visitors since May 12, 2010!
Having a baby sure changes one's priorities...at least for me. Over the last four months since having my adorable baby, I have let some things go...my body, my housework, and my poor gardens that are now overcome with weeds. The housework I tackled over the last few weeks and the body will take a LOT more work. I guess it is time to focus on the gardens.
Elder M. Russell Ballard said: Life isn’t always easy. At some point in our journey we may feel much as the pioneers did as they crossed Iowa—up to our knees in mud, forced to bury some of our dreams along the way. We all face rocky ridges, with the wind in our face and winter coming on too soon. Sometimes it seems as though there is no end to the dust that stings our eyes and clouds our vision. Sharp edges of despair and discouragement jut out of the terrain to slow our passage. Always, there is a Devil’s Gate, which will swing wide open to lure us in. Those who are wise and faithful will steer a course as far from such temptation as possible, while others—sometimes those who are nearest and dearest to us—succumb to the attraction of ease, comfort, convenience, and rest. Occasionally we reach the top of one summit in life, as the pioneers did, only to see more mountain peaks ahead, higher and more challenging than the one we have just traversed. Tapping unseen reservoirs of faith and endurance, we, as did our forebears, inch ever forward toward that day when our voices can join with those of all pioneers who have endured in faith, singing: “All is well! All is well!” (Hymns, no. 30).
And how will we feel then, as we stand shoulder to shoulder with the great pioneers of Church history? How will they feel about us? Will they see faith in our footsteps? I believe they will, particularly as they view our lives and experiences from the expanded perspective of eternity. Although our journeys today are less demanding physically than the trek of our pioneers 150 years ago, they are no less challenging. Certainly it was hard to walk across a continent to establish a new home in a dry western desert. But who can say if that was any more difficult than is the task of living faithful, righteous lives in today’s confusingly sinful world, where the trail is constantly shifting and where divine markers of right and wrong are being replaced by political expediency and diminishing morality. The road we travel today is treacherous, and the scriptures tell us it will continue to be so until the very end. But our reward will be the same as that which awaits worthy pioneers of all ages who live faithfully the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, make right choices, and give their all to build the kingdom of God on earth.
“One day I got into a slough, having the children in the cart, I could not get out. One after another passed me by and left me; brothers and sisters passed neither had hardly sufficient strength to get along themselves. When the last cart came along, a sister ran out of her cart and helped me out. Then of course, I could not catch up with the company so it was late and dark before I got into camp. The wolves were howling around me but they did not come too close and I got in all right.”
“At Devil’s Gate John’s feet began to freeze severely. I cannot remember the names of places. It was after wading a very wide river. The freezing commenced. We had no wood, only sagebrush. I went out and cut the sage to keep a fire all night. Covered you all with your feet to the fire and heads covered over. Then I went out and cut more sagebrush and kept the fire as well as I could. My clothes were frozen stiff like starched clothing. Well, we got through the night.”
“We had to go back to one quarter pound of flour very soon and he (her husband Joseph) failed fast under this short ration and hard strain on his bodily strength. I think he would not have died if we could have gotten food, but he was spared the trial. We went to bed about 3 o’clock, he put his arm around me and said, “I am done”, and breathed his last. We sewed him up in a quilt with his clothes on. In the early morning your father was buried with eight other men in one grave. I stood like a statue bewildered, in tears, the cold chills even now as I write. It creeps over my body and it seems I can still hear and see the wolves waiting for their bodies. As they would come down to camp before we were very far away. I again went into the harness and pulled the cart; all that could had to work to get to the wagons.”
Her nightly schedule: “When we got into camp, I would clear the snow away with a tin plate, gather my wood, get my bed clothes from the wagon. I was too weak to haul much. Then I would get my allowance of flour, then pack the children to the fire and make their bed on the ground. The tent was so frozen and the ground so hard we could not set the tent up. I think it was 2 weeks we were without a tent.”
Elizabeth had to cut off parts of her 4 year-old son, Robert's, frozen feet with her scissors until most of his feet were gone. Robert later wore leather pads on his knees and learned to walk on his knees. The Martin Handcart Co., along with Elizabeth and her 4 children, was eventually rescued.
Elizabeth later wrote: “My faith was still in my Father in Heaven. I never lost my faith in Him. It is as sweet today to trust in him and my prayers are that I may always trust Him. He is a friend that has never failed when asked. You may perhaps say 'Why not have asked Him to serve you then when you needed it?' I did and He spurred me through many trials to my family.”
On a lightly oiled surface, roll bread dough out into a 10x15 inch rectangle. Leaving 1/2 inch boarder on each side of bread dough, spread with mustard or BBQ sauce. Arrange meat and cheese on dough, leaving 1/2 inch space along edges. Starting along one long side, roll Stromboli up "jelly roll" fashion. Pinch edges together to seal; fold ends under. Place Stromboli on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray, seam side down. Brush the top and sides with beaten egg. Using a sharp knife, cut 1/2 inch slits along the top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Cover with plastic wrap and let raise about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove plastic wrap and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Cool for 10 minutes, slice and serve warm.
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