Why I Love Lent

Mormons don't observe Lent.  So, your probably wondering why I'm
writing about it, but stick with me here.  As a convert to the church,
there have been plenty of new traditions that I've adopted over the past
thirty years and some things I've chosen to give up.  My life has been richly
blessed by the restored gospel and I can't imagine living any other way.
So, I'm really happy being a Mormon.

At the same time, I have a great interest in people and cultures and that's
led to a natural curiosity in other religions.  I enjoy listening to people talk
about their faith.  I like to compare my beliefs with those of others and often
find that we have more in common than one might think.  I've found that
when I approach other religions looking for the good, I almost always find
it.  There is so much good out there.  The prophet Joseph Smith said,
"Latter-day Saints should gather all the good and true principles in the
world and treasure them up."

This brings me to Lent and why I love this season.  It begins with Ash
Wednesday(which was this past week) and continues for the next forty
days leading up to Easter. It's the time when Catholics and some Protestants
prepare for the holiest day of the Christian calendar.  It can be a time of
deep reflection and pondering.  A time for a little spring cleaning, starting
with the inner vessel of our soul and then extending to our physical
surroundings.  Although Lent involves public worship, it's mostly a personal
spiritual journey designed to bring us closer to God.

This is what attracts me the most. A time of focused repentance, increased
study and prayer.  A time to slow down and simplify my life, a time to be
still and listen for the sweet whisperings of the spirit.  Often people "give up"
something for Lent - something that is hard for them to do without, that
requires sacrifice, and a closer dependance on God. It can also be a time to
"give more", to reach out to others in service.  It can be a time to clean our
surroundings and open our homes to the beauties of the season, to take time
to enjoy nature and recognize our many blessings. It's a time for renewal.
I don't know about you, but all those things sound wonderful to me, and are
exactly what I find myself in need of around the end of February.

For the past few years, when my friends of other faiths, begin preparing for
Lent, I've quietly joined them.  I've felt sure they wouldn't mind this Mormon
girl keeping Lent in her own unique way.  It's been a wonderful experience
that I look forward to and I've found that when Easter morning arrives I can
sing  "Christ the Lord Has Risen Today" with an increase of love for my
Heavenly Father and the gift of his Son.  One day just doesn't seem like
enough time to celebrate the gift of the resurrection.  I enjoy the intentional
effort to put the Lord front and center in my life, and stretch out the Easter
season in such a beautiful way.

As a Latter Day Saint, we observe many of the same principles that are
a part of Lent, throughout the year.  Of course, daily discipleship involves
scripture study and prayer and we honor the Savior's atoning sacrifice each
Sunday when we partake of the sacrament.   As a congregation, we fast
once a month for two meals and give the money that we would have spent
on those meals to the poor.  We are also encouraged to fast individually
whenever we feel the need.  And I've always loved this quote by one of
our church leaders that states exactly how I feel about putting God first
in our lives.

"When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place
or drop out of our lives.  Our love of the Lord must govern the 
claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we
pursue and the order of our priorities."    President Ezra T. Benson


So I guess in some ways, we live the spirit of Lent all year long.  But
I love this time to stretch myself a little more, and I've found the effort
to be so worth it.  This is why I love Lent and why I keep it in my own
little way each year.  Some of the things I will be reading between now
and Easter are these books,

and I'll be revisiting some of my favorite messages from the past, like this

one , this one and this one.  I have Stake Conference and General Conference

to look forward to, which are always a spiritual feast.  I'm trying to spend 

more time outdoors watching spring arrive and counting blessings.  I'm 

cleaning my house from top to bottom.  What am I "giving up"?  I chose to

give up processed foods for the next forty days.  I figured my body could use

a little cleaning out as well, so it's lots of fresh fruits and veggies and a little 

meat along the way.  That's a whole different post, though. I'm also working

on a little project to learn more about poverty in the world and what I can do

to help.  Much more on that to come.  I'm praying for opportunities to serve

and let me just tell you when you do that, they come in abundance.  It's going 

to be a wonderful season and I'm looking forward to the new things I know 

the Lord has to teach me.  

Since I'm sharing my feelings on Lent, I might as well tell you that I also love 

Advent and Passover . I've been known to cook passover foods and share the

message of the paschal lamb with others.  You can read a post about that

here.  I think I could learn a thing or two about observing the sabbath from

my Jewish friends. The Jewish Sabbath is beautiful. I find their feasts and 

festivals fascinating and if you visit me at Christmas you would also see a

Hanukkah lamp(which I learned while in Israel, is not the same thing as a

menorah) in the same room as the creche.  

What can I say?  I'll admit that I'm a little weird and probably the only

Mormon you know who observes Lent.  But I think learning about other 

people and their beliefs makes my life richer and it opens my eyes to the

the good all around me and there's a lot of it out there.  

Hope you have a blessed spring, however you choose to celebrate.

*MYOF Goals # 9 - Read 50 books

                           #14 - Begin each day with scripture and prayer

                           #22- Study the New Testament

.

A Recipe Worth The Wait

One of the perks of having a stake calling and traveling to all the ward and
branches for their conferences each year is the food.  Yeah, Mormon women
are great cooks and they always put out quite the spread for their visitors.
At the Linger Longer Luncheons or Munch and Mingles (cute names, huh?)
we have the opportunity to visit with families we don't get to see that often
and enjoy some fine food.  I shared a recipe for a super chili from this
conference.

Last year when I went to Marion for their Ward Conference, I had a delicious
salad at the meal afterwards.  I asked Kristi for the recipe and she said she
would get it to me.  I waited and waited and then forgot about it (I forgive her,
she's a busy lady!).  Until this Sunday when I was getting ready to go back to
Marion and I thought about Kristi and wondered if she would make that
broccoli salad again.  Well, she did...and she also remembered to bring me
the recipe!!! (see, she hadn't forgotten about me after all).  It was as good as
I remembered and I would have totally gone back and had seconds for
dessert, but apparently everyone else likes this salad too and it was wiped out.

No worries.  With the recipe in my possession,  now I can make my own...
and I did, last night.  This salad is oh, so, yummy, as written, but I think I
will tweak it a little in the future, because that's what I do with recipes.  I'm
a serious tweaker.  A little less dressing, or more broccoli would make it
healthier. I'm wondering how a half and half mix of mayo and plain yogurt
would work out.  I also used stevia instead of sugar in the dressing.  Although,
Christie didn't add the raisins, I did and thought they were a good addition.
The bacon and sunflower seeds were perfect.  Since, I know I would eat too
much of this salad on my own, it will become my new pot luck dish of choice.
Kristi, you don't mind do you?

Begin with a big head of broccoli. Wash and

trim and cut into bite sized pieces.  Set aside.

Cook bacon slices over medium heat until evenly browned.

Drain and crumble into small pieces.

Finely chop up a little red onion and add to broccoli in bowl.

Mix together dressing of mayonnaise, white wine

vinegar and sugar (or stevia).

Toss dressing over broccoli, onion and raisins in bowl

and refrigerate at least two hours.  Before serving add,

crumbled bacon and sunflower seeds.

Delicious!  Thanks Kristi!

 Kristi Trimnall's Oh, So Good, Broccoli Salad

10 slices bacon

1 head fresh broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces

1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

3 T. white wine vinegar

2 T. white sugar ( or stevia equivalent)

1 cup mayonnaise

3/4 cup sunflower seeds

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet.  Cook over 

medium high heat until evenly browned.  Drain.

Crumble and set aside.

In  a medium bow, combine broccoli, onion and 

raisins.  In small bowl, whisk together the vinegar,

sugar and mayonnaise.  Pour over broccoli mixture,

and toss until well mixed.  Refrigerate for at least two hours.

Before serving, toss salad with crumbled bacon and sunflower seeds.

*MYOF Goal #23 -  Try 50 new recipes.

Less

Things have been pretty quiet around here the past week or so, as I've
been trying to get over this blasted cold.  I haven't had much energy to
do anything except...read.  Which isn't all that bad :)

Since the beginning of the year, I've finished a number of books, and
they've left me feeling burdened.  I'm not sure if that's the right word
or not, but it's been some heavy reading.  And I've realized that all
of the books, have dealt with hunger in one way or another.

The one on top, I'm just getting into and it's more calming and that one in
the middle there - Seven- well, I'm going to tell you all about it in minute, but
One Second After, A Fine Balance, The Kitchen Boy, A Place at the Table
and Hunger Games (which didn't make this stack, because I've been reading
it on my Kindle) all have this underlying or blatantly obvious (as in the
Hunger Games) theme of hunger.  No wonder I'm feeling down.  It's
depressing. Don't get me wrong, I like a serious book that makes me think,
but I'm about ready for something that just makes me laugh!  I'm taking
recommendations.

Now, for Seven.  I whipped through this little gem in a day and I loved
it!  I love Jen Hatmaker!  Even though she is dealing with some serious
social issues in this book, she did it in a way that made me laugh, out
loud, a lot.  I found myself underlining paragraphs and commenting in
the margins with phrases like, "Yes!!",  "totally agree", "I love this
too", "so true".  This book resonated with me in so many ways.
This is what I read on the back of the book that piqued my interest
and convinced me to purchase it in the first place.

"Do you feel trapped in the machine of excess?  Jen Hatmaker was.
Her friends were. And some might say that our culture is.  Jen once
considered herself unmotivated by the lure of prosperity, but upon 
being called "rich" by an undeniably poor child, evidence to the 
contrary mounted, and a social experiment turned spiritual journey
was born.  7 is the true story of how Jen took seven months, identified
seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back 
against modern day diseases of greed, materialism and overindulgence."


If this kind of thing interests you, you should just read the book.  It's
thought provoking and highly entertaining.  But here's a  few snippets to
whet your appetite.  #1 was Food.

Jen picked seven foods to eat for a month.  Just seven (well she strayed
a little).  It sounds like Jen loves food as much as I do, so this was a hard
one for her.  Why would one feel compelled to limit their food intake
voluntarily?  We live in a country of opulent food choices, while half of
the global population lives on $2 a day.  Can you imagine?  No, I can't
imagine having to wake up each day and worry about getting enough food.
But here in the US, most of us have so much available food that we open
our refrigerator and cabinets and even though they are full, we say things
like, "there's nothing to eat in this house."   When Jen simplified her
food choices down to seven items , she began to understand what it's
like to eat like a poor person.  This food fast was to help her be more aware
of the lack of others while also opening herself up to exchange the needs
of the physical body for those of the spirit.  It wasn't easy for her and she's
completely honest about the struggles she faced.  And in case your wondering,
her seven foods were : chicken, eggs, whole wheat bread, sweet potatoes,
spinach, avocados and apples.

Yes, she did.  She wore seven items of clothing for a month and gave

away many things to those in need.  I know I would get tired of only 

wearing seven items of clothing for a month, but I could easily choose

twice that many and be ok.  When I walk into my closet and look at all

the clothes hanging there, including the ones in the dresser and armoire

it's too much!  I don't wear all of it and it takes up space and I have to take

care of it.  Less is more when it comes to clothes for me and I'm going to

do something about that closet soon.

"About three times a year, I rant around the house, screaming at our

stuff; What is all this?  How did this get here?  Why do we have so much

junk?  How am I supposed to keep up with all this?  Where did this all

come from?  And then I remember:  I bought it all."  So begins the chapter

on Possessions.  And what did she do about it?  For one month, she gave

seven things away that they owned, every day!

I find myself walking through my house feeling the same way.  I don't like

clutter and I've found that if I have less of something, I appreciate it way 

more than if I have a number of those same things. If it's not something

that I really love, that brings happiness and beauty to my life, then why

do I have it?  I think this is why I'm always trying to organize things

around here.  That process lends itself to asking those kinds of questions

and then I can act on the answers.  This must be one of those signs of 

aging that I've noticed in others, and now in myself.   As we get older, we

realize we don't need or want so many things.  That saying, "we spend the

first part of our lives acquiring things, and the second part of our lives

getting rid of things" is so true.

Jen's media fast consisted of shutting down seven screens and muting

the chatter.  No: TV, Gaming, Facebook/Twitter, iPhone apps, Radio,

Texting or Internet.  There were some exceptional guidelines for the 

texting and internet that were job related, but they seriously cut their

media usage.  The Day 12 entry reads like this:

"This silence is awesome.  Our house feels peaceful- well, as peaceful as

a house with three kids and all their homies can feel.  I like the missing

white noise of media.  I like the silence during the day.   I like the 

alternative rhythms we're discovering.  Like:

*cooking together

*walks after dinner

*porch time with our friends

*Sydney's endless craft projects at the table

*Dinner with neighbors

*Actual phone calls

*Four books read, a fifth in queue

*Caleb's new obsession with fishing

These are emerging out of the black hole of media."

Oh, I could so do this.

Month Five = seven habits for a greener life.  Jen learned a lot of new things

in this month.         *Gardening

                              *Composting

                              *Conserving energy and water

                              *Recycling (everything, all of it)

                              *Driving only one car (for the love of the land)

                              *Shopping thrift and second hand

                              *Buying only local

She learned how to do all of these, because they were currently doing none 

of these.  And she cracked me up when they bought a used Suburban during

green month.  Loved this chapter, because I have a definite "green" side to 

me. I am the recycling police and the "buy local" queen.  I like to shop

second hand, carry my own grocery bags into the store, and garden. I walk

around turning the lights off in each room and cringe when I see the 

refrigerator door left open too long or the water running constantly while

rinsing dishes.  I would like to have a good compost pile and solar energy. 

I'm always telling my husband how I want a smaller car and a smaller house.

This just might be the easiest month for me, because I really don't

like shopping- with the exception of food and books.  Shopping for

those makes me happy.  But the rest?  Not so much. I would be a 

happy girl if I only had to go shopping once a month and I've tried

that...but it took all day and wore me out. 

Jen's challenge included spending money in seven places, and avoiding

all other purchases.  I admit, this would be harder to do with kids.

They spent money on food at the farmer's market, gas, regular monthly

bills, kid's school, limited travel fund, emergency medical and Target.

Don't you love that last one?  But no restaurants, movie theatres, fast

food, books, etc., etc.  Day 30 entry sounded like this:

"This. Month. Was. Hard.  But good.  It's one of those. A good hard.

Vast consumption is so ordinary that it's absence is shocking.  I didn't

realize how casually I "grab lunch" or "run through the bookstore",

or "pick up that little scarf."  I admit; I have a compulsion to buy 

something somewhere.  My craving is nonspecific; it just involves being

in a store or restaurant and handing my debit card over and getting

something back."

This month was about resting and prayer.  The Hatmakers began to

really observe the Sabbath and that was harder than they thought it

would be.  They cleaned off their calendars and spent more time as a family.  

"Originally the Sabbath had to be planned for, food gathered a day

in advance.  It wasn't handed to the Hebrews on a silver platter.  This 

principle remains.  I still have to plan for the Sabbath, tying up loose

ends and gathering what we'll need.  I still have to prepare the 

family for rest, enforcing healthy boundaries and protecting our 

calendar.  I still have to set work aside and trust in the wisdom of 

God's design.  "Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the 

Sabbath" (Exodus 16:29)

Ahh. This is so true.  Especially when many of us find ourselves doing

the Lord's work on the Sabbath,  it may seem like anything but a day of

rest.  But I've found with effort, a true Sabbath can still be experienced and

I plan to use some of the ideas I read in this chapter to make it even better.  

Life can be too busy.  Some things are unavoidable, but others are of our

choosing. It's the ones that fall in that latter group that force me to constantly

examine my priorities.

Well, as you can see, I really liked this book.  If I were a good writer and 

had the quick wit of Jen Hatmaker, maybe I would have written a book 

like this myself,  because I agreed with her content whole heartedly. 

Less.  Less stuff can mean more room for relationships with God and

people I love. More time to share and serve. More money to donate to 

those who really don't have the things they need.  It all begins with less.

Less stuff.  Yes, I agree.

My Year of Fifty is quickly drawing to a close and I'm going to need

something new on which to focus my time and energy. This just might

be it. 

*MYOF Goal # 9 - Read 50 books.

Valentine's Day

That M's something else.

 My Valentine for the past thirty one years.

So blessed!

A Cold February Day

A Daybook Journal Entry


Outside my window....cold,cold day. Oh, yeah, winter's here.
I am thinking... I am soooo tired of being sick.  A five day cold is 
completely unacceptable. I have things to do, people to see and places 
to go and I don't feel like doing any of it.
I am thankful for...a thoughtful daughter who brought me 
flowers, a foodie magazine and two bars of good chocolate when she
heard I was sick.  I did something right. :)
I am wearing...jeans and a sweater.  Fully clothed in bed,under
layers of blankets.
I am reading...Color Code (for book club-a reread),A Place at the 
Table- 40 Days of Solidarity with the Poor,Abundant Simplicity,  7 - An 
Experimental Mutiny Against Excess and Catching Fire (Kindle).   I've
had a lot of time to read this week.  I read, I nap, I read, I nap.
I am listening to...Old North State practicing in my basement.
I am creating...still working on the scarf.  
From the kitchen...not much has been going on in this kitchen.
I did make a great pot roast in the crock pot yesterday that everyone 
loved and was super easy. I heart my crock pot. I was planning on making 
some decadent Valentine's Day dessert for tomorrow, but I'm not feeling 
it now.
I am learning...so much about bees.  Unbelievable!
I am pondering...this quote from Ann's blog.
"When you might not get any more good moments- you'd take
   even some bad.  And I'd take the ugly with the 
   beautiful because the hard stuff is the heat that 
   refines." (From her 2/6/12 post- the tears flowed when I read this one.)
 Yeah, it's the hard stuff that refines....
Around the house... everything needs to be done. Amazing how
quickly things fall apart when your sick.  
Around the farm...time to prune the fruit trees. Because of our
mild winter, we are at least three weeks ahead of a normal spring and 
the trees are going to start budding soon. I'm so afraid for the fruit trees.
Living my faith...more conferences, more training. I'm longing
for a retreat.  Time away to pour over scripture, pray,experience quiet,
walk in the woods, ask some hard questions and most importantly,
time to listen. 
I am loving...the amazing flowers that were just delivered to me 
from my husband. He's such a sweet man.
I am praying for...Celeste's mom, adult kids, help in finding 
something I've lost (it's really important!) and wellness.
A few plans for the rest of the week...enjoy my 
Valentine, catch up on housework and laundry, knitting with a friend.
A picture thought: (Jantzen did a nice job with this one)

Berries and Bees

My mother and father in law are the best!  They are always helping us
out around here.  This past week, they just showed up and started pruning
the grapevines and berries.  I'd been trying to get to that....

Jantzen was here that day and jumped in to help.  What a guy!  I appreciate
his willingness to help out wherever it's needed and Grandma and Grandpa
enjoyed spending some time with their grandson.  The grapevines were in
serious need of pruning.  They've grown so much.

Once they were finished, we tackled the raspberries and blackberries.

Even though this should have been done months ago, I'm hoping

they will be forgiving of our negligence.  Guess we'll see.

I'm already thinking of how nice those raspberries and blackberries

will taste in so many things.  Maybe putting those positive affirmations

out there will help them grow better.

We should have taken a picture before the pruning commenced, but this is
how they looked when we were finished.  So much better!

It was such a nice day, I let the chickens out to scratch around and get
their fill of green grass.  Oh man, were they ever happy about that.

We decided to take a peek in the bee hive.  Dad had seen some bees going in
and out of it a few days earlier.

We were sure they had all died, but it seems there are a few stragglers

still hanging on.  We filled the top feeder with sugar water.  They might

make it through the rest of the winter, but we are definitely going to have

to order new bees.

My head is being stuffed with all kinds of bee information,  'cause I've been

taking a bee keeping class with mom and dad Wray.  This is a doozy of a class -

sixteen hours of more things than you could ever imagine about bees.  Who

would have thought there was so much to learn about bees?  Things like: bee

anatomy and biology, history of beekeeping, different types of bees, stages of

development, starting a colony, honey bee "seasons", how to feed bees,

thinking like a bee, honey flows, a schedule of blooming plants, etc.....

Did you know bees are not attracted to red flowers, because they can't see

the color red?  To them, it looks black.  But they can see ultraviolet colors

on flowers that we can't see.  That is so cool.  And here in the mountains, the

first blooming plant that will provide nectar and pollen for the bees is the red

maple, which should begin blooming in the next week or so.  I'm learning so

many things and we're just half way through the class.

As you can see, my head's just "buzzing" with information.

(Sorry, couldn't  help myself :)

Sure love these guys and all the support they give to our family.  Thanks

to their help, we should have a good berry crop this summer and hopefully

get a few colonies of bees thriving on the farm. 

*MYOF Goal #5 - Learn to prune berries and fruit trees.

                        #34 - Start beekeeping.

Veggie Enchiladas

Enchiladas are a favorite with my boys.  Actually anything of the Mexican
persuasion is usually a big hit.  This recipe for enchiladas is super tasty.
It's been a regular in my winter menu rotation, because it's hardy and filling
(just like winter food should be), it has beans in it ( trying to eat more beans),
it's meatless (trying to eat three meatless meals a week) and the recipe makes
a lot (so I can make extra and put in the freezer).  It's an all around winner.

The first thing I do is make the enchilada sauce.  This is an easy one and starts
with flour, tomato paste and cumin in a saucepan with a little oil.

To this I whisk in, water and vegetable or chicken broth.  It's good either way.
I always have chicken broth in storage, but not always vegetable broth.

After about eight minutes, it begins to thicken up.  I season with salt

and pepper and set aside.

Next, I mix up the filling for the enchiladas.  I thaw and drain one box

of chopped spinach, wringing all the excess water out with a clean

dishtowel.

Chop six to eight scallions

and then mix in a bowl with black beans, corn, and grated pepper jack

cheese.  You can use cheddar if you want them milder.

Heat corn tortillas, wrapped in paper towel, in microwave and then

start filling and rolling.

Top with sauce and extra cheese.

The filling seems to grow as you mix it, so I make dishes to freeze

for another day.  They freeze beautifully.

Extra filling also keeps fine in the refrigerator for a couple days, and I've 

used it to make quesadillas and as a filling for omelets.

And of course, these babies are great straight from the oven with a 

little lettuce, salsa and avocado chunks on the side, and in this house,

a generous amount of Cholula.     Enjoy!

Veggie Enchiladas

2 T. olive oil

2 t. cumin

1/4 cup plain flour

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 can (14.5 oz) vegetable or chicken broth

3 cups grated pepper jack cheese or cheddar

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed

1 can corn drained, or frozen, drained

6 scallions, thinly sliced

6" corn tortillas - 16 to 30 depending on how many you want to make

Make sauce.  In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add 2

t. cumin, flour and tomato paste.  Cook whisking 1 minute.  Whisk in 

broth, and 3/4 cup water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer and cook

until slightly thickened, 5-8 min.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set

aside.

Make filling.  In bowl, mix cheese, beans, spinach, corn and scallions.

Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400.  Spray casserole pans.  Heat tortillas (wrapped in

paper towel) one minute in microwave.  Fill tortillas. Roll tightly.

Place seam down.  Pour sauce over top with additional cheese.  

Bake 15-20 minutes until hot and bubbly.

*MYOF Goal #10 - Eat three meatless meals a week.

Carol Of The Bells

I'm a little behind here, but do you mind Christmas music in February?

I like it year around. 

This song's for my sisters. 

For Sherri, because it's her favorite Christmas song.

For Cindy, because when she was here at Christmas she insisted that I

play it for her even though I could barely plunk through half the notes.

She said, "It's a little rough, but keep working on it.  You'll get it."

You gotta love an encourager! 

*MYOF Goal #32 - Practice the piano 15 minutes a day.

New Year Blessings

First Monday counting.....

                   when I share entries from my Gratitude Journal

1506 - travel prayers

1507 - roasted vegetables

1508 -Jessica's release from the hospital

1509- snow

1510-starting the new year in the House of the Lord

1511- safe travels

1512- warm house on a cold day

1513- flannel pjs

1514- pot of soup

1515- emails that make me smile

1516-a new dishwasher

1517- bargains at the consignment shop

1518 - Olive Garden salad

1519- lunch with LaWren and Whitney

1520-sitting with Mark at council meeting

1521- remembering Lindsay on her birthday

1522- good reports from medical tests

1523- Texas grapefruit

1524- patience when it's really needed

1525- tomato lentil soup

1526-Travis beating Mark at pool

1527-Sunday smells from the crock pot

1528-a son who keeps bringing in wood for the wood stove

1529-bee class

1530- a new egg customer

1531- working with Cindy on the family cookbook

1532- visits with primary presidents

1533- pink necklace for the birthday girl

1534- the safe arrival of Brayden Reade Farrar

1535- bright red blooms

1536- middle of the night hugs from Colorado boys

1537- making raspberry cream sandwich cookies with Kenzie

1538- racing through a good trilogy with Travis and Dillon

1539-sixty degrees and sunny!

1540- answered prayers

*MYOF Goals #35 - Keep a gratitude journal

                          #26 - Improve with photography skills