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Show -NEWS- Spanish Fork Covering what matters most States of Grace Life After Birth Janene Baadsgaard I once watched a professional stoneware art•.rst working at the wheel, •vthrowing pots. I asked him questions about the formation of the outer walls and how he made the varied ^shapes he was forming. -He told me he only pays :attention to the center and Ahe outside walls take care .of themselves. .•' Too often our attention 'is directed to our outer walls, or the way we ap•pear to others. We find ourselves worthy only if •''we match up well against • everybody else. We com'pare and compete then find 'Ourselves lacking, never convinced we're good enough. If we pay attention to our own personal 'journey, how we compare to others won't matter any more. We don't have to be perfect. We don't have to . \>Q the best. We don't have 'to compete with others. , We have only to be better ..than we were yesterday. I remember a day when the parents of the students in my daughter's ballet class were invited to attend a performance demonstration to see the progress of the dance students. There were obvious differences in the levels of ballet technique and performance competency as the girls followed the teacher's commands and performed a choreographed dance for us. My daughter had struggled with shyness for years, along with learning to cope with legs thjat were several inches different in length. Taking ballet was her idea. She'd found the courage to take classes as a beginner with other girls who had been taking ballet for ten or more years. Watching her dance that day was amazingly beautiful to me. It didn't matter how she compared to the other girls. Even her teacher could not possibly know what she had overcome to get to this personal level of grace. Someone attending that class as an observer could not possibly make a judgment that was accurate about her competency or accomplishments. Then I realized only a parent who truly knows and loves their child can accurately assess their progress. So it is with God; only our loving heavenly parents can accurately assess our progress. As I watched my daughter turn a pirouette that day, my heart caught the very instant she stopped, stood still and smiled at me. Time stopped and she was the only ballerina on the dance floor. That shining moment of grace still dances in my heart to remind me that we all have a parent in heaven watching us with great love like I watched my daughter that day. The time between our entrance and exit on the stage of life isfleetingand precious. Those around us are dancing as fast as they can but generally no one notices. We all need an audience who knows how hard we're trying and how far we've come. Instead of looking out there for applause we need to look up there. The master potter is at work and is lovingly placing the soft clay of our Kathleen Olsen .; We hope our readers enjoyed a very Merry Christmas with family and loved ones and the day will stay a ' special memory with you. '•"'"i Our heartfelt sympathy !>: goes to Dan and Karen Williams on the loss of their lit>tie six year old granddaughter, Jayden Lynn Cartright. : 'Jayden was killed in an auto ^pedestrian accident in Span; ish Fork on Saturday, Dec. v :20, 2008. She is the daughv.ter of Jeff and Natalie Wil-, Jiams and has one sister and .:, one brother. ,, v Funeral services were : .held in Spanish fork on '\Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008 and ,, [burial took place in the Ben., iamin Cemetery. In contemplating this Christmas season, I am going to get personal and tell of some of the things Til remember about this particular year's Christmas: - The traditional Christmas card setting with snow piled high making houses, outbuildings and fence posts look as though they were all wearing domed, white caps (even though this caused some problems with travel, keeping roads and paths clear, and making feeding livestock an extra challenge); Attending the wonderfully beautiful Christmas program at the Conference Center in Salt lake' City, featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Orchestra at Temple Square, and the Bells on Temple Square plus special guests; Appreciating the" support of ward members at both Dawn Van Nosdol Janene Baadsgaard souls into the hot kiln of life so we can each emerge the unique shining vessels we can become^. Janene Baadsgaard is the author of many books including 15 Secrets to a Happy Home, Families Who Laugh - Last, On the Roller Coaster Called Motherhood, Winter's Promise, Financial Freedom for LDS Families and The LDS Mother's Almanac available at local book stores or on-line at www. springcreehbooks.com. Read her past columns at www.janenebaadsgaard. blogspot.com. Benjamin wards' Christmas parties, including those who worked so hard to present the evenings and the programs; Feelings the spirit in the home being enhanced as the nativities were put in place; Seeing the shining and beautiful faces of children visiting in our home at the Nativity Story Hour; Giving and receiving heart felt greetings of the season from friends; Long distance phone calls from family and friends away for the season but still connected by technology and love; Visiting the cemetery and lighting candles on family members' graves and leaving theflickeringlights indicating we are still connected to them; Hearing the story of tlje first Christmas, which once again sounded new even though it has been heard many times throughout the years; Sensing a quiet, anticipatory feeling on Christmas Eve; Visiting the homes of our children to share the excitement of Christmas morning; Appreciating being together with family; Listening to a three year old granddaughter sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus because it is His birth we are celebrating; Andfinally,sitting in the quiet of the lights from the tree contemplating the beautiful meaning of the day that is coming to a close. ••• Now, we wish a Happy New Year to everyone as we set out on the adventure of 2009. It is always amazing what a year can bring into lives. We hope it is full of good things for each of you. advice about "downsizing", but have found it somewhat difficult. Like a friend recently said, "How do you throw memories away?" So tonight the memories of my childhood days in this home will wash over me in waves as I recall many happy times with my Dad and Mother. I lived in this house for 21 years before getting married and it provided me with a good foundation for .my own family. My parents provided me with good examples of work and integrity and taught me values to last a lifetime. Homes: l^ I From HOMES • A2 Every room was warm and we didn't have to have rugs pushed under the doors to keep the cold wind out. They say you can't go home again, but I am. My daughter Elizabeth, her husband Ed and their chil- dren are moving irito my home and I have moved (or I should say in the process of moving) back to my childhood home. It will be a change and will take some time to get used to. I am trying to condense my belongings to fewer rooms, but it will be good. I have received a lot of Stocking up on storage Ready or Not Christmas contemplations 'Round and About Benjamin WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3 1 , 2008 • A3 Christmas is over and a new year is coming. You won't be starting your New Year's resolutions until tomorrow and so for ypur New Year's celebration you can make a bunch more goodies. (It has been scientifically proven, by me — sort of, that any calories that you ingest on New Year's Eve, won't follow you into the new year ... really). The one thing that I like about all of the new candy recipes and goody recipes, that are posted on my web site www.apreparedhome. com, is that everything can be taken right from your food storage. Nothing calls for fresh food — all of it can be stored for extensive amounts of time; even the butter. I try to buy my butter and margarine when it is on sale for a really good price and then keep it in the freezer. If I forget to take the butter and/or margarine out ahead of time to thaw for a recipe, I have found a really easy way to make it useable without having to use a microwave; just use a grater. And you thought that graters were only for grating cheese. Another good thing about making candy and goodies this time of year is that the grocery stores have caught on and generally have what you need on sale so that you can buy a years worth, to build up your food storage, and save money at the same time. Sugar is a really good example of this, and so is butter. I found butter on sale for on $1.49 a pound the other day! Yes, I bought a bunch because all of the other butter was for $3 and $4 a pound! Do the math — I saved a lot of money and I have butter for a whole year (or margarine, whatever you prefer, or find on sale.) Soda pop is also a terrific buyrightnow. I bought 20 2-liter bottles for only .69 cents each! Compared to the usual $1.29 price, I saved over $12.00! Translated into food storage talk, that would be enough money to purchase a 25 lb. bag of sugar and 50 lbs. of salt! Have you noticed that I have been using a lot of ex- clamation points? Get prepared and save money! . I know that money is tight right now, with the economy slowing down and Christmas just getting over with, but that is an even a better reason to take advantage of bulk buying sale items to get prepared. Santa brought me two cases of tuna fish and my husband two cases of Minestrone soup, but you don't have to wait until next year for Santa to start helping you with your food storage — you can do that on your own startingrightnow. With all of your resolutions this year, please make building your food storage and getting prepared right at the top of your list and then work on it on a daily, or at least a weekly basis. If you do, you will truly have a happy and prepared New Year. In the meantime, try this food storage friendly recipe and go to www.apreparedhome.com for more food storage tips and more wonderful candy recipes given to me by a wonderful friend Judy (and not one of them uses beans!). LICORICE CARAMELS 1 can sweetened condensed milk 1/4 tsp salt 1 1/2 c. light corn syrup 2 tsp (or less) anise (licorice) oil 1 c. butter 1 tsp (or less) black food color 2 c. sugar Lightly spray or butter a 9" square (or 7x11") baking pan - glass is best. You can line with sprayed foil, then lift out after they've set up if you'd rather. In a heavy 4-quart saucepan, combine condensed milk, corn syrup, butter, sugar and salt. Place over medium heat and stir with a wooden spoon until well mixed. Cook, stirring constantly to 235° or 236°. Remove from heat and stir in flavoring and food color. Blend well. Without scraping, pour into prepared pan. Allow to stand at room temperature several hours. Cut and wrap. Be prepared for black teeth when you eat them! Spanish Fork May this new year <1 Bring you much good cheer. I Custom Homes • Additions • Finishing Basements • Building Lots "Thank You Spanish Fork and Salem for making us your Home Builder choice for 2008. We will continue to work hard to deserve your confidence in us." -Robert Nelson Bring in this ad to receive For ALL Your Insurance Needs 2008 Parade of Homes Best Landscaping - runner up Best Interior winnner Best Overall Home winner HAPPY NEW YEAR! * 798-3500 North Main £5,001 ft Scenic Lots $68,700 •Si ft * ,4 ft Call for'Info. 423-1141 Salem, Utah ' I T^TTTT^^^^zL. discount on lots over $85,000 (limit aw riot) robertnelsonconstruction.com J-fapj)y New year! Not wtkl wflh olber often. Expirw 01/04/D9 570 N. Main, Spanish Fork • 798-9827 OPEN MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY 8 A.M.-6 P.M. Spanish Fork SsE^sas ^5= = -=== A«G « E « N ' C » Y Allied Insurance |