Filed Under Easter, holidays | Leave a Comment
It was so fun to be able to go to Idaho and see my family for the weekend. The kids loved the Easter Egg hunts and the adults loved the talking and “grown up time”. Of course, those who weren’t there were missed terribly, but that’s the tough part of having a big family is that it is really difficult to get everyone together.
Here are a few pictures:
For the egg hunt, we put initials on everyone’s eggs so that they would all get the same amount of eggs. It was super fun because the hunt lasted a lot longer and even though some of the older kids found almost all the eggs right off, they couldn’t pick them up if their letter wasn’t on them. The kids had a blast and even the older “kids” had fun trying to find their eggs.
We also attempted to make Bread Bunnies which was a lot of fun, but ours didn’t look near as pretty as this picture, but they were sure yummy~
We just used our favorite bread or roll recipe and then put frosting on top. Putting cinnamon and sugar on the bottom and then frosting on top would have been extra yummy.
Hope you had a great Easter!
www.Time4Felt.com
www.Time4Felt.com
Filed Under recipe | Leave a Comment
So my latest creation in the kitchen is a recipe for a french silk/dark chocolate pie. I crave it now on a regular basis. You will need:
Dark chocolate candy bar (or dark chocolate chips)
1 small box chocolate pudding
1 small container Cool Whip
Pre-baked pie shell
Nuts (optional)
To make it, I start out with my favorite pie crust recipe and then pop that in the oven to bake. When the pie crust comes out and is cooling, I will put the dark chocolate chips or chunks of the candy bar (fairly small) into the bottom of the shell. You want to do this quickly so the heat from the pie shell will melt the chocolate. When the chocolate looks like it is soft, take a spoon and smooth it around the pie shell. I like to smear it around the bottom and even up onto the sides. When you are done, leave the shell to finish cooling.
Make pudding according to the directions on the side of a pie. When it is ready, add the cool whip to the pudding and mix. I usually end up using the whole thing to make it creamy and delicious. If you would like to add nuts, I also mix it into the pudding mixture. When the pie shell is completely cooled, dump the pudding mix into the shell and chill. You can serve it with a little chocolate syrup on top or some chocolate shavings for effect if you would like.
YUM! Enjoy!
www.Time4Felt.com
www.Time4Felt.com
Filed Under Mom Time | Leave a Comment
It all started about 2 1/2 years ago. Jefe’s job was getting worse and worse and I was struggling to work full time (nights) at McDonalds. I had recently found out I was pregnant and was trying desperately to work through exhaustion, sickness and just plain being overwhelmed in order to pay for our house, car, food, etc. Then some complications happened with my pregnancy that made it an impossibility to work. In fact, I was put on “sit-rest” for 6-8 weeks.
From there, we got a new job and moved back to Utah to live with family while we tried to short sale our Arizona house. Within 2 weeks we had an offer but it took an aggravating 6 months for the house to close. We tried everything we could to stay current on our home loans until the day the bank told us that the “Would not approve the sale of our home unless we were 90 days past due on our loan”. Another crushing blow. Our credit (and it felt like our integrity) was going down the drain and there was nothing we could do about it. Our realtor was a leach and a liar. Pretending to help us out, but actually not telling us when the bank needed paperwork or another copy of something. He falsified reports, lied to his boss, and even told the bank at one point that we were no longer interested in selling the house at all!! Our complaints to his boss (and his boss’s boss) went unheard and we finally had to take matters into our own hands and direct the bank to not contact him anymore but to let us personally know if there was anything they needed (which is basically unheard of in a short sale process).
Finally the 1st mortgage was approved but the 2nd mortgage would only approve if we would PAY THEM $2000 just to close it. It felt like we were bribing them (which we kinda were) just to close the sale. But the buyers were getting inpatient and they said it was the only way. We maxed out our credit cards and pulled everything together we could manage to give them the money to close. It felt so unethical, and yet, in their words “This is the only way”.
Things started to look up from there a bit. We had a new baby, a tiny apartment (with 6 of us crammed inside) but we were on our own again.
Still, a piece of myself felt lost and sad. The kids and my husband were great! They gave me extra kisses and hugs and even space when I just needed space. After a year, we moved into a house that my uncle was kind enough to rent to us. Things seemed to be looking up, but still that piece of me…I could feel at some point that I needed to be doing more to grow myself. I needed to read my scriptures, find uplifting material to pour my heart into and come away feeling strengthened, but no matter how hard I wanted to try, something inside of myself resisted.
My uncle gave me a book as a gift. Others had told me what a wonderful, uplifting book it was and how much I would grow from listening to it (it is a book in CD). After 2 months of having the book and not listening to 1 minute, guilt won out and I put in a CD one day. Nothing registered. I listened to almost 2 full CD’s with no change. Was I really THAT far from where I wanted to be?
I decided to ease my way into reading again by borrowing a set of books from my mother in law. The books (The Hunger Games) were captivating and exciting. They weren’t really uplifting, but they got me reading again. I finished all three in a week and a half.
Another friend had been talking about a book by Glenn Beck and Keith Ablow called “The 7 Wonders that will Change Your Life.” On a whim I bought it for myself for my birthday, but it sat on the counter for 2 months before I would even pick it up. During this 2 month time, I slowly began listening to the CD’s of the book called Promptings. Bit by bit a sentence or 2 would register with me. I felt a spark coming back to life. By the end of the “book” I had found several things I could work on in my life and was excited to being to improve myself again!
Another wonderful change has been in my quality as a mother. I have been listening to the promptings that I have received and have changed myself and have found better ways to motivate and inspire my kids. I am opening my heart to more prompting around me and trying to become a better person and a better friend. I am looking more for what Glenn and Keith describe as the “bread crumbs”.
I wouldn’t change the experiences that I have had for anything because I believe that I am a better person because of it. I have learned so much about myself and have found new ways to grow and become much better.
As the title suggests, in a way, each day is a new beginning. A change to make yourself better, a change to DO better, and a chance to help lift those around you to be better as well.
I challenge each my readers to take a good look inside and decide if you have a passion for each moment you are living. If so, your are so very blessed, congratulations! If not, begin today to take 1 small step to awaken your passion within. If you are like I was a few months ago, you may not know where to start, but may I suggest one of the books I have told you about. They are amazing and could help awaken a passion for living each moment within you, as it has for me.
www.Time4Felt.com
www.Time4Felt.com
Filed Under Funny, Kids | Leave a Comment
My kids always look so angelic when they are sleeping….
And yet I find out that they other night Superkid was texting his Grandma at 2 am. Good thing it was someone who loves him instead of just a random person in my contacts list.
www.Time4Felt.com
www.Time4Felt.com
