with wholemeal flour, brown sugar, nonfat milk, light olive oil and almond flour. I mix the ingredients and divided the dough so that they eat what their hands touched and we don't share the virus!! hahaha...
The cookies weren't' great! But the girls loved the cookies they cut out and ate them all up! Strange! Lizzie loved the cookies she made...they were snowman cookies she said...and sa sa tried to make her cookies like her big sister!
My favorite activity was making the clock! We had a mini quiz after they finished making their clocks! They liked their clocks so much that they pasted their clock next to their bed and lizzie would teach her younger sister how to turn the hour and minute hands just before tucking into bed!
Then we also made flowers out of my cupcake cases...i enjoyed it but not the kids as they couldn't figure out how to so they abandoned me to go upstairs to play after a while!
