Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness

Right now I think most of us would agree that being prepared is on all of our minds. I had a very interesting talk with a friend about the fear and panic we feel. Those are obviously not righteous feelings. We are commanded to be prepared, but that doesn't mean to do more than we can or should. In Mosiah 4:27 it says "And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strenth. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order." It is important to do what we can and try our hardest to get prepared. But if we are honestly doing all we can to be prepared, then that is enough. I was thinking about all the different excuses David and I have used over the past.... We don't have enough space (when we were in a 700sq. foot home with 3 kids).... We don't have enough money (when we were going out to eat at least every other week)..... I am no good at rotating.... etc. There are so many things that can hold us back. Not that these things aren't valid, they are, it's just I think we used them sometimes as a crutch. Even in that 700sq. foot home I had space under my beds and space above my kitchen cabinets. Under the bed is not ideal, but if you remember to rotate the food that is down there it's as good a place as any. David still won't give in on the above the cabinet issue, but as long as he helps me find somewhere to keep our food I'm okay with that. :-) As far as money goes, you can't tell anyone whether or not they have enough. I figure as long as someone does something every month, even if it is only 20 bucks a month they are trying to get their food storage. They are trying to follow the counsel of the prophets. If that is all we can do, then good for us. We are trying. I think that is the biggest thing. Just trying to take the step. And the whole rotation thing..... well that one still stresses me out. We have gotten a lot of Mountain House food for our storage because it has a 30 year shelf life and rotation is so daunting to me. It is a little bit more expensive, but it just helps me out. I am so excited to keep getting prepared. Every little bit helps. I think we all need to look at the big picture and remember, there is a reason for this commandment. It is not just to make it hard for us. We would not be counseled to do something that is impossible. It might take years upon years, but all we have to do is try. We need to do our best. I know this was long and rambling, but it's been on my mind and I just wanted to share it. For those of you who are working on your food storage - which is most, if not all, of us - Way to Go!

Beautiful Baby Girl

Oh my gosh! Does it get any better than this. I wasn't going to post these because David has them on his blog, but I was just so afraid someone wouldn't get to see them. Now they have double the chance. Look at this adorable little baby. I love how David captured the moment. She is an angel baby. Look at the way she is looking at her Daddy. This little girl is just so happy to be here, and according to her blessing she is a very special baby. We had so much fun with Tiffany's family. They made us all feel so welcome, and there were tons of us :). It was a very special day and Tiffany's family really knows how to do a luncheon. It really was great. Thanks for the wonderful day!

Kaylee's Blessing

We got to enjoy John and Tiffany's baby Kaylee's blessing today. It was so beautiful. She was blessed with so many wonderful things. What a wonderful, sweet baby. These are just some pictures of our little family heading into the church. We were early and were quite pleased with ourselves about that.

Cartwheels, Cartwheels, Cartwheels

Emma has recently discovered that she can do cartwheels. Now we get to enjoy them on a regular basis. She is very proud of herself.

Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones is all the rage at our house right now. David rented all three of them last month and we had a marathon with these movies and our kids (edited in case anyone was worried). My boys thought these were the greatest movies ever. It is all they have talked about or played pretty much for the last month (except pirates now and then - all though then they just act that Indiana is a pirate so I guess that still counts). David got them these hats from walmart and they went nuts. They always have them on, especially Jake. He sleeps with his right next to him. He loves it. They are swinging from any thing and everything they can get there hands on - the cords on my blinds, the turn stick on my blinds, ropes that they tie to the stair banister..... they are crazy. They always have a belt, or rope, or purse strap hanging from their hands. They have to have their hats and their whips at all times. I love it. Even my girls get into it. They pretend to be Willy (the blonde from the second movie). They have this big fake crystal that they pretend is the diamond at the beginning of the movie. They drop it on the floor then slide all around the floor acting like it keeps getting hit out of their hands (if you've seen the movie you will know what I am talking about). Emma wants me to post a picture of her doing it, but she says she had to look right first (pretty dress, hair curled, etc), and we haven't had time yet. It has been a very fun Indiana Jones month for us.

Krazy Katie!

Katie loves to play with the boys. Unless she is in the middle of the action and destroying whatever they are playing with she is not happy. Which unfortunately does not make them happy. David and I find it quite funny. We love to listen to them all freak out when Katie is on her way over. They are always asking us to put her to bed, but when there are no toys involved all they want to to is play with Katie. Everyone loves our Krazy Katie :)

Katie can walk!

She did it! Katie took her first steps today. She has been doing it over and over tonight. We are so excited. I even got it on camera. Unfortunately I don't remember how to put video up on my blog, so when I get David to help me you will all get to see Katie's first steps. Of course she is in nothing but a diaper and you can see our orange home depot bucket blockade to keep katie in, but I know you all won't judge :). We are very happy for Katie.

Brighton came over and wanted to go on the slip"n"slide. I asked Ben to help her get a swimsuit on and this is what they came up with. Mindy and I had a good laugh about this one. They really did have so much fun that day. They are the best of friends right now. Ben loves to take care of the ladies.

Summer is Here

Don't we all remember the good times on the slip "n" slide. I really can't figure out what was so great about it, but we loved it and so do they.

We're in Trouble!

Katie learned to climb the stairs this week. AHHHHHHH! She is so crazy. It is all she wants to do now. When the kids go upstairs they ask us to put up the gate so she can't get to them. They say she ruins all their projects. What to do, what to do. I can't keep this girl off the stairs. We are in the process of trying to teach her to go back down. Every step I teach her to go down she goes back up two. She is getting so big. She can now stand and get to a standing position all by herself. She is really close to walking. We expect it to start happening any time in the next couple of weeks. She has attempted to take steps but hasn't quite succedded. We will keep you all posted.

Ben "Thinks he can Dance!"

We loved this season of American Idol. David and I were avid watchers. Emma loved to watch it with us. Ben, on the other hand, thought it was the end of the world every Tues. and Wed. night. He would let everyone know that he hated American Idol and how boring he thought it was. When the season ended we decided to start watching a show called "So you think you can Dance." He thought it was the greatest thing he had ever seen. He started "dancing" around the room and yelling out loud, that he had talent. The whole night he kept going on and on about how talented he was and when he grew up he was going to go on that show and win. It was awesome! We of course told him that he was super talented. We are his parents after all. Judge for yourselves. Here are his pictures. The top one is my favorite. Him pointing at the camera without even knowing it. Come on, it dosn't get better than that. Hopefully we will have a video of it soon. We think everyone should enjoy Ben's talent :). Feel free to let us know what you think - as long as you agree that he is amazing!