Moses 1

I could not be more excited for this year to begin. I have been teaching the 14-17 year old Sunday school class for about a year and a half and can honestly say it is my all time favorite calling. I love all of the kids I have had the privilege of learning with. I have studied that last part of the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and this year I could not be more excited to study the Old Testament!!! So I am hoping (not promising) to share what I learn while I prepare the lessons every week. This week begins with Moses 1.

As he was working on the translation of the bible in June 1830 Joseph Smith was shown a vision. He was able to see an experience that Moses had been given. (moses 1-8) What a gift to all of us to be able to live these moments right along with Moses and learn from his experiences.

Moses 1 is by far one of my all time favorite scripture passages. We gain so much that we need to know about Ourselves, Our Father in Heaven, and about Satan. 

We begin with God revealing himself to Moses And then for the first of many times he calls Moses His son. (1:4)  The reality of God is in fact a reality. He is our Father and he loves us all. each and every one of us. I write in my scriptures, kind of allot, and on the side of this verse I have written "I am his Daughter"  And then in verse 5 I have underlined the words ' and I have a work for you'  Don't you think that is about all we need to know I think once we all realize we are Gods children we all will then need to know more. We will hunger for more, and we will find our way back to him because that is more important than anything else. When we realize that being his child is the most important thing we will try our hardest to learn what we can become. Moses realizes we are nothing without our Father in Heaven and the only way to get back to him is through our Savior. Then the Father departs and Moses is left to ponder and has what I like to call 'a book of mormon moment' (because that is what happens in the book of mormon everyone 'falls to the earth')

And when he awakes Satan comes to him and without knowing it gives all of the rest of us the keys that we need to overcome him. (thank you Moses for going through it so I can learn from you) Satan comes to him and says "Moses, son of man' (1:12) And I love verse 13 Moses shoves it back in his face and says "I am a Son of God" He contends with Satan as Satan tries to deceive him by using all of his same old tricks. Trying to get Moses to believe he is anything less than a child of God is not as easy as he probably thought it would be. Moses puts up quite the fight. And puts him right in his place. Telling Satan that he still is filled with the glory of God and he has can feel only darkness from him.

Now if only we could learn a thing or two from him and do the same thing. 

The next time we are feeling tempted or tried or, frustrated, or a million other things Satan tries to get us to believe, so we will forget we are children of God. We could just pull it together long enough to maybe say a prayer or sing a hymn or whatever we do to get back in touch with the sprit enough to say to Satan "Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not; for God said unto me:thou art after the similitude of mine only begotten." (1:16)  That's the scripture for my mirror this week. Maybe I can remember it for a while yet. And maybe I could become a little more like Moses and learn to fight back with more vigor and less weakness. I want to be part of the kingdom of God more than anything else.  I really do, now I just need to prove it to myself, the Devil, and most importantly my Heavenly Father. 

There's a Book

So much fun!! I am so excited I was able to participate in the 'When I was young' segment over at There's a Book. I fell in love with this book when I was little and I read it every year. Go on over an check it out. But, you have to go there no more hints about it over here. .....

Survivor

Yes, I know I am an addict. But, I really can't help myself. I love Survivor. At the time it began it was such a grand idea. The show was such a thing of genius it pitted our most primal fears and anticipations against our desires to do what is right and then the whole world was able to watch as they all self destructed and turned into the things they all fear the very most. I have loved it from the very first moment I saw it. I loved all of the twists and turns the back stabbing and the heros who win their way through to the end. 

But, this season has taken the cake. Because of one player the guy who if you watched, you know who I mean. The self made millionaire who was able to convince all those around him he was a dirt poor fireman. He was also able to give the most brilliant performance in Survivor history. He manipulated every person in camp and single handedlly fought his way through to the end. He found hidden immunity idols with no clues an idea that is so simple when you think about it, then he made chaos for those around him. 

He gave me something to think about. He said "If I can control the way they feel, I control the way the think" Then he went on to dump out all the canteens and burn up their socks in the fire. He is a genius!! But more than that it really made me think. 

Isn't that what Satan does. If he can control the way we all feel he can control how we think and how we act. If he can make us all feel inferior to everyone around us. If he can make us feel not good enough, or rich enough, or pretty enough, or awake enough, or smart enough, or ______ enough. Then maybe he can make us yell at each other, and try to be better, and go into debt, or change our appearance, or pit ourselves against each other, Or a million other things that make us "FEEL" better. Who knows what he can have us do. What a crafty little devil. Only it gets worse. He knows us. I mean REALLY knows us. He has watched us for ever. He remembers how it was when our moms were to busy to listen, Or when we got left out of a birthday party, Or when we let a boy make us feel less than what we are. And he can manipulate our feelings to make all of that come screaming back. 

And what a fool I am to let him. How do I get back to the person I was when I chose this life. The person who would have really gone through anything just to have a chance at eternity. I need to remember THAT person. And throw it back in the devils face when he tires to make me any less than who I truly am. A daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me and who sent his son here to die for me. So that I can live again with him someday. He wants me to come home more than anything else.... Do I? What am I willing to give up and give to a guy who wants nothing more than to see me miserable, in order to make me feel better for this tiny little moment. 

Christmas letter

The one thing I really do dislike about myself is how flaky I can be. I know if I were friends with me I probably wouldn't be, because of this exact thing. This year I have neglected my Christmas letter. I was very well meaning and wanted to send one out to all of the people I love and care about but, then the other day I looked up and Christmas was this week. Oh hannah! I think most of the people I love read my blog so here it is.  

Dearest family and friends,

We hope this year will find you all well in your own families. Here at the Short house we are doing well. We have had a great year. We have grown up a little and learned allot. Life brings challenges and surprises each and every day. But, together we enjoy the journey. 

Michael played baseball this year, during the summer. We discovered that six year olds playing baseball is allot like watching ants run for cover in a sudden downpour. They know they have something to accomplish but the goal is not half as much fun as playing in the rain, or running around the bases with all the dandelions you can find in your hand. He also started kindergarten and he seems to enjoy it. His teacher is great with him. She lets him read extra while the other kids work on phonics. I think if he did not get such a great teacher he might hate school, but she figures out ways to challenge him and keep him on his toes. 

Ora turned four and she is as sassy as ever. She loves Fancy Nancy so while we were visiting home she and her cousin got all dressed up and had their hair done then we took a tea set over to McDonalds where we met grandma for a birthday  lunch. It was only the start of a Fancy year for us, she loves getting her nails done and having perfect hair. I have no idea where she gets it from but she is all girl and I think we like it.

Jordan turns three Dec. 8th and he is doing well, he has been in speech therapy this year and seems to be doing better. We can understand him a little now but not all the time so we will probably continue to work on it for a while. He loves to play cars and to take care of his little sister, every time she wakes up from a nap he has to be the first one to go in and play with her for at least ten minutes before I can get her out of the crib. He is really sweet and nothing seems to make him happier than being a big brother. 

Abigail turned One Nov. 14th I am just a little bit sad, okay a lot bit sad. She is such a cute little baby and I think she is refusing to walk so that I can hang on to this baby phase just a little bit longer. She gives cute baby kisses and plays peek a boo. She likes to fold her arms when we have family prayer, and she likes to go to sleep with Ora at bed time. I am so grateful for her every day, our family would not be complete without her. She loves all of us so very much and shows her love every single day. 

Joe and I are doing well, we celebrated 7 years together this year and are more in love now than we have ever been. Joe likes his job enough to keep going every day. He works hard and we play hard. We had a Family reunion in July that I was in charge of putting together and that took most of our time this year. Then in Late July and Aug. Joe and I worked on the committee for the open house of the Oquirrah Mountain Utah temple. We were able to devote almost three months of our lives to serving the Lord in getting his house ready for the public to view it. I was awesome to be able to devote so much time to this position. And then for the dedication we were able to work inside of the temple while the First Presidency was there. To spend the whole day inside of a temple while it was being dedicated was worth all of the hours and headaches it took to get us that far. We are spending the holidays here in West Jordan and looking forward to visiting home again early next year. 

The most joy we have comes from our knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the role it plays in our lives. We are so grateful for our eternal family. The bonds that connect us to each other are more important to us than anything. we are so grateful for our knowledge of the Savior and our plan for eternal salvation through his infinite atonement. We are so happy to be celebrating this season, the season that brings us the joy of knowing who we are and how we can get back to being those people who would do anything to get back to being with our Father in Heaven again. Even go through the trials of this life and the messes that come with it.  Have a very merry Christmas and a Happy and healthy new year .

We love you all,

The Short Family

My Dearest Abigail

Yes, my darling!!! You are stinking cute however, We have got to come to some kind of an arrangement. You came into my life and five minutes later you nursed for almost and hour. Did I let the nurses take you? No, I let you have you fill and then they took you away and cleaned you up. When you came back to me you climbed right up to where you were camped out and had full blown milk in TEN (count them people) TEN hours. I know my love, You and I both have loved every minute of our time together. You have been wrapping your one little arm around my back, placing your other hand on my chest and staring into my eyes for thirteen months now. I have loved being forced to sit with you and feed you for the last year of my life. When I first became a mom I fell in love with breastfeeding. Your Aunts can attest to the fact that I love nursing, and maybe I talk about it too much but I do love it. I highly recommend it to all new mothers. I even took a hit from your doctor at our last visit. We had quite the discussion about you never having had any other form of fluids. I placed my well planned out arguments for breastfeeding in front of the doctor (yes for those of you I am sharing this letter with, I did have a discussion with a well educated physician about my  daughter getting the best form of food for her growing body. I actually used the phrase.. "Did you just check your bedside manner at the door!!! Don't you think there is a reason she has also never had an antibiotic in her body.") And you grinned the whole time. And then we went home and you nursed and went down for a nap! 

Now to our arrangement, You need to start going to bed and staying there. We are going to have to ween you someday but, I will continue (for a little while) as long as we figure out a way for you to sleep. That means, I think, we will no longer nurse to sleep! I am sorry to see this go but I think we will survive. And maybe it will keep you from crashing at six in the afternoon and then staying up till midnight.  

Dang girl I love you and hate to see this come to a slower pace. You are the light of my life, the joy to my soul. And I will love that you and I have hung on to nursing for this long, none of your siblings were able to. And you my darling, have decided to keep me a "baby" mommy for a while longer. It has made the transition from being a baby machine to a mom with growing kids easier. Thank you for walking later and nursing longer. I let myself believe you can feel my mourning and are helping through the heartache that never being a "new" mother again is bringing. You snuggle me while I sob and I think we will be bonded a little bit tighter for it. 

Thank you for your soul. You truly have completed our family and I cannot wait to see how you grow up. 

Love, Mommy

P.S. To all the naysayers out there (Dr. Lei) If she feels a need to take my boob to college then I will hear your arguments 

Timing and Satan's favorite weapon GUILT!!

I'm going to pretend like no one knows what has been happening in my house lately. Even though I know you all hang on every bit of information about me and my family. (come on I know you do!!) Right? No, okay let's just let my fantasy go for a minute and I will tell you what has been going on anyway! So Right around Michael's birthday (halloween) I started getting super frustrated with him. Not only was he getting super grumpy and having tons of tantrums (yes my 6 year old) But, I was done dealing with his problem of not eating anything I would cook for dinner. Other than Mac and Cheese, PB&J, and fake chicken nuggets. So we thought we would lay down the law a little and I told him that if he did not eat his dinner then he would have to go to bed early so that his body could get more rest because he was choosing not to give it any good food that it needed. So we sat him down at the table with Tatter tot casserole, something he would eat a little over 6 month ago. He sat there for about 45 minutes. And I finally was ready to put him to bed. So he started to cry and I told him that he needed to take one REAL bite and he could stay up. He then took a lick of dinner and I told him it was not good enough. He took a bite and then proceeded to act out a scene from survivor. You know the one where they make them eat cockroaches and then they gag and choke and then puke all over the floor. Only he puked all over my kitchen table. So my thought was, that is not normal. The next day I took him into the doctor, thinking he would just scare him into eating. And he told me that his tonsils were huge and so he probably could not eat. (insert punch in the mom gut here) We then were told to go see an ENT Doctor to schedule the removal of his tonsils. That appointment was this morning. Yes a month later. (in the mean time, He has been through the flu and strep throat and now we are quarantined to keep his huge bacteria grabbing tonsils from getting him more ill) So we went in and the doctor proceeded to punch me in the mom gut again. It seems to be that not only can he not eat but, his large tonsil in combination with his narrow airway are a perfect combination for sleep apnea. So he is not eating because he can't and he is throwing tantrums like a two year old because the minute he lays on his back in bed his airway slowly closes until he stops breathing completely and wakes up long enough to gasp for air and go back to sleep where it starts over again. So he's not eating, not sleeping. and now.... they will fix this problem when...... (drumroll please) JAN. 4th!! The first day back to school. YEAH he gets to miss more school and I am sure I will get to have another very pleasant conversation with his principle about parents being involved in their child's education by bringing them to school. So FUN!!! So pray we make it. I just might go insane from lack of getting away time. (oh I forgot to tell you I can't even leave to run because I have a stress fracture in my shin I get to rest up for three more weeks and get better too) Any ideas for indoor games or crafts or cheep movies let me know because if we don't do something more than watch qubo I will go crazy and go run and maybe then I will break my shin completely which I may want to do just for some excitement)

There's a Book

I have been wanting to put out a post about Theresabook.com and now I have the perfect opportunity. Because, she's doing a giveaway. Go over and check out this great new website. My friend had the best idea to review books, all kinds of books. Mostly children's books so far but, in the future she will be reviewing all kinds of books. She has great taste (even if she did like twilight, but most people did so I can't really blame her there)  Go check her out. And enter to win her giveaway from the Pioneer woman cooks. And while you are there read on for great ideas for Christmas and otherwise. look around and see what's on the menu. For your bookshelf of course. 

Christmas chaos

(this is not our house or our couch anymore but the picture is a good one for what has been happening at out house now)

We have our tree up. We have our stockings hung, by the heater vent with care. We also have a tonsillectomy in our future near. Michael is doing well, we are still quarantined until we can get the disease catchers out of his mouth. But, this whole quarantine thing had been kind of fun. We have hung out at home for the past few weeks. All together just watching movies and playing games here at home. We have endured strep throat, a nasty sinus infection, the flu, colds all around. And now we are just waiting for the next big thing to hit us. who knows what it will be. But, we see the doctor on Tuesday and I am just hoping that once he hears that Michael is choking and throwing up almost everything he eats. And still waking up at night at least three times a night because he cannot breath that we will get a pretty quick trip to the O.R. 

He is pretty miserable, but we really are having fun. We are watching more T.V. than normal and we are quickly making a list of the As Seen on T.V. thing we want. If I never hear another episode of 123 penguins I would be just fine. We have discovered Rescue Heros a show all about Firemen, and paramedics. And Avalanches and earthquakes. And Michael now loves it. So everyday at 3:30 if you are looking for us you will find us watching that show. And I have become okay with that. I love being able to give something as little as a thirty minute T.V. show back to Michael. Who has to give up more than any six year old should. He hears "hold on" more than a kids should have to. So I love that our time together is set in stone every day!!

Heres to hoping we can make it through till those nasty tonsills come out. 

The Post in which I talk all about....

One of our greatest catches...

Jordan

Because he is three today! He is awesome. So much fun and so much work!! When he was born he came to us kind of by surprise. The doctors had told me it would be extremely hard for us to get pregnant again after  I had a pretty horrible ruptured ectopic pregnancy. So we decided not to hinder anything in hopes that someday we would have another baby. Well the next month there we were, pregnant again. I had just come out of a nightmare after loosing the baby , I hadn't even realized I was pregnant and then I felt like it had been ripped out of me. Then they told me not only that but I would probably never have any more babies. I didn't feel like anyone understood what I was feeling, Joe kept telling me it was fine and it must have been meant to be. I didn't feel like anyone would ever get it. I may have never held that baby but it was gone I had had a baby and it was gone. I felt the loss.

And then I got sick one morning and knew what that maybe meant. It felt like the Lord had given me back a gift. I was gong to be a new mom again. I could not understand it, I did not understand why I had been given such a HUGE gift. I didn't understand why me. But I knew I would never take it for granted again. The fact that I was able to be a mom through my own body. I would never take that for granted again. And when he was born I didn't. Getting him here was not easy. I spent most of ten months on my living room couch attached to a constant IV drip and a medication pump to keep me from throwing up. My mom spent most of ten months cleaning and taking care of my house and my other kids. Thank Heavens for mothers. 

And at the end of it my Jordan was born. He came smiling and has not stopped a whole lot since. It is crazy how you can sense your children when they are given to you, even in those first few minutes, Jordan was funny! He is the one who makes us all laugh all the time. He realized early on what looks would make us smile and then those are the only looks he gave. Then he learned if he giggled we would giggle, So thats what he did. Always learning new tricks to make us laugh then repeating them over and over again.  Now, he is three and he knows when he says I love you I can't help but smile. So he is the child who I hear those words from the most. Not a day goes by that he does not tell me he loves me at least six or seven times. And now he is three, three!! He came into my room this morning and I pulled him up into my bed and asked him. "Jordan lets skip your birthday and then you can stay 2 forever, what do you think?" He said very sweetly "No, I want my lightning McQueen cake" So I guess there you have it, I had him give me his last kiss as a two year old and we got out of bed to celebrate the day! 

Happy Birthday Crazy Boy I love you!!

Goings on

We have had quite the last few months here in our neck of the woods. Between car troubles and health problems we feel like we have been rung through the ringer and then hit by a semi. And now we are quarantined till strep throat decides to leave us alone. So here I am sniffling a little but figuring I should catch up the old bloggy blog blog..... (that may be the medication talking) 

We had so much fun through the fall and now here comes winter. I feel like it has stayed away long enough and now it is bound to come on in full force pretty soon. Halloween was fun. We had a good time trick or treating, or I should say Joe and the kids had a good time trick or treating. I stayed home and got things ready for Michael to open presents when they got back. He made out like a bandit for his birthday. He ended up with something like 60-70 dollars from Grandparents and was intent on spending it all on one trip to the store. We were there for a while. But it was a fun trip. Then the next day I asked him if he was going to pay his tithing and he was just not so sure he was ready to do that. His exact words were "If I don't can I go to the store again" He debated and thought it through for a while and finally decided he wanted to pay it after all. It was so hard for me to sit back and just let him decide but in the end I think it was the right thing to do. I hope he will always remember the hard choice at six and the joy that followed. Then maybe it won't be such a hard choice later on in life. 

We came through November mostly unscathed. Our cars on the other hand are a little worse for the wear and they showed it to us the last couple of months. I a, so grateful for a husband who can crawl around under there and get things fixed. He is awesome. Although at one point he had the flu and had to walk me through how to change the starter. But I did it, he had to come out at one point to turn the wrench I could not turn but, we got it fixed and I decided I want to help him all the time. I had a blast and now I want to know more. 

We had Abby's birthday too. She turned one and I am sad to report I spent most of the week depressed about it. Knowing I am done having babies had been hard. But, she is great a making me feel better. She still snuggles all the time. And I swear is not walking yet just for me. I will post her birthday pictures later. 

Thanksgiving was great. Joe's dad came up and for the first time I had to do the whole meal by  myself. It went well, real well, up until I dropped the fresh rolls into the dishwater in the sink. Right as we were sitting down to eat. OH WELL..... It was still good. And I feel proud that I made it through. I made a fresh blackberry cobbler for dessert which was so good. It was something Joe's Grandma used to make for his Dad every year for his birthday so, we wanted to bring her here to our table for Thanksgiving. It was nice chatting about her and visiting with Joe's "pops" for the weekend. 

So here we are getting ready for Christmas, still no camera...(sorry) but, maybe soon that will change. We are saving up so we can get a nice one next. No more broken ones five minutes after you leave the store. So any advice in that department would be well received. Hopefully I will have Abby's birthday pictures up soon, they are on a friends camera so who knows....

Speech/Lesson on Charity

Last night I was privileged to speak at our wards enrichment night last night. I spent so much time on my knees pleading to my Heavenly Father to help me, to guide me to say what he needed these women to hear. I was incredibly nervous to be standing in front of them. But, when I got up there things seemed to flow well. I thought I would post my notes from last night here so I could preserve them. The quotes and scriptures I used are underneath. I also had a separate piece of paper with  more stories of charity from my family and friends to use if I did not get some participation. 

I want to ask you a question and have you write down our response, you don’t need to show it to anyone just keep it to your self and then we will come back tot he answers at the end of our discussion.

WHAT IS CHARITY?

 

One of the scriptures that I love the most is 1Corinthians 

I am so grateful to the saints in corinth and there struggles because we learn so much from them.  

Paul is writing to the church in Corinth,

Problems, immorality, schisms in the church, doctrinal questions, AND spiritual gifts were being misunderstood..

So in answer to this we get one of the most beautifully written passages I THINK in all literature. The gifts of the spirit chapters which comprise chapters 12-16 of first Cor.

We are going to focus on the 13th chapter

 

(I filled in the blanks before we began because I don't like calling on people who are not prepared)

____________ will you read it for us please Chapter 1 vs 2 

-Is faith all we need for salvation ---- not according to Paul!

_______________ will you please read the next verse for us verse 3

The language of the scripture get kind of intense at times. But it does teach us an awful lot. If You were to give away all your earthly possessions or be burned  (which I can only think he is relating this to animal sacrifices in some way,) It will do you NO GOOD unless you have Charity.

Paul goes on to define Charity for us

___________ will read verses 4-7

THESE BRING ME BACK TO THE BEATTITUDES we learn from Christ in his sermon on the mount.

In the life and teachings of Jesus Christ manual We get some other translations for the word Paul uses and we can get a deeper sense of the beauty in his meaning here.  

For example. 

vs 4 the word vaunt in Greek means "braggart"

vs. 5 easily provoked becomes irritable, or exasperated

vs. 5 thinketh becomes reckons or takes account of 

 Paul goes on to teach us that Charity never faileth, although prophecies may, but Charity never will.

So how do we get the deeper meaning of what Charity really is. 

I think as women we tend to judge ourselves pretty harshly 

-Remember Elder Uchdorfs. talk about his wife and the eggs and toast. We should be celebrating when we don't burn the toast!!

We judge ourselves sometimes so much that we in turn tend to think others must be judging us as well. And this becomes such a vicious cycle. in our lives that we don’t even see sometimes what we are doing. 

-Have you ever had someone knock on your door, maybe even a friend (a good friend) and you pretend your not home because maybe your house is no quite clean.

-Have you ever made delicious treats and wanted to take them to someone but, darn you are out of that pretty ribbon so instead you eat them all yourself.

-Have you ever seen someone in the grocery store and hid behind the bananas because you didn’t have your hair done or makeup on

----I then put up a measuring stick and we wrote down the things we judge ourselves one. Some of the answers I got were, Home, parenting ability, looks, spirituality,....

Then I took the measuring stick and put it under my feet. The only person we are to measure ourselves against is the Savior and there Is NO WAY we will ever be perfected until the next life. 

  

------ There is no  measuring stick. ---------

That’s is such a small step toward Charity, but until we stop judging ourselves we Can NEVER HOPE TO STOP JUDGING OTHERS!!

I want to tell you some stories and it you guys can think of any from your own lives let me know.....

 

-A story once in music and the spoken word was told about an elderly couple the women was going blind and could no longer paint her finger nails so , her husband would do it for her and he did.... every week for 5 years

-Joseph Smith, young boy... A boy was looking for his brother in Nauvoo he was invited into the prophets home and was taken care of for the night and then the prophet arranged for him to have a coach ride the next 8 miles to his brother.. It was not until later that this boy came to know he was helped by the mormon prophet

-Joe’s Grandmother was in a horrible accident which killed her husband. After she got out of the rehab center Joe got a letter from her on his mission. It opened with Dear Joseph  I felt good today so I got up and went visiting teaching and now I am writing you a letter

-My quilt, during a particularly hard Christmas the members of our ward took car of my family and made all of us beautiful quilts for Christmas. They took the time to think about what we would like and then matched accordingly the fabric they choose for each of us. 

QUOTE BY MARVIN J. ASHTON

We have the legacy of RS to help us get there!!

The relief society’s legacy 

-1842 began by helping men build the temple

-1843 visiting committees formed

break after death of J.S.

1854 Indian Relief societies formed under council of Brigham Young.

-1866 reorganized with Eliza R. Snow as President.

-1876 begin a grain storage program

-1882 Open Deseret hospital

1918 At the end of WW1 the relief society sells 205,518 bushels of wheat to the united stated government and establishes a fund to purchase more wheat in the future

1921 National concern for health care causes R.S. to take wheat storage interest to fund  hundreds of health care clinics for expectant mothers, babies, and preschool children. Sisters in European missions prepare maternity chests for needy mothers and home deliveries

1936 Church welfare plan established RS responsible for preserving food, providing clothing, and bedding and teaching welfare principles to the sisters 

1940-1845 send clothing, food, and thousands of quilts to help saints in Europe.

1978 RS transfers 266,291 bushels of wheat and nearly 2 million dollars to the first presidency for welfare program. 

1999 do you remember the service of the millennium project 1,999 hours of service to humanitarian aide in one evening. 

March 2000 there are more than 4 million members in over 160 countries worldwide. 

What a heritage we have!

In one meeting where lucy Mack smith was in attendance she was heard to say:

LUCY SMITH QUOTE____________________________

We can get there we can draw on the experiences of the sisters around us to help us guide our way to Turn our hearts so they are forever changed. So that we put aside the things that don’t really matter and get back to what does. 

---- Do we want to have others see us in a way that when they look at us they see their Savior Jesus Chirst.

I am going  to read the final quote from elder eyering at our last RS general meeting

TESTIMONY!!!

1 Cor. 13:2 

And though I have the gift of prophesy, and I understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

1 Cor. 13:2

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

1Cor. 13:4-7

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not;charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things

“Charity is, perhaps, in many ways a misunderstood word. We often equate charity with visiting the sick, taking in casseroles, to those in need, or sharing our excess withthose who are less fortunate. But, really, true charity is much, much more. 

Real charity is not something you give away; it is something that you aquire and make a part of yourself. And when the virtue of charity becomes implanted in your heart, you are never the same again. “

Marvin J. Ashton

“We must cherish [and] watch over one another, comfort one another and gain instruction that we may all sit down in heaven together”

Lucy Smith

“You pass the heritage along as you help others receive the gift of charity in their hearts.   Then they will be able to pass it to others. The history of Relief Society is recorded in words and numbers, but the heritage is passed heart to heart. That is why families are such beneficiaries of Relief Society. ...... You have a glorious heritage. I pray to God that he will inspire you to preserve it and pass it on as a legacy to bless and bring joy to those in the generations and the seasons to come. “

Henry B. Eyering

For Six Years...

I have been a mom!!

And it all started with this guy!!

Michael is the best big brother this family could have asked for. The day he was born my mom took one look at him handed him to me and said "Wow, good luck with him" He was born an old, OLD soul, we could feel it. Everyone in the room knew this little guy had been waiting for a long time to be here on earth. And boy, oh boy did he prove it. For the next 8 months he screamed. He did not wait this long for a body to be stuck inside of something he could not control at all. He absolutely hated being a baby. It was the funniest thing to watch. At the time, it was the hardest thing I had ever done, looking back it is comical. He would scream and then I would move him to a new place in the house, and five minutes later he would scream. And I would move him yet again... No kidding, for 8 months! It went so far that one day I was delirious, so dang tired that I pulled out the vacuum because that was the only thing that would stop the crying except for me constantly holding him which I could not do anymore because my arms were throbbing. I turned it on ,he quieted and I put him in his swing. He did not cry and I sat on the couch. The next thing I remember I woke up because my house was full of smoke... Yes the vacuum had caught fire and was burning away in the corner of the room. And he was sleeping away in the corner. I got the fire stopped and the day went on. At 8 months he walked and the rest as they say is history.

Six years later, here we are a family of six with Michael as our big proud big brother. He brings an air of life to this family that we could not do without. He is tender and strong and takes such good care of his siblings. Last year for his birthday he wanted to learn to read. And this year I just had a parent teacher conference with his Kindergarten teacher and he is reading at a first grade level. I took him to the book fair after his conference, and he seriously picked out the dictionary!! I had to talk him into a spongebob book. Only after we got a dictionary, a human body book, and a book on the solar system. He is the coolest guy ever!! And now he is six years old. And next year he will, I am sure, be smarter than me. 

I just really loved this cartoon of moses. I bet he felt like this all the time. And it's a great way to intro my post today. 

I bore my testimony in church last Sunday and shared an experience that I have had with my scriptures. I love reading in the Bible. The stories are just plain fun to me. I love thinking about this Earth and the things it has seen its creator do with the people he has sent to it. We have such a history, a link to each other that if you don't believe in God you can miss out on. I wonder about the roles between science and God. The bends in the scientific laws that we just cannot explain. The quantum physics of our human experiences we might say. Oh well I am getting off track ..... meanwhile  back at the ranch..... I have decided to read the Old Testament all the way through from cover to cover. I have set this goal for myself before and I tend to fall short somewhere in the middle. But I am trying again and it has been awesome so far. I was reading in Exodus chapter 17 when my Heavenly Father reached out and hit me on  the head. (Don't you just love it when he does that) Oh well, I was reading about the Israelite's and the journey they are taking out of Egypt. They have come to the wilderness and are in want of bread so the Lord sends them Manna and quail from the heavens. In chapter 17 the children of Israel are murmuring once again, so badly in fact that Moses goes to the Lord and says "What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me"  So the Lord tells him to smite the rock and they are given water. Moses decides to name the place where they received the water according to the hearts of the children of Israel. He calls it Massah (meaning testing, trying proving)and Meribah (meaning Strife or complaint) WOW!! That made me think. What would Moses name my home... Meanwhile right after this happens the people of Amelek come to battle with the Israelites. They are afraid I am sure but Moses sends his people out to battle with Joshua at the head and he stands high upon a hilltop. He holds the rod of God in his hands, and as long as he holds up his staff his people are winning the battle. But if his hands fall the people start to loose. So he stands there all day with his hands up  in the air holding the staff up. Of course this is a hard thing to do and he being human is weak, so his friends come to help him. They give him a rock to rest upon and then they hold up his hands for him. And the people are triumphant. 

I love this story, there are so any parallels to our lives that I can draw on. I love that even a prophet of God a man who walked and talked with him still got weighed down and was weakened by his trial. It is okay for me to get weighed down and weary. I can call on my friends for help. They will come and literally hold me up if they can. Also I love thinking of the way his hands are in thinking of prayer. With our hand raised in the air pleading with our Father in Heaven in our darkest hour, He will come to our aid.  At the end of this chapter Moses is commanded to write down what happened that day. And the final verse reads "And Moses built an alter, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi..." When you look down at the translation of those words it says IE The Lord is my banner. 

What banner am I flying, is it one of complaint because life is hard, or of always finding fault with others, or being sorry for myself and wishing I could trade with someone who I think has it better than me. OR When people look at me do they see that I am happy with what I have been blessed with. Do they see their Lord and Savior when they see me. Could they picture a beautiful golden banner fling in front of me leading me back to my Heavenly home. I hope so. I think more often than not lately I have been flying the former banner but, now than I have been properly taught (or hit upside of my head) through the words of my Father in Heaven I can learn and be more conscious of whose banner I am waving in front of my life. 

How it went

I know I was supposed to keep up with the whole dinner every night thing but we were crazy last week so I am now just going to give a synopsis of our week. We made it and it was so fun. We had good meals every night and even had some good little extras throughout the week. I made a couple of soups in our crock pot. A chicken tortilla, and a taco soup. They were so very yummy!! I made rolls a couple of times and we had left overs and stuff for lunch. It went well, so well in fact that I think we will keep it up for a while trying to be creative and cutting out budget. Who knows maybe we can recover from some of our hard days faster if we can keep this up. 

Shopping

First up the results from  last night roast. I will never do a roast from frozen again. 

The only way to get a good roast is to sear it in a pan before you put it into the crock pot.  It was not bad but, it was pretty dry. The gravy turned out SO good just the perfect hint of tomato flavor. And the vegi's were pretty good. I am not a huge fan of roast (at least when I make it) but it was dinner. 

Now I am finally off to the store So here's my list:

2 lbs cheese

Taco seasoning mix

Ranch dip mix

2 Cans chicken broth

onion

garlic

2 maple sausage

bread

apples 4 lbs.

2 cans kidney beans

2 cans pinto beans

milk

4 Mac and Cheese

tortillas 

cucumber

celery

lettuce

grapes

Total: 31.99

I am keeping the leftover money in my pocket just in case I forgot something.

 

Now let's see what I can do with it??

Today our menu was made up of Scones for breakfast, I used some dough I had left over from the rolls I made yesterday. Lunch was tuna (from our food storage) sandwiches, on the rolls from yesterday. And for dinner we made Nachos Just chips, cheese (bought this morning), refried beans(from F.S.), and sour cream(from a stock up sale a few weeks ago when I got the sour cream for .49). 

What will we do tomorrow??? (I know you all can't wait to find out) 

Mommies have super powers!

Jordan had a problem the other day he came up to me heart broken. His favorite book had ripped in half. He was so upset and crying, I was heartbroken. It was bedtime so I could not fix it right at that minute. I picked him up and set him on the counter. I told him not to be sad that Mommies had special magical powers and it would be all better in the morning. So after all my kids were in bed I glued it back together and when he woke up in the morning it was on his pillow. He really did believe I was magic. Ora, of course, looked right at me over her breakfast cereal and said "No she used the glue gun" The magic ended right there for me but, not for Jordan he still thinks I am special. 

I am digging into my mommy magic this week. Our car has been broken down for a while. Every week we have had a new thing to fix on it and now with rent coming due we just don't have the money to make it happen on our normal budget. So things are being SLICED!! First and foremost. The grocery bill. Thank heavens for food storage. I will tap into what we do have and then I will get online and come up with some way to feed us all on $45.00 ALL SIX OF US!!!!  From tonight until next Thursday. I figure I will tell you what I am making for dinner. And where the ingredients came from every day. 

This is kind of an experiment to see if it can be done. But, also to prove that even if you don't go through some horrble natural disaster the prophets have told us to have food storage for a reason.  

So for my first trick: Tonight's dinner. I usually shop on Fridays so I don't have much in my fridge but, I also do not have a car. It will be fixed tomorrow.   SOOO music please....

 I looked in my freezer and what did I see... a VERY frozen roast under a little bag of peas. 

 I found three potatoes in my pantry and a can of tomatoes. I had a bag of baby carrots in the fridge. I put those things in the bottom of my crock pot and topped that with a seasoning mix called : "Fiesta Party Dip Mix" from tastefully simple. Then I put my frozen roast on top of that I figure once the roast thaws out a little I will add the rest of the seasoning on top. And  I will make some rolls to go with it!

See you tomorrow. After I go to the store. 

UMMMM......

My computer is back on line but, I now feel like I have nothing to say. I am just not sure what to do. So I guess I will just start typing and see what comes of it. 

Life is sometimes hard and some days I feel as if I am just bobbing up and down in the water that rages all around me. We have tough days and more often than not we have hard months and months. Where the whole world feels as if it could come tumbling down at any moment and it would still feel better than trying to breathe for one more minute. Thanks heavens I have a steel cage that surrounds me and my family all the time. 

     

Even when I don't feel like there is any more sun in my life. I get to wake up in the morning and have a reason to struggle to breathe. My little babies and my big red man make every day worth living even when I don't know if a can. Abby smiles up at me and laughs when she hears her fathers voice come into the room. Michael wants to sit up and read with me until he falls asleep. Ora wants to take "mommy" lessons all of the time.  And, Jordan tells me only about a hundred times a day how much he loves me.  Joe, the man who keeps us all together. He would go to hell and back just to make me smile. I get to be with the man of my dreams all the time. And that is worth more than any hell we have to go through together to get to eternity as a whole family. 

We fight every day to achieve that goal. To be together forever. THAT is what matters. The end game, where we all get to sit in our heaven together, our temple covenants holding us together for all of eternity. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have, the power it gives me to reach that goal. The most important thing we do in this life is not what happens in this life at all. The most important thing we do will come in the next stage. Where no money can bring happiness and no joy is more important the joy of our families going on into eternity. 

I can hang on, even when the cliff is crumbing around my aching fingers as long as I am clinging to the most important things in my life. My family and the gospel of Jesus Christ that binds us together. 

Where'd she go??

Once again my computer is not working. Sorry all I will be back soon! Cross your fingers

Future Gazer

(please be advised that this post is done entirely for fun and is a joke, with only a little bit of wishful thinking on my part.... here's to hoping!)

Dated:  June 2023

Headline: Couple finds love at a young age

Reads: Anyone attending the Short-Davis wedding this Saturday may be interested to know that these two have been in love for the past twenty years. No, they are not two eighty years olds seperated by war and time. They are two twenty something year olds who fell in love over Chutes and Ladders and a combined love of Battleship and sprinklers. Jaxon Davis always wanted a little sister but all three times his mother returned from the hospital the blanket was blue. Ora Short has been a bride from birth never wanting anything more than to have her prince charming come find her. So, when there parents decided to swap date night babysitting the match was made. He had a instant little sister to take care of and she had her prince charming. A boy who not only wanted to play with her but, who took care of her whenever she was around. He held doors for her and defended her from monsters, aka the 6 other boys with swords in hand, he also sat with her to watch care bears and Annie, things her brothers would never do.  And now here they are twenty years later living out the fantasy that started all those years ago in this four year old girls head. When the parents were asked if they ever thought this day would really come, the brides mother responded "I took the pictures of them when they were little only half thinking it would make a cute story "if" it ever did happen." I guess it is lucky for all of us here now that she did. Congratulations to the happy couple. May they have many more years of joy together. With the occasional game of battleship the only thing they argue about. 

Fishing over Labor Day

On Labor Day Monday we decided to take a little last minute fishing trip. It was so much fun, however because it was so last minute we only brought one pole and no extra bait. My Grandpa was a serious fisherman. Some of my fondest memories of him are on the water. A couple years ago while Joe and I were at their house, we got the surprise (or I could say the gift) of my life. My Grandpa and Joe had been talking about fishing and my Grandfather decided to give Joe a bunch of his fishing things. One of those things was his fishing pole. It was with that pole, and spinner bait that our family caught our first fish. Here is the story. 

This is my favorite thing in Utah. These flowers grow all over the place here and I love them. Not only that but, I am highly allergic to them. How did I find this out. By, making Joe pullover one day so I could pick some to put on my table. Not 5 minutes after I had them arranged I broke out into huge hives. Complete with one big ole bad boy under my nose from where I smelled the flowers. But, It's so pretty huh!

My cute kids!!

Abby eating rocks. She quickly went back into the stroller after this was taken. 

Joe captioned this one on facebook, "Jordan teaching me how to fish"

Michael's turn

Ora's (and our whole families) first fish. Joe did not even know she had it until it came out of the water. It was tiny. But well worth it. 

Right after this picture was taken the fish 'jumped' out of Joe's hand and all of my kiddo's started screaming as it flapped on the floor. You would have thought we caught Jaws and had sent it flapping after him. We were only at the lake for about an hour and a half but it was so much fun. Probably the most fun we have had in a long time. 

Cousins Visit

A few weeks ago my big sister came up to visit with her two kids. I love them so much and was in such a "down" place that their timing could not have been better. We had so much fun just hanging out. I love that I do not feel like I have to entertain, we can just get together in the morning and see where the day takes us. The first day we went out to IKEA. And then off to the park to play.  One of the days we decided to spend down town in Salt Lake. Her kids had never done the conference center tour. And I do not love to go anywhere else in this town more. My kids and I can't wait for the day that we can go down there and just sit in that place for hours. It was so nice to share it with the people I love. 

Tanner!

The roof top was open and so we were able to go up and see temple square from above. My favorite thing is kids looking at the temple of God. I just hope he is thinking . "That is my home too!!"

All of the cousins (okay minus Jordan and Abby, they were not happy enough for a shot) 

After the conference center we went over to the SWEETS candy factory tour. And even though we learned the best time to go would have been in the morning we still had a great time. 

I am thinking we will have to go back with the preschool kids. 

Before the tour

After, in their hair nets. YES, even Abby had a hairnet!! But they were worth it to taste the jelly bean, and chocolate jelly's right off the line. 

First day of school

I dropped Michael off at kindergarten this morning. And YES it was that bad!!! I was a wreck, a composed wreck, but a wreck all the same. Yesterday we went and bought him a backpack and when I asked him if he wanted a new shirt for his first day his response made me think "this is definitely my child" I thought for sure he would want something like that so I asked him when we got to the store, and he said no, that he had enough shirts. So we went back to get him a backpack and I asked him again, I got the same response. As we were checking out I told him again that it might be fun to have a new shirt for his first day. He stopped in his tracks turned to me and said "Mom, I have told you three times, I don't need a new shirt, Tanner (his cousin) just gave me some shirts, I am good" I started laughing and we checked out and left. Then last night I had him practice writing his name so he would not have any trouble today. We sat at the table and I wrote his name at the top of a page and told him to copy it four times. He did it no problem, so I folded the paper over and asked him to write it on his own, without looking. He got really upset and said he did not think he could do it. He has been writing his name for a year, I had only written it for him because we have taken a few weeks off before school started and I thought he might need a refresher,  so I told him not to be silly of course he could do it he had done it a hundred time before. I told him to stop crying and at least try it. And to call me if he thought he needed more help. So I went down and changed the laundry over. When I came back up he had written his first name and was asking me how to spell our last name. I told him to sound it out and he wrote the "sh" just fine while I was getting dinner ready. Then I said sound it out what comes next. He said "o" I turned around to watch him do it and I saw what his problem was. HE HAD COVERED HIS EYES!!!! When I told him not to look I was not thinking at all. Poor guy, I let him know he needed to look at the paper and I did not mean it the way he took it. I was sorry! I know better than that! So funny though. He is seriously the best kid ever, and that is for real how he is "obedient to a fault" I love him so so much!!

This is the first day of school pose he chose to do!! We have two trees in our front yard and this one he has claimed as his. Ora has the other one the one with the better background for pictures, no nasty street to give away just how ghetto out house is in the background. But still, I thought this was super cute!!

Outside the kindergarten playground

He walked right up to the kids and starting playing. No problem!!

Happiness

I have been thinking about this for a while now, why do people think that they deserve to be happy, like it is something you should just be. I have a hard time understanding this. I always figured being happy was something you WORKED at, not something you are entitled to. But, it seems there are allot of people out there that believe differently so I was wondering what you all think.

I will tell you why I feel the way I do. First off I believe it is a commandment to be happy, not a blessing. Yes, you can be blessed with happy things in your life. But I don't think our Father in Heaven is just going to make us happy, in fact, I will say it again, I think he has commanded us to be happy. Here's why.

Proverbs 29:18 ... but, he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

James 5:11 (he is speaking about having patience, suffering through our trials, not holding grudges.. "Behold we count them happy which endure." Then he talks about Job and the tender mercy of the Lord. 

Mosiah 2:41  "Happy is the state of them that keep the commandments."

But, none can compare to the story we learn from Ammon who after being separated from Alma and his other brethren for a time, comes to find him again, while leading the people of Anti-Nephi Lehi. And we learn that he was so full of joy that he falls to earth from the exhaustion that comes upon him (we call these book of mormon moments at my house)

Alma 27:18 "Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this joy which NONE receiveth SAVE IT BE the truly penitent and humble SEEKER OF HAPPINESS."

We do not learn that God granted him happiness, or that he had found happiness and joy from finding himself. NO it is only after he went and served. Gave up part of his life, became a disciple of Christ and then, while freeing other people from destruction,  comes to find his brother along the way. He not only has FOUND happiness but Joy!! Ammon is one of my favorites he teaches us so much. He goes out and becomes what the Lord wants him to be. And is happy to do it!! Then he is blessed with the joy that comes from the Lord. 

I think we can get so tied up in being our human selves that we forget our lives belong to our Heavenly Father. Our choices belong to us. We have been given things in our lives that are hard, I will not try to down play any persons suffering. But, I do believe that we will be judged based on how we react to the things that happen to us in this life. I am a girl who when I feel frustrated I let my Father in Heaven know it. Winston Churchill and I have this in common he said " I am prepared for the day I will meet my maker, whether my maker is prepared for the grand ordeal of meeting me I do not know." I am not sure why we are sent to suffer such things as, miscarriages  in healthy women and drug addicted babied in others. Or children dying in such awful ways. There are things in this life I will never understand. And even more things I Never want to. But, I do know this. My Heavenly Father expects me to find happiness in the peace that comes from the all encompassing love of my Savior Jesus Christ. It is only he who can help me find True and lasting Joy. The Joy that come only AFTER I have figured out how to happy through all the misery that being a human being in this world brings. 

I will end on this note, I believe the fathers of our Nation put it best when they wrote  "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. "

Think about it and tell me what you think. Is happiness a blessing or a commandment?

8 Months

How time flies, when your having fun. And boy oh boy have I had fun with her. I love this picture because you can see the hints of RED in her hair. And her blue, blue eyes. She really has been such a fun baby. When I had Michael I was so stressed out I don't think I fully appreciated what I had. Then Ora came and I was so taken by surprise that I was not fully prepared for her. But we made it and I think I took to motherhood relatively well. But, Michael and Ora both HATED being babies they screamed till they could walk. We then had Jordan who is so full of life and so so so so good at getting into trouble. But, still going from 2 to 3 kids was not as hard as I had heard it would be. Then came Abigail. My perfect little angel baby who is so content and happy all of the time. And I thought for a while there that I would DIE!! I was so overwhelmed all day and so frustrated when Jordan (who for all intensive purposes is still a baby himself) would climb the walls and throw baseballs at Abby's head (When she was 2 days old) that I really did feel like I was drowning all day long. And then at night I would just hold her and rock her and everything would just melt away  I don't know what would have happened if I had gotten another HARD baby, I may have self combusted months ago. But we have made it this far and I think we will keep her around a while longer. 

This is her personality in perfection. She is so happy, I have never seen a child so content to just BE. She lets people hold her and snuggle her and just coos and smiles and everyone falls automatically in love with her.

She eats a whole banana for breakfast most mornings... In about five minutes. I am not a mom who gets bad postpartum depression. However I do get bad post nursing depression. Every bite of solid food she takes breaks my heart just a little bit. I Do not want OUR time together to end quit yet. And no I am not sad she still gets up to nurse 2 or 3 times a night. 

Pulling up and standing. 

She is on the move every now and then. She has pulled herself up a little and is just now starting to sit by herself. I think I have tried too hard to keep her a baby for as long as I can. She has spent most of these past 8 months in a sling snuggled up against my front. Now that she is having more free time out of moms pouch she is starting to get more things done! But having said that I just may go sling her up for a few hours just for ME!!

Open letter from Paul Kruyer

This a letter from Paul Kruyer father of Iysha, he shared it with the local news when they asked to interview the family. You see, they had just done a story one week before on Annalee, the mommy, she is a local dentist. Here is the letter. Please pass it along to as many families as you know will listen and hear the words. 

Every summer a story about a child drowning would inevitably be aired on the evening news.  Every time, it would bring tears to my eyes & my heart would go out to "that poor unfortunate family".  I never believed it would happen to us.   We had too many rules in place for that to happen.  We watch our children too closely... until the one time you don't.  Because that is all it takes, once and our baby is taken away.  Years of daily vigilance are washed away in just four short minutes.  

For the last 24 hours, I have gone over and over the "if I had just" game.  I want someone to blame so that I can eventually forgive them.  It is harder to forgive yourself.  Because if I had just gotten home earlier, if I had warned the kids more, if we had moved already, if I had kept Iysha (eye sh uh) at the office one more year...  SHE would still be alive, brightening up each and every minute of my life.

I pray that the tragedy that has befallen my family does not happen to any other.  If one less child drowns because THEIR family has felt our grief and become just that much more vigilant... then witnessing our sorrow will be worth the hours, days and future years of heartache.  Friends and family all ask what they can do for me.  Everyone is willing and able to help.  But how do I answer that question, when I don't know what to do myself.  The future is all I have.  I want it to be a brighter one for my remaining 5 children.

Many of YOU have asked as well.  Our children are our future.  If you feel so inclined, rather than sending flowers, we are setting  up an education trust fund for our remaining 5 children.  The "Kruyer Children" trust fund will be set up at the Bank of America, Horizon Ridge Pkwy & Horizon Drive branch.  

thanks again for your kind words, prayers and heartfelt expressions of sympathy and love.

Paul Kruyer