Elder Ryan Richey

Ryan has officially entered the Missionary Training Center! We are so excited for him!

30 Pounds of Apples

Okay, I need some help. This week, my sister-in-law Diana and I found a little apple orchard in Sandy. It was tiny and quaint -- so cute. Well, we ended up picking 30 pounds of Golden Delicious apples, which are now sitting in a huge box on my counter.

I have already made 3 recipes, and I have barely put a dent in the apple stash.

What are some things I could do? Should I make applesauce? Should I try to make apple pie filling and store it in jars? I could really use some suggestions.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post the recipes I used, with some notes, for other apple-enthusiasts.

Apple Cake

This was SUPER yummy, but I really like raisins and nuts, so you'll have to decide if it sounds like you'll like it. I used toasted pecans, and I baked it in a 9" round pan. I was hoping to make a bundt, but there actually wasn't that much batter when the ingredients were mixed. Next time I make this, I will probably double it and bake it in a bundt pan. It would make a really good holiday breakfast for a my family (10-13 people) if doubled (or maybe tripled).

Apple Coffee Cake

This one was more popular with my taste-testers (aka a bunch of Reed's friend who were over for a Windows 7 release party), and I think it's because there were no nuts or raisins. (The recipe calls for nuts, but I left them out because I was already making a recipe with pecans.) Again, I baked it in a 9" round, because again, there was less batter than I expected. When fully baked, the center was very thin, and it smooshed a little bit when I turned it out onto a plate for serving. I would definitely double this recipe next time.

That said, it was very moist and yummy. Next time, I will double it, make it in a square 8x8 pan, add some kind of crumble topping on top, and serve it in squares right from the pan. Again, it'd make a cute breakfast for Christmas morning or something.

Oatmeal Apple Crisp

This recipe was a winner, but I guess it's kind of hard to go wrong with apple crisp. I only had 1/8 Cup of butter left ( after all the crazy baking), but the recipe still turned out just fine. Again, I will double, triple, or even quadruple this recipe next time, depending on the situation. It just did not make very much: maybe enough for about 5-6 portions with a scoop of ice cream, so great for a smaller party.

Goodbye, Ryan :(

Well, it's official. My little brother is entering the MTC a week from today, marking the start of a two year mission for our church. He'll be serving the people of Tegucigalpa, Honduras -- speaking Spanish. This is already shaping up to be a wonderful experience for our whole family, but it will be so strange not having him around. He is such a comic, vibrant part of our family dynamic. We will definitely feel his absence, but I could not be happier for the way he has chosen to spend his life -- trying his best to follow the Lord, and serving other people. Where did my little baby brother go?

So I'm writing a book...

I know, it's hard to take a statement like that seriously. Even I roll my eyes when I hear my myself saying it. It's like, "right. You and every other liberal arts major with a political/social/environmental agenda."

Oh, but I'm writing fiction!

"Right, you and every other liberal arts major who thinks they're writing the great American novel." :)

I don't know why we wait for the green light when it comes to fulfilling a lifelong goal. Growing up, I've told countless people that I want to be a writer. I guess it's the "Grand Narrative" that psychologists talk about. But now, I'm actually trying to do it. That's a very scary step for me.

Because telling people, "I'm going to be a writer someday" is very different than showing them your writing and saying, "Well, here it is!"

Regardless of how scared I feel, however, I'm doing it. I'm writing a book. And I have 15 chapters so far...

My talk on Sunday

There is a story in my family which we call the Miracle of the Quail.

My little sister, Hannah, has always been very in touch with nature. To say that she is a hippie is an understatement. A few years ago, my mom discovered that Hannah had been growing corn out of lego buckets in her room. and she’s been that way since the beginning. I’m not sure when our family first realized that Hannah’s feelings about plants and animals were more intense than other little girls who like making daisy chains, or who want a kitty. For instance, several years ago, there was a mouse loose in our house. Hannah, who was 7 at the time, went online and found googledoc blueprints for a humane mouse trap, and then spent 2 hours constructing it from raw materials.

While, I might add, my other siblings and I laughed like Laman and Lemuel while Nephi was building a ship.

She caught the mouse 5 minutes after the contraption was complete.

Later, when my dad accidentally killed the mouse, Hannah went on a hunger strike.

Hopefully this gives you a glimpse into the magnitude of Hannah’s feelings toward nature.

One evening, Hannah found a baby quail outside, cold and soaking wet. She put it in a shoebox and brought it inside, where she began stroking it with a towel in an attempt to dry the baby bird. Despite Hannah’s considerable efforts, the baby quail declined in health, and at around 10pm, my father, an accomplished doctor, pronounced the quail dead. Even noting that rigor mortis had completely set in.

He tried to console my little sister, but after several protests along the lines of “he doth not stink,” my dad left Hannah with her dead bird and went to bed.

When he awoke the next morning, much to his surprise, Hannah sat with the quail, which was now fluffy, cheeping, and very much alive.

When my dad asked what had happened to the quail, my sister answered, “I prayed to Heavenly Father.”

My dad was stunned, and said, “Did you ask Heavenly Father to bring the quail back to life?”

Hannah looked at him and said, “obviously.”

At first, the rest of us tried to explain away what had happened. Maybe the quail had just been sleeping with its eyes open. Or maybe quails are like possums, and have a “play dead” defense. It was my father, the one who had pronounced the quail dead, who then chastised us all for being slow to believe.

And it’s true: if the Lord answered the prayer of Joseph Smith, and if he touched the stones when the Brother of Jared asked for light, then who am I to say the He wouldn’t answer my sister’s sincere prayer of faith. We now call this incident the Miracle of the Quail.

I have learned a great lesson from this miracle. And yes, I say “miracle,” because I believe that something miraculous happened that night. I really do think that God brought that animal back to life because my little sister prayed. I believe he saved the quail to show Hannah that He heard her prayers, that he loved her.

It amazes me that with so many thousands of people in this world, God knows exactly what it is that we need personally. He knows the precise way to speak to us, individually, uniquely—He knows the perfect, specific way to communicate to each of us that He loves us.

God is infinitely invested in our relationship with him. God didn’t necessarily need to save the quail, but He did…and does endlessly and immensely, love and cherish Hannah.

In General Conference this past week, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught,

God the Eternal Father did not give that first great commandment because He needs us to love Him. His power and glory are not diminished should we disregard, deny, or even defile His name. His influence and dominion extend through time and space independent of our acceptance, approval, or admiration.

No, God does not need us to love Him. But oh, how we need to love God!

Our Father in Heaven has given us, His children, much more than any mortal mind can comprehend. Under His direction the Great Jehovah created this wondrous world we live in. God the Father watches over us, fills our hearts with breathtaking joy, brightens our darkest hours with blessed peace, distills upon our minds precious truths, shepherds us through times of distress, rejoices when we rejoice, and answers our righteous petitions.

He offers to His children the promise of a glorious and infinite existence and has provided a way for us to progress in knowledge and glory until we receive a fulness of joy. He has promised us all that He has.

I want to stop a moment and try to emphasize this point.

Why did the Savior do this? I think, we often take the Plan of Salvation for granted, but LOOK at it for a moment. There was no reason to save us. Heavenly Father didn’t NEED us.

Before this life, we didn’t have bodies. There was a point where we weren’t even spirits. God found us, whatever we were – intelligences, pieces of space – and created us spiritually. Once we were spirits, he created this earth for us, gave us bodies, agency, life. Then promised that His beloved, Only begotten Son, would die for us, so that we could become perfect. Often, rulers are threatened by anyone else gaining power. They oppress to receive glory, to retain their high status. But Heavenly Father was so anxious to take us – who were essentially nothing – and make us pure and powerful, like Him.

Again, there was no reason to do this. Nothing we had ever done made us worthy or deserving of this act.

One of my favorite scriptures comes from Third Nephi, Chapter 11. It uses an interesting word: Hosanna. Do you know what Hosanna means? It means save us.

Verses 15, 16 and 17 -- This is when Christ has come to the people of the Americas, after he has atoned for their sins and saved them – saved all of us.

Think of what this means! Think of what had led up to this point! The prophets throughout the ages had written about this day, and the people who were there when the Savior came knew those prophecies, and they knew it was He of whom the prophets had testified. And they knew what that meant:

15 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and ^adid feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.

16 And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying:

17 Hosanna! – [save us!] …Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did ^aworship him.

“He offers to His children the promise of a glorious and infinite existence and has provided a way for us to progress in knowledge and glory until we receive a fulness of joy. He has promised us all that He has.” – President Uchtdorf

How could we not follow a being who loves us so infinitely? How can we not endeavor to keep his commandments?

In Matthew, chapter 10, God says:

6 go

7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven ^ais at hand.

28 And ^afear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather ^bfear him which is able to ^cdestroy both ^dsoul and body in ^ehell.

29 Are not two ^asparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

30 But the very ^ahairs of your head are all numbered.

31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more ^avalue than many ^bsparrows.

If God notices the fall of the sparrow, and the life of a quail, and the prayer of my 7-year-old sister, He will notice all of our falls, our lives, and our prayers. This is my sincere testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Happy Fall!

My Aunt Heather sent Cal this adorable pumpkin hat (which she made) in the mail yesterday. I love it!