Simple Kindnesses

It is hard "watching" from afar and wishing that you could help when people that you love are going through trying times. I have been amazed at how gracefully Blake and Shonna have been dealing with the difficulties and heartaches that have come with the early birth of their baby boy. They have been so strong as they have dealt with each new challenge that presents itself.

This week they had to make another tough decision. Shonna only gets a total of 12 weeks off of work for maternity leave. She teaches ESL at a school for refugees coming from Middle Eastern countries and she needs to finish the school year as the insurance that is paying for Caleb's hospitalization comes from her employment. She wants to have some of that time left to use once Caleb is released from the hospital to care for him, so even though she isn't fully recovered from her delivery, and is dealing with some of the complications that can occur from nursing (as she is pumping every 3 hours to make sure her little premie gets the milk he needs) AND is fighting a sinus infection in the cranial cavity, she went back to work yesterday. A heartfelt sacrifice for her sweet son.

She stopped at her doctor's office on the way to school where she received some antibiotics and instructions to go straight to the ER if the symptoms of her infection got any worse and arrived at school to the happy welcome of her students and fellow teachers. As she tried to do fulfill her responsibilities, a couple of other teachers noticed that she really wasn't up to par. She explained that she needed to be there, so she could stay home with her son when he got out of the hospital. Upon hearing this they immediately offered her some of their sick days so that she could stay home and recover. So, thankfully, today she is resting at home. Then, this morning, she received a phone call from her vice principal saying that her principal has offered his sick days as well.

I am so grateful for the simple kindnesses that Blake and Shonna are receiving from others that help to ease their burdens.

I am grateful for answered prayers.

And I thank God for Christlike people (including those who come from non-Christian countries, like her principal) who sacrifice their comforts to help others.

Fun FHE Food

We had a blast tonight making funnel cakes as a family for our Family Home Evening treat. The kids helped make the batter and then Dad was in charge of creating fun, made-to-order funnel cake designs. Brielle was blessed with her Father's creativity in coming up with fun shape ideas. We enjoyed eating the following funnel cakes:

• 2 snowmen (the 3 circles that Dad made at the first snowman request didn't suffice, so he got to make another one)
• A heart
• A shooting star
• A snowflake
• And a messy hair dayWe all LOVED them...especially Nathan and I. I was surprised with how good they tasted. Food made with a lot of oil often makes me sick, so I have that to look forward to, but it was so worth it. :) (Now I know why my Grandmother would eat chocolate even though it would give her a migraine. Sometimes it is just worth it.)The apron is stuck.Nathan's spontaneous story-time..."Jesus, noi, noi, noi, noi, noi." I wonder if that is how I sound to him.

Thank you to my sister-in-law, KaraLynne, for the fun FHE idea and recipe. Here is the recipe in case you want to join in the fun:

1 egg
2/3 cup milk
2 T sugar
1 1/4 c flour
1/4 t salt
1 t baking powder

Start heating oil in large deep skillet (about 1/2 inch of oil). Mix dry ingredients. In another bowl beat egg and milk together then add dry ingredients. Mix until smooth. The batter is a little thicker than pancake batter. Put in ziploc bag and cut off the corner to make a squeeze hole.

The oil is hot enough when a pinch of flour sizzles right away but doesn't smoke. Squeeze batter in web/lattice design, working from the inside to the outside. Cook until golden brown and flip. Cook the other side until golden brown. Drain for a few minutes on a paper towel. Then put it on a plate and smother it with powdered sugar. Enjoy.

Early Morning Jog

Gloriously serene.

Enticingly Divine.

Magical Wonderland.

Awed by Majestic Mountains.

Delighted by Blanketed Branches.

Soothed by Subdued Sunrise.

Exhilirating.

Peaceful.

Heaven.

Shoveled sidewalks. Icy. Dangerous.

Thick snow. Just my footprints. Perfect.

Usual stop.

Today's Peak.

Can't I keep going?

70 minutes of Pure Delight.

The Perfect Lunch

As we ate lunch today, Brielle said, "Mom, when you make me bow noodles for lunch I feel too, too much love in my heart. I want to take some to everyone else so they can have it too." Well, that made me feel "too, too much" happiness in my heart, so we decided that we would "take some to everyone else" through the blog so that you "can have some too."

Here is what makes this the "perfect lunch":

• It only takes 10-15 minutes to make.
• The kids get AT LEAST two servings of vegetables.
• And we all love it!

"Buttered" Noodles from Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook
8 ounces of pasta of your choice
1/2 cup yellow squash or cauliflower puree (*Explanation below)--I like cauliflower better because it makes it more creamy
1/4 cup milk
2 T. butter or margarine
2 T. grated Parmesan
1/4 t. salt

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente.

2. Drain, return pasta to the warm pot, and stir in the squash or cauliflower puree, milk, margarine, Parmesan, and salt.

Simple! When I make it, I start 2 pots of water at the same time and steam some fresh broccoli in the 2nd pot. I sprinkle just a little garlic salt on it in the last minute of cooking and make sure to take it off just as it starts to get soft. (I'm sure there is a term for that, but I don't know it. :) I used to boil broccoli and it always ended up mushy--due to my overcooking, I'm sure--and not very flavorful, even when I added salt or butter to the water. We all LOVE broccoli when I prepare it this way). The broccoli gets done first and I "let" my "starving" children eat that while they wait for the pasta to get done. They gobble it down. After they have eaten a full serving (or 2 or 3) of broccoli, I serve up the pasta and that disappears quickly as well. When lunch is over I feel like I have succeeded in helping my kids to eat something healthy (which you know has been a struggle with my oldest) and their hearts are "too, too full" of love. I call that success! :)

*You make the veggie puree by simply steaming the vegetables and pureeing them in a food processor or blender with about 1/4 cup water. I have had 2 "pureeing parties" in the last year where I buy a whole bunch of fresh veggies and spend a couple of hours steaming and pureeing them. Then I freeze them in 1/2 cup measurements in a snack size baggie and pull it out whenever I want to add a little nutrition to a meal. I have found I use cauliflower and carrots the most. Cauliflower hides itself well in anything and doesn't seem to affect the flavor at all [except in Spagetti O's...don't do it!]. I put carrots in anything red or orange...spagetti sauce, tomato soup, Mac n' cheese etc.

This is some of the "fruits" from my first pureeing party that I had last January. I just did it again, but only had to do cauliflower and carrots as we still had some left of the other veggies. It is quite fun and satisfying.

Snow Llama

We have resigned ourselves to the fact that "Olivia, the snowwoman" probably won't make it until spring due to the rain that has fallen the last few days. But, the kids are THRILLED with the snow "llama" (as they named him..."because he has a long neck") that now peeks in our window while they eat.

That balance is impressive! It has been like that for several days. Crazy.
PS I will post about Christmas SOMETIME before December 2010...I hope!

Heartwarming Highlights

Life is full of heartwarming moments that bring tears to our eyes and remind us of our many blessings.
This week we were surprised to receive a phone call saying that my sister Shonna had given birth to a beautiful little boy, Baby Caleb. He was so excited to join his amazing parents in life that he came 10 weeks early. Gratefully he was remarkably big for how far along Shonna was...3lb 12 oz and 17 inches long. He is stable and doing well (the blessings of medical technology are wonderful!). Shonna is recovering and she and Blake amaze me in how well they have handled this surprise. They are remarkable people and are thrilled to have this little man join their family (and so are we!!). Due to Caleb's early arrival, his parents weren't able to hold him for the first few days of his life. On Thursday evening (day 2) I received this sweet picture entitled "Bonding Time." It touched my heart.

Mom and Dad got to spend time with their sweet arrival, straight from heaven.
Holding Daddy's hand.
Although those take the cake, I have been reminded again of the sweetness of the precious spirits sent to our home as well:

• Nathan's first self-directed prayer: "Heavenly Father, a-a-a-day. Thank you a-a-a trucks, a-a Christmas trees, a snowmen, a-a socks, a-a-a stories, a-a Christmas, a letters, a-a leafs, a-a trucks, Aaamen."
• This afternoon I was resting on the couch and Brielle came downstairs and said, "What is wrong Mom? Are you sick?" Mom: "No, just tired." Brielle: "Okay, I'll sing to you." And she sat down next to my head, played with my hair (my FAVORITE thing) and sang "I am a Child of God" and "I Love to See the Temple" a couple of times each.
• Yesterday I was cooking with Nathan in the kitchen and he randomly started singing, "I a Child of God. Parents kind and dear. Lead me guide me. All things I a do..." So sweet.
• On Tuesday evening, Jared had a late class in which his professor feeds the students dinner, so the kids and I were on our own for the meal. I was just finishing cooking whenBrielle came into the kitchen. (Side note: This time of day is usually our worst. I am tired and hungry and busy trying to get everything done at once. Brielle is usually tired and hungry and wants Mom's attention. Nathan is usually tired and hungry. Not a good combo.) I asked her to please put the plates on the table, fearing a rejection. Her response: "Sure Mom, let me get my bike out of the kitchen first." She proceeded to have Nathan help her wheel her bike out of the kitchen, put the plates, cups, spoons, milk etc. on the table. Everything I requested she happily did.
• Jared was getting out his chocolate orange Christmas treat (his favorite) to share with Nathan. Nathan brought the first piece to me with the injunction to "put it in a mouth!". Then ran the second piece to Brielle's bedroom to give it to her. Then took the third piece for himself.
  I am grateful for tender mercies and heart-warming highlights brought to me at the hand of beautiful children. They brighten my day and lighten my load.

Mackrory Family Christmas Party

A highlight of our Christmas season was getting together with Mike & Ann and their family and Sean & Lisa for a little Christmas Party. We had dinner and then did a white elephant gift exchange. The kids loved having cousin time and they made ornaments, built train tracks, and just had fun together. The adults had a great time laughing, chatting and watching Elf, courtesy of Sean and Lisa. Thanks Mike and Ann for driving down here so that we could see you all!

More Snow Fun

I really should have blogged this first since this was the first real snow in Provo this year. The kids were THRILLED to wake up one Sunday morning and find snow, or "Christmas!!" as Nathan called it. Brielle insisted on making snow angels so we went for a walk in the beautiful, freshly-fallen snow.Nathan much prefers walking the path "less-traveled." While the other 3 of us walked mostly on the road where it was somewhat packed down, he insisted on walking in the deep snow and plowing his own way.Yum!

Snow Angels!!

Ta-dah!

Building a Snowman

On Jared's 2nd to last day of finals, he surprised us by showing up at 11 am and announcing that it was time to build a snowman. So, so fun. Securing "Olivia's" buttons--Brielle named her

Giving her a festive hat

...And a scarf. (Thanks Mom for the snowman kit. We FINALLY got to use it. :) )

Nathan was more interested in eating the snowman than anything else.

Olivia is done!! And over 3 weeks later she is still standing, wishing us Christmas cheer through our kitchen window whenever we sit down to eat. We built her in a place that gets virtually no sun during the winter months so she we are hoping she will be our friend all winter long.

Molten Chocolate Cake -- To die for!

In October I was introduced to one of my 2 newest favorites...Molten Chocolate Cake. We had book club at my friend, Jamie's, house and when we arrived she was just starting to make something that looked delicious. 25 minutes later we were all in heaven. It was quick, easy, and amazingly scrumptious. I have made altogether too much of it since then and have enjoyed every bite. :) I promised my Mom that I would blog the recipe, so here it is. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Preheat oven to 425.

Spray 2 custard cups with cooking spray.

Melt 2, 1 oz chocolate squares (semi-sweet) with 1/4 cup butter.

Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar.

Mix in 1 egg and 1 egg yolk.

Add 3 T flour.

Pour in cups.

Bake for 14 minutes.

Let sit.

Run a knife around the edge, turn upside down into another bowl and serve with whipped cream (you can also serve it with ice cream, but I--an ice cream lover--even like whipped cream better! It complements the taste of the cake rather than overpowering it.)

The other new favorite is Sangria, a non-alcholic version of a wine from Mexico, that my father-in-law introduced me to at our family reunion. After tasting it, I told Jared that, for the first time in my life, I was tempted to start drinking wine. Jared kindly pointed out that there was no need to start drinking wine. I could buy this for $1.50 a bottle at Macey's and keep the Word of Wisdom at the same time. Cheaper and healthier. Good combo! My father-in-law left us with a bottle and it became my "secret stash". When I needed a little "pick me up" I would slip into the kitchen and pour myself a bit. Ahhhh. So refreshing and delicious. Nathan got me 3 bottles of it for Christmas, so I am set for a couple weeks at least. :)