Happy Thanksgiving

Tuesday we made our way to the library to stock up on books and movies before the holiday. The objective was to make sure that both Tessa and Kali had enough to read for the whole weekend. I think we came close. Kiah of course found some interesting cookbooks and Toran got a couple of Cam Jansen books, so overall I think we are good. With Tessa and Kali it is all about quantity, yes quality is important but if you don't have enough, these two can become a problem. They will begin with the nothing to do whine and head right into the can you craft something plead, and it just generally is not good. So the solution is to make sure we have plenty to read all weekend.

a weekend of reading

Wednesday we bake, we are baking pies, rolls and starting a couple of side dishes. This is Kiah's favorite holiday, mine too. We made two pumpkin, one apple and two chocolate cream. Sounds yummy. Anique made aunt Stacey's rolls, these have become a favorite. They can't be good for you because you just want to eat a 100 of them but boy are they fabulous.

Thursday or Turkey day we are crafting, watching Christmas movies, putting a puzzle together, smelling the turkey cook, setting the table and generally having an easy going family day. Later we will make a list of the many things we are thankful for and eat until we can't move. We will share scriptures of thankfulness and stories of pilgrims looking for religious freedoms, we will share accounts of God's hand in our lives and be grateful for His love.

Doctrine and Covenants 98: 1-3
1) Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;
2)Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord,
3)Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name's glory, saith the Lord.

When we give thanks for everything we are promised that the things we ask for will be granted if it is for God's glory. We find joy when we give thanks to God for all He does in our lives.
May everyone have a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Mormon Helping Hands in the Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

Mormon Helping Hands in the Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

About 150 people from our stake went to New York this past weekend. Some of whom are in this video.

It's Thursday and we have a plan

After a very disappointing Tuesday night and a Wednesday of feeling hopeless and wanting a change. We have made a plan to put ourselves into a better place come the high water and the hot place we know is coming. We have decided we are going to become preppers. It is true, we will do most things with the thought of how does this help us 1) pay off debt, 2) add to the food/product stockpile, 3) make our home more energy efficient, 4) in a disaster. Disaster defined as anything that makes life more difficult to deal with.
The plan is obviously in the early stages and we still have a lot to decide and figure out but for Christmas we are all getting 72 hr. kits and we are drawing out the plans for the food storage room. I am going through all of the lists and figuring out what we need to add to our food storage so we are not as affected by rising food costs. The girls are planning the garden for this spring and we are making plans to butcher chickens and order baby chicks. I wish I could get a milk cow or goat. That would be so cool. The Lord has said, if you are prepared ye shall not fear. I think that means physically and spiritually, so we are doubling our efforts in the spiritual realm as well. We are stepping up our scripture study and understanding, scripture memorization, more meaningful prayer and looking for ways to have meaningful family service.
This week I am making the master plan for the year and we will start the prep. I hope to have a years worth of food and supplies by this time next year. I will be adding to our skills list as well. We already make our own laundry soap and would like to add bar soap, shampoo, chapstick, lotion as well as learning to can. This is a skill that I believe will be very important to have and the girls will be much better off if they learn it young. I hope to receive canning jars and a canning pot for Christmas. I am thinking about a pressure cooker as well but that may take some time to get my nerve up.
I also hope to stockpile fabric, patterns, school curriculum/supplies, cleaning supplies, first aid and paper products. This will take time but we have a new determination and zeal to follow the Lord and the prophet in being prepared for whatever comes.

Peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment.
Doctrine and Covenants 121:7

The Pumpkins are finished and...

they look good!

Anique, Kiah, Tessa and Kali all carved a pumpkin by themselves. I carved three. Every year we get comments on our pumpkins, this year was the first year that people asked to take  pictures of them. I find it fun that the little kids stop and look at the pumpkins and loose track of the fact that they are there for free candy. I even heard many kids say things as they walked away like "why don't our pumpkins look like that?", "when are we going to carve our pumpkins?". It makes one feel pretty good about one's pumpkin carving skills. As a side note, does anyone else think it is funny that for 364 days of the year we tell our kids don't take candy from strangers and once a year we march them around in silly clothes and tell them to take the candy and say thank you? It just feels wrong(as I eat peanut butter m&m's).



I carved the two at the top, Kiah the one in the middle, Kali the one on the bottom. That tree took 3 hours to carve.

Tessa carved the one on top, Anique the one in the middle and I did the one you can't see.

Here is the one you can't see up top. I loved how simple it was to carve.