A lesson from the scriptures

We were studying the feeding of the five thousand in seminary the other day. I love that story. Five thousand plus people were all fed with only five loaves of barley and two small fishes. Yet somehow it was not only enough but there were twelve baskets of food left over.

I have been thinking about that story and how it might relate to life in general and in particular to the Christmas season. It seems there is so much to do to get ready for Christmas day and especially this year, so many people in need. I feel pulled in many different directions, and so lacking in my abilities to do everything that needs to be done and to assist all those who need assistance. But perhaps the lesson for me in this story is this . . . you give what you can, and somehow the Lord makes it be not only enough, but more joy comes back into your life than you yourself give to others. Just a thought . . . for our journeys.

And the journey begins . . .

Life is marked by certain events. Birth, of course, starts us on our journey, then in our church we have baptism at the age of eight, marriage comes later and eventually death. Of course there are many other exciting milestones in between, but these are some of the more important ones.

On November 30, our family participated in one of these life markers when my son Ryan married his sweetheart Kali, in the Mesa, Arizona temple for both time and eternity. We love Kali and are thrilled to have her in our family. Besides being a wonderfully sweet and kind young woman, we also joke she adds some much needed genes to our family gene pool. First-- she is short. Short isn’t necessarily better, but my shortest daughter is 5’7” and the other three are 5’9” so short just isn’t a word we relate to. And she is a size 2, proving that life just isn’t fair. The last time I wore a size 2 it had a large T after the number and even then I was probably only 12 months old.

With one week of marriage behind them they are learning what life is really all about—work, school, paying bills and taking care of their dog. Here are a few pictures of the big event.

While taking their engagement pictures at a park these nuns walked by. We joke we had hired them as chaperons.

This picture is a little blurry but I still like it because it shows the joy on their faces.

Here we are with the entire family who attended the wedding (on my side, my husband's family had left already). It was fun to be together for the celebration.

And here were are at the reception waiting for the fun to begin. I thought the room was beautifully decorated and the entire evening enchanting!

Congratulations Kali and Ryan. And may you always find . . . joy in your journey!

What kind of pie are you?

I took this quiz and came out mud pie. I really think I am apple though--and not at all mud pie. I don't even like mud pie. But my girls were described perfectly in theirs, so if you are bored and curious go to the link below. (Sorry I haven't learned how to do it so you just have to "click here")

You Are Mud Pie

You're the perfect combo of flavor and depth.You are overpowering and dominant - and that's what people like about you.You bring energy and a new direction to most interactions.People crave you in a serious way. You're that important to them.Those who like you give into their impulses.You don't represent reason. You represent pure temptation.People get addicted to you rather easily. You offer people a dark side that is very hard to resist.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofpieareyouquiz/

Best Ever Banana Bread

If you are looking for something besides fudge to give to your neighbors this year, you might want to try this recipe for banana bread. It is the best I have ever had. Enjoy!

Banana Bread

2 1/4 C Flour
1 2/3 C. Sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 C shortening
2/3 C buttermilk (no substitutes)
3 eggs
1 1/4 C mashed bananas
2/3 C nuts (optional)
3 oz package vanilla instant pudding

Mix together and pour batter into two well greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 35-45 minutes or longer until golden brown.You will love it!

Tis the Season . . .

I love Christmas! I love getting Christmas cards, shopping for just the right gift for someone I love and even holiday baking. I love the family Christmas parties, having my children come home and especially celebrating the birth of our Savior. But I know it can also be a stressful time so here are a few quotes to bring a smile to your face if you are feeling the stress of the season, more than the joy of it.

A Christmas candle is a lovely thing; it makes no noise at all, but softly gives itself away; while quite unselfish, it grows small. Eva K. Logue

A Christmas shoppers complaint is one of long-standing. Unknown

A goose never voted for an early Christmas. Irish saying

A three-year-old gave this reaction to her Christmas dinner. "I don't like the turkey, but I like the bread he ate."

In the old days it was not called the Holiday Season. The Christians called it "Christmas "and went to church. The Jews called it "Hanukka" and went to synagogue. The atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say, "Merry Christmas!" or "Happy Hanukka!" or to the atheists, "Look out for the wall!" Dave Barry

Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to a customer, service; to all, charity; to every child a good example; and to yourself, respect. Oren Arnold

And the "Bite Your Tongue" Award Goes To . . .

If there exists an award for the person who is able to bite their tongue and not say what is really on their mind it should go to my husband. And the person he could easily have been angry with is me. Yes, me. I know, I am usually pretty well behaved, but this time I did have a huge blooper. I am blaming it on the fact that I have company in town, Thanksgiving was yesterday and biggest of all, my son is getting married in the morning. So, I haven't been thinking all that clearly. But the story began this afternoon when my husband took my father and our son-in-law out into the desert to shoot guns. And since he took my car, that meant I had to drive his.

Of course, that shouldn't have mattered. Everyone knows that when you park a car you actually put the gear in park and turn off the car. I know that. But for some reason, I forgot to do it. I had my daughters and mother in the car with me and we were going to see the movie Twilight. I dropped them off at the front of the theater and went to park the car. My husband and father met us there. (Yes, my husband and father were there to see Twilight as well, but that is a different adventure.) After the movie, my husband and I walked out to his car. As we approached it, we heard a warning bell ringing from the car. Perplexed, we opened the car door where we also saw the lights on, and that the car wasn't even in park! It was still in drive. Now don't ask me how a car can stay still in a parking spot for two hours in drive with the motor running, but it did. However, when we went to turn the car back on, it was dead. The battery had died.

Now this is where I fell in love with my husband all over again. He was certainly justified in getting upset with me, or at least saying something. But he didn't. We just hurried and called my dad to come back so we could jump the car and then we left to meet everyone at the restaurant for dinner. When I apologized for the mistake he just said, "It takes time to get used to a new car." What a sweety! I have only been driving cars for . . . .well, we don't need the exact number, I quit aging once I turned 42 anyway, but lets just say it has been for a long time. By now I should know what to do with a car when I leave it for a couple hours in a parking lot. And so that is why, my wonderful husband wins the "Bite Your Tongue" Award. And one more reason why life with him brings so much . . . joy to my journey!

Thankgiving Party Favors

Here is a fun thing we did for our Thanksgiving dinner. I had remembered doing these years ago, but haven't had dinner at my house again until this year (about 18 years later) so haven't made them since. But we took sugar cones and steamed them for about a minute in a double broiler until they became soft and then bent them to form a cornucopia. They re-harden very quickly. We then filled them with fall colored candy, covered them with plastic wrap and tied a bow to hold the plastic wrap in place. Attached to the bow we had a scripture on gratitude. Each scripture was different so while eating our meal we went around the table and had everyone read the scripture they had. They can also be used as placecards.