The Eagle Has Landed

Kason Lapointe and Caleb Hutchinson

This was the photo used for the invitation

On June 19 (the day after Marshall and I arrived home from our tour to Israel and Jordan) we held Caleb's Eagle Court of Honor with his friend Kason Lapointe.  Thankfully, it was all planned before we left and we had lots of help from Kason's mom,  Julia, Kelli Nelson (advancement chair in our previous ward) and several other former scout leaders and friends.  It was a great evening recognizing both boys for their achievement.

Caleb with Roy Given, his 11 year old Scout Leader and mentor

Caleb with Dad and Mom and Karl Nelson,

his Scoutmaster when he was a deacon

Pres Ken Gallacher - Master of Ceremonies

Home Teacher, Stake Presidency, Karate Instructor and Mentor

Caleb with his completed Eagle Service Project

Recycle Boxes for the National Park Service to use at Lake Mead

Way to go Caleb.  You have earned the rank of Eagle Scout and you are a great example to our family!

Oatmeal Cake

I remember an oatmeal cake that my cousin JoAnna Hansen Gale would make when we were children. Today I thought about that and decided to make oatmeal cake for our dessert. Being a 21st century woman, I Googled a recipe and found this lovely recipe for oatmeal cake with toasted coconut topping. It was a big hit with the family so Jecia took a picture and suggested I blog and Pin it. In the old days I would have just copied down the recipe in a 3X5 card and put it in my recipe box.

Photo courtesy of Jecia Hutchinson

(and Marshall Hutchinson who had to hold his fork still while she got the perfect shot)

Oatmeal cake with spices and a broiled coconut pecan topping.

Ingredients:

1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

1 1/3 cups boiling water
1/2 cup butter, soft

1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

.Coconut Pecan Topping:

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup butter

1 cup flaked coconut

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:

To Make Cake. Combine oats and boiling water, stirring to blend well. Let stand 20 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter; add sugars and beat at medium speed of electric mixer. Add eggs, vanilla, and cooled oatmeal mixture, beating until well blended.

Into a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add to creamed mixture, stirring until smooth.

Pour batter into a greased and floured 9-inch baking dish. Bake at 325° for 35 minutes.

While cake is baking, combine topping ingredients in a medium saucepan; mix well. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Spread over hot cake right out of the oven. Turn broiler on; return cake to oven to broil topping for about 4 to 5 minutes. Cool and serve. Serves 9.

Notes:  I added the butter and sugar to the oatmeal/water mix about 2 min after adding the water to the oatmeal and creamed all of it together. I didn't want to wait 20 min.  I also did not have pecans and it was great without them.  Following is the link for where I found the recipe.

http://southernfood.about.com/od/spicecakerecipes/r/bl30826e.htm

Recycling & Scriptures

When you reach a certain age, you notice that you are being "recycled" in church service opportunities. AKA You have served in every organization so now you are getting a second chance to learn new lessons. Two weeks ago I was given another recycling opportunity.

I wasn't surprised by the call to visit with the bishop. I had several impressions during the previous week that I would receive a new call and was pretty certain what it would be. Problem was, I was just getting to really know the Beehives. I loved working in the Young Women program again (another recycling after 7 years in Primary), and I did not want a new calling. When the Bishop extended the call to serve as the Relief Society president, I accepted it, but told him I didn't want it. I have already "been there and done that" and thought I was exempt. I went home with Marshall still trying to get over the feeling that I did not want this new calling and I was not excited about it.

A few hours later I was laying in bed reading from the Book of Mormon. I found myself reviewing chapters from that day's Sunday School lesson instead of picking up where I had been reading on my personal study. This is not something I usually do. The lesson that day had been on I Nephi chapters 1-7. (This is where we discuss how Laman and Lemuel could be such unbelieving, disobedient murmurers when Nephi was faithful and obedient. There was a typical discussion and it was generally agreed that we should all strive to be like Nephi.) I found myself reading a familiar scripture - one that I memorized more than 30 year ago - but on this night I gained a new understanding from the young man Nephi. I realized Laman and Lemuel were obedient. They left their home and traveled into the wilderness with their father. They returned to get the plates. They returned again to get Ishmael and his family. They grumbled and complained about every commandment, they wanted to quit when it got difficult, and they made life more difficult for those around them, but they were obedient to their Father's commands. It was there attitude that was all wrong. They did the tasks, but they did not want to be obedient.

As I read 1 Nephi 3:7, I realized that Nephi did not want to do these hard things either, but he wanted to be obedient. I was overcome with a desire to repent from my murmuring. I was behaving like Laman and Lemuel and this is not who I want to be. I had been obedient and accepted the calling; but I did not have the right attitude. "I will go and do the thing which the Lord hath commanded, for I know the Lord giveth no commandment to the children of men save he shall prepare a way for them to accomplish the thing which he hath commanded them."

Yesterday I was sustained and set apart as the Relief Society president of the Highland Hills Ward. I have no idea what the next few years hold, but I am pretty sure it won't be anything like eight years in the Arabian wilderness. I am looking forward to relearning what Relief Society is all about. Thanks Nephi!

Christmas 2011

In Lieu of a letter this year we present

(in chronological order)

The Hutchinson Family Top 10

10 Caleb was a starting player on the varsity volleyball team as a sophomore and is now playing club volleyball and looking forward to another season in high school.

9 In April, Eliza and Jake both graduated from BYU-I with BA degrees in Political Science

8 Jecia got a great job working for the General Manager of the Regional Transportation Commission

7 Marshall, Colleen, Caleb & Ethan participated in a 4 day pioneer trek near Zion's National Park in Utah and had an amazing experience.

6 Jake and Eliza moved to Moscow, Idaho where Jake started law school and Eliza started working for the University of Idaho.

5 Ethan started high school at Foothill.

4 Caleb decided to try choir this year and is loving singing bass with the Chamber Choir and bass and vocal percussion with Harmonic Intensity.

3 Jecia completed the St George Marathon in her goal time - her first, but not her last.

2 Ethan (sousaphone & tuba) and Caleb (alto & tenor saxophone) marched with Nevada's top marching band winning multiple awards and both boys are playing in the Foothill High School Wind Symphony.

1 Marshall & Colleen had the best Christmas with all of our children at home for four fantastic days!

Fashion Police

Yesterday I was dressing for church when I realized that the shirt I wanted to wear needed pressing. I was wearing a bright, multi-colored skirt and I slipped on the first shirt I saw, a brown and black striped sweater, so I could make my way to the laundry room. At that moment Marshall walked out of the bathroom, took one look at me and said, "I don't think that shirt works with the skirt."

I nearly laughed because Marshall's fashion rules are: 1 anything goes with jeans, and 2 dark socks with suits. Anything beyond that really doesn't matter and he wouldn't notice it even if it did. My response, "So you are the fashion police now?" His immediate reply, "No need to involve the police. This is a citizen's arrest."

Recipe sharing is a wonderful thing.

Today has been a cloudy rainy day so tonight I made Autumn Soup. The first time I had Autumn Soup was December 13, 1995 at a Christmas progressive dinner for our Relief Society. Virginia Chase made it, and it was wonderful. The recipes for all the food that night were compiled in a booklet and shared with the women at our church. I adopted several recipes from that collection, and for the last fifteen years my family has enjoyed Virginia's Autumn Soup on cold winter nights. Every time I make it I think of Virginia, and her husband LeRoy (neither of which I have seen in years) and all the other women in that ward, and how each home we visited that night was warm and welcoming, and the friendships that were as delicious as the food.

No one notices the crowd that gathers in my kitchen to keep me company while I brown and dice and saute. When all the ingredients are in the pot, I shelve the booklet and my guests slip away. After the walk down memory lane, I serve the soup to my family and they devour it. Thanks for the walk tonight Virginia, and thanks for the recipe.

Autumn Soup
1 lb ground beef
1 med onion diced (1 cup)
4 cups water
1 cup cut carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup cubed potatoes
2 tsp salt
1 tsp beef bullion
1/4 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp basil

Brown ground beef. Add onion to beef and cook until tender. Stir in remaining ingredients and heat to a boil Reduce heat and simmer for 20 min. Serves 6.

Ethan's 12th B-Day

Today at 1:27 PM Ethan turned twelve. (He pulled out his scrapbook to confirm the time.) It is a landmark birthday. He was sustained in sacrament meeting and ordained to the office of Deacon in the Aaronic priesthood after church. It was his first day to meet with the Deacon's Quorum. Now all the men in our family go to priesthood meeting together. The girls called just as I was decorating his icecream cake. It was 3:00 PM here and 1:00 AM (tomorrow) there.
We continued the family tradition we started Jecia's freshman year of college by singing "Happy Birthday" with the absentee members on the phone. It is so fun to connect with our girls on the other side of the world. I love modern technology!

Ethan checking out new Star Wars Legos for his collection

Ethan on his new bike