Double standard

Ready for a laugh?  

I'v got a list that is sure to make you giggle at least once.

Things that kids can get away with that adults can't.

1.  Toddlers can run around in nothing but a diaper.  Adults?  Nope.

2. Kids get to take off their shirt on spaghetti night, John said no when I tried to join them.

3. Benjamin likes to dress himself, shoes on wrong, mismatched clothes and all. Try that for your next job interview.

4. sticking your tongue out, blowing spit bubbles, and chewing on your toes are adorable when your 5 months old.

5. When your daughter sings the wrong words at the top of her lungs everyone sighs over her pretty voice, when I do that...well, let's just say I don't get the same kind of sighs.

What else can kids do that adults can't?  How about randomly yelling out nonsensical words? Getting ice cream all over their face when they eat.  Yarn all over the house and make up poorly applied?  Cute.

Let's face it, kids are so adorable it's just not fair sometimes. 

Food storage experiment

Food storage is very important to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We feel it is important to have a 3 month food supply of things we use regularly, things we would keep in the pantry, a few extra cans of soup and green beans type of thing.  We should have a 72 hour kit that contains the food, clean water,  clothes and medical supplies we would need in an emergency and it would be able to get us through 3 days until help arrived.  We strive to have a three month supply of money in the bank, basically all of our bills and living expenses for three months in our savings account just in case my husband lost his job or something like that.  Then we also try to have a one year supply of food and a three month supply of fresh water.  This long term storage is really just the basics.  Grains and a hand mill, rice, beans, dehydrated carrots, things like that.  These are suggestions given by the church, it's not something we have to report on or anything, but it is very important to John and I.  We have tired very hard over the past 7 years of our marriage to get up those supplies of food, I wanted to talk about the one year supply.  We only have about 6 months, but we are trying.  Well, anyway, because it's so important to us we thought we would try an experiment to see what it would be like to live off of our food storage (and we are adding in a garden just because I NEED fresh produce or I'm in a a lot of pain.)  Over the next few weeks we will be living off of this food storage to see what we have, learn how to cook with it and use it, and learn if there is anything we need to or really want to add.  I also hopes this gives others some tips of things to add to their own food storage.  This will be fun...hopefully.  I told the kids that we are pretending there was a  big disaster and we are going to live as if the only food we have is our food storage and the food from our garden.  Here we go.

Day #1 We have like 50 pounds of spaghetti and macaroni, but no spaghetti sauce, tomatoes or cheese/Alfredo sauce.  Lets see if we can add dried tomatoes, freeze dried cheese or Alfredo sauce.
Day #2 We need more wheat.  I have made a batch of bead each day for three days and used over 15 cups of flour.   I'm going to spend a lot of time grinding wheat some day...
Day #3 We need more split peas.  For one thing it's my favorite meal, and for another it is made with ingredients that store easily and are often in long term food storage.  Split peas, onions, carrots, salt and water.  Yep, that simple and so amazing!
Day #4 the food grows!  TVP and dehydrated food expands...sometimes a lot.  What I thought would be a small pot of soup made a HUGE pot.
I'v lost track of the days, oh well.  I've discovered that I should add seasonings to my food storage, otherwise our food will be quite bland.  I think whole spices store better, so I'll look into it.  We also want to add quinoa, it's really good for you and high in protein.  I bet one big #10 can would last us for a long time!  Oh, lets talk personal hygiene.  I'm going to assume the only reason we would live off our food storage in earnest is because we no longer have access to good food because of a disaster...do I still have my garden!  or because John is out of work and we are using all savings just to pay the rent.  In that case we should have a supply of toilet paper, soaps, and other items needed to stay clean and smelling good. ;)
The food stinks.  Even Elizabeth won't eat it if she isn't seriously hungry.  She said "Mom, this yuck!" and pushed it away, Benjamin would rather starve and it is so hyper processed it gives me a stomach ache.  It isn't amazing, but it will keep us alive and now that I know more about how to cook with it I feel more comfortable and confident in our food storage.  If possible I MUST have a garden at all times though.
I had a few pleasant surprises today.  Whole wheat grinds down to almost double the amount it was when whole, I thought it would be less.  I also discovered that my kids fight over who gets to grind wheat and considering the fact it takes so much to make a couple loaves of bread, this is a good fight.  :)  As Glen says, he is getting strong pioneer muscles.
Through all of the ups and downs of cooking with food storage I think the most valuable lesson John and I learned is to be even more grateful for food then we already are.  When the time comes that we really have to use it it is going to be because this is all we have, but we will have it because we listened to and followed the counsel of the prophets and I know they speak the word of God.  We will do our best to be prepared and use these lessons to help us better prepare.

The family is of God

"God gave us families to help us become what he wants us to be.  This is how He shows His love, for the family is of God."  That cute little primary song has been running through my head most of the day.  I wanted to share a few small moments of inspiration that John and I have had that have had big results.
A month or so ago I had a few dreams and in them some force or another was trying to tear my family apart and no matter how hard I tried to hold tight to everyone my family was being ripped apart.  I woke up scared because I had that feeling that I get when I know the Lord is trying to speak to me, those weren't ordinary dreams and I need to listen or I might lose my family.  I talked to John and told him about my dreams and together we prayed to find out how to save our family and get us through whatever was going to try to tear us apart.  Our answer was simple to hear, but has been hard to do some times.  The answer was to spend more time together.  That was not the only time we received that answer either, it has come again and again from old conference talks we listened to "Too often mother and father are too tired to spend an hour reading with their children at the end of the day." From the Mormom channel "Wholesome recreation activities are as important to families as repentance, forgiveness and love."  from prayers to know how to help an angry boy who struggled "Spend more time with him."  Everywhere we turn it is the same answer, simple, right?  It has been hard to institute this though.  We like our own time, especially at night when we are both so tired, but we have tried.  I have to tell you , the difference in our family is AMAZING!  We have a much stronger bond then we did just 3 months ago.  Glen and Benjamin now look to us and each other for friendship.  Spending more time together working and playing has given us more time to talk about what is going on at school and home, it has given us opportunities to support each other in our individual struggles and ti find ways to serve each other.  We work more cohesively as a family.  The other day Glen prayed and thanked heavenly father for such a fun family and then later told me that he feels peaceful in our home.  I just about cheered out loud at hear that.  It means what we are doing is working.  Every time they come to us with their concerns, to ask to play with us, to talk to us, to hug us we are strengthening our relationship and bonding ourselves together so tightly that nothing will ever tear us apart.  Friends come and go, but family is forever.  How grateful I am for a loving Father in Heaven who has shown me how to save my family.

All smiles

Benjamin is my helper, Glen is my clown, Elizabeth is my little mother and my sweet Abigail is my joy, my smiley girl.  She is always smiling.  Even when she is upset she smiles.  One day she was at my neighbors house while I was getting a root canal and it went longer then I thought and Abigail got hungry.  As I sat feeding her my neighbor said she was so funny.  She was sitting and playing happily and then all the sudden she started to cry.  She only cried for a few minutes when she went back to smiling and laughing, then she cried again for a short time.  She did that for about 15 minutes and then fell asleep.  She is so quick to smile and it fills our home with joy!  Sometimes she smiles so big I wonder how her little body can hold so much joy!

When Elizabeth was a baby holding her filled everyone with peace.  When I was pregnant with Abigail I knew that where Elizabeth was our peace bringer, Abigail would be our joy.  Sure enough she is all smiles and giggles.  Some times  all I have to do to get her giggling is look at her.

Each of my children is unique and makes our family complete.

Little mother

This is my busy Lizzy.  Miss Elizabeth is into every thing.  All the time.  She loves to hide in the cupboard, take baths and swim, fully clothed or otherwise.  She loves to take care of her babies help me clean, and spin in circles.  She is my girl.  One of them anyway.  Today while I was cleaning the kitchen she started to help put the dishes away, gather the dishes from the table and floor and then sweep.  Whenever she hears Abigail cry she runs to help if she can and if not she comes to get me so I can help her.  

One of my favorite things about her is that she loves her brother Glen so much.  She *has* to walk him out to the bus stop and get him from the bus too.  She sees the bus and she starts to run and yells "Gen!"  She just lights up when he gets home.  She does the same for Daddy.  She is a big daddy's girl.  She calls him "Mom" though, so does that make her a mama's girl? ;)

Elizabeth is now starting to sit with me and let me read books to her, but she wants to hold it and turn the pages so I better have that book memorized.  She speaks in sentences, mostly 2-3 words, but she is trying.  She is *SO* obedient.  She will throw things away for me, come back when I ask and do just about everything I ask.  I remember when the boys were like that.  I'll cherish it while it lasts. She is also a dare devil like Glen.  Oh boy!  My darling little Lizzy, she sure keeps me on my toes.

My clown

Where Benjamin is a cuddle bu Glen here is my clown.  He is almost constantly doing something goofy! Headstands, funny faces, wild stories, crazy antics, I never know what he will do next!  Glen loves to talk even more then I do if you can believe it.  Lately pretty much all he wants to talk about are animals.  Over the summer he read 2 encyclopedias about animals.  He can spout of random facts about just about every animal, but his favorites are cheetahs, peregrine falcons, bats, and cicadas.  He tells me he wants to be a zoologist when he grows up.  I think he already is one. :)  His favorite TV show is Wild Kratts and he loves to learn about the animals and bugs and then pretend to be Kris or Martin and go do his own exploring.

Glen can tell the craziest stories.  We made a deal that he can tell any story he wants as long as he tells me the truth when I ask or if I start to believe a lie.  I wanted to encourage honesty without killing his imagination.  He tells some pretty crazy stories, but he is good about telling me if it's a true story or a wild story when I ask.

Glen is also brave, like crazy brave, with plenty of crazy in there.  He probably doesn't even have a good sense of self preservation and his trips to the ER have been numerous and I'm sure it's still just the beginning.  He is so active and wild!  I sure love this little spit fire of a son I have.

My little hero

 This boy of mine has stolen my heart again and again.  He is my little hero.  Every day he does something to help me out.  He helps keep the girls happy so I can clean, he will clean side by side with me.  He works hard, he loves to think and play, he loves to learn.  He is my boy!  I cherish this time we have together before he starts school.  I know he will change once he starts school, I know he will be gone more and I want to enjoy every last minute of this time we have.  Every nap, every conversation, every day we have to work together and learn together.  He will always have a special place in my heart.  We don't always get along and I know I won't cherish EVERYTHING, but I'm going to try my hardest to make the most of our special time.

He does well at whatever he sets his mind to, dishes, mating socks, or playing

My little model.

He loves his sisters so tenderly and is so helpful.

I am who I am and I am O.K.

I thought long and hard about this before I wanted to attempt putting it into words.  I didn't know who to say what I wanted to say, but I knew it needed to be said.  I think I am ready, I pray for guidance.

I have a friend who has really been struggling the past few years.  She is one of my best friends and I have tried so hard to help her in any way I can.  Too often I feel helpless, but she tells me I have helped her, that I have inspired her.  One day as we talked on the phone I started to tell her some things from my past.  I have a...how to put this...complicated past.  It is filled with years of abuse, hospitalizations, therapy, homes, rape, and struggles with anxiety and depression because of those things, just to scratch the surface.  I told her a little about it, I'm a pretty private person and I don't usually say much about it but she said "Wow, I never knew you struggled, I mean I guess everyone does but I never thought of you as being like me."  That hit me really hard.  I have not tried to hide who I am, I am not ashamed of what I have been through, on the contrary it is who I am, it is because of those struggles that I have become the person I am.
Do you remember this talk* by Elder Holland?  It's been the big thing for a lot of my friends.  I loved it so much.  I won't talk mush about it, but encourage you to go read it.  The way I see it the world wants us to think that if we are not perfect, happy, talented, and wonderful all the time then there must be something wrong with us.  We feel the need to hide it.  We have to pretend everything is ok and we are happy.  Don't believe me?  If you ask someone how they are doing do they really tell you or give you the automatic "I'm fine." response.  Sometimes we really are fine, but we don't always have to be.
So here is what I have to say to my friend, I hope you are seeing this.  We are who we are.  God made us this way, the good and the bad.  We struggle because we need to to grow.  Our trials and heart aches are nothing to be ashamed of, they are nothing to hide.  They are a part us us as surly as our ability to smile or cry.  The bitter and the sweet are a necessary part of His plan, they are part of having agency.  I say to you, and to all who are struggling with one thing or another, you are ok.  You are loved.  You are known.  You are special.  Let your light shine.
When I start to feel depressed or anxious I start to count my blessings, hug my babies, pray, and be positive.  It does not totally chase away the darkness, but it gives me hope and light, it reminds me that I am ok and that everything will be ok.


*Like a Broken Vessel https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/like-a-broken-vessel?lang=eng