Kaitlyn's Piano Duet

Kaitlyn played in the Duet Festival for her piano group.  They received a perfect score of 100!!

Chris and Ben visit the Windy City

Chris had to go to Chicago on Business and he jumped at the opportunity to take Ben with him. 
Ben just moved back from BYU and he is really missing his great life there, so he was happy to be off on another adventure.

First they visited The John Hancock Building

Next on the agenda was the Cubs Game at Wrigley Field

Ben's always been a Yankees fan....maybe he will change his colors?

Be still, my soul

I love love love this song! We sang it today as the closing hymn.

 Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav'nly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

 Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as he has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.

 Be still, my soul: The hour is hast'ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Spring Veggie Soup

Jenessa and I love to go to Kneaders Bakery.  They have a spring veggie soup that they only serve in the spring and only on certain days of the week.  I often stop in to see if by chance it's spring veggie soup day.  The reason I really love it, is because it reminds me of "griced carrots" a funny name for creamy carrots that my mom and grandma always made when I was young.

Jenessa got her braces on yesterday and  I got my tightened, so today is definitely a soup day for us.
I chopped up some veggies and added a bottle of carrot juice and I think it turned out just right.

so here it is

Spring Veggie Soup

1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup diced celery
1/4 cup orange bell pepper
1/8 cup onion (I used sweet vidalia)
2 TBSP butter

1 Bottle Carrot juice (found with healthy drinks :)
1 pint cream



Saute veggies in the butter until softened.  Then I put them in my food processor and chopped up
the mixture so that it was fine and blended.  Add mixture to a sauce pan and add 1 bottle of carrot juice and the cream.    Season with Salt and Pepper to taste. Also add about 1/4 tsp garlic salt. I also added about a TBSP of parsley.

Enjoy!

Passover Seder at BYU

I have been studying the "manner of the Jews" for quite a few years now.  I truly have a love of their religion because I believe that it was the precursor to my Religion.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the restored Church of Christ from the time of the Jews when Christ was on the earth.  Christ was a Jew and His "Last Supper" was in fact a passover dinner.

My favorite part of passover is that it teaches of the sacrament.    

The passover meal ends with the Afikomen - this unleavened bread is broken into

"olive-size" pieces.  

It is then blessed by the Father at the table and then he explains that "This bread is in remembrance of the Sacrificed Lamb"

(since they cannot have lamb now because there is no temple to sacrifice the lambs)  

 They also drink a cup of Wine (grape juice) called the cup after supper.   Both of these-- the afikomen (broken bread) and the cup after supper --were the bread and wine given by Jesus but he changed the words to "This is in remembrance of my body" and "my blood"

What amazes me  is that the Jews eyes are closed to all of this symbolism   It is so very obvious to us.  Surely when the Savior comes to the Jews the nation will be converted in a Day and their eyes will be open to all of this.

I also always love the cup for Elijah - The Jews are still waiting for him to come.  he came at passover time to Joseph Smith to restore the sealing power.   Because of this we are able to be sealed together forever!!  I am so thankful for this knowledge and truth.

We had a wonderful night celebrating passover with Chris and Jen Adams at BYU.  

Grandma Jackie

Today was Grandma Jackie's funeral.  A very hard day for us.   How blessed we are to have a knowledge of the resurrection.   Chris gave the dedication of the grave.

Reflecting on the Truth of the Resurrection and Called to be a Zone Leader

Dear Mom,

I am saddened to hear of the news of Grandma Jackie passing away. It hasn't really hit me yet though that I won't see her again in this life. However, she was old and she has to be more happy now being with grandpa. I appreciated being able to hear of your experience with her as she passed on. She was an amazing woman and I carry around a key chain that she gave me as I have for my entire mission. It is a round gold looking coin that has a picture of the temple on it that says "Restoration of the Gospel" on one side and on the other side it says, "Oh ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength." I have cherished it my whole mission and only will more now.
It sounds like you had a great Easter however and it probably was a blessing to be able to reflect the truth of the resurrection in the light of Grandma's passing.

Well this week was a pretty crazy one. Last week during conference I got a phone call from the Assistants telling me that President Saylin wanted to have a meeting with me at 8pm on sunday night and it was imperitive that I didn't tell anyone where I was going. Well In Texas Houston South Mission language that can only mean one thing. President Saylin had a little interview with me and called me to be a zone leader. I was a little nervous because that's a lot of responsiblity and work but so far it's going well. We have 22 missionaries in our zone and we have the best zone in the mission. The Houston West Zone. I look forward to serving these great men and women of God.

So let's Wednesday was transfer meeting. The old zone leader area was in a place called Brazos but they moved the zl area to my area in Houston 1 South. My new companion is Elder Porras. He's an amazing missionary! He grew up in LA but his family now lives in Utah. His parents are from Mexico so he's fluent is spanish and I'm really excited for that. He's 23 years old but he's been out like 16 months now. We're tearing it up. It's so much fun. I mean I've loved all my companions but the last year or so I've had really young companions who didn't know spanish so I would have to carry all the lessons and stuff but with elder porras the transitions during teaching is just so smooth! It's great.

So pretty much being a zone leader means that you still have to do everything you used to do but in less time because you have 30 billion other things you have to do. But guess what? I have a fax machine. cool eh? but yes our time is very constricted.

For example on Thursday we had to do zone planning for the month and then we had to go and do a baptismal interview for Elder Cooley and Tonn. It was a pleasure interviewing their investigator. His name is Joseph and he's like 82. He's a very funny guy, I was laughing a lot during it.

By the time we were done with that it was almost five o clock and we still had to meet our goal of getting two lessons and 10 street contacts each. So we first went to see Esmeralda. She's so awesome but she's working on sunday mornings now because she's tryin to graduate from beauty school and she has some dumb thing. She says she's going to try and talk to her boss to get the morning off though.

Then we had a lesson with Emilio and his mom. It was really good but she likes to talk so we had to wrap it up quickly to make it home on time. But Emilio later told us that she wants to be baptized and that's why she's not letting emilio get baptized yet because she wants them to be baptized together. So that's good news. We still need to talk to her about it and see if that's true. Emilio is a trooper. He's just a little slow. I wish yall could meet him just to see what I mean.

We sort of dropped the ball with Angelica this week. We have to have an adult male with us to be able to teach a family if there isn't another male there and we never were able to get one out with us. However we're going to go tonight with a member so It's going to be good. One good thing is that Elder Porras and I ran into her husband whose name is Sergio and it turns out E Porras' dad and Sergio are from the same place in Mexico so he was excited to talk to us now too.

On Friday we had to go train Elder Drake, a new district leader. It was kind of werid training someone how to be a district leader becasue I was still trying to figure out how to do that when I became a zone leader but it went well. Then we had a pretty good day where we found some new investigators. i love being with Elder Porras because we preach the gospel dang it! We don't back down. We don't blible bash at all but we teach and testify with power and authority. It is an amazing feeling. You can feel the Holy Ghost flowing through you as you "speak with the tounge of angels."

Then Friday night we went on exchanges. Elder Porras went with Elder Cooley and I brought Elder Tonn with me. Oh by the way, this was Elder Tonn's third day in the field. I still remember when  I was new and going on my first zone leader exchange and just feeling so indimidated and like "Wow, this is the ZONE LEADER!" ha ha it's pretty funny to think about now. But Elder Tonn was pretty excited. He's a way funny kid. I felt bad that i didn't get to talk to him much at night though because Elder Porras had left me alone to do friday night reports where the zone leaders collect all the baptismal dates and excused miles and stuff so I was up a little late doing that.

But we had a good day on Saturday. I made Elder Tonn some breakfast and then we had five lessons! So I think he had a good experience. He'll be a great missionary because he has a very positive attitude.

On Sunday we had the investigator fireside that we had to plan all week. We have a fireside every month for investigators from both the spanish zones and this month we were in charge so we had to find speakers and all that. It was a hassle but it went really well. The spirit was very strong and I think a lot of the investigators who attended will have more desires to be baptized.

Ok well I need to go now I just realized. I love you! Have a great week. I haven't got your package yet but thats because I haven't had time to go to the mission office yet. Thanks in advanace though. love you

love,

elder soutas

On Mon, Apr 9, 2012 at 12:03 AM, <csoutas@aol.com> wrote:

Dear Jordan/Elder Soutas

Happy Easter!!!

I hope you had a great day today.  I am so thankful for our Savior and for his gift of Resurrection and Redemption.. especially as we are feeling the

loss of Grandma Jackie today.  I'm sure Dad told you, if you read his letter first, that yesterday was a very difficult day.  However, it was also a spiritual experience.  Dad and I quickly went to see Grandma since Grandpa Bob called us to tell us she was not going to make it much longer.

It's hard to put the experience into words but I can assure you that I could feel when her Spirit left and I believe Grandpa Timm was also there too.  Dad was able to hold her hand and help her during her last minutes.  I know she is happy with grandpa again.  We were a little worried about this news upsetting you, but please know that everyone here is at peace.  It was time for her to go and she really didn't have to suffer at all, which was a blessing.

What was your Easter Sunday like this year?  

I almost forgot, who is your new companion?  tell us about him     

How is Angelica doing this week.  How did the word of wisdom lesson go for her?

I feel bad that you have felt a little overwhelmed with all of the school stuff to think about.  I think everything is now taken care of.  Ben registered you for the classes you needed.   There was one class and a couple of labs you will need to have around 8 am.  But like you said, probably good to keep your mission habit of getting up earlier.  I know when I sleep longer than is needful, I actually don't feel as good.

Also Tony's mom  went down and put a deposit on that apartment.  so I will register you for that this week.  I think the guys so far will be you, Tony, Michael, Jeff and I think she said Steven.  They are still looking for one more.   

  We had a nice Easter Sabbath.  Ben was here for our Easter egg hunt and Breakfast and church, but then he had to go back to work ( Cannon Center dishwashing made him miss his last Easter home with us)   Dad gave a stirring testimony at the closing of Sacrament Meeting about his experience with grandma and the atonement and resurrection.

After church,  I made dinner for everyone, Grandparents and Kathy and Matt and kids.  Kelly and Bev are in California 

so now it's late, everyone is gone and the house is clean and quiet again so I guess I will get ready for bed.

I pray you will have the holy Spirit to guide you each day.  I pray that your investigators will choose to come to the waters of baptism.

I always pray that you will be happy and know how much we love you and how much our Heavenly Father loves you.

Love you forever, Mom

Easter Traditions

Dyeing eggs is always the favorite tradition of the kids

The kids like to leave the eggs in the cup a long, long time to get really intense color

This year we tried a swirled version so the eggs were more pastel

We always enjoy this time together.  And yes that is Kaitlyn drinking a cup of egg dye!

Easter Morning is always waiting for everyone to get out of bed and dressed on the stairs

Then the hunt begins

We are still missing 1 egg.  Hope it turns up soon....

Always Candy before breakfast

Easter Brunch before Church

A Beautiful Easter Day

We missed not having Ben here for dinner - he had to wash dishes for all of those BYU students at the Cannon Center.

We missed Jordan too.    And also Grandma Jackie....

Easter 2012

Our Easter was saddened by the passing of Chris' dear grandma Jackie on Saturday morning.  Chris and I were both able to be with her as she took her last breath.  It was so difficult but it was also a sacred spiritual experience.  The spirit was very discernible.  We know that she is with Grandpa Timm and other loved ones.


It also heightened our reflection on this Easter day of  the most wonderful of all gifts.  The Gift of our Savior.  To sacrifice and atone for each of us and to be resurrected so that we may live again.


 “On a golden springtime, Jesus Christ awoke and left the tomb where He had lain; the bands of death He broke.



 The tomb where He was laid after being crucified and atoning for each of us, was empty. He is Resurrected. He Lives! He overcame death!

I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES!

Short Cut Eggs Benedict

I've used this recipe for every Christmas morning and Easter morning for as long as I can remember.  It's a special Holiday favorite.

•  12 

  English muffins, split and toasted
•  24  thin slices

  Canadian-style bacon  or ham
•     8-10 eggs

  
  
•  6 tablespoons

  milk

  
  
  
•  Dash 

  pepper
•  1  tablespoon

  margarine or butter

  
  
  
•      In a 2-quart square baking dish arrange toasted muffins, cut side up. Place 2 bacon slices on each

       muffin half.
  

  
  
  

  In a bowl beat together eggs, milk, and pepper. In a skillet melt the 1 tablespoon margarine or butter over medium heat. Pour in egg mixture. Cook without stirring until mixture begins to set on the bottom and around the edges. Using a large spoon or spatula, lift and fold partially cooked eggs so uncooked portion flows underneath. Continue cooking over medium heat about 3 minutes total or until eggs are cooked throughout but are still glossy and moist. Immediately remove eggs from heat.

  
  
  

  Spoon eggs atop each muffin stack, dividing evenly.

  
  
  

  Prepare hollandaise sauce. Spoon sauce over muffin stacks

  
  

       EasyHollandaise sauce 

       

       2 egg yolks

      1/4 tsp salt

      1/2 cup butter, melted

       1 Tablespoon lemon juice

  
  

     In a small bowl beat egg yolks until thick and lemon-colored.  Add salt      

     and add 1/2 of the butter about 1 teaspoon at a time, beat constantly

     Combine remaining melted butter with lemon juice and add slowly.
• 
  
  

  
  

  Make-Ahead Tip: Prepare muffins and stack Canadian-style bacon and eggs atop muffins in baking dish. Prepare crumb topping. Cover and chill main dish and crumbs separately up to 24 hours.

   Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F oven about 20 minutes or until heated through.