Happy Birthday, Brother Joseph!

A few weeks ago in Relief Society we had a lesson about the prophet, Joseph Smith.  The teacher invited us to share our favorite stories about Joseph Smith, but time was short and I didn't have a chance to share mine.  Today, on the 208th anniversary of Joseph Smith's birth, I want to share one of my favorites.

When the Saints were living in Nauvoo, Joseph Smith was the mayor.  One day a black man named Anthony was brought before the mayor and charged with selling liquor on the Sabbath.  Anthony begged for leniency, explaining that he needed to year money to buy the freedom of his child who was a slave in another state.  Joseph Smith told Anthony that justice must be served and that he would have to pay the fine.  The following day, the prophet brought a fine horse to Anthony and told him to sell the horse and use the money to free his child.

This story has always stood out to me as the perfect balance of justice and mercy.  I think it is a beautiful example of the wisdom of Joseph Smith and his ability to walk in the footsteps of his Savior, Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas!

I Have a Present for You

Yes, I really truly do! It is the season of giving and I want to share!

If you've read my blog for awhile, you know that I'm committed to helping families prevent and heal from addiction, especially pornography addiction.  To further this effort, I have an awesome book to share with you.  Email me at ToHappyHartz (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address and I will send you a copy along with a bookmark I made that highlights some of my favorite passages.  Click HERE to read a post I wrote about the book, He Restoreth My Soul, a few years ago.

Bonus #2:  THIS post helps you teach your kids exactly what to do if they accidentally encounter pornography.

Bonus #3: THIS post has a link to a resource book for LDS families that you can download for free!

Merry Christmas!  I hope you enjoy these gifts.  They are some of the most important things you can give your family.

Black Bean Soup

I just tried a new recipe that we all really liked.  It's pretty quick and easy too!  Here's my version:

2 onions chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 celery ribs, chopped
1 cup carrots (or red bell pepper) chopped
1 cup salsa
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
4 cans black beans (undrained)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbl lemon juice
2 1/2 Tbl cornstarch
parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

In a large soup pot mix veggies, salsa and broth. Heat to boiling and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add one can of beans, salt and cumin and cook for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and puree with immersion blender.  Add the rest of the beans and lemon juice to soup.  Combine cornstarch with 3 Tbl water, then add to soup. Stir soup and cook till thickened a bit.

Garnish with a little parmesan cheese if desired.

A Gift I'll Always Remember

I'm usually pretty strict about Christmas presents. Sometimes I let the kids choose their own gifts, especially when it comes to clothes, but I always take them home and wrap them up. They don't get to open presents early, except for one gift on Christmas eve. I choose the present to be opened and somehow it always turns out to be pajamas!

Fortunately, Marianne is not such a stickler.  In fact, she gave me one of my Christmas presents early.  She asked me to reserve Monday night and told me I would be receiving a gift.  After I put Lavender to bed, I came downstairs to find Marianne's music stand set up in the living room.  A few minutes later, her flute teacher, Cheryl, arrived and the two of them gave me the most wonderful gift.  I was feeling generous, so I shared my gift with John and the boys.

All four of us were treated to a beautiful Christmas mini-concert.  Marianne and Cheryl played some lovely duets including:
It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas
The First Noel
What Child Is This
We Three Kings
Home for the Holidays

The music was so beautiful and it was such a pretty scene with them playing next to the Christmas tree while the lights reflected in their gleaming flutes.  It really was a dream come true to hear my daughter play the songs of Christmas so beautifully.  I am grateful she has such a kind and thoughtful teacher. Thank you Marianne and Cheryl for one of the best gifts I've ever received!

How to Make Your Christmas Merry!

My mother and mother-in-law both loved Christmas.  They loved decorating, baking, serving and celebrating.  I am following in their footsteps and Christmas is my favorite time of year.  But I know that not everyone feels that way.  Christmas can be stressful and exhausting.  In fact, a friend of mine recently confessed in Relief Society that she has always hated Christmas.  I often hear women bemoan all the things they "have to do" at Christmas time. It makes me sad that the season to celebrate Christ's birthday makes so many of us want to throw in the towel.

So here is my secret for making Christmas "the most wonderful time of the year."  Are you ready? Here it is:

Do the things you love, and eliminate (or drastically reduce) the rest.  

If (like me) you love writing a family newsletter and sending Christmas cards to everyone you've ever known, then do it!  But if you shudder at the thought of signing, stamping, licking and addressing, move on and don't feel guilty!  Sure, you may decide to send a card to your grandma, but don't worry about sending cards out, even to the people who send you one every year.  Work together with your family to make space for your cherished traditions, but don't feel pressured to stay up all night making gifts for everyone in your neighborhood! Learn to say no and don't make anything more complicated than it needs to be.  For most of us, Christmas is a lot of work.  Just make sure you're doing the work that brings you peace and joy.  That's what Christmas is all about!

If you love decorating the tree in heels, go for it!

May you feel's the Savior's peace and joy this Christmas!

Not a Fan

She calmly watched the other kids sit on Santa's lap and she was excited for the candy cane, but as soon as we sat her on his lap she lost it!

3, 2, 1 . . .

Blastoff!

That's kind of what it felt like this week at our house.  We babysat our wonderful granddaughters for a few days, so we had three little girls ages 3, 2 and 1!  It was crazy at times, but I am so grateful we had the opportunity to spend so much time together.  A few memorable moments:

Sweet Brianne knocked on our bedroom door and exclaimed with excitement, "Look Papa!  The sun is coming up!"

Lavender was thrilled to wake up to find her nieces there each morning.  She gave them hugs and couldn't stop giggling.

Brianne helped Leighton take off her bib and said, "Hold up your hair." Instead of lifting up the hair by her neck, Leighton grabbed the hair by her ears and held it up like ponytails.

Although the girls did fight over toys, they were usually very sweet.  Often, I would look over to see one of them stroking the other's hair or giving a little hug.

Early one morning, I told Brianne that I would take her downstairs after I finished my prayer.  I knelt down and started to pray, when I heard a little whisper by my ear, "Grandma, am I supposed to fold my arms?"

Three

Two

One

Aren't they wonderful?!

Special Delivery

Have you gotten any Christmas cards in the mail yet? What would you say if I told you I got a Christmas card from my grandpa who passed away five years ago?  Here is the story of how it was delivered:

Yesterday, I had a sick baby to care for and lots of other things on my plate. Yet I kept having the feeling that I should go out to the garage and sort through some family pictures. I knew I didn't have time to start on that project, but the thought wouldn't leave my head. Finally, I went out and found the box I needed. I quickly looked through it, but felt prompted to open another box. I brought it inside and was disappointed to find that there weren't many photos. I did find a folder that my mom had labeled "Geneaology." Inside the folder, I came across an old Zobrist family newsletter. It mentioned my marriage to John and I thought that was fun to see. Then I noticed the newsletter also had a Christmas messge written by my grandpa. I quickly skimmed it and thought it might be nice to share with my family later in the month. I put everything back in the garage to deal with on a less busy day.

As I was making dinner, thoughts of my grandpa kept coming into my mind. Eventually, I realized I needed to pay attention and I got the message. This was something I needed to share my extended family and I needed to do it now!

Grandpa may have passed away several years ago, but apparently he wants his family to hear from him this Christmas!

So here is the Christmas message, written by my maternal grandfather, Herman Arthur Zobrist on December 21, 1987.  He refers to his parents (calling them Mother and Father or Grandma and Grandpa), Anna Allenbach and Herman Zobrist who were from Switzerland.

As we come into the Christmas season our thoughts are of the Savior and his great gift to all of us.  In fact, to all of God's children who ever came to this planet, or who ever will.  It is a great time of the year for all of us to evaluate our lives and, if necessary, make sure we are going in the right direction.
         I always think of my Father and Mother at this time of year and of all the great gifts they gave to me, and all of their posterity.  As I have been to the birthplace of my parents, I am so very thankful that they left that cold and beautiful land to come to America, that all of their descendants would have a more abundant life.  They had many trials and problems in their new home and yet they built something very important to all of us.  
         My father instilled in all of us the willingness to work and to always be honest in all of our dealings with our fellow men.  The greatest thing I remember about Grandpa was his ability to put all things in their proper perspective.  It is one thing I have always admired, and yet I was never able to do like Dad did.  To my Father, there were only two things that were important, His Family and The Church.  All other things were secondary to him, nothing ever interfered with these two prime things in his life.  Some day, I hope we can all have the Testimony he had for the Gospel and for his family.
         Many you of younger people never had the privilege of knowing your Grandpa and Grandma, but you may all hold your heads up high for the way they lived their lives, and for the heritage they left each and every one of us.  I hope and pray that all of us will try each day to live as Grandpa and Grandma would have us live. Remember they are watching us every day and hoping that some day we will all be together as a family again.  
         Let us each strive always to live up to the Heritage they left us, and that they will be as proud of us as we are of them.

Herman Zobrist           

I am grateful for eternal families, especially at Christmastime! And now just for fun, here are a few pictures of Grandpa and his parents.  To see one of my favorite pictures of Grandpa, click HERE.

Grandpa as a young man.

Grandpa, a bit more middle-aged

Grandpa's parents (and my great-grandparents) Herman and Anna Zobrist

Great Grandpa and Grandma Zobrist at their 50th wedding anniversary celebration

Thanksgiving 2013

We had 18 people at our house for Thanksgiving.  My sister's family joined us and we were all especially excited because my brother David and his wife Annie flew in from Texas.  Sadly, my dad and Carolyn weren't able to make it because Carolyn was recovering from back surgery.

I thought it would be fun to list our menu and links to a few recipes. Annie & David even brought their baking supplies to make an apple pie!

Appetizers

• baked brie
• crackers
• turkey (shaped) vegetable platter
• hummus
• bean dip
• chips

Dinner

• turkey
• stuffing
• roasted garlic mashed potatoes
• scalloped potatoes
• green beans with almonds
• yams
• mandarin orange jello salad

Dessert

• pumpkin pie
• apple pie
• chocolate cream pie
• banana cream pie
• pecan caramel pie (bake in ramekins for GF folks)
• ice cream
• whipped cream

After our delicious meal, we took a walk to the park!  Here are a few of us along the way.

It was a lovely day except for one thing.  Lavender learned how to climb out of her crib and she's been doing it ever since.  I don't have the luxury of shutting the door and letting her cry because she sleeps in our walk-in closet (which doesn't have a door!)  She just climbs into our bed in the middle of the night and thinks it's a great arrangement.  Not! Then she got sick, so I haven't had the heart (or energy) to keep taking her back and insist she stay put.  As soon as she is better, we will be undertaking operation "stay in your own bed all night long."

Pretending to sleep after laying down with her bears.