Oquirrh Lake 5th Ward Relief Society

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Ann Update

Latest update from Ann Hobson.

I know she would love to hear from you!

Feel free to contact her through her

email at:

athobson@hotmail.com

(I know the font is small and might be hard to read. Notify Lindsey Lyman if you would like the the original file from Ann)

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Sunday, December 1, 2013

Thanksgiving is over and just like that Christmas is right around the corner. I love this time of year, I wish we could have the Christmas Spirit all year round, not merely for a couple of weeks. It warms my heart to hear family traditions and service projects for those in need. The Christmas Spirit is real, and it is a remarkable feeling when it arrives.

I am the Christmas Spirit—

I enter the home of poverty, causing palefaced children to open their eyes wide, in pleased wonder.

I cause the miser’s clutched hand to relax and thus paint a bright spot on his soul.

I cause the aged to renew their youth and to laugh in the old glad way.

I keep romance alive in the heart of childhood, and brighten sleep with dreams woven of magic.

I cause eager feet to climb dark stairways with filled baskets, leaving behind hearts amazed at the goodness of the world.

I cause the prodigal to pause a moment on 
his wild, wasteful way and send to anxious love some little token that 
releases glad tears—tears which wash away the hard lines of sorrow.

I enter dark prison cells, reminding scarred manhood of what might have been and pointing forward to good days yet to be.

I come softly into the still, white home of pain, and lips that are too weak to speak just tremble in silent, eloquent gratitude.

In a thousand ways, I cause the weary world
 to look up into the face of God, and for a little moment forget the 
things that are small and wretched.

I am the Christmas Spirit.

From the Dec 2012  Liahona Presidency Message

 I loved this video. It is about a young girl that absolutely was filled with the Christmas Spirit and helped her family to set their sights on Christ instead of commercial wants. 

President Monson said (From Liahona December First Presidency Message),  

"In our day the spirit of giving gifts plays a large role in 
commemorating the Christmas season. I wonder if we might profit by 
asking ourselves, What gifts would the Lord have me give to Him or to others at this precious season of the year?" 

I pray that we can all find ways to feel the Christmas Spirit not only for these next couple of weeks but for as long as possible. Teach your children about the spirit and ways to bring it in your home. Use it in your FHE for December. Think about how to attain that spirit throughout your day. 

Here are some fun FHE idea from LDS.org. Aren't we lucky to have such a wonderful website with ample amounts of direction and insight? 

 Have a Merry Christ filled month. Find the CHRISTmas Spirit. Share it with your family. Share it with your friends and neighbors.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe

I absolutely loathed stuffing when I was a youngster. I had no understanding as to why anyone would want to consume "wet salty bread". Oh dear....

What I couldn't comprehend was how complex stuffing could be. I'm not talking about stuffing from a box, I mean the homemade stuffing that perfumes your home for days with the scent of sage, onions, and sourdough bread. If I understood how much time and love went into the preparation of said dish, maybe.....just maybe I would have given it the applause and appreciation it so deserves.

Now, my friends, now I love stuffing.

I am going to give you a recipe that I tried for the first time last week. The husband and I go to his Mom's house once a month for Sunday dinner and she mentioned that she was going to do a tester Thanksgiving Day meal. I told her I would bring this recipe.

Before we left I chopped and sauteed my heart out all the while hoping that this recipe I stumbled upon would be worth my time.

As we sat down for dinner, stuffing, potatoes, smoked chicken, corn, homemade rolls and delicious gravy encircled me. I eagerly scooped up some stuffing and tried the first bite. It. Was. Amazing. The crunchy sourdough, the perfectly moist wheat bread, carrots and onions infused with love sweat and tears (that was a lot of onions to cut) was perfection. My father in law ranted and raved about it and even mentioned that it was better than my Mother in Laws and his deceased Mother's recipe. Wow....wow.

Needless to say, it is a great recipe and I hope it finds a home on your Thanksgiving tablecloth next to that delicious Turkey you've been babying in preparation.

Happy Cooking and Happy Thanksgiving Day!

{P.S One change I did make was some rosemary and I think next time I will add some sausage to add some complexity. Oh and also, I didn't use the dutch oven.... I just did it in a pot and it worked just fine.}

Recipe and Photo Courtesy of Better Homes & Garden

Caramelized Onion and Carrot Stuffing:

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
2 large sweet onions, coarsely chopped (2 cups)
4 medium carrots, cut in chunks and/or slices (2 cups)
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup coarsely torn fresh sage or 1 tablespoon dried sage, crushed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 pound sourdough bread and/or whole wheat bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (12 cups) and dried*
1 - 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
Fresh sage sprigs (optional)

Directions

1. In a 4-to 5- quart Dutch oven heat oil over medium-low heat. Add onions and carrots. Cook, covered, for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Uncover; increase heat to medium-high. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes more or until onions are golden**, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; add butter. Stir until melted. Add 1/4 cup sage, salt, and pepper. Add bread; toss to combine. Drizzle with enough broth to moisten, tossing lightly to combine.

2. Place stuffing in a 3-quart casserole. Bake, covered, alongside turkey for 45 to 60 minutes or until heated through. Or, use to stuff one 12- to 14-pound turkey. Garnish with fresh sage.

To dry bread cubes, spread cubes in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake in a 300 degrees F oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until cubes are dry, stirring twice; cool. Or let bread cubes stand loosely covered at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours.

Giving Thanks is More Than A Holiday....

This has been floating around online and it brought a smile to my face.

I hope we all remember the small and grand blessings we have in our lives today, and every day in the future.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Traditions

November is my favorite month of the year. I love the weather, the last effort to soak in the intermittent moments of hot sun and glorious views of red, orange and yellow leaves before it is blanketed in snow. I also love Thanksgiving. It warms my heart just to think of the gathering of family members, discussing the small and grand blessings we are so blessed to have in our lives. I love the rubbing of shoulders in the kitchen and most of all, I love our family traditions.

Why are family traditions important?

"Family traditions are like spiritual and emotional cement in the foundation of a happy home. They create fond memories, and these memories bond us together as nothing else can.

Traditions influence the way we live and the way we look at life. They may be practices or beliefs handed down from generation to generation, or new habits or patterns we establish in our own families. Some will be based on commandments and righteous principles, others may evolve from our cultural or national heritage."

"As important as the establishing of any tradition, no matter how creative or enlightening the event itself is supposed to be, parents must never lose sight of the spirit in which the activity is conducted. How easily we overshadow the beauty of any special occasion when we allow force, anger, or impatience to intrude. If the children are not perfect, the food cooked just so, or the decorations quite what you had imagined them to be, remember how much more important it is that you are all together sharing this sweet tradition. And prepare a little better next time."

Found in March 1986 Ensign Article

One of my favorite family traditions started just 3 years ago. I felt that Thanksgiving was beginning to feel hectic. The day started and ended with Mom running around the kitchen frantic to get everything accomplished successfully and on time precisely. Even with all the help each family member gave, we all felt like it was a stressful day, void of peace and relaxation. I thought of ways we could take a moment from cooking and cleaning and really enjoy the day as a family.

I purchased a white tablecloth and after dinner it was spread across the dining room table. I told each family member to ponder what they were most grateful for and to write it down on the cloth. Everyone miraculously wrote something different and it was so heartwarming to see the blessings we have received individually. The table cloth was put aside and brought out when we met again as a family for Spring and Fall General Conference. As we are listening to Conference, Mom, sister, sister in law and I stitch up the blessings.

When Thanksgiving day rolls around again it is so neat to look over the previous years stitching and the blessings that are soon beginning to overtake the white spaces of our cloth. It is such a family treasure and we all look forward to it every year.

What are your favorite Thanksgiving Traditions?

Diana Noyce was kind enough to share this family tradition, "We have a family home evening around Thanksgiving time when we give a gift to Jesus. It is a promise we make to him of one thing we can do to draw closer to him or be more like him...a goal we will work on for the next year. ,We write it down on wrapping paper and place in a wrapped box. Every year all the boxes are in a pile in our front room."

I love her tradition and I hope that we can each continue to remember to uphold those traditions we have within our families and maybe start a new one or two this season.

Here are some basic traditions to start with your family. Also found from the Ensign.

Examples of Family Traditions

Let each person choose the dinner menu for his or her birthday.
Celebrate birthdays of famous people or the days of their discoveries in history: Pizza for dinner on Columbus Day (round pizza to signify the earth) while discussing the voyage; cherry pie for Washington’s birthday; German chocolate cake for Beethoven’s birthday while listening to one of his symphonies (most children will choose the Fifth).
Assign someone to choose a topic of conversation for the dinner meal.
Give a Bible or Book of Mormon to each child on his or her eighth birthday.
Have a family reunion on a great-grandparent’s birthday each year.
Assign each family member to take notes when listening to general conference, then discuss them in family home evening.
Run, jog, bike ride, or walk regularly as a family.
Read aloud to your children, regardless of their age, and have them read to you.
Celebrate the birthday of an ancestor.
Attend tithing settlement together as a family.
Hold individual interviews with children on Fast Sunday afternoon.
Play soft music nightly (especially classical or semi-classical) to set a tone of serenity in the home.
Hold family home evenings in different rooms of the house. Have each child serve as host or hostess in turn, arranging for seating and treats.
Support each family member participating in athletic events, musical performances, or other productions.
As a family, cut firewood and then have a picnic.
Discuss Sunday School or Primary lessons at dinner time.
Keep a family journal, letting children write in it too.
Visit grandparents on Sundays.
Tell a bedtime story each night.
Always have children report in after an evening activity, at the parents’ bedside.
Kiss each other good night.
Set family goals on New Year’s Eve, or let each plan an adventure he hopes to have (individually and together) during the coming year.
Make items for family members on special occasions.
Collect in a binder songs that the family can learn and sing together in the car or at home.
Write a family letter and circulate it among relatives, each adding something to it. Save the letters to make a book for family reunions.
Allow each child a regular time to stay up fifteen minutes longer than the other children to spend time alone with parents, or plan a “night out” with each child.
Establish your own holidays, for your own reasons.
Make a flag for each family member, possibly designed by each, to be flown at your house on special occasions.
Have a special plate, glass, or cup that is used at dinner by a family member who has an event or reason to celebrate.
Let Dad and children cook breakfast on Saturday mornings, allowing Mother to rest.
Establish one night a week as “Oral Reading Night.” Select an appropriate book and read it aloud, as a family, for a predetermined period of time.
Set a time for family testimonies or gospel study.