My most requested recipe

I have been making these since I was a little girl. It's a family recipe that I have never seen exactly as
this anywhere else.

For over 50 years, I've made these for weddings, funerals, new neighbors, birthdays, cookie
exchanges, Relief Society meetings, Christmas presents, my 2 husbands, Courts of Honor, baby
showers, bridal showers, open houses, Missionary farewells, Missionary homecomings, family
potlucks, and parties of all kinds.

And invariably at least someone, usually more, ask me for this recipe. Or beg me to make them again.
I gave some to McKenna this week and she wants the recipe, so I thought this was a good time to put
it on my blog.

I have not eaten these in years, maybe decades because I'm not a dessert person. But if you are, and if
you have not had your fill of good tasting treats this past week, or if you are looking for something
special for New Years Eve, you may need to try these.

They freeze really well, btw.

Next time I make these I will add a picture to this post. :)

Dream Bars

1 1/2 cubes butter, softened (equals 3/4 cups)
1/4 c brown sugar
1 c flour

Combine and line 7x10 or 8x8 pan.
Bake 10 minutes @ 350'

While this is baking, mix this up:
2 eggs
4 T flour
1 1/4 c brown sugar
dash salt
1/2 t baking powder
1 c chopped walnuts

Pour over hot crust and put back in 350' oven for 20 minutes till they are golden brown. 
(Original recipe calls for 30 minutes but that has always been over cooked for me.)

Cool, then cut into squares and roll in powdered sugar. 


Rozier Nativity 2016

Every Christmas Eve we get together with my extended Rozier 
family, and the children take part in the Nativity. 
Just a few of my favorite parts here. 

Oh Leo...
no one is sure how they got that Shepherd's crook away from you after it was over.

Alex singing Noel

Every Christmas Eve we gather with my extended family, have 
dinner, the kids re-enact the Nativity, and then we have a talent 
program. Last night I could not get enough of my nephew Alex's 
voice! Here's just a little part of it.




 This picture does not show everyone, but you can get the general idea :)

And you think you are having fun!



Hey, did you notice how many decorations are left on our tree? 

Perfect Roasted Chicken

After coughing most of the night, I was so happy to take an 
afternoon nap yesterday. When I woke up the house was oddly 
quiet. Den said the McKs went to a movie and took all the kids with them. 

Then he pulls this out of the fridge. 
He said McKenna asked him to put it in the oven at 4pm.
what? what? When did she have time to put this together??


It was SO delicious!



When they got back from the movies 
she whipped up some garlic mashed potatoes, 
and cut up some fresh fruit.

It was like a dream waking up to dinner in the making.
And I will definitely be making this roasted chicken.
Recipe right here.
(she left the fennel out and we didn't miss it)


McKenna and Karen are already up early this morning
getting a start on dinner for tonight!

btw, McKenna likes this article she found from 1950.
She said the website she found it on had some preeeeetty BAD comments about it however. 


6 of our grandkids reunited




These inseparable cousins who have been separated since last May, 
were reunited last night.

Leo, Grant, Annie, Scarlett, Juliet, and Rich

Just before Karen and Tyler and family arrived last night, 
there was some dancing going on in the kitchen.
Obviously they were a bit excited in anticipation.


I had my arms outstretched to Leo and Rich as they walked 
through our front door and they had their arms outstretched to me, 
until, they saw their cousins, and then went to them instead. 

Feeling rejected for about 5 seconds, 
and then I thought, no, this is good!
I so want my grandchildren to be close to each other.



Soon after Leo walked in the door he explained some ground rules 
to Scarlett, "Don't hit Juliet. She's a good boy. She's not your boy, 
but she's a good boy." Just protecting his baby sister. 
Not that Scarlett had any plans to hit anyone. 


Then moments later, Scarlett sobbed and sobbed because she 
couldn't take a bath with Rich and Leo. Her Dad tried to explain to 
her that she can't take a bath with boys.


These 2 little girls, Annie and Juliet, will be best friends someday.

Our house is full, and crazy and messy, and noisy this week, 
and I'd have it no other way. 

These families went through great effort to make it here.
I am feeling very grateful.

Lots of cooking gone on around here and I'm not the one doing it.
I'll be sharing their recipes soon.


So worth the 3 hours of lost sleep

About 2:30 am Sunday morning I woke up from all my coughing. 
I also thought....Did Dennis remember to put the alarm back on 
after he got home last night from the airport? (looking for the McKs' lost
luggage)

So in the process of checking the alarm, 
I saw this little shadow of a girl wandering around in the dark.


Scarlett! 
 It had been a long 19 months without her.

 So we just cuddled and talked for the next 2 hours. I had lost my 
voice so all I could do was whisper to her. So she copied me and 
would only whisper, so I couldn't hear a lot of what she said to me. 

But that didn't matter. 
Nothing like precious time with a 3 year old granddaughter 
in the middle of the night.


After about 2 hours, I tried to put her back to bed she but requested 
to stay with me. So I held her hand as we went feeling our way 
through the dark to my bed. 

Ever so quietly trying not to wake Grandpa, I lifted her up and she 
moved to the middle 
and then she softly patted the bed and whispered, 
"Here's a spot for you Grandma Honey."

By now it's 5:30am and she said her tummy hurt and my cough 
came back, so I thought I better return her to her parents. I opened 
their bedroom door and then Scarlett said, "I don't know which one 
is their bed." There was only one bed in there! :)

So then I went back to bed and this morning as I was opening my 
eyes, I once again saw a shadow of a little girl. She was hovering 
around my bed. I asked her to go get my camera and she did. 
Somehow she knew exactly which drawer I kept it in! 
Then she got on top of my bed 
so she could show me her new dress.

I so did not plan on being sick the week they are here...
but the perk of this is, 
I would have missed our middle of the night visit. 

I never would have heard those little words,
"Here is a spot for you, Grandma Honey."





Within 2 hours of arriving here....

This may look like just a lovely little family 
without a stress in the world.

But I promise you the previous 26 hours 
before they arrived to us from Boston, 
was NOT an easy adventure. 


But look how well they recovered!

And we are SO thankful 
McKay, McKenna, Grant, Scarlett, and Annie are with us now. 

More about this later. 


The unusual, and the best.


I heard my grandgirls unpacking their over night things in the other 
room while I was getting dinner together. 

They soon came in to show me the little bedtime friends 
they brought with them.

I turned around to look at their animals, confused, and asked, 
"Wait a sec. Where did you both get these?"
(thinking their Moms must shop at the same place, 
but still what a coincidence to both come with that same unusual creature.)


Violet piped right up, "Mommy got me this in Italy."
While Téa said, "My Mommy got mine at the mall." 

Let's see, the mall 2 miles away....Italy a lot further than that!


But the best part of the evening? 
It happened after I gave them their bag of surprises.

They said they wanted to be alone for a few minutes. 
I didn't think anything of it....just went about cleaning up dinner.

When they came out of the bedroom they announced, 
"Because you do so many nice things for us, 
we wanted to do something for you."

And they presented me with these pictures...
Violet made this one of our old house. That big blue thing? 
That was our pool. 


I think Téa made our new house. 
Not sure. But it doesn't matter.

It doesn't even matter why the rainbow is under the house.

What does matter to me is they were SO sweet to think of me!
But I think I'll wait a few years 
before I ask them to wash my dishes.


She's still with us

This was my Mom's song. I had to have it in our home!


She never said it was her song, but right after she died I flipped on some music 
and this was the hymn that played. I know it was her message to us.

And I wanted these words written big and bold in my life.
I miss my Mom today more than usual. 
So I watched this video again from a million years ago.


 It was about 1957. Just me and my 2 brothers back then. The other 5 weren't born yet. 

And my Uncle Don is in this too....(he said the last house call he knows of occurred Dec 8, 1929 
when Dr. O. M. Goodall arrived for the delivery of his little sister Gaynor!)




On April 15, 2007, I looked at my Mom lying there, already having passed into the next 
world. I realized more than ever before just how blessed I was to have been raised by her. 


She gave us a firm foundation to build our lives upon. 



There was never any question to what she was about.



Her goodness, her purity would be with her, and all of us, forever.

Some things I will never understand

So a few days ago while Den and I were visiting my Dad and Susan 
he asked if we had seen the new Burger King commercial. 

"Uh no, Dad, don't think so."

He said it features two of the original cast of 
Napoleon Dynamite from 12 years ago.

Oh yes, that movie I've never understood.
The one my boys and Dennis would watch together, and quote. 
 And years later, they still talk about!


So my Dad asked if we'd like to see that new commercial.


He brought us over to his computer.

And here it is....




I still don't get it. 

I keep watching this.....

I just happened to run into this on Facebook of my nephew Alex 
singing and....I couldn't even wait for it to be over 
before I yelled to Dennis in the other room, 
"You have to come see this!"

Love his VOICE!...which is saying a lot 
because I don't even like this song. 

 And he's only in high school.

He needs to be on The Voice. 




I think this link shows it even better:

Alex Rozier is the son of my brother John and his wife Suzanne. 

The grandchild we have not met

Annie is the only grandchild we have not even met, and she is ONE today. 
A whole year without seeing her or holding her.


Do you want to know how I make myself feel better about that? I 
tell myself that she will be here in California and in our house in 
just 14 days. I really do tell myself that because it's true.

So here she is this morning in Massachusetts. A long ways away. 
Thank goodness for technology.

And as an extra special super duper bonus to us this year, 
Karen and Tyler and Richie, Leo, and Juliet will be with 
us too from Washington. I cannot wait to see these families together 
again. It's been a long 7 months. 

And won't our home be fun here this month of December 
with 6 little kids all under 6  :)

Born in their storage room...

I'd always thought dogs must have it easier than us women 
when it came to giving birth.

When Amy texted me about 1:30 last Thursday and said Piper was 
in labor, I felt bad not being able to rush right over until later on 
that evening. I thought we would miss it.

But no, Piper hung on through the entire night. 

Amy slept right by her in their storage room,
and set her alarm to go off every hour 
so she wouldn't miss anything. 

 Sleeping all night with the dog? Seriously, I cannot relate to this.
She has a devotion I will never know.


Den dropped me off just in time the next afternoon,
while he went to get Taco Bell per their request. 


After all, Amy had been camping out with the dog 
in the storage room since the day before.



Within minutes of arriving, I got to see the first one be born!

Kylie was the score keeper.....writing down each time of birth.
I think this has something to do with selling full breeds.

Amy's friend Margaret was there as support.
They cut each cords and tied them off.
I asked Amy why she needed to do this....
can't Piper just take care of that??

She said, yes, but she added that Piper is very tired 
and she wanted "to help her."


Then several hours later, long after I had gone home, 
Amy texted me this....

I thought Piper was done with 7.....


But no, she had TEN.


The twins were happy to miss school so they could see it all.



And just like that, it's 20 years later.

20 years. Two decades.

I went from believing there is a God who is in the heavens, who is alive, and who loves us….to
knowing He does.

From that last phone call from Bill, to knowing he died, to hearing he died. To being in a hospital
room and the chaplain walking in to tell us. I already somehow knew, but my sons did not. There is
no more painful moment in my memory than watching them find out.

I couldn’t even make my arms reach out to comfort them. I was frozen. I remember saying to the
other people in the room, “Please help my boys.” but no one could. No one could hear me. We were
all in shock.

The chaplain or maybe it was the police, I can’t remember now. But a man in that room said I needed
to come identify his body. I couldn’t. My mom and my neighbor Dee volunteered.

So that was being done, and I wanted to take my boys and go home.

But here’s where the blessings started peeking through. As my brother Richard drove me and Logan,
McKay, and Tyler home from the hospital (Brock was on his mission), amid the near silent sniffling
coming from the back seat, Richard flipped on some quiet music. As it played he broke the silence by
saying, “As hard as the days and weeks to come will be, you will also see many blessings.”

At that moment I felt a flutter of peace come over me. I trusted Richard’s words, but also knew from
past experience, that’s how it works.  And it did.

I truly learned what angels on earth means. They came into our home and into our lives. All different
ages. Many creative acts of service on our behalf. Some there for us day after day. Some there for
months and years.

Two decades have come and gone and we are at November 23rd again. So much has happened. Many
good people who we love so much have been added to our little family, which is not so little
anymore. So many blessings. So much to be thankful for.

Life does truly go on and happy days do come back. And amidst the many challenges that continue to
come to all of us, the blessings come too. That's how it will always be. We are never alone, even in
those doubting moments we think we are.

I talked to all 4 of my sons today in some form.

Tyler and I were talking through text this evening. He was 10 when his Dad died. Now, like his 3
brothers, he’s a happily married man. A father of 3. I asked him how he feels about this day, the 20
year mark of his Dad’s death.

This was one of his replies:


Have a wonderfully Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Cafe Rio....and now I think I get it...

So forever it seems, I've heard about this place...


This just opened in our area a few months ago. 

Before that, you pretty much had to be in Utah to eat there.
So I never did. 

So today Den and I needed to stay out of 
our house for awhile so we tried it out.

It was like walking into Mormon land.
They were everywhere.
Some we knew, some we didn't. But we could tell.

And lots of babies.
But most of those went outside on the patio with their Moms.
I met a set of 14 month old twins, Tyler and Kiera.

First, Den saw his friend Masa Hanamaikai and his wife.
Den worked with him in the stake back in his Corona days.

Then I said, "Hey there's Jake!" (my nephew there in the blue jacket)

I heard some women sitting near us 
talking about their visiting teaching.


Den calls out to me, "Look! There's Tracy Fairbanks!" 
We home teach her. 
Then while we were eating suddenly my niece McKenzie appears before my face.


Later Den says, "Your sister Robin came with her, Look!"
By then McKenzie was back with her so he only got the right side of her face.




As we were sitting in the car, ready to leave Den rolled down his window to talk to this family, 
who we had never seen before and didn't know.
"Funny how being in there feels like we are in Provo."

To which the unknown man replied, 
"They just need to throw a little snow out here."

Just so you'll know, it's not like we are all from a small town.
And it's not like this place is exactly right near us.
It's probably a 20-25 min drive from our home. 
And it's not like we were there all afternoon, 45 minutes tops.



I almost forgot to show our food
The vinaigrette dressing was the BEST I've ever had.
I will go back again just for that. 
Or maybe just to see who walks in next.


As we were driving home I got this text from my sister Robin:


Our stake president couldn't get this off his mind

Last night at Stake Conference our stake president said he couldn't 
get a hymn off his mind. He said he'd been thinking about it every 
day since he'd heard it over a month ago.

It's not found in our hymn book since it's from another church,
and it's called "Take Time to Be Holy."

In our Faith we believe in seeking good where ever we can find it 
(as I'm sure many people do). That's why I love so much the last 
sentence from our 13th Article of faith:

13 "...If there is anything virtuouslovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, 
we seek after these things."


So after finding this hymn on Youtube I discovered that I'd heard 
it in past General Conferences but never paid 
attention to the words before. They tell a story to me now.

Take Time to Be Holy[1]

1           Take time to be holy,
Speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always,
And feed on His Word:
Make friends of God’s children,
Help those who are weak;
Forgetting in nothing
His blessing to seek.
2           Take time to be holy,
The world rushes in;
Spend much time in secret
With Jesus alone:
By looking to Jesus
Like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct
His likeness shall see.
3           Take time to be holy,
Let Him be thy guide,
And run not before Him
Whatever betide;
In joy or in sorrow
Still follow thy Lord,
And looking to Jesus,
Still trust in His Word.
4           Take time to be holy,
Be calm in thy soul;
Each thought and each motive
Beneath His control;
Thus led by His Spirit
To fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted
For service above.





Nearly two years ago, this same Stake President talked about THIS 
SONG in his talk. Not a hymn, and every simple words, but it's 
perfect and I've never been able to get enough of it.

Wonders of this week...or so. #7


1. One day last week in Boston, Scarlett insisted she wasn't tired.
But soon McKenna found her fast asleep.
Then she noticed what Scarlett did for her baby doll before drifting off!

2.
I just recently discovered The Sweet Home where I can find out what is THE BEST appliance or
pillow, or bedsheets or other products to buy. I like it better than consumer reports because it's 
more direct and to the point. I need to replace our flannel sheets and #2 on their list for quality is
Target brand for just $23.99 for king size. Who knew.      The Sweet Home

3. Didn't take our missionary grandson Chandler,
long to dive right into the culture now that he's in South Carolina!
Check out the last part of his letter last week:

" I hope y'all are having a good start of
November and hope y'alls halloween went well! Remember to love one
another as Jesus loves you :)
-Elder Ball"

4. Tyler in Vancouver, Wa, took on a 30 hour weekend project of painting 
all their kitchen cabinets.




Karen, Leo, and Juliet were in Utah for the weekend ....and Tyler said it was a much better time to 
paint without his favorite little girl crawling everywhere. No offense sweet Juliet.



5.  And look what has begun in California this week! Bring your own bags when you go shopping
or pay 10 cents for each one. Can you imagine the bacteria that could grow in the same bags you use
week after week? So I'm looking to buy several mesh ones that can be aired out, and also so I can
wash them.
Sorry about your head honey. I was concentrating on the bag.


6. I put my 2 leftover Halloween pumpkins in the crockpot, after I cut them in half and seeded 
them. (they were the cooking kind of pumpkins). Then I made little mounds of pumpkin goodness 
and froze them. I put a mound or 2 in my smoothies for extra Vitamin A. The grandkids are fine with 
it too. (because I don't tell them)


I even use a mound or 2 in our french toast with the egg and milk. 
Makes breakfast heartier, and SO good. 

7. At church last Sunday one of the speakers said something I've been thinking about ever since. He 
said, "Many people call these times "post Christian." I guess I knew that on some level, but hadn't 
thought of it in those terms exactly, and it just makes me so sad. 

However, I quickly thought of this quote I read on a blog I follow:

So blessed are children being raised in homes 
who don't know anything about a "post Christian" era. 




Wonders of this past week #6


Well okay maybe not just this past week, 
but here are a few things I've noticed lately:



Den and I wandered the neighborhood on Halloween night for the 
purpose of meeting some more of our neighbors.

Can you tell the one above was written by an teacher?

I was surprised (to put it mildly) how many people (8-9 homes) 
just left a bowl of candy on their porch!

I have not seen this done since the 1960s when I was a kid



So this next one is contradictory to the one above....
 Last week while Den and I were in Vons we noticed something 
different and orange looking.
 So when I asked a clerk about it she said this is for people who 
want their Amazon packages sent to Vons rather than to their home. 
That made no sense until she said many packages 
are getting stolen off porches. 
I didn't know it was that bad out there on front porches. Did you?


And who thought a turn table for our milk 
would make us so happy?




And for you locals who live near me, 
my visiting teacher told me about this newish restaurant (6 months old).


(I loved it, Den semi-liked it.)
It's off the beaten path at Nees and Fowler. 
In other words not much else out there.



Seeing this chart somewhere....made me want to have a chili bar. 
I'm intrigued by the goldfish and the tator tots. 
Would never have thought to put those on chili!





And look at our pretty missionary. 
Our missionary grandkids are obviously doing well. 

Jessica and Chandler met up a few times at the MTC
She's still there learning Spanish, he's now in South Carolina.
We are SO proud and happy for them!


And had to include this picture.


This is sitting in a friend's entry way and to me 
sums out how much we need one other!

Look what happened last night

  Just a little pre-graduating gathering for our DIL Amy.... Not everyday a Mom of 7 and a Grandma of 7, graduates from college. It was not ...