Operation Make a Difference In the World

I have been thinking for quite some time how I can make my Summer different this year then in past years.

I love to make friends, learn something new from someone, and help people in some small way every day.

I don't have all the means to clothe people or to make sure every person has a full belly, but I do have a willing heart and a desire to make a difference in the world even if it is only one persons world.

Six years ago, as I have mentioned before, I was going through a difficult period in my life.  One of the people I loved was going through the dying process.  It was my dad.  As I have mentioned in previous blogs my parents divorced when I was 19.  My mother stayed in Bountiful and my father moved to Oregon.

I mentioned that one of my biggest regrets was that I never went to see my dad in the twenty five years he lived in Oregon.  The first time I saw him in Oregon was when we learned he had six weeks to six months to live.  The reason I never went to Oregon was because he never invited me.  I spoke to him periodically.  I sent birthday cards, Father Day cards and Christmas cards.  Some years he sent Christmas cards.  Towards the end of his life he started sending a check to me that was meant for all of his kids and grandkids to get together and have dinner.  We did this for about five years and it was really nice.  The entire time my dad lived in Oregon he never sent me a birthday card or called me to wish me a Happy Birthday.  I still don't understand why.  I wish I could talk to him some times and ask why he didn't do that.

The closest my dad ever came to inviting me to Oregon was when he would tell me about his favorite seafood restaurant.  He would tell me how much I would love the shrimp.  I have always wondered if that was supposed to be an invitation to come see him and go to his favorite restaurant.  I really don't know.  Sometimes I tell myself that is what he was trying to do.

When we went to see my dad my true self came out.  It is the self that cares very deeply about people.  It is the self who can forgive and who can still try to get everyone to like her.  I didn't know what to do for my dad.  It was a shock to see the man who could climb to the top of a mountain to hunt for deer or the man who could fish all day long and never grow tired hooked up to an oxygen machine and be to weak to make it to the bathroom and back without having to stop and rest.

The thing I found that I could do was to serve him in a very small way.  One night we went out to dinner and I sat across from my dad.  We were eating at a buffet restaurant.  He was to weak to get his own food.  He didn't even have much of an appetite.  He did like the cake that they served and so I sat across from him and when he felt like he could eat I would go and get his food for him.

One other night we were at the condominium having a steak cook-out.  My dad was to weak to go with us to the grocery store.  He rested at home and we went to the store for the food.  We got him the cut of steak he wanted and we cooked it to his liking.  I sat across the table from him again and asked him questions and tried to get him to talk and tell us things that we would never have the opportunity to have him tell us again.

When it was time for my dad and his wife Suzie to leave we all went out to the parking lot to say good-bye.  Of course, I started crying and could not stop.  I knew this would be my last time to see my dad alive in this life.  I later found out that he asked Suzie what was wrong?  We were acting like he was going to die or something.  I don't think my dad realized how sick he really was.  He fought it till the end when the doctors told him there was nothing more they could do for him.  He said o.k. and he died a short time later.

I only tell this experience because it shows how I want to live my life.  I want to let go of past grievances and to love people even if they don't love me or don't have the capacity to show it.  I believe that is what the Savior would want me to do.

I have started today by taking the time to make a difference in a six year old's life.  My cute neighbor boy Zander was outside playing.  I asked him if he wanted a popscicle.  I took one outside for myself too.  He asked me what the red popscicle was for.  I said "I'm going to sit outside under the shade with you and hear about life as seen through the eyes of a six year old. " A six year old who will be seven in one week and seven days!  It doesn't take much.  Sometimes it just takes a popsicle and a listening ear.

I'm going to post my experiences once a week.  I have asked for them and I can't wait to see what will happen each day.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Summer.

I also want to thank all the veterans who have so unselfishly served our country.  I especially want to thank my son Shawn and his friends Roy and Taylor who went to Iraq most recently.  I know the sacrifice you made and it makes a difference to me.

Triple Layer Brownies

I've been a little busy this past week.  We had a luau at the church Saturday night.  My husband and I helped decorate, bake, and emcee the event.

I have been making frames for a friend of mine who has been ill with a brain tumor for five plus years.  We are having a fund raiser for her soon.

I have been planting my flower and vegetable gardens.

I decided I better get the house in order.  It took the back burner for a couple of weeks.

Today I had time to make a batch of brownies.

I first made  these when I was a nanny in New City, New York.  The best part of this brownie is the oatmeal bottom.  Yum!  I used to just make it and eat it back before I had to worry about my figure.  After making them today; I decided it is still the best part of the brownie.  However, they are pretty delicious as a triple layer too.

Triple Layer Brownie

1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. melted butter

For bottom layer, stir together the first 5 ingredients.  Stir in 6 Tbsp.  melted butter.  Pat into an 8x8 inch baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1 oz.  square unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 egg
2/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

For middle layer, combine granulated sugar, melted butter, and chocolate; add egg.  Beat well.  Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt;  add to chocolate mixture alternately with a mixture of the milk and vanilla, mixing after each addition.  Spread over the oatmeal layer.  Continue baking at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Cool.  Frost with Fudge Frosting.

1-oz. square unsweetened chocolate
2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. milk

In small saucepan melt the chocolate and butter over low heat;  stir constantly.  Remove from heat;  stir in powdered sugar and vanilla.  Blend in milk to make almost pourable consistency.  Spread over brownies.  Cool.  Cut into 16 squares.  They are really rich so you don't need them very big.  Try to eat just one.

Cakes for the luau.

Flower garden.

One of the frames for Stacy.

Grandma's Chocolate Chip Cookies

     Recently for Mother's Day I interviewed some of the neighborhood kids.  I asked them the following question: " What do you love most about your mom?"  Six of the fourteen kids answered " the chocolate chip cookies she makes for me." 
     Since, that was such a popular answer I decided it was time to make some chocolate chip cookies to share this afternoon when the kids stop by.  I am sharing a recipe I have been making for years, long before I officially became a grandma. It is a family favorite.  I hope you like it as much as we do.

Grandma's Chocolate Chip Cookies

One cup white sugar
One cup brown sugar
One cup shortening
Two eggs
One tsp. vanilla
One tsp. almond flavoring
Two cups flour
One tsp. baking soda
One half tsp. salt
One half tsp. baking powder
Two cups rolled oats
One pkg. milk chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a cookie sheet.  Blend together the sugars and shortening.  Add the eggs, vanilla, and almond flavoring.  Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder together.  Stir into wet mixture.  Blend well.  Stir in the oats and the chocolate chips.  Bake for eight to ten minutes until lightly brown on edges.  Makes three dozen of the yummiest cookies ever!


    

The brownie, a flat, baked square or bar developed in the United States at the end of the 19th Century. 

The brownie,  a cross between a cake and a cookie in texture.

The brownie, leave out the chocolate and make with brown sugar and it becomes a BLONDIE.  Maybe that's why I like brownies so much.

LeeLee's Brownies with mint frosting and chocolate glaze:

12 Tbsp. cocoa with 4 Tbsp. oil or 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
2/3 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp.salt
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Grease a 13x9x2 inch cake pan.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt cocoa/oil mixture or chocolate squares, along with shortening, in a saucepan over low heat.  Remove from heat.  Mix in sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Spread in pan.
Bake for 30 minutes or until brownies pull away from sides of pan.  Do NOT over bake.  Cool slightly, eat immediately, or frost with Celia's mint frosting and chocolate glaze.  The choice is yours!

Celia's mint frosting and chocolate glaze:

3 cups powdered sugar
4 Tbsp. half & half
6 Tbsp. soft butter
1 tsp. mint flavoring
2-3 drops green food coloring
Combine together until mixed well and creamy.  Spread over cooled brownies.  Chill for one hour. (unless you are a type a personality and you cannot chill for even one hour)  In that case, dust, vacuum, fold clothes while the brownies are chilling.

Top with chocolate glaze:

1 cup chocolate chips
4 Tbsp.  butter

Melt together and spread on chilled brownies.  Cut into squares.  Now, let the chilling begin with a tall glass of milk!

My mom is a gem.  To honor her I made her this cute little silver paper mache box:  I painted it silver and the lid midnight blue.  I put polka dot washi tape around it when it was done drying.  Next I took my washi tape and I covered all my chocolate nuggets in different colors of washi tape:

It was really simple and fun.  I sprayed my box with glitter spray and put my little gems in it for my mom.


For my last Mother's Day story I asked my sister Lori to share a memory of my mom  The first thing that came to mind is a funny story.  In the summer of '77 My parents and Jim and I went to a family reunion in Seattle Washington.  The reunion was for my dads side of the family.  We stayed at his cousin's house.  The house was situated in the middle of the forest and there was a long, lonely stretch of road that ran in front of it.  One evening at dusk my mom, Jim and I, and a second cousin decided to go for a walk down this road.  The trees came right up to the edge of the road on both sides and they were thick and it was dark.  Of course we were talking about Big Foot as we walked along.  As we were walking, my darling husband decides to toss a rock into the trees just off to the side of my mom ('cuz you know, when you are 24 years old you do that sort of thing to your unsuspecting mother-in-law as she is walking along a long, lonely stretch of road in the middle of nowhere).  I am sure you will understand how it was that my poor, sweet mom threw out her arms as she bolted from the pack leaving us in the dust. It took her a few minutes to realize Big Foot was not in hot pursuit.  Jim likes to tease her all the time that all of her motherly instincts flew out the window as she left her oldest daughter out there on that long, lonely road.

That is a silly, but true, story.  But, in all seriousness, my mom is a gem!  Growing up, we spent a lot of time at her mother's house.  My Grandma didn't drive.  Every Friday night my mom took my grandma grocery shopping at Albertsons in Bountiful.  It was always fun when it was my turn to go with them because Grandma would let me pick out the ice-cream she would buy for our family.  Today my mom is busy taking my brother and sister-in-law out and about to their many errands because they do not drive.  Both of them are legally blind.  My mom is 77 years old and she is still taking someone shopping every Friday!

My mom has always been an example to me of a strong woman and of a loving mother.  She raised 3 daughters and 2 sons and we all turned out pretty darn good (except LeeAnn she's a little bit of a fixer-upper) .  Her youngest son George was born with disabilities and became blind at the age of 4.  When he was old enough for school, my brother couldn't go to Stoker Elementary like the rest of us.  He went to the School for the Blind and Deaf in Ogden, Utah.  He was five years old at the time.  My mom  would have to send him away to school for the week and have him come home for the week-end.  I can't even imagine how hard that would be!

Mom has been a Temple Ordinance worker in the Bountiful Temple.  She just finished up a 3 year service mission at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.  She loved it dearly.  She is still looking for other ways to help and to serve others.  Mom you really are a gem!  Thanks Mom-I love you!

My mom.....aka the mother leaf

     Six years ago this month a lot of things were happening in my life.  I had just come home from seeing my dad for the last time.  It was our final good-bye.  He would die on June 13th.
     I also walked into a stark and sterile room at the IMC hospital in Midvale, Utah to see my mom lying in a bed.  She was in a critical care unit.  Earlier in the day she had been at the L.D.S. Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah to have a stress test done on her heart.  As she ran on the treadmill she became very dizzy, her heart rate increased but her blood pressure decreased.  She collapsed and immediately had to be taken by ambulance to the IMC Hospital where it was determined she would need a pacemaker.
     I had just returned from seeing my dad.  My parents had been divorced for twenty nine years.  My mom has always been there for her five children. She has taken care of herself without financial help from my dad for all of those years.  She took care of my younger brother George both financially and physically without any help from my dad.  My mom is the lady I admire most in my life.  I love this picture of her:

I love my mom; she gave me birth
Because of her, I am here on Earth.

I love my mom; she knows me best
Even at times when our love has been put to the test.

I love my mom; when I failed ninth grade sewing class
She made me take summer lessons, so the next time I would pass.

I love my mom; she taught me to cook and to bake
Because of her, I always have food I can make.

I love my mom; for when my cookies were hard and brown and flat,
She would always eat them and tell me, some people like cookies like that.

I love my mom: she is very courageous and strong
She has been on her own thirty five years and makes it seem like a song.

I love my mom for being there for George,
It's not easy raising five kids; especially with a son whose problems are as wide as a gorge.

I love my mom for being his eyes, his ride, his strength
One day his strides will match yours length by length.

I love my mom for the food she would make;
Even though I was a picky eater and I would not shake.

I am not eating those mushrooms, spaghetti or meatloaf
I am not trying your liver and onions, eww!

I love my mom, her stuffed green peppers are mighty fine,
Her sugar cookies, fudge and divinity are divine!

I love you mom for putting up with me,
The daughter who sometimes didn't see;

The angel, the princess, the Queen
I would be so different without you, this is what I mean;

You taught me to live, to laugh and to love;
I just wanted you to know now; not when you are in Heaven above.

I love you mom, so I got you this card;
I know you will love it.  You will laugh really hard!

Inside reads:  Mom, thank you for your gentle encouragement throughout the years.  I love you mom!  Happy Mother's Day!

Carla Barlow (the leaf I call my mom-in-law) a tribute by her son

     I first met my mother-in-law when I was 21 years old.  The memories I will always take away from her are these three things: her  accent, her cooking and her ability to make a beautiful yard and garden where ever she goes.

     She has a green thumb.  If she plants a flower under a tree that doesn't get any sun, her flowers will thrive.  If she plants a flower in a pot, the flower will thrive.  I have enjoyed her beautiful flowers not only in her yard, but when she has shared them  as gifts with me to grace my table.
     I asked the Silver Fox if he could write up a little Mother's day ditti for me.  I figured he would know his own mother as good as anyone. He wrote the following tribute for her:
     My mom was born in Massachusetts and grew up on beautiful Cape Cod.  She met my father when she was 18 years old.  He was serving in the Air Force and landed his eye on one of the most beautiful women God has created.

     My mother and father moved to Salt Lake City soon after this picture was taken.  I was just a baby when they moved. Mom would make Utah her new home.
     My mother was a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Her faith and her determination have been examples for good in my own life.
     My mom is a very hard worker.  She was a dental receptionist in Bountiful, Utah for many years.  The Christmas after I graduated from Bountiful High School was a tough one for our family.  Money was very tight.  My parents had recently divorced.  My mother was very concerned about providing a Christmas for our family.  She decided to work a second job.  When she finished her regular eight hour shift, she would go work another three or four hours wrapping gifts for Christmas at Keith O'Briens.  It was a local store at the five points mall in Bountiful.  Neither exist today.
     She has a talent of making anything beautiful, so the packages she wrapped always looked exquisite.  I like to think of my mom as the original " wrap artist ".  (haha Darrell)
     For Christmas of 1975 I received a Book of Mormon, a Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.  Along with the Bible I all ready had, these would be the books I took with my on my mission to Auckland, New Zealand 38 years ago this July.

     I still treasure this book of scriptures today.  They are as priceless to me as my dear mother is to me.  We have been blessed to have Carla Barla (inside joke) for a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother to our family.

OWL always love you....Kim

     Recently I tried making  some cute paper mache canisters.  The idea was there ,however, they weren't quite right.  I decided to try my hand out on one more because I had an idea for this post and I needed a visual for it.

     I love the way this one turned out.  It's just what I wanted.  I used my basic supplies:
     Paper mache canister
     Wooden knob
     Delta paint in tahiti blue and crocus yellow
     Owl inspired washi tape
     Wooden label tags made by Ball jars I found on my last shopping trip to JoAnn's

    I glued the knob onto the canister.  Painted the canister inside and out with Tahiti blue paint.  I painted the knob and label in crocus yellow.  I had a vinyl cut out that spelled out love.  When the paint dried I applied the vinyl to the tag.  I attached red ribbon to the tag and tied it to the canister.  Hoot,hoot it was done in under an hour.
     I was inspired to make this cute little canister for my daughter Kim.  She is the mother to two of the cutest children on the planet.  Which makes me  ( pictured with them )  the grandmother of two of the cutest kids on the planet.

     When my son-in-law to be called me with the announcement that Kim was expecting their first child together or at least she thought she was expecting their first child together it came as a complete unexpected announcement.  You see they weren't married yet.  They were engaged, but their wedding wasn't planned for another four months.
     With the news a few things had to be changed.  The wedding we thought would be held at the Bountiful Temple was no longer going to be held there.  The wedding itself,  that we thought would be held in April was moved to March.
     The reason I am telling this part of the story ( my daughter did give me permission ) is because it was somewhat of a trial for our family.  First of all Kim was sicker than a dog!  I think she threw up more times than has ever been recorded in history.  Second we are Mormons and when our children are preparing to be married it is usually for time and all eternity in one of our temples.  In order to do this you have to be worthy.  Being four months pregnant out of wed-lock doesn't qualify a person to be worthy to be married in the Temple.  It doesn't mean they never will.  It just meant for now they wouldn't be.
     My beautiful daughter did get married.  She was four months pregnant.  She was a little bit embarrassed and felt a little uncomfortable.  Her wedding was somewhat different in the fact that there were people she felt like she couldn't invite.  People she felt like might be judging her.  She was twenty years old at the time and my cute son-in-law was twenty two.  What they did have going for them was their love and commitment to one another.
     This was also a difficult time for me.  For a little while I felt somewhat embarrassed.  I had to tell people Kim and Chance weren't getting married in the temple when they asked.  I had to put on hold the plan I had made along time ago that my children would be married in the temple.
     One day after Kim and Chance had been married about a month Kim and I went to the grocery store.  We ran into several people we know.  Both Kim and I noticed that people weren't making eye contact with her.  They were looking directly at her stomach.  It was obvious that this newlywed of one month was several months pregnant.  One of Kim's trademarks is to say the word GOLL.  As we were leaving the store she made this comment " goll people yes I'm pregnant.  Do I have to wear a sign around my neck saying "Look at me, I'm pregnant!
     At this moment my heart changed for the first time for this young daughter of mine.  I had been so caught up in the fact that she was four months pregnant that I never put myself in her shoes.  I never realized how hard it must have been to tell people that she wasn't getting married in the Temple when people would ask.  How hard it was to be told that some children wouldn't be invited to her wedding because they needed good role models in their lives.  How hard it was to be throwing up every five minutes and trying to adjust to being a newlywed ( challenging enough without being pregnant ).
     For some reason we are a people who find it hard not to judge.  We judge people by the color of their skin, for the way they look or don't look, for the tattos they may have on their bodies or for the babies they are carrying before they are wed.  I've done it.  I've done it to some of the people I love the most.  I have tried to be careful and when I catch myself judging someone I try to repent as soon as I can.
     The year Kim got pregnant out of wedlock was difficult for many reasons.  The year Kim got pregnant out of wedlock was a year of blessings.  It took me ten months to realize a few things.  One of the things I realized was Kim gave me a beautiful gift.  She gave me the gift of being a grandmother.  A grandmother to the cutest red head on the planet.

     Two thousand years ago a man named Jesus walked the earth.  His message was clear and simple.  It goes like this:  "Judge Not, That Ye Be Not Judged".  It was needed then and it's needed now.  Let's leave the judging to him and the loving to us.

Mother's Day remembrance to Kara (the leaf who left us too soon) from her daughter Lindsay

     I asked Lindsay if she could help me remember her mom as one of my special mothers this year.  I only knew Kara for eleven months.  Her and I hit it off from the day we met.  I hold dear to me the memories I have of her.  I will always be grateful to the Stevenson family for letting me share with them one of the most intimate times in a person's life.  The weeks and days that are the final chapters of a persons earthly life.

     Mother's Day will be bittersweet for me this year.  It will be sweet because I will be celebrating it as a new mom.  I am a mom to the most beautiful, funny, cute little man in the whole world.
     It will be bitter because I will not be able to celebrate this special day with my mother here on earth again.  I will be able to celebrate her Spirit.  It is still a difficult thing for me.  This will only be my third Mother's Day without my mom.  People continue to tell me that she is always with me.  To be honest, I don't feel her being around.
     My mother, she was so special!  She was generous and kind.  She was always trying to help someone.  Even when she was so sick and standing was difficult for her she would want to cook something for someone. ( Kara was an amazing cook)
     My mother, she wasn't perfect, but she didn't try to be.  She did the best she could with what she had.  She taught me to be grateful for the little things.  She taught me to love with all my heart.  She taught me to give of myself and to give often and to give willingly.
    My mother loved her three children with every fiber of her being.  I feel so tremendously grateful that I am her daughter.  I was able to feel her love on a daily basis.  She spoiled the three of us with love.  I was able to share 19 amazing years with her.  I will always love that time.

    I will always remember the day my dad drove my mom to the hospital which unbeknown to her family would be the last time.  My mother slipped a twenty dollar bill into by hand as I helped her into the car.  That was so like her to do.  She would slip money to people all the time. ( hahaha ) I could go on and on about how much I love my mom.  I could tell you how beautiful my mom is.  I could tell you how sweet and amazing my mom is. I just want you as the reader to know she is all those things and more.
     Earlier I mentioned that I don't feel my mom around me.  For me, I have found so much joy and so much comfort in the wonderful blessing of being sealed together as a family in the Temple.  It means that my mom will be my mom forever.  Whether I can feel her around me or not, I know she will always be my mom and that I will see her again!
     I thank my Heavenly Father every day that  SHE is my MOTHER.  I feel blessed that she was the one chosen for me.  I feel blessed that I am forever sealed to her for all eternity.
     This knowledge makes the sting of her absence not hurt as much.  I know she is somewhere waiting for me to join her.
     Until that time arrives, I get to be a mother to the most beautiful, funny, cute little man in the whole world.
    

Cute paper mache idea for Mother's day or any day you want to make special.

     I always thought that blue was blue and black was black.  However, just the other day while watching Studio 5 I learned something new.  Blue is the new black.  That's what they said.  So, I decided I better get right on that and create something black (I mean blue).
     I had picked up this cute frame at JoAnn Fabric and Crafts just the other day when I was on my paper mache kick. 

     I all ready had the blue chevron stripe paper it is propped up on.  My other supplies were simple.

     Delta paint in Tahiti Blue, mod podge, a sponge brush and some iridescent spray glitter I also found at JoAnn Fabric and craft.

     First thing I did was separate the back from the front of the frame and painted it blue.  Next step was to measure the chevron stripe paper to the measurements of the frame and cut it out with scissors.  I than used the mod podge to glue it on to the frame.  I let it dry for a few minutes and then I gave it three coats of mod podge letting it dry in between coats.  Next I took a file and filed off the edges of the frame and chalked them blue.  I added some cute paper flowers I found for $1.00 at Michaels and the frame was done.  The very last thing I did to give it a personal touch was to spray glitter on it.  I love the shiny specks of glitter that add a little bit of spark.  Here's the finished project in under an hours time.

     I had to put a cute photo of my grand daughters in the frame so you can get the full affect.  Aren't they adorable!  These two cuties belong to my oldest daughter.  Both of these girls have a genetic disease called PKU.  Each baby born is poked in the heel at the time of birth to check for this rare disease.  I remember my four children having their heels poked and then never hearing another word about it.  K.K. is my first born granddaughter.  I was helping my daughter when she was a first time mother.  When K.K. was only three days old I was up at my daughters house helping her out.  She received a phone call from the hospital telling her that K.K.'s test came back positive for PKU.  She was told to get Kaitlyn to the hospital right away.  Our family is pretty tight knit.  We try to support one another.  My son Shawn had taken leave from the Marines to be there when K.K. was born.  It was a huge surprise he wanted to give Marie. So because he was able to come home, we were all  together at the time and we all headed to Primary Childrens Hospital.  Marie was in a state of shock.  She had to hand her new-born baby into the hands of doctors, nurses, and other medical technicians to be poked and prodded and tested and held while she wailed and wailed.  This would be the beginning of a life-time journey for my daughter and her two cute little girls.  Gracie was also tested positive for PKU.  These two little girls will have to meet with doctors on a regular basis at Primary Childrens Hospital.  They have had to have their blood drawn and sent into the hospital sometimes on a weekly basis and as they are getting older it is more like on a monthly basis.  Each of them will be on a special diet for their entire lives.  If my daughter is not strict with their diet they can have severe adverse side effects to their brains.  Their little bodies are not able to eat any protein.  They don't have the ability to break it down in the brain like most of us do. 
     I want to tell my daughter how proud I am of her.  She was handed a very scary situation at a young age with a brand new baby girl.  She has handled the situation with courage and with grace.  It was very difficult and is still difficult to be the one who had to poke these little girls with needles all the time.  It is sometimes difficult to have to monitor everything these two little girls eat.  She has to make sure that they are eating the right foods, but, the right foods also have to be counted and journaled to make sure they aren't eating too many or too little of the right foods.
     Sometimes I didn't even think about Gracie having PKU because Marie has become so good at it.  She rolls with the punches and never complains.  Thank you Marie for being the type of Mother so many of us can admire!

Shawn's favorite cookies....aka pumpkin chocolate chippers

     Today is my son's birthday.  He is married and has a child.  It is not like the birthdays we celebrated when he was growing up.  Back then I knew what to get him for his birthday.  Ghostbuster characters, teenage mutant ninja characters, dump trucks and legos.  Life was easy back then.  I asked him earlier in the week what he wanted for his birthday.  His typical reply "I don't need anything, having dinner with the family on Monday will be enough."  Well, that wasn't the correct answer.  After all birthdays only come around every 365 days. 
     As I thought about what I could do for him other than the card, money and dinner we will have for him, I thought it would be nice to make his favorite cookies.  I have been making these cookies since I was 19 years old.  When I was 18 I hopped on an airplane, (for the first time) and flew to New York City.  I would spend the next nine months as a nanny for the Kreiger family.  Besides a lot of good memories I came home with this recipe and it has been a family favorite. 

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with or without vanilla frosting
2 cups shortening (whoa)
2 cups sugar
1 (16 oz.) can pumpkin
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups all-purpose flour (wow, that's a lot)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 pkg. (12 oz.) semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips  (my own addition years ago)
2 cups raisins (the recipe calls for those, but who wants raisins when you can have chocolate)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)  I opt out for the mere reason that some people are allergic to them.
     Cream shortening and sugar.  Add pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla; beat well.  Stir together flour, next five ingredients, and 1 teaspoon salt.  Add to batter; mix well.  Stir in chocolate chips, or raisins, and or nuts.  Drop rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on to greased cookie sheet.  If your cookie sheet is well used like mine, line it with parchment paper.  (works really well)  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

     This is what they look like before baking.  You want them to have golden tips like this picture.  Then you will know they are done.

     For some unknown reason my family will eat every last one of these.  They like soft cookies.  Maybe that is what Paul meant when he said I was going to make my son soft if I kept giving him rides to and from school!  Earlier post in case you missed it.