Serving Our Bishop With Love

This month we have been focusing on serving one another as we continue to build unity in our ward. We had a "quilting" party.

Joann and Breanna make it look so easy.

We didn't really quilt, but made mitered edge baby blankets to be donated to Calvert Memorial Hospital Maternity ward.

Amanda with her first blanket

Rose and Amanda hard at work.

Our second service project was serving our bishop and his family meals for a week. We hope they enjoyed the meals.

Our final project is creating a scrapbook of memories and testimonies from the Relief Society sisters to give to our bishop. We hope every sister in the ward will participate in the scrapbook activity. We would like each sister to create an 8 1/2" x 11" scrapbook page. Write your testimony, include a special memory and/or a picture of your family. When finished, give your scrapbook page to a member of the RS presidency.

If you need some scrapbooking help, feel free to contact Sister Mitchell or Sister Aina.

The scrapbook is really coming together, we just want to make sure everyone is included.

Feb 7 Lesson

Sisters,
This week's lesson will be on the atonement. Elder Bednar explains how the atonement is not only to cleanse us from sin but to give us strength and 'enabling power' in our daily life. Life isn't meant to be conquered on our own. See the talk (that we will discuss on Sunday) here:
http://www.byub.org/talks/Talk.aspx?id=1567
This talk is AMAZING!!

Potluck Picnic

On Thursday night we had our Relief Society Potluck Picnic. Each sister was asked to bring either a salad or a dessert to share. We have some great cooks in our ward. Everything was delicious.

We had plenty to eat.


Amanda was explaining how to play Mingle Bingo our first activity.

As we ate, we mingled and started to get to know each other as we tried to fill in our mingle bingo cards with sisters' names.

Vicky and Kelly had fun with Kyla.

After we finished eating it was on to our next activity: Speed Friending (It is similar to speed dating).

We sat at tables and the inside circle moved every few minutes while sisters sitting on the outside stayed at their table.

We had a new topic to discuss with each new partner. Some of the topics included were: Movies - What is your favorite movie? What was the last movie you saw? If you could make a movie what would it be about? What do you wish they'd make a movie of?

Places you have been - Where were you born? What countries have you lived in? What was your favorite house? Where do you like to go with your family?

Jobs - What was your first job? Where have you worked since? What did you learn from your coworkers? Where would you like to work?

Spare time - What are your hobbies? Do you spend time by yourself or with friends? What would you do if you had a spare month to fill?

Health - Have you ever had an operation? Do you hate going to the dentist? Do you wear contacts? What illness scares you? Have you had measles or chicken pox? Have you been in a car accident?

Weird - What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten? what's the weirdest thing you've ever seen?). It was fun and we learned a lot about each other.

Our last activity was a candy bar game. Everyone drew a candy bar from a bag. If you had a Snickers, you shared an embarrassing or funny thing that had happened to you. If you had a Kit Kat (give me a break, give me a break), you shared something you like to do in your free time. Those who had an Almond Joy shared something that brings them joy or makes them happy. If you had a Milky Way, you shared a dream or goal that you have.

We had a great time learning more about each other.

Next month we will have several opportunities for service.

Lana Utzingers delicious Apple Dumplings

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• Apple Dumplings
• 2 whole Granny Smith Apples
• 2 cans (8 Oz. Cans) Crescent Rolls
• 2 sticks Butter
• 1-½ cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Cinnamon, To Taste
• 1 can (12 Oz.) Sprite

Preparation Instructions

Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan.

Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour entire mixture over apples. Pour Sprite around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.

Relief Society Potluck Picnic

Our first Relief Society Activity for the year will be a Potluck Picnic. We will meet at 6:30pm on Thursday January 14, 2010 at the church. Please bring a salad or dessert to share. We will start the evening with a Mingle Bingo. After we eat, we will be participating in "Speed Friending". It is a fun and easy way to get to know one another. This is for all Relief Society sisters. Please come and join in the fun.

Walk to Zion

2010 will be an exciting year in Relief Society. One of our first activities will be Walk to Zion.
We have been trying to think of ways for all sisters participate in an activity. This is a walking (or wheeling as needed) activity. We found some information from another ward about this activity. When the Mormon Handcart companies walked to Zion, they walked across Iowa following an existing road about 275 miles to Council Bluffs following a route that is close to the current U.S. Route 6.

After crossing the Missouri River, they paused for a few days at a Mormon outpost in Florence, Nebraska (modern day Omaha) for repairs.


From there they began the remaining 1,030 mile journey along the Mormon Trail to Salt Lake City. So they walked a total of 1,305 miles.

We are blessed as we begin our Walk to Zion.

• We can walk at our leisure
• We can walk in better weather conditions
• We can walk by ourselves or with friends
• We can go home after each walk
• We can walk with good clothing
• We can walk with sturdy shoes
• We can walk with water and/or food
• We can walk in air conditioning/heat if we have a treadmill
• We have no time constraints - unlike the pioneers who had to make it to SLC before the winter weather set in
• We are not going to die on the trail

We are going to take good care of these wonderful bodies we have been given. We would like to collectively walk 1,305 miles as a Relief Society. We would like to reach our goal before Pioneer Day in July. So lace up your walking shoes, grab a friend, put on a pedometer, and start walking. We will place a poster on the Bulletin Board for sisters to add their miles. Even if you only walk or wheel one mile (and it doesn't have to be done all at once either!!!) you can contribute to our Relief Society Walk to Zion. Join us as the Patuxent Ward Relief Society begins our Walk to Zion.

We hope that each sister will participate in the activity. You would be surprised how much walking you do in a day. It all adds up and it all counts. Set a goal for yourself for our walk.

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More Cookies

Here are the rest of the cookie recipes I have received from our Cookie Exchange. I hope to receive more recipes to post here :-) The first three cookies here I have the recipe, but I don't know who brought them to the cookie exchange. Let me know who the baker is and I will give you credit. It is not too late to get your recipes to me to share.

Coconut macaroons

Makes 2 1/2 to 3 dozen
4 egg whites
2 and 2/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Directions:
Separate egg whites and discard the yolk. Add vanilla and almond extract and beat slightly with a fork. In a separate bowl mix coconut sugar, flour, and salt. Add egg mixture into the coconut mixture and stir until well moistened. Drop by teaspoons onto a well greased cookie sheet (parchment paper can be substituted for grease). Backe at 325 degrees F for 18 - 20 minutes. Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired.


Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup stick margarine
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1/2 cup semi-sweek chocolate morsels
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixer bowl, beat margarine and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Beat in eggs. Add melted chocolate and continue beating until mixture is smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate morsels. Cover and chill 1 to 2 hours or until easy to handle.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in powdered sugar to coat generously. Place balls 1 inch apaprt on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are set and tops are crackled. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. ]
Yield: about 3 dozen cookies
Tip: To keep hands from getting sticky, coat with a light dusting of powdered sugar before forming balls.


Butter and Jam Thumbprints

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine salt
3/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cups sugar, plus more for rolling
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup raspberry or strawberry jam
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
Wisk flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
In another bowl, whip the butter and sugar with a hand mixer until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until just combined. Slowly beat in the dry ingredients, just until incorporated.
Scoop the dough into 1 inch balls and rool in sugar. Place about 2 inches apart. Press a thumbprint into the center of each ball. Fill each with about 3/4 tsp jam.
Bake cookies until the edges are golden, about 15 minutes. Cool cookies on the baking sheet. Serve.


Brownie Christmas Trees by Sis Colleen Martines

1 brownie mix
follow directions according to package; let cool
cut into triangles
break tiny candy canes to use as trunk of tree
Use icing and candy to decorate


Gingerbread Cookies by Sister Colleen Martines

Single batch:
3/4 cup of Crisco
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
Mix above ingredients

Sift together the following:
2 1/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
Mix dry and wet ingredients together. Form a ball. Dough can be chilled in fridge before rolling out to cut into shapes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
On floured table, roll dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut into shapes.
Bake 5 - 8 minutes. For chewy cookies, a little less time.
For icing: sift powdered sugar to take out the lumps. Mix with water until thick but slightly runny. Put into a sandwich sized freezer Ziplock bag. Cut tiny corner off to make disposable icing bags. Have fun decorating.