Blessings

Hide and seek in the laundry

Healthy kids.

Only one house payment. The Petoskey house is sold!

Warm(er) weather next week.

A husband who helps me with house work.

The Visiting Teaching program.

What does Cori do?

People ask me this question all the time. I usually reply simply that he is an HR manager for Honeywell. When people ask me what this means, I always have a hard time being concise about my answer. Honeywell is best known for thermostats. This is the business in which the company started. But Honeywell is so much more now. Chances are that between your home and your car alone, you use a dozen Honeywell products every day. Honeywell has become an innovative inventing and manufacturing competitor. One of the reasons Cori was attracted to Honeywell was the role that HR plays in the company. At Honeywell, the HR leaders sit at the big table and are part of the constant refinement, restructuring and growth of the company. 

Dave Cote, Honeywell chairman and CEO, was invited onto CNBC's Mad Money this week (clip below). I think this is a really interesting look at Honeywell and it highlights some strengths of the company as well as several of the cooler things Honeywell produces. And on that note, when we lived in CA, Cori worked for the division of the company that manufactures the turbo chargers they show on this clip. Now he manages sites that produce, among some other things, micro switches for other aerospace products.

one of those days

Grant was sick yesterday. The poor little guy was in an awful state from the moment he woke up. He couldn't keep much down. 

It was one of those days where nothing else gets done. I happily held him all day long. He never lets me do that. 

I didn't have anything to do that couldn't be done on another day. So I spent my free moments scrubbing the carpet and laundering blankets, clothes, and stuffed animals. 

It was one of those days that makes a mom feel like a mom- in the best way. 

Not to mention that Grant's vomit-induced lethargy made for a singularly strife free day. No discontented screaming. No fights with Gracie. He laid low- mostly on my lap or shoulder. 

When Cori came home, Grant

threw up again and we called our home teacher who came right over. Together, they gave Grant a blessing. 

I think Gracie's faith alone was enough to fill the room. She just knew Grant would be better. And he was. He kept down his dinner of toast and apple juice. He enjoyed a hot bubble bath with his sister and was back to his usual self. 

It took him approximately 35 seconds to fall asleep and he slept well through the night. 

I'm especially grateful to be a mom and at home with our kids on days like these. 

10:15 PM -or- Why Daddy is the favorite parent around here

I love

these hymns. They are not in our hymn book. I became familiar with them through our collection of Mormon Tabernacle Choir CDs. Their tunes and texts run through my mind often and are a blessing to me.

I have had them on my mind a bit more than usual the last couple of days. Despite my best efforts to escape Stake attention at our Ward conference this last Sunday, I was approached by the Stake music director after Sacrament meeting. Our Stake presidency is being reorganized in a couple of Sundays. This requires a Stake conference which in turn requires some special music. The music director asked if I would sing in the choir and handed me the music for Take Time to be Holy. My heart literally leapt. I mentioned that I was very familiar with the hymn and would love to sing it with the choir. 

So, the sheet music for this song has been on our piano ever since. When I have a minute I sit and play through it. Actually seeing the words and notes written out has made them more powerful to me. In turn, my other favorites have been at the top of my mind as well. I'll share a little bit about them here. I have to say though, that writing about the text tells only half of the story. The music is the other half and, if I could, I would describe that part of it too. 

Take Time to Be Holy

W.D. Longstaff, text. Traditional Irish tune

Take time to be holy; speak oft with thy Lord;

Abide in Him always, and feed on His word;

Make friends of God's children; help those who are weak,

Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy; the world rushes on.

Send much time in secret with Jesus alone;

By looking to Jesus, like him thou shalt be;

They friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy; let Him be thy guide,

And run not before Him, whatever betide;

In joy or in sorrow, still follow thy Lord.

And looking to Jesus, still trust in His word.

Take time to be holy; be calm in thy soul,

Each though and each motive beneath His control;

Thus led by His spirit to fountains of love,

Thou soon shall be fitted for service above.

This is from the album The Sound of Glory. I can't remember if I got this CD before or during my mission. It was recorded just a few months before I went into the M.T.C. In any case, it became a personal anthem that still rings true. I sing a silent amen to every line. In particular, these are, for me, the real kickers in each stanza (the numbers below coincide with the stanzas above):

1. The importance of continual communication, and the loving reminder that everyone around us is special and deserving of our kindness and attention. 
2. The need to step outside of the world and to develop a personal relationship with the Savior.
3. Trust. When I feel like I have it figured out and have my mind made up, I need to remember to council with the Lord and trust in His will for me.
4. ...be calm in thy soul. This calmness is one of the greatest blessings of living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love the imagery of 'fountains of love' and gain hope from the promise of being ready to give service above. 
   

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

Isaac Watts from psalm 23

My Shepherd will supply my need, 

Jehovah is His Name;

In pastures fresh He makes me feed,

Beside the living stream.

He brings my wand'ring spirit back,

When I forsake His ways,

And leads me for His mercy's sake,

In paths of truth and grace.

When I walk through the shades of death,

Thy presence is my stay;

One word of the supporting breath

Drives all my fears away.

Thy hand, in sight of all my foes,

Doth still my table spread; 

My cup with blessings overflows,

Thine oil anoints my head.

The sure provisions of my God

Attend me all my days;

O may thy house be mine abode

And all my work be praise!

There would I find a settled rest

While others go and come,

No more a stranger, nor a guest,

But like a child at home.

From the album Consider the Lilies. I love the additions/interpretations given by Watts to this familiar text.  

1. Instead of still waters, Watts writes living stream. This more fully represents the Gospel and the Savior in my mind. I'm also touched by the image of the Savior leading in mercy.
2. Hearing this song, I had misunderstood the words. Where it says Thy hand, in sight of all my foes, doth still my table spread, which is close to the words in the Psalm, I thought they were saying Thy hand, in spite of all my faults, doth still my table spread. Really, both versions have the same meaning to me. I don't have any mortal enemies that I know of. But I have many imperfections that are personal foes. And despite all my shortcomings, the Lord continues to bless me.
3. The last two lines of the song choke me up every time. I can't even speak the words. To be as a child at home- isn't this the big picture? the main goal? This song is a great reminder of my eternal perspective.

Simple Gifts

Shaker Hymn

Chorus:

When true simplicity is gained,

To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed.

To turn, turn will be our delight

'Till by turning, turning we come round right.

Also found on The Sound of Glory. I like the rest of the song too. It speaks (sings) of hard honest work, the glory of freedom, and the peace of righteousness. It is all so culturally American to me. I love it. But the chorus of the song is what hits home most. I love the image of happily changing and continually refining myself until I am what I should be. And really, it is the cheerful feeling of the text that touches me. I want my faith to be strong enough that I can always wear a sincere and joyful smile on my face when there is something that I need to change. This kind of happiness defies pride and radiates faith. I think the late Pres. Hinckley is a perfect example of this. I always feel this kind of joyful desire when I listen to/read his council. 

Okay, I need to go find some tissues now.

Blessings

Having Cori home. He was away all week on a business trip. We missed him so much! 

Very personal inspiration from the mouths and experiences of other people. The last two Sundays I have really felt some heavenly attention. Last Sunday, our High Councilman got up to speak. He said he was having a hard time getting his head around the talk he had prepared and instead felt the need to share an experience he had recently had. He proceeded to share an experience and some inspired insight that could not have been more specifically tailored to us. Cori and I had had a long discussion the night before about something that has troubled him for some time. Then, there before us, was a long awaited answer to his concern. I am humbled by the attention we get from our Heavenly Father when we take time to receive it.

My Sunday school class. I teach the 16-18 year old group. They are a great and a talented bunch of kids. Today was our ward conference. A couple of weeks ago, I was approached to do a musical number for it. I firmly believe that speaking or performing musical numbers during ward conference is tantamount to walking up to the stake president and offering up services for stake conference. Thus, I happily volunteered to organize a group musical number with my class if I could have permission to rehearse during the last 10 minutes of our class time. The bishopric thought this a bully plan.  So I chose a duet arrangement of Jesus the Very Thought of Thee and took it to Church with me the next day. The kids were so great about being volunteered and working on the song. It went really well today, and I was very happy to not be by myself up there. 

Plane tickets. We bought the tickets for our summer trip this week. Separation from our families is a bit more tolerable when there are definitive reunions on the books. 

A silver lining. We are going to have to wait for a while before getting pregnant again. It will be at least 6 months after my hormones bottom out before we will have the green light. (And in a sadly unsurprising way, it is taking an abnormally long time for my levels to get back to normal.) I have decided to make the most of this forced sabbatical by setting some fitness goals. Cori usually has work to do in the evenings, so after we've had some family time and the kids are in bed, and the kitchen and main floor are cleaned up, I head down stairs to exercise. I turn on the TV, run on the treadmill, lift weights, and stretch. Then I take a shower and still have some time with Cori. I've been doing it 3-4 nights a week over the last 3 weeks. It has been really good for me in a lot of ways. I have to force myself to do it, but I love how I feel when I'm done.

perfect (to me) chocolate chip cookies

I've tried countless recipes and methods in search of the best chocolate chip cookie. There's that Neiman Marcus recipe that was circulated on the internet that calls for flour made from blended oatmeal. Tried that one. There is a method that involves dropping the cookie sheet flat on the floor right after taking the cookies out of the oven in effort to help them settle more quickly. Tried that too. I've experimented with butter vs. margarine vs. butter/margarine combos vs. butter/margarine/crisco combos. Here is a list of the tips I use to make 'em the right way.

• Just use the recipe on the back of your choco chip bag
• Use butter
• Multiply the amount of salt by 3 or 4. Trust me. The recipe I use calls for 1/2 teaspoon. The last time I made cookies I put in 2 teaspoons. It still could have used a dash or two more. You don't really taste the salt. It just helps to cut the sweetness. With more salt in the cookie you can better taste the vanilla, the chocolate, and the butter. 
• Add an extra 3/4 to a full cup of flour. This is something I picked up from making cookies with my pal, Ina. The dough should really clump to the beater and should be tacky to the touch. When you touch it with your finger, it will leave just a little behind.

• Make them the right size. I use a teaspoon (from my silverware drawer, not a measuring spoon) to scoop the dough. I use my fingers to form the scoop into a ballish shape while it is still on the spoon, then drop it on the cookie sheet. They don't have to be perfect spheres but they should be about the same size.

• DO NOT OVER COOK THE COOKIES. This is really the most crucial tip. They should be pulled from the oven the moment that 1) the bottom edges just start to golden up 2) the cookies no longer look wet on the top. You are going to want to leave them in longer, but don't do it! They will continue to cook on the sheet after you take them out. My recipe said to cook them 9-11 minutes. Here is what the cookies looked like at 8 1/2 minutes. They are really close. One or two are just a little wet on top and they haven't quite started to brown at the edges. 

• One minute later they were ready. Here they are just out of the oven. Barely golden at the edges and puffy. 

• Let the cookies settle on the sheet for 2-3 minutes. The cookies will deflate and will look slightly darker. If you try to take them off too soon, they will fall apart. If you leave them on to long, any chips that are touching the sheet will start to stick. The cookies will be really soft when you take them off. You may be tempted to put them back in the oven. Don't do it! I use a spatula to get under the edge of the cookie then carefully twist it to loosen it from the sheet. Remove the cookies to a cooling rack.

• Leave them on the rack for at least 5 minutes. They will deflate a bit more. But really, the objective is to prevent storage condensation by getting them cooled off before sealing them up.

• Store them in something air tight. Saran wrap need not apply. Stored in an air tight container, the cookies will stay soft and chewy for... well. I don't know exactly. They don't last very long around here. But they stay soft and chewy.

• Finally, share them! A cookie shared is a cookie spared (from my waistline). I divide them up and get them ready for delivery as they come off the cooling rack, thus eliminating any chances of falling victim to my weak will power.