Christmas 2010- handmade gifts, a missionary gift, a Christmas service project, an inspiring Christmas essay, and more...

This Christmas turned out to be by far one of the most memorable for our family.....

•  The kids loved the sibling gift exchange.  Wesley worked his little fingers choosing beads and with a little help from mommy, stringing a darling bracelet for Caroline.

Caroline spent a lot of time making a scrapbook style calendar for Christina.  She designed the pages and left spaces for Christina to add pictures each month.

Grace gave a gift of service for Thomas.  She wrote him a note saying her gift for him would be to clean his room for 5 days straight.  Depending on the day, this could be a big gift!


Thomas gave Wesley a new locomotive for a train set that Wesley is just starting to get into.


Christina found these canvas "artist trading cards" at Michael's craft store, and made a little book for Grace.  Christina has been taking a mixed media art class and she decoupaged patterned paper and a word that describes Grace, and painted designs on each page, and the "G" scrabble tile on the front is so fun.  Grace looked through the book with a huge smile on her face.  Christina also gave Grace a trip to Clay time where they'll have a little sisters artsy outing.

• We participated in a Giving Tree at church.  One of the young women and her mother organized this project and we were so thankful that they enlisted the help of the youth and volunteer drivers to deliver wrapped gifts and turkey dinners to 10 households in our area.  There were tears of joy and lots of gratitude from the recipients as they opened their doors and let us give.

• One of the young women chose sewing a blanket for every patient in the cardiac ICU at children's hospital as one of her YW projects.  We donated flannel and blankets, and helped her sew.  At home we added a few Patriots and Red Sox fleece blankets, a quilt, and 30 hand-stamped heart themed charm necklaces (1 for each CICU patient or mommy).  It ended up that we delivered the gifts today, on Christmas.  We were able to deliver the gifts to the unit secretary and speak with a couple of the kind nurses to let them know what we had to offer.  Grace gave the gifts and later told me that she felt like her heart was going to burst, it felt so good.  We all felt the significance of being in a place the Saviour would visit on Christmas Day.  We'll work something like this into our Christmases as a family tradition every year.

• On the way home we drove through Boston to see the Christmas lights  & snapped a pic of the skaters at Frog Pond.

• I heard this beautiful Christmas essay that really set the tone for the season.  Thank you, Leilani for letting me tag along at your Relief Society's wreathmaking party...

• We pitched in on a 12 Days of Christmas for the missionary in our family (he's on a Spanish speaking LDS mission in TX).  It was fun to see what the extended family pulled together.....

Day 12: 12 Spanish children's primary songs on CD (5 copies), including songs in the 2011 Sacrament Meeting primary program.  These of for Elder M to give to children he baptizes next year.

Day 11: 11 handmade cards for Elder M. to give out

Day 10: 10 inspiring talks/quotes in a binder for Elder M. to add to throughout his mission.

Day 9: 9 Christmas carols on CD

Day 8: 8 packs of hot cocoa in a mug

Day 7: A mini candy gram using 7 chocolate minis/candy

Day 6: 6 recipes in a recipe booklet

Day 5: 5 spanish CTR rings for Elder M. to give to children he teaches

Day 4: 4 packs of mints/Altoids

Day 3: stationary, envelopes, stamps, pens (this SIL also made 12 days of Christmas gift tags)

Day 2: 2 white shirts

Day 1: this was his mom's day & her free choice

We also made Elder M a huge Christmas tree out of green wrapping paper cut into huge puzzle pieces.  He assembled it on his apt. wall & then we included cut out family pictures from our extended family 2010 calendar for ornaments, plus some scriptures.

• We pitched in on quilts that Wayne's sister, Shayla made for Wayne's brother who is working over seas this Christmas, and his wife who is at home with their boys.  We also sent their family some fun things to do together during vacation.  The quilts turned out beautifully--- Shayla is an incredibly talented quilter among other things....

• Our kids loved hearing about the Christmas when my family could not afford gifts.  We were doorbell ditched and found on the porch a stocking filled with candy canes and cash.  My mom was brought to tears, although this still meant no latest gadgets, but we'd get some things we needed....like sweats!  My sister was the first to open her gift of a new pear of sweats and she SCREAMED with glee.  Her reaction set the tone for our Christmas morning and we were truly thankful for each gift we were given.  You could see the relief on my mom's face as I'm sure she had worried that we would be disappointed.  This year as we had spent more on GIVING outside our family and chose to keep things simple for our own, our children SCREAMED with glee opening a Barbie doll, new winter hats, a used iPhone with no phone or data plan, Buzz Lightyear pj's, and a stuffed platypus, real teacups and saucers to use with the Dad-built play stove and aunt-made felt food.  It felt great to fit all of our wrapping paper trash into one garbage bag, and have such a happy time exchanging gifts.

• Did I mention that the kids "slept in" and we didn't open gifts until 7am AND Wayne and I got late morning naps?  Merry Christmas to us!

Tomorrow you'll see the coolest New England pj's EVER right here on our family's blog (my model is asleep and wearing them right now).  And if we can edit a streaker, we'll have a rated G version of "The 12 Days of Christmas" for you too.   So come back soon...

Merry Christmas to you!

The Tale of the Candyland Cake

Our friend, Kayla made an incredible Candyland cake for the Young Women's girls' camp dessert auction fundraiser.

We bid and bid and bid, but lost. Grace and another little girl, A. were in tears. I invited A & her family and Kayla over for a Candyland cake making party, and then Wes' friend's mom who won the cake was so sweet to give it to us! Here's the cake & a couple guilty candy eaters the day after the auction...

We kept the cake party on the calendar.... A & her family couldn't make it, but Kayla & her husband came over for FHE & afterward Kayla helped the kids make a Candyland cake..... featuring the lollipop woods, licorice forest, peppermint forest, chocolate swamp, gumdrop mountains, candy castle, snowflake lake and the Candyland path.

We took this cake to A. & her family. A. was THRILLED to have her own Candyland cake. No more tears! Thank you, Kayla!

Preview of a family meeting on Haiti Service

"It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount

of love that is put into them that matters."

-Mother Teresa

There's nothing like viewing stark poverty and disaster to awaken one's self to deep compassion for the suffering, and gratitude for the comfortable life we have. The night after the quake in Haiti, I was watching Anderson Cooper report on the damages that were just coming to light. He spoke about areas of Haiti that already were in deep poverty which he'd visited and seen first hand- children selling mudcakes (which are exactly that- dirt/water) for FOOD. Mothers would feed mudcakes to their little ones because they were desperate to give them a full feeling in their empty stomachs. So, I'm feeling a little guilty that here I am spending hundreds of dollars a month on food for our family. I know that guilt isn't necessary, but the sorrow of the Haitians' plight has stirred up compassion in my heart and I know that as a family, we can and should help in some way. This is what our family meeting will be about when Wayne gets back tomorrow from his business trip..... What will we do as a family to help?

One thing we'll discuss is how we can help humanitarian relief long term. Our church works with the American Red Cross to offer humanitarian service wherever needed. They began sending relief supplies to Haiti soon after the earthquake (news report found HERE). Go HERE on our church website if you want to donate money to the humanitarian emergency response. You can set it up to donate any amount of $ each month. This reminded me of our monthly fast offering where we fast two meals each 1st Sunday of the month and donate the $ we would spend on those meals as a fast offering to help those in need. A couple ideas that have come to my mind to relate this to helping the people in Haiti....

• Fast a meal another time during the month & donate the money we would have spent on that meal to the Humanitarian Fund
• Have PB & J for Sunday dinner and donate the cost of a family pot roast dinner with all of the fixings.

I think we can do something along these lines to help not just one time in reaction to the earthquake, but long term to continually remind us of those in need & the opportunity we have to give. What makes this so powerful in my eyes is that this is our choice. I've talked with my kids a little about the earthquake and they are up for action, in fact Thomas' reaction was, "I want to go there and help!" I felt the same way, although we obviously will need to help, and can help from where we are in meaningful ways.

Our hearts and prayers are with the people in Haiti.

Connie's Quilt

Connie is a woman in our ward who was RS president when we moved here. She has a heart of gold. When she was released from her RS calling, she was called to be the Sunbeam teacher. Caroline was in her class. I'll never forget Connie sharing her testimony in church before her first lesson in Sunbeams, and telling the little Sunbeams that she had already been praying for them. Caroline, along with all of the Sunbeams fell in love with Connie. In January there was a little staffing shuffle in Primary, and Connie was asked to teach the CTR 7 class; Graces's class. I don't know who was more excited, Grace or me! We love Connie...I honestly think that everyone who knows Connie loves her.

A couple months ago, Connie's husband died of a sudden heart attack. The RS came together and made a beautiful quilt for Connie to show our love for her. Connie's former Sunbeams had a quilt block, as did her CTR 7 class. Our family made a quilt block with the New Testament scripture reference John 16: 20-22. Back story: I was friends with the RS president in our family's ward when my mom was sick. I was on my mission in TX at the time, and she sent a talk she gave in sacrament meeting titled, "Joy" which included this scripture. It was just what I needed, and I've held it close to my heart ever since. I know that the Lord knows how to comfort us when death takes a loved one.

I took on the task of assembling the quilt top. At the onset of this quilt project, Wayne's work hours were cut more than 50% in order for his small medical device company to stay alive while trying to secure more funding. We struggled once again with unstable employment. Putting together Connie's quilt was good medicine for me. Everyday I thought of Connie and felt reminded to embrace each day I have with my own family. Things were still challenging, but I found it healing to find a way to give of myself everyday and offer my time and resources; things I already had on hand, for someone else's comfort.

That, and it was FUN!

~Girls night out tying the quilt...gabbing so much that we missed who was voted off Dancing with the Stars...3 hours of quilt tying never went by so fast. Before we knew it, it was 10pm!

~When Kelly showed up at my house with her quilt square, and there I was in my black fleece sweats covered in white thread strands. I told her it probably wasn't a good idea to wear black fleece for this project...we laughed!

~Amy's autistic son who kept dropping in as we tied the quilt at enrichment. I loved talking with him and he even helped tie a bit while his mom was at one of the RS classes.

~Seeing all of the different thoughts and expressions of love on each quilt square was amazing.

~I loved this way of interacting with and getting to know other women...service really can bring out the best in us.

The quilt literally took over our dining room...go ahead and imagine the mess; it was real, and yet my family never complained. When women came over to bring their quilt block they looked through the stack of quilt blocks already turned in and could tell that something very special was in the making. Connie's quilt will forever be one of my favorite projects. It was one of those things that never felt like work because it was such a joy.

For more on Connie's quilt, you can drop in on our RS enrichment blog.

Sharing Time lesson: Service

For sharing time last Sunday we introduced a Primary "Giving Tree."  This Giving Tree is a follow-up to our lesson where we had the children write an act of service they did or draw a picture of a service they did as a birthday gift for President Monson (we saw that idea on Sugardoodle- thanks!).  To encourage our primary children to be service-minded all through the holiday season, and hopefully beyond, we came up with The Giving Tree.  The tree was simply painted on 2 large pieces of butcher paper taped together so that it's nice and wide as well as tall (from floor to ceiling).  The star is cut from cardstock.  I taped a garland to the tree and taped ornaments along the garland that read "Our Giving Tree."  This project is incredibly fast and easy if you use a 2" circle punch found in the scrapbook section at Michael's to make the ornaments!  I used scrapbook paper to punch LOTS of circles for the primary children to use for ornaments.  Before introducing the tree to the children, I began a lesson on service by sharing the following stories from President Monson's life....

• "The compassion and sensitivity developed in President Monson's boyhood continued to be a major part of his life when he was called to be a bishop at age 22. Bishop Monson's 67th Ward had more than 1,000 members, including 85 widows.Every Christmas the young bishop took a week of his personal vacation time to visit and bring a gift to each of the widows in his ward. He continued to visit these sisters at Christmas for the next 47 years until the last widow passed away in 1998." -"Called to Serve," New Era, May 2008, pp.2-5.
• Twenty-three-year-old Tom Monson, relatively new bishop of the Sixth-Seventh Ward in the Temple View Stake, was uncharacteristically restless as the stake priesthood leadership meeting progressed. He had the distinct impression that he should leave the meeting immediately and drive to the Veterans' Hospital high up on the Avenues of Salt Lake City. Before leaving home that night he had received a telephone call informing him that an older member of his ward was ill and had been admitted to the hospital for care. Could the bishop, the caller wondered, find a moment to go by the hospital sometime and give a blessing? The busy young leader explained that he was just on his way to a stake meeting but that he certainly would be pleased to go by the hospital as soon as the meeting was concluded.  Now the prompting was stronger than ever: "Leave the meeting and proceed to the hospital at once." But the stake president himself was speaking at the pulpit! It would be most discourteous to stand in the middle of the presiding officer's message, make one's way over an entire row of brethren, and then exit the building altogether. Painfully he waited out the final moments of the stake president's message, then bolted for the door even before the benediction had been pronounced.  Running the full length of the corridor on the fourth floor of the hospital, the young bishop saw a flurry of activity outside the designated room. A nurse stopped him and said, "Are you Bishop Monson?" "Yes," was the anxious reply. "I'm sorry," she said. "The patient was calling your name just before he passed away."  Fighting back the tears, Thomas S. Monson turned and walked back into the night. He vowed then and there that he would never again fail to act upon a prompting from the Lord. He would acknowledge the impressions of the Spirit when they came, and he would follow wherever they led him, ever to be "on the Lord's errand."  You cannot understand President Thomas S. Monson, First Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church, without understanding the repetition of such promptings in his life and the absolute loyalty with which he has kept that early promise to obey them. Indeed, his life seems something of a sacred manuscript upon which the Holy Ghost has written—and is still writing—one remarkable spiritual message after another." -Jeffrey R. Holland, "Pres. Thomas S. Monson: Man of Action, Man of Faith, Always 'on the Lord's Errand," Ensign, Feb. 1986, pg. 10.

Bear testimony of the principle of service after perhaps sharing an service-related experience of your own.  You can also intermix appropriate primary songs with the examples of "being on the Lord's errand" mentioned in the lesson.

I then introduced the Giving Tree.  The Giving Tree will be in our Primary room throughout December.  I provided ornaments for the children and they wrote recent acts of service they did (one per ornament), and then taped the ornament somewhere on the Giving Tree.  Some kids signed their ornaments and others are anonymous.  I told the children that every Sunday when they come to Primary they can write on more ornaments and add them to our tree.  By the end of the month we'll see how full and beautiful our Giving Tree looks!  If they hadn't written their note/drawn their picture of service to give to President Monson, they did that during this sharing time too.  

PS...If your primary hasn't done the letters to President Monson for his birthday yet, you can find what that is all about HERE and do this as a family.  Merry Christmas!

Interfaith Thanksgiving Service- by Thomas

*After church today, Wayne took Christina and Thomas to a local "Interfaith Thanksgiving Service."  This is Thomas' report:

The Service was at The Church of the Nativity.  The elders were there and some other people from our ward and other churches.  A rabbi read from Psalms and a Reverend read from the Bible.  Even though we go to different churches, we agree on some things like being thankful.

We were invited to light a candle and share something we were thankful for.  At first I was a little nervous because I was one of the only kids there, but when I stood up and said that I am thankful for the gospel and for what I learned in church today I felt warm in my heart.  I took a candle and went to the back of the chapel while other people said what they were thankful for too.  I heard other people say they were thankful to live in a country where we are free to share our opinions, Sister Nixon said she was thankful for their community that was so helpful when her kids were in a serious car accident, and one of our missionaries said he was thankful for his family.

Some people brought food for the local food pantry.  They also collected money for the food pantry so people that didn't have food could have food.  Dad gave them some money.

At the end we had refreshments including cinnamon buns, M&M cookies, small donuts, sparkling apple cider, and normal apple cider.

I'm really glad I went!

-Thomas

Just before he headed to bed last night, I asked Thomas which part of his baptismal covenant he kept today.  He thought about it and took some guesses.  I asked him to find the story of Alma baptizing the people at the waters of Mormon, and Thomas found Mosiah 18:8-10.  After reading these verses, Thomas said, "I stood as a witness in all places!"  I agreed and added, "Heavenly Father kept his part of the covenant today too by filling your heart with the Holy Ghost."  Thomas was obviously happy with this realization.  I asked how it feels to keep a covenant and he said, "It feels really good."  He was still smiling as he hugged me good-night and went on his way.

I sat there overwhelmed with gratitude for...

Thomas

my role as a mother

covenants

life experiences such as this that build my testimony

life experiences that build my children's testimonies

Neal, who representing our faith, has built such a relationship with the Interfaith Council that they accommodated our congregation by holding this Thanksgiving service later than usual so it wouldn't interfere with our worship services, and more of our members would be able to attend

Feelin' the Love

This morning (Thurs.) the kids were up and asking to start our M&M kindness game. M&M's first thing in the morning....what a cool mom! I gave each child a small Zip-loc bag filled with 3 handfuls of M&Ms....and the kindness began.  It was interesting to see that the first effect of our kindness game was that immediately the kids thought more before they spoke.
KINDNESS: We are not all going to agree on everything, and we can get on each other's nerves, but when we think of how to communicate in a kind way, and THEN speak with KIND intent, the underlying love we have for one another shines through.
When I dropped Grace and Thomas off at school, rather than their usual scuffle out of the car, Thomas cheered on Grace, "Come on, Grace, let's do this thing!"  And off they ran to meet up with their classmates.

After school conversations were a continuation of thoughtfulness I overheard this morning.  There were a couple Grace/Caroline tiffs over a sticker book, but next thing I knew they were complimenting each other on their artwork and expressing gratitude that they were sisters.

Christina radiated happiness.  She came home from school excited to show me the DNA she discovered from an onion on her field trip to a local lab today.  How cool is that?!  Beyond her good day at school, Christina was simply happy.  She helped the kids play the M&M game.  She started making plans for a gift basket for a friend at church.

I made tortellini chicken soup for dinner with melted Parmesan wafers on top....perfect for the rainy day we had today.  I caught up with an old mission friend on the phone....made my day!

A funny thing happened just before dinner....

I overheard Thomas complimenting Grace and consequently give her an M&M.  "Have another!" he said, followed by, "You know what, you can have all of my M&M's if you want!"  He dumped his M&M's into Grace's bag.  Grace was all smiles.  A few minutes later she brought the refill bag over to Thomas and gave him the rest of the bag of M&M's.

I could tell Thomas really caught on, so I asked him to offer the blessing on our dinner.  He was full of gratitude, "...We're thankful for the joy and happiness we feel."

Our discussion over dinner centered on our KINDNESS GAME....

• No one could remember the specific things they did for others, they just knew they tried to be nice.
• Our home felt peaceful.
• When I asked Thomas how he felt when he gave away all of his M&M's he said, "I felt happy!!"  I asked him if he missed his M&M's and he said, "Not at all!  But then Grace came up to me and gave me lots more!"  Which led to our next observation...
• When someone is kind to us, it makes us want to be a kinder person.
• Being kind is FUN!
• We should be kind everyday.
• When we are kind we are being true to who we really are...a Child of God.

For scripture reading, I read, 4 Nephi 1:15...

"And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people."

Happy World Kindness Day!

World Kindness Day

Did you know that November 13, 2008 is World Kindness Day? Among all of the depressing news, the reminder of this "holiday" stood out to me as a timely ray of sunshine.  As I thought of what to do, I naturally thought of how I could teach our children an aspect of kindness that they could internalize and take with them into the world to share.

Here's my plan: Each child will start the day with "x" amount of M&M's.  When they say a kind word or do an act of kindness to a member of our family, they give an M&M to that person.  What do you think will happen?  Anything goes, but I'm hoping that when we come together Thursday night to discuss how things went (& top off sundaes with our M&M's), our kids will have learned a good lesson or two about the miracles wrought by KINDNESS.  

How will you celebrate?  Spread the word!

"There is no end to the good we can do, to the influence we can have with others. Let us not dwell on the critical or the negative. Let us pray for strength; let us pray for capacity and desire to assist others. Let us radiate the light of the gospel at all times and all places, that the Spirit of the Redeemer may radiate from us.

In the words of the Lord to Joshua...“be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God [will be] with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Josh. 1:9)." 

- Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley

Pres. Hinckley's entire talk, "The Need for Greater Kindness," is found HERE.

Free Digikit and an opportunity to Serve

Visit Summertime Designs for a beautiful free digikit called "Gratitude." Digiscrap artist, Summer Driggs, wrote a heartfelt post explaining that the inspiration for this kit was  a family whose 7 month old daughter, Bree was just diagnosed with cancer and started chemo yesterday. Their attitude is one of gratitude, and Summer's post quoting Bree's mother is a must read.  The digikit is FREE and there's a paypal link for donations which will go to this family.

Why I go to Church

Last Sunday I was feeling unusually optimistic.  It looked like we had a shot of not just being on time, but being EARLY for church.  Since Wayne has started leaving several hours before us for meetings on Sunday, I admit I've missed his helping hands in the process of getting the kids ready and out the door for church.  I need to plan better, and hope my feelings don't come across as complaining, but rather show that behind a seemingly put together sister at church, there's an honest to goodness work in progress.

Back to Sunday...Both Grace and Caroline have a plethora of shoes, but when it came time to throw on A pair (we're not picky at this point on Sun.) a match was nowhere to be found.  Snow boots was sounding like an option.  The whining accelerated.  Wesley, who had just woken from his nap was cranky due to too many teeth coming in for his comfort.  The thought crossed my mind that Primary could run without me today.  The answer was yes, but I thought, "No...We'd come this far today.  Shoes and whining will not be my defeat." I felt like my heart and soul went into autopilot, we got ourselves together, shoes and all, and headed to church.  There was a serious scolding in the car, and lots of silence during our 25 minute drive.  I wish I could say it was the Peaceful kind of quiet.  I silently prayed that I would see why I come to church.  I knew the answer, but I felt a desire for a reminder.  The impression came to mind, "You are needed."  

We got to church just as it started, a record for the past couple months!  I was feeling good about that.  Wayne was with the YM helping with the sacrament, so I sat down with the kids.  Opening hymn started and so did Wesley.  He wouldn't sit still and had way too much to say.  I took him to the lobby wondering how the four kids I left behind would do until Wayne could come sit with them.  I admit feeling frustrated...we didn't make it through 5 minutes in the chapel!  As I sat there, out of the chapel walked my friend and her screaming toddler.  We commiserated for a few minutes.  She had a morning similar to mine.  We hoped our kids were doing well in the chapel. {I felt I had good reason to be concerned after Thomas whacked Christina over the head with The Friend magazine during Sacrament Mtg. a few months back.  We were sitting in the second row...not my proudest mommy moment!}  In those few minutes in the lobby with my friend...it felt good to be understood and to be understanding.

I took the sacrament in the lobby with Wesley.  We found Jesus in the beautiful paintings on the walls around us.  I was glad that one painting depicted Christ in Gethsemane. Gratitude.

Wesley went to nursery and seemed to dive right in, so I darted to Primary to conduct Opening Exercises.   The kids sang "Called to Serve" for the opening song, and I felt strengthened by their resounding voices.  "God our strength shall be, Press forward ever, Called to serve our King!"

Sharing time involved a visit from Sister Friendly.  Oh my, the kids adore her!  She wears an apron with surprises in the pockets and during her lesson she calls on reverent kids to pick a surprise.  She shared sweet experiences about personal service, and when she bore testimony saying, "It is a blessing to be here to serve," the Spirit swelled in my heart.  I was in the right place.  The children sang "If the Savior Stood Beside Me."  Their angelic voices carried the message of the song and lifted my spirits once more.  Our chorister bore testimony and I felt thankful to be there.  The kids enjoyed a "popcorn party" for their wonderful singing over the past couple months in preparation for the Primary Program coming up in 2 weeks.  While the kids ate, I enjoyed visiting a bit with my friends who are also serving in primary.  I serve among talented, wise, spiritual giants.  A few minutes of "sisterhood" was wonderful.

Church concluded.  We made it, and I was feeling strengthened and inspired to make next Sunday morning run smoother.  I found Wesley's teacher and she said he was a little cranky throughout nursery, but bless their hearts for keeping him there and loving him for 2 hours!  I am so very thankful for those who nurture my children during church.  They are tremendous.  Heaven forbid any one of them have a morning like mine and decide to stay home...they are so needed!

And so it is...the Sunday morning scenario may never run perfectly smoothly at my house, but I do this each week because I said I would.  

I said that I would stand as a witness.  I said that I would consecrate my time and talents to the Lord's work.  I said that I would use my divine role as a mother to help my children build the sure foundation of their testimonies.  I said I would lead.  I said I would serve.  All of these commitments I have made throughout my existence, because I BELIEVE, and it feels good to fulfill these sacred promises, even despite my shortcomings.  It feels good to keep my word.  Although last Sunday I did not sit through a lesson taught by a teacher at church, it felt good to accumulate recharging moments when the Spirit bore witness to me of truth...through the voices of the children, the testimonies of leaders, and support of sisters.  Isn't it interesting....I go to church to give because of my faith, but I come away filled because of my faith.  Amid my moments of frustration, my Savior is The Peacegiver, offering evidence time and time again of why I go to church and why I BELIEVE.  I am ever thankful.

"And the church did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls.

And they did meet together oft to partake of the bread and wine, in remembrance of the Lord Jesus.

And their meetings were conducted by the church after the manner of the workings of the Spirit, and by the power of the Holy Ghost; for as the power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, or to exhort, or to pray, or to supplicate, or to sing, even so it was done." -Moroni 6:5-6, 9

To Mom Love Grace

Grace left me this surprise on my desk today....

...made my day!

Blueberry Crêpes

This delicious crêpe recipe comes from The Patriot Inn, Olde Town Portsmouth, VA and is found in the Virgina B&B Cookbook that my brother & SIL, who live in VA gave me for Christmas last year.  I'm tempted to try and live off crêpes....my favorite are filled with fresh berries and whipped cream, topped with a dusting of powdered sugar.  What's your favorite?  Grace and Thomas weren't fans of the blueberry version, but are open to other ideas.  Caroline and I took some extra crêpes, whipped cream and blueberries down the street to our new neighbors with our contact info, the crêpe recipe, and directions to Tougas Farm in case they want to go pick berries, peaches, and/or apples.

Here's the crêpe recipe.  I'm including the B&B's filling, although we just used fresh blueberries we picked at Tougas Farm.

Cherry & Strawberry Crêpes

Crêpes:

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

4 eggs

5 1/3 Tbls. butter, melted

2 cups milk

Filling:

1 (20 oz.) can cherry pie filling

1 (10 oz.) package frozen sliced sweetened strawberries

Whipped cream

Crêpes:  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In a large bowl, beat eggs.  Add flour mixture to eggs and mix well.  Stir in butter, then stir in milk.  If time allows, let batter stand for 30 minutes in order to yield more tender crêpes.

Pour 1/2 cup of batter into a crêpe pan or a skillet over medium heat.  With a quick wrist action, swirl batter to cover bottom of pan.  Cook until light brown on first side, turn and cook the other side for just a few seconds.

Filling:  Fill each crêpe with pie filling and strawberries (reserve some pie filling and strawberries for topping crêpes).  Fold up crêpes.  Put 3 crêpes on each of 6 plates.  Top with whipped cream, a little pie filling and a few strawberries to serve.

Bon Appétit!

Let's Help

I have no connection to Stephanie and Christian Nielson, but I have read the story of their recent plane accident on many blogs I subscribe to and follow.  The pilot died following the crash, and Christian and Stephanie are facing long-term burn recovery (his burns cover 30% of his body & hers cover 80% of her body).  They have 4 small children who are being cared for by family in UT.  Like I said, I don't know this family, but my heart goes out to them.  I am in awe of the compassion and force that is rallying to their aid.  I plan on joining in.  Stephanie's sister's blog, cjanerun is beautifully written, and she points you where to go and what to do if you're interested in helping out the Nielson family.  Many websites and bloggers are holding auctions and fundraising efforts with proceeds going to the Nielson Recovery Fund.  Designmom will list a host of sites participating in auctions tomorrow, Aug. 28, dubbed "Nie Nie Day."

The Healing Power of Oreos

When there is an argument between any of our children, everything stops (for them) and they are sent to privately talk through things.  Fun does not resume for either of them until they have worked through their issue(s).  Sometimes this can take a while because one person is more willing to talk than another.  This was the case today with Christina and Thomas.

An argument erupted between Christina and Thomas while they played Mario Cart and Thomas lost his temper.  Game Cube was turned off and Thomas was really upset.  I sent them to work things out and Thomas clearly did not want to talk, so Christina had to wait...and wait...and wait.  Next thing I knew they both came up to me and said they had talked things out.  I took them both to my room and sat down to talk with them since this kind of thing has been happening a little too often with these two, and I thought we aught to talk about preventing such reoccurances.

We had a prayer.  I was touched that Thomas prayed that we would have the Spirit during our talk.  Thomas started to recount the argument.  He recalled how he flipped out and went off to be by himself and cool down.  He said, "When Christina first came to me to talk, I didn't feel like talking.  When she came back the second time, I still didn't want to talk, but then she came back with Oreos, and I listened to her."

How brilliant is that?  I mean, really!  I've always essentially commanded and expected attention in situations like this where I've needed to talk things out.  I've never thought of extending a physical olive branch...something as simple as an Oreo cookie...to show my underlying love, and to break down some of the hurt and anger.  Thank you, Christina.  I'm going to remember this lesson forever.

Today's harvest & 2 family favorite recipes

Thomas' friend, Ben, did a fabulous job of tending our little garden while we were off criss-crossing the USA.  We came home and our tomatoes were growing so well.  The tomatoes are still green, but there are growing in abundance.  Note to self: put the tomato cages up when you plant.  I recruited all of my little helpers today to help me get the cages around our tomatoes so they can grow tall and thrive.  Together we got the job done.

While Thomas was helping me set up a tomato cage we related it to the gospel.

mom: What's the purpose of the tomato cage?

Thomas: To help the tomatoes grow tall and strong.

mom: How can we relate the cage to the gospel?  What about the gospel helps us grow tall and strong and be the best we can be?

Thomas:  The scriptures, the prophet, teachers, prayer, repentance....

mom: Each of those things could be like a piece of the cage, all of which help us be our best, meaning who God created us to be.

Thomas: Yeah.

Caroline helped me clean our first crop: scallions.
 
They look yummy and smell so good.  My first thought was potato salad, but my waistline wouldn't appreciate that.  Diet can start tomorrow, right?  I asked Caroline what we should use the green onions for and she said, "Onion salad."  I asked her what's in onion salad, and she said, "Onions, carrots & celery."  Of course!

Wayne's steak tip marinade for his Camp Joseph meat/veggie kabobs sound like a great, healthy option for our scallions...maybe with some potato salad on the side:)

Wayne's Camp Joseph Beef Kabob Merinade:

1/2 Cup olive oil, 1/3 Cup Soy sauce, 4 scallions, washed and cut in 1/2, 2 large garlic cloves, minced, 1/4 Cup lime juice, 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp. cumin, 3 Tbsp. brown sugar.  Put all ingredients in blender and puree.  Pour into a large Freezer Zip-loc bag along with about 3 pounds cubed serloin tips.  Merinade for several hours.  Grill with veggies of choice.

Grandma Ellsworth's Potato Salad:

Note:  After tasting several sisters' renditions of this salad, I realize that my pouring pickle juice liberally from the jar makes for a rather pickley, less creamy potato salad.  I had no idea you could ease up and make this salad creamy.  So, just an option to remember.  I think my mom liked pickles too, because I never had a creamy version of this salad until I tasted my sister-in-laws' versions.  I was fascinated:)  You know, the more I talk about this salad, the better it sounds!

Another Note: I come from a family of 12.  This recipe served all of us easily.

Dressing:

1 Cup mayo

1 Cup sour cream

1/4 cup chopped green onions

6-8 chopped pickles

salt and pickle juice to taste (like I said, I'm liberal at this point, but the salad will be creamier if you're not as pickle crazy as I am)

Mix together and chill in refrigerator.

Salad:

9-12 boiled potatoes (I use 12 if they are small/med. red potatoes & less if they are larger potatoes), chopped

8 hard boiled egg, chopped

Let potatoes and eggs cool a bit.  Add dressing.  Mix.  Chill.  Serve.