Cinnamon Roll Chuckle

I've always had trouble perfecting my mom's cinnamon roll recipe. I've always blamed the right combo of yeast with not to hot and not to cold water. However two weekends ago I decided to bake them for a birthday party and I made an amazing (read embarrassing) discovery. You mix the dough and let it raise for an hour. Then you roll it out and put all the yummyness on top. Like so... 

Next the recipe says to roll and cut. Roll and Cut. ROLL and cut. What I had been doing was cutting the 1 inch strips, and then rolling. It was difficult and messy and so inefficient. I don't know why I did it that way. I mean, I consider myself a smart girl, and savvy in the kitchen. When you follow the recipe correctly, "ROLL" looks like this...

Then when you cut...it is much easier and ready to be placed on the pan. 

Let it rise another 45 minutes

Bake, and TA-DA! Cinnamon rolls that look like mom's!!! 

 

When I told my mother she laughed so hard I thought she was going to fall over. 

Then she said, "I can't wait to tell your grandma." 

At least I didn't have to put books on the dough to keep it pinned down in a circle to put the toppings on! Another family story, for another day... 

 

Tree of Life

Yesterday I took a trip to the San Antonio Temple. I recently read in the Book of Mormon First Nephi chapter 11- the interpretation of Lehi's Vision, by Nephi having his own vision. 

I have been thinking about the tree in the vision.

 
8 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me: Look! And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the ^atree which my father had seen; and the ^bbeauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the ^cwhiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow.

 Previously in Chapter 8 Lehi describes the tree of eternal life like this:

10 And it came to pass that I beheld a ^atree, whose ^bfruit was desirable to make one ^chappy.

 11 And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the ^afruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the ^bwhiteness that I had ever seen.

 12 And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great ^ajoy; wherefore, I began to be ^bdesirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was ^cdesirable above all other fruit.

Which as you can see is the same thing Nephi saw. However, gratefully Nephi wants to know more. 

 1 Nephi 11 continues: 

 9 And it came to pass after I had seen the tree, I said unto the Spirit: I behold thou hast shown unto me the tree which is ^aprecious above all.

 10 And he said unto me: What desirest thou?

 11 And I said unto him: To know the ^ainterpretation thereof—for I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the ^bform of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another.

 12 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look! And I looked as if to look upon him, and I saw him not; for he had gone from before my presence.

 13 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of ^aNazareth I beheld a ^bvirgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.

 14 And it came to pass that I saw the ^aheavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou?

 15 And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.

 16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the ^acondescension of God?

 17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.

 18 And he said unto me: Behold, the ^avirgin whom thou seest is the ^bmother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.

 19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the ^aSpirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!

 20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a ^achild in her arms.

 21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the ^aLamb of God, yea, even the ^bSon of the Eternal ^cFather! Knowest thou the meaning of the ^dtree which thy father saw?

 22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the ^alove of God, which ^bsheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the ^cmost desirable above all things.

 23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most ^ajoyous to the soul.

For some reason this last reading of the vision just hit it home more to me. The tree of life is not just about gaining eternal life by accepting the gospel. The tree is the love of God, the condescension of God, the Son of God himself. Jesus Christ is not the symbolism, not just someone that represents joy and eternal life,  Jesus Christ is THE only way to Eternal Life, therefore He is the tree. 

I love these stained glass windows surrounding the San Antonio temple. They are exquisitely gorgeous. I also like the layer of symbolism that they add to the temple itself. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints the temple is full of symbolism, all pointing us back to Jesus Christ. 

(Click here if you want more info, or just ask me!) 

As I was walking around it yesterday I saw a few other things that were symbolic. 

Take the fountain for example. Flowing, living waters.  

"Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst" John 4:6–15

 In 1 Nephi 11 it says... 

  25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the ^arod of iron, which my father had seen, was the ^bword of God, which ^cled to the fountain of ^dliving waters, or to the ^etree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.

More symbolism!  I couldn't get a good picture because of where the sun was, but one of the windows shows flowing waters. I liked how it ties in more of Lehi/Nephi's vision. 

The San Antonio temple holds a special place in my heart. 

Holiness to the Lord, The House of the Lord

Tia

  I became "Tia Tamara" June 28th of 2000. 

First to this sweet Angel...

 Then this one came along and filled me with Faith in the significance of Eternal Families....

Finally (or so the mom and dad presume), Hope came to show us the future is bright! 

 

Tia sure loves her girls! 

missing

dear friend that i miss,

i wanted to text you today

like i used to on fridays

saying, "wahoo, the weekend is almost here"

but i'm not that girl to you these days

it makes me sad

it's not just that the animal balloon got accidentaly popped,

the despicable Gru took a pin to it and maliciously destroyed it

ok, so that is a bit dramatic

i'm a bit dramatic!

at least in my head and in print.

in the morning i'll get up,
have an ultra scheduled saturday

see friends, smile, be happy,

but tonight i miss you