Weekend full of blessings...

This weekend was full of blessings!, we enjoyed listening to Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi from the First Quorum of the Seventy of our Church speak at our Stake Conference, and he had his sweet wife share her testimony. He told some stories from his life of experiences that helped him grow in his testimony of the Gospel and it was so cool. It really helped to get to know him in such a very personal way.

In addition, we were double blessed this weekend... they dedicated the Twin Falls, Idaho Temple and broadcast the ceremony to all of the Stakes within the Idaho borders... so we were able to be part of that dedication ceremony in our own building. What a wonderful spirit to complete our weekend!

I thought this was blog worthy, not because of my attempt to display them (by the way I am not sure it is even worthy yet... still contemplating other ways to use these awesome pieces) but because of the amazing beautiful talent that my Sis has but is so humble and doesn't think she possesses.

She went to a glass blowers studio who is renting space in one of the buildings her company owns and manages (I might have the details wrong, the story escaped me the very second I opened the box when these arrived, just after my jaw dropped to the floor and my eyes welled up with tears of gratitude and joy and love for her thoughtfulness).

She made these in his studio. I love everything about them... the beautiful bright colors and how she put them together. The shapes the copper hangers she thought to put inside them ahead of time, so they could be turned into something cool. And her thoughtfulness to send them to me, believing I could do something cool with them (she always believes in me, even when I don't believe in myself).

Like I said, I am not sure the copper hanging I put them into does them justice, but I do love having them hang where I can see them over my kitchen sink and they make me think of her (even more, if that is possible) every day!! Thanks Sis! I love them!!!

Apricots!

I went visiting teaching last week. This is an area I am trying to be more perfect in... I am not there yet, not because I don't have the very best ladies to go visiting to... but mostly because I have much bigger intentions than I actually follow up with. If I could do everything I think of in my head, I would be an awesome visiting teacher. I am working on that balance somewhere between my visions and my reality.

One of my sweet ladies was dehydrating apricot fruit leather when I arrived (oh yeah, just to show how not perfect I am... I actually came a day earlier than we had written on the calendar... duh! which is why I caught her working... she always stops everything for me when I come and I totally caught her off guard. But like I said, wonderful ladies, and I will add forgiving too!!).

My mistake turned into such a blessing for me, because my MIL had given me her dehydrator before she moved to UT and I have been wanting to learn to use it ever since, really bad... but had so many fears and insecurities about it I hadn't done a thing with it yet! So this dearest friend, taught me the basics of making fruit leather, gave me a sample of hers, and sent me home with apricots to come home and make it with! How awesome was that!!! This bad boy dehydrator had so many layers I didn't think I would ever make enough of anything to fill it up... but guess what, I used all but two shelves on half of the apricots I brought home. This was exciting!
I was also blessed with this mini food processor (also from my MIL several years ago... it has made so many batches of salsa and guacamole I have lost count), just the exact right size for a batch of fruit leather.

And get this... the recipe is apricots... thats it, no sugar no nothing else!

I also dried some apricot halves, but they just took allot longer than the leather. And I had enough left over to freeze some for smoothies too!

What huge blessings from just going out and doing my visiting teaching... I always hope I can bring something into the homes that I visit that will bless or enhance their day in someway, and I always end up walking away with much more from them than I ever feel like I take (and not just material things like the apricots, most always it is something from their hearts that is not material). So when I am obedient and do what I am supposed to be doing (even when it isn't perfect) I am blessed, and those blessings come to my family as well!

This is a great lesson for me to learn to put those things that are most important first and not just try and work them in!