Bettering ourselves in 2012.. Relief Society Activity

Our first activity for the year was a fun one!

On January 12, 2012 we had 12 sisters share goals,

 thoughts and ideas

 for the coming year.

The 6 areas we focused on was Marriage/Family,

 Home making, Self-Reliance,

Compassionate Service,

 Temple/ Family History and Sharing the Gospel.

Katie Howe shared how we needed to be:

 Specific

Measure able

Achievable

Realistic

Time-Driven

When selecting goals.

*

Shelly Brown shared a motivating sign

 she made herself which said:

Arise and Shine Forth

She said that trying to get up early

and reading her scriptures and praying has helped

her have more energy

 and have a more positive outlook on her life.

*

Nicole Sorenson used a quote

 that has motivated her when planning goals.

"Aim High but not too high that you miss the target"

She also challenged us to read the January Ensign Article

which you can find

(here)

Recognizing God’s Hand in Our Daily Blessings

by Elder D. Todd Christofferson

"Asking God for our daily bread rather than our weekly, monthly, or yearly bread is also a way for us to focus on the smaller, more manageable bits of a problem. To deal with something big, we may need to work at it in small, daily bites. Sometimes all we can handle is one day—or even just part of one day—at a time."

*

Missy shared her desire to Read the Book of Mormon

 become healthier and Go to the Temple more often this year.

*

Diane Moore expressed her thoughts on being self reliant.

She expressed how her job of 20 years has blessed children in the child

protective services.

*

Paige Alexander shared her desire to depend on the Lord,

 share her growth and knowledge with others.

Paige wants to be able to help others in their time of need.

*

Kjelsie Egan told of her making a decision to

 "GO TO CHURCH EVERY WEEK"

Then it was

"GO TO ALL THREE MEETINGS"

Then it was

"ACCEPTING A CALL THAT CAME"

then it was

"GETTING HER TEMPLE RECOMMEND TO

DO BAPTISM'S FOR THE DEAD"

Kjelsie shared how making

these decisions have blessed her life.

*

Darla McIntyre gave the website

www.familysearch.org 

which is helping thousands find their ancestors.

She shared that doing genealogy is rewarding,

 but she enjoys getting to know her families better.

She shared a personal story about a family favorite

vacation spot for their family for years which

ended up being the location where some of her relatives had settled.

*

Eileen Christensen told of her love for her mother

who is now facing Alzheimers. She shared of the example of Compassionate

service her mom was to her before getting sick. She shared several

touching stories.

Eileen's message to us was we need to pray for opportunities

to serve, but we need to be aware, look and observe where those needs are.

*

Suzanne Hood shared a touching story called the

The Care-Collector
Author: Leo Ramington

In a bustling village, somewhere and sometime, there was a town square surrounded by trees where the collectors gathered. These were people who made a living collecting things other people had discarded. The collectors discovered that once you had enough of various discarded items, they became valuable again. The people of the village had the notion that if something was for sale, it must be worth buying. However strange this may seem, it was what the people thought, and this notion served the collectors well.

One collector had a splendid supply of glass bottles. He attracted attention to them by hanging some from tree and clinking them with sticks to make music. Another collector had a cartload of odd-sized shoes. She often commented how odd in size and shape people's feet were, so sooner or later her odd assortment of shoes would be distributed to the appropriate feet.

There were pot and pan collectors, stamp and book collectors, golf club and hat collectors, and comic book and sports card collector. All in all, it was quite a collection of collectors.

One day an old man came wandering into the village asking where the collector's plaza was located. He carried a large pack, but didn't seem to be burdened by its weight. Eventually, he found the square where the collectors collected, and he established himself off in one corner.

Naturally, the collectors discovered there was a new collector in town, and they eagerly inquired about what he had in the pack. He simply told them there was nothing in it but his lunch and a raincoat in case it rained. "You mean, you don't have a collection of some kind?" they asked. "Aren't you a collector?"

"Oh, yes," he said, "I'm very much a collector. But what I collect does not fit in a pack or a box. I collect people's care."

This was a strange idea to the people who heard this, so they asked him to explain. "Well, you see, I discovered long ago that one of the things everybody has too many of and constantly tries to get rid of, are cares, trials, burdens, sorrows, difficult times - all kind of things that weigh them down and make their lives sad. So I offer to collect these cares from the people and they feel better. Isn't that simple?"

Some of the regular collectors who heard this thought it was a silly belief and possibly one that was dangerous to their honored profession. They even considered reporting him to collector inspector.

"But how will that help me?" the inquirer asked. "Can you make the problem go away just because I tell you about it?"

"No," the care-collector replied, "but you will fell better about it. Try it."

So the person told the old man about something that was a problem. When the story was finished, the care-collector nodded his head deeply a few times, and then put his hand together as if to scoop up something heavy. He pretended to put it into his pack. "There, I have put it away. How do you feel?" he asked.

The person who had the care collected said, "Why, I do feel better. I think I can handle the problem much better now. It really works!"

Word spread, Soon there was a throng of people who came to give their cares to the care-collector. His spot eventually became the most popular one in the square.

One day a woman came into the village walking very slowly and with considerable difficulty. She seemed so burdened that the villagers took her straight to the care-collector. When he explained to her what kind of collector he was, she began to wail, "Oh, you don't know how many cares and burdens and wound there are in this world. I have just come from a city where there are more hurt and cares than anywhere else. Everyone suffer and no one has any hope left. The worst part is that the rulers of the city thrive and prosper on the cares of the common people. It is a horrible, desperate place. I just had to leave. It was the only hope I had left," she concluded.

The care-collector looked very solemn, He stood up and lifted his pack in a gesture that was slower and more painful than anyone had ever seen before. After a long silence, he spoke slowly. "I must go there."

The villagers and the woman put up a great protest. They didn't want to lose their care-collector. They were afraid that this city might be too much for him. They begged him to stay.

The old man slipped away in the middle of the night, because he didn't want his departure to be a burden and a sorrow for the people he had helped.

It was not long thereafter when a weary and burdened young man came into the village. The people knew without asking that he'd come from the city. They helped him as best they could, and when he was feeling better, they asked him if he knew about the old man who had left for the city several weeks ago.

"Know him!" the youth replied. "Why the whole city has been talking about him. Haven't you heard?"

"Why, no," the people chorused back, "Tell us what happened."

"This old man came quietly into the city and nobody noticed him, at first," the youth recounted. "Then once in a while you could see him talking to people - mostly listening, really. When a person finished talking to him, he bowed his head and did a funny thing with his hands and the person began to feel better."

"For the first time in a long while," the young man continued, "people in the city began to feel better and have a bit of hope for their own lives."

"Yes, we know. He did that here, too," replied the villagers.

"Well, it didn't take long for the authorities to notice him. They told him to leave and to stop meddling in other people's lives. He simply refused," said the youth from the city.

The young man's eyes became very sad and he sobbed softly in his throat. He continued, "They put him in jail, at first, but even there he collected the cares of the other prisoners. Finally, the rulers decided that he was a subversive threat to their system of order and control. So they had him executed."

The villagers gasped. Some began to cry.

"I am so sorry to bring you this sad news about your friend," said the youth. "He was my friend also. He really, genuinely cared about me."

The youth went on. "I feel better for telling you, painful as it is for us all. You know, it is like what he did before he died, his listening and collecting cares." His voiced trailed off as an idea began to lighten his burden.

"It still works!" he exclaimed. "Collecting cares still works! You can do it for me, and I can do it for you. He only showed us how!"

The young man jumped up, filled with new energy and strength. "I'm going back to the city!"

But what will you do there?" asked several villagers in unison. "You'll get hurt again. There are too many cares and burdens in that city."

"Exactly! Exactly!" he continued. "That's why I'm going. I will become a care-collector!"

*

Suzanne shared her love for the Atonement and how this story

reminded her of the love Christ has for all of us.

*

Wanda Penovich shared missionary ideas that

she has learned from her husband. She says reading the scriptures every day

help us to be in tune with the spirit.

Then as we go along in our day, look for every opportunity to share the gospel

with others.

*

MaKayla Mackie just returned from her mission and shared

her love and testimony

 for the gospel. She challenged all of us to ask someone

 to come to church with us. She said expect to be turned down,

 but never stop asking.

She said ward members help out so much with missionary work.

******

As you can tell we had a wonderful night. Forgive my lack

of writing skills to give all these wonderful speakers their do praise.

We all left inspired and motivated to become better in 2012 "one day at a time"

****

 We served a yummy English Toffee pudding.

Here is the recipe:

heat oven to 350

grease 11x7 baking dish

boil 3/4 c. chopped dates for 5 min. in 1 1/4 c. water

(dates are found where you buy raisins, and they come chopped)

When dates are soft and cooled a little add 1 tsp. baking soda.

cream together 4 TBLS. unsalted butter, 3/4 c. sugar until light and fluffy.

Then add 2 eggs beaten and beat well.

Mix in dates, and 1 1/3c. SELF-RISING FLOUR

add 1 tsp. vanilla and pour into greased pan. 30 minutes or until firm.

***

decadent sauce:

(this is what makes the dessert)
heat all together in a pan until hot (not boiling and thick)
Can be made ahead of time and then heat up before serving.

6 TBLS. butter

5 oz. light brown sugar

4 TBLS. cream

you might need to double, or triple the sauce recipe.

Very small pieces of cake are needed with lots of caramel sauce.

This dessert is meant to be served warm with whipped cream on top.

Ensign Challenge Activity...

In November 2010 Sue issued a challenge to read the Conference

Ensign during the following 6 months.
We met together to share our feelings

and thoughts about what we read.
*
We were fed spiritually and physically with Sundaes!!

*
Thanks to everyone who made an effort to "read the Ensign".

*

Even though some of you were out of

town for spring break, you shared with us the joy

you felt reading the words of our leaders.

*

We love that our sisters are trying to follow the Brethren.

Crocheted Ear Warmer Headband Activity

The Relief Society met together at Marci Shaw's home

to learn how to make crocheted headbands.

Gabi Bodell was our instructor. (thank you)

19 sisters showed up, and had fun crocheting and counting stitches. A few of us had to start over a few times, but we finally "GOT IT"..

☺

This was Marci's last activity

that she was in charge of before getting ready

to serve her mission with Duane in St. George.

We will miss you♥

Thanks for being such a dedicated Relief Society Board Member.

Marci served delicious cookies!!!

Here's the recipe:

"Gingersnaps"

cream together

3/4 c. shortening

3/4 c. margarine

2 c. sugar

add 2 eggs

1/4 c. light molasses

4 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. cloves

2 tsp. soda

1 tsp. salt

mix them into balls and roll in sugar

and cinnamon mixture.

(1/4 c. sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon)

frosting:

powdered sugar

vanilla

water

drizzle across top of cooled cookies

Delicious!

Summer Activity 2010..My favorite things

Our activity was a great success..Judy Mackie hosted the event in her backyard. It was a beautiful night, the weather was perfect. We had tables with colored table cloths, each having potted flowers on them.

♥

Our menu was barbecued pork sandwiches, potato salad, baked beans and various other salads including fruit...Dessert was brownies and ice cream, cookies and Chrissy made cake balls!! Everything was delicious♥

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Sisters were invited to bring their "favorite thing to show and tell". Heidi and Sherrie held up items and the Sisters guessed whose they belonged to, then the Sister explained why it was their favorite thing.

♥

Sue and her daughter in-law Heather sealed quart jars of favorite treats for the sisters, for their food storage.

♥

Thanks to all who attended and who brought yummy food! This was definitely one of my "favorite" activites..Thanks Heidi, Judy and the R.S. committee!!!

Recipes for salads....May 2010

Paradise salad w/ pina colada dressing
(Sue Heugly)

Lettuce greens
Cooked and cut up chicken
Mandarin oranges (drained)
Pineapple tidbits (drained)
Red onion (optional)
Feta cheese (optional)
Toasted coconut (or plain coconut)
Chopped macadamia nuts

Dressing: (This is yummy)
½ c. + 2 Tbsp. sugar
1/3 cup pina colada mix (comes in a bottle in the soda pop drink area)
1/3 c. rice wine vinegar (can use apple cider vinegar but will be stronger tasting)
½ tsp. ginger powder
1 tsp. dry mustard
½ tsp. salt
1 ¼ c. veg. oil
In blender combine all ingredients except oil. Blend until light and frothy
With the blender still on, slowly add oil in a steady stream. Keep
Blending until dressing is thickened. (Can keep in fridge)


Greenwood Family Salad

(Delene)

1 16oz bag Fritos Chips
2 15oz cans kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 green pepper or more if you like (chopped)
1 bunch green onions (diced small)
3 or 4 tomatoes (copped)
1 can whole or sliced olives
I cup cheddar or mozzerella cheese (grated or cubed)
1 bottle Catalina or sweet french dressing (recipe below)

Mix all ingredients in large bowl (except dressing). Just before serving add dressing and stir carefully not to break chips.

Sweet French Dressing

(Jerry McMillan)

2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
juice of one lemon
2 tsp grated onion
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp sea salt

Mix all ingredients well (can shake in a jar)

Add: 1/2 cup salad oil
1/3 cup ketchup
Mix well and keep refridgerated until use.

(when using with above salad, use about 1 1/2 recipe of this dressing)

3 Bean Spinach Salad

(Michelle Abbott)

1 can each pinto, black, and garbanzo beans (drained)
4 oz canned diced chiles (8 oz for extra kick)
4 tsp garlic (minced)
1/4 or a yellow or red onion (diced)
2 tsp lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
*stir together*
Then add:
2 diced avacados
2 medium tomatoes
2 cups fresh spinach (chopped)

(You can also add corn or cilantro!)




Berry Medley & Granola Salad
(By Missy)

16 oz Cool Whip
32 oz vanilla yogurt
16 oz frozen mixed berries (use fresh if in season)
2-3 bananas
3 c granola
1/3 c craisins
(additional topping ideas toasted pecans, fresh berries, chocolate chips, coconut)
(vanilla yogurt could be substituted wit lemon yogurt or berry flavored yogurt)

Thaw Cool Whip and berries. Mix Cool Whip with yogurt then fold in berries and 2 ¾ c granola. Top with sliced bananas. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ c granola and craisins. (If you are concerned about allergies, leave granola out or serve it ala carte.)




Artichoke Shrimp Salad (Like Caesar)
(By Wendy Divine)

1 large head romaine
2 ripe avocados, sliced
1 c small shrimp, drained
1 jar marinated artichokes, chopped (reserve liquid)
juice of 1 lemon
¼ c parmesan cheese
freshly ground pepper
½ c garlic croutons

Wash & dry romaine and tear into bite-sized pieces. Add avocado, shrimp, and artichokes.
Combine liquid from artichokes with lemon juice. Pour over greens and toss lightly.(Not all dressing may be needed.)

Add parmesan cheese, pepper and croutons. Toss again.



Dilled white bean/grape tomato salad
(By Sue Heugly)

2 cans white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 c grape tomatoes cut in half
2/3 c red onion diced
¼ c fresh dill (can use bottled, but use less)
¼ c extra virgin olive oil
3 T fresh lemon juice
1 T balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic pressed
Toss together and season with salt and pepper. Cover and chill. Let marinate at least 1 hour.





Spinach Raspberry Salad

1 bag of fresh baby spinach
1/2 pound sliced strawberries
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 pound deep fried bacon cut in small pieces
3 spoons of cranberries
1 spoon poppy seeds
3 Tbls of raspberry vinaigrette

Mix all ingredients together just before serving.



Sarah Salad

(Cathy Davis)

1 head iceberg lettuce
peas
green onions
slices of mozzarella cheese (not shredded or it clumps up)
crispy bacon
salt
2 tsp sugar
pepper
1 1/2 - 2 cups mayo



Strawberry Heath Salad- Kylie Woodley
(Heidi brought this one)

Salad:
romaine lettuce
1/2 red onion, sliced
sliced strawberries
heath bits
fresh Parmesan cheese

Dressing:
1 cup mayo
1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tsp poppy seeds

Blend ingredients together just before serving.



Pasta Fruit Salad

(Marci Shaw)

3 cups cooked pasta (curly or bowtie)
2 cups red grapes
1 cup strawberries
1 cup pineapple tidbits
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup diced celery
1 cup mandarin oranges
1/2 cup chopped apples
1/2 cup chopped pecans or cashews

Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (16 oz) coleslaw dressing (Hidden Valley or Kraft)




Chinese Chicken Salad

( Adrienne van Komen)


1 pkg coleslaw salad mix
1 can (12.5 oz) canned chicken
ginger sesame salad dressing (to taste)
chow mien noodles (to taste)

optional add ins: shredded cheese, mushrooms, green onions, water chesnuts

Mix all ingredients together and serve.




Creamy Cole Slaw

(Vera Ritchie)

Cabbage-- cut in chunks- fill osterizer with cold water, add cabbage chunks and pulse once or twice. Empty cabbage into a colander. Chop cabbage as much as you need.

Carrots-- chop as above in ostrizer, in water

Apples-- chop by hand

Pineapple chunks-- add pineapple juice to mayonnaise

Sugar, salt, pepper, onion salt-- add a bit of each

Mix all ingredients together. Chill and serve


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Pictures of the activity are in the following post

enjoy the salads, they were all delicious!!!!

It was all about Dresses... for our Relief Society activity

The book that inspired the evening.

These were our darling invitations
made by Thais and Holly..They were fridge magnets reminding everyone of our event


We displayed the dresses that the sisters brought. We collected over 200 little girl and women's dresses. They were donated to several women's organizations



Our center pieces were blessing dresses of the sisters in the ward. We sprinkled rose petals around them.






3 sisters shared stories about their favorite dresses. Thanks to Heidi, Fern and Julie Dudley for some touching memories. Sue Heugly ended the night with comparing the message in the book to sisters in Relief Society. It was a message about reaching out to others.

Beth brought the house down with her collection of dresses she has saved for a few years.

Beth's prom dresses

Michelle Abbott had young women and sisters draw pictures of 100 dresses. We used these all over the cultural hall to decorate. The pictures were amazing.

We ate home made soups, rolls, salad, and yummy desserts! we visited and shared good times with one another.

Thanks to everyone who helped in any way to make this night a fun, successful night, especially Jan Bryner and her committee.
Thanks to the young women for tending our little ones, in the nursery.

Thanks to the union 3rd ward for your generous contribution's♥