Kelly Times Two

Since I kind of neglected my blog during and after my pregnancy with Isaac, there are a lot of gaps in our lives, many big and little events, that never quite got documented here.  I need to do some back tracking to catch up.  It is an honor to share with you one of the best things that is new and exciting in our family. Our oldest daughter, Lindsey, is now in the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, rigorously studying Cantonese, and will be spending a year and a half as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the China Hong Kong Mission.  She will spend her time teaching people about the Savior, and helping to lead them to find peace, joy, and comfort that can only be found through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. She will be helping people in time of need, bringing good cheer to those who are sad and lost, who need to be lifted up.  We are so proud of Lindsey for planning on this goal for several years, and finall...

These Jell-O dessert cups are so much fun to play around with and the color combinations and creative possibilities are endless. Thanks to my sister, Julie, for sharing her recipe with me. Decide what colors or flavors you want, then plan to have 1/3 cup sour cream to go with each box of Jell-O you will use. Microwave water to end up with 1 cup of boiling water to dissolve one small box of Jell-O. Divide that in half. In one bowl, add 1/3 cup sour cream and whisk it together until it's smooth. In the other bowl, add 3 tablespoons cold water. Pour one the contents of one of the bowls into individual serving dishes or into a see-through bowl. Get creative with what you use, a trifle bowl, a square glass vase, juice glasses or even a seemingly boring 9x13 pan because by the time you finish your layers and cut into it, the results will be colorful and pleasing. Chill that layer in the refrigerator or freezer, then take it out to add the other half of your mixture. Chill again...

Some areas that I was reminded to focus on after attending stake conference this past weekend include studying the scriptures daily with our family and having Family Home Evening consistently, every Monday night, rather than hit and miss. The General Authority who was visiting our stake said he couldn't fathom his children leaving the house each day without first having family prayer. There can always be an excuse for why we could easily skip one of these important areas that help to strengthen home and families, including busy schedules, not everyone being at home or awake at the same time. I recommitted to having family prayer with my kids each morning, even if it means that the rest of the family isn't there, or is asleep, or what ever the distraction may be. Those who are at home or awake can still do this regularly. After all, there is a great scripture that says to "pray always." “Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and great shal...

These are so easy to make and amazingly delicious. I posted this recipe here a while back in a rectangle baking pan version. This mini style is much better because you don't have to wait until they are cooled down well to cut them. Individual cookies are so pretty too.  I'll recap the ingredients and baking time again for your convenience. Step One: Melt 1 stick butter (1/2 cup) in microwave bowl with lid Step Two:   Add 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs , mix together with melted butter Step Three: Spoon graham cracker crumble in silicone mini muffin pan to fill about 35 cups (no paper muffin pan liners are needed) Step Four: Sprinkle 1 cup of pecan pieces on graham cracker layer in each cup, a few in each cup, divided evenly Step Five: Sprinkle 1 cup of coconut , a little into each cup, divided evenly Step Six: Sprinkle 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips , dividing evenly Step Seven: Open a can of Sweetened Condensed Milk and pour i...

It's Christopher Appreciation Day, the day we got our little baby boy, fifteen years ago, when he was two and a half weeks old.  This morning when I dropped him off for his 5:40 am seminary class, we picked up a couple dozen donuts to share with the others in the class to start the celebrations for this momentous day.  I waited outside until 6:30 when seminary ended to take him to school, and he got a few hugs from his friends before getting into the van, which I thought was really sweet.  We love Christopher so much and are thankful to have him as our oldest son, and look forward to the next few years while we'll get to enjoy him at home until he heads off to college and hopefully on a mission, like his older sister.  Christopher is very funny, friendly, great with people, really smart, has an excellent memory, very talented musically, and is very loving.  He has blessed our family and we are grateful to have him as our son. I'm thankful for his birth pare...

For some reason I was intimidated by making roll out sugar cookies until recently when I decided I was ready to face my fears. I went to a baby shower hosted by my friend, Buddy, who had made some tasty, pretty heart shaped cookies as a party favor. She shared her recipe with me, then months later I finally tried it out. That got me started and now I'm really into making them and have had such a blast creating my own, and have come up with a cookie dough and royal icing recipe that I like a lot. Cookie Dough 2/3 cup salted butter, softened to room temperature 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 tablespoons milk Pinch of salt 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour Mix everything together in the order listed.  Do not refrigerate the dough. That was the first thing I figured out that I'd done differently in the past.  Sprinkle some flour on the counter top, then dump out all the dough into the center....