The Whole Armor of God

I've been teaching the 12-14 year old Sunday school class for the past 20 months and I have loved it. The theme given by our Sunday School President this year is BUILD THE SHIELD. I loved this theme and it was something I felt very strongly about during my time teaching. We had many discussions about how we are fighting a battle in our everyday lives and we choose if we stand with Jesus Christ or if we are in opposition. Taking upon us the whole armor of God is a big part of that and we had several lessons on that and a Family Night activity. Aparently this comes up alot because when I was making these props my three-year-old asked me what I was doing I said, "Making armor," to which he replied, "Oh, the armor of the Lord."

Everyday we are assulted by the forces of evil and I wary of the fight and had been wondering if there is ever going to be a time when it gets easier to make correct choices. I had been struggling with this for a while when I found my answer:

Elder Richard G. Scott gave a conference address (October 2010) entitled "The Transforming Power of Faith and Character." He said the following, "a consistent, righteous life produces an inner power and strength that can be permanently resistant to the eroding influence of sin and transgression." I was amazed at how clearly this answered my question. By consistently doing what is right we are, in effect, building our armor which eventually become so strong that we are resistant to sin and transgression. So the answer is to continue to do in faith.

My prayer is that as I continue to fight my daily battles that I can teach these young ones so they will have that strength and desire to fight each day in the cause of the Lord.

Three Year Old Perspective

If you've ever wondered how a three-year old sees the

world just give them a camera and let them show you.

I must admit I was surprised by the subjects of the pictures.

Especially when it was a chair.
So, this happened without my knowledge...
Yes, that's me out mowing the lawn...

But I'm glad I got the chance to see the world through my three-year old's eyes.

Chicken Stuffed Mushroom Recipe

Rub 1 Chicken breast with rosemary
Grill or bake until cooked completely and chop finely
Prepare 1/2 box of stove top stuffing according to
directions on the box

Stuffing:
Chicken breast
stuffing
1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 c mozerella cheese (optional)
1 egg
Mix ingredients (hands work best) and set aside.

Remove stems from 4 portabellos mushrooms
brush both sides lightly with olive oil and place
cap side down on baking sheet.
Fill mushrooms with mix and top with parmesan cheese.
Bake on broiler 5 minutes or 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Done when cheese melts and starts to brown.

I was a little worried this recipe would be hard but it was
simple and turned out delicious and sorry I didn't get a pic.

Kingly Visit

We were so blessed to get a visit from the Logan Kings.

The sun came out for 15 minutes that day and we enjoyed every moment of it.

The snap-pops left over from the fourth got used up and were enjoyed by all.
Thanks for spending the day with us!

Natural

I don't know what it is about kids and clothes but they seem to be happier without them.

Right now my little one likes to take off his pants. I'm not quite sure what prompts it

but it's been happening quite often lately. He also runs away after I put his diaper on

before I get a chance to put his clothes on. Just look at that smile.

My older one doesn't usually have a problem keeping clothes on my older boy but this day he was playing dress up and the previous costume had special pants so when he moved on to the next costume he wasn't wearing much. The other day I went back into his bedroom and he'd pulled all his clothes out of his drawer and tried them all on before deciding what he wanted to wear.

Dutch Oven Roasted Orange Chicken Recipe

We've been working on our dutch oven cooking skills lately (by we I mean my husband finds a recipe, I do the shopping and he cooks it up). I just wanted to share another new recipe we had a bit ago that is one of my new favorites.

This recipe came from ScoutORama.com

Dutch Oven Roasted Orange Chicken Recipe
IngredientsWhole roasting chicken 5-7lbs Sliced oranges,apple,lemon Butter Milk Salt & Pepper Orange peel lemon peel Orange Juice Dried Mild chilli peppers
EquipmentLarge Dutch Oven
InstructionsWash chicken and pat dry slice & quarter two large oranges, one apple and one lemon. Squeeze juices overtop and stuff fruit inside chicken cavity Chop dried chilli’s and stuff in cavity along with the fruit add a dash of orange peel and lemon peel Combine 1 stick melted butter 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup of orange juice to brush on skin Salt and pepper to taste Place in foil lined Dutch oven and bake at about 350 for about an hour and half or until the leg joint moves free and clear juice is flowing from the joint.
Comment The skin should brown nicely from the milk, butter, juice marinade. You can add carrots and potatoes if you wish.The dired chille's will reconstitue and give provide just a hint of pepper flavor that works well with the orange Cooking times vary depending on conditions. I recommend using a foil casserole pan or extra foil in the bottom of the oven to aid with clean up. The orange juice will caramelize and is a bear to clean.

We actually used chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken and cooked it in the oven (because it was raining outside) and it just had a really great flavor. We also ommitted the dried chilis (they weren't on my list to buy).

Happy Cooking!

I Love Daddy

Oh, dear daddy, do you know how much your boys adore you?

I think everyone knows how much kids love their moms, they are the ones that are called in times of crisis at any age. They are the ones that offer hugs and words of comfort. I spend quite a bit of time snuggling with my kids and I just want my husband to know that even though they want me (only when something is wrong) they really do adore him. You can see it in their eyes.

This post is dedicated to my dad, my husband and all the dads out there who take time for their kids, who are excellent providors, worthy priesthood holders and great leaders in their homes.
WE LOVE YOU DAD!

A Haircut

Every summer I give in and get a haircut. There's just something wonderful about

a change and I think I lost about two pounds with this one. It's funny because I

looked in the mirror the other day and thought I was my sister. (This is positive

because she is cuter than I am.) :) So now I'm ready for summer!

Halloween???

My three-year old is big into playing pretend. I love watching the things he comes up with.

I'm working on building up my costume bag and occasionally add something to it after

a trip to the second-hand store. Inevitably this leads to the kids getting out the costumes

and it feels a little like Halloween. It sure is fun.

This one is a newborn outfit that he just had to try on.The day this hat come home with us for the next two hours

everything was on fire and needing to be rescued by a fireman.

The cowboy outfit has gotten the most use so far and comes with an authentic, "Howdy."

This spider is my other favorite though it usually gets worn backwards.

This little one had it on backward and when I turned it around he tried

to pull the spider off. "Hey, that's supposed to be on there!"

Wild Children

I've always known I have wild children but some days it really shows.

We have some friends that have Harleys who came by one afternoon. Jacob was really into it and even got to go for a ride.

Of course, they both had to get their picture taken on both the motorcycles.
And it was an adventure they won't soon forget.
Thanks Ross and Diane!

By the way, since we have friends with cool motorcyles our neighborhood thinks we're cool.

Whatever, I think we're cool. :)