December Visiting Teaching...

Wow, it just seems I am always in a whirlwind. Probably all self inflicted most of the time I KNOW but still it's a balancing act for me to get along in my world.

I have the most awesome friend and "visiting teaching" partner! She totally saved me this month, I had been trying to pull it together to go make actual visits to the homes. We have made great friends with the ladies we visit, so talking to them and keeping up with their families and lives and happenings is pretty natural now and occurs on a regular basis, but an actual lesson and visit in the home takes quite dance instructor to get all of our schedules in alignment :) It's not too hard, but it's that mountain for me to climb sometimes, just thinking about it.

Well Alison totally did it all for me. I just had to pull together the lesson. Well while I I always much more prefer listening to her teach me!!! I knew I couldn't drop the ball this time. I needed her to know how much I appreciated her getting us all scheduled and coordinated! It was just one of those times where my the dispatching in my blood was running cold.

So I studied and read and pondered the lesson, always learning more for myself than what the ladies we teach seem to need to learn... isn't that always the case when I put an effort into gospel study!

Since it is December, it was really appropriate to take them a token of our love and friendship... but since oxygen is depleted in "whirlwinds" (remember I just seem to live in one) I have not even thought about any Christmas candy making yet (it might catch up with me about January 12th or so...).

So I went searching for something simple, even more simple than my almond roca recipe... actually I just wanted something that also had a seasonal flair to it, a little color or something. So I found some pretzel turtles and decided to give them a try... couldn't be simpler!

So I picked up some pretzels and rolos (I already had some Christmas candy in some dishes for the boys to munch on and pecans in the freezer). I stacked them up and melted them for 4 min. in the oven.

Added the pretty colorful toppings, it was kind of fun to squish them down :)

Bagged them up and tied it with a red ribbon

and we were off! It really was more about the message and caring about those ladies we visit; remembering Jesus Christ our Savior and his atoning sacrifice, and much less about the treats.

But making them did kind of get me in the Christmas spirit of giving to others.

There were some turtles left over extra that I saved for my boys.

Jim, my caramel lover freak, declared he doesn't thing salt goes with caramel... I always LOVE (NOT!!) the boys declarations on new things. Personally I think the pretzels were just too healthy for him, but hey, if you don't like them, you don't like them, right? whatever.

Jacob ate them and loved them, but declared he liked the pecan ones the best. Well so much for festive and colorful :)

Oh well... perfect NO... but I feel good about the joy in the journey...

1. I got 100% visiting teaching this month! Yay!
2. I learned a new quick easy treat.
3. I Really learned allot about the refiners fire, and fullers soap (an ancient process to clean wool before it's made into garments). All great metaphores for the purifying ability of the Lord.
4. I learned to accept the gracious service of another, at a time when I really needed it. Thanks Alison for stepping in and stepping up.
5. I didn't eat not one of the candies, not ONE!! Although, I have had a couple of m&m's since then... gotta get those out of the house!
6. Felt the spirit of giving. It feels good to share yourself and do something for someone else.
7. Service and giving of yourself and your talents and your love to others will distract you and lift you from your own woes.
8. Hugs make me smile.
9. Note to self: Breathe, just breath... don't let all the commercialism of Christmas get to you, and suck you in :) It's not about the shopping or packages, or spending, or craziness!! It's just not. Feel the love, the Savior loves you, He sacrificed so that all of your sins and shortcomings could be forgiven. He knows them, He has felt them all... the small struggles, and the mountains too.