September Update

We have swung back into school again, and if we aren't in school, well our husbands are, and that's pretty much the same thing. We had a great lesson on Sunday about the power of grace in our lives. Some take away points that I thought of were that grace is not something we earn. The grace of God is always available to us, even if we fall short or somehow fail to do our part. Sometimes, we as women can get so caught up in the works side of the equation, that we sometimes forget about the faith side. Faith without works is dead. But, works without faith in the Lord and his power to make us perfect mean nothing. We will be most fulfilled when we embrace the promise and sacrifice of our Savior as we strive for righteous works in our lives.

We have some exciting ward activities coming up that I am looking forward to documenting for you. :)

But as a takeaway, here is a great recipe to get you in the mood for fall.

Healthy Butternut Squash Soup:

1 medium butternut squash
1 large onion
2 Tablespoons butter or coconut oil
Vegetable broth or vegetable flavoring (to taste), water
2 garlic cloves. minced
1/2 cup choppped celery
Seasonings to taste (I like onion powder, garlic, a dash of cumin)

Feel free to add other veggies like carrots or sweet potatoes. 

Peel and core the squash. This takes some gumption, but it is worth it. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cube the squash into bite sized pieces. Lightly grease a cookie sheet and roast the squash pieces in the oven until you can stick a fork through them. Meanwhile chop up the onion and sautee the onion in a lauce saucepan until softened. Add garlic and celery, continue to sautee. Once the squash is soft, add it to the pot and then add enough broth or water (with flavoring) until just covered. Allow to simmer on medium until everything is very soft. Put the whole soup in the blender and puree until quite smooth. Add more liquid if you like a thinner soup. Season to taste. Serve with toast or french bread.

Best thing about this recipe: its super cheap to make.

Enjoy your return to fall, ladies. :)

Married Student Ward Blog Update

It is slightly embarrassing to me that this blog hasn't been updated since January, but it's reality, so there you are. The goal is to have one to two new posts a weeks, including highlights from activities, spotlights from the ladies in the ward, recipes, and more useful and awesome information. If you have anything that you would really like to see on the blog, please post a comment to this post, and we will hopefully accommodate you. We would also like to post service opportunities on the blog, and some inspirational stuff as well.

But, this is an update, and so we will fill you in on some basics.

This summer has been a busy time for everybody. However, no matter how busy your summer is, I would encourage you to try and make it the friendship night activities. It feels great to get out of the house and chat with the girls (we get a lot less of that since being married), and often you learn a great skill. I have so far been to only three, because of scheduling conflicts, but they are seriously awesome, and all the girls in our ward are great and have lots to offer.

Finally, I have been spending some time baking bread and trying to make it work out here, using healthy ingredients. Guys, this week I found the magic recipe/method, and if anybody wants to learn how to make some super awesome bread, just let me know. It is super good, and way easy to make.

Well, I hope everybody has a great week. Let me know your blog expectations.

Sunday Spotlight: Katie Larsen

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1.     What is one of your favorite things about your husband?

a.     There are a lot of things that I love about my husband but one of the things that I love most is that he always shows me that he loves me. He is always helping me with school work, cleaning around the house, doing dishes after dinner, etc. He really shows me that he loves me! J

2.     Are you in school? Working? Graduated? A mother? On the job hunt? All of the above?

a.     I am in my last semester at BYU in the Elementary Education program. I also work on campus in the High School Relations department giving tours of the campus and advising prospective students about the admissions process.

3.     What is something quirky about you?

a.     I am still afraid of the dark. My husband will tease me about the monsters under the bed and in the closet and I hate it. I am like a little kid…

4.     What movie can you quote word for word?

a.     A Walk to Remember! Love that movie….

5.     If you had an extra room in your current apartment or future home what would you use it for?

a.     My decorations and crafty things. I love to decorate my apartment so I would love more space to store my decorations. Also, I got a Cricut for Christmas and I would love to have a little place where I could keep that out.

6.     What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?

a.     I don’t eat strange foods haha I am not very explorative with what I eat. I have decided that if I don’t like the smell of it, then I won’t like the taste of it because it has to go past my nose to get into my mouth lol. So yea, I don’t really eat weird things!

7.     What grown-up job did you want to have when you were a child?

a.     I have always wanted to be a teacher J and I am almost one now!

8.     What is your favorite store to shop at?

a.     I like to find deals so I like Ross a lot but I also like American Eagle, Forever 21, and Downeast.

9.     Favorite restaurant?

a.     Anything Mexican. I love Mexican food!

10. What do you like to do in your free time?

a.     I love playing and watching sports. I am a big intramural fan so I play a lot of intramural sports at BYU. I also like playing games and doing puzzles. I love spending time with my husband and family too of course J

11. How long have you been married?

a.     I have been married for a little over a year and half.

12. Where are you from or where did you grow up?

a.     I am from Northern California, a small town called Rocklin. It’s about 30 minutes outside of Sacramento.

13. How did you and your husband meet?

a.     We met at the end of my freshmen year at BYU at a St. Patrick’s Day party that he and his roommate threw together last minute. His roommate was in my English class and invited me to the party. I was 19 when we met and I did not want to get married.  After spending more and more time with him, he changed my mind about the whole marriage thing J We dated for a year before getting engaged and then were engaged for 5 months. Marrying him was the best decision I ever made!!!

Tuesday Talent: Keely Richins

  I have a talent for fitting inside grocery store freezers.

  -Keely Richins-  

Sunday Spotlight: Keely Richins

Hey everyone! We wanted to start the new year with our a spotlight on our new Relief Society President, Keely Richins! We all love her already!!!

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1.     What is one of your favorite things about your husband?  He kills the spiders!

2.     Are you in school? Working? Graduated? A mother? On the job hunt? All of the above?  I graduated from BYU in Business last year.  I now work for Fidelity Investments as a stock broker.

3.     What is something quirky about you?  I love to dip my popcorn in orange juice.

4.     What movie can you quote word for word?   Lord of the Rings and Father of the Bride.

5.     If you had an extra room in your current apartment or future home what would you use it for? Babies.  Definitely babies.

6.     What is the strangest food you have ever eaten? An old French fry that was slightly damp from the water park in which it had been laying in all day.  I got $.25 for eating it though.

7.     What grown-up job did you want to have when you were a child?  I wanted to be a spy because I watched Harriet the Spy as a kid.

8.     What is your favorite store to shop at?  Target

9.     Favorite restaurant?  Chick-fil-A: try the peach shakes in the summertime.

10. What do you like to do in your free time?  Anything outside-running, hiking, fishing, biking, volleyball etc..  I also love to bake.

11. How long have you been married? About 8 months, we were married in June.

12. Where are you from or where did you grow up?  I am from Kaysville Utah and lived in the same house my whole life. 

13. How did you and your husband meet? We both served in Nashville as missionaries.  We started dating about 6 months after we got back from the mission.

Stay tuned for Tuesday Talent featuring Keely! 

Check out past Sunday Spotlights HERE.

Mormon Message-An Unexpceted Gift

I just wanted to share this beautiful video of how aware our Heavenly Father is aware of us.  Through whatever trial we are going through, he is always there. Watch HERE.

-Katie Rindfleisch

Good Tidings of Great Joy

Enjoy this beautiful video and it's powerful message.

https://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/glad-tidings-of-great-joy-the-birth-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng
or click HERE.

Merry Christmas Everyone!