Just Say Thank You

I have a confession to make - when I got married I did not write thank you notes! It was the trend at that time to give out little scrolls with a preprinted thank you message at the wedding reception. And yes, (gasp) I bought into that lazy idea.

I have always regretted the fact that I did not express my sincere gratitude to all of the generous people who helped Val and I get our start in life. Since then, I have tried to write timely, sincere expressions of my gratitude for gifts, kindnesses, favors, etc.

So often, we just assume that people know we are appreciative of a kindness or gift. Some people even go so far as to say that they do not send (or expect) thank you notes and others will just have to get used to this and accept it. How sad to miss this opportunity to bless others! In Thessalonians the Apostle Paul teaches us, "In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." If it is God's will that we give thanks in everything, I believe that he had a good reason for wanting us to act on this principle.

It shows a tremendous amount of character, maturity, kindness, and consideration for others to take the time to sit down and write a sincere, heartfelt expression of your gratitude. Often in our society, phrases like "I love you" and "thank you" can become shallow and empty. They are quick, auto-programmed words that are just thrown out there. Underneath, the graciousness of what we have received escapes us.

When we take the time to express our feelings of gratitude to someone, a wonderful thing happens. We get to re-live the moment and realize that the giver invested some of his or her time, money or talent in our life. So if you really appreciate what someone has done, prove it with an expression of thanks in the form of written words that they can see and keep.

I would like to challenge and encourage you to love and value those who have extended their love and kindness to you. Take the time to sincerely express your thanks in written form. Friendships are deepened, relationships are strengthened, and hearts are lifted and the desire of God's heart for our lives is fulfilled by our giving thanks.

COOKING WITH KIKI

First of all, let me state that I am NOT a gourmet cook or a "foodie". However, I do like to eat and enjoy cooking from scratch. After Kelsey got married and left home, I have to confess I got a little lazy. It seemed like too much effort to just cook for two and when Val was out of town, are you kidding me? I was NOT cooking just for myself. But now Kelsey and Kyle have moved in for a brief period of time and I find myself cooking again - and liking it! To be honest, I have missed many of my recipes! I really like my own cooking and have quite a collection of delicious recipes which I have collected over the years from friends, family, cookbooks, and the internet.

While eating out is enjoyable, indulgent, and exciting it can also be expensive, unhealthy and inconvenient. Cooking at home is a healthful, practical alternative. I must admit that my recipes are fairly mainstream. They contain, sugar, milk, yeast, wheat, gluten, peanut butter, and many other ingredients that some people must eliminate from their diets. I don't use organic foods although we do have a garden and enjoy the fresh vegetables. In a nutshell, I cook like a 50 year old Mormon woman!

During January, my sister told me that she had decided to input all her recipes into her computer and print them out into a cookbook. Not to be outdone, I thought "I'll do it, too!" So I began the process of typing in all my recipes. It did not take as long as I thought and I actually really enjoyed the process. It gave me the opportunity to clean out my recipe box and weed out recipes that I knew I would not use. I divided my cookbook into the basic sections (main dishes, soups, breads, etc). I used a larger font so that I didn't have to put on my reading glasses to read the recipes. Due to the large font, some pages have only one or two recipes but I like that. I put them in sheet protectors and a 3-ring binder. I have to say that I LOVE it! I beats my recipe box hands down. And I have the option to add recipes at any time. I just add them to the file on my computer in the appropriate section, print out that page, and insert it into the binder. An added bonus is it is so EASY to flip through the book when trying to decide what to make for dinner.

This is the cover of my recipe book. Pretty Betty Crocker, huh.

This shows my section divider pages.

This shows the format of the pages.

For Valentines Day, I decided to make a book for my married children. I printed out four more copies and put them in binders for them. I included a Cafe Rio gift card with a note that said "something for when you want to cook and something for when you don't". The girls ask me for recipes from time to time and I thought it would be nice for them to have everything.

Love my recipe book! It was the perfect solution for me.