Hello, friends!

I thought maybe now was as good a time as any to rebirth my grandma Arlene's locally-famous column, "Bits 'n Pieces."

If there is one thing that I know to be true, it's that we have a lot to be thankful for in our little corner of the world. Sharing that joy in some of the simplest ways, from recipes and riddles to jokes and announcements, is something I am excited to offer in this column, just like my grandma did years ago. Except now, she can enjoy reading it instead of writing.

This past week at Bethlehem Lutheran Church we had the beautiful holy baptism of Nash Roghair, son of Nick and Brittanee Roghair. It is always a joy to see the congregation come together to welcome and stand in faith as the new church family and supporter of the newly baptized. A reception followed the service with refreshments offered in the fellowship hall in celebration of the event.

This past week, my little family headed to Sioux City for a weekend getaway as the girls finished off their week-long hiatus from school during Spring Break. We were lucky enough to have the circus in town at the same time, and thus headed to Tyson Events Center to watch the beloved Abu Bekr Shrine Circus.

The event had my husband and I reminiscing about going to the circus during our elementary years at CC/E, and how much the circus has changed since then. The girls enjoyed it immensely. Josh and I enjoyed watching their eyes light up at all of the acrobatic and animal performance feats. There truly is something magical about the circus.

Last week and this past Monday, the girls and I enjoyed the few warm days we've had this spring by heading to the Royal Little League Diamond. The diamond hasn't been used by little leaguers in quite some time, however it is still used during Royal Fun Days during adult slow pitch tournaments and by the random families like us that head there to get in some extra practices before little league games begin. The circus may bring some mystifying magic to our world, but there is a different sort of magic that one feels on the ball diamond. Add in being a coaching parent and having softball be my "sport of choice," and it's a different "ball game" of magic altogether. Life is good.

My dad is a lover of the worst "Dad Jokes" of all time. He thinks they're hilarious and we laugh at how much he loves them. Here is an awful dad joke for you: "Why do fathers take an extra pair of socks when they go golfing?" Answer: "In case they get a hole in one." (I know...it's terrible.)

Last but certainly not least, I wanted to share with you one of my grandma's favorite recipes from our beloved Hope Lutheran Church Cookbook. Years ago, my grandparents gave each of us grandkids both the new and old version of the HLC cookbook. As if that wasn't gift enough, they wrote in each book, noting which recipes were their favorites, which recipes they'd made for us that we love, and any notes needed to give each recipe that special grandma touch.

I chose this as the first recipe to share because it is highlighted as "Good and Quick" in my grandma's beautiful cursive writing and because of its title. Being that this is the week that we as Christians praise our King Jesus for our salvation, I thought this was a fitting first recipe. Enjoy!

King's Bar by: Viola Wilken

First Layer:

½ c. brown sugar, firmly packed

½ c. butter

1 c. flour

Second Layer:

2 eggs

1 c. brown sugar

1 ½ tsp. vanilla

2 Tbls. Flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

6 oz. package chocolate chips

1 c. nuts (optional)

First Layer: Cream brown sugar and butter, then blend in flour. Pat into 9x13 pan and bake 10 minutes at 325 degrees. Second layer: Beat eggs, then add brown sugar, vanilla, flour, baking powder and salt. Mix all together and spread over baked first layer. Sprinkle over top 6 oz. pkg of chocolate chips and 1 c. nuts. The chips will form a layer in the middle as they bake. Bake 20-25 min.

Sentinel-News contributor Iesha Toft lives in Royal.