Thankful for ...

It's Halloween night, and I sit here thankful for so many things!  I guess that I've already turned my internal calendar to the November page.  I visited another Ward last Sunday, and though it was wonderful, I really missed my friends and sisters at Mt. Norway!

So many of us were able to enjoy our time at the Pierce/McDonald cabin last week - what a special treat for all of us.  I got to know so many of you more, saw was a crazy gal Gloria Batchelor is, and learned all sorts of "Sara-isms".  We really are so blessed with a family of very special ward sisters.  (Bread recipe at the end of this post.)

One of the sisters in our ward shared a thought with me recently that has impacted my life forever.  She was talking about dealing with daily decisions.  These aren't necessarily earth-shattering, life altering moments, but the day to day times when we think to ourselves, "I can miss church just this once. I'm so tired." Or, "I just want to stay home and watch a movie with my family" instead of taking care of something with our callings, or attending a meeting.  She said, "...when there is such a fierce battle, I surrendered to the Spirit."

Wow.  If we can teach ourselves to surrender to the Spirit every time we try to talk ourselves out of doing what we know we should, think how safe we will be from making serious errors of judgment that can have eternal impact on our lives and families.

So there you have it.  One more reason why I am thankful for the sisterhood in Mt. Norway Ward.  Happy November everyone.

Editor's note:  I have an enormous project that I am involved in throughout the entire month of November.  I will try to keep the blog up, but may be a bit scarce for the month.

Bloomin' Onion Bread

Round loaf of french bread
1/2 C melted butter
1 bunch chopped green onions (just the tops)
1 T chopped garlic
3 C (ish) shredded monterey jack cheese

Cut the bread in 1.5" slices, leaving it attached at the base.  Turn the bread, and cut the slices going the other direction, leaving it attached at the base.  (This leaves a grid of square chunks of bread, all attached to the bottom of the loaf.)

Melt butter and garlic.

Stuff cheese into the nooks and crannies, pour garlic butter over the top, and add the onion greens.

Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.