Follow the Prophets

In these times of uncertainty we can ALWAYS turn to our Prophet and Apostles for direction. I found this Ensign article, Finding Peace and I thought that I would share...



“To find peace—the peace within, the peace that passeth understanding—men must live in honesty, honoring each other, honoring obligations, working willingly, loving and cherishing loved ones, serving and considering others, with patience, with virtue, with faith and forbearance, with the assurance that life is for learning, for serving, for repenting, and improving. And God be thanked for the blessed principle of repenting and improving, which is a way that is open to us all.”
Elder Richard L. Evans


Occasionally discouragement may darken our pathway; frustration may be a constant companion. In our ears there may sound the sophistry of Satan as he whispers, “You cannot save the world; your small efforts are meaningless. You haven’t time to be concerned for others.” Trusting in the Lord, let us turn our heads from such falsehoods and make certain our feet are firmly planted in the path of service and our hearts and souls dedicated to follow the example of the Lord. In moments when the light of resolution dims and when the heart grows faint, we can take comfort from His promise: “Be not weary in well-doing. … Out of small things proceedeth that which is great. Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind.”
President Thomas S. Monson



President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) counseled us: “The price of peace is righteousness. Men and nations may loudly proclaim, ‘Peace, peace,’ but there shall be no peace until individuals nurture in their souls those principles of personal purity, integrity, and character which foster the development of peace. Peace cannot be imposed. It must come from the lives and hearts of men. There is no other way.”


We need to press forward and smile. We are and have been given the guidance it is our job to ponder, pray and put into practice. I am so thankful for our Prophets!

Food For Thought...

A President's pension currently is $191,300.00 per year, until he is 80 years old.
Assuming the next president lives to age 80, Sen. McCain would receive ZERO pension as he would reach 80 at the end of two terms as president.
Sen. Obama would be retired for 26 years after two terms and would receive $4,973,800.00 in pension.
Therefore, it would certainly make economic sense to elect McCain in November.
How's that for non-partisan thinking?????

Our Yogurt Lover

Wyatt is our yogurt lover! He was eating yogurt and was being so cute so I thought I would share...
When Wyatt eats yogurt he does the happy dance. He wiggles his hips and humms...very cute!

TODAY is the LAST DAY!

Today is the last day to get registered in the state of Washington. I know that it is a little frustrating sometimes with the electoral college but our vote does count. Jeremiah and I haven't registered yet for Washington so we are going to the Court house today with the kids for family home evening. It will be a great way to show/teach them about the voting process. I am sure you are all ready to go but if not...they are open till 8pm tonight. Have a great family home evening!

Remembering to Smile

With all we hear about the turmoil in our country isn't nice to know that we always have our families and we can always laugh with them or make fun of them!!

run towards them for a big hug...

count of them to always make you giggle...

or just be plain silly!!
I just love my silly family! Thank you for the fun day!!

Road to Recovery

I just wanted to post that we are home and Elijah is making a speedy recovery! After 3 days in the hospital with MRSA we got the okay to come home and finish his recuperation. I am so grateful for modern medicine without it our Elijah could of had a different outcome. Thank you to all who sent us dinners, blessings and your love. Thank you so much.

Grapes!

We had our own "Stomp Weekend". My mom and dad came from Oregon this weekend and we went and picked grapes! Isn't she cute!

It was so much fun! We picked off only 2 vines and look at the amount...


When we got home we started making the juice...it was going to be hard but with the handy, dandy juicer contraption it was so easy. At the end of the day we had almost 2 dozen quarts of pure, all natural grape juice with no fuss, no muss! I love canning! (I guess I shouldn't say that it makes me sound super old!!)

Tag...I'm It

Thank you so much Jan...I guess tag I'm it! Okay let's see what I can tell you about me!


1. I love to clean! I know crazy and maybe a little obsessive compulsive but none the less I really do love it. I love to organize and I love to clean others' home too. I almost prefer that because I can leave it in a clean condition and not have to watch it get messy again. The bottom line is that I just love cleaning!

2. I had my first two children in the hospital with all the drugs available to me and then I had the next two at home with nothing to dull the pain but my thoughts of my husband getting a vasectomy. To be honest, I absolutely loved the spiritual experience of the home birth. I would recommend it to anyone who has uncomplicated births! It was great!

3. Jeremiah and I were married 3 months after we met in the Portland, Oregon Temple. Heavenly Father brought us together and we just trusted in Him. I am so lucky because he is my best friend. I can count on him. I feel so lucky to know that we will be together forever!

4. I learned how to can/preserve food this year and am totally loving it! As you may tell from my blog.

5. I can curl my tongue...

6. I love muscle cars and vintage race cars. One of my favorite movies is "Gone in 60 seconds". That movie is full of beautiful cars (and Nicolas Cage). I would love to have any one of those cars. I love the sound and everything about them!! In high school I dated a boy for his green Mustang. It was I think a '67 and totally restored. Just cherry. He would take me to the drive in. Ah, I remember that car well!

7. I hate roller coasters. I am a big baby!

Okay, now it is my turn to play tag...I tag...Terra, Debbie, Debie, Amy, Zaylie, Terri, Jodi . I can't wait to read what you all say!

Just to Let You Know...

Hello all! I just started a blog for the cub scouts in pack 180. The blog address is cubscoutingwith180.blogspot.com. I will be adding a calender of the events that we will be doing. Also you will be able to follow along with the fun we are having!!! Comments are great!

You are Smokin' Chickens!!

Well this last weekend Jeremiah took his first steps on the road of outdoor BBQing! He has perfected the hot dog and the burger but he wanted to expand his menu so he with the help of his Dad smoked his first chickens. After 4 hours in the smoker and then borrowing a meat thermometer (thank you Romm Family) he did it! They were great! Good job Honey!!

Firey Food Festival...NOT so Firey

We went to the firey food festival last weekend...kinda a dud but Grandmom and Grandad from Tillamook were visiting so it made it great fun! It was more like a farmer's market...we were just expecting lots of fiery food. We bought a couple of bushes of peppers...as you can see from the picture they were just loaded! On Monday Jeremiah made pepper jelly. It was hot, just the way we like it! The rest of the day our hands just burned! I guess when they say to wear the gloves they really mean it! Next year, we might go again just for the pepper bushes but it really wasn't that great of a festival! Oh well!

Pack Night

Jack earned his Weblos! We are so proud of him. He also earned his handyman, craftsman, aquanaut and fitness. All the boys are cruisen' with all their awards and accomplishments! Cub Scouts are so important to him. I am totally understanding and gaining a testimony of the Scout program. Our boys need this program. John Oberman is a great example to our boys. The Scouting program teaches our boys how to set goals and it recognizes each and every accomplishment they do, which is so important. I think that if we can continue to build up our boys with positive influence they will be able to do what they need to do to serve our Heavenly Father. Good Job, Pack 180!

Look How We Labored On Labor Day

With the crazy help of everyone we got 75 ears of corn canned and 2 boxes of pears done this holiday weekend! It was great we all had our little stations and everyone did a great job! Next week we are doing peaches and tomatoes. This will be a great addition to the stuff that we have done earlier this summer!

Elijah's First Day of Pre-School

Elijah started pre-school today with Debbie Hughes. He was so happy to go. When we got there there was a group of boys sitting around a toy. Elijah walked up to them and said, "Hi, I'm here!" The one boy said, "Wow, are you a real person?" Elijah then said, "Oh yes, I am really, real!" After that he ran over and said, "Bye Mom, have a great day!" School went great and WE are excited about it!

School is in Session!

School started yesterday which is bittersweet. Everyone was ready to go but I know that when school starts I lose a small amount of the sands of time. I can't believe that they are growing up. I never thought that it would happen. With Jack in 5th grade and Zaylie in 3rd I am freaking out!













They are making decisions and acting for themselves. I hope that I did all I could do. The kids love their teachers and I think that this year will rock! I've signed up for a couple of PTO things so I will be crazy busy again...but that is the way I like it!

Wyatt takes a "Birdie Bath"

Camping in a dirty job. All the kids took a little "birdie bath" in this bucket. Most of them didn't like it much but Wyatt seems to love it. This video will crack you up. When I ask him about his ouwie I asking him about his hurt pinky toe. Earlier in the week he stepped on a hot coal while we were dutch ovening. As of today he is much better and the sore is almost completely healed. Anyways, enjoy part of our fun!

Jack with his Motorcycle

Jack has become the motorcycle kid!

He has been going out with Dad every chance he gets. He has mastered the sand and is now moved on to wanting to learn how to jump! A little scary for the parents but he is a great rider so have fun Jack!

Whew! What a Summer it has Been!

Our summer started before school got out. We went to the Joann and Ty Hatch's home in Clearfield Utah. It was a great trip! Their son, Jake was baptized. That was so special to be a part of. The kids thought that it was neat touch when Jake got to take some of his baptism water home with him. Jack and Zaylie wished that they would of done that. Oh well we will do that for Elijah and Wyatt. We also got to meet their newest little girl, Lily. She is such a cute addition to their family.

Our next adventure was a special house guest, our cousin, Annebelle came to stay with us.She bought such a special spirit to our home. While she was hear we also had another great guest come, Grandmom Evans. We went to Pasco's farmers market. We got some fresh veggies and some delicious strawberry bread! Carolyn is such a wealth of knowlege...I loved having her here! That was the end of June.

July started with a BANG! We went to Portland to visit the Recks and the Evans. For the 4th of July we spent it with the Recks. They hosted a block party complete with all the great food and great fireworks! We played Settlers and ate Teresa's fabulous chocolate chip cookies. On the 5th of July it was Jeremiah's Birthday so we went out to his folks. Of course the visit was so nice. Carolyn taught me how to make tamales. When we got home we made them again and they turned out great so I guess I learned something!

It was now the Hatch's turn to come and visit us so Joann and the kids drove up. We did some scrapbooking, which I hadn't done in a very long time because Joann is my scrapbooking buddy and I can't do it without her. We went to a couple parks and to the snake river. The kids swam and we had a nice picnic. Jack, Trevyn, Jake and Zaylie are great friends. They share a special bond that they can only know!

We ended July with a visit to my mom and dad's, Nanna and Grampa. The kids played in the backyard and stayed cool in the little pool. We visited the Portland Zoo too. We hadn't been there in a long time. When Jack and Zaylie were little we would go a couple times a week so being there made me realize how much they have grown up and how awesome they are! We also went to Seaside (the beach). While we were their we did the bumper cars! It ROCKED! Nanna laughed so hard and so did we! Wyatt was a little too scared...next year will be funner for him.

August started with a camping adventure with the Recks in LaPine Oregon. Teresa has been camping at this nice little lake for many years and last year she took me and kids for an awesome trip so this year we came back for more and it was MORE! Last year it was Teresa and I with 15 kids! This year it was Teresa, Jeremiah and I with only 11 kids! It is a primative camp site so we had to hull wood, get water and use the Biffy (outhouse). It was great! Elijah really took off swimming. He swam almost half way to the middle of the lake. Jeremiah canoed everyday and took everyone on rides. Jack and Jer went on a motorcycle overnighter and slept under the stars in their own tarp tent. Zaylie made a new friend named Ariel and had lots of fun hanging out with Christina and Andrea. Wyatt had so much fun riding his tricycle and playing on the beach. He even started riding Elijah's bike with the training wheels. He is a bike riding boy. In the evenings we would play Nerts (cards) and have some very fabulous desserts. When we camp we do it in style. Our cooking ROCKS! We made pizza in the dutch oven!! Camping with Teresa is a summer highlight! I can't wait for next year!!

Through out all of our travels we were holding down the fort doing cub scouts and playing with all the friends. Jack has been burning through the Weblos program. He is doing great with it. We are suppose to go to the Jack Johnson concert this weekend but we are tripped out! We just can't do another one so we just sold them. I think that we are getting old! Oh well. School is starting on the 27th and we are almost ready. Friday we are going to get the last of the school supplies. I am so grateful for all the time that we have had to visit family and friends. This summer has taught me how much I love my family and how I love to be around them as much as possible.