A Forgotten Sister

So, my sister, Holly, decided to complain that I hadn't posted any pictures of her from Christmas. Wa-wa--I hear the violins playing already. So, here goes, Holly--a post just for you, with all your Christmas morning 'glamour shots'. Enjoy!!

Holiday Photos...A Bit Late

We spent Christmas break visiting family for the holidays. We spent the first half of the break in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with Heidi's family and the second half in Leavenworth, Kansas, with Robert's family. I took a bunch of pictures so I thought I'd share them with you......all 164 of them. Just kidding--here's a quick glimpse into our holiday celebrations.

Top 10 Reasons Why We Don't Have Our Food Storage

I came across this list/essay about a month ago and found it, not only funny, but very truthful and compelling. Perhaps it will motivate all of us this new year. A couple of years ago I decided, as a 'new years' resolution, to build our food storage. It's a comfort to know that we have food and that we're taking care of ourselves.

Top 10 Reasons Why I Don't Have My Food Storage.

#10. My neighbors have a TWO year supply! No, they don't. They don't have any food. Did you know that 85% of the members of the church don't have any food storage at all? If your idea of food storage is to eat someone else’s food………..this is a really bad plan.

#9. I've paid tithing for 20 years...the church can give me a little food. Many members believe that when the times get hard, the church is going to come through like Joseph in Egypt. Absolutely not true. All the church storehouses and welfare farms across the country would only feed 4% of the members of the church. The church has been asking YOU to store food for 75 years. They're NOT storing food for you. Thus, another bad plan.

#8. I'm moving in with my children / parents! Really....that’s just a bad plan all by itself. But it points out that most members don't have a year's supply because they're PLANNING on eating someone else's food! Of course, since no one HAS any food, we have yet another bad plan.

#7. I have a year's supply...and the bullets to go with it! I've heard time and again, "How dumb is that to go to all the time and expense of getting food...just to have some guy with a gun come and shoot my family to take it away?" Here's a better question. Are you afraid of the guy with the gun? Or are you more afraid of BECOMING the guy with the gun? What would you do if your children were starving to death? Would you lie? Cheat? Steal? Would you shoot your neighbor for his food? I guarantee....if you were watching your child starving to death, you would do anything you had to to keep them alive. If you don't have your year's supply, you are putting yourself in danger of losing not only your temporal salvation, but your spiritual salvation as well. So far, all the reasons we don't have our food storage involve eating someone else's food. Please, don't put your family's temporal salvation in other people's hands. No one is storing food for you. Not your neighbors, not the government...not even the church.

#6. The boat and the 4 wheelers are taking up all my storage space! (priorities!)

#5. 3 letters....Y2K. Ok, that's 2 letters and a number....but they're always making way too much out of everything! This is never going to happen!” (Every prophecy that has ever been given WILL happen.)

#4. If anything DOES happen, the government will be here within hours! (insert laughter) Did you know the government has been telling us that we need to have food storage? They're actually CALLING it food storage! We now have the government telling us to store food, water, medicines...whatever we will need to be able to stay in our homes for several months.

#3. I can't afford scrap booking AND food storage. The average food storage can cost as little as a dollar a day. We live in the richest society in the history of the world, and while there are cases where money may be a problem, most of the time it is a matter of priorities. We have chosen bigger homes, nicer cars, more tv's, computers, vacations ...everything is more important than our food storage. If I asked, "Who has a cell phone?" most of you would say yes. You pay at least $30 a month to have a cell phone....that's about a dollar a day...the cost of one year's supply of food for your child. Is your cell phone really more important than your child's temporal salvation? You have to make food storage a priority.

#2. I'm waiting for the cannery to sell Papa John's dehydrated pizza! Food storage has always had a stigma attached to it. If it's not wheat, beans and powdered milk, it's not food storage. With the system I use, food storage can be sweet and sour chicken, tamale pie, chile and cornbread, beef stew, shepherd's pie, minestrone...even chocolate chip cookies! Your imagination (and your pocketbook) are the only limitations you have.

And the #1 reason why I don't have my year's supply of food? A year?? I thought it was 72 hours!! You KNOW you should have your food storage. You WANT to have it, but it can be so overwhelming! How much do I buy? Where do I store it? How do I cook it? It seems like an impossible task.... but it's not. It doesn't matter if you use my system or just start buying extra food, the important thing is to do something. Good luck in your efforts! Wendy DeWitt

Christmas Letter

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! This year has been very full for us. We began it in our new house. We have spent the entire year, and entire paychecks-:), fixing it up. We've changed nearly everything imaginable. Our big project this fall was our kitchen. We painted the cabinets, changed the hardware, put in new appliances, got granite countertops, and are now in the process of picking out and installing the backsplash. Does it ever end? Hopefully we'll have fewer projects in 2009.
ROBERT has had a busy year. He was short an attorney in his office nearly the entire year so he was loaded with cases. He was also put into the bishopric this spring. What a surprise! Although it's a lot of work, he has enjoyed it, and we are noticing the growth and blessings that are coming from his service.
HEIDI is like any other mom--crazy busy! She spent the first half of the year still in Young Women's. She went to camp with them and then was released. In April she competed in a half-marathon. She volunteers once a week in Adam's school class. She also started teaching piano again and is part of a small group teaching preschool to our 3 year olds.
ADAM is now 6 years old. He started Kindergarten in August. He loves it! He really enjoys the constant stimulation and busyness of it. He has worked very hard this entire year learning how to cope and manage his OCD. We're pleased he is doing so well. He loves Ben 10, playing on the computer and writing. He will make list after list just to write. He has about 10 Christmas lists right now.
MATTHEW is 3 1/2 years old. He began preschool this fall, which he enjoys. He has become quite shy in large groups; he would rather play with just one or two friends. He loves playing games and any sport. He is definitely athletic.
We wish everyone a Merry Christmas. May you see the blessings in your lives.

Love, Robert, Heidi, Adam and Matthew

Christmas Came Early

Christmas came early in our house. Since we will be in Cheyenne on Christmas Day we decided to have our family Christmas this morning. We didn't tell the boys about it until last night and boy, did they get excited. Adam, our night owl, was up by 6:30am--way earlier than he gets up for school. We had a great time. Everyone loved their gifts. In fact, both Adam and Matthew kept saying thank you and telling us how much they like their gifts. We played with the toys and games and watched the new DVDs today. Now we're heading out to McDonalds for dinner. They earned their Happy Meals this week by eating the dinners every night. Here's a few photos from our day. You can see that both boys are excited. I love Matt's cute, little face; he's so expressive. Merry Christmas!!!

Toddlers or Teenagers--which is better?

Yesterday afternoon I spent three hours at Adam's school helping the teachers with 45 kindergarteners. Normally I help for an hour and a half with about 22 students. So, I was a bit surprised when I was there double the time with double the students. Holy Hannah Montana!! I was so tired when I got home. I could never be a kindergarten teacher. They have the patience of saints and the stamina of the Energizer bunny.
Later in the evening, I heard Adam and Matt playing around in their rooms. I went to investigate and they were pretending to have big muscles. They had put on lots of shirts and sweaters; Adam had on nine and Matt had on six. It made me think of what they might look like as teenagers after going through puberty, and perhaps after a few steroids. Here they are showing off and flexing their "muscles". Matt calls this his "tough guy" look.

More December Activities

Adam and Matt made a ginger-bread house on Sunday. As you can see, Adam is very anxious to eat it.