No Drowning Allowed!

My day begins at 4:00 AM. Insane huh? By 6:30 I have prepared a wonderful home cooked breakfast for my family, (OK sometimes we have cereal) packed lunches, put dinner in the crock-pot, started and finished two loads of laundry, showered (if I'm lucky), participated in a family devotional, welcomed my grandchildren over for the day, and ushered my husband and high-schoolers out the door.

By the way did I ever mention that we have welcomed a foster daughter into our home? The more the merrier, right? Actually, I adopted the motto a few years ago from the movie, Robots. "See a Need...Fill a Need!" This young girl is definitely in need. She is a wonderful addition to our family.

At 6:45 AM it is out to the yard to do gardening and spend time with the dog (or else we won't have a garden). After about 45 minutes, Brigitta and the grandchildren are quickly bathed and dressed just in time for school to begin.

I have always home-schooled my children until high-school. I have two kids left at home and my grandchildren whom I teach. I run around cleaning and cooking between lessons and assignments. Time passes quickly and before I know it, the kids are starving. Lunch preparations begin. After we have eaten and cleaned it is now my most cherished part of the day, NAP TIME. Oh no, don't get me wrong the nap is NOT for me, there is no rest for the weary. Nap time is for the children which translates into quite time for me. It only lasts one hour, but what solace I receive.

So what do I do during nap time? I check my blog, fix my hair and make-up and then scurry to finish cleaning before my students arrive.

But wait, my work is not complete, there are still a few more hours of home school to finish up before I begin teaching piano lessons.

Dinner is after piano lessons and then it is on to homework with my high-schoolers.

By the end of the day I am totally exhausted. If someone happens to throw me a curve (like on Wednesday when my husband mentioned needing homemade rolls for a luncheon at work which then meant getting up at 3:00 AM) then I feel like I am drowning.

I frequently feel like I am so far behind in everything that I will never catch up. But then this evening as I sat at the computer to write my journal entry, I reflected on what has happened this week and I am reminded:

"To every thing there is a a season,

and a time to every purpose

under the heaven."

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Right now my time and season
is my family.

I am grateful for the opportunity to serve them. I love them dearly. Although my days are stressful, I am grateful for the time I have to spend with each one of them. I would not want to be anywhere else.

So for me, there is

No Drowning Allowed!

The Real Story

This is what really happened when we were trying to take the girls pictures earlier. They couldn't stay still for a minute, except for Arianna who didn't dare move because the rocks hurt her feet. We were literally outside for almost 30 minutes just trying to get them to hold still and smile. Too funny!

Life on the Prairie

One of our favorite TV series of all time is; "Little House on the Prairie." We own the entire series on DVD and so my children and I watch it over and over. In a world of void of morals, it is wonderful to be able to introduce my children to something that is elevating, tender and inspirational, even if I have to watch most of the series with a box of Kleenex by my side. I am delighted that my youngest daughter loves to pretend that she is Laura Ingalls. Laura is a great role model for her to follow. Because of Laura Ingalls, my daughter feels that she needs to wear a dress every day. It is almost the end of the world if her nieces whom I watch daily, show up with a dress on and hers are all dirty. I finally got smart and decided to make them all matching play dresses, prairie style. The grandchildren leave their dresses here so that it seems more like dress up. Once they put them on they are transformed into, Mary, Laura, and Kerry Ingalls. They take on the role of each character and even some of the character traits. I love to watch them as they have a great time imitating life on the prairie.

Final Three

I say final three, but there are still the dessert tortillas. I have a very busy weekend ahead of me so it might take me a few days.

Garlic Potato Tortillas

These tortillas are made with the Potato Pearls purchased through the cannery. They make a very soft, chewy tortilla. My grandson Dallin, who does not enjoy tortillas chowed down on this one.

I made 1 and 1/2 of the tortilla recipe and divided it into 3 bowls.

1st bowl. Add to the dry ingredients:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 Cup potato pearls
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon garlic

Put the water in a glass microwavable bowl and heat for 60-75 seconds.
Add the potato pearls and garlic. Let set for a 3 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Continue on with the directions from the tortilla recipe.


Cheddar Cheese

2nd Bowl. Add to the dry ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Cups finely grated cheddar cheese (I prefer sharp cheese)
  

Continue on with the directions from the tortilla recipe.

Bell Pepper and Chive

3rd Bowl. Add to the dry ingredients.

• 1/2 Green bell pepper finely diced
• 3 Chives finely diced

Continue on with the directions from the tortilla recipe.

Finished product.

It took approximately 1 hour

from start to finish to make 30 tortillas.

Notice the green spots. (Peppers and Chives)

My husband came home for lunch

grabbed a tortilla, looked at it and said,

"Hey these tortillas are moldy."

I think next time I will use red bell peppers.

I love how the cheese tortilla's cook up.

I have found that cooking them on a cast iron skillet is my favorite. They brown up beautifully. As an extra bonus, you add iron to your diet with cooking on cast iron.

The children not only enjoy eating these tortillas but it is a family adventure making them. They might not turn out as perfectly round or thin, but they still taste the same.

Gila Valley Temple

Back on April 26th, 2008 it was announced that a temple would be build in the Gila Valley. I have ancestors that settled in Thatcher in it's early days and I am so anxious for this new temple to be completed. This new temple has prompted me to learn more about the history and stories of my family.

This is what the temple will look like.

To members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

the temple is the "House of the Lord."

It is a sacred building, and after its dedication

only faithful members of the Church may enter.

Inside, members learn more about the purpose of life

and make covenants to serve Jesus Christ and their fellow man.

On a side note:

As a piano teacher I have always appreciated this story told to me by my parents. It was my Great Great Grandmother Sarah Francelle Coleman Heywood's daughter Velma Heywood Molen who taught Spencer W. Kimball as a young boy in Thatcher, piano lessons. (Spencer W. Kimball later became a Prophet of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

Basil Onion Olive & Fiber Rich Tortillas

Here are the next two Gourmet Tortillas. The first one has an Italian flair. It is my husbands favorite as well as my grandchildren. Or course I say that now, but I have not introduced them to my dessert tortillas.


Take the dry ingredients of the tortilla recipe and divide it between two bowls.

For the Basil Onion Olive Tortilla stir into the dry mixture:

• 1 Can diced black olives
• 1 Tablespoon dried onions
• 1-2 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

Continue on with the tortilla recipe.

Basil Onion Olive Tortilla

This next one is the Fiber Rich Tortilla, It was a special request from Mar-Kell. He has become extremely health conscious since returning from his mission.

Before you stir into the dry mixture stir together

• 1/4 cup All Bran
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 Cup water

Microwave for 30 seconds. Remove and stir until well blended. Stir directly into the dry mixture and then continue by following the tortilla recipe.

Fiber Rich Tortilla

The Basil Onion Olive Tortilla is great for Chicken Wraps, but the children love to spread pizza sauce over it and smother it with cheese. Either way, it is delicious.

Gourmet Tortilla Wraps

I love a good wrap when it comes to making lunches for my children and husband, but the tortilla wraps at the store are not only tasteless but expensive. It costs $3.69-$4.99 for just 6 wraps and less than a dollar to make a dozen. I therefore decided to experiment on different wraps for my family. I have come up with multiple ideas which can all be made from your short or long term food storage. I will just share a couple of them with you right now and continue to add more as the recipes are perfected. My children and I had so much fun coming up with these gourmet tortillas. It was a family event from the mixing to the rolling and of course the best part, the taste testing.

I started with my tortilla recipe, and divided it between two bowls. Then I just added the "special ingredients."

For a Jalapeno Cheddar Tortilla Wrap

Add into the dry mixture:

• 1 40z. can minced Jalapeno Peppers
• 1 Cup finely grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Continue on with the recipe directions.

For a Sun Dried Tomato Tortilla Wraps

Add into the dry mixture:

• 4 oz. finely chopped Sun Dried Tomatoes

Continue on with the recipe directions.

I always roll out my tortillas on a silicone mat.

It cuts down on the flour needed.

Sun Dried Tomato

Jalapeno Cheddar

The flavor of these wraps are robust. They are such a hit with my family that I had to hide them before dinner to keep them safe.

So, you might ask, what can you do with these wraps? The ideas are endless. Here are a few suggestions to start your imaginations rolling. Should you have come up with ideas that your family enjoys, please feel free to share them.

• Breakfast Burritos
• Quesadillas
• Sandwich Wraps
• Enchiladas
• Burritoes
• Fajitas
• Chimichangas
• Side for Chile
  

Of course, they are great just by themselves too.

ENJOY!