God gave us Families!

The LDS Women's Conference was beautiful this year. It celebrated the 20th anniversary since the Proclamation to the World in Family was given. Family and motherhood is so important! There is greatness in the values, standards and guides given by modern living prophets who teach the word of the Lord. When this document was received into the world the attack on family values was not what it is today. The core values of a "traditional family" are mocked, outdated, prejudice, and wrong by the word of society. The value of a woman is marked by her position in the work force, her apparel and size and how many accomplishments and recognitions she's received. The base of a marriage has been thwarted and completely derailed. Children are no longer an asset and are a financial burden. Intimacy between a man and woman is no longer intimate. The roles of man and woman are mixed and no longer defined. The rising generation have a world that does not teach them the respect and honor of parenthood. I could go on and on about the negative changes our world has made, however there is also much good! 

Our world provides the greatest opportunities of happiness. Heavenly Father is perfect and he created a perfect plan for us, the plan of happiness. The worlds plan is not eternal, it's temporary and will not last forever. We are blessed to be in families where we learn things that cannot be taught in any other group or situation in life. Learning joy, forgiveness, acceptance, how to cook, how to read, deep love, commitment, devotion, sacrifice, pain, happiness, how to ride a bike, patience....so many important life lessons and skills are learned in the home. We believe the home to be second only in sacredness to the temple (which is the house of the Lord). The home and family must be defended and honored.

I love being a mother! It was my greatest desire and goal to become one. In High School I consider my most favorite compliment ever given to me: "you're going to be such a good mom". Those words meant and mean so much to me! I would always tell people, "I'm so excited to be a grandma someday!" And friends would just laugh and tell me there were stages before that one I had to go through. :). I knew that, but picturing me and my husband as grandparents with kiddos running around and cookies baking in the oven made me so excited for the future. I have learned so much in becoming a wife and mother! Things I never knew about myself, depth of emotions I never thought I'd feel, and a love that is so strong and dedicated to these people I love! I would never change the path I have taken and the choices I've made to be where I now am.

Motherhood is not glamorous. It is not high paid or recognized. But it is a position I am greatly honored to hold! There is nothing in the world that is more important than family. When we sacrifice for those we love we are better able to truly know our better self. There will be disagreements in marriages, fights between siblings, moments of feeling lonely or overwhelmed...but in the end if we can keep our family's strong through principles of forgiveness, patience and love there can be no greater happiness or success in this life. 

I am thankful for the principles we are taught through living prophets and apostles and living scripture. This world is a wonderful place and we are here to keep it a wonderful place. Let's remember the values and principles that raise a society, better humanity and uphold families!!!

The song referenced to in the Conference:

1. Our Father has a family. It’s me!

It’s you, all others too: we are His children.

He sent each one of us to earth, through birth,

To live and learn here in fam’lies.

2. A father’s place is to preside, provide,

To love and teach the gospel to his children.

A father leads in fam’ly prayer to share

Their love for Father in Heaven.

3. A mother’s purpose is to care, prepare,

To nurture and to strengthen all her children.

She teaches children to obey, to pray,

To love and serve in the fam’ly.

4. I’ll love and serve my family and be

A good example to each fam’ly member.

And when I am a mom or dad, so glad,

I’ll help my fam’ly remember:

[Chorus]

God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be—

This is how He shares His love, for the fam’ly is of God.

Chicken Coop: stage one

Stage One of the Chickens Coop: sides

We have been gathering and gathering free wood and looking at lots of coop structures to begin the process of making a home for our chicks. We were blessed with lots of pallets from a friend and invaded a few construction sites, but still the pieces we had were not enough. So, we paused for a bit. Then one day Mister James commented on how we should throw an old crib out (it's a dropside which are illegal to sale or give away and James was pretty set on just tossing it), and ding a lightbulb went off. I realized it was perfect to be the base structure of our chicks new 'crib.' So we finally got to work and began the great process of breaking up pallets, cutting wood and drilling them in. Stage one took quite some time, no thanks to the 40mph wind gusts blowing us around all day! Idaho weather is crazy!! There was snow, 70 degree sunshine and a windstorm all in one week! We are excited to let these chicks have more space and to have them out of ours ;) They currently reside in the laundry room. Happy coop building!!

Mountain Matt

My brother is amazing!!!! He is a true hunter and a true outdoorsman. Matt is someone who loves to be outside, he fishes, boats, shoots guns, trained an awesome black lab (Chevy), works outdoors for his job and even hunts with a bow! And...he makes his own quils with feathers. He's pretty awesome.

He just sent us a photo of his latest hunt....a huge full grown mature Tom Cat! Look at the size of that thing!!!!!!! He got a bear with his bow a while back...so I pretty much consider him a modern Robin Hood out there. Idaho is his backyard and he has a lot of fun playing in it!!!!

Time Out

This weekend my sweet Sister in Law Paige and I were blessed to attend a women's conference called Time Out For Women. My sweet sisters and mom attended in Seattle. It was a special time to be uplifted and edified by music and word.

The theme was "Living Proof" and we were challnged to make a promise of something we would do after being at this conference. I loved seeing beautiful promises made by women seeking to be stronger all hung up together!

While we enjoyed a great time....so did the hubbies. They watched Interstellar and went shooting with Jane and Chevy. I'd say that was a pretty good trade for the weekend. Except I told them we'll need another shooting date ;). I am grateful for good men in my life!

Paige looked so cute with her baby bump! Pretty exciting that we'll be bringing kiddos into the world at the same time.

The promise I made was after my favorite quote heard during the weekend. Given by Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley stating to be cheerful and not whine. That is something I live by and will strive harder to exemplify in my life, along with more dedicated prayers. I'm so thankful I was blessed to attend this great weekend it was such a pleasure and delight!!!

Favorite Things

Tonight was the culmination of a lot of work. We celebrated the beginning of the Relief Society in our church ward and it was a special evening. I was blessed by Mister James a great deal and could have never pulled off this event without him!! He was my hero big time today!  

The theme for the the night was "A few of our Favorite Things." And we talked about why RS is so important. The women were invited to bring a favorite dessert to share, and a few favorite things to fill RS Welcome Kits. We must love dessert cause we sure had lots to choose from!

I also put together a copy of the Relief Society Motto to match the invite and feel of the evening and some "brown paper packages tied up with strings" for each woman to take home with them. A lot of time and effort went into the evening and we had a good turn out of our great women. It was quite the party!

It'll be so special for those who are new moving into our Ward to get a special "Welcome Kit" from the Relief Society. I am so thankful for the principles and values this great organization teaches us. There is a great need for women full of charity and who know the joy of womanhood in this world. The Relief Society is a great blessing in my life!! 

Pie and Charms

We did a bit of a belated Pi Day with some dear friends for Family Home Evening last night. Their pies were amazing and it was so much fun to hang out. We finally got around to eating our chicken pot pie and I made my first time ever pumpkin pies for James (his favorite).

Then today we celebrated the great St. Patrick's Day! With the tradition of an early morning bowl of Lucky Charms (only once a year), and golden Rolos. It was a fun day in between all the errands and to-dos.

I got Jane some of my college watercolors out and had her paint a "rainbow." She loves drawing and painting and getting those hands dirty. We then went and got a free mint shake and showed off our greens. I love Holidays and making time for special traditions and memories!!

Chickies

Let the chicken journey begin!!! We have five pecking, chirping and adorable chickens currently residing at our abode in a plastic bin. They have won our hearts and we love all their funny personalities.

James is quite the chicken rooster ;). We've been holding them in hopes to have them "comfortable" with us. I think James secretly wants them to learn tricks and be circus chickens!

We've named them all already with the funny personalities and traits we've seen in them. It's so fun to see them cuddle for sleepy time and follow eachother around their home. I think we are going to like being the owners of chickens. Stay tuned to get their glamor shots and names.

Now we need to get cracking at building them their coop. We've drawn out plans and are trying to gather as much cheap wood as possible to make it as non costly as we can. We are excited for this fun adventure with chickens!

Charity Never Faileth

 
      I had the opportunity to teach my Relief Society last Sunday and wanted to share my lesson. Every 3 months I get the chance to prepare a lesson on a Christlike Attribute given in Preach My Gospel (the Missionary Manual used in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). This month our attribute was charity and love. And it could not have come on a better week. Our whole household got sick, especially sweet Jane, I had a friend who wanted a surprise photo shoot, my cooking articles were due for my side job and it was just a wild busy week. It taught me a lot to show love and have extra boosts of charity when I am stressed. Care for those you love, even when it is not "convenient." There is a great strength and happiness that comes when we strive to become more like the Savior Jesus Christ. I am so thankful for His life and teachings! What a blessing it is to belong to His church. 

      So many of the wonderful women in our Relief Society made amazing comments and shared experiences of their lives with this topic. It was a beautiful meeting and I felt so grateful for the women I get to rub shoulders with and learn from. As a hand out I gave each woman a ruler that I had written on with a gold pen, "The Golden Rule" "Treat others as Jesus would" "Charity Never Faileth." I loved preparing this lesson and learned so much in doing so and then even more from the women I taught it to. Enjoy reading my lesson outline and thinking about Charity and Love in your life!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Charity & Love

"The highest, noblest, strongest kind of love, not merely affection; the pure love of Christ."

Talk I reference: “Love of Christ”, C. Max Caldwell, Conference October 1992

“Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever.” (Moro. 7:47.)

Let us consider what is meant by the phrase “love of Christ.” That answer is critical because “the Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love.” (2 Ne. 26:30.) If we must have charity, then we must know what it is. The phrase “love of Christ” might have meaning in three dimensions:

1. Love for Christ: live gratefully

2. Love from Christ: the Atonement

3. Love like Christ: service & love to others

First, love for Christ. This concept proclaims Jesus as the object of our love, and our lives should be an external expression of our gratitude for him. Sometimes that is difficult to do.

• Our beloved President Benson told some of his experiences with the Saints in war-torn countries and shared the following: “One sister walked over a thousand miles with four small children, leaving her home in Poland. She lost all four to starvation and the freezing conditions. Yet she stood before us in her emaciated condition, her clothing shredded, and her feet wrapped in burlap, and bore testimony of how blessed she was.” (Ensign, Nov. 1980, p. 33.) Things we don’t enjoy must not overshadow our reasons to maintain our love for the Savior. Otherwise we may lose our perspective or become bitter, and our love for Christ may be lost.

• Another story of a man who lived through the Holocaust expresses gratitude and charity in a time of great sorrow and turmoil. In the book, Man’s Search for Meaning” Victor Frankl shares an experience he had upon the rescue and release from the concentration camp he was in. “Upon liberation a friend and I were walking through fields near the camp when suddenly we came to a field of green crops. Automatically, I avoided it, but he drew his arm through mine and dragged me through it. I stammered something about not treading down the young crops. He became annoyed, gave me an angry look and shouted, “You don’t say! And hasn’t enough been taken from us? My wife and child have been gassed- not to mention everything else- and you would forbid me to tread on a few stalks of oats!” Only slowly could these men be guided back to the commonplace truth that no one has the right to do wrong, not even if wrong has been done to them.”

• He later quotes, “He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how. It is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking to the future. And this is his salvation in the most difficult moments of his existence, although he sometimes has to force his mind to the task. To choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, is to choose one’s own way.”

• Have you experienced or watched someone else live through a challenge with Gratitude and love for the Lord?

• What helps you to have grateful charity and love in your life!?

• How deeply do we love him? Does our love depend on favorable environments? Is it diminished or strengthened by our experiences? Is our love for him evident by our behavior and our attitude? Charity, or love for Christ, sustains us in every need and influences us in every decision.

A second dimension of the meaning of charity is love from Christ. 

• Through his compliance with the severe requirements of the Atonement, the Savior offered the ultimate expression of love. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13.) And by permitting his Son to make such a selfless and suffering sacrifice, the Father provided us with an ultimate expression of his love as his gift to the rest of his children.

• This gift of charity is to be received. The Savior’s act of redemption for our sins is of no effect without our willingness to comply with the conditions of his atonement.

• In Preach My Gospel, Christlike Attributes, Charity and Love:

I think it is really neat that in this section it uses the words "You WILL..." Not, you can, or you may...you WILL! When you have charity you are actively doing, you are eager and willing and you don't have to be asked. It's part of your being, it's who you are!! As we read this list, think of the things you WILL become when you receive this gift of Charity and Love from your Father:

•  "You will come to feel a sincere concern for the eternal welfare and happiness of other people. You will avoid negative feelings such as anger, envy, lust, or covetousness. You will avoid judging others, criticizing them, or saying negative things about them. You will try to understand them and their points of view. You will be patient with them and try to help them when they are struggling or discouraged. Charity, like faith, leads to action. You will develop charity as you look for opportunities to serve others and give of yourself."

A third perception of charity is to possess a love that is like Christ. In other words, people are the object of Christlike love. 

• Live in anticipation of the divine directive that is proclaimed by the Savior as the key to the development of love: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you.” (John 13:34)
 Jesus’ love was inseparably connected to and resulted from his life of serving, sacrificing, and giving in behalf of others. We cannot develop Christlike love except by practicing the process prescribed by the Master.



• Charity is not just a precept or a principle, nor is it just a word to describe actions or attitudes. Rather, it is an internal condition that must be developed and experienced in order to be understood. We are possessors of charity when it is a part of our nature. People who have charity have a love for the Savior, have received of his love, and love others as he does.


Individually and collectively, we can experience the peace and happiness enjoyed for nearly two hundred years anciently when “there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.” (4 Ne. 1:15.)


• Daughters in My Kingdom: Charity Never Faileth    "Sister Wells, 5th RS President, and her counselors established a motto that would become a constant reminder of the organization’s founding principles and inspired origins. They chose a scriptural declaration: “Charity never faileth.” These three words embraced the charge that the Prophet Joseph Smith had given the Relief Society sisters: to “relieve the poor” and to “save souls.”

Link to Elder Caldwell's Talk:
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1992/10/love-of-christ?lang=eng

Janes Smarty Pants List

Jane is quite the little Smarty Pants. She is learning so quickly and is curious about all the world. We have loved watching her learn the words for things and put action with many words. Children are amazing and really can learn so much! I'm so proud of our Jane and the love of learning she already seems to have within her. Here is a list of the things she's doing lots of right now:

Animals: She'll either say the name or noise for 13 animals (more almost there, but these are the ones that are clear)

   -Fish, cow, monkey, dog, elephant, duck, cat, kangaroo, chicken, bunny, crab, horse and pig.

Other words you say:

  - car, no, ball/balloon

Signs you know:

   - thank you, more, all done, brush teeth, shaking head no, yes

Body parts you identify:

   - head, ears, nose, toes, tummy, eyes, mouth

Food you'll say the name of:

   - Nana (banana), Crakah! (Cracker), Chee (Cheese), Mmmm (Milk)

People:

   - Mama, Dada, Bo(Bop), Mah(Matt), "Chi Gor"(Curious George), Bay(Baby)

Things you know:

   - your Drawer; Tupperware drawer in the kitchen

   - your Chair: highchair

   - your Bedroom

   - how to "open" & "close"

   - "In": putting objects back in something.

   - how to dance and shake your booty!

   - how to guide a spoon into your mouth

   - how to WALK! 

   - drink on your own with a sippy

   - when we laugh or say funny you will do a little chuckle!

   - if you drop something and we ask you to pick it up you will!

   - pointing to pictures of the temple and Jesus

   - scribbling with a pen on paper

   - you love reading and turning pages

   - "conducting" music

  - turning off/on lights

She continues to learn things daily it feels like. We are so excited for all that she does this year and to watch her discover more wonderful things about this great world! We love our little Jane dear reindeer!!!!!

Early Bloomer

I'm proud to say that my first ever bulbs planted last fall are popping up!!! Bulbs have always frightened me. I don't feel like I know much of hat side of gardening. Give me a plant in dirt and ill quickly put it to use, but bulbs were the unknown to me. I planted some in my ugly little front garden that I'm dying to landscape. And just the other week I saw the beginnings of little green nubbins and then yesterday discovered a bid!! Those early blooming crocus' popped open for me! Despite the mailman always stepping in that garden and neighbor kids enjoying he dirt, these hearty bulbs are surviving!! I can't wait to hopefully see more popping up as spring continues forth!

It's a........

 

Well we found out the gender of our little muffin....it's a Boy!!!! 

We invited family to guess and it looks like most of us got the boy vibes going. Jane is going to be a great big sister and we are pretty excited for this little man to join our family. He was pretty sneaky in the ultrasound, keeping his feet tucked right where we needed to see the gender. But some good poking, patience and persistence we found it out. He loved yawning and wiggling all about as we watched him. He's a healthy little fella and will be joining us in July. 

We feel very blessed to be adding a fourth to our little family!

Seuss Birthday

"A persons a person, no matter how small." 

"I meant what I said and I said what I meant." 

"Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!" 

I love the quotes and books of Dr. Seuss. We celebrated his birthday today by making green/spinach eggs and a green smoothie with cat in the hat striped straws.

The eggs were delicious, Mister James says he'll be blendtecing all our eggs from now on. And we made our very first green smoothie to celebrate green dinner. It was pretty yum yum. Happy Birthday Dr.Seuss!!!