Baked French Toast with Berries--so good!!

I had to add this one too because we love this on any occasion!!  You prepare it the night before and then just pop it into the oven in the morning.  But if you do this on Sunday for the superbowl, you need to get up early so you can eat and be at church by 9:00!!!

 

Baked French Toast with Berries

1 loaf french bread

4 eggs

3 TB. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup butter

2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

 

Grease well a 9x13 pan.  Cut bread into cubes about 1 to 2 inches thick.  Put in pan evenly.  In a bowl, beat eggs, sugar, vanilla and milk until well blended.  Pour over bread making sure it is coated well.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  The next day, heat oven to 375.  Combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon.  Cut butter into it to resemble crumbs.  Take pan out of refrigerator.  Sprinkle with blueberries and crumb mixture.  Bake 40 minutes until golden brown.  Serve with strawberries, whipped cream or surup.

Go ????? Superbowl!!!

Have a recipe for you!  Great dip for the Superbowl lovers out there!!

 

Bean Dip

2-16 oz. cans of refried beans

1 cup sour cream

8 oz. cream cheese

1 pkg. Taco seasoning

1/2 cup salsa (favorite)

2 green onions, chopped (I put more)

4 oz. can of olives, sliced

2 cups shredded cheese.

Mix all together.  Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes.  Serve with tortilla chips. 

Go Broncos, Go Seahawks!!!  Have Fun!!

 

Elder Richard G. Scott's advise this month..

Living A LIFE OF PEACE, JOY, AND PURPOSE..

Elder Richard G. Scott gives 10 things we should do to succeed in this life.  I think they are great advice and if followed will bring us the peace and joy we so want and need.

 

1.  Establish principles to guide your life.
2.  Don't make exceptions to your standards.
3.  Be loyal.
4.  Live so that the Lord can guide you.
5.  Serve others.
6.  SMILE.
7.  Don't complain.
8.  Always have a Church assignment.
9.  Worship in the temple.
10.  Follow the Savior's example.

Read the article.  He gives some great examples of each of these. 

                                                                           

Protecting kids from the effects of media violence..

With this months Ensign they included a copy of the Deseret News and the Church News.  The articles were very interesting to read.  One in particular caught my eye and so I wanted to include it on our blog.  Protecting kids from the effects of media violence!!  I wanted to give you the highlights that I thought were an eye opener and may be meaningful to you. 

Age 8 is when children can understand the differences between fantasy and reality,

making younger children far more susceptible to cartoon violence.

200,000 is the number of violent acts that the average young person

will have viewed on television by age 18.

90% of PG films contain violence.

Sources:  American Academy of Pediatrics,

University of Pittsburgh,

Office of Child Development.

Recommendation:  Parents need to have differnt stances with different children at different ages.  Parents need to know what young school-aged children (5-13) are doing.  Parents need to actually monitor them with what they are watching and time spent.  You have to get to know your child and then do the best you can.  There's no absolute formula for this except trying to know yout child, talk with your child and then tailor your limits, your rules to the age--not just the chronological age, but the emotional and developmental age of your child. 

Solution:  It starts in the home!!!  From an article called Research, Practice and Social Change by Barbara Osborn she states--"Children model behavior they see in the media.  If kids don't see the consequences of violence, it teaches them that violence doesn't cause serious harm.  When heroes use violence it sends a message that violence is an appropriate way to respond to problems."

Parents---be involved and protect your children!! 





February Night Activity

Ladies...this is going to be fun.  Come and enjoy an evening of eating, visiting and playing games.  We are going to be having an

"ON TIME DRAWING"

(so be on time) and a

"SPECIAL DRAWING"

for those who bring their Visiting Teaching Partner!! 

(Lunch with the presidency on us!!) 

We will be taking a few minutes with each V.T. partnership and talking about fun ways and new ideas for Visiting Teaching. 

You snooze you lose on this one!!

Come, get to know, and enjoy the sisters in our ward. 

We have a GREAT ONE!!

Wednesday, February 5th, 6:30 p.m. at the church...  

Turkey/Chicken WIld Rice Soup--Carisa's

Turkey/Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Yields 10-12 servings

 

2-4 stalks of celery

1 medium onion, chopped

2 carrots, diced

1/2 cup butter or marg.

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 cups diced cooked turkey/chicken

1 tsp. dried parsley

6 cups broth

1 pkg. Uncle Bens long grain wild rice (prepare as directed)

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

In a large kettle or dutch oven saute the onion, celery and carrots in the butter. Next:  Blend in flour and cook til bubbly.  Gradually add chicken broth, stirring constantly.  Bring to boil.  Boil for 1 minute.  Reduce heat.  Add wild rice, cream, meat, parsley, salt and pepper.  Simmer for 20 minutes.

YEA!!  Easy and Good!  Enjoy!!

 

Thought for the day...

Love this quote by Dale Carnegie--"When we hate our enemies, we are giving them power over us; power over our sleep, our appetites, our blood pressure, our health, and our happiness....Our hate is not hurting them at all, but our hate is turning our days and nights into a terrible turmoil."

Most things are not worth losing sleep over!!   Get over it and move on!!  They probably have!!  

Update on the Roundy's

Just wanted all of you to know...Glenda is doing OK.  She is tolerating the chemo pretty well.  Extremely tired, no energy but not throwing up.  I think she would love maybe a treat or even a card in the mail.  They are being very careful to not have anyone who is sick be there with them.  Vern is struggling too.  He won't have his chemo treatment this month because they feel that he needs to recover more from having the flu.  Please include them in your prayers.  It's a very difficult time, to say the least, for them.  We love them and hope that this time will pass quickly!!

We are looking for...

For our Relief Society Birthday Party this year--which by the way is going to be fabulous, we need some lamps.  Old, clay lamps that were used in the time of Christ.  The kind that you would put oil in.  The kind that would be used in the Story of the Ten Virgins.  We need several.  If you know of anyone or if you have one, please let me or one of the Relief Society Presidency know.  We would greatly appreciate it.  

Lesson this last Sunday

What a great lesson.  Wish you could have all been there.  Carol did such a good job in letting us know that we need to make good decisions each and every day so that the end result is what we want and what our Heavenly Father wants for us.
She presented several questions to us and then gave us about 2-3 minutes to discuss it with our neightbor.  She then brought us back together and we presented our answers to the questions.  The article by ELder Russell M. Nelson is such a good one.  There are several areas that he covers.
1.  Our bodies are such a gift!!!
2.  The Human Spirit and the soul of man
3.  Marriage between a man and a woman
The one quote that I thought was so great was

"You are never to young to learn, never too old to change." 

Our bodies are such a miracle.  We can see, hear, touch.  We can learn, think and reason.  Your heart pumps tirelessly day and night, almost without your awareness.  We can heal from many illnesses.  It is amazing!!  And how we take care of it shows how we feel about our Savior. 
The body and the spirit are the soul of man.  They are duel being and can't exist one without the other here on this earth!!
We need to work on self-mastery!!!  Self-mastery builds a strong conscience.  And your conscience determines your moral responses in difficult, tempting, and trying situations.  Do we make mistakes...yes.  But then we need to learn from them and more on. 
Last things is on marriage.  Regardless of what civil legislation may be enacted, the doctrine of the Lord regarding marriage and morality cannot be changed.  Remember-

Sin, even if legalized by man, is still sin in the eyes of God!! 

Doctrine is not ours to change

What a great lesson.  Read the article.  It is great council from our leaders.

Caramel Cream Dip for Apples

The way I look at it, if an apple a day keeps the doctor away, you might as well add a little sweet to it and make it easier to eat!!

Caramel Cream Dip

Combine:

1 (8oz.) cream cheese

1/2 cup brown sugar

Vanilla

Spread on serving plate then sprinkle with toffee bits.

Serve with sliced apples.

ENJOY!!!

Thought for the day...

My thought comes from a book that I love!!!

 "How to be Totally Miserable" by John Bythway

First of all--you have to love this man if you have ever read any books of his or been lucky enough to attend one of his workshops!!

Introduction to the book:  They say that in life suffering is mandatory, but misery is optional.  We all have problems, but we also have choices.  We can choose to be happy, or we can choose to be miserable.  Being miserable requires effort--
you have to ignore a lot of things.

Hold on to Grudges!!

Okay, everyone out there who needs to be forgiven for something, raise your hand.  Hmmmm, it appears the voting is unanimous.  But if you want to be miserable, don't ever forgive others.  Hold on to a grudge.  Grudges sour your mood and ruin your day.  Days turn into months and months into years.  Carrying a grudge for all that time wastes a lot of energy that could be used for living life to the fullest.  You can't hold on to happiness unless you let go of grudges, so to be miserable, don't bury the hatchet.  Be mad at everyone and everything, and soon enough the grudges will bury you!!!

Remember---this is---How to be totally miserable!!!

Thought for the day..

Mark E. Peterson--"You are Relief Society missionaries.  Be as Saviors on Mount Zion to your sister.  Their souls are precious in the sight of God.  Don't spare any effort to bring His sheep into the fold - the Savior did not!"

Just so you know...

Sweet Glenda Roundy is struggling a bit.  She and Vern ended up in the hospital this past week and both had a touch of flu and breathing problems.  They are both home and doing better.  She was supposed to have chemo this week but because of her hospital stay they are going to pospone it for a week.  She is a trooper!!  Always has a smile on her face no matter good and bad.  Wish I was more like her.  She and Vern could use some moral support.  Give her a call.  She still has a small appetite but not much.  WE LOVE AND SUPPORT THEM!!  So sorry they have to go through this.  But want them to know they're not alone. 

Lesson for Sunday, January 12th (Michelle Hampton)

Had a great lesson to kick off the year.  We watched a video about President Joseph Fielding Smith.  His life and history!!  It was so good to learn about him and his accomplishments.  The history is printed in the front of your book if you would like to read it.  He was an amazing man with an amazing story.  He was our prophet from January 23, 1970 to July 2, 1972.  He had much sadness and heartache in his life.  But he endured to the end just like all of us will have to do too!!  I think it helps to learn about these great prophets so we can appreciate their teachings even more.

First Lesson:  Our Father in Heaven

Question:  What do you think leads a person to pray to God as if talking to a friend?

This should be our goal. 

What attributes would you look for in a friend?
Trust
Exceptance
Know them
One on one time
Loyalty
Listens
Hear felt--no repetition..
Honesty
These are the same attributes we can develop and also know we can trust to have in our Heavenly Father. 
Great lesson.  Read and learn what President Smith thought and taught about our Father in Heaven.

Great Cheesy Bacon Potato Soup...

I tried a new recipe this week.  It was GOOD and easy too. 

Cheesy Bacon Potato Soup

Saute:  1 cube butter and 1 onion, chopped

Add:  8-10 potatoes, cubed.  then ad water almost to top of potatoes.  Cook until potatoes are tender.

Add:  1 can cream of chicken soup, 2 cups cheese, 2 TB. parsley, 1 cup bacon bits (Costco) or real bacon, cooked and cut up, 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup milk, Salt and pepper to taste.

Stir to combine,  Heat through.  Serves 8-10. 

EASY and QUICK!!

FACE THE FUTURE WITH--Faith & Hope!!

There is a great article in this month's ensign entitled "Face the future with Faith & Hope."  (Pg. 25)At the beginning it states:  Always remember that Jesus Christ--the Creator of the universe, the architect of our salvation, and the head of this Church--IS IN CONTROL!!  Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles quotes President Gordon B. Hinckley...President Hinckley described the world that today's young people are about to enter when he said:  "We live in a season when fierce men do terrible and despicable things.  We live in a season of war.  We live in a season of arragance.  We live in a season of wickedness, pornography, immorality.  All of the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah haunt our society.  Our young people have never faced a greater challenge.  We have never seen more clearly the lecherous face of evil. (WOW, what a statement!!)

 

We should not be surprised at these circumstances of our time because the scriptures and prophecies about our day testify of what will happen in the world if people turn their backs on God. 

 

So...with that in mind--Elder Ballard shares this:  (Actually speaking to the young adults)  I urge you to make a commitment to yourself and to Heavenly Father to dedicate your life and to consecrate your time and talents to building up the Church of Jesus Christ in anticipation of the Savior's Second Coming.  Let the motive of your thought and actions be to glorify God and to bless your fellowman.  The purpose of my message is to help you envision your future.  Have faith and hope for the bright futures you face. 

This article deals with the youth but the message is applicable to us all.  GREAT ARTICLE.

Great read!! 

    

News from our Stake Leaders--PREPARE EVERY NEEDFUL THING...

       The dictionary defines provident as 1) preparing for the future and 2) frugal.  My father grew up very poor and often went to bed hungry, so having plenty of food on the shelves was a big deal to him.  His motivation was guided more by the first definition.  Mother was a bargain shopper, and always watched the shopping ads to stock up when items were on sale.  She was driven more by the second.  I have lived most of my adult life a considerable distance from stores, so being prepared and buying ahead has just been a way of life for me.
       For decades our prophets have advised us to live providently; to prepare for the future, to live within our means, and to be self-reliant.  Now, as never before in my lifetime, I am seeing the cost of food rising, in some cases alarmingly, every time I shop.  I have noticed that as prices have risen on many products, packaging sizes have decreased.  As this trend continues the need to live providently will increase.
       Our church leaders have advised that we all have a three months supply on hand of the foods we normally eat.  A good way to accomplish this it to begin to make a record of the types of food and quanities of food our families consume.
       Similar to making a shopping list, make a consumption list.  Start on a given day and keep a record posted on your refrigerator of the food your family uses.  For items that are used up gradually, like salt for instance, write the date you first open it right on the package with a Sharpie.  Over time you will begin to realize how much of each item you use and know how to plan for future preparedness.
       Involving the family in this process will increase your chances of success!  Plan a FHE lesson and include your children in plannng and keeping track of food consumption.  This will help them gain an understanding of the importance of living providently.  I believe that children who are taught these lessons will be less likely to be wasteful and more likely to feel gratitude for the blessings that provident living brings.
       Make provident living a goal and take your gials to the Lord in prayer for help and inspiration.  He will help and bless you for your desire to be obedient and prepared.

Leann Lundgren

Self-relience is a product of our work and undergirds all other welfare practices...It is an essential element in our spiritual as well as our temporal well-being.

President Thomas S. Monson

Great article in Ensign--On Sunday we Attend Church!!

I had to laugh when I saw this article.  Picture is the greatest!!  I know I felt like this alot when my kids were little.  It's a must read!!!  It's on page 34. 

" On Sunday We Attend Church"

Attending chruch alone with six small children was a challenge.  Why did I even bother?

Giving to Christ all year round

This year we are going to be giving you suggestions on how we can give to Christ all year round.  Our Ward Christmas Party's theme was "Giving to Christ all year round", if you remember.  So we decided that we would help you accomplish this for you individually, and also for your families. 
Personal:  Read or watch and then ponder "The Living Christ:  The Testimony of the Apostles."  This is available at www.lds.org.  It is such a powerful testimony of Christ.
 
Family:  You may, in a family home evening ask your kids to search the scriptures and find answers to the following questions..
1.  What did Christ like to do?  2.  How did He react to things?  3.  What did He teach?  4.  Who were His friends, and how did He treat them? 

Hope these ideas will get you started for the month of January. 

Temple night time has changed!!!

We will be going together as sisters to the temple on Wednesday the 15th of January.  We need to leave the church by 6:15.  We found out that the schedule at the temple has changed for this year, 2014.  We want to make the 7:20 session so we need to leave earlier than we had planned before.  Meet at the church at 6:00 p.m.  Hope that gives you enough time to settle your family in for the night before we leave.  Hoepfully we can stop for a little treat on the way home.  Please calendar this so we can experience good things together.

Goals for 2014, January 5th Sunday Lesson

The bishop asked us as a presidency about a month ago to submit some goasl for our very own Relief Society this year.  We thought it a good idea to involve all of you in the process, since you are the ones that will help achieve those goals.  We came up with 3 goals that we would like all of us to work on for this upcoming year.  Remember our SMART GOALS that we discussed last week.  We need them to be specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable, and with a time line.   So here they are:
1.  To develop a closer relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ.
2.  To create a more unified force among our sisters.
3.  To do our Visiting Teaching for the right reasons.
After reviewing these goasl we felt that they really all tied together.  If we develop a closer relationship with our Savior, we will want to do our visiting teaching for the right reasons.  And if we are not one we are not His!!
We discussed all three goals and decided that we would come up with at least 1 thing that we could all work on to improve on in each of these areas.

Suggestions:  #1--Memorize a scripture a month, read scriptures daily, pray with real intent, have meanful FHE, write in your journal, start a journal, take time to be quiet, ponder, think about the Savior, attend church every week, magnify your calling, play good music in your home, read and discuss conference talks, break a bad habit, bear your testimony, join the choir, sing all hymns and pay attention to the words, write down why you are a mormon.  We want you to pick your own goal and work on it for at least 3 months.  See where we get!!

We talked about Unity and what it means to each of us.  What creates unity and what doesn't!!  We encourage each of you to attend our activities and come get to know your sisters in our ward.  We will plan each activity with a specific goal in mind.  YOU!! 

We also talked about visiting teaching and what it means to each of us.  It is such a great way to follow our Savior's example and reach out to the one.  Sister Beck makes the comment that visiting teaching becomes the Lord's work when our focus is centered on people rather than on percentages.  We can never say--my visiting teaching is done!!  In reality, visiting teaching is never finished.  It is more a way of life than a task.  Faithfully serving as a visiting teacher is evidence of our discipleship.  We demonstrate our faith and follow a pattern established by the Lord as we report on our assignments every month.

Let's all work on this together this year.  We are excited to be able to accomplish this as the Indian Hills  Relief Society sisters.  We love you and wish good things for you.  We pray for you and will always be here to help and support in any way we can.

Deb, Kathy, Carisa and Jerrolyn

Have any good recipes to share?

Looking for good recipes

We would love it if you would share any good recipes.  Just call me and we will put them on the blog.  I think all of us are looking for simple, healthy and maybe not so healty, quick recipes to help make our lives easier!!!   Give me a call...590-5917

Thought of the day

The most destructive force in the universe is gossip!! 

Saw this in Jimmy John's the other day.  They have some pretty good advice there!!