Invitations

There's been a lot of discussion in our ward lately about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. I've loved it--I get so complacent with my sharing because I live in a place which I assume is mostly full of people who already are members or who know about the gospel and aren't interested. And yet... so many are reaching out for that something which will satisfy the soul, and are hungering. That includes members of my own family, my own self, my neighbors, random people at the grocery store/park/etc, people I've met traveling, and many, many others that I have met across the years and by whom I may no longer live, but with whom I still keep in touch.

We've had many people mention this book by Clayton Christensen which I bought like 2 years ago and haven't read yet. Have you read it? I'm going to read it in September. I need a kick in the pants. I forget often that the field is white.

So... but... it's scary, right? And people have heard enough, right? Well. That's the thing. I've learned lately that as I make a plan and make a concentrated effort to pray for opportunities to share the gospel, my mind and heart are more attuned to those opportunities that already present themselves as part of my everyday living. That couple I chat with casually at the park... that mom in the diaper aisle at Target... that friend whose testimony is fragile right now and I haven't been sure how to help... the words will come as I pray for them. It is pretty cool. I haven't had any mind-blowing experiences so far, but I've had some really, really nice ones, and I'm glad for the invitation to pray for eyes to see those opportunities which present themselves.

Which brings me to the place where I'm residing with this now: our family mission plan is mostly to extend invitations to folks. Invite them over for dinner and Family Home Evening. Invite someone to a church activity. Invite a friend to a temple open house or to church. Invite someone to feel the love of the Savior by extending that love to them. There are so many ways to share the beauty of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and I'm excited to act more upon the ways in which I can fulfill my covenant to share His love and truth with those around me.

One of my favorite scriptures: "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life" (3 Nephi 5:13). I think I've erroneously assumed this applied to me wholly while I was a full-time missionary, and that I was sortof released from that when I was released as a missionary. I am starting to see how my calling to declare His word--in my home, in my words, in my actions--is not just a temporary thing. But it's not a scary or monumental, thing, either; I just get to invite people into my life, and to see the source of my joy because it's just a part of me and I talk about it easily, like I talk about other things I love.

This was a wordy post with no photos! But there you have the summation of what's been on my mind lately. Mostly. Here's a photo of a shirt I want to wear every day these days, since I get SO many stares at the belly lately. Oh my goodness I want this shirt so bad. So funny.

photo from amazon.com

Aaaaaanyway. "Go forth with faith to tell the world the joy of families....!" 

And so it is. As Christ becomes the center of our lives, our joy is amplified, and sharing that joy becomes a natural extension of our lives, as simple and laundry-filled as they may be. :)

Highlights from the Highline Trail

Nelson and I had such an amazing adventure on our weeklong backpacking trip: 

6 days of hiking plus a rest day, 

75+ miles, spanning the Uinta Mountains east to west,

6 passes (the saddle you hike up to before you get to the peak of a mountain),  

1 GPS track from a friend that never let us down

The Highline trail is definitely not for the faint of heart: it is a LOT of hiking, major elevation gain and loss every day, quickly changing weather, and extremely difficult-to-follow trails.  But now I understand why Nelson wanted to take me back only a year after he did it before-- you can't comprehend how beautiful the entirety of the Uinta mountains are, or how empowering it is to hike miles and miles every day and see your progress, or carry everything you need in your own backpack and live outside for a week until you actually do it!!!  I might have started as more of a faint-of-heart type, but with Nelson's help and detailed preparation, I think I can say that I ended up as a real "Highliner."

It was such an exhilarating feeling to make it to the top of a pass (North Pole, Anderson, Porcupine, Red Knob, Dead Horse, then Rocky Sea).  To look back and see the dense forest of pines in the low valley that leads up to a grassy meadow, then to the rocky, steep pass, then to look forward and see another grassy meadow valley full of streams and lakes and boulders with another dense pine valley beyond, with steep mountain peaks surrounding us-- that was the best part!  We often felt like we were in scenes of the movie Lord of the Rings in the beautiful places we hiked through.  Nelson called this trip "Return of the King" :). 

The varied terrain meant a variety of wildlife.  We saw two bull moose, bald eagles, deer, elk, squirrels, chipmunks, marmots, a badger, big mice-looking animals, woodpeckers and lots of pretty birds, a huge herd of sheep, some horses, and pack goats.  

The clouds were so beautiful-- big and white and puffy, all over the bright blue sky most days.  We felt like we were hiking right under the clouds at some points.  We had significant rain our first afternoon hiking, then again our last day.  I have never been in rain like we experienced our last 8 miles of hiking-- it was like a monsoon!  The trail that was wide and well developed at that point became like a running river of mud that we tried to hike around or step on rocks sticking up in the trail.  

We crossed probably a hundred creeks, streams, and rivers-- mostly without incident.  Nelson did slip off a wet rock and was above ankle deep in the water trying to cross a river in the rain our first day as we tried to hike quickly away from the moose, and the weight of his pack prevented him from steadying himself at all.  

We sang a lot as we hiked-- partly to keep ourselves entertained when we weren't panting up steep hills, and partly to keep the wild animals at bay-- and realized we don't know lyrics to a lot of songs as well as we thought we did.  I was singing "Let It Go" as we came to a river at the valley below Red Knob Pass one day, and we stopped there to filter some water.  Nelson made a comment about needing to find a place to go to the bathroom, then "Oh- you startled me!"  There was a bow hunter in head-to-toe camouflage on a hill right above us.  He came down and said that he had been sleeping, but that he heard some singing, "which wasn't a bad way to wake up!"  He was really nice, as were all of the people we met along the trail.  When we were about 14 miles from the finish, as we prepared to look for a place to camp, we ran into three backpackers from BYU who had started that day, attempting to complete the Highline trail in 5 days.  They were super friendly, but looked very ill-prepared with their ziploc baggie of paper maps and compass (no GPS), jeans and cotton T-shirts, and huge backpacks.  We hope that the crazy rain on their second day on the trail led them to make the decision not to try to do the whole Highline so they would be safe and not get lost.  We also enjoyed talking and listening to some cute Boy Scouts on their way up to King's Peak, which lightened things up for us on that tough, steep section of trail.

We took about 30 lbs of food, which was probably 10 lbs more than we needed, and we know exactly how we would pack food differently for another long backpacking trip.  After a few days, everything started tasting like everything else. . . peanut M & Ms that taste like beef jerky are not super appetizing.  Julie's favorite trail snacks were little Tilla-Moos of cheese and Chex Mix, and Nelson loved anything chocolate and Kind brand bars. We had a freeze-dried meal every night for dinner and some mornings for breakfast (we'll tell you our favorites if you need recommendations :).  

Nelson expertly hung bear bags every night, which held all of our food and "smellables."  This consisted of picking the right tree, tying a rock around an end of the rope, throwing it over the perfect branch, tying the bag(s) to one end of the rope, hoisting it up into the tree, then securing the free end of the rope onto another tree nearby.  I was amazed at how many knots Nelson knows and uses!  We mostly managed to hang the bear bag and be in our tent before it was pitch black except for Saturday night when we hiked as far and long as we could to cut down on our Monday and Tuesday miles.  Even though it was a little eerie being in a dark forest, it was really amazing to see millions of stars and the Milky Way that night.

Conclusion: Nelson makes the best hiking partner ever, and our experience on the Highline trail was epic!

We missed our kids like crazy, and were so thankful for those who helped take care of them while we were gone.  It's good to be home, but now I can't decide what is harder: taking care of three kids and running a household or hiking miles and miles each day :)

Banana Cookies

Hi all, I was supposed to post yesterday, but this week has been a little crazy. My Grandpa Thacker, who lives in Phoenix, passed away this week. He has been physically healthy until Monday morning. He just went unconscious and stopped eating/drinking and passed away on Wednesday. It is a blessing for him and his family because he has had dementia for many years and has lived in a care home for about 4 years due to the fact that my grandma, who is dying from cancer, cannot take care of him. We all thought she would pass first, but we think she has been holding on for him and probably will pass away in the coming months. My grandpa's funeral is next Friday. Kimball is staying home with the kids while me, my brother, and a couple cousins will drive down Thursday. I am actually very excited to see all of my siblings, cousins, parents, etc. Funerals for old people are more a happy celebration!

So....going along with the recipe kick we are all on, I thought I would share a yummy banana cookie recipe. We have a cookie recipe book from All Recipes that has 200 cookie recipes in it. I have loved it and use it often! We always have ripe bananas around our house because we like to eat bananas, but usually not fast enough before they get too ripe.

Banana Split Cookies

1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional
1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional

After mixing all together, cover and chill for 1 hour. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons onto lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until no imprint remains when touched. The cookies turn out very soft and chewy!

Alfredo Sauce

My kids love pasta, and I have gone through a couple alfredo recipes.  The one that has been our favorite was given to us by a friend, so I thought I'd share the love. 


melt 1/2 C butter in sauce pan
add 1 C half and half
  4oz cream cheese
   1/2 C parmesan cheese (I use the grated stuff from Costco)
   salt and pepper to taste
Stir continually until melted, then cook for 5-10 min still stirring


pour over your favorite pasta and voila!


I've added chicken to this, and I have also mixed it with some Hunt's 4 cheese pasta sauce which is really good as well.  My kids and husband love it!

Childhood Stuttering

Stuttering is something that makes a lot of parents worried, but is often times just part of a child's typical development. Not every child will go through a period of stuttering (A never stuttered, but E went through a period of a few months where she could hardly get a sentence out without repeating the first word over and over). The majority of those who stutter will grow out of it after a few months. This "stuttering" is called normal disfluency.

In my experience, the normal disfluencies usually occur during a time of rapid language growth in early preschool years (ages 2-4), as if the child is attempting to use all their newly-learned language but becomes disfluent as they try to organize everything in their brain.

Stuttering is in no way an indication of intelligence, and frequently people who stutter have higher than average language skills. It is simply a neurological phenomenon that affects the output of speech.


Here are some things to consider if one of your children or a child you know begins to stutter:

Type of Stutter: Typical disfluencies are usually initial word repetitions (saying the first word in the phrase over and over before continuing). If the child is stuttering in other ways (prolonging sounds - wwwwwwwe went to the store; "blocking" - looks as if they are trying to say a word, but it seems stuck; syllable repetition - "I want bu-bu-bu-bubble gum"), it is more likely to be a concern.

Family History: If the child has a family member who stutters (and never outgrew the stuttering), they are more likely to struggle with stuttering long term.

Age at Onset and Duration: If the child begins stuttering before age 3.5, they are more likely to outgrow the stuttering (usually within 6 months).

Gender: Girls are more likely than boys to outgrow stuttering. There are also more boys than girls who stutter in the first place.

Other Factors: If the child speaks clearly otherwise and has few speech errors, they will be more likely to outgrow the stuttering. 

Here are some suggestions for responding to a child who stutters (either as a long-term issue or a short-term, normal disfluency):

Reduce the Pace: As much as possible, help the child feel unrushed. Do this by slowing your own rate of speech, allowing enough time for them to talk and complete tasks, and organizing your day so there is less stress on quick performance.

Listen: Show the child you are really listening to the content of their message, not the disfluencies.

Reduce Questions: Reduce the number of questions you ask in succession.

Modeling: Use FHE or other opportunities to model appropriate turn taking with family members in conversation. Teach other children how to be patient and let the child who is struggling with disfluencies finish a thought. This is one of the hardest things for other kids!

Special Time: Set aside time to do something of the child's choice so they feel safe and loved by you. Reduced stress usually decreases stuttering.

For some fantastic information (including parent-friendly pamphlets and articles), check out the Stuttering Foundation website.

Wheat Rye Pizza

Gross, right?

That's what I would think if Nate hadn't made it for me years ago after tweaking a recipe I brought home from work.  It actually tastes really good and I think it's relatively healthy.  :)

Crust:

1 C. whole wheat flour
1 C. white flour
1/2 C. rye flour (if you don't have rye go ahead and just use white or wheat flour)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. yeast
3/4 C. water
1 tsp. olive oil

Sauce:
1 can unsalted diced tomatoes, drained  (I recommend petite diced tomatoes)
1 diced onion
2/3 tsp. dried basil
2/3 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. oregano

Toppings of your choice.

To make:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Coat a pan with cooking spray.

In a bowl combine the flours and rye, sugar, salt, and yeast.

Add the water and oil and work the dough.  Add more water or flour as needed.  Today I had to add probably an additional 1/4 C. of water to the dough.  I guess it depends on how dry things are when and where you cook!

Cover the dough and let it rise as you prep the sauce.  (At least 10 minutes)

Combine the tomatoes, diced onion, basil, black pepper, and garlic powder.*

Stretch the dough.  Spread the tomato mixture on top to for a sauce of sorts.  Then top with cheese and whatever other toppings you like.  Cook for about 20 minutes.

This pizza is a great way to serve up garden veggies.  Last year we actually used tomatoes from our garden instead of canned diced tomatoes.  Very yummy!


*In the past we've always left the diced tomatoes diced.  However, tonight I made this recipe and my diced tomatoes were not petite, they were just normal diced tomatoes.  So I decided to puree them in the blender with about 3/4 of the chopped onion. Oh my.  I preferred the sauce this way instead of the pieces of tomato.  You'll have to try both methods to decide which way you like best, but I'll probably be pureeing mine in the future!