Walking to the Edge of the Light

Painting by Greg Olson

This is hanging in my house

A bazillion years ago, at a Stake Conference, I will never forget the statement by our visiting authority. He was talking about faith. He was illustrating faith by comparing it to walking along a dark road using a flashlight. He said that faith is stepping out into the darkness, just at the edge of the light, and trusting that the light would follow. I don't know if these were his exact words, but my memory is vivid of stepping out beyond the light of the flashlight. I don't see well in the dark, so this made a big impression on me. That visiting authority was Elder David Bednar.

We are walking by faith these days. I asked permission from my daughter to share our story. You see, a week ago, at a routine ultrasound, a hole was discovered in her baby girl's beating heart. The world stood still for them and life changed in an instant. They have waited a long time to begin their family, through no fault of their own, and now, through no fault of their own, they have been chosen to bear this trial.

Now a week later, we still know very little about what the plan will be, other than the fact that the defect is fixable, that all other organs and body parts appear to be perfect. They were told that there is a chance of a chromasomal defect causing the heart problem, and my daughter is agonizing over that too.

So we trust in God. I told her that Heavenly Father has the power to fill that hole in her baby's heart if it is His will. And if it is not His will, then we live in a day of amazing medical miracles.

So today, could you remember my daughter in your fasting and prayers? If you want to read her story, you can go here.  We are going to the pediatric cardiologist on Monday to hopefully find out more.....

And so we learn to walk to the edge of the light....and trusting that it will follow.

Guess where We're going Tomorrow?

 A picture is worth 1000 words.

I caught it!

The State qualifying relay team.....

Good luck girlies!

Garden Update

Despite my feeble efforts, due to swim meets and other activities, my garden has sprouted! I marvel every year at the miracle.....

 My first experiment with fall green beans.  It worked!!!  Plant them in late September.

Carrots are growing. I accidentally found out the way to get carrots to sprout....the hard way...more at the end of the post.

Sorry about the horrible lighting! This is the cabbage patch.

The peas sprouted too!

So did the lettuce.

And the onions!

This is the future cilantro patch!
For the life of me, I can't figure out how to grow spinach. Anyone have any ideas? Varieties? Tricks? I just doesn't want to sprout.

My accidental and possibly unfortunate trick for getting the seeds to sprout so fast happened a couple of weeks ago. We had been expecting rain and of course in Arizona, no one expects rain when they tell us. I had left my container of seeds outside thinking to myself that I would "get to it tomorrrow."  Yeah, right.

I woke up a few days later to the sound of rain on my roof. 
Hard rain.
Very early.

My collection of seeds were soaked.
All of them.
Including the ones I can't plant right now.

So I hastily planted the ones that I could, including the carrots, peas, lettuce and more cilantro.
Kept the ground wet.

And by golly, they sprouted!!

I've got a new patch of carrots, soaked and planted this morning along with the flowers. Trying another experiment this year.

And tonight I'm going to a class to learn how to grow fruit trees in small spaces.
Like back yards......

Here's hoping for more success.....despite my feeble efforts!

What a Difference a Year makes!

Last Monday night we had our annual (can't remember which number) Halloween party at Grandma's house. I figured this would be a fun way for us to celebrate together, Grandma gets to see the kids in their Halloween costumes and on Halloween night Mom & Dad don't have to stress over bringing the kiddies over to see their grandparents.

As usual, it was chaotic, fun, loud, at times hilarious......

This is a snapshot of the group from last year.....

This is the photo from last Monday.....

The fact that we got these guys up on the wall with no casualties was a miracle! Unfortunately we never got a photo with them all looking ahead at the same time.

So without further ado-and here's hoping that Blogger will download the photos.....
Here's the details of the party, complete with crafting, games, mummy dogs and a pinata!

This is a test

Just attempting to download a cute photo of Alyssa in her fast skin at the meet last week. She did a provisional time to be in the state competition in her backstroke and medley relay yesterday....crossing our fingers for her!!!

FYI

I had a fabulous pictorial post working yesterday.
Unfortunately Blogger tells me I have run out of memory space.
Wha.....?????
So until I figure out how to deal with it.
Or somebody gives me some advice on how to fix it.
My photos are temporarily suspended.

Grrr.......!@#$%^%^&&*()__

In the Mood

Ok, this is NOT that kind of post!!
My children read this blog!!

With the weather cooling down, it's amazing how much more interest I have in cooking.
It's fun to peruse new recipes and make a pot of something new.

Yesterday I decided to make home made chicken broth.
Don't gasp....it's EASY!

With homemade chicken broth, all you do is plop the chicken in a stock pot,
And some carrots, onions and celery.
I just rough chop them, they are just for flavor.
Fill the pot nearly full with water.
I also add a tablespoon of vinegar.
No, it doesn't affect the taste, it helps pull the minerals out of the bones in the chicken.

Bring it to a boil, then cover and turn the heat waaaayyyy down, so it is barely simmering.
And just simmer away.
For hours.
And hours.

Strain it and toss the veggies. They are wilted and the nutrition has been totally sucked out of them.
If there's any chicken left, you can save that too.

It's really delicious when cooked for 10-12 or more hours, rich and strong.
I then cool it and put it into mason jars and freeze it for later.

This is a great way to use up a chicken carcass that you have already eaten.
Getting two meals for the price of one!
And your kitchen smells wonderful in the process.
I know this may not be news to some....
But I've discovered something that makes the broth even better.
And that's a Costco roasted chicken.

I'll buy a chicken, eat up the yummy meat for dinner.
And then make chicken broth out of the carcass.

yummmmmm.
It would put anyone in the mood.......