dahls in detail: February 2012

Sunday, February 12, 2012

More Family Photos

I wanted to share the individual photos from the photo shoot we had in August. They were taken by Annie Ruden in our ward-- she is wonderful! Of course, Lucy's not in these pictures, but I'll share some more of her before long.

Brown Rice and Lentil Casserole

I am trying to follow some simple rules of thumb as I prepare meals for our family-- half the plate = fruits and vegetables, 1/4 of the plate = whole grains, and 1/4 of the plate = lean protein. Then encourage milk or other dairy products as well.

We had this for dinner tonight. I loved it! I had made it before, but made some changes this time. I used barley instead of brown rice (both are good, but I wanted to use barley this time.) I added two stalks of celery, about five chicken tenders, cooked and diced, about five fresh mushrooms, diced, and about 1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds. It was wonderful, filling, healthy, and simple to put together! If you try it, let me know what you think!

Brown Rice and Lentil Casserole

3 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)

¾ cup lentils

½ cup brown rice

¾ cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon italian seasoning

¼ teaspoon garlic powder (I use more)

1 cup grated cheese (cheddar or a blend is preferable)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Mix all ingredients except the cheese in a baking dish (I use an 11 x 7).

Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes.

Then remove the foil, add the cheese, and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Recording the Love

Recently, Maxwell has taken to recording his feelings in his journal. In fact, on Sunday I went to check on the boys, and he and Micah were sitting in their bedroom with their journals open. I expressed my pleasure at seeing them involved in such a worthwhile activity. Max responded, "What? I'm just writing about my family." His words: "I love my family. I love them so much."

It is so fun to see a little bit of Max's perspective-- especially because it's a happy perspective! I was particularly pleased to see him include his mom in his journal. He brought home a gratitude book from school with pages for all kinds of things he was grateful for. Somehow I didn't make that cut.

Here are a few of his endearing journal entries-- devoted to Dad, Mom, and Dallin:

Playing tennis together.

Playing Skipbo together.

Computing together.

We love you too, Max.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Less is More

Dallin brought this website to my attention. Check out this demotivator on perspective. I thought it was hilarious:

PERSPECTIVE

Less is more. Unless you're standing next to the one with more. Then less just looks pathetic.

(both photos from housebeautiful.com)

This rings true for me when I try to label my lack of decorating effort/ambition, "minimalist." Funny.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Our Great Work

When Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was president of BYU, he compared the building of our lives to the building of the Salt Lake Temple. I love his quote, and think about it often in terms of the family I am striving to build:

“The prestigious Scientific American referred to [the Salt Lake Temple] as a ‘monument to Mormon perseverance.’ And so it was.

Blood, toil, tears, and sweat. The best things are always worth finishing.

‘Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?’ (1 Corinthians 3:16.) Most assuredly we are.

As long and laborious as the effort may seem, we must keep shaping and setting the stones that will make our accomplishments ‘a grand and imposing spectacle.’

We must take advantage of every opportunity to learn and grow, dream dreams and see visions, work toward their realization, wait patiently when we have no other choice, lean on our sword and rest a while, but get up and fight again. …

We are laying the foundation of a great work—our own inestimable future” (However Long and Hard the Road [1985], 127).

Here are some pictures of our greatest works.