The Sparrow's Home: Life is hard. God is good. We need each other.

Healthy Chocolate Mousse

July 5, 2016 by Susan 16 Comments

Easy, healthy chocolate mousse recipe that starts with a can of coconut cream. Fluffy, creamy and decadent. A dollop of cream tops it perfectly!

Would you like to hear a funny story about chocolate mousse?

One Christmas I decided to get fancy with dessert. Not only did I want to wow everyone with a decadent chocolate mousse, but I had visions of piping it into dishes like a pastry chef.

I made the mousse the day before Christmas, and I must say…it was outstanding. Just as rich and decadent, light and fluffy as you might imagine. Because I wanted to pipe it out, I decided to store the mousse directly in the Ziploc bags I’d be using instead of piping bags, which I did not have.

Fast forward to dessert time. Taking my bags out of the fridge, I thought they felt a bit heavy. All of the air that I had painstakingly incorporated into this fluffy dessert was gone and I was left with bags of a dense, fudge-like substance. Not to be deterred, I set about my piping.

One Pastor’s Observation

June 29, 2016 by Susan 6 Comments

What do you think this pastor said creates most of the problems that come through his door? The answer might surprise you!

For the past 9 years, every June, my family spends a week in Indiana at Midwest Family Camp, held at lovely Camp Mack on Lake Waubee. Last week was that week!

During our first worship service, I prayed that God would direct my conversations for the week. I so look forward each year to good conversation with people who make me better. I prayed that God would lead who I talked to and what we talked about, that I would hear and receive what I needed to and that I would share with others what He wanted me to.

Fried Ice Cream Sundaes

June 28, 2016 by Susan Leave a Comment

I remember going to Chi-Chi’s Mexican restaurant when I was a kid. Every once in a while my parents would treat us to a dessert and we would each get a spoon to dig in to the shared order of fried ice cream. The novelty factor was certainly part of the enjoyment. Ice cream that is fried in hot oil?! But it was the perfect mix of crunchy and creamy, hot and cold, spicy and sweet that was the real homerun.

Most homemade fried ice cream recipes involve rolling individually frozen balls of vanilla ice cream into crushed cornflakes. Some of the more authentic ones actually fry the balls in hot oil. I’ll bet they are delicious, albeit time consuming.

I didn’t set out to develop a recipe for fried ice cream, it was a child of necessity. (Well, not necessity…want). You might call it “the lazy person’s fried ice cream.” I call it

Fried Ice Cream Sundaes

DIY After-Sun Cooling Spray

June 27, 2016 by Susan 2 Comments

I love summer. I love the freedom it brings to our schedule, and all the green, the summer camps and the warmth that soaks everything.

But I haaaaaate being hot and sweaty. The hottest I’ve ever been was in August in Louisiana getting into a car with vinyl seats that had been shut up for hours in the sun. I’m pretty sure if anyone had touched me I would have gone clinically insane.

I could’ve used this cooling spray. I would’ve paid big for this cooling spray.

And not only is it cooling for those hot and sweaty days, but it is an amazing soother for sunburned skin.

Audiobooks for Your Next Road Trip

June 22, 2016 by Susan 6 Comments

It’s summertime and we’re on the road again, as the song says. My family has a couple of annual camps that we attend each summer, both of which are over 10 hours away. I’ll be sharing some of what I learn at each one sometime soon. But what I want to talk about today is one way we like to pass the time in the car.

We love to listen to audiobooks!

Of course we have time on trips that we sleep, talk, listen to music (or musicals), or the boys play video games…but we also always have at least one audiobook along that we listen to. We frequently find them at our library to check out, but have been known to borrow them from friends and purchase them ourselves as well.

I thought I’d share some of our favorites that you might enjoy with your family.Continue Reading

Road Trip Snacks and a Cookie Recipe for the Trip

June 20, 2016 by Susan 1 Comment

We’re into that time of year for summer camps and family road trips. In fact, this week we’re at the annual Midwest Family Camp we attend in Indiana. I am always looking for ideas for road trip snacks that travel well. Every time we go somewhere, I get online and search, hoping that I’ll see something that will really “wow” my family. I don’t know that we’ve hit “wow”, but we have settled into some standards that have come to be expected.

I will say, that along with these make-ahead snacks, we also each have our go-to convenience store snacks that we pick up along the way. Mine is Cheddar Cheese Combos. The only time I ever eat them is on road trips, I’ve never once purchased them aside from on trips. But when I travel I crave them.