Bus

Did I ever mention we bought a bus!?  We are so excited!!!  We set a goal in 2014 as a family to buy a bus and convert it to an RV.  We didn't make it in 2014, but we did it in 2015.  The Lord helped us so much!  We accomplished a pretty hard goal for our family.  It took a ton of waiting and discipline.  We also ended the year out of debt and with a year's supply of basic food.  It feels so good to follow the prophet.  The Lord helped us do this; He answered our earnest prayers.  

We are excited to travel in the bus, but even if it just sat in the driveway it is worth it.  This because in case of an earthquake our house (made of brick and stone in the 1870s) will probably not stay upright.  So we can at least have shelter in the bus.  It also will make a great guest room.  We are so blessed!

Here are some of our goals for the bus:

• Strengthen Our Family
• Make fun, amazing memories
• Improve love and patience
• Become hardy, prepared, and more adventurous
• Appreciate the great outdoors more
• Strengthen our physical bodies through exploration & events
• Grow a family culture of unity that will make us inseparable forever
• Invite the Spirit into our family by doing the following
• Strengthen Our Extended Family
• Visit and serve our close family more easily
• Visit and serve our distant family
• Attend big family reunions
• Organize and hold big family reunions
• Get family histories from relatives
• Digitize and share family histories
• Take trips with extended family
• Do More Family History and Temple Work
• Work at many different temples
• Visit family history sites & get pictures
• Index and fill in trees along the way
• Share the Gospel with More People
• Meet lots for people & share gospel
• Have a family blog sharing our adventures
• Display on the bus some of what makes us happy
• Serve, visit, and love many, many people
• Enhance Our Education
• Explore our nation’s history
• Appreciate our pioneer history
• Increase our understanding of different cultures, places, science, geography, geology, language, etc.
• Attend southern homeschool conference
• Meet experts
• Go WWOOFing
• Learn how to create & share an incredible website
• Learn skills to earn plenty of money on the road

Fresh Bread

Ella (8) is teaching Tank (6) to make bread this week.  They do an amazing job!  I don't even enter the kitchen.  Ella makes beautiful bread and has since she was six.  All the kids older than her also make delicious bread completely on their own from memory.  Tank is learning fast.  It sure helps to have the kids serve the family in this way.  We have to make a batch at least once a day.  Yesterday we made two, eight loaves.  Seven loaves were gone before 24 hours were up.  A big family eats a ton!  It's fun to try to keep up!  I'm grateful Heavenly Father has blessed us with enough to eat and the joy of fresh bread!

Health Habits

Learning to rule over this mortal body is a huge challenge.  It's fun too!  I feel myself getting stronger since Jeebz being born.  I've had to really work at it!  Weight is hard to burn off, but I'm slowly gaining control.  I'm grateful Heavenly Father has blessed my efforts and gives me hope.  Because sometimes it could be discouraging. I've set eating seven habits that I want to master.  Plus, my workouts are planned and going great.  I'm building muscle -- ouch!

1. I eat at least two servings of raw vegetables before I eat anything else at each meal.
2. I am totally raw on Wednesdays.  
3. I don’t snack between meals.
4. I fast for 24 hours every Sunday.
5. I eat only sunshine for breakfast.  I eat between 600-700 kcalories for lunch and dinner.  (If I find I’m losing weight when I don’t want to I increase this a bit.)
6. I don’t consume sugar, white flour, chocolate (not because a little is bad, but because I quickly become addicted), artificial sweetener, coffee, tea, or carbonation.
7. I am vegetarian, except during the winter when I eat a bit of meat.

Presidents of the Church

I've been so blessed to read the Church's curriculum, "Teachings of the Presidents of the Church."  They have lifted and taught me over the years.  This year we are studying the life and words of Ezra Taft Benson.  Just reading about his life has been inspirational.

I am really struggling with being a mom.  It is truly the hardest job.  Okay, what other job do I know!  I lose my hope and patience and charity when I'm disobeyed.  When the kids fight like crazy I'm faced with the same feelings of failure.  I have to remember who they really are: valiant followers of Christ.  I have to help them remember that in kind, sweet, patient, encouraging way.  I have to not just subdue feelings of anger, but annihilate them.  I pray Heavenly Father will forgive me for my impatience and help me raise these young folks.  I pray they will not fail because of me.  But that they will succeed gloriously in spite of me. I pray we can have loving relationships.  Right now I feel like these desires are near impossible.  But I just need to be meek and lowly, teach with kindness (even when they make one bad choice after another), and pray like crazy!

Let's be clear.  I have great kids.  But some of them do not seem to have any desire to learn exact obedience or love for each other.  I understand them messing up sometimes, but I'd like to feel that they at least thought it was important to try.  I don't have a close relationship with some of my children right now.  That makes all the difference.  They don't care to obey me, because I haven't paid the price for their friendship.  I will try harder to swallow my anger and pride and earn their love.  For starters, I'm going to go up and talk to the ones that have been sent to their beds.  I will keep a prayer in my heart.  Wish me luck!

Saturday Morning

The house is quiet.  Just the heater running.  I've read my scriptures, said my prayers, studied a phrase in Chinese, and watched a YouTube video on how to drive the bus.

Jaremy is at Lowe's buying things to help the heater run better.  It has been very cold.  I'm so grateful he knows how to fix things around the house.  He also fixes the cars.  It is such a secure feeling knowing that Jaremy knows and can do so much.  Jaremy has been blessed with many skills, talents, interests, and qualities.  He is detail-oriented, but also sees the big picture.  He figures things out very quickly and fully.  He problem solves, designs, and invents like nobody's business.  He's amazing!

After Jaremy gets back we are going to the recreation center to workout.  Today is Saturday, so my schedule says I need to bike for 30 minutes, work my abs for 10 minutes, and my lower body for 10 minutes.  I love getting a chance to release some energy.  Yesterday I walked for 2 hours and 15 minutes.  I had Jeebz on my back for an hour of that with Adelynn and Ella at my side.  We are training to earn the hiking and backpacking merit badges this summer as a family.  It will be a huge challenge and tons of fun!!!  I'm so grateful Heavenly Father lets us bond as a family, set goals together, and enjoy one another's company along the journey!

Happy New Year!

This evening we are just chilling at home.  Jaremy and the kids modified the kids' bunk beds.  We played a family history game and watched "Brave."  The little kids carved soap bars.  Now Jaremy and Benjamin are watching YouTube on their phones.  Jessica is cleaning. Tank is writing. Adelynn is cuddling with Jaremy. Moroni and Natalie are practicing soccer tricks in the living room.  Hyrum is modifying his soap carving.  Ella is cleaning up the soap shavings.  Jeebz is in his crib sleeping.  We have people mentioning they are ready for bed.  They already have their moonbeams done and we have already had scriptures and prayers.  So they are set for bed.  Others are determined to stay up and bring in the new year.  I so love having my family here!  I love this stage of life!!!  I'm grateful Heavenly Father has blessed me with this beautiful, dream life!!!  My family rocks!!!!

Robber in Happy Valley

Just so my kids have a funny story about when Jaremy and I were first married....

We were in our first little apartment in Logan, Utah.  We had a little VW Jetta.  Jaremy had just added a custom sound system to it.  We never locked our car because it was Logan.  We kept our CDs out there and everything.

Late one night I thought I heard something right outside our bedroom window where our car was parked.  I woke up Jaremy and told him I thought someone had gotten into our car.  He said I was being absurd.  He knew I had an active imagination.  Cache Valley was Happy Valley and there weren't any robbers.

I was sure I heard something so I looked out the window and saw a man walking away from our car with something under his arm.  I quickly got dressed.  Jaremy thought I was crazy and rolled over to go back to sleep.

I ran out of the house.  I followed the man a bit and watched him walk about a block away.  Then he went into a house's front yard and bent down by a bush next to the house.  Next he stood up and walked into the night.

I quickly searched our Jetta for anything missing.  The only thing missing was part of our sound system.  So I headed down the street to the bush next to the house.  It was very dark, so I just felt under the bush with my hand.  Sure enough I found the part he had taken.

I brought it back to Jaremy.  He asked what I thought I was doing.  What would I have done if the thief had confronted me?  Well, I hadn't thought that far.  It was adventure I was after not safety.  When your eighteen you don't always act with forethought.  Heck, I'm almost twenty years older now and I sometimes I still don't.

Anyway, just I fun story.