Raising Memories: Making & Documenting Family Memories

October 2014 Sharing Time & Giveaway - Week 3

Welcome to October's Sharing Time Linky!
I'm excited to see Thanksgiving and Halloween themed posts being shared!
First, our week in review:

This week I shared an Easy Thanksgiving Leftovers Meal.

I also posted a bit of an update and a book review of John Bytheway's newest book, How Do I Know.

Things went a bit crazy on the blog when my Ultimate List of 100 Non-Toy Gift Ideas post from last year went viral on facebook! Thanks to everyone who shared it with your friends or family or pinned it on Pinterest! (and if you haven't yet, maybe you want to check it out! ;)

I also shared a seriously delicious Cinnamon Roll Recipe and Tutorial. You will want to pin it for later! (or maybe you'll want to make it right now ;)

Before we get on to the Link Party, I have a DVD Giveaway for you!
The New Saints & Soldiers DVD is out! It's called "The Void" and you can order a copy of your own from Deseret Book right here.

This one is set in Germany in May of 1945, near the end of WWII. Here's a quick plot summary:

On a final mission deep in the Harz mountains a U.S. tank crew discovers a platoon of Germans, including three infamous Panzer tanks, preparing to ambush allied supply trucks.
Before the war, Sergeant Jesse Owens, was a product of segregation and racial discrimination. Forced by law to ride in the back of the bus and disenfranchised from the political process. As the Germans bear down on the Americans, Owens fights the Axis powers for a freedom he and his fellow African American soldiers have never felt.
With a deadly game of cat and mouse quickly unfolding, Owens and his predominantly white tank crew find themselves out-gunned and out-manned by the German Panzer tanks. Several in Owens’ crew are reluctant to put their faith in a black tank driver despite their dire circumstances. With tension and fear beginning to manifest Owens knows they must put aside their differences to stop the enemy from their deadly plan. Knowing that a victory over the Nazis means a victory for racial justice, Owens and his men find a way to work together to save hundreds of lives in a desperate battle against the greatest odds they have ever faced.

Deseret Book is giving a copy away to one of you! Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter!a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now, on to the link party- I can't wait to see what you share! :)

Please join the Raising Memories Sharing Time & add a link to your latest and greatest blog posts
about activities to do with your children or fun projects that you have done!

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If you're participating, please share the button on your blog & "hop over" to at least one other blog post that's been linked up- let's support each other!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Cinnamon Roll Tutorial with LOTS of Frosting!

This is a family favourite!

I LOVE CinnabonⓇ cinnamon rolls! When I walk down the mall aisle where Cinnabon is, I walk a little slower and breathe a little deeper ;) So when I found this recipe, I was VERY happy with it! All it needed was a little more frosting ;) Last time I made them, I took pictures of the whole process so that I could share a tutorial with you. If you give these a try, I think you will LOVE them!

How to Make a Cinnamon Roll with lots of Frosting by www.RaisingMemories.com

Start with these ingredients for the dough:

An Update & A Book Review: How Do I Know?

*Phew!* You guys, I have had a BUSY week, and it has largely been because of this blog. Lots of exciting things seem to be happening lately with the blog. This week something really cool happened that has never happened to me before (at least not to this extent) and that is that one of my posts from last year has become really popular in the last few days. It has been getting shared across facebook and it's so exciting! I started this blog to share ideas and information with other parents, so it's really fulfilling to be able to see that something I post is useful to other people.

If you want to check the post out (or share it or pin it ;), please do!

It's my list of 100 Non-Toy Gift Ideas. Click Here to check it out!

I also co-hosted my first twitter party which was a really neat experience and I'm excited to have another one coming up, too! If you've never attended a twitter party, you should definitely give it a try! All it takes is one twitter party and you should have a good idea of how they work. If you have any questions about them, let me know in the comments or send me a message on my contact page, and I'd be happy to fill you in!

Today I'll be on a little day trip doing something fun with some other bloggers that I'll fill you in on soon. It will be the second time I've had a chance to meet some other bloggers "in real life" (you can read about the first time here if you're interested).

So, those are a few of the fun things that have been going on and I'll have more to share as time goes on!

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Today I have the opportunity to share another new book published by Deseret Book called How Do I Know If I Know?, written by John Bytheway (a favourite speaker of mine), and I'll warn you that I'm about to get religious here ;)

When it comes to testimony, I have always been the kind of person who just always believed in the gospel. I didn't have a big "a-ha moment" or a pivotal spiritual experience that marked the moment that I gained a testimony of my Church. I always just felt that it was true. I've certainly had questions along the way, and I've continued to study and learn and grow when it comes to my knowledge and understanding of the gospel. There have been times when I have wondered if I should be trying to achieve this monumental moment of spiritual revelation that would cement my testimony and give me that story to tell of the moment when I acquired a testimony.. but I have learned that that is not always the way things work! For me, I have learned over and over, through experience, that the things I believe are true. I often think of the scriptures in the Book of Mormon in Alma 32, that talk about "experimenting upon the word". As I have lived it, I have seen the results of living it, and that reinforces my belief.

So because of these things, I was excited to see that John Bytheway had published this book for youth that asks questions like "Is my testimony strong enough?" and "How do I know if I really have a testimony?". In the book, he uses the acronym "F.E.E.L." to discuss how we feel the truthfulness of the gospel through feelings, experiences, evidences we encounter, and logical conclusions of how a loving God interacts with His children on the earth.

Just like turning up a dimmer switch, understanding the ways we F.E.E.L. a testimony will help to make it brighter.

I love John Bytheway's style. his approach to explaining spiritual things is both easy to understand and entertaining. Perfect for youth, and perfect for me! This is a great addition to his list of books and talks and I'm glad he wrote it!

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Easy Thanksgiving Leftover Meal Recipe #FallMarketplace #BrightIdeas

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias #BrightIdeas
One of my favourite things about Fall is the food! For Thanksgiving this weekend, we gathered with my side of the family on Saturday and Ken's side on Monday, so we ended up with two Thanksgiving dinners. Both sides had everyone contribute by bringing something. I brought my Pumpkin Roll and a small pie to my Mom's house and we brought mashed potatoes, salad, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream to Ken's parents' house. Even though we weren't cooking a turkey, after all of the work involved with food preparations and set up and clean up, it is nice to just use leftovers for some meals after Thanksgiving!

We were happy to take home some leftover turkey and other things from each of those meals, and were able to use them for a meal with some Hamburger Helper that I picked up at Walmart's Fall Marketplace Demos on Friday. (If you're following me on twitter or instagram, you've probably seen photos of what that was like).

I also found some great entertaining products at Walmart (the "Our Finest" brand's Bacon Wrapped Sea Scallops and Cheddar Smokey Bites make great appetizers, and the "Your Fresh Market" Pumpkin and Strawberry Rhubarb pies can be purchased in small 6" or regular 9" size. I grabbed a couple of small pies as well as a larger pie to take to one of our family dinners). Entertaining friends or family around or after Thanksgiving without making a whole Turkey dinner will be easy!

Before I get to the recipe, here's where to find the products I found:

So, I want to share with you how we made our easy leftover meal:

Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients:

- Leftover Turkey
- Hamburger Helper 3 Cheese Manicotti
- Leftover vegetables (or frozen vegetables)
- Milk
- Water

I just followed the instructions on the back of the Hamburger Helper box (but I added small pieces of dark turkey meat instead of ground beef). Here's what you do:

1. Add all ingredients together
2. Heat to boiling
3. Reduce heat and simmer for 12 minutes

Meanwhile, Talia and Ken were getting fancy with the frozen asparagus:

They added some italian herbs and salt and pepper to melted butter and brushed it on. Then roasted them until heated through.

We added some corn, put some extra white turkey meat on top of the Hamburger Helper, and voila!

What's your favourite way to create a quick meal out of leftovers?

(quick is definitely my favourite- any time of the year!)

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October 2014 Sharing Time - Week 2

Welcome to October's Sharing Time Linky!
I'm excited to see Thanksgiving and Halloween themed posts being shared!
First, our week in review:

I shared two book reviews last week, one called It Is Better to Look Up and another called The Miracles of Jesus.

I posted a round up of a bunch of Thanksgiving Printables, so if you're in Canada and celebrating this weekend, you may want to check it out, or if you're in the U.S., you can pin it for next month! :)

Thursday I co-hosted my first twitter party and it went so well! I had a lot of fun :) It was all about Thanksgiving and Fall foods and traditions and was sponsored by Walmart and their #FallMarketplace Demos that are happening this weekend. You can attend today! Click Here to get more details. I went yesterday & there are lots of delicious things to taste! :)

Towards the end of the week, I put up some photos from a family session that I did with my sister's family. You can find them here.

There is still a week left in the Wood Watch Giveaway! Click Here to enter!

Now, on to the link party- I can't wait to see what you share! :)

Please join the Raising Memories Sharing Time & add a link to your latest and greatest blog posts
about activities to do with your children or fun projects that you have done!

---------------------------------------

If you're participating, please share the button on your blog & "hop over" to at least one other blog post that's been linked up- let's support each other!

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Please subscribe or follow to keep in touch.

Family Portraits (My Younger Sister's Family)

I have two younger sisters. I posted Hilary's family's photos a couple of years ago, and her new baby's newborn photos earlier this year.

This month I got together with my other sister (Amber)'s family and took a few family photos.
Here are a few of my favourites:

Our whole family went to a park, so the girls were off to the side, playing in the leaves, while Ken tried to get our little niece to smile. So much fun :)