grand-babies, recipes & a new calling...

Baby Mark has learned a new skill at the tender age of 17 months. He's discovered that his spider-man chair can get him to all the places that were once out of reach and he couldn't be happier about his new found discovery.
We really have next to no pictures of the boys together because Mark wont sit still long enough to take pictures. Ya gotta be quick. Slide the baby in front of him and snap.
Don't you just love those dimples?! As we were leaving their apartment baby Mark did his quick escape. If the door opens, he runs like the wind. He loves being outside, so before we left Mark took him for a little walk around. He loved it.Does John look like Brittany or what...so cute, even with a frowny face.Mark loves being outside more than just about anything. I'm thinking this is a good week for an outing to the zoo. Miss Brittany, if you're reading this, lets pick a day for me to come get you and the boys. Speaking of Brittany...she has joined the blogging world and just barely started her own blog. You can visit her here. Stop by and show some love and welcome her to the neighborhood. I dont know anyone who doesn't love comments....which is why you have to come back here and leave me one too. :o)

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments on my last post. You really do build up my self confidence and make me feel like I can do anything, even with being as insecure as I am at times. I see that lots of you want recipes. I try not to disappoint so here you go.

Slush punch

1 (12 oz) can of lemonade concentrate

1 (12 oz) can of orange juice concentrate

4 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. almond extract

18 cups of water

4- 1 gallon ziploc bags

2 (2 liters) 7 up

Mix together everything but the 7 up. Double up the ziploc bags. Pour half in each doubled bag. Zip them up, a freeze flat overnight. You may need to flip them over in the morning to freeze evenly. Thaw out 1 hour before serving. I usually beat it with a mallet or hammer to chunk it up before I put it in the punchbowl....which is the reason I double bag it....as well as safe guarding against a leaky bag during the freezing process. Put in punch bowl and pour 1 bottle of 7 up over the top. This recipe makes 2 bowls. Sometimes I get 3 bottles of 7 ups and use 1 1/2 in each. This stuff is awesome!

Lemon Pineapple Sheet Cake

1 box of lemon cake mix prepared as instructed on the box. Bake in a jelly roll pan at 350 for 20-25 minutes. cool, poke small holes all over the cake and dump a can of crushed pineapple on the top and spread evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours. Mix together a 3.4 oz box of lemon pudding with 2 cups of milk. Chill for 5 minutes until set. Add 8 oz of cool whip and spread on top of cake. Chill for a few more hours. So good...I'm honest!

Lemon Sunshine cookies

3/4 cup softened butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

grated peel of 1/2 of a lemon

1 teaspoon frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed

thin pretzel sticks

gummy fruit slices

licorice strings

yellow food paste color

Beat sugar and butter until fluffy, add egg, beat well. Combine flour salt and lemon peel. Add to butter mixture. Stir in lemonade concentrate. Shape into round disc and refrigerate for 2 hours. Take out of fridge and put on floured surface. Let sit until until it is workable enough to roll out to 1/8 inch thick. Place on grease cookie sheet, brush each cookie with a beaten egg wash. Gently press thin pretzel sticks into cookies to resemble sunshine rays. Bake 10 minutes until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks and cool completely

Lemonade royal icing

3 3/4 cups sifted powdered sugar

3 Tbsp. meringue powder

6 Tbsp. frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed.

Beat all ingredients on high, add yellow food paste color and incorporate well. Put a small amount of icing in a cake decorating bag with a round tip or just cut the end off of a plastic ziploc bag and pipe a circle around the outer edge of each cookie to create a dam. Then thin out the icing with a few Tbsp of warm water at a time to a pourable, but still thick consistency. Spoon icing in the centers of the cookies staying within the outline. You could also use a ziploc bag with a bigger piece cut off the corner. Cute the fruit snacks in slices and put on cookies to look like sunglasses. Cut strips of licorice and bend into a smile shape. It called for black licorice, but Kyle said that's just gross so he got red instead. Let stand one hour until dry.

Now here are a few of my personal tips on these.

1. It says the recipe makes about 3 dozen. It lied! I doubled the recipe and I barely got 3 dozen.

2. Don't' skip sifting the powdered sugar

3. The icing needs way more liquid than it calls for. Add additional warm water in the beginning a little at a time. I didn't the first time and I burnt the motor right up on my electric mixer. My second attempt I used my kitchen aid (because I don't keep a back up hand mixer...who knew I'd need one) It really does have to mix for a long time.

4. Don't forget the egg wash...it's the glue that holds those pretzels on.

5. You can use a good sugar cookie recipe and a regular royal icing if you so choose.

Today was a special day for Mark. He got a new calling at church. He is now a stake high councilor and was ordained to the office of a High Priest. His dad came to town so that he could be the one to ordain him in his advancement in the priesthood, so that made it extra special and we are so grateful that his parents came today. Our wonderful new stake president, President Lewis set him apart for the calling and gave him a blessing as well. Mark is thrilled about this new calling and is eager to serve to the best of his abilities. I can tell that this is going to be such an amazing growing experience for him. He has a huge respect for our stake presidency and for the rest of the high council. He could feel their strong spirits and that makes him want to be an even better person. There is a lot of responsibility with this and he takes it very seriously. I know he will do an amazing job. I am so grateful to have a husband who is worthy to serve in such a position. Our family will be blessed for his willingness to serve with his whole heart.

Well it's now 1:30 in the morning. Happy Monday everyone! Do something that makes you smile today.

Let your light so shine...

Tuesday was baking day at the George house....and I mean ALL DAY! Wednesday night we had young women's and it was a special night with the theme of "Let your light so shine" I remembered seeing a lemon sunshine cookie in a little cookie bought I bought years ago so I decided to make those. They are far from perfect, but since nobody but me saw the pretty picture in the book of the "perfect" cookies, there was nothing to compare to. How can one not be happy when you look at all those smiling faces? Not only did I make these cute little things, I made 2 lemon pineapple sheet cakes and the yummiest slush punch. I'm weird about having my refreshments fit the theme. It's all in the details, ya know. :o) If anyone is interested in any of the recipies, let me know and I 'll post them when I'm not so tired.

I decorated the table with pretty things gathered from around my house as well as some sparkly yellow tulle and silky yellow sheer fabric with white twinkle lights strung in through. It looked beautiful!

Tara and Brooke decorated the front table. So sorry the picture is blurry. Don't know what happened, but I had to share it anyways because it was so pretty! I had a couple of the young women come over a few weeks ago to make the invitations, while we were at it we made the tags that are hanging from the branches. Tara attached a mini flashlight to each one and we gave them to all the girls at the end of the night. The quote says...

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our LIGHT, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be?"

-- Marianne Williamson

One sweet girl named Jodi planned the whole night as one of her 10 hour projects. She did an amazing job. The program was beautiful. All of the girls had parts. You could feel the spirit so strong as they each shared their knowledge and testimonies of the young women values. There was also a lot of focus on seeking the light of Christ as well as the inner beauty that grows as you live a life of love and service. I do know that each one of these girls are amazing and they truly do have a inner light that shines. It gets brighter and brighter the more I get to know them and the more they desire to choose the right. I love each and every one of them dearly.

(spell check is not working on blogger so excuse any typos...nevermind...ya'll know I have errors all the time, even when it's working. I'm going with "it's part of my charm." hee...hee...)

baby blessing, stamps, & eyebrow update

My niece Camille and her husband Brandon had their sweet baby Melanie blessed on Sunday. I didn't get to go because I was up all night with rumbly gut and got no sleep, so Mark went alone and said it was really good. Camiile made the baby blanket and her bow. Her Grandma Great made the booties. Such talent those two have and so special for Melanie to be able to have those precious keepsakes. I wish I could have been there.




Camille hosted a Close to my Heart stamp party back in September. The loser that I am never picked up my stuff, so Mark brought them home for me. I almost never got them, because one of the boys knocked them out of the car in the church parking lot. A man found the bag and called me. I'm so glad! I can't wait to play with them. For now I put them away in my acrylic stamp file box. I love that thing. It makes finding my acrylic stamps way easy. My wood stamps are in baskets, but since these are so thin, file folders are a great storage solution.

If you look closely you'll see that Cole's eyebrows are starting to grow back. I'm thrilled about that. I think he is too. He had a awesome game on Saturday. It was very intense. They beat an undefeated team that were very cocky about their status. They fouled our players several times. Cole made the winning basket with 5 seconds to spare. Our team was so cool about it. They weren't snotty about it or rubbing in their face. Beating them was enough.

Today was a great day...lots of rain...even some hail...loved it all!

Superbowl XLII....

Are you ready for some football?

We are getting ready for the Superbowl. We're so excited to have Arizona hosting it this year. It's brings lots of business to the area. Mark was in the half time show for superbowl 30. He loved that. Our plans are to go to a baby blessing in town Sunday morning (my nieces baby girl)...come back here...go to church...then go to Rodney's house to watch the big game. He has the biggest TV. The whole family is meeting there and bringing food to share. I'm bringing a fruit tray with fruit dip, sausage ball, a chips and salsa. I had someone ask me for the salsa recipe. I posted it before. Look in the September 2007 archives. The sausage balls are AWESOME! Just roll up into small balls some jimmy dean breakfast sausage. Brown them up until they are cooked through. Pour over some musselman's apple butter, stir and warm for a few minute. Poke in toothpicks...done! So good...I'm honest. This may sound bad, but the superbowl is more about the food and the family and picking the best commercials than it is about the game to me. I don't have a favorite team. In my family we have Patriots fans and Giants fans. Perhaps I'll pick a favorite when I see them in uniform at the beginning of the game. Best looking one's will be my pick. :o) I have to giggle just a bit, because I know plenty of you are die hard fans and are thinking to yourselves..."dumb girl". It's okay...I can take it. :o)

So what are your plans for the superbowl? Are you hosting a party, going to a party? What?

President Hinckley Dies

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of our friend, Gordon B. Hinckley. While serving for over seven decades in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gordon demonstrated the heart of a servant and the wisdom of a leader. He was a tireless worker and a talented communicator who was respected in his community and beloved by his congregation. As President of his church, he traveled to more than 60 countries to spread a message of love and optimism to the millions of people around the world who shared his faith. A Mayflower descendent and the grandson of Mormon pioneers, Gordon was a deeply patriotic man. His leadership and service strengthened the Board of Trustees of Brigham Young University, the Boy Scouts of America, and the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. In 2004, I was honored to present him with the Medal of Freedom, our Nation’s highest civil award, in recognition of his lifelong public service. Laura and I will miss Gordon’s friendship and wisdom. Our thoughts and prayers are with his five children and the rest of the Hinckley family.

There have been so many people post on their blogs about the death of our beloved prophet, President Gordon B Hinckley. Very loving tributes to such an amazing man. This is something I felt I needed to do as well, so it is recorded not only for myself, but for my children. He died in his home on Sunday night January 27th 2008 at the age of 97 with his family by his side. I've shed many tears these past few days. As heart broken as I have been since hearing of his passing, I know he is so happy to be reunited with his dear wife Marjorie. He has missed her so much since her passing. I will miss hearing his words of wisdom and loving counsel and I will never forget his amazing sense of humor. This sweet man gave so much to so many. He was loved and admired by young and old, members of the church as well as non members. The worldwide humanitarian effort he made possible through our church is astounding and impressive beyond measure. That link shows just a few examples. Service has always been a top priority. Through the years he has taught my family so many things. I know in my heart he was a true prophet of God. I borrowed some of his quotes from Angie, since she had already compiled them.

*To not take life too seriously:
“We need to have a little humor in our lives. We better take seriously that which should be taken seriously, but at the same time we can bring in a touch of humor now & again. If the time ever comes when we can’t smile at ourselves, it will be a very sad time.” -Hinckley

*To never give up:
“We are in a period of stress across the world. There are occasionally hard days for each of us. Do not despair. Do not give up. Look for the sunlight through the clouds. Opportunities will eventually open to you. Do not let the prophets of gloom endanger your possibilities.” -Hinckley

*To be better:
“Shape up. I say that to myself constantly. Shape up. Stand a little taller. Be a little better, a little stronger, a little more thoughtful, a little humbler. A little more prayerful, that you may be worthy of the guidance of the Lord and of His wonderful blessing.” -Hinckley

*To measure up to the divinity within:
“Some of you may feel that you are not as attractive and beautiful and glamorous as you would like to be. Rise above any such feelings, cultivate the light you have within you, and it will shine through as a radiant expression that will be seen by others. You need never feel inferior. You need never feel that you were born without talents or without opportunities to give them expression. Cultivate whatever talents you have, and they will grow and refine and become an expression of your true self appreciated by others." -Hinckley

*To serve:
“I do not care how old you are, how young you are, whatever. You can lift people and help them. Heaven knows there are so very, very very many people in this world who need help. Oh, so very, very many. Let’s get the cankering, selfish attitude out of our lives and stand a little taller as we reach a little higher in the service of others. As Browning said, “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp.” Stand a little taller, stand higher, lift those with feeble knees, hold up the arms of those that hang down. Live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Forget yourself.” -Hinckley

*To be happy:
“We can lower our voices a few decibels. We can return good for evil. We can smile when anger might be so much easier. We can exercise self-control and self-discipline and dismiss any affront levied against us. Let us be a happy people. The Lord’s plan is a plan of happiness. The way will be lighter, the worries will be fewer, the confrontations will be less difficult if we cultivate a spirit of happiness.” -Hinckely

*To be faithful:
“I hope that prayer will take on a new luster in our lives. None of us knows what lies ahead. We may speculate, but we do not know. Sickness may strike us. Misfortune may overtake us. Fears may afflict us. Death may place his cold and solemn hand upon us or a loved one. Regardless of what may come, may faith, immovable and constant, shine above us as the polar star.” -Hinckley

*To pray:
“We can draw nearer to the Lord in our prayers. These can become conversations of thanksgiving. I can never fully understand how the Great God of the Universe, the Almighty, invites us as His children to speak with Him individually. How precious an opportunity is this. How wonderful that it actually happens. I testify that our prayers, offered in humility and sincerity, are heard and answered. It is a miraculous thing, but it is real.” -Hinckley
And lastly:

*To have joy:
“In all of living, have much fun & laughter, life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.” -Hinckley

Till we meet again…

progress...and cards

It's not quite there yet, but progress has been made. MANY hours of cleaning/organizing/dusting have gone into it. Wish I could say that I was done, but I'm not. There is smaller pile of stuff in front of the file cabinet, a few odds and ends under the desk, and the closet still needs so work. The bookcase may not look any different to you, but while I was dusting everything in it, I did a little bit of shuffling around. Even little changes are pleasing to my eyes and that's pretty much all it takes to make me happy. I love that I can see the tops of the desks again. While cleaning up around here I've decided that I really want this to hold my works in progress stuff. I never know what to do with stuff that I get for a specific project that needs to be done soon, but not now. Know what I mean? and I REALLY want this to replace my green desktop "totally cool" tote. I love the way Making Memories designed them and I think it will work out much better for my needs. I thought the green tote would be great, but it's not (for me) Stuff falls in and I never see it again. I need to be able to see what I have and find it easily. I would have loved to win the MM ones, but I'll just have to start putting a little money aside and buy them instead.

Oh...and the tree in the corner has valentine stuff on it not Christmas.

Saturday night I had 8 ladies from church come over. I did a little make and take card class. A happy birthday one and a valentine one for their hubby. We ate....we visited...we created! It was great! I would have taken a group picture, but I looked terrible....I'm honest! Terrible! I think they all had fun too and they didn't care what I looked like. Cole said to me before they got here.."hey mom, are you going to go change your clothes first? " LOL! Who knew and 11 year old would care about stuff like that. At that point my feelings were, nice girls wont judge me....and I was right. :o)

Who's been using dad's razor?

It didn't take long to solve the mystery of who used dad's electric razor. Kyle came into my office the other day and told me I need to check out Cole's eye brows and advised me that he looked pretty goofy and that should be punishment enough. LOL! I think he's right. Cole says it was an accident. Hmmm....I just don't know how one slips and falls on a razor and happens to shave off the middle of their eyebrows...but that's just me. (that's not how he said it happened...but he may as well have) Good thing hair grows back.

This picture was taken with my little purse camera at his game Saturday. It is grainy because it was on the wrong setting. He had team pictures that day too...nice, huh?! They lost their game but Cole scored 14 of the 22 points for his team. He's an awesome basketball player!

Don't judge me!

***Edited at bottom-progress update***

My friend Amy has been working very hard on her scraproom for the past several days now, so it motivated me to want to work on my pig sty. I don't know how it got to be this bad, but I'm embarrassed and ashamed. It's never looked this bad. I'd like to blame it all on my family, but they are only responsible for a portion of the mess. Most of it is mine. Lots of projects in progress at the same time, mail everywhere, packages that are incoming and outgoing, valentine stuff, lots of shoes, socks, clothes (those are not mine) and lets face it...just a bunch of crap that needs to be thrown away or put away. Paper is my enemy! Not the pretty stuff...it's the mail, school papers, church papers, scout papers, receipt's, banking papers, business papers, etc that consume me. I need to come up with a good organizational solution for all of that crud so I can have some peace of mind. My bookcases are all still organized, but I do need to take everything out and dust it all. Dust is enemy number two! I have a couple of the young women coming over in 5 hours and counting to work on invitations, so my goal is to make a dent in this mess before then. When I'm done, I plan to post new pictures of a much less stressful environment. The clock is ticking...gotta fly!

Note my disclaimer in the last picture. This quote is on the wall in here. It says...

I'm creative-you can't expect me to be neat too.

clicking publish.....now! (shudder)

Progress update as of Thursday morning....Yes, I am a real girl, with real messes...big ones too! It's still a disaster in here. I did finish up 3 of the projects in progress that had to be done by last night for the young women. I work in here in between distractions....you know what I mean by distractions. Getting your kids to do their homework, laundry so Mark has clean work clothes, run up stairs to put something away and for some reason decide that your bathroom MUST be cleaned right now, Are you making dinner?, Hey mom...we need milk, Jolene...can you bake cookies for cub scout pack meeting tonight, stain and seal the cub scout tree and make a word search about recycling...yada yada yada. You get the picture. So this room WILL get done, but it will take a little longer than I'd like with all of my lovely distractions. Believe me...there's nothing I'd like more that to redeem myself with some clean room pictures.