Shearer Mania

2012-01-28T07:26:00.000-07:00

First Flight

For Christmas, we bought Joey a remote control airplane. This week Joey took it out for it's first flight and it was a great experience. Joey got the hang of it quickly, however not ever having flown before proved challenging and the plane took a nose dive and cracked the fuselage. Thankfully it was repaired later that evening. Below are some pictures from the experience and a video of a later flight.

2012-01-15T23:50:00.000-07:00

Citrus Confit

A "Confit" is derived from an ancient method of preserving meat by salting and cooking and then storing it in its own fat which acts as a preservative. That method is followed using fruit and sugar in this recipe which comes from my "Chocolates and Confections" book by Peter Greweling. I grew up loving these treats and used to get them from time to time from Boehms Candy shop in Issaquah, WA. I tried making them once before but the recipe didn't work so thankfully this one did and they came out just as I had remembered them; slightly chewy, strong citrus flavor, sweet and nicely balanced with the chocolate covering. I took the recipe below and julienned the quarters which yielded over 100 pieces, and then dipped them in tempered chocolate.

For step by step instructions and pictures on my cooking blog, click here.

2012-01-10T07:31:00.003-07:00

Character

Madelyn taught our family about Character last night for family night. She had written the text below for a paper in her health class at the High School and I asked her to share it with us.

"I believe character is what our heart truly wants and it is what we do and think even when no one is watching us. Have you ever heard someone say, “And then his true character came through.”? When a really difficult or really stressful situation comes at us, all facades go down. The way we act in those situations reflects who we really are. My mom is a great example of having good character. In a very trying situation she was still able to be selfless, kind, and loving.

A few years ago my mom had two strokes. It was a crazy time and in my mind I just remember it as a big jumbled, confusing mess. She wasn’t supposed to have a stroke; she was only thirty-five. I wasn’t supposed to be so close to not having a mom. I remember being really upset and sort of becoming an introvert. Yet, through all that my mom went through, through the immense pain, she still thought of others instead of herself. When I’m in a lot of pain, I get ornery. I become angry which proves I need to work on my character. But my mom becomes even more of an angel. She wanted my dad to specifically not tell my brother and me things so that we wouldn’t be any more scared. She hated herself for not being the mom she wanted to be. She didn’t blame anyone or anything for this wretched, awful pain she had to go through, but herself. She would never even think of inflicting hurt on anyone, but herself. She has a heart bigger than I’ve ever seen.

She did end up recovering from the strokes although she still stays in bed a majority of the time to keep herself from having seizures. When she feels a seizure coming on, her first thought is always us. She doesn’t think of the heck she’s about to endure, she thinks of getting us out of the room so we don’t have to witness it. After her seizures she always apologizes over and over again in her slurred, quiet voice. She has absolutely no reason to be sorry! We are all so sorry that such a perfect person has to go through so much! She’s never ever done anything in her life that would cause her to deserve this. Yet, she never becomes angry. If anyone has the right to be a bitter, loathsome person, angry at the world, it’s her. But she never complains. We all wish we could take some of the pain upon ourselves so she wouldn’t have to suffer so much. But that’s just not the way God wants it.

I believe that everything happens for a reason. We have hard times because it makes us who we are. It gives us character if we handle it the right way. If we keep our heads held high and a smile on our face, if we think of others automatically and not of ourselves, if our only regrets are that we could’ve helped even more, then we truly have character. Then we are truly a good person. We become a person people love to be around, a person people trust and truly appreciate. I believe we’re here on Earth to prove that we can achieve that."

2012-01-09T23:16:00.002-07:00

New Camera

Jeni surprised me with the most amazing camera for Christmas this year, a Canon Rebel T3. I have had so much fun learning how to use it. I've always been impressed with great photography. My dad has a very artistic eye and so does my sister who takes incredible photographs. I have a feeling that food photography is going to be just as big a hobby as the recipes themselves! One of my goals in the last year was to get some pictures accepted by foodgawker.com, a website that features wonderful food photography. In the last week I've now had two of my pictures accepted! You can go to my profile by clicking here. Below are some pictures I've taken while learning how to use this camera.

2012-01-01T18:52:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Ricotta Pudding with Strawberry Coulis

This Giada DeLaurentiis inspired recipe is a classic Italian dessert combining the wonderful flavors of ricotta, chocolate, orange, almond and cinnamon in a smooth, creamy pudding, topped by a very easy to make strawberry sauce. I loved the presentation on this one as you can get very creative with the sauce as well as using a fresh strawberry for garnish. The recipe below yields 6 servings. Enjoy!

For step by step instructions and pictures on my cooking blog, click here.

2011-12-29T15:06:00.000-07:00

Brie en Croute

I have been baking this amazing appetizer for nearly 3 years and realized a few days ago that I had never posted it here. I first saw this on the Food Network and over the years I've made a few modifications. Brie is one of my favorite kinds of cheese and "en croute" actually means "in crust" in French. This recipe takes a wheel of brie, tops it with jam and toasted pecans and then bakes it in a pastry crust. Your guests will never know how simple this is to make as the flavor combinations give this a very gourmet feel. The recipe below serves about 6. Enjoy!

For step by step instructions and pictures on my cooking blog, click here.

2011-12-18T13:16:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas 2011

We continue our tradition of using our blog to deliver our annual Holiday greeting. If you'd like to see what we've been up to during 2011, feel free to browse through the blog posts from this year in the archives section on the left side of this page. You'll see milestone birthdays, school plays and musicals, scouting awards, braces on and off, family trips, links to Ro's cooking blog, filming the Church’s New Testament Project and just general craziness. Most of the major events of this year can be found here.

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is watching the many renditions of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” In this classic story, Ebenezer Scrooge, a wealthy but uncharitable banker, is visited by a series of ghosts on Christmas Eve. Of all the ghosts that appear to him that evening, one of our favorites is the first, Scrooge’s former business partner Jacob Marley. In a brief exchange that captures the central theme of the entire story, Marley, burdened with large chains, appears to Scrooge and explains that the chains were of his own making during his mortal life. Scrooge, confused at how this could have been suggests to Marley:

“But you were always a good man of business, Jacob,” faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself. “Business!” cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!” (Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, st 1, 1843) As much as Scrooge had tried to distance himself from other people and their needs, he came to understand that he truly was connected to “mankind” and thus he found great joy as he then went about serving them.

At this time of year, may we remember that the Savior’s life was infinite for all mankind. Remembering this should lead us to doing the same - devoting and dedicating our life to all in need. Is there a member of “mankind” that needs our help? Someone we should reach out to? Someone to uplift and encourage? Someone to mourn with? Someone to comfort? Someone to serve? Someone to forgive? In the midst of the hustle and bustle of this holiday season, let’s take time to pause and seek out those who might need our help so that we, like Scrooge, can make “mankind” our business and, by doing so, experience the true spirit of Christmas.

Speaking of that wonderful Christmas spirit, please enjoy the video below which was recently released as a “Gift to the World” by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This video is the first in a series of over 50 vignettes depicting scenes from the Savior’s life from the New Testament and are free to download by anyone worldwide. This video series is the same that Maddy and I participated in as Extra’s. For more information on that wonderful filming experience, click here. To see the other videos, pictures from the scenes or to download your own free copies, click here.

Wishing you and your families the choicest of God's blessings this Christmas and into 2012.

Ro, Jeni, Maddy and Joey Shearer

2011-12-15T10:24:00.002-07:00

Midnight Clear

Several years ago I recorded myself playing Kurt Bestor's arrangement of "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," one of my favorite Christmas time songs. I forgot all about the recording until recently. I hope you enjoy it and that it helps evoke the wonderful feelings of this special season.

2011-12-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

Helping Hands

Several weeks ago we had the privilege of participating again in the Wendy's annual Warm Hearts and Warm Hands clothing drive for the homeless in Salt Lake City. For a month our stores collected blankets, hats, gloves and other warm clothing items and then we went downtown on a Saturday to distribute them to those in need. It was a great experience once again, especially to see Maddy and Joey participating. At one point, a man was looking for gloves but we had given them all out. Joey willingly gave his own gloves to this man which left him with none. These are the kinds of experiences that money just can't buy. Click here for a link to last year's distribution. Below are pictures from the sorting party at the Wendy's division office and pictures from the day of distribution including a picture of me with Misti Scow, our partner for the project.

2011-12-11T23:24:00.001-07:00

Maddy - Sweet Sixteen

A few weeks ago Maddy turned 16! During the week she spent a fun day at the spa with Jen and her Grandma Kaye and then we hosted a party here at the house for some of her friends. It is so strange to have a 16 year old now with the driving and dating but Maddy has made the transition an easy one. We're very fortunate as parents to have such great kids who love life and love the Lord.

Below are pictures from the week including several from the party. For my birthday Maddy gave me a recipe book for gourmet cake bites so I tried a few for her birthday party and they were yummy! I also made her favorite Queso dip from Chili's and her favorite dessert, Chocolate Torte. Her friend McKenna who is an amazing artist decorated the top of the cake with a "16" made out of some modeling chocolate I had in the fridge. Also, her friend Madisen helped her make the amazing decorations pictured out of tissue paper.

2011-12-11T22:41:00.001-07:00

Forty

A few weeks ago I celebrated my 40th birthday. As much as I wasn't looking forward to it, now that it has come and gone it hasn't been as big a deal as I thought it would be. Jeni threw me a great party with some of our closest friends at Carrabbas.

I've reflected a lot about what it means to turn 40 and the one quote that has helped me handle this transition the best is this one from CS Lewis. "What counts is not the age so much as the prospect; not the mileage traveled or ahead, but the view from this bend in the road." (Yours, Jack, p. 147) This has helped me to truly take life a day at a time with great appreciation for my family and friends.

Unfortunately not all the pictures from the night turned out but below are those that did.

2011-11-26T08:28:00.001-07:00

Thanksgiving 2011

We hosted a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration this year and were grateful to join with the Disbrows and many of the Hallidays. Yummy foods included our brined turkey stuffed with aromatics, Jeni's famous sweet potato casserole, Kaye's homemade rolls, Diana's veggie tray, Bob and Carin's layered Jello, Becky's cream cheese pumpkin roll, the Disbrows stuffed mushrooms and Steve's mashed potatoes. I also made a NY style cheesecake and a Chocolate Angel Pie. We were stumped trying to figure out how to seat 22 but then got the idea to use the island as an extension of the table and it worked well. Below are pictures from the day.

2011-11-25T15:01:00.001-07:00

Chocolate Angel Pie

Jeni recently bought me the "Lion House Pies" recipe book, filled with great recipes served at the Lion House in Salt Lake City, Utah. This was my first attempt at a recipe from the book and it has now become our favorite chocolate dessert. It is almost like a chocolate cream pie but it is thicker and more dense. I also loved the meringue nut crust which gave the entire pie a wonderful textural contrast. This one is a keeper for sure. The recipe below yields one 9 inch pie, serving 6-8.

For step by step instructions and pictures on my cooking blog, click here.

2011-11-24T08:55:00.001-07:00

Fiddler on the Roof

Maddy just finished a successful four night run of Fiddler on the Roof at her high school, playing the middle daughter Hodel. The production was amazing and Maddy did a wonderful job. Jeni and I both continue to marvel at her stage presence and her beautiful voice. As just a sophomore, we're excited for Maddy's future performances too. Below are pictures from several of the scenes as well as pictures of Maddy with some of the cast members.

2011-11-23T17:00:00.001-07:00

Hot Air Balloon

About a month ago I did the craziest thing I have ever done. I rode in a hot air balloon as part of a work-sponsored event in Phoenix. Looking back on it now, I probably should have been more nervous than I was given how high we went in the Arizona desert and how unprotected we were. I thought for sure they would have handed out parachutes for each of us as a safety precaution. No sir. Not even a seatbelt. Or a helmet! And there were about 12 of us in a very small bucket.

We started off like storm chasers as the pilots in our cars had to find just the right spot to set up based on what the wind was doing. From the time we got out of the car to the time we were in the air was only about 30 minutes and we were airborne for almost an hour. I learned that the way you steer is by altitude. The wind blows different directions depending on the altitude so we went up or down based on which way we wanted to go. It was really a surreal feeling as it felt very weightless. There was no jerking around at all and the ride was very smooth. After landing, they fed us a delicious breakfast and then we were done.

I don't think that is something I will ever do again. Click here to see my previous post about my issues with vertigo. Below are pictures from the day.

2011-11-12T08:55:00.001-07:00

OSCARS 2011

Our Ward Young Women's Program for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints put on a wonderful Young Women's in Excellence night with the theme of OSCARS (Outstanding Sisters Committed to Achieving Righteous Standards) to celebrate the girls advancing in their Personal Progress. Every girl that earned a value ribbon was recognized and walked down the red carpet by one of the Priests from the ward (Young Men ages 16-17). Maddy earned two ribbons and had a great time. Several of the girls earned their full Young Womanhood Recognition which Maddy hopes to earn within the next year. Below are pictures from the night.

2011-11-05T06:52:00.000-07:00

Pictureline - Maddy

This is the pictoral history of Maddy's school pictures from Kindergarten to the present. The changes over time are amazing to see.

TENTH

NINTH

EIGHTH

SEVENTH

SIXTH

FIFTH

FOURTH

THIRD

SECOND

FIRST

KINDERGARTEN

2011-11-05T06:46:00.000-07:00

Pictureline - Joey

Below is a pictoral history of Joey's school pictures from Kindergarten to the present. It's amazing how fast he has grown up!

NINTH

EIGHTH

SEVENTH

SIXTH

FIFTH

FOURTH

THIRD

SECOND

FIRST

KINDERGARTEN

2011-11-02T21:48:00.002-07:00

Bronze Eagle Palm

Last week Joey's Boy Scout Troop had a Court of Honor and Joey earned 5 more merit badges and his first Eagle Palm. The Bronze Palm represents 5 merit badges, the Gold Palm 10, and the Silver Palm 15. We're so proud of Joey for doing so well in Scouts. His Eagle was earned just after he turned 13 and it was all self driven. I think Joey plans on the Gold and Silver Palms before he's all done. Below are pictures from the night.

2011-11-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

Halloween 2011

We had a fun Halloween this year with several parties including a big get-together at Bob and Carin's in which Maddy and Joey helped as actors in the Haunted House. We also hosted a little gathering on Halloween night after we had over 200 kids come to the house for candy. Pictures below are of, in order:

1. Joey as a Cowboy
2. Maddy as a Gypsy
3. Hallie Heugly
4. Brynn Heugly
5. Kara and Chantel Ficklin
6. Kara and Todd Callan
7. Chantel Ficklin and Friends
8. Kaylor and Desi Ficklin
9. Maddy getting her hair worked on for the Haunted House
10. Finger Pretzels (annual Halloween tradition)
11. Butterscotch Cream in Chocolate Cups

2011-10-18T00:21:00.000-07:00

Cinnamon Spice Chili

This chili is a combination of several recipes I found, putting them together to form a wonderfully unique chili. The first flavor notes are of the warmth of cinnamon and then unexpectedly that warmth turns into just the right amount of spice. This chili is perfect for the fall season and will leave you craving more. Super easy to make with the use of a crockpot, this recipe yields about a dozen servings. Enjoy!

For step by step instructions and pictures on my cooking blog, click here.

2011-10-11T22:55:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Semifreddo

Italian for "half cold," a semifreddo is any chilled or partially frozen dessert including cake, ice cream, fruit and custard or whipped cream. I had never heard of this before so I was excited to try this simple recipe. It was well worth the effort as the result was somewhat of a mix between ice cream, gelato, whipped cream and cake. It's hard to describe so you'll just have to try it! This would be great for a dessert party as it can be made a few days before and is quick to put together. The recipe below yields 8-10 servings. Enjoy!

For step by step instructions and pictures on my cooking blog, click here.

2011-10-10T21:28:00.000-07:00

New Testament Video Project

For the last four plus months I've been involved in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints New Testament Video Project. Below is the timeline of events surrounding this amazing, once in a lifetime experience. This is a very long post and you certainly don't have to read every part. You can just scroll down to the areas you're interested in.

The Project
Simply stated, the purpose of this project was to create a New Testament Scripture Library - a series of vignettes portraying important scenes from the life of Jesus Christ and the Apostles. John Uibel, the Project Executive Producer said "Ultimately, the goal is to create a body of work that we can draw from that absolutely speaks to every aspect of Jesus’s life.” These vignettes are going to be used for a variety of purposes including Church Education, the Sunday School Program, Missionary Teaching Initiatives, Church Visitors Centers, and online Mormon Messages.

The Set

Built to last for 20 plus years, the set is the size of a football field and took nearly a year to build. It is in Goshen, which is about 20 minutes south of Provo and then 15 minutes west of Santaquin. It took 9 months for Church leaders to find this location and the set will also be used for other Church productions outside these vignettes. The set it is virtually invisible from any of the surrounding roads. You have to enter through a special dusty road and go past the guard gate before you can see any of the actual set. Once there though, it really is amazing. I don't know how exactly to describe it, especially since I've never been to Jerusalem but it looked so realistic. Click the link below to read more about the set construction and to see a video from the Project Executive Producer.

Information and Video about the Set

Here are some screen shots taken from the Church's recent World Report. Click below for the full Report.

October 2011 World Report

Sample Vignette

The first full vignette the Church shot was The Good Samaritan and it is beautifully done. It really gives you a good feel for the Director's vision of the project as well as the scenery. Here's the video.

The Casting Video

To help garner interest in the production, the Church's casting department created their first ever Public Service Announcement (PSA) video in October 2010, encouraging members of the Church from all over the world to apply for a role in the production. One of our friends, Becky Swasey, who does a lot of work for the Church as a wardrobe designer, suggested I apply for a spot in the announcement. I was hesitant, especially given that all the acting talent in the family belongs to Jeni and the kids. If this had been a Church version of Chopped or Top Chef, I might have been more willing. I finally gave in, confident that there was no way I would be cast for anything. To my surprise I got an e-mail inviting me down to the LDS Motion Picture Studio in Provo to take part in the PSA.

The link below takes you to the PSA announcement and the video. As you watch, you'll see me a few seconds at the very beginning (see also the screenshot below). I was and still am completely embarrassed about this. These thoughts still go through my mind - Is that really what I look like? Where did the double chin come from? Didn't I shave that day? Do I always slouch like that? And can I really call that a smile? Oh, the horror of this all. Where was the photoshop editor? So much for the miracles of modern technology! I hope nobody leaves the Church over this.

PSA Announcement and Video

The Audition

About a month later, in November 2010, an audition workshop was held at Utah Valley University in Orem for anyone interested in being in the actual New Testament production in a speaking role. Maddy and I attended and it was very helpful. I wasn't planning on auditioning for a speaking role as I just wanted to be an extra so I was going mainly for Maddy whose life is theater and singing. We really enjoyed the session which was attended by several hundred people and my favorite part was them showing the video below with Sir Ian McKellen and Ricky Gervais doing a spoof about acting.

By attending, we got first pick of auditioning slots which were starting the following month. On December 14, 2010, Maddy convinced me to come with her to audition . We were given sample scripts to memorize and I prepared using some text from Corinthians. This was my first ever audition and it took place at a Stake Center in Provo. After Maddy and I turned in some initial paperwork and a headshot, we were called into a small room one at a time to go through our audition. We had to "slate" to the camera and then get into character and go. I did well... for about the first 10 seconds. Then I got very nervous with the camera rolling and someone watching my every move. I forgot my lines and completely choked. My face got red and I stammered over my lines, completely botching them in the process.

I have no problems admitting that this was one of the worst experiences of my life. I actually wanted to cry I was so embarrassed. Maddy of course sailed through her audition and felt great about it. I couldn't get my face to turn back to it's natural color. I was disappointed and wondered why in the world I had auditioned. All I wanted to be was any kind of extra and the auditions for speaking parts weren't mandatory. I felt like maybe I had done so badly that I had ruined any chance to even do that. It took me several weeks to get over the horror of it all, although if I think about it long enough the embarrassment kicks back in.

The Notification

2010 turned into 2011 and we had heard that filming would take place sometime in July or August. As June rolled around and we hadn't heard anything from anyone, I really believed we hadn't made it into the production, even as extras. You can imagine my surprise when somehow, despite my botched audition, Maddy and I got the e-mail below on June 10, 2011.

New Testament Applicant,

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your patience throughout this casting process! We appreciate your diligence in growing out your hair and beard (if male). We realize that for many of you it has been a sacrifice and rather uncomfortable to boot!

If you are receiving this email it means you made it past nearly 11,000 applicants to get through the first cut, which is an accomplishment in and of itself. However, as we near shooting time (estimated for early August), it is time to make second cuts. Thank you to those of you who have already submitted your availability dates. This will be very helpful as we make final decisions. If you did not receive an email concerning availability please call or email me as soon as possible.

To further assist us in these casting decisions please submit a RECENT (within the last 2-3 days) headshot and profile shot. Your pictures should be in a jpeg format and labeled with your first and last name (ex: “Jane Doe Headshot.jpg” and “Jane Doe Profile.jpg”). As our online database is still under construction please EMAIL your pictures with New Testament UPDATE as the subject line. Pictures need to be submitted no later than Friday June 17th, 2011 at 5:00 p.m.

Following this email I have included some of the most common questions we have received and the answers for your perusal. Thank you again for your cooperation and continued support of LDS Media Services productions! We look forward to receiving your photos.

The Permission

After getting over the initial shock of having made it through the first cut as an extra, I realized I was probably way behind everyone else in the beard growing category. I knew that if I wanted a chance to participate, I'd have to grow the beard, however that would require me to get permission from two groups. First, my employer, Wendy's. Second, the Church.

Wendy's was great to grant me a religious accomodation and allow me to grow the beard. The only caveat was that anytime I went behind the line at any of our stores I needed to wear a beard guard.

At Church, I am serving as a counselor in the bishopric so having a beard is normally not permitted. My bishop, David Ahrens, was wonderful to grant me permission and so was my Stake President, Ron Dunn. Both felt like since it was a Church production they were ok with my participation. Frankly, I was surprised at how quickly the permissions were granted. So, I decided to take the plunge and start the beard. It was June 12, 2011.

On June 19, 2011 I submitted my first picture back to the casting folks with only a 7 day growth (see picture below). On June 23, 2011 I received another e-mailing asking us to input our availability for the next 3 months. We were told there was still no guarantee we would be asked to participate but that they would let us know closer to the time the shooting would start.

The Beard and Hair

The longest I had grown a beard before this project had been about 2 weeks. I knew I could grow a beard but had no idea how long it could actually get. The whole beard growing process has been very awkward. I've received more than my fair share of strange looks while sitting on the stand at Church, attending the Temple, going through security at the airport (where I was pat down for the first time ever), and at work related meetings. I did not find the beard experience to be itchy or hot. Instead I just found it incredibly inconvenient, with hair falling into my food or food falling into my hair. The long hair was fun to grow especially as the curls continued to increase, at least Jeni liked them. I actually enjoyed growing the beard, and though it was uncomfortable at times, I really had a hard time shaving it off. The closest feeling I can compare it to was how I felt after serving a mission when my badge was removed. That badge was a part of my identity and represented the work I had been doing, just as the beard represented who I was and the filming project as a whole. Below you can see pictures of the growth at various intervals of time including the picture we sent in of Maddy. If you really want a treat, click on my Day 114 picture for a closeup and you can see just how out of control the beard got. Just ignore the gray hairs please. I am so grateful to Kara Callan, Jeni's cousin, who is a professional photographer and took all these pictures for me.

Maddy

Day 7

Day 14

Day 21

Day 37

Day 63

Day 114

The Filming

I was so fortunate to have been able to participate in 11 different scenes. Below is the chronicle of each day on set. I'll try my best to share what I was feeling, the emotions of the day, etc. This will be difficult though to put into words the feelings, especially from some of the more intimate shoots. I apologize in advance for as many details as there are, but I wanted to be thorough.

Day 1 - Scene at Golgotha, Crucifixion
Matthew 28, Mark 15, John 19
I arrived at the set early in the morning and had no idea what to expect. I filled out the required paperwork, got signed in, and then eventually my name was called to "go to wardrobe." That meant I was to head over to the wardrobe trailer to receive my outfit for the day. It was there that I found out I was to play the part of one of the Sanhedrin, the wicked ruling body in both legal and ecclesiastical matters, and we were going to be shooting the crucifixion. Not bad for the first day! After changing into my clothes, I went to "Hair and Makeup" where my hair was spruced up, my hat pinned on and my hands, arms, legs, feet and face were "painted" with some sort of liquid that made our skin several shades darker. When that was done and I could lace up my authentic sandals, I headed back over to wardrobe to get "dirtied," meaning powder and oil was added to my outfit to make it look dusty and more realistic for the time period. The wardrobe designers actually did laundry every night so this process had to be repeated each day. When I was all ready, we waited in a large tent with all the other extras. The main actors and crew had trailers. The tent was very hot so many of us would sit outside on chairs, despite the heat there. On this day it was over 100 degrees and with all the layers of clothing it was very uncomfortable. Several individuals needed medical attention during the day and went home. We were asked to continually drink water which they provided. Eventually it was time to go down to the set. We walked as a large group to a hill area used for Golgotha and were placed in our positions. As one of the Sanhedrin, we stood on the edge of a cliff-like area and watched the procession of the crowd, Jesus, some disciples and the man carrying Jesus' cross coming up the hill. That scene, filmed from very far away from where we were standing took several hours to shoot. It wasn't uncommon during all of the shooting that we'd rehearse our parts and actions several times, only to then have to wait for some length to film. Then once we were "rolling" and the scene was completed and the "gate checked," we'd have to wait again while the camera changed positions. It also wasn't uncommon for a 13-14 hour day to produce maybe 2-3 minutes of footage. After we filmed that procession scene, Jesus and the two thieves were raised up onto their crosses which were incredibly high. We were placed in the crowd and they shot Jesus speaking with the angle coming from high up behind him. After that was completed, it was a "wrap" and most of us were dismissed. Going into the day I had expectations that this was going to be an amazing spiritual experience and so I walked away a bit confused as to why I was feeling like that didn't happen. Upon further reflection I realized that first, I was so hot that it was hard to feel anything but the sun; second, this was my first time ever on a set and I was distracted over and over again by all the crew, the sound people, the lighting people, the cameras, the equipment, etc.; third, I was so worried about playing my part that it was hard to focus on the actual scene. I will say that there was a wonderful feeling of deep reverence on the set and that was very enjoyable. The spiritual experiences I was hoping for would come, just not on this day.

Day 2 - The Night in Gethsemane
John 13-17, Matthew 25-26, Mark 14
This was a night shoot from about 6pm until 6am and I was again a Sanhedrin. In this shoot, the Sanhedrin led a mob made up of about 50 of us down a hill to just outside the Garden of Gethsemane. I stood to the left of the main Priest that said he was looking for Jesus of Nazareth. This was the scene where Peter cuts the ear off the servant and then Jesus heals him in front of all of us then submits himself to be taken. It was clear that He had the power and that He allowed Himself to be taken, though He didn't have to. At one part when He spoke, the Sanhedrin at the front of the mob fell backwards because of His power. After He was bound, we walked back up the hill and I helped the servant whose ear was now healed to gather his strength and make the walk. This was a really great scene. The props were amazing as we had real torches, the soldiers were decked out in authentic looking gear and all the disciples were there including Judas who appeared out of the crowd to betray Christ. As the Savior knelt to heal the servant's ear, it was wonderful how the Director had Him also pause to help the man up back to His feet. I really felt His power and divinity as He spoke.

Day 3 - Wise Men Enter the City
Matthew 2
This was my first time playing a normal villager and Maddy was able to join me at this shoot. We lined the streets of Bethlehem as the wise men entered the city on real camels and then offered gifts to Jesus. Joseph met the wise men and ran to his home where out of the doorway appeared Mary and the now toddler Jesus. As they appeared, we all gasped as Mary looked so authentic, just how you would picture her, and the toddler Jesus had long black hair and penetrating blue eyes. He was adorable and His look was penetrating. It felt so real and I was grateful to be a part of that scene. We also shot Mary riding into the city while still pregnant with Joseph leading the donkey. Maddy walked up the street as the donkey passed and I was on the side of the street grinding wheat. This day I really felt the majesty of the Christ child and the sacred role Mary played in His birth and His raising. Even from His youth, He must have loved Mary so much. To watch Him cling to her and then look up at all of us who had come to worship or observe was a very tender moment which has stayed with me and Maddy to this day.

Day 4 - Cleansing of the Temple
John 2:13-21
I was a Priest for this shoot and this was a fun one. There were nearly 200 of us there all acting as though the Savior was right behind us, driving us out of the temple. There were money changers, people selling animals and the like. For my part I had to run along the back wall and jump over a table that was overturned. It was very chaotic and realistic as we were all rushing to get away. There were a lot of animals on the set too with sheep and doves. They shot this scene from many different angles and had us run all different directions. I think they're going to use some movie magic to blend it all together to make it look like there were even more people there. Maddy was there on this day too and had fun being a part of it. She was in a different section of people than me. Reflecting on this scene, I wonder if I treat the Temple too casually like all these people did. I may not be selling doves or exchanging money there but do I treat the Temple as the sacred place it is by attending regularly and by keeping appropriate reverence while there?

Day 5 - Baby Jesus Presented / 12 Year Old Jesus in the Temple
Luke 2: 22-38, 41-51
This was a much lighter day for me as I was again a Priest but my main part consisted of just walking back and forth over and over to make it look like there were more people in the Temple courtyard than there really were, even though there were probably over 100 of us there again. In the first scene, the baby Jesus was brought by Joseph and Mary to the Temple to present Him to Simeon. Later we filmed the 12 year old Jesus teaching the Doctors, Scribes and Pharisees on the steps of the Temple. For that part I was in the background looking over at Him and then walking with one of my associates away from the group. Not a lot of acting on this day, just mostly walking.

Day 6 - Mock Trial with Caiaphas
Matthew 26, John 18

This was by far the most difficult and moving shoot of them all, possibly because there were so few of us there. The scene was a continuation of the mob arrest. There were about 7 of us Sanhedrin, a few Sanhedrin guards, a few soldiers, and then Jesus, now bound with a rope. The scene started with Jesus being led into a small room by two guards, where Caiaphas was waiting. The rest of us followed Him into the room and surrounding Caiaphas. I was on his immediate left, just a foot or two from where the Savior was standing. The confrontation ensued between Him and Caiaphas including the false witness coming forward and then the rending of Caiaphas' garments and all of us saying Jesus was guilty of death for his blasphemy. When Jesus testified that the "Son of Man would sit on the right hand of God in glory" He looked right in my eyes and there was such a powerful feeling there and the Spirit bore witness to me in a very powerful way that what He was saying was true. The scene was so majestic, even in such a horrible setting. Here was the Lord, accused, bound, yet testifying of the truth in such a powerful way. The reverence of that moment didn't last long as four of us (not me thankfully) then proceeded to actually spit on Him and then others pounced, slapping Him. The contrast between the powerful testimony and the shameful brutality was pretty overwhelming and I left the scene very humbled, amazed that people could have been so cruel to one who was so good. As I drove home I asked myself whether or not I've been willing to stand up for truth, even amidst persecution and I also thought of Hebrews 6:6 where we learn that sons of perdition "crucify Christ afresh" and how I want to stay as far away from that line as possible. I don't want to cause the Savior any additional pain or suffering after witnessing such abuse.

Day 7 - Caiaphas Continued
Matthew 26, John 18

This was a night shoot but was easily the shortest for me. It was a continuation of the previous shoot and our only part to film was us escorting Jesus out of the room we were in, down a flight of stairs in the rain and then past Peter who was in the Courtyard. At first, all of us from the night before followed Caiaphas down the stairs. It must have taken too long because the Director cut the number of us down by a few for the next take. Even that must have taken too long because our group was cut again to just 3 or 4 and I wasn't included in that mix. Soon afterwards it was a wrap. Everyone else that stayed well into the night filmed Peter denying Christ and the cock crowing.

Day 8 - Widows Mite
Mark 12:41-44
On this day I was a "Rich Man," one of about 7 that were dropping loads of money from our large purses into the treasury (large collection looking boxes) and boasting about how much we were dropping. The Savior was on a "porch," on top of a neighboring roof looking down at us. Through the crowd walked a 94 year old woman and she dropped a very tiny coin called a "mite." The Savior taught His apostles that her offering was greater than all of ours because she gave everything she had. The lady that played the widow was amazing. She was very frail yet handled the scene so well. I was on her left as she dropped the coins and I looked her up and down with contempt for her tiny donation. Reflecting on this scene I wondered if my offerings to God have been enough. Am I like the rich men, giving a small portion back to God or am I really committed to giving Him my all like the widow, even as meager and unimpressive as my offerings might be?

Day 9 - Triumphal Entry
Mark 11, Matthew 21, Luke 19, John 12
Before the shooting started this day, I had a special surprise as I saw my mission president, James Hamula, and his wife Joyce and their youngest two boys on set. Elder Hamula is now a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, assigned to the Pacific Area and he and his family were in town for General Conference and were taking a tour of the production. This was a pretty short day as it consisted of Jesus coming into town on the donkey with his apostles for His triumphal entry. I was a normal villager again and at first was in one of the side doorways walking to the crowd to see Him come by. There were over 100 of us this day. People were shouting in excitement and waving palm fronds and then laying them down at his feet. This was shot from a few different angles and then for the last part I was moved to the very back and watched as the Savior walked right by me, touching people's hands. I tried to imagine what this really would have felt like. In the back of my mind I couldn't help but think back to the mistreatment in Caiaphas' chamber which tempered some of the excitement of this scene, knowing what He would soon be subject to. Then I thought about this being such a joyous time to see Christ happy and excited and all the people giving Him a royal welcome. I was glad in my heart to know that the Savior was treated so well, even if it was for a short time.

Day 10 - Adulterous Woman
John 8: 2-11
This scene was intense! I was cast as one of the "Angry Men" that brought the adulterous woman before the Lord. The scene started with Jesus teaching a group of followers on one side of the courtyard and then a group of about 5 of us entered from the opposite side, bursting through a door dragging the adulterous woman. She was hysterical as she tried grabbing on to posts to prevent us from moving her forward. At one point in the struggle she fell to the ground on her back and was dragged about two feet when I reached down and picked her back up by the arm and threw her forward. As we were walking over, Jesus walked over to meet us in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by his followers as well as some of the Priests. The exchange between Jesus and the leader of our group and then between Jesus and the woman was a very tender moment. Several of His followers were really in tears as He forgave the woman and bid her to sin no more. The woman walked out of the scene and then Jesus, walking through the courtyard, continued His teachings. The scene was difficult for me because it was hard for me to act so angry at this lady (who by the way was an amazing actress) and to be so physically rough with her, all the while keeping an angry demeanor. As I walked away from the crowd with the other "accusers" after Jesus' instruction to let "he that is without sin among you cast the first stone," I really felt ashamed that I do have my own sins and weaknesses, that the Lord knows exactly what they are, and that in my own imperfect state who am I to judge another? I walked away from the set this day feeling two things - first, complete adoration for the Savior who time and time again has forgiven me for my inadequacies, even when I deserve that forgiveness the least, and second, an increased desire to be kind and helpful to others that are struggling and to try to extend to them the same mercy that the Lord has so readily extended to me.

Day 11 - Jesus Carrying His Cross
Matthew 28, Mark 15, John 19
On my last day, we filmed the scene where Jesus walked up the streets of the city heading towards Golgotha, carrying His cross. The cross itself was enormous and very heavy. It took 3 people just to carry it back and forth. Unlike other Church movies where Jesus carries only the cross beam, in this portrayal He carried the whole thing with His shoulders under the part where the beams meet, and the bottom of the cross dragging on the ground. Halfway through the procession, the guards pulled a man out of the crowd and he then carried it the rest of the way. In this scene Jesus is already bloodied from the scourging, He was wearing the crown of thorns and a purple robe (which one of the guards rips off Him as He's walking) and His face had blood dripping down it. Initially I was placed up near the front where the cross exchange takes place, but the Director asked that I be moved back to a more anonymous place in the crowd because I was one of the Sanhedrin at the crucifixion. It was difficult to watch the Savior, physically at the end of His strength, trying to carry the cross. He was stumbling and going so slowly which is why the other man was asked to carry the cross for Him. It was interesting for me personally that this was the last shoot for me. As I watched Him walking up the road I couldn't help but think of His triumphal entry, all His teachings I witnessed, His sacrifice in Gethsemane and all the other scenes I'd been a part of. The one image in my mind that comes back more frequently now than the rest is the Savior with His head bowed, under the weight of the cross, beaten and bruised, heading towards his mortal death. It struck in me a deep feeling of gratitude but also a commitment to be submissive to God's will, no matter the personal cost to me, just like the Savior did.

The People

I have many pictures of me and the other actors and can show them to you in person, however I can't post them here, on Facebook or anywhere online as that was one of the agreement we all made to be a part of the production. Perhaps I can share them when the vignettes are actually published. I was amazed at how many extras came from all over the world and country just to participate in the filming. I met people from Australia, England, Alaska, Florida, New York, etc. Despite the considerable expense many of them incurred to come, they felt it was worth it to be a part of this monumental project, even if they were only there for a few days. I felt very fortunate that I lived only 25 minutes from the set.

The Vignettes
I have heard that the result of our filming will be about 30 vignettes that will be added to the Church's Scripture Library. I have also heard that some of the segments might be available as early as this Christmas, though they won't be published en masse until probably some time in late 2012 or early 2013.

The Summary
Overall throughout all the scenes I noticed how the Savior's compassionate and human side were portrayed and I just loved it. Of all those individuals that have played Christ in church movies, this one was by far my favorite. Now that this experience is over, I walk away with a greater appreciation for Jesus Christ. Though my testimony of His divine role in our Father in Heaven's plan was strong prior to the filming, certain aspects of His life and teachings are now more real to me than before and I will never look at the scriptures, especially these scenes, in the same way again.

2011-10-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie is one of our favorite comfort foods and this recipe, originally found on allrecipes.com, hit the spot. I made a few modifications to the ingredients and I also made fresh pie crust instead of pre-packaged as it doesn't take that long and the quality is much better. The recipe below yields one large pie that feeds about 6. Enjoy!

For step by step instructions and pictures on my cooking blog, click here.

2011-10-07T09:02:00.000-07:00

Banana Nut Muffins

The weather has begun getting very cold here in Utah so what better way to welcome in the Fall than with freshly baked muffins with cinnamon, nutmeg, walnuts and banana? There's really only 3 main steps in this recipe and from start to finish these can be done in less than just over 30 minutes. The aroma in your kitchen will be well worth the effort too. The recipe below yields 12 muffins. Enjoy!

For step by step instructions and pictures on my cooking blog, click here.

2011-10-02T11:27:00.001-07:00

Priesthood Session

Joey and I headed to Salt Lake City last night with friends to attend the Priesthood Session of October General Conference. We first stopped at Wendy's for their new Dave's Hot & Juicy burgers (delicious) and then we headed to the Conference Center. Every time I go there I am overwhelmed at how many people the Center holds. I felt very strange being there with such a crazy beard but I was glad to see 3 others from the film shooting that were there as well, beards and all. On the way back to the car, Joey had me take some pictures of him "planking:" which is a new funny activity where you lay horizontally on any object you can find to support you. I had a hard time containing my laughter.

2011-09-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

Apples in a Seed

Below is a message I wrote for our Ward newsletter last month. It shares a story about my conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, my subsequent mission and now the missionary labors of Elder Andrew Blakely. Below the message are some pictures from Andrew's time with us here in Utah prior to his entering the MTC in Provo.

I joined the LDS Church when I was 19 years old. A wonderful family, the Klanns, had shared the gospel with me through their words and example. The Spirit was strong in their home and I loved how I felt when I was with them. I knew they had something different, something I didn’t even know at the time I was looking for. Thanks to the courage of their daughter Aimee who gave me my very first Book of Mormon, I investigated the Church for myself and came to find out through an unforgettable answer to prayer that the gospel was true and that I needed to take action. I was subsequently baptized and a year later served a full-time mission.

A saying that Al Klann, who was the Stake Mission President at the time, always used to share when speaking about missionary work was “You can count the number of seeds in an apple, but you can’t count the number of apples in a seed.” In other words, sharing the gospel with someone has the potential of touching much more than just that one person’s life. You cannot know how many additional people they will share the gospel with once they’re converted.

Early in my mission I met the Blakely family consisting of Keith (not a member), Mary (who joined the church in college but had not stayed active) and their little baby boy, Andrew, who was less than a year old. After many visits, discussions and prayers, Keith was baptized and Mary returned to activity. Here are some pictures from a trip my companion, Elder Siddoway, and I took with them to the Washington DC Temple in late 1992.

Now, 19 years and 9 additional children later, they are saying goodbye to Andrew who was called to serve in the Farmington, New Mexico Mission. Some of you may have seen him with me last week at Church. Through a great tender mercy in my life, I had the privilege of hosting him for several nights before he went into the MTC earlier this week. Words can’t explain the joy I felt seeing this great young man with a testimony of his own now prepared to serve the Lord in the mission field. I couldn’t help but think back to those first few meetings with the Blakely’s. I had no idea of the great service they would render for the Lord in raising such a righteous posterity and training their children up in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6). I had no idea that little Andrew would one day be a missionary, helping now to teach others of the truth that he had learned from his parents.

From the Klann family (Al himself being a convert), to my family (my sister joined the Church while I was on my mission), to the Blakely family now sending out a missionary of their own, Al was absolutely right. You can’t count the number of apples in a seed. In fact, there may be more apples in one seed than we can even imagine.

The act of planting those seeds in others does not require us to be particularly eloquent or scholarly. In fact, here is what Brigham Young said of his own conversion after listening to the testimony of missionary Eleazer Miller. “When I saw a man without eloquence, or talents for public speaking, who could only say, 'I know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of the Lord,' the Holy Ghost proceeding from that individual illuminated my understanding, and light, glory, and immortality were before me. I was encircled by them, filled with them, and I knew for myself that the testimony of the man was true. . . . My own judgment, natural endowments, and education bowed to this simple, but mighty testimony."

Let us remember this analogy of the apple seed and do all within our power to share our testimonies with others; the wonderful news of God’s plan for our lives, the central role of Jesus Christ in that plan, and the restoration of the gospel in the latter days. That we may plant those seeds in others and one day see the fruit of those labors is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

2011-09-22T08:11:00.002-07:00

Fourteen!

Joey recently turned 14 and we celebrated with Chocolate Pancakes with Cinnamon Cream for breakfast, presents and then a fun day at Trafalga playing mini golf and laser tag. In the last year Joey has continued to get taller, his shoes are almost as big as mine and his voice has dropped about 4 octaves. We love him and are proud of all he does but more importantly who he is. Below are some pictures from the day.

2011-09-21T07:32:00.001-07:00

First Day of School 2011

Better late than never, here are the pictures from Maddy and Joey's first days of school this year. Maddy is now in 10th grade and Joey in 9th, both in High School. As much as they fight not having their pictures taken on the first day, they're always glad later that we did as it's fun to compare them to previous years.

2011-09-17T17:22:00.008-07:00

Lacrosse

Joey joined the Spanish Fork Warriors Lacrosse team this week and today was his first game. He's on the JV team and loves the sport. I've never played it myself but from what I've seen on tv and in the game today, it's a cross between football, polo and hockey. It's very physical but Joey really seems to enjoy it and plays the "middie" or midfielder position and is #30. Though their team lost 15-5 today it was great to be there. The season lasts another month until they pick back up in the fall. Below are some pictures from the today's game.

2011-09-14T06:08:00.008-07:00

Payson Utah Temple Grounds

Last night we took about 50 of our young men and young women to the Payson Utah Temple site where on October 8th, Elder Dallin Oaks will be presiding over the groundbreaking ceremony. Kelly Woodbrey from the Stake Presidency came and spoke for about 20 minutes about Temples and shared some great experiences. At the end, we handed out bags for the kids to collect some wheat / dirt from the grounds. The site is perfectly situated with great views of the mountains and on top of a small hill overlooking the valley. Estimates are that the Temple will be ready in about 3 years. What a blessing it will be to have a Temple approximately 15 minutes from our home, not that the Provo Temple's 20 minutes drive is anything to complain about. In fact, on my 35 minute drive to work I pass by 5 Temples. Below are pictures from last night's activity.

2011-09-11T13:10:00.003-07:00

Retainer Crush

Maddy finished up her course of care for her own braces and her teeth look great. Initially she had been given a retainer she had to wear day and night but we switched her over to a plastic retainer that only has to be worn at night. To celebrate, Maddy decided she wanted to run over the old retainer with the car. Below are before and after pictures of the poor old retainer. Hopefully that's the last thing Maddy runs over as she is still working on getting her license.

2011-09-11T12:58:00.007-07:00

Joey's Braces

Joey recently became the latest in the family to get braces. Maddy had hers removed earlier this year so it was Joey's turn. The experience was much less painful than Joey thought it would be and we've already noticed a big difference. 1 month down, 17-23 to go.

2011-07-30T10:55:00.008-07:00

I Hate Golfing

I hate golfing. As someone that was involved heavily in sports growing up, I have found golfing to be the most frustrating sport I have ever played. Here's why:

1. I wouldn't even call it a sport. A sport usually involves some sort of exchange between you and other individuals. In basketball, you rotate between offense and defense and you can foul the other person. In tennis, you hit the ball back and forth to each other. In soccer you kick the ball back and forth and try to score on the other team. But no, not in golf. Not even close. In golf, the game is against yourself. How fun is it to play a game against yourself? No fun I tell you! There's no excuse that the other player was better. If you lose, you are the only one to blame. That's not a sport. That's psychology. Anyone up for a round of psychology? Bring your clubs!

2. On that topic, who invented the golf club? They were clearly not in their right mind. Who would think of attaching a small wooden head or piece of metal at the bottom of a long metal stick that is then supposed to hit a very small ball hundreds of yards in a straight line? Why not make the head or metal piece 10 times the size? Then you'd never miss the ball when you swing and you would never embarrass yourself in front of your friends, family or co-workers, especially when said miss happens over, and over, and over, and over, and over. Have you ever experienced the pain in your hands when your club hits the ground at full swing? It hurts even worse when you miss the ball AND the ground. It hurts your back, your arms, your hips and your pride. Believe me, I know. I think golf courses should not only have food carts that tour around the course but medical carts as well, filled with ice bags, numbing lotion and band aids.

3. Who invented the size of the hole and put it so far away from the tee? How demented is it that you can't even see the hole when you hit your first ball? You have to trust the map they give you or those mobile apps that show you where the hole is. What kind of sport requires you to have a map? In basketball you can see the hoops from anywhere on the court. In tennis, the lines are visible from anywhere. In soccer and football, the goals are always within sight. How do you know for sure that the map they give you is accurate? What if some disgruntled employee gives out fake maps just to mess everyone up, not that it would make a difference where my shot would go anyway. And not that it would make a difference whether or not I would hit the side of that beautiful home next to the fairway. Sorry about that.

4. Speaking of fairways, who came up with that name? There's nothing fair about them. It's only fair if you hit the ball onto it. It's certainly NOT fair if you don't. How are you expected to find your ball when it misses the fairway? No wonder they call anything not in the fairway the "rough." I think it's called that to mock you, saying "Rough for you to be in here, hey buddy. Good luck finding your ball." They might as well call it the "Impossible" or the "Forget looking for it, you're not going to find it, get back in your cart." I think whoever invented the "rough" did it as a trick to steal your golf balls.

5. There is no such thing as "Par." I'd like to meet the person who invented this phrase. Who determines "Par" for a hole anyway? 99% of the world can't make a par 4. It takes all of us at least 10 shots. If you want a true "Par," average what it would take the entire world's population to get it in the hole and that is par. I say we abolish "Par" anyway. To me, if you can get the ball in all the holes before the course closes, you win.

All this being said, don't ask me why I agree to play once or twice a year when my work sponsors a local golf tournament. And don't ask me why I think that something will have changed and all of a sudden I'll be better than I was the last time I played. About a month ago I submitted myself for more torture and misery at the Talon's Cove Golf Course in Utah. Someone hit me on the head with a golf club next time I agree to play.

2011-07-22T14:30:00.009-07:00

Girl's Camp 2011

Maddy joined our ward's Girl's Camp as they headed to Heber Valley Camp this week for 4 nights. This was Maddy's 4th year going so she also joined the 4th year hike. Our ward has a great Young Women's program with around 40 girls, the majority of who came to the camp. As a bishopric we went up with our wives last night and cooked them all dinner. I made basil pesto havarti burgers on a French roll with basil balsamic lemon mayo, tomatoes and lettuce from my garden. Hugh Black made corn on the cob with a delicious salad and David Ahrens, our bishop, brought some amazing chocolate and peanut butter fudge.

It is such a blessing to live in a ward where the Youth Leaders are such amazing people. I was so glad Jeni was able to be there too and she bore a wonderful testimony at the campfire that evening. It reminded me so much of when she was a missionary in Virginia - just full of love and faith in everything she talked about. Maddy was also asked as the MiaMaid president to share her testimony and thoughts and did a wonderful job as usual. I love her simple, sweet testimony and her enthusiasm for the gospel. She also taught a class about "Protecting the Environment" as part of their round of classes.

For fun, I've included pictures from the Girl's camps in 2010, 2009 and 2008. It's amazing to me to see not only how the girl's have grown but also how the ward has grown!

2011-07-18T09:08:00.019-07:00

Happy 60th Kaye

Last Friday Jeni helped put together a wonderful 60th Birthday celebration for her mom, Kaye, who was visiting from Missiouri. Grandma LaRae made her famous Gumbo and I made some Chocolate Malt Brownies. In addition to opening a new purse filled with fun gifts, including a spa certificate, some of the grandchildren performed for Kaye. Joey, who recently taught himself how to play the Ukelele, made up a song for Kaye as did Steve. Joey's is at the bottom of this post. Hopefully Steve will be publishing his soon. Happy Birthday Kaye!

2011-07-02T19:12:00.008-07:00

Prom Dinner 2011

Last month I agreed to cook a 7 course meal for 7 couples for Prom at the local High School. It was a fun experience and I hope that this kids enjoyed it. Each couple paid $50 to cover the costs of the food. The menu was as follows:

1. Honey and Goat Cheese Wafer
2. Carrot Raisin Bread
3. Torched Pears with Mascarpone and Proscuitto
4. Buttermilk Blue Cheese Wedge Salad
5. Orange Peel Sorbet
6. Filet Mignon with Mushroom Ragout, Parmesan Regiano Risotto with White Truffle Oil, Blanched Asparagus Spears
7. Chocolate Mousse with Pistachio and Cream

Below are pictures of the the couples that came, the table setup and the official menu. With Maddy starting 10th grade, who knows - it could be Maddy and friends here for dinner next year.

2011-06-28T06:47:00.011-07:00

Stake Youth Conference Trek

I had the privilege of participating last week in the Stake Youth Conference Trek for over 300 youth and adult leaders. It was a wonderful experience that I will never forget, having had the opportunity to feel in a small way what the pioneers felt pushing and pulling their wagons across the plains. The theme for the Trek was "Go the Distance: Frienship, Faith and Testimony."

On Thursday morning we met as a ward to eat breakfast and map out our rides to the Trek starting location. We were all dressed in our pioneer garb and after a brief devotional at the Stake Center, we headed about 30 minutes up the Spanish Fork Canyon. Waiting for us there were handcarts and we were split into "families" consisting of about 10 members with 2 captains of 10 and a parental "Aunt and Uncle." Maddy, Joey and I were split into different families and eventually we loaded up our wagons with the belongings we had brough in 5 gallon buckets and we were off. On Thursday we went over 7 miles with stops for lunch and a reenactment of the Mormon Battalion call to duty where all the men and boys left the women with the wagons while we headed down the road.

On Friday we had all day workshops, some spiritual and some activity related. These included horshoe throwing, slingshots, quilt making, lessons on our self-image, friendship, morality, etc. That evening there was another short devotional then a youth dance where the leaders joined in and that was a great time. Joey even ended up winning the youth dance competition with his Napoleon Dynamite dance. After the dance we joined back into our wards and had a testimony meeting. Ours was wonderful and Brother Black and I ended up singing A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief acapella which was a bit intimidating but I think it went well. Our meeting lasted until past midnight.

On Saturday morning after a closing devotional by President Dunn, we headed back down the mountain even though the first mile and a half were uphill which was very difficult. We went a total of over 5 miles back down and it was very rewarding to finally make it to the end. Several youth had to stop along the way and it was wonderful to see that there was always someone that stopped with them to help.

Below are pictures from the whole experience including many of our ward youth as well as some of the youth from my assigned family.

2011-06-26T14:39:00.007-07:00

Timberline 2011

A few weeks ago Joey had the opportunity of participating in a weeklong Timberline Boy Scout Camp. From the Scouting website, "Timberline is an exciting, action-packed, week-long program designed to provide youth a positive learning environment where development of leadership skills is at the core. The skills learned are immediately put into practice through a variety of games and activities in a fun environment." Joey had a great time and earned several awards including the BP (Baden Powell) award. He hopes to go back next year as a member of the staff. Below are several pictures from the Saturday afternoon awards ceremony including a picture of the other boys that went from his home troop.

2011-06-19T11:39:00.005-07:00

To Beard or Not to Beard

At the beginning of the year I auditioned for a part in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint's New Testament Video Project, a production of a new collection of videos portraying stories from The New Testament. To read more about the project and see a sample of the type of video that is going to be produced, click here.

This last week I was notified that I had made the first cut as an "Extra" out of over 11,000 that auditioned. As exciting as that news was, it came with the realization that in order to be considered futher I would have to grow a full beard. Now that might seem like fun to a lot of you but I have never had more than a week's growth before and it was too itchy for my liking. Plus, I would need to get a special religious accomodation from work as well as permission from my bishop and Stake President because of my calling in our ward bishopric.

Well, everything worked itself out in the last week. I decided to do it, was granted permission from both work and our local Church leaders and I am now in full beard growing mode. The picture above is about 4 days in. The shooting will take place in August so if I make it that far I will be working on this beard for about 3 months! I'll continue to post pictures as it progresses.

2011-06-04T14:12:00.005-07:00

Almost Lover - Cover

Maddy's prize for winning the Jr. High Sing Off was a recording session at a studio in Provo, Utah. She did that this week and had such a great time. She only sang through it twice and then had fun mixing and playing with it with the technician. Her choir teacher, Sharon Hopkins, was there to support her too. Below is the audio track from the recording. I'll post some pictures from the day soon.

2011-05-31T15:30:00.007-07:00

Graduating Steve

A few weeks ago we traveled to Logan, Utah to celebrate Steve's graduation with a Bachelors in Business from Utah State University. Below are pictures from the day which included lunch at Sizzler and a stop by Gossners for some squeaky cheese before heading home. Congratulations Steve!

2011-05-24T10:36:00.006-07:00

Junior High Sing Off

Last week Maddy entered a singing competition at the Junior High called the "Sing Off." Patterned after American Idol, about 20 students signed up and all auditioned in front of each other and six judges. I was really proud of Maddy in that after the audition she picked three other students who she thought were her top three. When the final 3 names were posted, Maddy was on the list and so today she and the other top two performed in two assemblies in front of the whole school, about 1200 students.

I thought they all did an amazing job. The judges and the students all voted and Maddy won! Her prize was $50 and a recording session at a studio in Orem. Aside from watching Maddy perform, which I always enjoy, the highlight of the day for me was actually watching Maddy cheer for the other finalists. She genuinely cared about how they did and wanted them to be successful. To me, that's worth more than any prize from any competition. Well done, Maddy. We love you.

Below are the performances:
1. Erica Gebert - My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion
2. Caitlyn Nixon - Real Gone by Sheryl Crow
3. Maddy Shearer - Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy

2011-03-27T13:05:00.018-07:00

Aida

This week I went to 3 performances of the Junior High's production of Aida, in which Maddy played the lead role of Aida and Joey played one of the lead male roles of Mereb. I was blown away by the production which in my opinion was the best I've ever seen at this age group, all biases aside. The kids had been working on this since January and the hard work payed off. Below are pictures from the show and after the show as well as videos of some of my favorite songs Maddy and Joey performed.

2011-03-12T12:56:00.008-07:00

The Jimmer Show

Last weekend Joey and I went to the BYU vs. Wyoming basketball game at the Marriott Center in Provo. It was Jimmer Fredette's last home game and also the last game for the other Seniors. At stake was the regular season Mountain West Conference championship and Jimmer did not disappoint. Already the leading scorer in the nation, he scored 30+ points and BYU won the game. Below are pictures of the student section, Jimmer shooting free throws, the celebration at the end, and Jimmer and Brandon Davies cutting down the nets. I have no doubt Jimmer will go on to play in the NBA and it will be fun to say that we saw him play in this game.

2011-03-07T20:08:00.008-07:00

Row Removal

After over 3 long years, Maddy finally had her top row of braces removed. The retainer comes tomorrow and the bottom row gets removed in about 3 weeks. Congratulations Maddy - you are beautiful. Below is the before picture.

2011-02-26T08:42:00.008-07:00

Eagle Court of Honor

Last month we celebrated Joey's Eagle Scout award with a Court of Honor. Many family members and friends came to join the celebration. We are very proud of Joey who did a great job sharing with everyone his leadership project and thanking those that helped, especially Kelly Woodbrey who Joey gave his mentor pin to. Congratulations Joey!

2011-02-14T17:10:00.010-07:00

Joey "Rube" Shearer

Growing up I remember looking at picture's of Rube Goldberg's inventions. Who is Rube Goldberg? Click here for the Wikipedia summary. One of the things Rube is most famous for is his complex inventions that were deliberately over-engineered to perform a simple task. Most of his devices included some sort of chain reaction. In fact, this style of invention is now called a "Rube Goldberg Machine" and his name is now synonymous with anything where the effort far outweighs the result. The picture above is one of his inventions taken from his website.

Enter Joey, who has had a hard time waking up in the morning. It doesn't matter how many times we call his name, how bright the room is, how much water we've squirted into his face, how many times we've shaken him by the shoulders. He won't budge. To solve this problem, Joseph decide to create an invention to wake him up. Here's a picture of this invention with a detail below the picture of each of the steps.

1. Cell phone alarm goes off at 6:30am and scoots down wooden train track as it vibrates
2. Cell phone knocks train down the track which then
3. Pulls the string of a yo-yo which then
4. Hits another train which goes careening off the ledge and
5. Hits the light switch on his room.
6. Meanwhile another train next to the train in step 4 has been speeding down the track and hits an alarm clock which starts going off while it falls of the ledge causing
7. Joey's shoe to fall of it's own ledge and
8. Smacks Joey in the face, waking him up so that he can stand up and turn his alarm off.

Did you get all that? Believe it or not, it works. It actually works! I don't know how Joey comes up with these crazy ideas, let alone figuring out how to make them work. Can you say "Future Engineer?"

By the way, the other invention you see attached to his bed is a swiveling bookstand so he can read at the right height while laying in his bed. It comes complete with side clasps to hold the pages of the book down for hands-free reading.

2011-02-09T14:11:00.009-07:00

Step by Step Gourmet

I have finally done it. After over a year of prodding, I have started my own recipe website.

http://stepbystepgourmet.blogspot.com/

I think my family urged me to do this in order to stop hogging up all the space on shearermania, our family website. Regardless of the reason, I'm excited about the possibilities of the new site, the first post on which went up today. It will definitely be a work in progress but I encourage any of you following this blog for the recipes only to move on over to the new site. There may be some recipe repetition as I start moving recipes to the new site, so please bear with me. If anything, it may remind you of some good recipes that have been buried here. Hope to see you there!

PS - The picture above is going to be among the first recipes I post on the new site. I'm planning on making it for Jeni for valentines. It's a Spiced Chocolate Cake from Bon Appetit and I saw it on the blog of the son of one of my old friends. Looks delicious!

2011-01-27T15:15:00.008-07:00

Hidden Treasure

While working in Salt Lake City today, I happened upon this wonderful store, the London Market. As you probably know by now I grew up eating all sorts of delicious British chocolates and candies, things you can't find at normal stores in the US; delicacies like Flake, Aero, Crunchie, Violet Crumble, Turkish Delight, Smarties, Maltesers, Crispies, Curly Wurly, Starbar, Twirl and the list goes on. This store had them all as well as ones I had never even heard of! Believe you me when I say that my secret chocolate stash just increased in size today. Ok, doubled. Ok, tripled. Ok, it now fills the whole drawer. How could it not when you're faced with a view like the picture below from inside the store? And to top it all off, the lady at the register was from Rhodesia, SA so she had an almost identical accent as my parents. I'm seriously considering adding the London Market as a monthly recurring invoice in our budget - "Sorry hon, I've got to run to London Market to pay our bill. See you .... in a few hours!"

2011-01-15T18:05:00.007-07:00

Baby You Can Drive My Car

Borrowed from the Beatles, this blog title has specific application today as Maddy, my little baby girl, drove for the first time! Though she's been 15 for several months, she mustered up the courage today and spent about 10 minutes or so with me swerving through the Church parking lot. And... she did pretty well! Sadly, gone are the days of her driving home on my lap from Church, and gone are the days of her pretending to drive like on this day almost exactly 3 years ago. Though this is major milestone for her and a sign of her growing up, we couldn't be happier with her and wonderful young woman she is. Next week, we hit the roads!

2011-01-05T15:07:00.016-07:00

A Day to Remember

Yesterday was one of those days you wish could last forever. The four of us left in the afternoon to attend a wedding luncheon at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City. Jeni's cousin, Kaylee Ficklin had been married in the Salt Lake LDS Temple that morning. At the luncheon (the food was amazing by the way), Maddy sang two songs with her uncle Steve. The first was "Crazier" by Taylor Swift and the second was "Lucky" by Colbie Caillat. Her voice just continues to get more beautiful like her mom's. The video for each song is below.

After the luncheon we joined up with Scott, Jeni's brother, and spent several hours at Temple Square walking around and going through the Visitor Centers. Before heading home we stopped at my favorite French pastry shop, Gourmandise, in downtown Salt Lake and treated ourselves to some goodies. Jeni's health was up to all of this amazingly for which I was so grateful. If only every day could be like yesterday!

2011-01-05T00:08:00.012-07:00

Unanswered, Not Unheard

Last Saturday Maddy informed me that the shower in our master bedroom wasn't working. I knew that it had been very cold and wondered if our pipes had frozen. As I investigated, the water in the shower did turn on but only trickled out even though all the other faucets in the bathroom were working fine. I was convinced the pipes were frozen and left the water running thinking that it would unfreeze over a short period of time and all would be well.

Hours later and the water still trickling, I started to get worried that maybe the pipes really were frozen. I left the water running in the shower as we went to bed, thinking that it would all be better by the morning. In fact, I prayed several times for a miracle that somehow in the morning we'd turn the shower on and it would be like nothing had gone wrong. I had faith it would happen that way and actually went to bed quite calm about the whole thing.

The next morning I was surprised that there was no change so I headed off to Church, prayerful but starting to worry that not only was the pipe frozen but maybe it had burst and that water had been running into the walls throughout the house. My fears were confirmed when I got home and went into the garage and saw a patch of water in the ceiling and a small trickle of water coming out the bottom of the drywall by the foundation.

I immediately did the only think I knew to do. I raced to my neighbor Randy Bunker's house for help. Randy has been a huge blessing for our family, fixing things I didn't have any clue how to do. Thankfully he was home and came over. Together we determined that the leak in the garage actually had nothing to do at all with the shower and it wasn't even in the same place. He created a hole in the ceiling, climbed into it and figured out that the leak there was actually coming from the roof. We've had incredibly cold temperatures here in Utah and a series of days with massive snowfall. Together that created ice on our roof (see picture above) that had found a way into the garage and down the drywall. Thankfully he was able to cut some sheetrock out at the bottom to allow the water to come out and to vent the area so no mold would form (see picture below). Once the ice is off the roof he'll be able to fix the area that needs extra protection. The shower issue ended up being a shower cartridge (didn't know such a thing existed) that had gone bad that was easy for him to replace.

Through this experience, I was reminded again (as I too often stubbornly forget) that Heavenly Father cares enough about each of our lives to help us with what must be to Him the most mundane issues like a shower that doesn't work or a leaky roof. Because He knew these things were important to me, that made them important to Him.

In addition, if Heavenly Father had answered that first petition and just fixed the shower, I never would have looked for a leak elsewhere in the house and would not have seen the larger issue of the leak in the roof. Because my prayer went unanswered, a bigger problem was brought to light before it caused serious damage.

Though my prayer went unanswered, it did not mean that it wasn't heard!

2011-01-02T13:20:00.010-07:00

Eggs Benedict

This is my all time favorite breakfast. Nothing else even comes close. Without hesitation I will order this anytime, anywhere, on any menu. Whoever invented this dish with it's generous serving of hollandaise on top of a poached egg, ham, and an English muffin should have been inducted into the culinary hall of fame on the spot. I was craving this yesterday but didn't have all the ingredients and was short on time so I used turkey lunch meat instead of ham and mini bagels instead of the English muffin. I also added a slice of tomato and drizzled some basil on the top. Even with these shortcuts, it still hit the spot. The recipe below yielded 5 servings. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
10 pieces ham, thinly sliced
1 Tbs butter
6 Egg Yolks
Juice from 1 Lemon
4 sticks butter
Pinch Cayenne pepper
10 Large Eggs
1 Tbs White Vinegar
5 English muffins, cut in half
10 slices tomato
Basil, for garnish

DIRECTIONS
1. Sautee ham with 1 Tbs butter until warm. Keep warm over low heat.
2. Make the hollandaise sauce using these instructions.

3. Poach the eggs using these instructions.

4. Toast and then butter the English Muffins.
5. Plate English muffins then add ham, tomato, poached egg and a generous portion of hollandaise.

6. Garnish with a small pinch of basil.

2010-12-29T10:27:00.012-07:00

Gingerbread Truffles

I don't know if anything I've ever eaten has tasted as much like Christmas as these wonderful truffles, the recipe provided by Orson Gygi. The mixture of ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon were a perfect combination with the chocolate and one we'll make again for many Christmases to come. The recipe below yields about 8 dozen truffles. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
24 oz. Peter’s Ultra milk chocolate
8 oz. Heavy cream
1/4 cup Molasses
1/2 tsp. Ginger
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 tsp. Cloves
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat heavy cream to near boil.
2. Remove from heat and add molasses, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon.

3. Allow to steep for approximately 30 minutes.
4. Reheat and add Peter’s Ultra milk chocolate, mixing until reaching a smooth consistency.

5. Allow to set up and firm in the refrigerator for several hours.

6. When firm, scoop or form into balls and dip centers into dipping chocolate.

7. Sprinkle with Ginger powder.

2010-12-27T08:56:00.011-07:00

Buckeyes

Buckeyes are a favorite candy from Ohio, named after the horse-chestnut tree, or buckeye. These candies are made from balls of a peanut butter center dipped close to the top to resemble the buckeye nut. The trick to these is getting just the right consistency to the peanut butter center. If too little is used, the centers won't be firm enough and won't hold shape. If too much is used, the centers will be too crumbly. This was the first time I had made them and they were definitely a hit on the Christmas plate of goodies. The recipe below comes from my "Chocolates and Confections" book by Peter Greweling and makes approximately 5 dozen. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
1 cup Peanut Butter, smooth
8 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, soft
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 cups Confection Sugar, sifted
1 lb Dark Chocolate, melted, tempered

DIRECTIONS
1. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
2. Cream together the peanut butter, butter and vanilla extract in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed.

3. Add the confectioner’s sugar slowly until the mixture forms a workable dough. Add up to ½ cup more sugar if necessary.

4. Remove the mixture from the machine.

5. Using a teaspoon, scoop out balls of the buckeye mixture and place the portions on the sheet pans.

6. Using your hands, roll the portions into round balls 1 ¼ inches in diameter, then return to the sheet pan.
7. Chill the formed buckeyes for approximately 20 minutes.
8. Impale each buckeye lightly with a toothpick to use as a handle for dipping chocolate.
9. Holding a buckeye by the toothpick, dip it in the tempered chocolate, leaving a ½ inch circle of the center uncoated on top.

10. Place on a prepared sheet pan.

11. Remove the toothpick and smooth the small hold on top of the candy.
12. Allow the chocolate to set completely.
13. Store at room temperature, tightly sealed.

2010-12-23T18:08:00.006-07:00

We Believe in Santa

The text below comes from a talk entitled "The Man Who Would Be Santa" by James E. Faust from the 1998 First Presidency Christmas Devotional. This sums up how Jeni and I and our kids feel about Santa.

"No one can measure the effect of an unselfish act of kindness. By small, simple things great things do indeed come to pass. Of course gifts given and gifts received make Christmas special. For many children Christmas Eve is a very long night as they look forward with eager anticipation to the gifts Santa brings, which is why children love Santa Claus. Let me share what someone once said about Santa Claus: First of all, he's a joyous individual. People are attracted to joyous individuals as filings are attracted to a magnet. Next, Santa Claus is interested in making others happy. He increases the happy moments in the life of everyone he meets. He loves his work; he gets fun out of his job. He is childlike, simple, humble, sincere,and forgiving. Finally, he is a giver. His philosophy is to give himself away inservice. He is a friend to everyone. He smiles.Perhaps you and I could attain greater happiness if we emulated Santa Claus a little more, for his way is the way of theInfant Jesus also. We can all reach out like Santa Claus and spread happiness to those around us.

For the full text, click here.

2010-12-23T14:39:00.008-07:00

Chocolate Turtle Cookies

This delicious cookie recipe combines a rich chocolate cookie with the crunch of pecans and sweetness of caramel, much like the Turtle Chocolates the cookie is named after. Very easy to make, this one is going to become a holiday staple for us. The recipe below yields about 30 cookies. I doubled the batch so the ingredients in the pictures may look a little more full than if you just make one batch. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cocoa powder
¼ tsp salt
8 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, separated plus 1 egg white
2 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups pecans, chopped fine
14 soft caramel candies
3 Tbs heavy cream

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl.

2. With electric mixer on medium high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

3. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and mix until incorporated.

4. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until just combined.

5. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour.

6. Adjust oven rack to upper middle and lower middle positions and heat oven to 350 F.
7. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
8. Whisk egg whites in bowl until frothy.

9. Place pecans in another bowl.
10. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, then dip in egg whites and roll in pecans.
11. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.

12. Using ½ tsp measure, make indentation in center of each ball.

13. Bake until set, about 12 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking.
14. Microwave caramels and cream in bowl, stirring occasionally until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.

15. Once cookies are removed from oven, gently re-press existing indentations.
16. Fill each with ½ tsp caramel mixture.

17. Cool 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

2010-12-18T09:58:00.005-07:00

16 Years

I continue to be so grateful for my marriage to Jeni, now 16 years in the making. Despite health, financial, employment and other difficulties during that time, we've been able to endure and in Jeni's case, endure it well. I stand in awe of her resiliance, her patience and her faith. She is grounded in the simple truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ and it is those truths that define her character. She is humble, kind, quick to forgive and full of charity. I am thankful to be able to celebrate another year by her side. Happy Anniversary Jen - I love you.

2010-12-11T12:01:00.007-07:00

Merry Christmas 2010

We are continuing the tradition we started last year with our family Christmas Card, using our blog to deliver our annual Holiday greeting. If you're interested in what we've been up to during 2010, feel free to browse through the blog posts from this year in the archives section on the left side of this page. You'll see school plays, musicals and concerts, recipes, scouting awards and camps, home improvements, family trips, more recipes, and a new dog. Did I mention recipes? Most of the major events of this year can be found here.

We love this season of the year more than any other because it helps turn our attention to God’s great mercy and love in the sending of His Son, Jesus Christ, to this world. (John 3:16-17) Our minds have gone this year to the shepherds that were abiding in the field that first Christmas night and we have pondered their response following the angels’ message.

“And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:15-16)

These shepherds came “now” and “with haste” to find Jesus. They felt the majesty of the message and left all else to seek Him. It is so easy in our lives to get distracted by the cares of the world and as a result our journey to find Jesus often gets delayed or sidetracked. We would be wise to follow the example of the shepherds. We too can put aside the cares of this world “now,” and cast the trappings of sin and the daily distractions behind us “with haste” in order to seek Him. We can do this by pondering more frequently the majesty of God’s message, by being a little kinder, a little more repentant, a little more quick to forgive and extend mercy to others. This Christmas our family has renewed our committment to follow the shepherds’ great example in giving the greatest priority to that which is most important, our search for and then emulation of Jesus.

In that spirit, please enjoy the video below, “The Shepherd’s Carol” by Bob Chilcott, performed by the King’s College Cambridge Choir.

We stood on the hills, Lady, our day's work done,
Watching the frosted meadows that winter had won.
The evening was calm, Lady, the air so still,
Silence more lovely than music folded the hill.
There was a star, Lady, shone in the night,
Larger than Venus it was and bright, so bright.
Oh, a voice from the sky, Lady, it seemed to us then
Of God being born in the world of men.
And so we have come, Lady, our day's work done,
Our love, our hopes, ourselves we give to your son.

We hope that you and your families have a wonderful Christmas and a great new year. We appreciate our association and friendship with you and pray that it may continue throughout the years to come.

With love,

Ro, Jen, Maddy and Joey Shearer

Picture above is "The Birth of Christ" by Carl Bloch

2010-12-10T15:38:00.009-07:00

The Empty Room

Our ward put on a play called "The Empty Room" last night after our annual Christmas dinner. Maddy had a brief role as Mary and sang "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant. It was a wonderful production that lasted almost an hour, telling the Christmas story from the perspective of the Innkeeper. Below are pictures of the cast and crew.

2010-12-10T14:02:00.011-07:00

Shakespeare 2010

Earlier this year Maddy and Joey headed down to Cedar City with their Jr. High Shakespeare team for the annual Utah Shakespearean Festival. Joey was involved in one acting sketch and Maddy was in acting, dancing and singing sketches. Below are pictures from the trip as well as a video of Maddy's Dance and Maddy and Joey's acting group. Jeni and I are really having fun watching their talents develop in this area of the arts.

2010-12-08T08:58:00.008-07:00

Sponge Candy

I finally found a recipe for sponge candy or seafoam that works! This comes from a new book I recently bought called "Chocolates and Confections" by Peter Greweling. Growing up one of my favorite candy bars was the Violet Crumble which this recipe imitates. The only problem I found with the recipe below was that I couldn't get the candy out of the pan. So, with my great wisdom and kitchen experience, I decided to use a chisel and a hammer to lightly get it out and ended up shattering the pan it was in. I either didn't butter it enough or used the wrong kind of pan. Thankfully the candy still tasted great, other than the small bits of glass that were a bit too crunchy. Just kidding. Also, the picture above is not mine, though my candies did look like that. I guess I was so distraught about shattering the pan that I forgot to take a final picture. The recipe below yields at least 100 pieces (depending on the size of your breaks) and one shattered pan. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
¼ tsp gelatin
1 tsp cold water
24 oz sugar
12 oz Light Corn Syrup
8 oz water
1 ½ oz honey
½ oz baking soda, sifted
24 oz milk chocolate, tempered for dipping

DIRECTIONS
1. Brush a 9x13 inch baking pan with soft butter and dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour.

2. Mix the gelatin into the cold water in a small bowl or cup. Set aside.
3. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 4 quart saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil.

4. Boil covered for 4 minutes, uncover, insert a thermometer, and continue cooking without stirring until it reaches 280 F.
5. Add the honey and continue cooking until the syrup reaches 310 F. Remove from the heat and allow to sit undisturbed until the bubbling stops, about 2 minutes.

6. Whisk the gelatin into the hot sugar. Be certain that it has been mixed in well.

7. Whisk the baking soda into the mixture. Whisk vigorously to thoroughly incorporate the baking soda.

8. Return the batch to the heat and whisk over the heat for 30 seconds. The mixture will rise up in the pan.
9. Pour immediately into the prepared baking pan and leave undisturbed to cool at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

10. Invert the pan on a piece of parchment paper and tap out the sponge candy. Do not use a hammer and chisel or you will end up with this.

11. Break into the desired size pieces using a knife.

12. Dip in milk chocolate or coating as desired.

2010-12-05T21:32:00.007-07:00

Eagle Scout

We are so proud of Joey who completed his Eagle Board of Review this week and is officially an Eagle Scout! He worked hard on his Leadership Project and through his Life, Star, First Class, Second Class and Tenderfoot rank advancements and we couldn't be prouder. Joey's goal was to finish during 2010 as it is the 100 year celebration of Scouting. We hope to have his Eagle Court of Honor sometime in mid-February. Above is a picture of Joey with the three Scouters conducting the Board of Review on the left and Brandon Plewe, his Scoutmaster, on the right. Congratulations Joey!

2010-12-04T21:02:00.005-07:00

Thanksgiving 2010

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal this year at Terry and LeAnn's house in Salem. They actually had more cousins / nephews and neices there than they did their own children who were celebrating with their spouses' families. I made a trio of desserts as well as chocolate gravy for the turkey which turnout out surprisingly well. After dinner we played pool and Psychiatrist which was a lot of fun.

2010-12-02T17:18:00.009-07:00

Fifteen!

We celebrated Maddy's 15th birthday this week. Though I continue to be sad to see my little girl growing up (see pictures below), I couldn't be more pleased about who she is and the wonderful daughter she has turned out to be. She is kind, looks for the good in others, tries to brighten her friends' days when they're having a hard time and she cherishes life. She loves to sing, dance, act and socialize. Her eyes radiate light and sparkle, just like Jeni's. As an unbiased father, I think she's beautiful on the inside and out. Though I'm not too excited about her pending Driver's license permit, I am grateful for her advancing to another year of life. Happy Birthday Maddy!

2010-11-30T23:21:00.007-07:00

Red Velvet Cake

Another wonderful Cook's Illustrated recipe. My first attempt making a red velvet cake, this recipe was fun to try and I loved how the combination of the cocoa and red food coloring created the red cake. I made this for Thanksgiving this year and we enjoyed the leftovers for several days. And leave it to Jeni to add some decor to the cake to make it look so nice! The recipe below yields one very large cake, enough to feed at least 16. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
Cake
2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
Pinch table salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tbs white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 Tbs natural cocoa powder
2 Tbs red food coloring
12 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups granulated sugar

Frosting
16 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
4 cups confectioners sugar
16 oz cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces, softened
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
Pinch table salt

DIRECTIONS
Cake
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.

3. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.

4. Whisk buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and eggs in large measuring cup.

5. Mix cocoa with food coloring in small bowl until smooth paste forms.

6. With stand mixer on medium high, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

7. Add 1/3 of flour mixture and beat on medium-low until just incorporated, about 30 seconds.

8. Add half of buttermilk mixture and beat on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds.

9. Scrape down bowl as necessary and repeat with half of remaining flour mixture, remaining buttermilk mixture and finally remaining flour mixture.
10. Scrape down bowl, add cocoa mixture, and beat on medium speed until completely incorporated, about 30 seconds.

11. Using rubber spatula, give batter final stir.
12. Scrape into prepared pans and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

13. Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely, at least 30 minutes.

Frosting
1. With stand mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffly, about 2 minutes.
2. Add cream cheese, 1 piece at a time, and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds.

3. Beat in vanilla and salt. Refrigerate until ready to use.
4. When cakes are cooled, spread about 2 cups frosting on one cake layer. Top with second cake layer and spread top and sides of cake with remaining frosting.

5. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 3 days.

2010-11-20T17:09:00.011-07:00

Warm Hearts & Warm Hands

I had the privilege this year of co-chairing a Wendy's Founders Week committee meeting in the Salt Lake City market. Every year Wendy's celebrates our founder, Dave Thomas, and the values he stood for during Founders Week which ends tomorrow. We decided this year to focus on one of those values "Give Something Back" by running a clothing drive for the homeless in Salt Lake City and we called it Warm Hearts & Warm Hands. For about 3 weeks we collected donated items such as coats, gloves, hats and blankets at over 60 Wendy's locations from Spanish Fork up to Brigham City. We partnered with a great lady named Misti Scow who herself had once been homeless and now devotes a major part of her life to helping these unfortunate individuals.

Earlier in the week we had a sorting party at our Division office in Draper going through all the donations and then today we all headed to Pioneer Park in downtown Salt Lake with our children and helped distribute the over 1000 items to the homeless personally. It was a such a great experience to give to those less fortunate than us. These were good people who were just down on their luck or who were struggling in other ways.

Through all of this I couldn't help but thinking of some verses from one of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon.

"And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish. Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just -But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God. For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind? And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy. And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another." (Mosiah 4:16-21)

The first picture above is of the Founder's Week Committee. From L-R, Mikel Russell (Area Director), Kim Pumphrey (Franchisee), Misti Scow, Alecia Black (HR Rep), Bronte McCullough (Assistant Mgr) and me. Below are many additional pictures from the project. These first two show the large crowds that came to get clothing. We probably had close to 100 that we were able to help.

Me, Maddy and Joey

Sorting party at Draper Office

Alecia and Austin Black

Helpers on Saturday

All the younger helpers

2010-11-19T17:14:00.008-07:00

Halloween 2010

Well, better late than never. Here are the pictures from last month's Halloween party, including pictures of the kids, our dog Koda, our friends the Birds and Ahrens as well as some of the kids' friends. Maddy was an angel this year and Joey was Pee Wee Herman. Included below are also some pictures of my annual pretzel fingers as well as some of the games we played at the party.