Simple Sunday

Luke 1:31-33

And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name, JESUS



He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:



And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

The Reason for the Season

This Christmas I wanted to really focus with my family on the important parts.

Last week we attended the Christmas Devotional with the First Presidency. During that hour we heard the beautiful choir sing along with the orchestra and also messages from the prophet speak as well as the 1st and 2nd counselors. Each message was wonderful but President Monson spoke of things that seemed to be just for me. As we were driving home I talked with Charlie about re-focusing our time and energy on the more important part. He had the same feelings. We set goals to spend time each day reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas.


I recently found this great blog, LDS handouts. If you haven't heard of it you will thank me to hooking ya up! This sweet girl not only gave me a great idea of how to celebrate the season but also the sweet little handouts to go along! You can find her at: 12 Days of Christmas

Instead of giving these to a neighbor we are doing it for our little family. The intent is next year to branch out and share with a couple friends. We started with the stable and spoke about how blessed we are in our lives. How the Savior was born of such humble beginnings. We pondered how God used that simple birth as an example. How He could have provided any and all luxury for His son to be born. How there must be something for us to learn from His humble birth.

Shortly after that as I was tucking Morgan in; she asked me to read a book to her. Morgan picked "The Small One", by Alex Walsh. If you have not heard of it you should try to find it.

This story is about a young boy who lives on a farm with his family. The donkey, Small One, is old and no longer able to do his work. The boys father gives the boy the responsibility to sell Small One for 1 piece of silver. The boy spends much time trying to find a good home for his friend. The tanner offers 1 piece of silver but the boy does not want his friend to die. In the end of this sweet story Joseph buys Small One for Mary to ride. It is a lovely little story that we as a family have enjoyed for years.

Now here is the interesting part. The Small One is no longer in print. In face the original printing was in 1979 and was re-released in 1995. I remember buying this book years before I had children. I had seen it at the book store and fell in love. The publisher is Disney! Can you imagine Disney printing a book about the birth of Christ today? In fact the first page starts with a scripture: Proverbs 15:33, before honor is humility. I really was astounded reading this book tonight...couldn't help but think of just how far off track the world seems to have gotten. Today this would not be the popular choice at all. I am thankful that I bought this book before my little family started..thankful that I can share this sweet Christmas story with them.

Remember this holiday season while you are running from place to another the real reason we celebrate this holiday.

I am so very thankful this Christmas for my savior Jesus Christ. I know that it is through him that I will return to my Father in Heaven one day. I know that without his Atonement I would have no chance to achieve that! I also know that God loves me. That all good in my life comes from Him. I feel such joy and peace in that knowledge.

12 Goodies of Christmas

English Toffee??? Why English?? No Toffee in America? Anyone? Anyone?

Chad gets his spacers on Thursday and braces the following Thursday! Merry Christmas to Chad!! His request?? As much toffee, carmel, and overall chewy stuff before that day!!

So I thought why not include the recipes that will please my son!

Toffee, recipe from Wanda Wach, my sister's cute mother-in-law!

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 tbls water

First of all coat a jelly roll pan with butter, not the spray kind, rub a cube all over it!! Next, put the above ingredients in a saucepan heating over medium heat. Heat until it comes to a boil, start timing from the rolling boil point. Boil for 5-7 minutes. So 5 for a more gritty dissolving kind or 6 or 7 for a more sticky kind! Spread onto pan. Then sprinkle the milk chocolate chips on top. Let sit for a minute, then spread with a spatula. Now you can put this in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Or like I do...set it on the cast iron planter hanging by your front door. Colder then the fridge but safe from the wind and snow!! Now that's resourceful!!

Simple Sunday

Alma 46:15

And those who did belong to the church were faithful: yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took upon them, gladly, the name of christ, or Christians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come.

Caramel Popcorn

So I have a clever friend who has put together a recipe group. ( I am not clever enough to think of a better name!) There is a theme for each month and she puts them all on a cute little blog. So I thought I would share what I contributed this month and add a link for ya!

Knead A Recipe Blog

Go check it out... Last month the theme was soup....who can't use more great soup recipes? I can honestly say the the Chicken Tortilla Soup is the best tortilla soup I have ever made! Use the Chipotle Chili powder!

4-6 quarts of popped popcorn (sorted to remove kernels) I pop mine in a sauce pan on my stove top. Air poppers work or you can even use a few bags of microwave popcorn!

2 2/3 Cup Pecans

1 1/3 Cup Almonds

2 Cups butter

1 Cup dark Karo syrup

2 2/3 Cup sugar

Melt together in a large sauce pan. Bring to a rolling boil. Time from that point 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add 2 tsp Vanilla. Pour over the top of the popcorn and nuts. You can mix this in a bowl or spray your counter down with Pam and mix and spread out to ensure a even topping.

Snow Day, Almost

Is she not the cutest girl ever!
Sledding, cautiously!

Uh Oh spinning around!

And now backwards with no control, except to dig her heals in to stop!

Too tired to walk up the hill!

Chad on the steep hill!

Building speed with an intense expression!

With a one foot one hand steer!

You can see the grass sticking through the snow. A sure sign that there is not enough snow to sled. Hmmmm well maybe not for my kids! They decided today was the first good snow and they were going to take full advantage. Chad is not in as many of the pictures because well...he is 12. I threatened to upload really bad pictures of him if he didn't allow me to take some. Does that make me a bad mother?