Mercedes Macarons

First, thank you to all who have expressed such heartfelt love, concern, and support for my family and I. We all truly appreciate all of you, and are gratful to have you in our lives. If you are wanting to know the funeral arrangements, please contact me at katiefisher05@gmail.com and I will be happy to share them with you.

As I was getting ready to write earlier this week, I caught a glimpse of a familiar face on my blogger dashboard. My curiousity peeked, I opened up the link for the House of Smiths and saw a beautiful sight - the smiling face of a great friend. Mercedes White [and her sister Rachel too!] and I spent many hours together in our premarried lives. We worked in the cosmetics industry together, often using one another as guinea pigs, and conincidently, my Amazing Husband and I officially became 'official' at the White house. Not that you needed the history, but its fun right? ha! Anyways, Mercedes is now living in Utah, and is the owner and creator of a successful specialty shop. What does she sell you ask? None other than French Macarons! These little delights took Mercedes a year to perfect [not an easy baking task to take on; infact, having perfected the art in only a year is impressive!] and are now for sale at markets around Utah, and this weekend at the Bijou Market in Provo, UT. Mercedes also has a website [it's here if you want to check it out!] where she sells her mixes [ hello Christmas presents!] and provides baking tips to all.  Mercedes also teaches classes, and if you're able to attend one do so!



If you were going to perfect the art of a specialty dish, what would it be? Would you focus on desserts or main dishes? I love the idea of perfecting French Macarons - so dainty, and beautiful to display!

Life and Death

Tuesday evening, I drove for forty minutes to get to my Grandparent's home in a small town. My boys were tucked safely into bed, a CD on nutrition and health played on the stereo, and my car was humming along. I was trying to distract myself from what I knew I would be doing when I arrived at my Grandparents. I'm not very good at saying goodbye.
I walked into a very peaceful moment. My mom and two of my cousins were at Grandpa's bedside, holding his hand and talking to him. With his right arm sore, the sweet spot to be was on his left, where you could gently hold his hand and not worry about waking him. Grandpa dozed in and out as we talked to him, as we tried to laugh more than cry. His breathing was laboured, but no cough came to clear the congestion away.
As the night closed in, I knew I needed to get home, but I didn't want to say goodbye. Goodbye is so hard to say, especially when you know in your heart it's the last goodbye you'll be privileged to say. Each of us were given time with Grandpa alone, and this is what I said:

"Grandpa, when I was eight years old, you gave me my first Book of Mormon. Inside the front cover you wrote," Dear Katie, We know the Lord will bless you in many ways for reading this book. As you read, study, ponder the words herein you'll come to know what we know, "That this is God's word to us." He will bless you in other ways too. You'll soon realize that your ability to read and understand will grow. All our love to a very special girl, Grandpa and Grandma James"

"Thank you for always telling me I'm special. Thank you for always loving me. Thank you for being my Grandpa. Thank you for making us a forever family, and for showing all of us the way to live. Thank you for giving us strength, and showing us what strength is. I love you Grandpa. I know - we all know - how hard you've fought, and it's okay to let go now. Until we meet again, know that I love you, just as I know that you love me."

I kissed my sweet Grandpa's cheeks, squeezed his hand lightly, and turned to go. As I hugged everyone that was lingering longer, I felt the heaviness of the moment on all that were present. Death is not an easy subject to digest, or a moment that can be bore alone. I'm grateful Grandma was not alone.

At 11am on Wednesday, November 16th, my gentle giant slipped peacefully away. Ronald Keith James was a husband, father, grandpa, great-grandpa, friend, teacher, and missionary. Thank you for blessing our lives with your love, and for teaching us humility by example. Thank you for being my Grandpa. I love you, and will miss you until we meet again.

my cousin Lindsay wrote about Grandpa on her blog. If you'd like to see more pictures, and hear more about this amazing Grandpa I've been blessed to have, you can check it out here.

Monday Monday

How was your weekend? There is just something magical about Monday's - a proverbial blank slate if you will. Sometimes a weekend is wonderful, productive, and full of happy family time. And sometimes...sometimes its not ha! Either way, I love Monday and the fresh perspective it brings. Here are my "SUPER-DUPER-BIG-IDEAS" for the week [thanks goes to Darius for a wonderful new household saying!]:

Go running 3x

do yoga 1x

play volleyball 1x

secure a full house for my Private Business Reception [if you want an invite, email me at katiefisher05@gmail.com!]

sew Christmas Eve Pajama Shorts

send in all warranty paperwork [yep, we've been living here a month and still haven't done this opps!]


go to choir and sing my heart out! Ha!

What are your great intentions for the week? My thought is, if I don't complete all of these its okay - it's striving to complete them all that will slowly tick them off my list!

*none of the photos are my own, but seriously doesn't that volleyball pic make you many to play??? If so, send me an email [katiefisher05@gmail.com] and I'll tell you when and where you can do so! And my family is that loving and cuddling for the most part but we've yet to get a pic of us in matching pajamas.

Handcrafted Christmas

I never stop thinking about Christmas. Never. I listen to Christmas music year round; I look forward to the time when every house is covered in lights; a tree glows in the window; and carolers sing on door steps and street corners. I love the thought of cuddling up with a cup of hot chocolate, a fire, and my Amazing Husband while the kids doze happily in their warm beds. You get the picture? This year it was decided that we would embark on a new tradition, one that takes thought, planning, and talent to pull off: Handcrafted Gifts for Everyone on Our List! For one another, our kids, our family and friends, a lot of time and preparation is going into what will be given as tokens of love, appreciation, and gratitude. I've been slowly getting items completed[since February], but have left the bulk of the work until now, and my list is long and daunting...but oddly exhilarating at the same time[we'll see if I still feel that way in a month...] You see, once you think of the PERFECT gift for someone, the anticipation of watching them open and enjoy it, is worth all the effort. Here are just a few of the projects on my list to make:


Aprons [his and hers]

Pajama Shorts

Crochet Headbands

Handbag

If you're looking for ideas to incorporate this idea into your Christmas gifts, there are a plethora or tutorials online. Some of my favorite site for handcrafted goodness are:

MADE

Make It Love It

House of Smiths

Jones Design Company

Ana White

Check out the sources, get inspired, and don't forget to have fun! Darius was looking at ideas today trying to figure out what to make for his brother - it almost brought a tear to my eye!! I of course only gave a hint of what all will be completed in my craft space, but I look forward to sharing the completed projects soon!

Both Good

When given the choice between playing with Buzz Light year or Woody, Darius would say,"ahhh, they're both good, both good." No decision will really be made, and he'll happily take both toys and go play. But what if you're in a situation where you'd have the same sweet answer as Mr.Darius, but you truly have to decide? Well, that's the pickle I'm in.

             Do I train and compete in a Fitness Competition?

               Or train for and run another Marathon as planned?

Decisions, decisions. What decisions are you debating right now? When all the choices are great, how do you choose?

The Joy in Giving

As I spoon fed Eli his Green Shake this morning, I watched a video that resonated with me on such a deep level that tears welled in my eyes.  At this time of year, when the weather turns colder and the need of those less fortunate becomes more apparent, this video is a good reminder. Please watch:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1378237514624

We are all human, we are all connected - we are all children trying to find our way. How can you lift the burden of those around you? India does not have a monoply on suffering - we can serve where ever we are.

Thanks Cheri for sharing this.

Volleyball

When I was in grade seven, I was the 'new kid' in school, and looking for a way to make friends. Enter volleyball season. As soon as the posting for try outs went up, I ran home and told my Dad. It was literally music to his ears to hear one of his children wanted to follow in his footsteps ha! My Dad is was a serious athlete in his day, playing baseball, basketball, swimming, and even playing volleyball in university. While many of his children played basketball from a young age, I was the first to express interest in volleyball, and boy did I get attention for it ha! Everyday after school we were out in the Quonset volleying, setting, and running drills. By the end of my first season I was MVP, and I never looked back!
I played all through high school loving every minute of it, but haven't had the chance to play much since then.
With our new home has come a lot of new to us experiences, one of them being our church congregation. Our new church congregation is involved in a semi-annual volleyball tournament, and so this past week I had a practice, and a tournament that brought back such amazing memories. Not only is it great to switch up your exercise routine to avoid boredom, but to reawaken neglected muscle groups. I came home from both nights on a high, loving the bruises I knew would be surfacing by morning, and the soreness I knew would be minor muscle aches soon. I'm already dreaming of the next tournament, and a way to make volleyball a part of my regular life again.

Sand is one of the hardest surfaces to jump on, and yet look at this! Pure power, drive and determination at the 2004 Olympic Games!

What did you love when you were younger that you haven't enjoyed in a while? Is there a creative outlet that could bring you as much joy now as it did then? Sometimes you need to look back to find joy moving forward.