Goodies

As a little girl Christmastime was my favorite time of year and it still is! I remember my mom working in the kitchen baking and candy making for hours to get her goody plates ready for our family and friends. Homemade treats are my favorites and so I try to continue that tradition a little bit in my home. I can't say that I make all of the same things that my mom did, but I do make some of the basics. Today I've made fudge. It is a recipe I got about 9 years ago and I love it! I can't mess this one up. It sets up perfectly every time and is a big hit with my husband and kids! I've decided to share it so that you guys can enjoy it, too!

Fool-proof Fudge

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces (6oz)
1 cup milk chocolate pieces (6 oz)
12 large marshmallows or 1 1/4 cup tiny marshmallows
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Butter a 9x9x2 inch baking pan or line pan with foil and butter foil. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, combine sugar, butter and milk. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil over medium heat; reduce heat. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Stir in chocolate pieces, marshmallows, and vanilla. Continue stirring until smooth. Stir in nuts, if desired. Spread in prepared pan, Chill in refrigerator about 4 hours or until firm. Cut into 1 inch squares. Store in covered contoainer in refrigerator or freezer. Makes about 2 lbs.

I double this to make enough for a 9x13 pan.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Just a little thought...

Today I took Preston to see the Geneticist. We've been waiting for several months to get him in again. Not that we have any high hopes, but we're always curious to see if anyone has any answers for us as to what is going on with him medically. As far as that is concerned, we're still wondering. But I did gain a little insight from the visit.

When the doctor first came in the room he asked us a little bit about Preston and where he's at academically. I explained to him that I'm really pleased with his progress and I owe a lot of it to the excellent school he attends. Preston has made great improvements in the two years he has gone to this particular school. We adore the faculty there and they seem to really love Peanut (and all of the boys, for that matter). The doctor seemed amazed at that and jokingly said he should refer all of his patients in Davis County to attend our school. I laughed and said that I definitely realized I was lucky and that our school is indeed an exception to the rule here in the state of Utah.

As the appointment went on (it lasted almost 3 hours), we discussed some new testing that they would like to run on Preston. The tests are really expensive and meet a lot of resistance from many insurance companies, particularly Medicaid. We currently have that for the boys as Lain is out of work and we couldn't continue on cobra benefits. Because of the state of the economy right now, more families are on Medicaid and they are really watching the big expenses. The doctor said that maybe we could get lucky with this like we did on the school thing. I laughed, but then I realized something; luck has nothing to do with the things that have occurred in my life.

Almost 3 years ago, I woke up one morning, strolled into the kitchen and told my husband we needed to sell our house. We had only lived in it for 10 months at the time. That evening we put a sign in the front yard. Two weeks later, the house had sold and a couple of weeks after that I was moving into this special little money pit! The moment I drove through this neighborhood, I KNEW this was where we were supposed to be. I had no doubts. Now, here it is almost 3 years later and my children are thriving. They are doing so well in school, have excellent friends and we are in the most amazing neighborhood imaginable. Before he started kindergarten, the specialists said Preston would have to use communication devices to function at school and that he would probably be mainly in a functional skills-type setting. It may seem trivial to some, but my son speaks full sentences now, writes his name and can read a lot of sight words. He is in a general education classroom for 2.5 hours a day and resource the rest. My heart is full because of the miracles that I continue to witness in my life.

Life is not easy. In fact, it can seem down right crappy at times. But, I know that through all the trials, come these moments of joy and happiness. These moments when I feel so depressed because I have such bad "luck" pass and I realize that luck really has nothing to do with it. I have adversity and I have blessings. The Lord is here for me through it all- good and bad. The thing I need to do is recognize His great hand in my life and acknowledge Him for the days of good fortune and rely on Him when that "luck" turns sour. I'm grateful for the Spirit and the ability I have to receive inspiration when I need it most. I needed it today. I needed a reminder that God lives and remembers me. His hand is in my life daily and my children bear constant witness to that.

I guess I am pretty lucky after all! Don't you think?

What The???????

La dee dah... I was going to run my bath water today and looked down to see this waiting for me!!! I have never seen such a creature in my life. I think it must be some sort of spider-centipede hybrid- SICK!

Then it occurred to me, I haven't seen a lot of the things I am experiencing here in the good ol' Beehive State. Spring is here, and with that comes the beauty of tulips, lush lawns, beautiful mountains, birds singing and gracing my yard with their presence, streams running full, and the most enjoyable evening temperatures I have ever felt. BUT this all comes with a price.... CRITTERS!

The spiders are out in full force right now; the cobwebs in my house prove that. Ants are building up their little villages in my gardens. Mosquitoes are chomping at my skin already. My front windshield looks like someones art project with smashed bugs- from in-town driving! Almost every night I can smell the fragrant aroma of skunk booty. Nice. And now this not-so-little friend tries to join me in the bathtub.

The point?? Well, I guess everything has its price. I wanted to have a yard that made me feel like I was in the great outdoors. I've got it AND all of its inhabitants. BUT as soon as they come into my house, I stop being nice. This poor fella met the bottom of a flip-flop and took a final spin down the commode. To some the end is not pretty. Sorry guy, I had to take a bath!

Sarah Who?

It's been a long time. I really have no excuse. My biggest problem lies with Twitter and Facebook. I am an addict. I really love how easy it is to put up a quick status and walk away. It's also been a lot of fun to catch up with people from my past. So, what's been going on around here? Not too much, but I'll try to fill in the month and a half long gap...

Lain still has no job. He's been searching and searching, but we can't live on the meager salaries he's been offered. People are really paying a lot less than what used to be the norm. It's starting to get stressful and we're looking in other areas now. I don't want to leave, but we'll cross that bridge when and IF we have to. We just have to keep all of our options open. He is starting to advertise for bike repairs again. Hopefully we'll get a few repairs and tune-ups here and there to help supplement the unemployment money coming in. We're staying as optimistic as possible- having faith that Heavenly Father is watching out for us. I know that in time this will all be something we look back on as a lesson learned.

I have been trying to lose weight again. My baby weight from Abbie just wasn't coming off the old way. (That way being eat like a pig and exercise every once in a while.) So, I've joined Weight Watchers and the weight has slowly been coming off. I really feel better now that I've been eating healthier. I'm happy that my kids are still young enough that they might be better eaters when they are my age because of the changes I have been making for our family. I miss baking TREMENDOUSLY, however. I do it as a stress reliever. So, now I have more stress. :) Not really, I just read a bit more now! Plus I've been running again (or at least run-walking). It's so nice to get out at night and get some good exercise. I really enjoy the weather here in the evenings.

The kids are doing really well. The boys have a little over a month left of school. This year has just flown by!! I think we'll have a fun summer. We've started back into baseball season for Adam. He really loves it! I'm glad we were able to get him involved in that again. It's good to keep these boys busy. Abbie is growing like CRAZY! She is so tall. She's off the charts for her height. The doctor called her "ginormous." Needless to say, she is not a petite child. I love it! She can hang with her brothers so well! She is rough and tumble and loves to play outside with them. It's fun to watch her grow, but leaves me sad, too. She's my baby and she's growing up faster than any of the boys did. Why does it have to happen that way?

All in all, the Dukes are doing well. We are grateful for the many blessings we receive on a daily basis. We have healthy kids, a great neighborhood, a happy marriage, and more weeds to pull than anyone we know! The Lord's hand is in our lives and we feel His presence in our home. We know that if we keep on truckin' we will be blessed even more! I plan on posting more often now since Lain won't need the computer for school over the summer. If you want to catch up with us more often, though, just take a peek at our facebook pages!!!!

Bread Baking Addiction

I have been on a bread baking kick for the last few days. My husband and kids can't seem to get enough of it lately, so I just keep making more. It is really easy and is so inexpensive to make. I have a smaller KitchenAid mixer, and this recipe is the perfect size for it. I only have to use my dough hook- no hand kneading necessary. It doesn't get much better than that! Here's the recipe if you're interested:


BASIC WHITE BREAD FOR KITCHENAID

½ cup low-fat milk
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 packages active dry yeast (4½ tsp active dry yeast)
1½ cups warm water (105 F to 115 F)
5-6 cups all-purpose flour (Mine ends up being about 5½ cups.)

Place milk, sugar, salt, and butter in small saucepan. Heat over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm. (Lukewarm is baby bottle warm- you shouldn't notice much of a difference from your body temperature. If you get it too hot- you will kill your yeast.)I do this step in the microwave on high for about 1-2 minutes- much less work!


Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl. Add lukewarm milk mixture and 4 ½ cups flour. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Turn to Speed 2 and mix about 1 minute.


Continuing on Speed 2, add remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, and mix about 2 minutes, or until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl. Knead on Speed 2 about 2 minutes longer, or until dough is smooth and elastic. Dough will be slightly sticky to the touch.


Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover. Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.


Punch dough down and divide in half. Shape each half into a loaf, and place in greased 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ -inch baking pans. Cover. Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.


Bake at 400* F for 30 minutes, or until golden brown**. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks. (Mine is done in under 20 minutes, so make sure you keep an eye on it.)


**For an extra special touch, rub butter on tops of loaves immediately after you take them out of the oven. I love that!


I hope you guys try it and love it. The crust is really tender and the middle is soft and fluffy. It really is the easiest bread recipe I've ever made. And the taste is MMMMMM! Go ahead, be brave, bake bread!