The Happy Couple

I just wanted to post a few pictures of Spencer and Grace on their wedding day last November. We're pretty blessed and super grateful to be able to call Grace family. These two are great together!

The Stowell clan (We were missing Sterling!)

The Garvins and the Stowells

Family History Fun

Are you a FamilySearch fan? Have you ever tried any of the activities and games available? Here are three of my favorites:

1. Picture My Heritage:

In this one, you can put your face in an old photograph. There are options for men, women, or groups. We prefer the groups and Sadie especially has had fun with this one. Sometimes she'll replace her face for everyone in the photo like this (yes, those are all Sadie's face):

Or sometimes she'll just replace one face like this (this one is my personal favorite - Sadie put her face in for the child grasping the ostrich's neck. So funny!):

Anyway, click here to go to the website. Then select whether you want males, females, or groups. From there you just select the photo you want to put your face in and it will guide you through the process. Fun stuff!

2. Geneopardy

This game isn't through FamilySearch, but it will ask you to sign into your FamilySearch account because it uses your family history to ask you questions. So you get to know more about your history and what might have been going on in the lives of your ancestors. 

Make it a contest. Play with your siblings or kids and see who can get the most right. You can also choose how many generations you want the game to draw from. I've realized how little I know about the 5th generation and beyond.

3. Ancestor Challenge

If you click here, you'll go to a page full of various activities. Scroll down and click on Ancestor Challenge. This activity shows you ten photographs of ancestors, one at a time. For each photo, it will give you four names from your family history and you have to select the name of the person in the photo. Keep playing until you get 10 out of 10.

(Feel free to try out the other games and activites!)

Bonus: Relative Finder

I'm including this last one just for fun. It's not really a game, but when you sign in with your FamilySearch account, it will show you how you are related to all sorts of prominent people. Whether it's sports figures, presidents of the US, famous authors, or any number of other well-knowns, it's fun to see your connections. 

Have fun. :) And if you make any cool discoveries, I'd love to hear about it!

Restoration Proclamation

It's no secret that I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As I shared back in March, so much of my testimony of the gospel is rooted in the events surrounding the restoration. So I was excited when our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, shared this proclamation on the restoration at our General Conference last April. It says what I was trying to say in my post. 

The restored gospel of Jesus Christ brings peace and joy and shows us the way back to our loving Heavenly Father. I believe the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's church, restored on the earth in our day. And like the proclamation says, "those who prayerfully study the message of the Restoration and act in faith will be blessed to gain their own witness of its divinity and of its purpose to prepare the world for the promised Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."

If you want to know more, click here. Or e-mail me and I'd be happy to help you find answers to your questions.

 

Saving the Cake

Spencer and Grace were married in November. The cake was ordered a couple months in advance and it was our job to pick it up the morning of the wedding and deliver it to the home where the family celebration was to be held. Spencer told me he was excited to see the cake. He had given the bakery creative license and couldn't wait to see what they came up with. 

You can imagine my surprise when I looked in the box and found a plain white cake base. I told the baker about my conversation with Spencer and how he was expecting them to decorate the cake. She understandably looked horrified. It turns out it was just a big misunderstanding. Spencer thought he'd given them creative license, paid a deposit, and would pay the rest later. The bakery notes said he ordered a plain white base and had paid in-full up front. At this point, it didn't really matter who was right. I had a plain white cake base and limited time to drop it off and get to the ceremony. 

Several ideas popped into my mind during the drive and by the time we arrived, I had a plan. Grace loves poinsettias so we had those for some of the table decorations. They had curly gold things in them so we were able to use those as well as the flowers. I had some pretty gold ribbon with me, again for the tables, that we incorporated as well. Fortunately, the family whose home we were using knew that the sap of the poinsettias contains harmful chemicals so they advised us to wrap the poinsettia stems in plastic wrap so they wouldn't leak on the cake. Good save! 

Here's the finished cake. Not bad for a 10 minute decoration job, if I do say so myself. While Spencer eventually told Grace what happened, she had no idea during the celebration itself. Fortunately, this is the worst thing that happened all day and it wasn't even that bad. Whew!

 

Homebound

Like everyone else, a lot of our plans have been canceled over the past year, but if I must stay home, I'm sure glad I get to stay home with these guys. Turns out, home is my favorite place to be. 

Easy Cheesy Garlic Pizza Bread

This is one of our favorite quick meals around here. When the world shut down and the kids were home everyday, we must have eaten this for lunch at least 2 or 3 times a week! It's super easy to make and only takes about 10 minutes from start to finish. 

Easy Cheesy Garlic Pizza Bread

1 or 2 loaves Jimmy John’s day-old bread*

Butter or margarine

Garlic bread seasoning (Click here for the recipe)

Shredded cheddar cheese

Pepperoni

     Cut each loaf of bread in half lengthwise. Lightly butter each piece and sprinkle with garlic bread seasoning (substitute with garlic salt, if needed). Sprinkle with cheese and cover with a row of pepperoni slices. Place under broiler for 3-5 minutes, checking every couple of minutes, until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. Cut each piece into fourths. Serve warm.

*You can ask for "day-old" at Jimmy John's. At the location near us, which happens to be store #00001, it costs 50 cents a loaf and you can buy up to 4 loaves. Sometimes they sell out, but they seem to have it 90% of the time around here. If it's not available where you live, you can always use French bread or Italian bread loaves instead.

Dynamite

We're still big fans of BYU Vocal Point around here. Here's their latest video, complete with three members of the BYU Young Ambassadors rockin' the dance moves! 

The Wonky Donkey

I've been a wee bit homesick for Scotland. 

I served in Scotland as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1992 and 1993 and, sadly, I've never been back. The plan was that I, along with 2 friends, would go back last September. I renewed my passport and was more than ready to return to my bonnie Scotland. But then - you know what I'm going to say - Covid hit and never went away and our plans were foiled. 

Someday I'll get there and I can't wait! But in the meantime, I'll remember all the little things I miss, like the accent. Nothing stops me in my tracks like hearing the Scottish accent. It always brings a smile to my face. So enjoy this adorable video of "the Scottish Granny" reading to her wee grandson. I dare you not to laugh...

Living the Dream

The "Past Forward" writing group I attend hasn't met since last March, only days before the world shut down. Mid-April, a month into "lockdown" and with no clue how long it would last, we were encouraged to write down our thoughts about the virus and staying home. Here's my short piece, written April 14, 2020. And for the record, as anxious as I am to be rid of face masks and to gather with others without a second thought, I still feel like I'm living the dream.

Living the Dream

I woke up and looked at the clock. 4:59am. I turned off my alarm before it went off at 5 so I wouldn’t wake my husband. I got out of bed, knelt to say my morning prayers, and quietly left my bedroom.

I have things I want to do today, or rather, I have things I wanted to do last week or last month that didn’t get done because everyone is home. By everyone, I mean two of my six kids and my husband. But I’m the mom and I take that title seriously. I like to mother. So when I’m in the middle of something and someone needs me, I stop what I’m doing. I like being available, even if that means watching a Hallmark movie on the couch with my daughter because she asked. Or four Hallmark movies…but who’s counting? Sometimes that means making cookies or muddy buddies or dishing up goldfish crackers because school from home requires regular snacks. Sometimes it’s just being available to answer questions about school, even if the answer is “Ask your brother. He knows how to set up a Zoom conference.”

Then there are my other four kids. Three of them are students at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah and one is serving as a missionary in Texas. My daughter just got married in January but has now been without her husband longer than she was with him because he’s at basic training for the Marines. She’s doing really well under the circumstances, but sometimes she has a really hard day so the phone rings a lot. And I talk to her. My missionary son can call twice a week and I drop whatever I’m doing to talk to him. My oldest son has a habit of calling while he walks across campus to the library (where he’s still allowed to study, social distancing all along the way). And sometimes he gets a little philosophical and so our conversations go a bit long. I can talk on the phone while I do the laundry, make dinner, clean the kitchen, etc., but all those “things I want to do” require a little more focus. I save those for the times when I’m home alone while Jeff and the kids are away each day. Only now they’re not.

And so, in an effort to have my productive alone time, I woke up at 4:59 this morning. I made progress on a project before the kids started getting up. I’ll get back to it eventually. In the meantime, I get to mother even more. It’s quite a nice perk, really, since in just over three years I’ll have an empty nest. Being the mom has always been my dream job and so I guess you could say I’m living the dream. That’s what it feels like to me.

So Much To Be Grateful For

Wow. 2020. What can I say? Goodbye and good riddance? But even after all the grief the year has brought, I can't help but feel really grateful for the beautiful things we've experienced. I've posted next to nothing, but that's not because there's been nothing happy to post. Two weddings (Savannah in January, Spencer in November), our first grandbaby on the way, more time together at home, our 25th wedding anniversary, time with family in Utah and Idaho, and Sterling's unique missionary opportunities in Texas, just to name a few. We have many reasons to look back on this year, smile, and be grateful. In so many ways, good and bad, it's been a year like no other. Let's focus on the good.

Merry Christmas!