Posts by Kerry Weisser
Growing Weisser Family 2019 Update
It’s a new year so we wanted to introduce ourselves to our new followers!
Happy 2019
We took a much needed break from posting regularly at the end of 2018 and we are now ready to start afresh in 2019. We had a blessed time together as a BIG family of 21 celebrating the holidays together. We decided to start off 2019 by giving you an update. Rachel has organized this endeavor and with help from the rest of the Growing Weisser girls she has created these great posts …..so here we go. Photographs by Olia Luis Photography.
For the next few weeks you can get to know the women (husbands and kids) behind Growing Weisser!
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Pictured here is the Growing Weisser mama, or “Gammie” as she is known to her 11 grandkids, and the 4 Weisser sisters. The idea for our blog came one holiday season as were gathered together. Our mom, Kerry, had written a cookbook when we were younger and many of the recipes were favorites among not just us, but our extended family and friends as well!! We decided to launch the blog as a way for us to stay connected as a family and to share things we were learning and passionate about with others. It is our labor of love to you, and we truly hope you find ideas, inspiration, or an extended hand to hold reminding you you are never alone in your journey of motherhood and life.
THIS IS US!!!!! Keep checking back to meet the rest of the family. 
Pictures by Olia Luis Photography.…
The Gift of TIME
I was reminded this weekend that kids spell LOVE………TIME!!! Spending time with children is one of the very best gifts you can give. I had the privilege of babysitting my 3 grand daughters this weekend. They love to talk about their lives and engage in conversation. They have so much to share and often times are competitive as we are talking and interacting (all because they have SO MUCH TO TELL!) They love to be silly! The best thing I have observed as they are growing up is that my time is NEVER wasted on them. They value the time I spend with them. They love the attention and they love having me be a part of their lives.
I make it a priority to listen attentively, ask open ended questions and try to challenge them to work out their differences rather than solve their problems for them. I see them practicing the things we talk about regarding kindness and sharing and showing true love to others by serving and caring. Time is one of my most precious commodities and I will never pass up an opportunity to be an influencer in the lives of my grand children if I am invited to spend time with them.
Children are like little sponges. They listen and usually try to obey..(even when they act like they haven’t heard you when you ask them to stop playing and get ready for school or bed). I try to find out their newest passions and always ask what they are learning in school or in their friendships, clubs or at church. When I invest time intentionally listening to them with out judgment or correction, they are eager to tell me what they are thinking and what they are learning. There is a time for correction …
Read MoreHappy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving from the entire Growing Weisser Family.
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:23-26
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Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls
We LOVE cinnamon rolls in our family!!! This recipe is a show-stopper!!! We had a blast letting Sophie and Garrett (both 2 years old) help make the cinnamon rolls. We made three pans full so that each family could take a batch home to bake for Thanksgiving morning.
Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls
½ cup warm water (100-110 degrees)
2 ½ teaspoons yeast (1 packet)
½ cup butter
½ cup honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cooked sweet potatoes
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 beaten eggs
5 cups whole wheat flour or Kodiak Cakes baking mix (@kodiakcakes)
Filling
1/3 cup melted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1/8 cup milk
Dissolve yeast in warm water. (I add 1 teaspoon honey to help yeast start rising)
Set aside.
Beat 2 eggs in a small bowl.
Place 1 cup of cooked sweet potatoes into mixer and mix until smooth. Add salt.
Heat almond milk on medium heat until just bubbling. Remove from heat and add butter and honey.
Pour milk, butter and honey mixture into sweet potatoes in mixer bowl and beat slowly until combined.
Add eggs and mix thoroughly.
Add whole wheat flour or Kodiak Cakes baking mix. Mix until blended and then knead by hand or on medium speed for 5-10 minutes. Dough is very sticky. Cover bowl of dough for 2 hours so it can rise.
While dough is rising, make filling by mixing butter, sugar and cinnamon.
Divide dough into ½ and roll each piece into a large rectangle. Spread each rectangle with half the filling. Roll up and cut into 12 cinnamon rolls. Repeat to make a total of 24 rolls.
We were baking with Sophie and Garrett who wanted to help roll the cinnamon rolls so we took small …
Read MoreHow to Motivate this Generation (JT Ayers Guest Post)
How to Motivate this Generation
By JT Ayers on 10/29/2018
Talking with coaches and teachers that have been at it for a while you will quickly hear “I just don’t understand this generation.”
Today’s athlete is different from years past. My generation (1980-1999) has moved through college and is in the world. The present generation is different. Instead of forcing this generation to be motivated the way we were, what does the research say?
These Young People Are Easily Bored, Are Socially Connected To Their Peers, Proficient In Technology, And Desire To Be Challenged By Their Teachers.
I recently read an article on Motivating the Modern Athlete by Dr. Marty Durden. This article can be found by Clicking Here. His findings are worth sharing.
Coaches generally agree that athletes’ perceptions of authority have changed in past decades. Years ago the coach was viewed as an authoritarian figure akin to a military leader. Many still try to motivate in this way. Paul “Bear” Bryant and Bobby Knight were able to achieve a high level of success based upon strict discipline and demanding leadership. Are you trying to motivate in this way?
The modern athlete seems averse to this style of coaching. This generation’s athlete desire much less direction from coaches and have access to the answers online. The culture of athletics continues to change and influences the perceptions that modern athletes have toward competitive athletics, teammates and coaches.
In this modern sport climate, the concept of servant-leader coaching remains a relevant model for the contemporary coach.
Evidence supports the notion that ethical core values have a significant positive effect on player motivation. Coaches still possess unique standing in our society and are widely viewed with respect. Parents tell me on occasion “Can you help me? My son/daughter wont listen to me. …
Read MoreHappy Halloween-No Tricks…Only Treats…Dressing up is FUN!
Happy Halloween. Our family LOVES to dress up so Halloween is a really fun time for all the families to be creative. This year many of the kids decided to be characters from books or movies they love.
Emperor’s New Grove
Here is Harry Potter
Here is Jinora from The Legend of Kora
Here is Rae, BB8 and an Ewok all Star Wars characters
Here is Princess Black
We have Harry Potter, Rae, and 2 incredibly cute Beavers
The older Beaver 
Harry Potter with his wand
The younger Beaver
The monster and Princess Black
The monster, Jinora and Princess Black
Rae
How we love our grandkids!!!!!
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New Beginnings Start Today
Everyone needs a new beginning….time and time again…if we are truly honest with ourselves. Taking risks in life means sometimes we succeed at the new challenge and sometimes we fail, but I think the most important thing is being willing and open to new opportunities. If we try and succeed we naturally have a “new beginning”, a fresh perspective, a new adventure before us. If we try something new and that new experience fails to meet our expectations, we are disappointed and sometimes discouraged. Mikvah is a ceremonial bath that throughout history has represented to the Jewish people a sign or tradition of “new beginnings”. Mikvah is how the Jewish people would spiritually cleanse themselves. They viewed it as a means to wash away anything unclean a purification of sorts that allowed them to start afresh with a clean slate. Mikvah for Jesus was a new beginning. After he was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, God said, “this is my Son in whom I am well pleased”. From there Jesus was lead into the wilderness where he spent time preparing for his “new beginning” right before He launched His ministry.
On my recent trip to Israel, we had an opportunity to be baptized in the Jordan River. I was baptized in the Pacific Ocean when we lived in Guam, in the early 1980s. It was a very significant time in my life and that decision made a huge impact on my life. I had not ever felt the need to be “re-baptized” so there was no personal draw on my heart to get baptized in the Jordan River. So when I learned the concept of Mikvah, as a ceremonial cleansing and a sign of “new beginnings”, that moved my heart and I was all in. We …
Read MoreFollow the Rocks…….
God is with us in the waiting….He is not only WITH US…He is intimately desirous of connecting with us to bring us to a deeper sense of trust and confidence in Him as our faithful Abba Father. He is the one who can guide us and direct us, open our mind to truth and justice and bring us wisdom and insight.
In my life there is a progression in my faith walk when I find myself in a spiritual desert.
When I am obedient and seeking Him, that progression draws me toward my Abba
Father, but when I am drifting and allowing wrong thinking to overtake me, I feel far
away and alone. The downward progression usually starts in my thought life-I get
discouraged, I feel alone, I wonder what I am supposed to be learning in the
desert….quickly I forget all that God has done for me in the past, I doubt His
faithfulness, I second guess myself and start to feel insecure. The enemy sure knows
my weakness. Listening to the wrong voices creates a tidal wave of wrong thinking. For
me, this type of thinking is irrational and does NOT match the reality of my intimate
relationship with my Abba Father. When I choose the path of waiting on God and
remembering my identity in Him and how faithful He has been in my life, I am drawn to
His word. In His word, I find joy, peace and rest in the midst of my trial. I find truth and I
meet my creator and learn more about His character. I am challenged to listen, trust,
obey and wait. As I seek God and focus on Christ and all that I am learning in the
desert, I am no longer afraid and I begin to cherish my …
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
PUMPKIN, PUMPKIN, PUMPKIN…who doesn’t love pumpkin baked goods at this time of year. This one is a show stopper. I modified an old family favorite recipe to bring you this healthier version with just as much taste and a wonderful texture. It is hard to eat just one!
I made a batch of these for a women’s gathering tomorrow and I know they will be gone in a flash. They are so moist and delicious, you can not eat just one!!!
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup oat flour
1/4 cup flax meal
1 cup whole wheat flour (or almond flour or coconut flour)
2 cups oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup butter (you can use 1 cup total coconut oil instead of 1/2 coconut oil 1/2 butter)
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup coconut sugar (can use brown sugar here as well)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup organic pumpkin puree (not the pumpkin pie filling that has spices in it already)
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Measure first 9 ingredients (flour, dry ingredients and spices) in a medium sized bowl. Cream the butter, coconut oil and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and blend. Add the canned pumpkin alternately with the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips, walnuts and raisins and stir until blended. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes. Makes 2 dozen large cookies or 3 dozen medium cookie. Enjoy!
Here are the ingredients for the original recipe, if …
Read MoreChicken Shwarma Bowls
Our Growing Weisser family has become obsessed with Mediterranean food. I am sure part of the obsession is our Middle Eastern heritage. This holiday season i will share some of our traditional Christmas food that we make every season. Chicken Shwarma is one of our go-to favorites. This recipe has been adapted from a recipe that Rachel found online. I worked with it and changed it up and bit adding a bit more spice and a few adaptations to the sauce. This is definitely worth the time and would be a fantastic meal to serve for company. We ate this meal as a “build your own bowl” one night and as a pita sandwich the next night. Sure was delicious.
Chicken Shwarma Marinate
2 lemons juiced
4 Tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic smashed
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon cardamom
Mix all ingredients in a 1 gallon zip lock bag. Add 2 ½ -3 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs. Ziplock the bag securely and distribute the marinate around the chicken pieces by shaking and moving the chicken around once bag is sealed. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Bake or BBQ the chicken until cooked.
I baked mine in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. I think BBQ would taste even better. Build your bowls with lettuce, tomatoes, a scoop of quinoa, a big spoonful of roasted chickpeas and a dollop of cucumber tahini yogurt sauce-(recipes below). Serve with warm pita bread and hummus.
Other ingredients for Chicken Shwarma bowls, wraps, pita sandwiches…..
Pita bread
quinoa cooked according to package directions using chicken stock in place of water
Romaine lettuce chopped
3-4 tomatoes sliced
cucumbers sliced
fresh …