72 Hour Emergency Kit

As the LDS conference came and then went, the thought kept coming that I needed to write about a tradition our family started several years back that has changed the way my children view conference and the way we prepare for it. I got this idea from a dear neighbor/friend/visiting teacher/adopted grandmother to my children who has since passed on but who we still hold very dear in our hearts. It has worked so well for our family and has helped my children be excited for conference. And it brings peace of mind.

We had a 72-hour kit, but it was very outdated. My friend suggested that every conference we pull the emergency kits out, replace any clothing that is too small and all food and snacks that will go outdated before the next conference. Then during conference, the kids could snack on the treats as they watch. I loved this suggestion and decided to implement it one family home evening. The next time conference drew near, my kids kept asking me when it was going to finally come. I had forgotten about the emergency kits, but they had not. They were so excited to open up their kits and pull out the treats that I had put in there. I was quite surprised at how much they looked forward to this. I thought that maybe this was a one-time excitement but they continue to look forward to conference every time!!! Plus, it keeps them pretty entertained through the hours. I have improved things over the years to make it a little easier. I started small and each year try to add something to make it a little better.

We have a backpack for each family member and a family kit. 

Individual backpacks: At first, I just used old school backpacks that we “retired” for some reason. (This year, I bought all new backpacks because we had a store go out of business and I got them for a great price.) These backpacks contain a few of the essentials in case they get separated from us. It doesn’t contain all the essential though.

Each backpack contains . . .

A thin blanket (I got these from family dollar for $3.)

A roll of toilet paper in a bag (I just use a grocery bag and it doubles for a garbage bag.)

A flashlight

4 bottles of water (about 2 cups each)

Utensils (Plate, Bowl, Fork, Spoon, Knife and cup)

A change of clothes (Updating this every conference works perfect because in April, you put in summer clothes and in October, you put winter clothes in.)

Individually needed medicine

*Treats (This is the part my kids LOVE and totally look forward to conference for.)

A toy or some kind of small entertainment (like cards, stuffed animal, magnetic drawing board, something to help ease the anxiety of an emergency situation.)

Lifestraw water filter (because 4 water bottles just isn't enough. I actually don't have these yet but hope that next year, this will be the thing I focus on. These have been on my want list. Again, I started small and did what I could and each year have added something to make it what it is.)

Treats that I include in each individual pack are . . .

A box of crackers (my kids LOVE Cheezits and they don’t usually get them so it makes it extra special and extra excited for conference.)

A box of cold cereal (Again we usually don’t get this, especially the kind I buy for the emergency kits because they usually have more sugar than I like, but I figure every six months is ok. I choose cereal that can be eaten by hand, without milk.

Peanuts (These are a really good filler treats and provides protein that sticks with them longer.)

Fruit snacks or dried fruit

Granola Bars

Beef Jerky 

Tip: When picking out different boxed items, CHECK THE DATE on EVERYTHING!!! Sometimes I forget and then as I am putting them in the kits, I find out they expire in one or two months. That has been a little frustrating, so definitely check the dates.

Our family kit is one my parents made for us one Christmas (except for the food). They decided to get each one of their children a backpack full of emergency items for a 72 hour kit. I have been incredibly grateful for it. This is our main family emergency kit. What I love too is that they included a list on the backpack of everything they put in it. If you don’t know what’s in it, you won’t be able to use it. I suggest making a list so that in an emergency, you can glance and know exactly what you have.

Family backpack contains,

Head lamps and flash lights

Batteries

Garbage bags that double as rain protectors

Note pad and Pen

Multi-tool w/ knife

1 Large plastic stake

1 Aluminum stake

Glow sticks

Canteen

Hot Pocket hand warmer

Tarp for tent or ground and a light blanket rolled in the tarp.

100’ Rescue rope with carabiner

Twine

Candles/fire starters/Matches

Vinyl coated gloves

Flagging tape

24” machete

Utensils

Dish soap

Aluminum water bottle

Salt and pepper

First aid kit including pain medications

Radio

Emergency blankets

Water filter

Small one burner stove with propane bottle

3 Buckets of food

When I first started this, I had a duffle bag that I had our meals in. I would plan out meals for three days and then every conference, go through it and pull out anything that was going outdated and replace it. After several conferences of this, and having our emergency kits strewn all over our living room for sometimes several weeks at a time to go through them, I realized I needed to simplify this process so that the task didn’t seem so daunting to me. When our family went on a hike with my dad, he gave each of us some Mountain House backpack meals. Normally I don’t like those pre-made meals like that but these weren’t bad at all. And the big seller to me was that they could last up to 25 years!!! I wouldn’t have to go through that part of the emergency kit for a long time and that would alleviate a lot of the difficulty of keeping these kits updated. So, I looked up the product and found that you can buy a bucket full, ready to go. It cost me a pretty penny to get a three-day supply (for a family of 7), but for me, it was well worth it as now it doesn’t take so much prep time before conference and so much repacking time as we organize it all. I bought three buckets, one for breakfast, one for lunch, and one for dinner. In all, it cost me a little under 300 dollars. (I know, ouch!! But it has been well worth it.) They are super light and ready to grab and go. I LOVE them now. Plus, they cook right in the package they come in and all you need is boiling water. Super easy!

5 Gallon water container with water

Life Straw hanging water filter

Start with what you can do. Decide today what you can afford and what you may already have, you just have to gather it together and start adding each year until you have everything you may need. My hope for next year is the individual lifestraw's for each backpack. We do have the family lifestraw filter but the individual ones are on my list for next year.

The Rose

Picture painted by my daughter.

Last night RJ was not doing so well.  He was upset and didn’t even know why.  He just has nights like that.  (Actually it is happening a lot lately.)  It’s just part of autism. (I probably need to look at what he is eating too.) I was trying to get him ready for bed and he didn’t want me near him.  He was upset and wanted to be left alone.  I told him that was fine, that I would just tuck him in bed.  He didn’t want to say his prayers, so I told him I would say one for him.  I knelt down by his bed and began to pray for him.  I was impressed to ask that RJ would know and feel how much we love him and the joy he brings into our lives. 

Afterwards, he turned to me and in a frustrated voice said, “Mom, I don’t bring joy to your life.”  I tried to reassure him that he did, but he was not convinced.  Then a thought popped into my head.

I asked him, “Do you think a rose is beautiful?”

He answered, “Yes”

“Do they bring a lot of joy and beauty to people?”

“Yes.”

“Do a lot of people like them?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what a rose has?  A rose has thorns.  Those thorns can sometimes hurt.  But that doesn’t make the rose any less beautiful.  I love the rose and it’s beauty.  It brings me joy.  You are like that rose.  You may have a few thorns, but your rose is absolutely beautiful and brings me much joy.  I would not want to get rid of your beautiful rose just because of a few thorns.  I would be lost without the joy you bring into my life.  Everyone has a few thorns on them.  That’s ok.  We are all learning.  Your rose is beautiful.  I want you to know that deep in your heart.”

For once that night, he relaxed and even smiled.  I think he understood it too, . . . and so did I.  Again, I am so grateful for the spirit that can teach in ways beyond my own.  I am grateful for the lesson taught last night to both him and to me.

I think I am going to go and buy a rose plant for both of us as a visual reminder of the beautiful lesson the spirit taught us.

Valentine Book Marks

I just finished up my kids Valentine book marks for this year.  I thought I would share them with anyone who might like to use them.  Just print and laminate and walla, you have Valentine cards worth keeping.  I hope you and your children enjoy them.

Christmas Letter 2013

It’s Christmas Eve, that means it is time to sit down and write the Christmas letter.  This year has added new twists and turns in our life’s; some new things, some fun things, some nerve-racking things, some sad, ect . . .
    This year I finally figured out how to set up a website to post my music to.  It’s fun to be able to share my music.  I also have a facebook page.  I am definitely still learning the ropes of things, and trying to find time to spend on it is sometimes nearly impossible, but I am grateful that at least I have something now.  I am staying incredibly busy now with home-schooling one of my children, (you can read about that later), playing the piano for the intermediate school choir every day, teaching two music classes at the elementary school, teaching 6 piano lessons (not including my own children), help Blaine in cub scouts, lead the church choir, over 2 hours of homework with the other kids every night, and still have to keep up with all the regular duties.  At first I was going a little crazy, (well actually a lot) but I am starting to get the hang of things now. . . I think . . . knock on wood.
    Big Blaine has had a pretty crazy year with sequestrations for several months and then the shut down.  He is grateful to have a job, but he is still looking elsewhere just in case something better out there opens up.  Things are getting pretty stressful.  Who knows what will happen next.  He still dreams of his farm in Idaho.

    Serena has several friends this year which has helped make school a little easier for her.  She seems happier, (as long as I don’t ask her to go anywhere, or do anything out of the ordinary.)  She’s an interesting one I can tell you that.  I don’t think I have this dealing with teenagers thing down yet. All she does when she is home and has completed her daily duties is read, read, and more reading.  I guess normal life is just not interesting enough or something.

    Ralph made an amazing friend this year that has helped make things so much better.  And along with this friend came quite a few other friends.  My heart is full thinking about how things have played out for him. The other day though, Ralph decided to take his math test home because he didn’t finish it in class, and when I pulled it out of his folder, I didn’t take the time to look to see what it was, just saw that it was math and thinking it was homework had his dad sit down with him to finish it.  Oops.  When I found out that night, I felt awful.  Thankfully Ralph told the teacher the truth before I had to go and explain things to her. (She is the same person I work with in the intermediate school choir and I was dreading having to tell her that we helped him finish his TEST.) This summer he has found a love of hiking.  He wants to hike every moment he possibly can.  And because we don’t hike enough for him, he has taken to making “mountains” for his little rolly polly pets.  He spends hours outside building his mountains complete with rock slides and all.  He has also really gotten into pine trees.  He loves them.  Whenever we are driving home from school, he always tells me to slow down (on a 30 mile and hour road) because the trees are passing by too fast for him to be able to really look at them. 

    At the end of last years school, I started getting the feeling like something needed to change for little Blaine.  After getting the reports back from all of the end of the year testing and seeing how little progress he had made all year, I KNEW something really needed to change. After a lot of prayer, we decided to home-school him through an online school called Utah Online.  He has been making leaps and bounds.  He has progressed 1 ½ years already.  It takes a massive amount of time, but it is time well spent.  I do hope to get him back in school as soon as possible though.  We shall see how this year goes and just play it year by year, but more importantly, prayer by prayer.  He has taken to collecting “pets”. (They are not stuffed animals, they are real to him.)  When I told him I wanted to take a picture of all of his pets, it took him a good 15 minutes to get them all together and situated just right.  And he loves each and every one of them, especially his polar bear.  (You will see it in almost every picture he is in.)

    Matthew is going crazy with his engineering desires.  The other day in his classroom, the water faucet got stuck on and his teacher couldn’t figure out how to get it to stop, so she went to get the janitor.  While she was gone, he went over, looked at it for a bit, saw the problem, popped it back in place and fixed it before the teacher ever got back.  He loves to pull broken things apart and make new things.  He is amazing to say the least.  He tries to bring things to me so that I can help him figure things out and I just look at him and tell him its way over me.

    Alysha is just plain fun.  She loves to clog and dance.  She loves just about anything she puts her mind to learning.  She still plays the piano some, just not as much as I want her to.  All of my other children have struggled in school, but she is doing amazing, both socially and academically.  It is so nice to have one child that I don’t have to worry about much.  She can usually do her homework on her own which helps out a TON.  She is just all around fun and I am so incredibly grateful to have her in our family, our little caboose.  She also is incredibly clean and organized.  The last few days, she has helped to clean Serena's room, Matthew and Blaine's room and even tried to help Ralph, but he is pretty hard to work with.  The only room she needs to clean now is her own!!!

    I hope all is going well for all of you.  I am grateful for all the friendship and support we have received.  I am grateful for this time of year that we have to reflect on the years happenings and especially on the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ whom I love dearly..  From our family to yours, we wish you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS.

The Spotten family   

Celebrating the Little Steps

Today I am celebrating a little mile stone.  Little BJ wrote a small paragraph completely on his own and put capital letters at the beginning of his sentences and periods at the end where they are supposed to go.  I was so excited.  When I first started working with him, he could not write a complete sentence on his own correctly.  His writing was not even as good as my then kindergartner AJ.  (He is in 5th grade.)  After looking through his IEP, I realized that they were not even addressing this issue in resource at all. 

    Let me take a step back though and start from the beginning.  At the end of the school year last year, BJ was becoming very agitated and upset a lot.  He was becoming very aware of the fact that he just did not understand the core classes like he was supposed to.  When the core testing came around, he became very stressed and upset.  I told him to just do his best.  When he got home that night, he was in tears.  He told me he didn’t do his best.  When I tried to convince him that I was sure he had done his best he said, “I didn’t do my best because I didn’t know the answers.”  My heart was breaking for him.  He then asked me if he could be home-schooled.

    For a good month or so before that, I had been pushing aside the feeling that something needed to change for BJ.  I felt that I needed to home-schooled him; but I didn’t want to pay much attention to that thought because it would be my first year that all my children would be in school and I could think of all these things I could do with that “free time.”  But when he came home that day, I knew something needed to change.  I tried to convince his teachers and the principle that BJ would do better if he were held back for at least a year.  They explained that their hands were tied on this and because of the “no child left behind act” they no longer could hold students back a grade.  Also they were losing their “Title One” status which meant that the little help he was getting was going to be cut back even further because of funding issues.  Then I got the test scores back and I checked into all his progress papers.  For the first time ever, he had made little to no progress that whole school year.  I finally realized if I wanted my son to progress, I needed to do it myself.  I had a great friend who told me about a school online.  After looking into it, and especially praying about it, I knew this was where he needed to be.  (Every other time I have prayed about home-schooling, it has been a no answer, so this was a bit of a surprise.)  There were insurmountable obstacles that stood in the way though and I didn’t know how to take care of them.  But after more prayer, they went away and I knew that the Lord’s hand was in this.

    I started his “home-schooling” right as the school year ended.  As I started working with him, I realized just how far behind he was.  His reading level was at about the end of 1st grade.  His math was somewhere between second and third grade.  His writing . . . well like I said, my then kindergartner could write more correctly than he could.  When I look at where he “should” be and where he is right now, it is so completely overwhelming.  But then, when small miracles take place, and I see progress like I saw today, it is so worth it.
     In this online school, he has resource teachers and a regular teacher and it is done online.  He is making leaps and bounds right now and I am very excited about his progress.  It is amazing how fast he can learn when he is working one on one and on a level he can actually understand.  He is now reading at a 3rd grade level, he is 3/4's the way through the 3rd grade math, and his writing . . . well today was a milestone.  The only thing is, it takes a massive amount of time.  Along with his schooling which I spend about 5 hours a day on, I still play the piano for the intermediate school choir every day, teach two music classes at the elementary school, teach 5 piano lessons (not including my own children), help my husband in cub scouts, spend over 2 hours on homework with the other kids every night, visiting teaching and all those other church callings, and still have to keep up with all the regular duties. 
    I have had little to no time to spend on my website or on writing new music.  Two weeks ago I was pretty stressed out with everything and trying to get all that I had scheduled done.  I had another music competition coming up but I just did not have time to spend perfecting my music before I had to submit it.  I was almost at meltdown point . . . well actually I pretty much was there. When I got up the next day, I felt I could not face another day.  There was a whole slue of things going "wrong" that I had to somehow "fix".  (Including the fact that my son decided to take his math test home because he didn’t finish it in class.  I thought it was homework so I had Dad sit down with him to finish it, oops.) That's when I saw God's hand.  Somehow, when I went to solve the problems, they were already solved.  I went through the day in awe as each problem that arose that day was quickly solved through no doing of my own.  I knew God was watching over me.  Then the next day, the deadline day for the music competition, I got up early and found out one of my songs I wanted to submit was further done than I thought.  An hour and a half later, I had it submitted.  That left me enough time to see if I could finish the other one that I thought could never get done before that deadline.  Can I just say, miracles still happen.  I played it, recorded it, sang to it, and edited it all in several hours.  I still don't know how.  But I stand back in awe and can see and feel God's hand guiding me, protecting me, and helping me every step of the way.  That brings me peace, amazing peace, and I am endlessly grateful to know that He is by my side taking care of things when I just can't go on any more. It also reaffirms that I can do hard things as long as He is by my side.

A Budding Engineer

My sons MJ and RD decided to go and build themselves a ladder so they could climb trees where the branches were too high to reach.  The park across the street from us has a lot of trees to climb and has become there favorite spot as of lately.  It also includes a “junk” wood pile.  They found some 2 by 4's of different sizes, got some screws from MJ’s tool collection, and pieced everything together, completely on their own, to form an amazing ladder.  (Dad was gone and I was busy canning my largest amount of fruit I have ever done in one day . . . 48 bottles, whew.)  They spent most of the day over there working, and when they came back to show me what they had made, I was astounded.  They love it so much.  They do not leave it at the park in fear someone will take it or break it.  Instead, they carry it to and from the park whenever they go.  MJ HAND screwed it all together.  Wow.  And because they didn’t have long enough 2 by 4's, they had to piece the sides together as you can see in these pictures.  I am still amazed at their work.  Their dad was so impressed when he got home, that he decided to make a ladder with all the cub scouts a few days later.  (Except he wasn’t about to hand screw everything.)  What fun!!!

 

Immunizations Dilemma

My brother, Jacob Nickle is coming home from his mission in Africa TODAY!!!  Wish I could be there when he gets off the plane.  I can't wait to start heading down there as soon as possible.  We plan on leaving tomorrow morning and getting there Saturday, that is, if I can just get my son better from his immunizations. 

I know he reacts to immunizations EVERY TIME.  His 7th grade DTAP shot needed done, and this summer we have been pretty sick, so I waited to give it to him until everyone seemed healthy.  I did all I could to boost his immune system for several weeks before the shot.  I even planned to make sure he had a week to recover.  And I was hoping that because it had been many years since he's had any shots, and this was only ONE shot, just maybe he wouldn't get too sick.  The doctor said he might get a slight fever for a day or two.  Is 103 and above a slight fever?  This is day 7 now and he is still holding on to a fever.  Yesterday he seemed to be pulling out of it, but that was only a teaser.  Last night his fever shot back up again.  He has been up half the night.  I am frustrated, beyond frustrated.  My son is mad at the doctors, mad at the school for requiring it, mad at those “stupid” people who made the shot, and mad at anyone who has even the slightest connection to this shot whatsoever. 

The other night though, I knelt down with him to say his nightly prayer.   He was so weak that he couldn't get up to kneel himself, so he asked me to say a prayer for him.  I proceeded to do so.  Right at the beginning, I felt that I was supposed to thank Heavenly Father for these shots that help to protect us from much worse things.  I didn’t want to.  I don’t like immunizations.  I have experienced so many adverse reactions either through me or my children, I can’t hardly stand the thought of them.  When my son was only 18 months old, he had an extremely sever reaction to his shots.  After a week of high fevers, he got a bloody nose.  I did all I could to get it to stop.  After an hour, I got really worried.  After and hour and a half, I was freaking out.  After two hours, I was packing him up to take him to the emergency room that I knew we would not be able to afford.  Then my husband unexpectedly came home, took him inside, gave him a priesthood blessing, put him in the bath, and finally got his nose to stop bleeding.  It took several months for him to return to “normal”. 

I have read all the articles about how bad these shots are for you.  I have also read all the articles saying how good and “safe” they are for you.  There are shots I will not give my children because of very personal experienced known reactions to not just one child, but three, or the very thing that they don’t need that shot.  That sickness is not that bad.  I do my homework.  I study it out.  There are shots I will (reluctantly) give my kids.  Especially the sicknesses that are deadly.  (But I still cringe every time they get the shots.)  I weigh out the pro’s and the con’s to each shot.  I still can’t help though to feel I am poisoning my children.  So no, there was not much gratitude in my heart for this shot or any other at the time of this prompting.  So I continued on with my prayer.  Again, I felt the prompting to thank Heavenly Father for the shots that protect us from much worse illnesses.  I thought, maybe my son needed to hear this so that he could be comforted in this time and feel a little better about things.  I finally followed the prompting.  But the outcome was different than I had expected.  It didn’t comfort my son, at least not to my knowledge.  He hasn’t gotten better any faster.  His feelings towards immunizations have not changed.  The change happened in me.  I suddenly felt an inkling, just an inkling, of gratitude start to grow in my heart.  I don’t understand it.  And in many ways it has made me more confused then ever.  But maybe, just maybe, they are doing good for my children.  I still firmly believe in becoming educated, and do what is best for you and your children, not for the doctor, and I do not believe they should make an immunization for every sickness they can under the sun.  Ok, so I am still trying to sort out this feeling inside of me, trying to find my ground to stand on in this.  But I cannot deny the feeling I felt, nor the change of heart that is taking place in me.  I do hope that I can go to see my family.  I do hope with ALL MY HEART, that my son will make a full recovery and not have any lasting effects from this, (and I know that can happen through a much higher power.)  And in a very unexpected way, I am so grateful for that prompting that is changing me.  In many ways it has comforted my heart.  There have been many instances where I have felt that I have given my children these shots, trusting the doctors, and have only damaged my children.  But not any more.  I do not understand yet, nor do I pretend to even know what is going on, but again, I cannot deny what I felt that night, kneeling by my sons bed, and thanking my Heavenly Father for this protection.

A True Friend

Friends.  I have been thinking about them a lot lately as I have seen the effect that a good friend can have on someone.  If you read my last post, you will understand what I mean.  I have also seen this same change in my oldest daughter.  Through elementary school, she struggled trying to keep friends.  She struggled socially.  But when she hit sixth grade and went to the intermediate school, she found a true friend.  They did everything together.  My daughter was so much happier.  And when other kids asked her friend why she hung out with SE, she stood up for her and told them flat out “because I like her.” 

This last school year as SE was heading into middle school, her best friend moved.  And SE was left alone again.  She struggled.  She was bullied a lot.  For the first few months, she couldn’t stand school, she didn’t even like to be home.  She hated life.  When other girls from our ward tried to reach out to her, SE would turn the other way.  She wouldn’t let anyone in.  I thought about home-schooling her.  But when I prayed about it, I got the same answer as I had in the past, no.  (Well it was a lot more in depth than that, but that’s the shortened answer.)  I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that she really needs that social interaction.  I am so grateful for the power of prayer.  I posted this on facebook during that time.

“It is so hard to watch one of your children struggle and hurt. It is so hard not to just pull her out of the situation and take her into my arms to protect her. I wish I could but it is not the answer I got. It is times like these that I am so incredibly grateful for the gospel and that there is a Father in Heaven who truly cares, and who knows what he is doing. I know I can trust him to hold my daughter when I can't.”
                   
Through a lot of prayer, a lot of tears, and a lot of love, she is really pulling through now.  She still is a little hermit in her room and only comes out when she has to, but she finally started letting some friends in her life again (and she is reading her scriptures everyday.  I think that is huge.)  She doesn't really have a "best" friend right now, but at least she has friends.  She is so much happier now.

The main reason though for writing this post is not about my daughter, but about my past; to say thank you to someone who gave me so much . . . more than I ever knew at the time.  And now watching my kids, and then looking back at my own life, I am just now realizing how much she gave me.  I had an amazing friend since I was very young.  She was always there for me. We were always friends.  I never had to go without a friend, or experience that extreme loneliness because she was always there.  When I needed someone to talk to, she was there.  We did everything we could together.  We were best of friends and I loved her.  So thank you Summer.  Thank you for being there for me.  Thank you for keeping me out of trouble, for lifting my spirit when I was down, for liking the things I liked just because I liked them, for putting up with me, for helping me through some hard times, and for just being my friend so that I never did have to go without.  I never knew just how much that would mean, until now.  (2 Nephi chapter 2: If you do not know what misery feels like, how do you truly know the depth of your happiness?)  I wish distance didn’t separate us so much, but you will always hold a special place in my heart.  And I will forever be grateful for all you have done for me.

I am also grateful for the incredible friends I have now.  For the ones that get up early and walk with me, for the ones that I get to eat out with every month, for the ones I go visiting teaching to and the ones who come to me, for the ones that will always stop and talk to me in the halls, and especially for my best friend, my husband whom I love dearly.  Thank you to all the amazing friends out there, who look past the weaknesses into the heart.  A true friend can help to pull us through anything. 

A Miracle

The other night, I was kneeling by my bed in prayer.  My heart was so full of gratitude.  My oldest son has aspergers autism and has struggled socially throughout his whole life.  In fifth grade, his only friend outside our family was a kindergartner.  That was his maturity level I guess.  Mentally he is very smart, but socially he struggles.  As I was pondering the past few months and the miracle that has taken place in him, I was in absolute awe at how things have played out, and I had a glimpse at all the steps it has taken to get him where he is now.

In fifth grade, the school boundaries were changed and my children were placed in a new elementary school.  He STRUGGLED.  Change is not an easy thing for him.  His teacher did all she could to help him, but the class was a hard class, everything was new, and it was too much for him to handle.  But even after school was out, she wanted to help to make sure his next year went more smoothly, especially since he would have an even bigger change as he would going to the intermediate school.  She personally picked out his teachers for the next year, wrote a long letter on how she had learned to work with him, and even made sure that the troubled kids wouldn’t be in his class to set him off.  His new school also did everything they could to help him out.  His new principle let him borrow puzzles during the summer to develop in him a feeling of trust.

This year started and we had our up’s and down’s, but in general there was a steady up movement.  I had gotten a one hour a day job there at the school playing the piano for the choir.  The timing was so perfect that if I just went in 20 minutes early, I could be with him during his lunch break, the time he struggled the most.  I was amazed at his progress in the first 5 months.  But then my job was ending (due to the fact that they only have choir two trimesters and the third one is off) and I wasn’t going to be there for him anymore.  But there is loving Heavenly Father that has all things planned out way better than I could ever dream.  Two weeks before my last day there, a boy sat by him at lunch.  The next day he sat by him again . . . and again the next day.  Soon he asked RD to play with him and his friends during the lunch hour.  That day I had gone in early as usual to practice the piano and he would meet me in the choir room.  He never showed up.  I started getting really nervous.  After 15 minutes I went out to find him.  (As a mom, all these things start running through your head of all these possibilities of what could have happened to him.  He had run and hidden in the school before to get away but they had always called me when they couldn’t find him.)  I checked the lunch room hoping he was just taking a lot longer to finish.  Nothing.  I checked the halls.  Nothing.  Finally, right before I had to sign in to work, I found him, PLAYING . . . with a friend.  What blew me away is that I had never seen him act like that before.  He looked and was acting just like a normal boy his age.  I had to stand back and watch as the tears streamed down my face.  That night I prayed it wouldn’t end.  And it didn’t.

Wherever this friend is, he makes everything better.  RD started hating the bus ride and wanted me to pick him up every day.  But then one of the bus drivers quite and they decided not to get a new one, so they combined two bus routes into one, and guess who was on the other bus route, his friend.  Coincidence, I think not.

RD was changing so fast at this point, I literally had to get to know my son all over again.  He was so much happier at home, at school, everywhere.  He wanted to have a birthday party with friends over.  I didn’t know what to do because crowds usually make him really irritated.  I didn’t know how to plan it or what to expect.  And when I did try to plan something, he would say, “Mom, your ruining it, just let me handle it.”  He invited 3 friends over and 2 were able to come.  He never had a melt down the whole time.  And I got to see my son through different eyes.  These boys were not treating him like he had a disability.  They didn’t treat him like he was different.  They treated him . . . like a friend, like one of them.  And what stunned me is that RD was acting just like them, a normal 11-12 year old boy.  (Thankfully these boys, especially his best friend, are good boys and have clean mouths.  I couldn’t ask for better.)  He was laughing, MAKING JOKES, and all around just having fun.  I had done all that I could do through the years but I couldn’t have given him what this friend did.  And God knew how to make it so much better.  In the last 3 months, RD has grown socially at least 3 years.  He has hated school since before time began, but the other day he blew me out of the water again when he said, “Mom, I kind of don’t want school to end this year.”  WHAT????

Yes, he still has melt downs sometimes.  Yes he still has bad days at school sometimes. Yes when he gets in situations he doesn’t know how to handle he struggles and makes mistakes.  And when he gets around groups of a lot of people, he doesn’t handle the noise very well. But everyday just keeps getting better and better.  And each one of his symptoms gets less and less.  And as I was pondering and praying the other night, and I saw all those intricate details that went in to getting him where he is today,  I was overwhelmed.  I was incredibly grateful.  And then I felt this love.  Intense love.  Not for me.  But the love that our Father in Heaven has for him.  My Father-in-Heaven did all this for my son, because he loved him.  And I couldn’t stop crying.

The Bread of Life

 


For Christmas, a dear friend gave me a bread starter with a DVD to explain how it works.  This starter uses the natural microorganisms in the air to help the bread to rise.  It also helps to break down the flour and gluten into a more digestible format for your body.  (Which is why she gave it to me.  I have been having a lot of problems eating bread lately and she hoped it would help.) 

I made up a batch and everyone seemed to love it.  (I didn’t even get sick from it!!!) But after a few times of making it, my husband commented on how it sat heavy in his stomach.  (I think it’s because it is 100% whole wheat, plus his stomach is so extra sensitive.)  He didn’t think I should keep putting so much work into it.  And yes, it does take time.  I started having my doubts about keeping it up until an analogy came to my mind.  I have been reading this book called “Gospel Symbolism”.  This bread is the same kind of bread they have been making way “back then” as my son calls it.  It is how they used to leaven their bread before all of this commercial yeast came along.  As I was kneading the dough this came to me.

The Lord constantly used symbolic reminders to the Israelites, that if spiritually in tune, would lead them to Him.  He said, “I am the bread of life.” 

To be able to have this bread, you must feed the starter at least everyday.  I liken this to feeding your testimony everyday.  (Your bread starter will not work if you feed it once a week on Sundays.)  To feed it, you mix a half cup of whole wheat flour with a half cup of pure water, (no chlorine).  Then stir it together. 

To keep your starter pure, every time you feed your bread, you must wash out your glass jar to make sure no unwanted stuff grows in your starter.  I liken this as: you are the jar.  You must keep yourself clean and pure to help this testimony grow strong and pure inside of you. 







100% whole wheat flour is used to feed the bread.  And the best form of whole wheat four is freshly ground wheat.  It has more vitamins and nutrients for the microorganisms to grow in.  The healthier and stronger you want your testimony, the more you must seek out the best form of the gospel.  (The scriptures and especially our current prophets words.)

Caring for this starter yields about two loaves of bread every 3-4 days.  If your family needs more then that, you can feed the bread up to every 6 hours.  The more you want your testimony to grow, the more you must feed it and take extra care of it. 

This bread starter can be passed along from generation to generation as long as you care for it properly, just like you can pass along your testimony of the gospel to your kids, and as they grow, they can pass it along to theirs.

Just as a note, the recipe for one loaf of bread is . . .

1 cup of bread starter
1 cup of water
1 tsp of sea salt
3 cups of whole wheat flour.  (If you use a little less, the loaf tends to me a little more fluffy and soft.  But it also makes it hard to form the bread loaf when it keeps sticking to your hands.)

Also, I don’t necessarily like the taste of sour dough, so I add a few extra ingredients to make it taste good.

1/4 cup of Honey
2 TBS of cooking oil.

Through this process, you end up with a very delicious, very filling, and very nutritious loaf of bread.

As these symbolisms came to my mind, I determined to keep making this bread, for myself, for my kids, and for a great reminder to always remember this lesson of “the bread of life.” (And because it’s the only bread I can really eat.)

A mixed up, crazy, belated Christmas letter

Warning to procrastinators: when you plan on doing something one day before it needs to be done, chances are, you will get sick that day and it just won’t happen!!!!
   
 I figured I would keep with the tradition of sending out my Christmas letter on Christmas Eve like I have been doing for the last few years. (That and this year has been extremely busy, I figured it would be the only time I would have to actually sit down and write it.)  Two weeks before Christmas, my kids started coming down sick, and we all couldn’t just get it at the same time, it has to travel SLOWLY!  I have it now.  Got it right before Christmas and I am still dealing with it.  Today though, I can actually sit up long enough and have a clear enough head to right something coherent, or at least I think it is.  I won’t really know until after I am completely better.  So just bear with me.
    . . . . . Ok, so maybe my head is not thinking.  My kids are all a year older.  Same place, same station, nothing much new.  Oh I got a job. . . . Kind of.  It’s just an hour a day, but I love it.  I play the piano for the intermediate school choir.  It’s been fun.
    Ok really my head is not thinking, so if you want to know what has been happening all year, read my blog, (http://www.joy-in-learning.blogspot.com/) which I haven’t updated for a while because I have no time, or find me on facebook.  There, now I don’t have to think.
    But I do want to wish you all a BELATED Merry Christmas and hope your new Year is filled with great blessings.  Love you all,

Elizabeth Spotten
            
P.S.  I do want to leave you with my testimony.  Every year it grows a little more as I see the tender mercies of a loving Heavenly Father.  I feel so extremely blessed.  I love my family, the area we live in, all my amazing friends and especially His gospel that has made all this possible.  Merry Christmas everyone. 
 

An Overdue Update

Ok, I have 20 minutes to get this done.  Ya, I realize it's been a long, long, long time since I made a post.  During the summer,  I was babysitting several kids along with my own making it quite crazy at times.  I thought that once school was back in and I had ALL of my children in school, (yes I said all for the first time ever, my baby is now in school), life would slow down a bit; I would be able to spend more time on my music, cleaning . . . and blogging.  That was a happy thought while it lasted.  Things have only gotten more crazy.  Because my youngest is in school, I told the school I could help out in each of the classrooms. Whoops.  MJ's teacher called and asked me to be the music teacher for his class.  (Now that one, I do love.  I guess the school lost their funding for music, so they cut that part out.  Not good - in my opinion.)  All the other teachers also took advantage and I am now volunteering at the school for almost 4 hours a week.  I love being there though, and I love being with my kids. 

Then Ralph's school found out I could play the piano, so they asked me to be the accompanist for the choir there.  That one though, they actually PAY me.  It's only an hour a day, and it cost's 4 dollars in gas just to get there every day, but I totally love it.  I love the choir director.  I feel like I am going to school and learning so much, but I am actually getting paid for it this time.

So between all the volunteering, parent teacher conferences, school meeting, pta, hours of homework every night, and the new job, the only semi calm days I have left are Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  And it's canning season.  So those days have been filled with bottling up foods.  (I have had a huge desire to get more foods on our shelves.)  I have been so grateful for neighbors who have given me so much of their produce when my garden once again fell short of what I needed. It just takes TIME!  I even learned how to use my new pressure cooker my mother gave me (thanks mom) and I bottled 70 jars of BEANS, (those things take a lot of time but boy do they taste good), and 60 jars of tomatoes. 

The sad part of it all is, I just don't have much time to spend on the creative side of music.  I haven't written a song for a while, and I am really missing that.  Plus, I really want to get my music on the internet, (like really bad) but that's totally taking a back seat right now while I am on this crazy roller coaster of a ride.

SE is in middle school this year, and her best friend moved away.  She is really struggling, so any prayers in her behalf would really be appreciated.  I wanted to pull her out of school so bad, but when the answer finally came after several weeks of praying, the simplified answer was, not now.  I am so glad the Lord is in charge because man I would mess things up.  But my heart aches for her.  I just have to trust, right/ . . . and I do.  It's the greatest comfort to know, when I can't be there for her at school and hold her, I know that someone else, so much more knowledgeable than me, is watching over her and helping her through this.  The gospel is the greatest thing in my life.  I am so incredibly grateful for a loving, kind, Heavenly Father who knows, hears and answers my prayers.

On the upbeat side, everyone else is doing great in school.  MJ especially LOVES his teacher this year.  Teachers really do make a HUGE difference.

Oops, it's been past my 20 minutes.  I've gotta run to the school now . . . so until next time, and I have no idea when that will be, see ya.  

Another Odd Gift

MJ's family baptism picture

    I know.  I am supposed to keep this blog updated.  But it is the summer time, and I also babysit (one time with 14 kids at a time - if you include my own).  Need I say more.  Finding time is a hard thing to do.  There are not enough hours in a day, and if there were, I still would not have the energy to do all that needs to be done.
    Whenever my son MJ asks for something for a birthday, Christmas, or something else, it is always something odd; not a typical present that a child his age would ask for.  One year, it was an extension cord.  We had to take it away after he blew out my electric piano though.  Another year he wanted sprinkler pipes.  They have come in handy several times.  One year it was tools; REAL tools, specifically a pipe wrench.  He had seen his dad get two of his stuck pipes apart with one and he wanted it BAD.  This year for his birthday, he told me, (a few days before), that he wanted a pine tree.  I thought that one fit the odd things list.  I had already gotten him a few gifts (sometimes it’s not so great to be prepared) and when I went to the store, they were quite a bit more than I wanted to spend, so I told him he would have to start saving for one.  He was not a happy camper.  Then a few days later, I was going through his school papers and I came across one he had written about a pine tree.  I realized this was not just a one time wish.

 

(It reads . . . " If I found a magic wand, I would make one pine tree appear in my back yard.  First I would climb the pine tree.  Next I would make a tree house.  Finally I would have a giant pine tree in my back yard.  That is what I would do if I found a magic wand.")

    Thankfully my amazing parents helped make the beginning part of his dream real. They were coming up for his baptism (which turned out so amazing, but that’s another story) and stopped by the same nursery we had gone to.  They even picked out the same tree he had wanted when we went.  Wow!  When they brought it in, MJ was sooooo excited.  The next day he woke up and said, “Mom, I have dreamed about having a pine tree before, but then when I wake up, I don’t have one.  This time I DO!” 
    Before Grandpa could leave to go home, MJ talked him into helping him plant it in the back yard.  They found a good spot, and with the help of his cousins, who also came for his baptism, they planted the pine tree. 

It's in!!!

The finished product!

It has been over a month since we planted it and he sits and measures it to see how fast it is growing.  He loves it and I hope it continues to grow just like his amazing testimony.

Soccer Moments

 I must take a moment and let everyone know, yes, I did survive.


Before the soccer season ever started, I was seriously doubting whether I wanted to go through the whole “soccer mom” thing again this year.  But all my kids insisted they really wanted to play; so I broke down and signed them up, (except for my youngest.  I can only take so much at a time).  Soon thereafter, the city called and wanted ME to be the soccer coach for BJ and MJ’s team.  (They were both on the same team.)  After several days, I finally gave in, (because I just haven’t figured out how to say that short little word “no” yet.  It seems so simple and yet it is sooooo hard to actually say.) And what’s even more crazy, the city doesn't even give a discount for soccer coach kids!!!

I now had 4 kids in soccer, one practice and two games each week, each kid.  It took up every day, Tuesday through Saturday.  I must admit, it was quite the experience.  It’s one thing to try and get your kids to all the practices and games, and a whole other to be the coach along with it.  The second practice into it, I was playing with the kids when I hit a patch of grass, my foot twisted to the side, and I heard a loud POP.  I knew it was bad.  But I had to be tough for those kids, right?  The next day, my ankle was very swollen.  It must have been quite the sight for the parents to see their child’s coach limping all over the field the first game.  It took several weeks for that to heal.  I still have problems with my ankle but I can use it now.  I hope the adage “Once sprained always sprained” is not true.



There were moments I couldn’t wait for the season to be over, and there were moments I didn’t want it to end.  I got to know my soccer kids on a much more personal level.  Some of them, actually all of them, found a way into my heart and I truly cared about them.

There were many games we played in the rain.  One of the worst was, of coarse, picture day.  It began to rain just after the game started . . . and then came the lightning.  When lightning struck within a mile, they finally cancelled the game and we all went running off the field.  But the photographers still wanted to take pictures!!!!  (I had figured they had left already.)  Half my team was gone before I realized this, and those that were left were soaked to the bone.  I had only 5 of the 11 players there, (2 were my own kids) my hair was a total mess . . . but they still took that picture.  (I will not show that one to you.)  One of the mothers on the team offered to take everyone’s pictures after one of the games to make up for it.  I was so grateful for her.   Those are the ones I am willing to show.  (She did a much better job anyway.)




Several weeks into the season, one of the girls informed me that “something was happening to her mom.”  But she didn’t know what it was.  After talking to her dad, he told me her mom had overdosed on drugs.  My heart went out to her.  Wow, what kids have to grow up with today.  They have to be so strong.  I pray for her.  I still think about her a lot. 





 My team never won a game.  I always tried to keep things positive and upbeat for them.  Half way through one of the games, one of the girls said, “we’re losing really bad, aren’t we.” 
I replied, “Are you having fun?”
“Yes.” 
“Then you’re not losing.”
The very last game, we scored the first goal and we kept the other team at bay for nearly half the game.  Right at the end, they got so tired and the other team scored 4 goals in 7 minutes.  At the end I was congratulating the kids for winning half the time.  One of the boys said “But you said it doesn’t matter if you win or loose, it only matters if you have fun.”  Wow, how I came to love those kids. 

 

The last day of soccer, I turned in my ball bag and the city presented me with a plaque for their appreciation.  It was the picture the photographers took on that dreaded picture day.  Wow, what a thank you gift.  (Do you think it would be bad if I burned that one?)

"Like"

So the other day, I began to realize that I was like, using the word “like” all the time.  It stunned me actually because when I was younger, I used to think those girls who used that word all the time were weird or stuck up.  I seriously was like wondering where in the world I had like picked up that bad habit.  And what made me even more frustrated was, now that I am realizing it, it is sooooo hard to change it.  Like what in the world do you use instead of the word like.

Soon after, I realized my son RD also was using the word like, sometimes two or three times in each sentence.  Wow, I really needed to change for HIM.  I was being a bad example.

So in my efforts of trying to rid myself of this bad habit, I was talking to one of my friends when I realized she uses that same word ALL THE TIME too.  Ok, so maybe I picked up that bad habit from her, or maybe her from me, who knows.  (Which came first, the chicken or the egg?) 

Then I was in the grocery store and I overheard another group talking and heard the word “like” all the time.  I was stunned.  This word is like everywhere.

Just today, I went to the school to help the kids practice for the opera (I am the piano player) and holy cow (That’s another word I should probably get rid of) all of the kids were using that word at least once per sentence.   I finally realized it, this whole town has been infected with a totally useless word . . . and I . . . have just followed the crowd.

A Few of my Favorite Things

Do you have a few things that you just love (. . . people not included cause that list could get way too long.) I wanted to list a few of mine. Usually they are things I have come up with to solve a problem . . . like for instance, my Clean and Not Clean sign on my dishwasher. When we ran out of clean dishes in the cupboards, everyone turned to the dishwasher hoping it was clean. Needless to say, many times, they were not, even when we had thought they were. Finally when I got tired of trying to remember if I had actually filled up the dishwasher enough to justify starting that thing or not, I came up with these signs.

I am sure many of you have already done this, but for those that have not yet, it works great, . . . unless you forget to change the sign. I made these on the computer, printed and laminated them, then I stuck a magnet on the back of the sign. I keep them in a convenient place and as soon as I turn on the dishwasher, I put the clean sign on. When I clean out the dishwasher, I trade it for the not clean sign. It has saved us many times and eliminates a lot of frustrating moments when we realized the dish we are eating off of was not really clean yet. AHHH!

My Movie Shelf

I had this space in my computer room where the cement wall comes out a lot farther than the wood wall (because this floor is half underground). It created a shelf, but then the rest of the wall was just wasted space. I hate wasted space. (I blame my dad for that. Those stair ways that don’t utilize the space underneath them really bug me too.) Our movies were stacked on this “shelf” but it just wasn’t enough space. They were stacked on top of each other and constantly falling over. They looked like a very disorganized mess, and was an eyesore for me. Several Christmas’ ago, I told my husband the only thing I wanted was for him to build shelves on the “shelf”. He spent several days / several hours a day making this movie shelf for me. I LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT. It doesn’t “take up” any space except an unusable area and it looks great. The movies are in alphabetical order, or some other logical order, (they are so organized . . . until the kids get into them). But nonetheless, it is much easier to keep it organized. Again I LOVE IT!

A Plant Watering Thingy

A couple of years ago, MJ wanted sprinkler pipes for Christmas. I know, crazy hu. He had watched his dad make our sprinkler system and has loved pipes ever since. So I bought several pipes, cut them in exact lengths so he could build a little skeleton play house, then used an old couch cover and sewed it into the shape of the house. When he built the house with the sprinkler pipes, we would throw the old couch cover over it for the outside. The kids loved if for a long time; but he didn’t want to just use his pipes for that, . . . he had much bigger plans. Needless to say, we don’t have all the pieces for the house anymore, but he has found countless uses for those pipes, (Like burying them in the sand box with an L pipe on both ends, sticking the hose on one side and then when he turns on the hose, water shoots out the other side . . . and wallah, he has his own geyser) and now I too have found them very useful. I planted a few tomato plants early this year so that I can get an earlier harvest. I have a great window right above my sink that I keep them in, but every year I have had to deal with the fact that I either have to pull up a chair, and climb into the window to water those plants, or when I was lazy, I would just take my spray nozzle on my kitchen sink and spray them down (usually having more water hit the window and surrounding area then actually getting to the plants.) The other day I came up with this idea, and I asked MJ if I could use one of his pipes with an L link attached to one end. I cover the L end with my hand to keep the water from going through, fill up the pipe with water and it easily reaches my plants; no mess, no climbing into the window, no problems. And the amount of water that fills the pipe is amazingly the perfect amount I need to water each plant. I have only had it for a week now but I must say I LOVE IT!!! And when I need to move the plants, I use the”L” end of my pipe to grab the plants and pull them to where I can reach them. It’s totally awesome!!!

My Counter and a huge cup Problem

(This is not something I made myself but I still love it.) My counter next to the fridge that has a water dispenser (what did we ever do before they put the water in the fridge? My kids didn’t even know that you could get drinking water from the kitchen sink. They voodoo it like I used to think of getting water from the bathroom sink. Ok back to my previous thought), used to look like this.

Every day, I would have at least half of my dishwasher full of cups. I was getting very frustrated with this. We tried assigning one color of cup to each person in the family, but no one would stick to it. We tried putting names on the cups, but again, for whatever reason, that didn’t work either. (Maybe it was too much effort to actually read the names on the bottom.) Finally one day, I found these “cool” cups at Walmart AND all my kids were with me. (Yes I did survive the trip.) I told them to each pick out one cup. I even picked one out for the girl I babysit. This time it worked. Now my counter looks like this.

Not perfect, but Oh so much better. Those cups were well worth the $0.88 I paid for each of them. I am absolutely positive it has saved me much more than that in dishwasher detergent and especially in my own sanity.

A Valentines Idea

Valentines is one of those days I don’t particularly look forward to because of all the cards you have to prepare for your children to take to school, plus I don’t like all the candy anyway, and if I give my kids candy to give away too, I am just being a hypocrite. So I came up with these bookmarks this year. (MJ told me though that he thought everyone would just throw the bookmarks out. Probably, but maybe someone would keep one.) They are cute, inexpensive and fun for the kids. It’s a change from the normal candy card and a bit fun. I wouldn’t say I totally LOVE them, but I figured maybe someone else could use the idea too, so I included it.


Ok, now after writing this very long blog, I must admit that I am sooooo grateful for and LOVE . . . spell checker.