Becoming Something More.

  This morning I went into the city. As I was walking I started to talk to this complete stranger. If you know me you know that I am not shy. It was short and sweet but it opened my eyes. As I was driving home I started to really look at the people around me. There were people dressed up in business attire, there were homeless, there were people dressed in everyday attire. There was a gentle man who was walking around with a guitar on his back and a little bongo drum. I wanted to know their stories. We all have one, we all have a past, we all do things that we believe in. We might not all agree on those things but every one of us makes a difference in this world. I felt like I was blessed even for just a second to see people and to love them as God loves us. I wanted to get out of the car and just start asking a ton of questions. I wanted to become their friend.
  There was a song playing in the car from "Time out for Women" CD. It talks about a women who wishes she could become more then she is right now. My favorite part goes, "In the mean time she's a mother, and a sister, and a friend. Days turn into weeks that turn to years that never end. And she wonders if there's ever going to be more meaning in her life."
   There are a lot of days that I feel like this. I do things that I feel a strong sense of duty to. I feel strong about home schooling my children. I love and would be nothing without my knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and his Atoning Sacrifice. I have a strong sense of duty to uphold our Constitution and our freedoms and teach them to my children. There is a lot more of course but I won't go on. I guess what I am trying to get at is this. There are times, a lot of times where I do wonder if I could be doing more to make a REAL difference in this world? Is raising my children, living my religion to the best of my ability, being a good wife, etc.. Is it enough?  Some of the other part of the song goes something like this.
   She doesn't know shes being molded and refined..... She's becoming one who God can depend....
I do believe that we are always being molded and refined. I am defanently not the same person I was even 5 years ago. But who is it effecting? So many people out there in the world. So many people who have amazing stories. It just makes me wonder what stories I have that could make a difference? I feel the call! I want to pick up! But I can't seem to hear what that call could be. What message do I have that could change a life for the better? I hope to find it out soon.

 Hugs, Emily

Recipe for Caramel Candy

This is a great candy recipe it is not hard to make but it does take some time. I hope that you will try this recipe. Once you try it you will do it again and again. It is great over popcorn or by itself.

Start with buttering a pie pan or a 8x8 or 9x9 pan then in a large pan and a small or medium pan.
 In your large pan combine
  1 Cup Sugar
  1 Cup Corn Syrup
  1 Pinch of Salt

In the other pan combine
  1 Cube of Butter ( I use salted but unsalted would work)
  1 Can of Condensed Milk

Place both of your pots on the stove and turn them on. The sugar one place on a Medium heat and the milk a Medium High heat. Stir the Milk mixture so it doesn't burn!!!

 When the butter is melted and the mixture is warm and slightly hot combine with the sugar which should be creating little bubbles in its pan.

 The mixture will boil up a LOT so don't worry about that. Turn the heat up to HIGH. Let it boil down to about half of what it started and turn the heat down to Medium. Start to stir the mixture without stopping so it will not burn on the bottom. When it condenses down again to about half again and starts to darken in color it is time to get a bowl of cold water. When it kind of starts to boil away from the sides of the pan place a small amount of candy in the water. When you drop it into the water if it forms into a ball it is time to put in about a tsp. of Vanilla and turn off the heat. You can pour it into your pan at this point or you can leave it a little longer. The longer you leave it the harder it will get. If you like hard Caramel Candies then just keep cooking it until it is hard when dropped into the water.
 Note: Get new water after every test. You want the water to be cold.
 Hope that you will try this and please let me know how it went!!! Hugs The Bryars