I'm a Mormon

I don't know if anyone is even reading my blog but it has been such a good release for me. When you have 5 children you find yourself wondering," who am I? "What do I like to do?" You tend to loose your identity in the service you are giving to your family. This blog has helped me during those times. I know that I LOVE food. This has never been a question. As Im getting older and my metabolism is slowing down I wish that food wasn't as important to me (just kidding). Food is AWESOME!!

One thing I've realized in re reading my blog is that I haven't posted lots of personal things on here.  So this is me being personal. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints. I have such a strong testimony of it's truthfulness. I am grateful for the happiness it has brought to me in my life. I know that I am a daughter of God. I know that he loves me and I love him (SO MUCH). My church started a website about mormons. Its called I'm a Mormon. I love watching these small clips. They are about normal people living the best that they can. They tell of their struggles and their achievements. I've often wondered what my movie would look like. What I could say if they wanted to document my life. This is what I think mine would look like.

I'm the one in the pink. The 3rd of seven kids. 

My mom and dad had 7 children by the time they were 30 years old. I was number 3. We had so much fun growing up in a big family. We always had someone to play with. My parents were and still are amazing. They taught us so much. We were the family that drove in the huge 18 passenger van (ours was all white). We very rarely ate out but if we did we had so many people watching us. Those that were brave would ask my parents if we were all theirs. It was kind of fun.  We loved going on Sunday drives exploring the areas that we lived in. We saw the coolest places in Alabama and Georgia that I will never forget. Old grave yards found down old abandon roads. The sun
light going through the trees made it look almost eerie but very beautiful. I'm sure they were graves from the civil war. Fun memories

I am an expert MOVER. My parent moved 21 times (Las Vegas, St. George Utah, Provo Utah, Sacrmento CA, Hartsell Alabama, Macon GA to name a few) in their married life (my Dad was an accountant not in the army). Their last move was when I was 12 years old. My husband and I have moved 12 times in 13 years. If anyone needs help moving they should call me. I know how to get free boxes. I seriously should write an ebook!! :) The good thing about moving so much is that I have friends all over the country. The bad thing is that it's time to move again when I make new friends.

My husband and I have been married for 15 years. We were married in the St. George Utah Temple. I truly felt like a princess marrying my prince in our castle. It was a magical day for me. My husband and I dated for a year and a half before we were married. This is uncommon for most mormons but it was perfect for us. After we got married we made a handful of newly married friends and they really struggled that first year (because they didn't know each other very well).  Our first year of marriage was AWESOME. We had a blast because there were no surprises. We knew everything about each other and still loved each other. When my husband and I got married we wanted 8 children. Heavenly Father blessed us with 5 and we are so happy. Being a parent has been one of the hardest and most rewarding things Ive ever experienced.

I love pictures. I love taking them and looking at them. Im surprised by how many families don't take family pictures very often. They will say that they hadn't taken a picture with everyone for 10 years. WHAT?!! Thats crazy. Mostly its because of the cost of having it done. If you know me and live in my area know that I will take your family pictures for FREE. I think that pictures are another form of family history (journalling). They tell a story and are so important.

I love to run. It's always been "my" time. My time to think and enjoy the beauty of the area that we live in. I started to love running in Jr. High. In P.E. I was always in the top 3 to cross the finish line when running the mile. I loved the look on the boys faces when I passed them. I've been a runner ever since. I've competed in two marathons and one ½ marathon (while 5 months pregnant with my 5th child). I mostly try to get a couple miles in 2 to 3 times a week. It helps me to feel good about myself and gives me a time to myself (which doesn't happen often with a big family).  

I'm an Idealist which means I expect everything to be perfect (my home, my children, me with my church callings, my marriage, ME, etc). This has been a really hard thing for me because I'm NOT perfect. My house is never perfectly clean unless we are having company over and that only last for an hour or so.  My husband and I have disagreements. I gain weight when I eat bad and don't exercise. I am not perfect at doing my visiting teaching but wish I were, I have a hard time letting people see the real me because I fear they won't like what they see. SO DUMB but this is who i am. I recently was told to read a book called Believe in Christ.  It was written for me. It talks about the love the Savior (Jesus Christ) has for us and how he made up the difference in our imperfectness when he  died for us.  I've been taught this my whole life but it took me being at a point of a breakdown for me to understand it.  

I am so grateful that I belong to this church. I know that without it life would probably be fine but the blessings from living it have made my life GREAT. I have been so blessed. I know that families can be together for all eternity not till death do we part. I know that we all are Heavenly Father's children and he wants us to be happy.

My name is Melissa Miller Spelts. I'm a daughter, wife, mother, want a be photographer, cook, runner, daughter of god and Mormon.

Crazy but good summer - Go 2013!

We had a crazy but good summer. I just wanted to share some fun pictures of our adventures!!

Ryan (my husband) broke both of his wrists. Yes you read that right. He was riding his motorcycle and didn't see the 5 foot drop in front of him. He was so strong through this whole ordeal. Definitely NOT apart of our summer plans. He had plates and screws put in both wrists. 

Climbing the trees at our favorite park.

Koby and I got our braces off. We had the best orthodontist Dr. Matt Wirig in Las Vegas, NV.

Swimming at cousins house in Las Vegas. 

Camryn LOVES fishing with her dad!

The cooking legacy goes on....

I LOVE to cook. I love the yummy smells that fill my house. I love the smiles on my families faces while they are eating what I created. I love dreaming of new ideas and having a success story in the end. I love that my husband brags about my cooking in detail (that I grind my own wheat, make things from scratch, etc). I love that my children want to help and are learning. This desire to learn will help them when they are moms and dads someday. 

The pictures below are of my girls. Ryan and I love watching Sweet Guinness and Chopped. I was making bread one day and my girls started making their own concoctions. Ryan came home from work and added a secret ingredient (Chocolate). My girls had so much fun.  Ryan was so brave and became THE (one and only) judge. Results are listed below.  - Melissa

YUM!!  (What a good daddy)

Camryn won "Most Creative" dish!

Elly won "Best Tasting" dish

Lucy won "Best Presentation"

My baby is here!!!

I can't believe how fast time flies. I had to step away from the blog idea to focus on my new baby and a now bigger family. What an fun adjustment. I feel very blessed to be the mother of five cute kids. Even though my duties have broadened do you think my need to cook has gone away? Oh no! More yummy dessert ideas are on the way.

Here is a picture of my kiddos with their new baby brother (Grey Ryan). Such a cutie! - Melissa

Oh, the CRAVINGS while pregnant!!!

When I am pregnant my cravings are funny. I am not sure if every woman experiences this while pregnant, or if it's just me. I crave veggies and fruit in the first trimester. I can't get enough! The thought of sweets makes me sick. I always wish that this is how it is going to be for the rest of my pregnancy. But alas, that second trimester comes and I find myself wanting donuts, cookies, and cake. Everything I'm not supposed to eat. Smells aren't my enemy anymore. The bakery section in the grocery store is torture. I have to put on my blinders while walking past the donuts and other goodies. If I give into a sweet enticing. I hate to admitt it but I am a bear to live with afterward. I have to warn and apologize to my family (husband and children) that I have sugar in my system. I feel like I miss an entire day with my family for one bite or portion of anything with sugar in it. NOT WORTH IT. The next day I begin again the battle to live my sugar free life.

1 year without sugar!!!

Wow, has a year already come and gone? This is what I've learned...

• The sweets you once loved so much don't taste the same (not as yummy).
• The extra weight comes off very quickly and stays off.
• I can eat one of my homemade sugar free treats and feel edified. Where as before I could have eatten (and did) a whole pan of brownies by myself.
• It gets easier to go out with friends to dinner and NOT order dessert when everybody else does.
• After giving into sugar I feel TERRIBLE and it is NOT worth the moment of indulgence.
• I can live a good life without sugar!!

-Melissa

There is a bun in my oven!!

I am excited to announce that I am 11 weeks pregnant with my 5th baby. It has been a really crazy last couple of months. Cooking has been very difficult. Lucky for me I have a wonderful husband that has helped out with our meals during this time. There are those days where I need to cook and I found that this mask is the only way I can do it. Smells are killing me. I hope that this will pass and I can continue adding our favorite sugar free treats.

Confessions of a choc-o-holic!!

Ok, so my baby turned 3 years old yesterday. Her request for a cake was "pink, pink, pink". I contemplated buying a cake this year but then decided to make it to save a few bucks. This was the first mistake. As I dumped the mix into a bowl the aroma hit me so hard. I started thinking about cakes I had made in the past. The best part was licking the spoon and bowl. I tried so hard to stay strong. After my children all had a little taste of the batter they left me alone. I looked around to make sure no one was looking. Then I took a spoon out and took just one bite, then another, and another. My thoughts were well I'm already going to be sick so I might as well enjoy. Once again that momentary satisfaction was awesome but after not so great. Next birthday will be different right?

September 6, 2010

Today the cravings for sugar were strong. I bought some candy for some kids that I teach in church (A reward for being good). Only two of them showed up to class which ment I had left overs. It wasn't just any candy it was the halloween chocolate asorted goodness. My four children went to town on it and the reason that I allowed this was so that I wouldn't have to see it anymore. My kids have discovered that the almond joy candy bars are not their favorites.  Everything else is gone except for these almond joys. I love almond joy candy bars!!! I told Lyndsie that I was struggling and she brought by some chocolate puddy with whipped cream (sugar free) to help me be strong. I am doing ok as of right now, but tomorrow while the kids are in school I think I am going to need to muster enough courage and throw the candy in the garbage can. Jesse's advise is when throwing treats away alway open the object and then dump it in the trash. This takes away the desire to later go digging in the garbage after it. So here is to me being strong enough to do it!!

Melissa

No Snickers, brownies, ice cream, cake, peanut butter cookies, chocolate, popsicles, cinnamon bears, butterfingers, apple pie, strawberry shortcake, Bavarian chocolate cake, Root Beer Floats, cinnamon sugar toast, chocolate chip cookies, cold cereal (the kid kinds), gummy bears, pudding with whipped cream, pumpkin pie, and licorice, I can’t eat any of these wonderful things. AAAHHHHHHhhhhhhh!! Can you imagine?

This “no sugar” thing is so hard. I took sugar almost entirely out of my diet in January 2010. Before that, I had always felt lucky that I didn’t have the issues that my two sisters have. They were so limited on what they could eat and I could continue eating whatever I wanted. Sugar was a crutch I leaned on. If I didn’t have enough energy I would eat a cookie so I could keep getting done what needed to be done. I would buy a bag of cinnamon bears (one of my favorites) and after eating the whole bag within a couple of days. My only thoughts would have been that I should have purchased two bags. I love sugar.

So why you might ask am I off sugar? A couple of years ago (in 2008) my husband and I experienced a really stressful year. We moved 2 times, had our fourth baby and financially things were beyond tight. I did my best to handle the stress of it all but that year even more stresses came. We searched for houses in our area but couldn’t find one. We then had a strong prompting in our prayers that we were supposed to leave Las Vegas and move closer to my family (which was out of state). It was also right before school was to enroll so we needed to get our kids lined up wherever we were going to be. Life was crazy to say the least. So many changes so much stress. In the transition, we ended up staying at my in-laws house for a short time. While we were there my mother in law noticed that I was blinking like crazy. We thought that maybe I needed glasses. She took me to the doctors and they said that my eyes were not producing enough oils and that I should put drops and a hot rag on my eyes a couple of times a day for a few months. I did as the doctor prescribed however the blinking didn’t stop, there wasn’t even an improvement.

The cool thing is that eight months later we were astounded at how everything had turned around. Many of the dreams that we had shared with one another came true, many of the things we wanted had actually come together, the job, the area we now live in even our yard has a little stream running through it which was one of our dreams. My husband landed the best job. We were invited to dinner with my husband’s boss on several occasions and we love the people he works with. Every-time we got together with them I blinked terribly. I came away from those evenings very frustrated, my eyes hurt and I was embarrassed. I tried everything I could think of and everything that was mentioned to me. I tried not wearing makeup. I tried hypnosis. Nothing seemed to help.

Finally a friend of mine told me about this iridologist (can tell what is going on with your body by looking in your eyes)  that she went to after her battle with cancer. I was skeptical at first however after a two hour appointment I came away feeling like there was hope. I was diagnosed with adrenal fatigue and possible candida. My mom found a book call Adrenal Fatigue by James L. Wilson that helped me understand my condition. Causes are stress (from moves, change, not enough sleep, not eating well, not drinking enough water, etc.). I also learned that my body does not process sugar (frown) or lettuce (that one I can do without) very well. However at that point I was willing to do anything. I started the no sugar/lettuce experiment and within two days my eyes improved. I could have a conversation with a friend without blinking uncontrollably. I could drive out of our neighborhood and not feel anxiety. It was a bitter sweet thing for me. Sweet because we found my problem and bitter because that meant NO MORE SUGAR!!

Seven months later I am doing better than ever. I see so many improvements … my skin, my temperament, my ability to handle stressful situations, my weight, my teeth, etc.

Luckily for me I have two awesome sister that are going through many of the same problems. We call each other when we need moral support. I even call my sisters after giving into my temptations. After I give in to temptations, I receive this momentary satisfaction, mmmmm chocolate!, but not to long after I feel terrible. It is not a feeling of guilt but of no energy, anxiety, and what I call mind fog. It is terrible and definitely not worth the few minutes of indulgence. My sisters always tell me; Don’t worry about it, start over right now, you can do it. I always feel better after our talks.

Now to why I have this website. It is very hard to be at a birthday party, a family get together or any gathering think Christmas without grandmas famous homemade caramels. Lyndsie, Jessie and I all started trying new recipes that gave us options for sugar free snacks. We all love to cook so we are always trying new things that will help us stay healthy but curb some of those intense cravings. We started thinking; “what if there are others out there with these same problems? Maybe they could benefit from having some recipes and ideas to help them as well. That is why ‘Natural Sweeties’ came to be. I hope you enjoy some of our ideas. Please give us feedback and share some of your own ideas and recipes. We can do this, and with some of these tasty deserts, it actually isn’t going to be that hard!! YAY!