The Secret of Christmas Bookmark

Once again may I remind you.... you may use this and the other things that I have on this blog for your own personal use or to aid you in doing your Visiting Teaching. Not to be sold or claimed as your own work, but it would be nice if you told others about this blog so that they could be beneficiaries of my work as well to do their good works. Thanks, Katie G

Here's a repeat of Last year's pictures of the Friendly Beasts song.

The Friendly Beasts

Jesus our brother kind and good

Was humbly born in a stable wood,

The friendly beasts around him stood,

Jesus Our Brother Kind and good.

I said the Donkey all shaggy and brown,

I carried his mother uphill and down,

I carried her safely to Bethlehem town,

I said the donkey all shaggy and brown.

"I" said the cow all white and red

I gave him my manger for a bed

I gave him my hay for to pillow his head

"I" said the cow all white and red

"I" said the sheep with a curly horn

I have him my wool for his blanket warm

And he wore my coat on that Christmas morn

"I" said the sheep with a curly horn

"I" said the dove from the rafters high
I Cooed him to sleep that he should not cry

We cooed him to sleep my love and I

"I" said the dove from the rafters high

"I" said the camel all yellow and black

Over the desert upon my back

I brought him a gift in the wise men's pack

"I" said the camel all yellow and black

Thus every beast remembering it well

In the stable dark was so proud to tell

Of the gifts that they gave Emmanuel

The gifts that they gave Emmanuel

Originally Posted by Katie Gauger at 9:59 PM 2 comments Links to this post
Monday, November 17, 2008

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Something to warm yourself when it's cold outside.

My grandmother Robinson use to make up the best, what we called it..."Hot Spice Punch" every year at Christmas time. I remember going to her house and when we entered the front door, I could immediately smell the most fragrant, wonderful smell. It always drew me to her kitchen where she had a large pot of her hot spice punch simmering on the stove. The fragrant cloves and cinnamon made my mouth water and I couldn't wait until she offered me some. She would then unwrap a tiny candy cane and hook the crook of the cane over the edge of the mug. Those were great memories. I have kept my grandmothers wassail recipe and have integrated it with my own family traditions over the years, and my own children ask me every year if I am going to make the Hot spice punch.

Today I am trying to battle my cold and I decided that I would make some hot spice punch to warm me up and hopefully help me to get alittle extra vitamin C for my cold. This time, I tried to expedite the process and I think that I like the new recipe even better than the old one. I have added a couple new things to mine and taken away one of the ingredients and substituted another.... but it turned out to be absolutely delicious.



In years past, I have made up this recipe and after it had sufficiently simmered, I poured some into a glass pint or a quart canning jar for gift giving. I have made the fabric lids that you can find on this blog, and put them on with a label of one kind or another. This would make a great and easy Visiting Teaching gift.

Let me know what you think of my new and improved recipe, even though you can't compare it with the old one since I am not posting that one. You can print this off to share if you like. Enjoy! Katie G.

Needing Christmas Ideas? I have some and a sneek preview of my new business, "Cuteness in the Kitchen"

I spent a lot of time last year preparing a bunch of wonderful ideas for gift giving for Christmas. I wanted to remind you that I have a great archive from 2008 that you should go to. On the right column, scroll down until you see the archives and then click on 2008. They might help you this year. After the Boutique in Park City, that I have made a poster for, I will have some more things that I will put up on this blog, but I am just too busy now getting all the last minute crafts completed and packaged. I hope that some of you who read this blog will come and say hello. My booth is "Cuteness in the Kitchen" and most of my Christmas Crafts and items for sale have to do with the kitchen. I have designed some darling Kitchen aprons for women, and some matching ones for little girls. I have a cute one for a Man in the kitchen as well. I have another line of aprons that are so cute. I want to give you a little preview of my aprons, before I actually open my website, so let me know what you think, and if you want to order one, you can email me at ktgauger@gmail.com NOW FOR YOUR SNEAK PEEK.......
When I designed this cute apron, I wanted one that would look good on every woman. This one does and has a very feminine look to it. The prints are all really cute! If a woman work is in the kitchen for most of the day, she may as well look and feel great while doing the work, all the time keeping your clothing under the apron clean.
My inspiration was my Grandmother Robinson. She was raised in the generation that you always wore a crisply ironed apron. She always looked so cute and had such a great assortment of kitchen aprons, or front aprons as she called them.

This is what the mans apron looks like,except there isn't a pocket like pictured, but I have designed a Chef logo stitched in red and white and the apron is in black, so it looks great side by side with the woman wearing my aprons in the kitchen. I will have lots of these available at the Park City Little Dickens Fair.


These little aprons are so darling and fit a little girl from about age 4 - 8. This top apron is one fo the Mommy and me prints available.
These aprons are so cute on little girls as they are just as feminine as the Mommy apron. They make the little girl feel special as she is matching her Mommy. She can be side by side Mom in the kitchen making cookies, or helping do the dishes, keeping her clothing underneath the apron clean. She can also wear this as a craft apron as children need something to protect their clothing while doing craft projects. Isn't she adorable?
This bottom apron, which I call lipstick damask, is so popular that I have had to order more fabric and won't be available at the fair, but I will be taking orders.

I will also be selling a different retro style of women's aprons. These are darling. I won't have many available at the fair, but I will be taking orders and will ship to my customers homes within a few days of getting the order. When first seeing this apron, everyone asks...."Is this a dress and does it go all the way around?" The answer is no, it isn't a dress but an apron. It is so cute and looks really good on. The sash at the waist is very long and wraps around the back and back around the front and ties there, making even a more feminine look to it.
The same goes with this style. Notice that the bib of this apron is styled differently, but still very feminine and cute! Oh, such "Cuteness in the Kitchen!"
I also carry a line of "Glovables" that are designer rubber gloves, that match the aprons. These are so cute and useable. When I first saw them, I thought that these could be a gift to give the woman who has everything, or to a new bride along side of a black bucket (which I will have at the boutique) and a mop and a black scrub brush. SOOOOOO cute!!!




You are the first to see my new product line in my new business. I hope you like them, and I would love to hear what you think. Please comment below.

FYI - CLICK on the image to enlare it to be more readable.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

This darling postcard was found at http://hubpages.com/hub/Thanksgiving-vintage-postcards

Thanksgiving Gift or Table Favor / nametag

I just created a little gift for my husband to give to the families that he Home Teaches for Thanksgiving, and decided that some of you might benefit from this as well. It certainly turns out cute, and easy to do. I did not put the dimentions of the bag that you will need for this header on the page, so here it is. You will need a 4" wide and 6" long plastic bag. I get mine at Xpedex and I even have one that has the self adhesive top so the goodies stay in the bag. Don't fill the bag more than 3/4 full so that you have some of the top of the bag to stapel the header to.

I printed this on both white card stock and tan cardstock and both look equally cute. I am sure that you will have a hit with this one as it is just darling!!!! (If I do say so myself)

Hope you like this little surprise for you and Happy Thanksgiving! Love, Katie G.

As an afterthought, I decided that the above little header was so cute that it could pass for a tag to go on the Thanksgiving Table for assigning seating. I just cropped a vintage woman for the Women, a little girl for the Girls, and used the same Pilgrim boy for both Men and Boys. I printed the names of my guests on the bottom right hand side of the picture, and I though that you could personalize them after printing by using a black magic marker and writing in your guests names. Enjoy! Katie G.

November 2009 Visiting Teaching Handout

Here is another signature bookmark from yours truly. It may not go with the Conference talk that you choose to give as your lesson, but it has a good message taken from Mosiah 24:14. The talk that I prepared for my sisters is found on the Visiting Teaching Tips blog if you want to read it. http://visitingteachingtip.bogspot.com/




I love this message and if you read the scripture that it comes from you can see how it fits in. It is the last part of the scripture. It comes from the Lord telling Alma that he will not leave them in their afflictions and their burdens that they carry will be made light. You should go and read the whole chapter, as it is a great story that can strengthen all of us, especially when we are challenged or suffering or afflicted.

Enjoy the bookmark. Oh and I will have a special bookmark at the Park City Little Dickens Christmas Craft fair and boutique. I have printed it off and laminated it, and it has a Christmas message. Come drop by my booth and say hello. Love Katie G.

Little Dickens Christmas Fair and Boutique in Park City, Utah

The Little Dickens Holiday Boutique
When Saturday, December 5, 2009 - 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Where The Park City Community Church - Fellowship Hall
4501 N. HWY 224, Park City (behind Park City Nursery)
Cost $2.00 per person OR $5.00 per family
($2.00 off if you bring canned food for The Park City Christian Center)
What - Over 35 vendors selling Holiday Gifts
- Beautiful wreaths and Poinsettias for sale
- Famous Bake Sale with hot beverages
- Prize Drawing that includes Deer Valley ski tickets
- Live Musical entertainment from local school choirs
and the PCCC choir
- DAY-CARE is available up to age 2 OR a supervised movie
and craft room for ages 3 to 8 - $2.00 per child!

I wanted to make sure that all of you knew about this! I will be there at my own booth with tons of cute gifts and things and "YES" there will be some cute ideas to give to the sisters you Visit Teach. I will also post some of these ideas in the comming Months. Drop by my booth and say hello to me! Sincerely, Katie G.

Halloween Poem to share with your sisters.

I am going Visiting Teaching tomorrow and I had forgotten until right this minute. Obviously I don't like to go empty handed, and I remembered that I had picked up some cute little pumpkin luminaries at the first of this month for the sisters that I visit. Ok, so I wanted something to go with it that was cute and Halloweenie, and since I am ready to go to bed and don't have time to come up with something on my own, I googled and came up with a cute little Halloween poem that was intended for young women. It came from http://www.sugardoodle.net/Young%20Women%20Program/YW_Halloween%20Poem.shtml and it suggested that it could be rewritten to adapt for other purposes. So I adapted and this is what I came up with. Sorry it is so late, but you can still take a little Halloween treat over to your sisters even if you have already done your Visiting teaching. The following is my version:

At Halloween and all year through
we want to express our "love” for you,
For all the things that you have done
to make this world a better one.

Since this is the time for goblins and bats,
Halloween spirits and spooks and cats,
Weird happenings and witches brew,
These are the things that we wish for you....

May the only ghost that comes to stay
Be the Holy Ghost to guide your way.
May the only spirit you chance to meet,
Be the spirit of love and friendship sweet.

As we come to visit and talk with each other
About the gospel of our elder Brother,
We hope that you feel the spirit and love,
That can only come from our Father above.

These are our Halloween wishes to you
And may God bless you in all that you do.

I am back!

Wow, I need a new banner or blog header for this blog. It is just a bit dated, in fact, I created it for July. Where has the time gone?

I will refer you to my other blog.... http://visitingteachingtips.blogspot.com for an update on what has been going on and why I have not posted. Needless to say, there won't be any new ideas for alittle while as I am devoting my full time and energy to create some cute things for a couple of Christmas boutiques that I will be participating in. I will be at the Little Dickens Craft fair and Boutique on Dec. 5th, and I am sending some of my aprons and things down to my sister who wants some things to display for a couple of boutiques that she is doing in some Southern Utah fairs.

For details of the Little Dickens Fair, go to the above link. If you want to know about the Christmas Fairs in Southern Utah that My sister is doing, comment, and I will get that information to you.

I will not be leaving this blog barren for long, once I get on top of all my projects, I will be back, and I have tons of great ideas I have been finding to post.

I hope all is well with you and the sisters you teach and that you will all have a Happy Halloween..., finding the "Spirit" of the season.

Free downloadable and printable gift ideas

Here are some cute free downloadable and printable gift giving ideas for you to use for yourself as well as to take to those you visit teach. Enjoy! http://visitingteachingsurprisedocuments.blogspot.com/2009/09/sometimes-i-find-darlingest-if-that-is.html
 Love, Katie G.

For some cute and simple gift giving ideas using canning jars and seeds from your garden go to:

http://visitingteachingsurprisedocuments.blogspot.com/2009/09/cute-and-simple-gift-ideas-to-take-with.html (You will have to cut and paste this link into your address bar)

Yummy new Freezer Jam recipe

I thought I would like to share a Surprise with you, as you are so good to keep following this blog. This one is another great recipe and simple and quick little gift idea, or can be just for you and your family if you like as well. I have a story behind this recipe creation.
I recently found out that I was the lucky one to get diagnosed with diabetes. (of course I am being facetious as no one who gets diabetes is very pleased about it.) Anyway, I have been on a quest to figure out how to handle this with diet, and going without sugar is relatively a difficult adjustment as sugar is pretty much contained in about everything that we eat. So.... I have started to experiment up some of my favorite recipes of the past, making changes to them using no sugar or sugar substitute, and No fat or fat substitutes such as applesauce, and fruit sauces. Anyway, this is what I came up with for a jam or fruity syrup for pancakes, waffles or PBJ sandwiches or whatever.

I wanted to see if I could double the recipe for keeping production time to a minimum, so I tried it and it turned out wonderful. The apple juice makes such a delicious contribution to the flavor. I had frozen berries on hand, but I will be making some with fresh as the harvesting of fresh picked berries is so plentiful right now. I will be freezing it up to last all winter. If I run out of fresh frozen jam, I can just make up some more with frozen berries, if I can find the right pectin. My thoughts are to keep some pectin on hand so during the winter you can do just that. The particular type of pectin I used, I don't seem to be able to find during the winter months, so stock up! Make a small jar for your sisters you teach and take it over to them. Also this would make a great Christmas neighbor gift, as it is red and we all know what the color of Christmas is!! All you need is the jam that has been made up and put into small freezer sixed containers, fabric rounds that are about 2 inches larger than the diameter of the lid, black stretchy elastic bands that would normally be used to put in your hair, and a cute ribbon to tie to the elastic for an added touch of cuteness.! Oh and you should definately copy the cute tag template and attach it with twine. I should tell you too that I have given away several of this jams and people have loved it. If you don't want to tell them it is sugarfree, don't. When they ask you for the recipe, direct them to this blog and then they will find out. This jam tastes so fresh and not too sweet, but just right! Enjoy and let me know what you think of this recipe. Love, Katie G.

P.S. Since I printed up and customized a gift tag for this jam recipe, I thought I would share it with you. You can find a page of these tags as well as a customized page for this Freezer Jam Recipe from "Your Visiting Teachers", for printing at http://visitingteachingsurprisedocuments.blogspot.com/2009/09/blank-gift-tags-and-one-printed-for.html The original gift tag can be founnd at http://alenkasprintables.com/freeprintables/blanktemp/gift_tag.png

August 2009 Visiting Teaching handout

Go to http://visitingteachingtips.blogspot.com for the message link and my message about the August message. Here is a book mark that I designed to go with the message. It is the quote from the message from our Prophet, President Monson, about education. FYI, the paper came from the digital kit from Keriet called "Botanicals Revisited".
I have made it so you print on both sides. I still like to laminate my bookmarks, simply because they look better, but also because they last longer.

Don't you think a bookmark is the perfect little gift to give to the women you visit teach since the message is about education? I thought so too! Enjoy! Katie G.

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Tips for Keeping Cool in the hot month of August
















If you to to this link, http://visitingteachingsurprisedocuments.blogspot.com/2009/08/keeping-cool-in-hot-month-of-august.html I have posted some fun tips you could copy and take with you to your sisters that will help them and their families keep cool in the hot month of August. These ideas are great as vacations have been winding down and now preparations are happening for going back to school. What will the kids do to keep themselves not only cool for the hot month of August, but busy too? Mom's and grandmoms, can have a great time with their kids, doing no cost or low cost fun activities to keep fun going until school starts again. Enjoy. Oh and if you have any to share, feel free to comment and I will add them to my list. XOXO Katie G

July is over and August is here!

Can you believe that it is August already and that it is also a new month of Visiting Teaching? I had a great time reading about the Wonderful Pioneer Women and posting their stories for you to also enjoy. If you can't find them and want to reread any of them, scroll down below the posts, as that is where they can be found. Eventually, I will post them in the posts section for July so that they will be in the archives and can be brought back up there.

I am still looking for readers who would like to post some fun ideas for Visiting Teaching. Please read the post below so that you can see what I am looking for as far as guest posters.


Have a good week! XOXO Katie

July 24th - Pioneer Day
Click on the picture and it will take you to the last post. Did you get your Visiting Teaching done by today? If not, just keep on trying, just like the pioneers. I would love to hear what you have learned from these wonderful Pioneer Women's stories. I know that I have learned alot about sacrifice, and persecutions of the early saints, and of a strong testimony that these Pioneers had to have to endure all that they did, and gave in establishing zion. Once again, I say, Blessed, honored Pioneer! If you would like to comment, please email me at ktgauger@gmail.com or click on the link and comment on the last story. Happy Pioneer Day! Love, Katie G.

July 22 - Orr, Maggie Anna Ferrell
Click on the photo and it will take you to the story of Magie Anna Ferril Orr, another wonderful Pioneer story.

July 24th - Pioneer Day
Click on the picture and it will take you to the last post. Did you get your Visiting Teaching done by today? If not, just keep on trying, just like the pioneers. I would love to hear what you have learned from these wonderful Pioneer Women's stories. I know that I have learned alot about sacrifice, and persecutions of the early saints, and of a strong testimony that these Pioneers had to have to endure all that they did, and gave in establishing zion. Once again, I say, Blessed, honored Pioneer! If you would like to comment, please email me at ktgauger@gmail.com or click on the link and comment on the last story. Happy Pioneer Day! Love, Katie G.

July 22 - Orr, Maggie Anna Ferrell
Click on the photo and it will take you to the story of Magie Anna Ferril Orr, another wonderful Pioneer story.

My wagon wheel is broke and it ain't gonna get fixed anytime soon.
Wo is me, I am so behind on my own treck of keeping up wonderful Pioneer women posts. Actually I have a great excuse, and almost made it when I realized how little I have to complain about. Ok, so I am going to tell you anyway. My air conditioning has been off for 6 days now, and I am having to live in my basement, though my computer in upstairs. It is ten degrees cooler in the basement, but my main floor has been up to 92 degrees inside my house. Wo is me.... and what do I have to moan about. I began thinking about the pioneers in their covered wagons, crossing the hot, hot prairie, and their only hope of relief from the blazing sun is the cool shade of a tree, or a stream, or night time if it cooled off enough for them to actually sleep. I have not slept well until I decided to go in the basement. Wo is me. What do I have to complain about. I have been so sick from the heat and a medication change that I have been nauseated all day long. So what do I do... hop in my car and go to Walgreens and get some acupressure wrist bands that took away some of my nausea. Wo is me, but what do I have to complain about.... the pioneer women suffered without any relief. If herbs didn't work for them, or if they didn't have access to them, they just suffered. I feel so blessed to live in this day and age where even if I have to be inconvienenced by having no air conditioning, I still can go in my basement, or hop in my car and turn up the air full blast, or just drive down to a store and walk around and shop, or even go to the pool and cool down that way. You know that poem.... "Father forgive me when I whine, I have two legs, the world is mine"? I have no reason to complain, but you still didn't get the updates on the Pioneer women because I am still too sick and hot to stay upstairs long enough to do them. Count this one as an update and count your blessings along with me. The wagon might be broke for a bit, but once the wheel is back on, the wagon will keep on rollin. Now, I am going to hurry back down stairs and try to replenish the sweat that is pouring off my face and body with gatorade. Don't give up on me, I will be back! Love, Katie G.

July 17 - Handmade by the Pioneers


July 16 - Margaret Alice McBride
By now, I am sure you know how to get to the link of the Pioneer Woman. Click on the picture and magically you will be transported there. Enjoy another relative of mine. Love, Katie G.

July 15 - Julia Ann Chapman Lee
This Pioneer story is told throught the experience that Julia's husband had, and it is a touching story. Short read. Click on the image to be directed to the story. Enjoy!

Today the Month is half over. Have you done your visiting teaching?
I am adding this little reminder to all of you who come to read about the valiant Pioneer women. How is your Visiting Teaching coming for this month? This is just a friendly reminder that our goal was to get our visiting teaching done for this month by the time that the Pioneers reached Utah, which is July 24th. From today, that leaves only 9 days. Good luck! Oh and to add a little humor, and I mean very little humor, I have a joke for you...Two sisters, Sister Smith and Sister Jones were out doing their Visiting teaching on Utah's holiday, July 24th. When they reached the door of one of their sisters homes, Sister Smith turned to sister Jones and uttered these memorible words, "Well Sister Jones, This is the Place!" Ok, ok, I will try very hard not to tell anymore jokes.

July 14 - Louisa Miller Belleston
I added this story as it told about the preparation of new LDS members, coming from overseas, and about the Perpetual Immigration fund. Click on this photo and it will take you to her story.

July 13 - Mary Ann Payne
This is a cute and short story about Mary Ann Payne that I know you will enjoy. Mary Ann is the top Right hand photo. Click on the photo and it will direct you to the link where you can read the story.

July 12 - Margaret McNeil (Ballard)
Click on the image and you will be taken to the link where you can read about Margaret.

July 9, 10, 11 Pioneer Women
With the marriage of my niece, luncheon and Reception, as well as babysitting my grandchildren all day long the next day, I have had NO time to post the stories of 3 women. Today I am trying to get all of their posts caught up, and I have, but you will have to go to http://visitingteachingtips.blogspot.com/ to read them. Sorry not time to duplicate on this blog, but come back tomorrow for another wonderful story. Love, Katie G.

July 8 - Catherine Gouger Goodman
Click on the picture and it will take you to the story of a little Pioneer girl who was taken by the indians.

July 7 - Elizabeth Case Milam Wheeler
The life of this marvelous Pioneer woman can be found by clicking on the photo which will take you directly to the link. This woman is classic Mormon History as her story tells of her being apart of so many of the historical accounts in Nauvoo, Hauns Mill, handcart pioneers, and so much more. I found her story so interesting that I couldn't stop reading until it reached the end. It was also interesting to me that she was given 3 Patriarical blessings in her lifetime, and she was truely a wonderful woman. I know you will enjoy reading about her as I did. Love, Katie G.

July 6 - Pioneer Recipes & Cooking
Since all of us cook, I thought it might be interesting to find out what Pioneer Women cooked, how they did it and recipes they used. I found quite a few recipes, but I would like to open this one up to you and if you have any authentic pioneer recipes, please send them to me and I will add them to this post. My blog email is listed in the right column of this page, under the visitor counter.Click on this link to take you to the Pioneer Recipes:http://visitingteachingsurprisedocuments.blogspot.com/2009/07/pioneer-recipes.htmlI was also thinking that if you wanted to copy some of these recipes and print them off for the sisters you Visit Teach, that would be a great July or Pioneer handout .

July 5th - Ann Parker
Click on the link to get to one of my favorite Pioneer Stories of all time. I like to call it 'The Red Shawl" but it is the story of Ann Parker. Enjoy! Love, Katie G.

July 4th - Margaret Ann Howard McBride
I do not have a photo of this wonderful Pioneer ancestor of mine, so I have selected one of her daughters in law for the photo. There are not direct words from her, but her children have expressed through their journaling, of the hardships their family faced after joining the Church and joining the trek westward to Utah, with the ill fated Martin handcart company. I have a heritage that is noble and strong and my ancestors suffered so much for me. I feel so blessed to be able to share with you some stories of Anne. My descendancy comes through her son Ether Enos McBride, and my Grammy Great, who I have told her story about praying on the hard wooden floors of their cabin, with the chairs extended outward. Once again, I echo the words to the Hymn...Blessed, Honored Pioneers! To read about her story, through the eyes and words of two of her sons, please click on her photo and it will take you to that link. Katie G

July 3 - Elizabeth Simpson Hiagh Bradshaw
Click on the picture and it will take you to the link to read about Elizebth

July 2nd - Diana Lucina Spicer Block
Sit back, kick your feet up because her story will take you a while. It is a must read. Let me know your feelings by posting in the section below this. Click on her picture and it will take you to the link where you can read all about her.

July 1st - Anne Eliza Leavitt Baker
The first of the pioneer woman stories can be found on my other blog. We will go back and forth between blogs, with the posting of these marvelous Pioneer Womens stories. You can find my other blog at http://visitingteachingtips.blogspot.com/ and just click on this link. Enjoy! Katie G.

Glad that you dropped by my blog!
This blog and it's contents go hand in hand with my Visiting Teaching Tips and handouts blog found at http://visitingteachingtips.blogspot.com/ If you by accident get to this blog first, make sure to go back to the other one and see all that there is for you there. This is sort of my overflow or stroage blog because I can't keep everything there, so I add my creations to this storage unit and that is my Visiting Teaching Surprise for you. Sometimes however, I do put in things that I think you would enjoy even if they aren't specifically related to Visiting Teaching, but my vision in life is that if I take all the time to make things, I may as well share them and get more use out of them. Sorta like hand me downs but brand new "Down loads". I hope you enjoy these freebies. Drop me a note to say hello in the comments under the downloads posts.

Little Dickens Holliday Boutique
For more info, click on the image and it will take you to the blog post.



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Join the "EXTRAORDINARY VISITING TEACHERS GROUP" on Facebook
Join the ranks of the millions of LDS women committed to Visiting Teaching. Visit and sign up on Facebook and be a part of the discussions, idea sharing, stories and suggestions that other sisters all around the world are making about Visiting Teaching. This is just for fun and to see how many women from all around the world are making the difference in the lives of those that they Visit teach. Just click on the picture and it will take you to the facebook group page.

Awards
My first award. Thanks so much for thinking enough of this blog to make recognition of it with this award! Oh and my 7 favorite things are 1. My husband 2. My children & grand children 3. King Crab 4. Designing re: Scrapbooking & pictures 5. Blogging 6. My beautiful, & peaceful Home 7. Being a missionary (7 isn't enough, but that is all I was asked to give.) love & hugs, Katie G.

Blog Award
LDS Creativity Corner awarded this blog with 'One Lovely Blog Award". THANKS!

July 23 - Trace your Pioneer heritage
This site is most useful to those who have had members of their family tree that belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the Mormon migration period of 1847-1868. This photo is titled "Go west!" Take a look at each face on this photo. Do you see that there is a story behind every face? What these pioneers went through is beyond our wildest imaginations, as we live such a privledged life and have so much. Remember that you were suppose to get your Visiting teaching done by the 24th as that was the challenge and the goal if you took the challenge. You have one more day left. Come back on the 24th to read a sweet letter about a woman who made it to Utah from Denmark, and how she describes living in Utah, and get our visiting teaching done too.

Pioneer Recipes
I have been doing quite a few hours of research on Pioneer cooking. Did you realize that most of Pioneer food had to be cured, or dehydrated or made so that they could keep it preserved on the trail. I am sure that must have gotten old, over the miles and they were pretty excited when they were able to find buffalo, or game to add to their menus. I have found some Pioneer recipe sources that I have written down for you. Because I have added them as a post, you will have to copy and paste the links into the address bar to get to these recipes, but I believe you will enjoy this. I marvel at what these pioneer women, wives and mothers did. Can you imagine using buffalo chips to cook with and keep warm, when there was no wood available to burn? (see photo) Cllick on this link and it will take you to the recipes and enjoy youre reading. http://visitingteachingsurprisedocuments.blogspot.com/2009/07/pioneer-recipes.html Katie G.

Mormon Channel Radio
Did you hear about the new Mormon Channel? You can find it at http://radio.lds.org/mc/eng/ or you can read about it at http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/mormon-radio-launches CLICK ON THE RADIO to be taken directly to the site or if you want to listen now go to http://radio.lds.org

Visiting Teaching Surprise
This blog is filled with wonderful surprises for you to enjoy and print off, as an encouragement to get your Visiting teaching done each month. Please check the archives, as there is much more than what you see on the first page. It's free, and it's fun, and I hope you come back every month! Everything made with lots of love! Just a reminder that my original Visiting Teaching Tips handouts and ideas blogspot is located at http://visitingteachingtips.blogspot.com/ and you should check in there for some other great ideas! Best wishes! Katie

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My favorite links to visit
Sugardoodle Visiting Teaching blog
Needing Help with Addiction?
Visiting Teaching Tips, handouts and ideas
Mormon Mommy's who blog


Blog Archive
▼ 2009 (42)
▼ November (6)
Needing Christmas Ideas? I have some and a sneek ...
FYI - CLICK on the image to enlare it to be more r...
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving Gift or Table Favor / nametag
November 2009 Visiting Teaching Handout
Little Dickens Christmas Fair and Boutique in Park...
► October (2)
Halloween Poem to share with your sisters.
I am back!
► September (2)
Free downloadable and printable gift ideas
For some cute and simple gift giving ideas using c...
► August (3)
Yummy new Freezer Jam recipe
August 2009 Visiting Teaching handout
July is over and August is here!
► July (1)
July 24th - Pioneer Day Click on the picture and i...
► June (4)
"Push Forward Saints!" - July Visiting Teaching Ch...
Pink Popcorn Recipe
A "Sweet" Visiting Teaching Surprise!
June 2009 Visiting Teaching message
► May (4)
Have you looked at the calendar lately? It is May ...
My Mothers Day card for all of you!
Fresh Frozen Strawberry Jam recipe
May Visiting Teaching in English / Mayo 2009 Españ...
► April (6)
If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear
Attention sisters:
Family Book Mark and Poster
Visiting Teaching Monthly Schedule
Some fun Easter recipes & ideas
Even More April ideas for you....
► March (5)
More April ideas to come
April - Happy Easter!
March 2009 Handout idea
I found some darling Vintage Stamps online and I ...
February or March 2009 Handout idea
► February (2)
Back to the past party fun!
February Visiting Teaching Handout in English & Sp...
► January (7)
One more handout for you .
BLOGGING 101
ATTENTION ALL BLOGGERS......
All I Need to Know about Life I Learned From a Sno...
The Hearts of Angels
If you are looking for the bookmark that goes...
This is the book mark that I have created to go w...
► 2008 (8)
► December (6)
Three Hairs - Author Unknown
Conduit Chimes
Christmas Star Gift
Teach the Children
Cranberry Orange Cake Recipe note cards
The Friendly Beasts
► November (2)
I have inserted an example I found on the Inter...
Old Gentleman Gray story

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"Push Forward Saints!" - July Visiting Teaching Challenge

In my attempts to motivate, challenge and encourage Visiting teaching, I have come up with a fun challenge for July. I have actually put it on the face book group for "Extraordinary Visiting Teachers". Here is how it will be done.... This is a challenge to see if you can get your July visiting teaching done before the Saints made it to Utah... you know on the 24th of July. This is just a fun challenge, but for those of you who usually wait until the last week of the month to get in your visits, let's see if we can beat your odds. If the Pioneers can make it on foot, pulling handcarts, and living in covered wagons, rolling along, then certainly we can give ourselves a tiny challenge too. Report back, but writing on the Face book wall, and maybe you can encourage others in their trek. Make the trek...Visit your Sisters in their homes by July 24th, 2009, Let us all press on, and keep those wagons rollin!If you would like to join Face book and keep track of the July Visiting Teaching Trek, do so. If you want to offer your comments on this blog, do so in the comments, and know everyone benefits from each others comments. The face book link for this is http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=94317431386
I am also going to post a calendar with a link per day of a Pioneer Woman's story, so that you can see her life, and the obstacles she faced in order to join the church, and eventually make her trek to Utah. I believe that we can more fully appreciate the blessings and relative ease of our lives now, if we look back on the past and see what others had to go through for us. This should be the motivation we need to just do our part with our Sisterhood, because it is so easy. We have cars to drive and don't have to do it on foot, or handcart or wagon. We need to appreciate the courage and fortitude our ancestor sisters had and the sacrifices they made for us.

Anyway... be sure to check back in on this site daily to be able to get the link to read, as well as to make your comments on the daily link posts. Let's do this together and keep rolling along with our Visiting Teaching Efforts. I personally would like to do a count on how many of you readers got your visiting Teaching done and how many sisters from all over the world were visited. That would be so exciting to know that thousands / no millions of visits were made. If you care to share, please do once again, below the daily posts and links.

This is exciting!!! Love, Katie G.

Pink Popcorn Recipe

For those of you who want the pink popcorn recipe to put in the bags and use the popcorn header below, just go to http://visitingteachingsurprisedocuments.blogspot.com/2009/06/pink-popcorn.html
 You will need to copy and past this into the address bar because when I list this as a post, it doesn't let me activate the link. Sorry for the confusion, but you will get the recipe if you will copy and paste.

Thanks for asking. Katie G.

A "Sweet" Visiting Teaching Surprise!

I have had a very busy day and I don't forsee that I will have the time to make the popcorn treat for my visiting Teaching ladies as I go teaching tomorrow morning... So, I am thinking about what I already have that I could make into something cute.I remembered that I had purchased several packages of M & M's to mix with the Pink Popcorn goodie bags that I was going to give out at my nieces bridal shower this past weekend. Needless to say, I didn't get that done either, thus the extra bags of M & M's. Anyway, I came up with a very generic, simple header for tiny treat bags that I also already had, and filled them with M & M's. (You can pick up a variety of sizes of plastic bags from Xpedex.) The header read like this..."We love to visit you because you are so "SWEET". On the back side of the header it says "Love" which is actually a picture of a heart, and then "Your Visiting Teachers". I printed the header on a solid color of cardstock and cut them out. They turned out looking very cute.

The story continues... So my husband comes home from work and sees that I am working on something. I had just stapeled the header to the bag of candy and I said, "Come and see what I have just made to give to my sisters I visit teach." He looked at the little treat bags and read the header and replied...."Isn't that alittle Corney?"
Well, I guess that is the difference between Men and Women. Men don't care or even think about doing cute little things, but Women appreciate, and enjoy tiny little gifts. I wasn't offended by my husbands comments, in fact, I took it as a compliment, because I always get an opposite reaction from those I give cute little things to, than I got from my husband. I know my sisters will appreciate something thoughtful and handmade. (You can put in the bag anything that is sweet.)

I will attach the header template to this post for you to copy, cut out and use.I was actually going to do one with Pink Popcorn in it and say something different and I have that header all made, so I will attach it as well if you want something different. If you want me to add my pink popcorn recipe, just comment below or email me and I will type it up and add it later to this post. I hope you enjoy this cute little "SWEET" treat idea more than my husband did.