I Ran Away

Last Friday morning (a week ago) I recieved a message that my Aunt who has been battling cancer for over two years was not doing well. So that day I decided to accompany my Uncle on the 10 hour drive to go visit her.  It was hard to see her so frail but good to know she lived a full life.  We were there for a little over a day and spent time with my family and some extended family.  Aunt Connie passed away Sunday night and the service was this week.

The two days I spent away from my children made me feel like I had run away.  I had to get a sitter for the kids when I left and it was hard to leave them.  (I always feel better when they are with their dad.)  As we were heading out I thought back and realized that I've only been away from my children over night once before and it was when my oldest was 6 weeks old.  At this point the guilt subsided and it just felt wierd to be leaving.  The 10 hour drive passed quickly and at 2 AM we were there and not having had my wind down time with the kids and quiet time with my hubby I had a hard time going to sleep. 

The next morning I was wide awake at 7:00, that's usually when the kids come in to wake me up.  I lay there in bed listening for the little voices that I knew woudn't come.  Instead I got up and had a good visit with my Mom.  The day was spent making visits and dropping stuff off and by evening I'd almost forgotten to worry about my kids.  We sat down to play a game and I remembered I was supposed to call the kids at bed time.  They were already in bed when I called and I was a little sad to not hear their little voices.

I talked to them on the phone the next day and have to appologize to everyone I'ver ever let them call on the phone as they are really hard to understand.  We got back late and it felt good to be home.  My little one stayed pretty close to me for the next few days and even my four-year-old was more affectionate than usual.  It's been interesting visiting with my husband about the things that happened while I was away.  I think I missed him the most, he's the one I can always talk to.  In the end it was a good

I didn't see my boys again until Monday morning when they came in to wake me up.  The little one stayed pretty close to me for the next couple days and even my four-year-old seemed more affectionate than normal.  I missed my husband the most.  He's always been my rock and he was even when I was away.  The kids even had a touch of the flu and he handled it wonderfully.  So, it was really good for me to step away from my daily routine for a couple days.  It has made the daily routine seem a little less mundane and I'm glad to be back.  Maybe I'll run away again, I'll be due for it in another four years. :)

Cheesy Spinach Stuffed Shells Recipe

16 jumbo pasta shells (I use the whole box)
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese (I use 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (I use 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup grated onion (or dried onion flakes)
2 cups Pasta Fasta Sauce (I use canned tomato basil spaghetti sauce)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (I skip this sometimes)

Cook pasta (follow box directions).  Cook spinach (aslo package directions).  Drain spinach and press with spoon in collander (if you don't they will end up runny).  Add cottage cheese, onion and mozzarella to spinach.  Drain pasta and rinse with cold water.

Spoon about 1 Tbsp of cheese/spinach mix into each shell.  Place in 9x13 pan, cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes until warmed through.  I usually add teh parmesan when I serve it. 

This is a great way to get your family to eat spinach although my two-year old loves it slathered in dressing.

Modified from The Essential Mormon Cookbook

Fire of Faith

The following story was shared in a church meeting I attended last Sunday:  We went up for a youth winter camp and our first task in the early morning was to light the fires in the lodge.  There was a fire place at each end with a wood shed.  I chopped up some kindling, threw some logs on top, added a littel diesel fuel and lit the fire.  I headed for the other end and found there was no axe to chop up kidling so I just put the logs in, added a larger amount of diesel and lit the fire.  We went out to bring in all the gear and food for the weekend and before long I noticed the 2nd fire was out.  I applied a generous amount of diesel and lit it again.  The fire burned really hot and after a while we were all set up and the fire was out again.  I finally gave in, got the axe, cut some kindling and started the fire for the third time.  We had some extra time so we set off for a snowmobile ride and were gone for quite a while before coming back.  When we came back the fires had burned up all the wood and were out.  The coals were out so we added logs and fanned the embers until the fires were blazing again.

In my life the analogy of faith being like a fire has always resinated with me.  It seems when we are searching to build our faith that it does burn within our hearts.  We may have some huge, faith pormoting experience that makes our faith burn bright for a while (like the diesel) but unless we are maintaining our faith through prayer, study and service that big experience will not sustain our faith and like the 2nd fire will burn hot for a bit but will not cause a lasting fire.  It is through our small acts each day that we maintain the fire of our faith. 

We may even have times after that fire has burned bright that the fire burns out through neglect but those embers are still burried deep and we can build again.  I know that when we act in faith our faith will grow until it will again burn bright in our lives and it is a wonderful feeling.  When we live with faith fear is deminished.  What will you do today to feed the fire of your faith?

The Truth About Love

I remember well my college years.  They were full of acedemic ambition and desires for a bright future with a family of my own.  I remember many times feeling very alone and wondering if I would ever reach my desired goals for a future family.  I remember wondering what was wrong with me.  As I prepared to serve a mission I was aprehensive and doubted my ablity to meet the challenges that would certainly come.  I had no doubt that I was where the Lord wanted me to be and still had many questions about life in general and how God felt about me.

In October 2004 during a world wide meeting for church I was touched by the remarks of John H. Groberg.  In his talk entitled, "The Power Of God's Love" he explains that we seek to be loved because we long for the love of God that we felt when we lived with Him before we were born.

The following are bits from this talk I'd like to share with you for Valentine's day (all from this talk):

There is no shortage of love in the universe, only in our willingness to do what is needed to feel it.  To do this, Jesus explained we must “love the Lord they God with all they heart, …soul, …strength, and …mind; and they neighbor as thyself”

…trying to find love without helping and sacrificing for others is like trying to live without eating-it is against the laws of nature and cannot succeed.

God is anxious to help us feel His love wherever we are.

When we understand who God is, who we are, how He loves us, and what His plan is for us, fear evaporates.

…just as rockets must overcome the pull of gravity to roar into space, so we must overcome the pull of the world to soar into the eternal realms of understanding and love.

…our joy now and forever is inextricably tied to our capacity to love.

Being filled with God’s love is the most joyous of all things and is worth every cost.

When filled with God’s love, we can do and see and understand things that we could not otherwise do or see or understand. Filled with His love, we can endure pain, quell fear, forgive freely, avoid contention, renew strength, and bless and help others in ways surprising even to us.

Jesus Christ was filled with unfathomable love as He endured incomprehensible pain, cruelty, and injustice for us. Through His love for us, He rose above otherwise insurmountable barriers. His love knows no barriers. He invites us to follow Him and partake of His unlimited love so we too may rise above the pain and cruelty and injustice of this world and help and forgive and bless.

I testify that when we are ready, His pure love instantly moves across time and space, reaches down, and pulls us up from the depths of any tumultuous sea of darkness, sin, sorrow, death, or despair we may find ourselves in and brings us into the light and life and love of eternity.

It is my sincere hope that as we celebrate Valentine's Day this year we will remember that the world's view of love is not the important perspective and instead of worrying over the gifts or events of the day focus on feeling God's love for you and how you can help others feel that love.

Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu Recipe

Someone pinned this recipe on Pinterest and it turned out amazing.  It is from this blog.  They have some other yummy looking recipes they've shared too.

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I only use 3-4)
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
4 ounces sliced ham
4 ounces sliced Swiss cheese
1 (8 ounce) package herbed dry bread stuffing mix
1/4 cup butter, melted

Mix together the cream of chicken soup and milk in a small bowl. Pour enough of the soup into a slow cooker to cover the bottom. Layer chicken breasts over the sauce. Cover with slices of ham and then Swiss cheese. Pour the remaining soup over the layers, stirring a little to distribute between layers. Sprinkle the stuffing on top, and drizzle butter over stuffing. Cover, and cook on Low for 4 to 6 hours, or 2 to 3 hours on High.


I served this with steamed rice as it was a little saucy.

Don't Kill My Dreams

When I saw this picture it reminded me of the scene in Rocket Man when he is in the dryer pretending he in a spaceship.  That reminded me of Despicable Me when Mr. Gru has flash backs into his past when he dreamed of building a rocket and flying to the moon.  His ambitions were crushed by his cynical mother with comments like, "I'm afriad you're too late, NASA isn't sending the monkeys anymore,"  and other discouraging remarks.  I often find myself in pesimestic mode and am sure I've made comments to my family and friends that have only served to disourage them.  For that I am truely sorry.  We all need a little encouragement.

I've also learned that I have a hard time accepting compliments.  I'm sure we could all make a long list of the things we need to work on but let's try focusing on our successes for a change.  Let's see, I love teaching in the pre-school co-op once a month, I enjoy being a Primary teacher, I have almost perfected Matt's favorite chocolate chip/raisin oatmeal cookie recipe, I joined the ward choir, I try to make myself availible to help others watch their kids, I love to read, I keep a fairly clean house, I keep my blog up (most of the time), I can touch my nose with my big toe on both feet (I haven't always been able to do that), I have potty trained one child and I'm doing better everyday in figuring out what life is all about.

I challenge you to take a moment today to count up your successes and smile at how great your life has been.  It takes practice to be content with yourself and I know I can get there.

Joining the Band

I over heard my four-year old say to my two-year old the other day, "come get ready to be in the band."  I wasn't sure what they were doing but braced myself as it can get pretty hillarious with them.  This was the end result.   Aparently they've been watching modern culture quite closly and know how band mates are supposed to dress.  Lately they really enjoy dressing up and the vests and ties have become a favorite (probably because they are not tucked away into the dress up box).  So the next time you need to dress up my four-year old is ready to get you all dressed up and maybe someday they'll even let me join their band. :)

The Most Amazing Snowman

Since we live in an area that rarely gets snowfall we were pretty excited to see the couple of inches that fell this day and took advantage by making snow angels and building a snow man.  This was the little one's first snowman and he was more interested in clearing the snow off the swingset than building the snowman.   The day afer this we got about six more inches of snow.  The boys kept checking out the window to see if the snowman was okay.  At one point he had fallen over and we went out and rebuilt him.  After the snow came the ice followed by several days of rain.  Eveything was a slushy mess and in a few days there were almost no traces left of the wintery weather.

We watched as our snow man slowly melted away.  It was sad to watch him go and my oldest suggested we bring some of the snow into the freezer to save it for another day.  I did manage to talk him out of that.  We enjoyed our winter adventures and last Friday we had a sunny day (it was 40 degrees) and we went to the park to play with our friends.