The End of Fall Break

Well, today is the end of Fall Break.  I wish we could have another week of no school.  We did have a fun week off, aside from my accounting exam.  On Monday I canned 40 obs of chicken breast.  I love canning.  Food storage, or food hoarding as my sister calls it, is one of my favorite hobbies.  On Tuesday we made laundry soap.  Wednesday we went hiking.  Thursday we visited with cousins in town from Idaho.  Today we went to see the "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."  It was really cute and funny.  We rarely take our whole family out to the movies because it is pricey.  It was nice that Steve could take off the afternoon of work so that we could all go.  Also today, we found our third chicken egg.  Three in a month is horrible, but they are going through their molt so we are lucky to be finding any eggs.  The visiting cousins came over for a few minutes and saw and helped feed the chickens.  It was a great break.

Currently in the news there is a story about the Lincoln, Nebraska school district training its teaching gender inclusion training.  What this means is that the teachers are being trained not use gender specific terms, but more general terms.  They are not to say "boys and girls", they are to say something like "attention all readers" or "hey campers".  Or they are being asked to form groups such as "purple penguins".  They are instructed to teach the children that gender terminology is not something they should use, and that they should be told "some people like that, but not everybody does," when referring to the opposite gender.  This made me think of the lesson in my family religion class this week.  We are learning about the eternal nature of gender.  Gender is eternal, and not an accident.  Our genders were predetermined long before this earth was formed.  The male and female spirits, bodies, roles and purpose are very intentional.  The family is central to Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness.  Because that is the case, our genders are necessary for procreation.  If gender didn't matter, we would all be one gender able to reproduce without a partner.  A partner would not be required.  Adam was alone, and Heavenly Father knew that it was not good for man to be alone.  Eve was given as his help meet to multiply and replenish the earth.  She was his partner, his other half, the only way he would be complete.  Man cannot be without woman and vice versa.  I love being a woman and all that goes with it.  I love my role as a wife and mother.  I love that the priesthood blesses my family.

I am a Small (teeny) Hobby Farmer!

After eight years of discussion and a little (a lot of)  asking, I now have chickens.  I am so excited. We have 9 all together.  The breeds are Turken Naked-Neck, Black Australorp, Barred Rock, Rhode Island Red, and Americana.  I love watching them and doing my daily farm chores.  Along with the hens, we have planted our Fall garden.  I am so happy when I see the tiny sprouts come up.  We have planted peas, broccoli, corn, lettuce, spinach, onions, carrots, radishes, swiss chard, and kale.  I am going to plant more kale in a different part of the yard so that I have extra for the chickens.  They love salad!

Our second egg

I had to add some of the kids, of course.

Finally, a New Post

Life is busy, stressful and fun.  My blog has had to take a back seat as far as priorities go since I have started school.  However, as part of my religion class this semester my blog is my homework!  I will be posting about my family as I always have, but now I'm going to include my thoughts on the importance of families as part of our Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness.

I have always wanted a large family, and by today's standards, that's what I have.  I am blessed with a great husband who provides and protects our family.  I am blessed to have been given stewardship over six of Heavenly Father's spirit children.  I love that I have the honor of being a stay at home mom so that I can raise my kids myself.  I love that I have the true gospel of Jesus Christ in my life so that I know where I cam from and where we are going after this life.  I know that I am a child of God.  I am His literal daughter.  I am so grateful for my temple marriage and the blessing and doctrine of eternal families.

This week is Fall Break for all of the kids.  Today they all started to get a little bit of cabin fever, so I asked Steve if he would go to South Mountain with us for a hike.  He did, and it was so much fun, and great exercise.  I carried Burke on my back on the way up the mountain, and I carried Amelia on my back on the way down.  I needed the exercise, and the extra weight was helpful for burning more calories!  I was able to take some nice pictures with my new to me iPhone.  The mountain was bursting with foliage thanks to all the amazing rain we had in August and September.  We even caught a glimpse of a rainbow!

" Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities." The Family: A Proclamation to the World, Paragraph 7