{Real Talk}: Cast All Your Burdens Onto Him

This week has been extremely difficult for me. I had the experience again where you make a phone call and can immediately tell that something is wrong. That phone call was just a regular check in with my Grandpa. He did not sound right. Afterwards, I went and talked to Madi to let him know that we needed to change our travel plans from going to see our parents in Florida to going to Michigan to see my Grandpa Juola. We already had the vacation time. We  hadn't even bought our tickets to Disney for the week. I think if that doesn't show how God was over the situation, nothing does because anyone who knows me knows that I plan everything WAY in advance. We ended up changing our travel plans as he started declining quicker and was readmitted to the hospital. I made it to Michigan at 3am on Saturday morning and was alone with him when he passed away at 2am on Sunday morning. I cherished every minute with him that I had. 

My Grandpa was a special person. You couldn't find anyone more kind of selfless in the world. He cared about every person and took time to always ask "how are you doing?" and genuinely wanted to know, not just to make conversation. His mind was sharp even until the end, which I am so grateful for. He could recall dates or events from his mind like they were five minutes ago. The math teacher in him was always counting down to something like when he would see us again, or when he was going back down to Florida. He was the best husband ever. The true definition of "in sickness and in health". He took such good care of my Grandma for so long before she passed away from Parkinson's disease. And to me, the most important thing, he was the best witness of his faith in God. I have no doubt about where he's at right now and that brings me so much peace. 

I am going to miss him so much. I will miss spending time with him every summer. Sailing on the lake and playing beach croquet. Hiking to Misery Inn. Playing word games. Eating ice cream. Watching tennis. Making bonfires. Just spending hours talking and catching up. 

I love him more than I can write in this post. And he always said "you don't have to tell me, I know you love me and I know you know that I love you." and I did know that. 

So I hope you're enjoying spending time with Grandma today. I hope you're playing sixteen games a day of tennis, and eating lots of vanilla ice cream and chocolate covered cherries, playing beach croquet or sailing on the lake. The world won't be the same without you, and neither will I. 

If anyone reading this knew my Grandpa and wants to help us celebrate his life, please join us at 10am with service starting at 12pm on Tuesday, October 24th at Word of Life Baptist Church in Alpena Michigan. If you can't make it, please share any memories you had with him.

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is my strength and my portion forever"- Psalm 73:26

DIY Pumpkin Pie Cinnamon Rolls

Hello all,

IT'S OCTOBER EVERYBODY!! My FAVORITE month of the year. I love just about everything during this gorgeous season of Fall. Basketball starts, football games aren't so miserably hot, Halloween festivities, pumpkin carving, and pumpkin flavored everything! Which leads to what this post is about: I guess I have been super into innovative and experimentation baking lately because I have been baking up a storm yet again. Since Madi loves pumpkin and cinnamon rolls, I started putting together a delicious recipe for the combination of the two! Here is the link for my OG cinnamon roll recipe. Read below on how to make them!

Randoms:
- 9x13" pan and 8x8" pan
- cooking spray or butter
- olive oil
- measuring cups
- knife
- two big bowls
- dough hook

Roll recipe:
- 4 1/4 cups of flour (and 1/2 cup on standby)
- 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 tsp of salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 packet of dry active yeast
- 1 cup of warm milk
- 1/3 cup of softened unsalted butter

Middle Recipe: 
- 1/2 cup of pumpkin purre
- 1/2 cup of brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp of cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp of nutmeg

Frosting Recipe:
4 oz cream cheeses
1 1/2 cup of powdered sugar
2 Tbsp of milk
1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp of vanilla

How to make them:

Step One: Mix warm milk and packet of active yeast together in a bowl until it dissolves

Step Two: Mix all the other ingredients for the rolls together in a mixing bowl and mix on medium speed. Slowly add in the warm milk and yeast combination. Mix until thoroughly blended.

Step Three: Use olive oil to grease one of the big mixing bowls. Place tin foil over the mixing bowl. Place in oven and place on 170 degrees. Once it heats up, turn the oven off. This will help your dough rise in a warm environment. It should almost double in size. This takes about an hour, maybe 45 mins. While this is happening, you can clean up your bowls to re-use and make the cinnamon middle.

Step Four: Lightly place flour on a large surface that you will use to roll out your dough. Roll dough onto the surface. It should be about 16 by 12" and about 1/4" thick
TIP: If your dough is sticky, add the extra 1/4 cup of flour at a time as needed to it to make it less sticky, up to 1/2 a cup

Step Five: Place the pumpkin pie middle on top of your dough, spreading it out evenly. Cut away any edges of the dough that aren't even. You can use these later to make some extra rolls if you want.

Step Six: Place in oven to rise again, preheating the oven to 170 and turning it off once it heats up. Let them sit with a damp hand towel over the top of them in the oven for 20 minutes.

Step Seven: Take rolls out of the oven, they should have grown noticeably. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for 18-20 minutes. *This may take longer depending on your oven

Step Eight: Make the frosting by adding all the ingredients together and using a beater to mix. This kind's consistency is in between canned frosting and a glaze. 

Step Nine: Let them cool for 5-10 minutes then lather the frosting on top of the rolls generously.

Step Ten: Enjoy! They're delicious!

They were a hit at home, we will see how they do at work!! What is your favorite pumpkin treat in the fall time? These were good, but I still favor my pumpkin spice cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting YUM! 

Thanks for reading,
- Olivia