Sugar-free Whole Wheat Bread

"Hello. My name is Stephanie and I'm a sugar addict." 

Many of you may already know this about me but I REALLY am a sugar addict. Not so much in the form of candy, and definitely not from soda, but baked goods and ice cream are my vice. I could start my day with a cupcake and end it with a hot fudge sundae and not feel the least bit guilty about it. And white bread.... mmmmm, fabulous white bread!!! The problem is, a body might find a way to survive on all that sugar, but it cannot thrive - and it certainly can't perform at optimal levels. 

So, I've done what no one ever thought I could do: for the last 10 days (hey, don't laugh at my baby steps!) I've been sugar and refined carb free. Yesterday, however, I really wanted some bread (FYI: every loaf of store bought bread I could find - whole wheat or otherwise - has sugar in it), so I decided to make my own. 

I modge-podged a few recipes together and this is what I came up with:

Who knew sugar-free whole wheat could be sooooo good! 

Ingredients: 

6 cups whole wheat flour

2 Tbs yeast

2 tsp whole wheat flour

1/4 c. + 1 Tbs unsweetened apple juice concentrate (frozen)

1/2 c. warm water

2 c. warm water 

1/4 canola oil

2 tsp salt

1. Sift 6 cups whole wheat flour into a large bowl. 

2. In small bowl mix together 2 Tbs yeast and 2 tsp whole wheat flour. 

3. Place apple juice concentrate and 1/2 c. water in microwave safe bowl for 1 minute. Gently pour over yeast/flour blend and allow to rest for 10 minutes. 

4. In a large bowl (or Kitchenaid/Bosch mixer with dough hook) combine 2 c. warm water (about 120* F), 1/4 canola oil, and salt. 

5. Add 2 cups of wheat flour to the water/oil mixture and stir on medium speed for 30 seconds (about 20 times if you are stirring by hand.) 

6. Add the yeast mixture and blend at medium speed for 30 seconds. Add another 1 cup of flour and stir at medium speed for 1 minute. (50 stirs by hand) 

7. Slowly incorporate the rest of the flour at low/kneading speed. Knead with machine for 7-8 minutes (or by hand for 10 minutes.) Be sure to work it until it is smooth and elasticy. Leave in bowl, cover with towel and let rest for 35 minutes. 

8.  Oil two 9x5 loaf pans.

9. With a little flour on your fingers, cut dough in half and GENTLY shape into 2 loaves. Do not punch dough down! Place in pans, lightly brush with oil, cover, and let rise for 40 minutes. 

10. Preheat oven to 350*F.  Uncover loaves and bake for 45-48 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped. 

11. Place on wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving. ENJOY!!

It turned out great, and even more importantly, my KIDS LOVED IT!!! We'll be making this one of our staple recipes for sure. Let me know what you think.

MWF Seeks Less Adventurous Weekend

I woke up this morning with the words to Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take the Wheel" rolling through my head. By the time you finish reading this post, I think you will understand why.

(Disclaimer: As a rule I make an effort to ensure that my posts are appropriate for every possible set of eyes that might stumble upon them; however, today's entry MAY NOT BE SUITABLE for MY MOTHER's eyes. Having said that, and because I know you [mom] just ignored my warning, I'd recommend you sit down and take a deep breath before proceeding....) 

(Disclaimer #2: This is a LONG post.... Sorry about that. I tried to keep it as short and sweet as possible, but there was so much to share. Hopefully its worth your time to make it to the end!) 

Before we left for our Labor Day weekend trip to Manti, Utah this past weekend my husband had a feeling not to go. Despite his hesitancy, we went anyway. About half way there his truck broke down. Usually we caravan, me pulling the "toys" (the boat, or in this case our 4 wheelers) and Ryan pulling the trailer. But on Friday I traveled ahead of him, expecting him to arrive about 20 minutes behind me... well, he didn't. 

"What more could possibly go wrong?" That's the phrase that kicked off our 2012 Labor Day Weekend. We threw a smile on our faces and moved on, thinking that since we'd hit our "low" at the beginning of our trip, things could only get better, right?... Wrong. Every time we turned around it seemed that a new challenge was thrown our way - Seven of them big enough to give me heart attacks, in fact.  Here's a brief recap:

1. The truck broke down.
2. We lost my husband - In a black t-shirt, in a mountain pass, after dark, alone.
3. The tow truck never showed up!
4. We lost my son!
5. My 4wheeler developed a dangerous "pull" at exactly the same time that my less-experienced driver of a daughter took the wheel... I mean, handlebars!
6. My husband & son crashed going down a steep, slippery grade on their 4wheeler.
7. I mamboed back and forth across the interstate with an out of control trailer.

So, there it is in a nutshell, my Seven Heart Attack weekend. It was literally one survival adventure after another and definitely more stress than I've ever packed into a weekend before. I suppose I could end this post right there and call it good, but honestly, the whole point in me sharing any of this was not to make you "ooh and aah" at my tough weekend, but to show that for every storm there is a rainbow. So, here's the "rainbow" to each of my storms:

1. The truck broke down. First thought: the turbo. Nice! (*Slice through that sarcasm*) I love spending $$$$$ I don't have! (*insert eye roll & more sarcasm*) Initial diagnosis: fuel pump. Bill just went down from thousands to hundreds...  Rainbow: Easy fix! Loose wire! Cost? Zero dollars.

2. Ryan somehow got a spotty connection that allowed him enough broken service to get me the message that he needed some help. Without batting an eye, our dear friends ran to the rescue, making the 45 minute drive to help him. However, when they arrived at the scene (well after the sun had set) my boys were alone in the truck & my husband was lost!! I hopped in the truck with two of our other friends - both UPD Sheriffs - and headed their direction.  Before we made it, however, we received word that he'd been found! (Clarification: he was lost to us, but he obviously knew where he was). He'd ventured out alone in search of phone service and had not returned. .. Rainbows: We have guardian angels in the form of friends who are genuinely happy to help us. My boys were safe. With the help of some kind passer-byers, Ryan was able to get a ride to clear cell reception and contact a tow-truck. And our friends were able to tow our trailer back to our campsite so we could get the kids settled while Ryan waited for the tow truck.

3. The tow-truck never showed up. One hour passed then another, yet no truck. Around 11 pm our son received a random text from a stranger telling him that "The tow truck hasn't shown. Your dad needs to be picked up." Ry had to leave his new truck "baby" squished on the shoulder of the twisty mountain road overnight. The rainbows?... Beyond the many kind people that stopped to offer help - including the ones who kindly texted our son - our friends stepped in again. By some twist of fate (or not!) some of our friends got a late start to their drive and were within 20 minutes of Ryan's location. We were able to make contact with them right before they got out of cell range and they were able to pick him up. The truck sat vulnerable as can be on that squishy shoulder throughout the night and was perfectly safe. At first light, Ryan and our dear friend towed it out of harms way and down to a shop. Double rainbow: another great friend drove his car trailer down from the Salt Lake area on Sunday night, picked up our truck, towed it back to his house, and had it repaired by Monday afternoon.

4. Saturday afternoon during our 4 wheeler ride, we stopped at a lake to relax. There were 10 vehicles in our group; 19 people total. There was much talk and laughter and even some (unsuccessful) fishing. When the time came to leave, we strapped on our helmets and straddled our machines before I realized that someone was missing. My 17 year old son had ventured away from the group and was LOST! (Yah... just what I needed... Another missing person!) As my daughter and I hiked back to the lake he was nowhere to be seen. I called his name. No response. I called louder. No response. We crested a hill and my eyes swept across the horizon. Nothing but water and weeds. I called again, ready to turn around and head another direction.... Out of the corner of my eye I caught of glimpse of neon green in the tall grass. I called his name again. Out of the grass popped his head, complete with a neon green bandanna. Music piped through his iPod and into his earbuds as he slept in the grass. The rainbow: Somehow, by some miracle, he thought he heard his name through his noise-cancelling earbuds and popped his eyes open just in time to see me waving at him. He shouldn't have been able to hear me through his earphones... but somehow he did. And, who see's a green bandanna in green grass?

5. After a long day of riding, I turned my 4 wheeler over to my 15 year old to drive and, almost immediately, it inexplicably died. We pushed it to the side of the road to look at it and after several attempts, we got it started again. Ryan decided he'd drive it to see if he could figure out what had gone wrong.... His discovery: nothing mechanical, but it was pulling so strongly to the left that he had to fight to keep it on the road. Turns out that both the tires on the left were low... funny how I'd driven all day without a problem and yet they'd become hazardously low the moment I put my less experienced rider at the helm.  The rainbow: Had the machine not died when it did, my daughter would have entered the city streets and potentially lost control. If we hadn't stopped and her dad hadn't traded her bikes, things could've ended tragically.

6. As a rule, when we ride, we make frequent stops to wait for the "man behind" so we can keep tabs on each other. My daughter and I had stopped our machine at the bottom of twisty, slate covered, steeeeeep mountain grade to do just that. We were machine #6 of our 9 machine train, my husband and son were #7. It seemed like a lot of time was passing so we turned off our engine to see if we could hear anything. We thought we heard an engine, so we twisted our heads backwards to watch and got ready to ride as soon as they came around the bend. Nothing. Nobody. A few more minutes passed and we thought we heard another engine. Again, nothing. Nobody. At about the same time we were starting to get concerned, my cute young friend ran around the bend. And, for those of you who don't ride, there's nothing that screams "problem" like a person coming around the corner on foot without her bike!.. The announcement: "Your husband crashed!" I don't know how I turned my machine around or how I got it off the path, but somehow I did.... and in record time! I ran around the corner and up the hill in record speed as well. My husband was standing about half way down that steep, twisty ridge. His 4wheeler was face down in a ditch. My 10 year old was no where to be seen. My heart stopped for a moment. It didn't start beating again until I saw his  bright yellow jacket and unscathed face smile back at me. The rainbow: First of all, I think its important to clarify that up until about 10 minutes before the accident my daughter had been on the back of my husbands' bike. He'd had the feeling to change riders and, unknowing as to why that change was needed, listened. Miraculously both riders and the bike walked away unscathed. Both the angle at which the bike hit and the fact that neither rider had been launched on impact were miracles. However, the story may not have ended so well had my daughter still been on the back. That extra weight would have surely changed the angle at which the bike hit and almost definitely one, if not both of them would have been thrown  into  the rock-cliff wall.

7.  And, just when you think EVERYTHING that could go wrong has, I've got one more for you!! And, this one's the kicker!!!! (If she made it through #6, now would be a good time for my mother to stop reading!)  For the ride home we had to juggle some vehicles to accommodate for Ryan's missing truck. I ended up towing our friends' enclosed toy trailer behind my Expedition. Somewhere between Nephi and Santaquin on a quiet stretch of I-15 I saw a truck with a large trailer in my side-view mirror. He was quickly flying up the passing lane when I turned to my son and said, "He's going to move us." I secured my hold on the wheel and prepared for a push. And, sure enough, it came... more so than I anticipated! He sped by the side of us, first pushing my trailer towards the shoulder of the freeway then sucking it back over to the passing lane. We - meaning my Expedition, the trailer, my 2 boys, our 2 dogs, and myself - "danced" from one shoulder to the other for what seemed like an eternity. The trailer swayed from one side to the other, gyrating my car with it. White knuckles gripped my steering wheel with all the strength I had as I tried to regain control. Monopolizing the whole road, I fought against the momentum pushing, dragging, twisting across the asphalt. My tires left the ground not once, but twice! I prayed more fervently than ever! And so did Ryan and my girls as they watched in horror from their vehicle directly  behind us. I remember thinking, "We are going. We are done." Apparently I didn't just think it, I said it out loud.

And, then (excuse me while I wipe the tears from my eyes) something happened. Up to this point I've referred to these moments as rainbows, but this time I'd like to change up the verbiage. Rainbow just doesn't seem to cut it when you're talking about something that was nothing short of divine intervention. I am convinced that there is nothing you can do that could prepare you for the moment your trailer decides to fishtail out of control down the freeway. In all honesty, it was the most horrific thing I've ever experienced... and yet, as time slowed almost to a stop, and my mind seemed not to know what to do, the Spirit whispered softly to me and I followed.

It was not my own knowledge that kept us on the road. It was not my super-awesome driving skills that prevented the car from flipping. I fought with everything I had to get things under control, but my best just didn't seem to be good enough. And, just at the moment that I thought I couldn't fight anymore, a calm swept over me and someone else took over. It was not my doing that got the trailer under control. It was not me that realigned everything and stabilized my car.

You may think of these things as all "coincidence" or  just plain "lucky" but I think there's something more to them. Without a doubt, I know that each of these little "rainbows" that I experienced this weekend are in actuality little miracles. They exist around us everywhere. They take place everyday for those who care to notice them. I am grateful for the knowledge that I am a child of a loving God and that He watches over and protects his children. I am thankful that He sends guardian angels - both in the mortal and immortal form - to bless my life. And, I am humbled that He would care enough about me to intervene when things get too hard!

Finding Your Creative Place

What do dirt caked hands, rocky roads, a cozy leather chair, and a clean home have in common?

At first glance, not a whole lot. But, for me, they are all closely linked. Though very different in nature, they all work together seamlessly. Not one without the other could hold the same power that all four possess together...

Now you're thinking this is all just crazy talk! Stephanie is officially off her rocker, right? (Okay, well maybe, but that's a completely different discussion!) 

So, here it is - that common thread - All of these activities/places claim rights to nurturing my creativity. I do my best thinking and planning while gardening. Some of my most creative ideas spark while I'm four-wheeling over mountains and through beautiful back country. And, they all flow from my head, through my fingers, and ultimately onto my laptop while I lounge in my cozy leather chair. But, the biggest key to my creativity is a clean home! .... And, by clean I mean organized, quiet, and distraction free!

I think we all need a creative place... or at very least a productive place. For some that place may not be a physical location, but a mental state. For others - like me - it is both. Whatever the case may be, finding a creative place doesn't have to be hard. In fact, it's pretty easy and highly rewarding!

If you don't have one already, I encourage you to find a creative place, a productive place, or at minimum, an escape-from-the-world place. Cuddle up with a book, scratch around on a pad of paper, plant a garden, build a beautiful cake, take a photograph, break out your watercolors, or paint a picture with words. 

Everyone has some inner creativity waiting to be nurtured. Whatever your "thing" is, do it! Make it a priority! Visit your creative place often! 

I highly cherish the places of my creativity and look forward to any fraction of time I get to escape there. So on that note I bid adieu for the day... There's a cozy leather chair in a clean, quiet house with my name on it. 

Summer 2012 Recap

Summer's not quite over, but after an over 6 week hiatus from my blog I though it was high time I filled you in on what I've been up to. And rather than tell you, I think it's better just to show you: 

I witnessed a beautiful wedding...

Rachel & Kevin 6/29/12

Danced with a hot cowboy!!

Went to the Family History Museum, FBI Headquarters in SLC, and boating 

with our awesome ward for Youth Conference.              

Awed at my beautiful niece's enthusiastic testimony as we sent her off with 

hugs and smiles to serve an 18 month mission for the LDS church.  

Witnessed the inaugural execution of the Worlton Family Polar Plunge at Fish Lake, UT.  

8 teenagers + 50 degree water = one hilarious afternoon!  

Went to my first ever Scout camp where I met Elder Robert K. Dellenbach, LDS General Authority....

BSA GSL D29 Board w/ Elder Dellenbach, 7/23/12

Nearly blew away as I watched a Blackhawk Helicopter land in front of 1000 eager Boy Scouts...

Got face-to-face with a live eagle named Liberty....

Met the very delightful Thurl Bailey 

& was honored to have him invite me to have my picture taken with him.  

Thurl Bailey & Stephanie Worlton, D29 Scout Camp,  7/29/12

Felt my tummy tickle while I watched my excited 10 year old fly high in the sky-diving simulator. 

7/30/12

Witnessed another beautiful wedding!!!

Sarah & Chaun 7/28/12

Went to my "ump-teenth" Girls Camp, where we giggled, lost sleep, and had many great experiences including A HUG from Sister Elizabeth Ann Takasaki...  

Listened to the amazing vocals of Jenny Phillips (also at Girls Camp). 

And - while spending 26 of the last 52 nights away from home - 

I took the time to watch a sunset or two and give thanks for the blessed life I've been given! 

Mama Bear Goes Camping

It's funny what happens when you throw a bunch of women into a tent and charge them with the care of handfuls of young women. Giggles abound, makeup disappears, hairdos morph into works of art, and almost as natural as if you'd given birth to them yourself, those girls become "your girls" and those women become your "sisters." 

Girls Camp (aka: LDS Young Women Camp) has been one of the highlights of my summer for so many years that I've lost track. (In fact, the years without camp are easier to count than the years with it.) And, honestly, I can't think of a better way to spend a week of my time than in the company of our fabulous young women! 

Last week was our stake girls camp and for the first time in years I had a zero-responsibility assignment. I simply had to show up and take pictures. In a perfect world one might assume that this meant I could shed the responsibility of my young women and simply be a photographer. Fortunately, however, my girls were about as interested in ditching me as I was in ditching them. Before the week was over I'd developed a following. My little pose' of giggly girls became my shadow... okay, who am I kidding? They were the highlight and I was the shadow. They took over my camera and filled it with great (and some not-so-great) photos. They giggled, they teased, and - thanks to my dear friend Amber Packer - they learned how to properly eat corn on the cob!  

In a camp with nearly 300 girls you'd have to hide under a rock to have not made a new friend or two, and I'm grateful for each new mark etched on my heart. Inspirational adults uplifted me and amazing young women humbled me with their beauty and strength. But I've got to admit that I hold a special place for my own girls. And, when I say "my girls" I mean all 21 of them! I can't tell you the excitement I felt every time I ran across one of "my girls." Like a Mama Bear with her cubs, my heart did  a summersault when I saw their smiles and broke when I saw their tears. I wanted to love them, protect them, and play with them. It didn't matter that their hair was dirty or that they didn't have on a lick of makeup. They were glowing. Beautiful. And I couldn't wait for their smiles and hugs! 

 

So, from one Mama Bear to another, I hope you encourage your daughters to attend Girls Camp. The confidence they gain, the testimonies they strengthen, and the friendships they make are priceless. And, if you are blessed to serve with the Young Women, I hope that you make it a priority to go to camp with your girls. Camping may not be your cup of tea, but if you look beyond a sleepless week in tents, you'll find a irreplaceable opportunity to build a relationship that might just change a life. 

What I Learned in the Wake of a Wild Fire

Have you ever wondered what you would do if you were faced with only minutes to leave your home? Do you know what you would take? Where you'd go? And what was truly important?

As I mentioned in my previous post, for the second time in two years my family was evacuated from our home as a wild fire roared its way towards our community. The first time we were given a fifteen minute warning - meaning an official knock on the door from a uniformed officer who waited on the porch while you gathered your necessities and left - but really we had about two hours to face the inevitable before that knock came. Two hours to think things through. Two hours to figure out what we needed/wanted, gather it up, and say goodbye to our precious home.

This last weekend, we did't get such a time luxury. We literally had minutes... not fifteen or even ten, but maybe two! The call was for an IMMEDIATE evacuation! As flames approached at upwards of 30 miles per hour, there was no time to think, and barely time to move!

For this reason, I am grateful that we were prepared. And, in a hope that you and your family's will benefit, let me share with you what we learned from our first evacuation that made our second one so much easier:

1. Know what your important stuff is, where it is, and keep it organized. And by important I mean documents like your birth certificates, passports, vehicle titles, account numbers, and insurance information. This list should also include any legal documents as well as the mortgage information on your home. For under $100 you can get a portable fire-resistant safe to store these documents and information in. Keep it small enough that you can handle it on your own. Fire-resistant does not mean fire-proof and you will want to be able to grab it and go if possible. You may also want to consider keeping some cash in there... small, usable bills in the event that there is no power and credit transactions aren't available. We've decided to make copies of all this information and keep it at a different location (like my mom's house) so that in the event that we aren't able to save it, we still have copies available. 

2. Have a 72 hour kit, or at least a change of clothes. During our first evacuation we were lucky enough to have the time to hook up our camping trailer and pull it out with us. Stocked with food, blankets, and emergency supplies, we were able to throw in a couple changes of clothes and go. This wasn't possible the second time around. If we'd been at home (which we were not) when the call came, we would have only had time to grab our five-gallon 72 hour buckets as well as our emergency backpacks. We may not have had nice clothes to change into, but we would have at least had clean underwear!


3. Realize that most things are just things... and are therefore replaceable. The most important thing to get out of harms way is your family, neighbors, and friends. Things are replaceable, people are not!! Focus on your household first (don't forget your animals) then consider your neighbors. Is there someone who might need help? A single mother with a lot of children? A handicapped or otherwise incapacitated individual that might need assistance? After lives have been protected, if you still have time, you may be able to grab a few additional items before you leave. Decide before hand what your non-replaceable items are and if and how you would save them in the event of an emergency. I have a lot of family heirlooms around my house. I know where they are and the order in which I would save them. The ones not on display are stored in a cedar chest. The first thing I grab is that chest. If time permits, I move on to the other items. Things you might want to consider on this secondary list are: scrapbooks, photos, journals, hard drives, laptops, family heirlooms, etc.

4. Have a game plan. Make a plan and know where you'd go in the event that you have to leave. Make sure that all the members of your household are aware of the plan! If you have a family member's home that you would go to, make sure it is easily reached by all members of your household. If it is too far away to walk to, come up with a meeting place that everyone can get to, then after everyone is assembled you can travel to your destination together. With our first evacuation we traveled about 30 minutes away to stay at my parent's house. While I was grateful for the hospitality and a comfortable bed, I learned that for my sanity it would have been better for us to have stayed more local so we could be more aware of what was going on. At one point the media reported that our entire neighborhood was lost, which gratefully was not the case, but if we'd been at or near the community evacuation shelter, our information would have been more frequent and more reliable. Which brings me to my next lesson learned:

5. Communicate.  Know your neighbors' cell phone numbers and, if possible, the contact information of their emergency destination. Ninety percent of the information I received after both of our evacuations came in the form of text, email, and facebook. Thank heavens for a smart phone! The evacuation order itself came four separate times - once from an email, twice through text, and again on facebook! (Of course, we got a reverse 911 call to our land-line, but nobody was home to receive it.) Even if you are not typically social with your neighbors, an emergency is not the time to keep your information to yourself. Help get the word out! Share any pertinent information you might get. Make sure your friends and neighbors are okay and don't forget to let them know you're okay too.

6. Don't stress about things you can't control. This is a tough one. Adrenaline got me out of my home, but there's nothing like watching gigantic flames crest the mountain and race toward your subdivision to stop your heart. Having a breakdown or a panic attack isn't going to change the wind or put out the flames. Yelling and stressing and falling apart serve only the purpose of making a hard situation worse. Of course, making light of it isn't going to help anyone either. So, what do you do?... For me, the answer was simple. Hope and pray and have faith that things will be alright.... and that doesn't necessarily mean that your house will survive. What it means is having faith to accept what comes and know that you have the strength and the courage to deal with it. I've learned that if I turn things over to the Lord, He will take care of them. Whether it means shifting the wind with miraculous timing, sending heroic hands to the front line, saving an area from utter destruction, or allowing it to burn, it matters little. What matters most is knowing that in the end, all we be well.

Wildfires, Evacuations, and a Wedding

Friday afternoon (June 29) we, along with about 900 other households in our area, received the emergency call for immediate evacuation. For the second time in less than two years, our homes were under the threat of a wildfire.

We were on our way to an out of town wedding and more than an hour's drive away from our home when we received the call. For a moment we considered turning around, but realized that the effort would be in vain. There was no way we could make it back in time. So, as calmly as one in this situation could, we went about trying to figure a way to get someone into our home to rescue our important stuff (passports, birth certs, heirlooms, hard-drives, etc). Luckily - and mainly because of what we learned two years ago - all of this stuff was organized and easy to get to. My brother rushed to the rescue, but in the ten minutes it took from the time of the call to the time he neared my neighborhood, emergency crews had completely barricaded everyone out! Our hearts sank.

Then my cell rang. "Stephanie," my dear friend Eden said, "I'm standing in your driveway. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"God sends angels to us in our times of need.... 

Sometimes we are those angels for others!" 

While we were eagerly smiling for pictures, dancing in our cowboy boots, and eating wedding cake in the beautiful mountains of Fish Lake, this is what was happening at home:  

(Video courtesy of our amazing friends and neighbors, Matt & Jen Tall) 

Miracle after small miracle happened this weekend in a small corner of the Salt Lake valley. Mine are by no means the greatest or even the only stories. Over 900 families each have their own! No life was lost and many homes were miraculously saved. Four, unfortunately, were not. So, while I take a knee in gratitude that I have a house to come home to, I mourn for those who've lost theirs and pray that they will find the comfort they need. 

(Photos courtesy of Jay Gallacher) 

Words cannot express the gratitude I have for the firefighters, police officers, volunteers, and officials for all they did to save our homes. Your efforts were an answer to our prayers! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! 

*(For information on the Sept 2010 Machine Gun Fire visit: Wikipedia  or watch this video from my neighbor  - my house is across the street, fifth one up to the right)