Allie and nativities

Allie has liked Christmas, and one of her favorite parts seems to be nativities.

We have four nativities on the fireplace that she can play with them, and she does. One time I heard her. They were like regular action figures who happened to be named shepherds, Mary, and "Jophes." "If you make her cry, you will go in the jail," which was a stable. The other day we were cleaning up and the Baby Jesus was missing in all four. We found one, but the others were still missing.

We watched the church movie "The Nativity," and she somehow got the idea that they were giving a baby blessing. Now, she talks about nativities and says, "They give the baby's blessing." She puts the Baby in the center and everyone around Him, like a regular baby blessing. She was playing with a nativity, and saying that, so I said, "They're not really giving the baby's blessing." She asked for the box, and said, "It says, 'They give the baby's blessing.'"

We were telling her the story of Christmas, and why it was important. Unfortunately, she doesn't quite understand it. She sometimes says, in a very sad manner, "Why did the Baby Jesus die?" We explain what happened, but I don't know if she really understands.

Recipes

April said some of you wanted a couple of recipes. I will put them here

Fat Man's Misery
1 (20 oz) pkg. Oreo cookies, crushed 1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream softened(we use mint)
1/2 C. butter, melted
Mix cookie crumbs with melted butter and pat into a 13 X 9 pan. Freeze. Spoon ice cream over and freeze well.

Topping:
2 C. confectioners sugar 2/3 C. chocolate chips
1/2 C. butter 8 oz. frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/2 C. evaporated milk Salted Spanish peanuts or pecans (optional)
Combine sugar, butter, mild and choc. chips and boil for 8 minutes. Cool well. Spoon over ice cream. Spread whipped topping over choc. sauce and sprinkle with nuts. Cut into squares and keep frozen until served.


Mexican Chocolate Cake
1 stick margarine 2 squares choc (or 4 T cocoa)
1/2 C. oil 1 C. water
Combine and heat until melted

Mix 2 C. flour 2 beaten eggs
1 t. soda 4 T. cinnamon +/-
2 C. sugar 1 t. vanilla
1/2 C. sour milk
Add to hot mixture. Grease pan. Bake . Frost while warm

Frosting
1 stick margarine 2 squares margarine
6 T. milk 1 lb. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla 1/2 c. pecans (opt.)
melt marg. and chocolate. Stir in the rest.

A nice experience

We have had a kind of cool experience this week. I have to set the stage for you. Most of you know that David's car died and they are currently without a car. They have a very generous family in their ward who lends them a car almost every weekend to run around with. I have been amazed at the generosity of that family (they also invite them to dinner and outings etc.). Well, this week we had a "less active" sister that had a car break down. We know each other by sight, but not well. The RS president asked if anyone could help her out. You know the Melville family tradition is to have one more car than you have drivers, just in case. I felt very prompted to offer one of our cars. It is kind of a "pay it forward" kind of thing. Someone is way across the country taking good care of my family so I felt a need to take care of someone else. The sister that borrowed our car has called several times to say how touched she was by our generosity to a stranger and how much she needed it. It turns out that she has been recently divorced and is working two jobs to get things together. Both are fairly new jobs and she probably would have been fired for not coming (one is the post office and one she is still in training). Most of you know what a hard thing it is for Rick to lend a car to anyone. He has been so supportive of it this week. We both have felt so lucky to have Dave's ward take such good care of them. I know a lot of this sounds redundant, but I just am so thrilled to be able to share in the joy that service and the gospel organization spreads. It is so nice to know that there are wards and people all over the world who take care of each other and that we also get our turns to take care of people ourselves. I had a couple of depressing incidences the last couple of weeks and this was just the medicine I needed to remind about how much the Lord loves us and looks after us. He is so aware of what we need and provides ways for us to refresh our spirits when we need. What a sweet way to add holiday cheer to our lives this week.

News

Our lives are pretty boring. Teaching this time of year takes all the energy you can muster so I just come home and crash. Our biggest news is that Susanne has a boyfriend, so we don't see very much of her. A nurse at work lined Nan up with her son and they have at least talked to each other every day since (going on about 6 weeks). Allie really likes Darren and she loves his dog Bruce.
Mark got a scholarship offer from Weber State in Ogden but will also try to get money from other colleges. He would prefer BYU but they don't give as much money, so we will see.
Happy holidays to all.