My New Find!

You know, I am surrounded by some BRILLIANT people!! My new find this week that I want to share is:

A customized Day Planner from Walmart

BAM!

This brilliant little plan must be given with all credit to my friend Kristen.

Kristen "the Walmart hater."

She was at a meeting with me and she whips out her dayplanner with her gorgeous little boy on the cover. "Where did you get that?" I exclaimed with glee!

She then informs me that the Walmart Photo lab makes custom dayplanners for dirt cheap.

"But you hate Walmart?" Yes, yes, she does! However, she will buy the day planners from them.

So, the beginning of the year rolled around and I debated. $60 to refill my Franklin OR $13.95 for a custom day planner!! We have a winner, winner chicken dinner!

So, I slapped on my favorite picture, had it printed up and then had Kristen mouth to me "copy cat" at church when she noticed my new arrival sitting on my lap.

Whatever! Thanks for sharing!

Remembering When!

Yesterday, one of my Young Woman dropped off her graduation announcement. I am so excited for her as she begins a new life at BYU Idaho and really starts her life as a woman. It made me reflect back to my graduation, hence the picture I chose today. To make a long story short, Brian and I started dating seriously right before I graduated from High School. Hence, he came to my graduation with a dozen pink roses, so awesome!

I really enjoy this picture because this is the time that we really began the love we have now. I had known Brian many years before my graduation, and from moment 1 we were like best friends. When he returned from his mission, I had some issues to work through and basically treated him terribly. It was at Jordan's mission farewell (around the end of April) that I finally realized what an awesome guy I had standing before me and that's when I knew that I was going to have to really fight to get him back. This picture was taken at the beginning of June, so this was 4 weeks in to 2 years of dating, 8 month engagement and almost 9 years of marriage. Pretty crazy, huh? I wish I had a picture of the first time we met, but that is another post, for another day!

I look back at the girl I use to be and feel that I have progressed much further than who she is. It's funny, when you are in high school, you think that you are an adult and when you look back you know that you have a ton more maturing to do to reach that state. I still do not think I have hit adulthood myself. Speaking of maturity, yes that is my sister making faces behind us and so you know the way I scanned this picture is the way it was in my frame!


So heres to reflecting the high school days. May I never have to experience anything like that again. I really love and appreciate the life I have now and here's to growing up into the woman I will someday become!

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow!

Well, I finally was able to get the garden in! YAY! I have been waiting for 2 weeks to be able to get my hands in the dirt! I cannot wait for it to all die! j/k

On the side I am going to have a weekly update on my garden and you will see that first everything dies, and then it comes back and flourishes!



We planted 10 small rows of corn, beans, 2 tomatos, brocolli, lettuce, cucembers, peppers and onions. Over in a small garden I have planted a whole bunch of strawberries.



It is small I know, but it is manageable for me. The weeding alone takes about 1-2 hours.

We also attended a meeting last night with the Church's Emergency Response Medical Coordinator, Dr. Susan Pals.

She is THE lady at the church headquarters that handles what the church does in emergencies such as what has happened recently with China, the cyclone, and the volcano in Argentina that has just happened in the past 2 weeks.

She talked to us part of about having our 72 hour kits and food storage. The majority of her talk was about a Pandemic which could hit anytime, possibly the Avian bird flu. It was a little discouraging when we left. If that or any pandemic hits, it is not going to be pretty.

Moral of this story: have your 72 hour kits ready and multiples if you are other places, have at least 3 months of food storage and 2 weeks of water, get your medications stalked up, and most importantly, WASH YOUR HANDS!

A Mother's Plea!

"Dear Father, bless my child that she may not be alone..."


Today I am really struggling. I am not sure if it is hormones or what, but I am having a hard time today! The worst part of it all, is that I am grieving for my daughter. My heart aches because I cannot provide for her a sibling to have as constant companionship or a friend to play with. I guess it has been a series of events that have led me to this point, so I guess to get this off of my chest, I will explain.

Moment 1- Sometimes Shaeler can be a little stubborn at times and will have some difficulties playing or sharing or has to get her way. Let me remind you, she is 3 years old. A comment I get occasionally is that "well, she's an only child and they can get to be spoiled brats." Ouch! That one hurts on multiple levels. I do agree that yes, she does get her way at home, but what am I suppose to do? Also, if you knew me, you would know that we are trying to add another family member, and statements like that make me feel like a failure. Trust me, this is not a choice that she is an only child.

Moment 2- This morning Shaeler was playing in her bedroom and she has imaginary friends. I thought to myself, alright, she is so creative, she has imaginary friends. And then I broke down because if I could give her anything in the world, it would be a little brother or sister for companionship so she wouldn't have to pretend. Again, I grieve because I cannot provide that for her at this time. It's ok, she doesn't know any better. I guess this is one of the few times that the phrase "ïgnorance is bliss" is acceptable.

Moment 3- Last night I was at Enrichment and talking with a few of the other moms in the ward. One mom has a daughter Shaelers age and her daughter is just a hoot. She was talking about how all of her children have kind of rubbed off on their youngest daughter and she believes has shaped her into the little character she is. I was so envious of her talking about her children and how they take care of each other and affect each other. Again, something that I just cannot provide at this time for Shaeler.

Yes, she does have cousins, but there is a huge age gap and they are moving on with their lives into the teenage things. I cannot express to you how my heart aches when Shaeler is thrown out of a room or told to leave and she comes running to me crying. I guess this may be a touchy issue for me because of the loneliness issues that I deal with. And on their behalf, they are older and have every right to do the older kid things.

I prayed this morning, pleaing with God to put my wants aside and to please bless Shaeler with the blessings she deserves. Maybe I am being too down or selfish today, but I have to remind myself that these are the trials I probably asked for.

One positive hope is that another one of my friends talked to me last night and said that her friend knew a girl that was looking for an open adoption. She said that she said my name. I could have jumped up and kissed her. I figured that when I tell people that we are trying to adopt that they just say Congratulations and move on with their lives. It touched me that she remembered me and said my name. I am extremely grateful just for the thought.

Ok, I feel a little bit better now! I guess I just needed to express my thoughts and let it out! Thank you for bearing with me on that and I promise that I will do much better today!

Ward Pioneer Day!

So this last Saturday we had Ward Pioneer Day. I asked the Ward Activities Committee to put together a day of Pioneer experiences to get the youth excited for Trek and Mini Trek. It was MAGNIFICENT!! They did an awesome job and I was blown away by everything they did. Here are some pictures:



Brother A contacted a fellow who has buffalos and decided to burn buffalo chips. That was a plesant smell.



They played Stick Pull! The kids loved that one! Brian thinks he rebroke his rib (yes, he broke his rib 4 weeks ago and has been recovering very poorly!)



Brother G helped everyone roll a can to make homemade ice cream. That was a huge hit! Every time I went to get ice cream, I was told that I would have to wait for the next batch.



Everyone was able to help tie a quilt which was really cool!



Sister L showed everyone had to "tatter". I think that is what is called. It is a way to do Egyptian lace. Very tiny loops and absolutely gorgeous. I adore Sister L!

Here are some of the quilts and pioneer artifacts that were on display. The shoes and hat are the actual clothing that Sister M's Great Grandfather wore to cross the ocean and the plains. How Cool is that?




After the ward party, we went to the Elders Quarum game night which was a blast also. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time, got to make new friends and I learend a new game that only takes 6 dice. Too fun!

We have an AWESOME Ward Activity Committee and my hats off to them for one of our best ward activities ever!

The "Chickens" of My Labors!!

Well yesterday, I finally did it! I canned my chicken! It is a very long story. A year ago, my friend said that I could borrow her pressure cooker to be able to can my food. She talked me into cannning chicken and how much she loved having her chicken in her storage unit. So I hopped right over to Macy's and bought 40 lbs of chicken when they had their sale.

When I called my friend to get together, she found out she was pregnant and was not feeling well. I certainly did not want to bother her, but now I had 40lbs of chicken in my freezer! So I waited a little while and months later I called her to see if I could just borrow her pressure cooker and she would not have to show my anything. I would try and figure it out on my own. I explained that Brian was not happy about the chicken sitting in my freezer for 8 months and I wanted to get this out of the way. She said she would call me back when she was ready to let me borrow her pressure cooker. Well, I never got the call.

So last January, I bought my own pressure cooker and when I pulled it out of the box, I was overwhelmed. I slid the box back in my pantry and wanted to pretend like I still did not have the item. Brian repeatedly asked me when I was going to take care of that chicken and I would wiggle my way out of doing it. It was getting to the point that I was having nightmares. Some huge emergency would break down and we would have no electricity and the chicken in the freezer would go bad and Brian would give the look of "if you would have taken care of this, we would not be starving."

So the last week I got a bug in me and I have been focusing again on our food storage. I finally bit the bullet and pulled the chicken out of the freezer to allow it to defrost. This is do or die time.

Yesterday morning I started pulling the chicken apart and had a complete realization of how much 40 lbs of large chicken breasts were and I wanted to give up. I had a whole story planned out that the chicken was freezer burned and it was bad and because I got the chicken for so cheap, it wasn't a real loss. And then I would run to Sam's Club and buy the canned chicken. And then I realized I was on a budget. No Canned Chicken! I just couldn't turn back now. This was going to be a really long weekend of chicken. I had to cut it all in small pieces, bake it, boil the chicken broth and then place them in their jars. Once it started cooking, it didn't take that long. The grossest part was all of the chicken juice and blood. I'm glad I am not pregnant. I did not want to touch the pressure cooker without Brian there, because if I blew up the house, then I would be in bigger trouble. Once I got it in the cooker, it wasn't bad at all other than I was stuck to the house for 9 hours. So, here you go! 24 Quarts of Chicken!



Next on my list: Strawberry Jam!

Gratitude List

Well it is a new month which means a new gratitude list for me! I have so much to say about my weekend, but feel it is more important to start my blogs this month with a heart of gratitude. So here we go!

1. I am thankful for food. I know, a very basic item, but the last week and especially today, I am so grateful for food. Being sick really levels me down to a level where I appreciate the small things. After throwing up everything and the bath tub and I think I saw some organs, I really valued good heath and nurishing myself. Being able to eat something and not feel like it is rotting in my stomach. Being able to nourish my body and feeling healthy and alive. It all stems from enjoying being able to eat food. I am so excited that in the next couple of weeks we will be planting our garden. Food that I sowed with my own hands and cultivated myself. I am so excited that we have a full focus on our food storage, so when a crisis happens, we will at least not need to worry about hunger. Or if groceries get so high because gas is becoming out of control, we can depend on ourselves and not struggle. That is freedom and that is good!

2. I am thankful for the good people in my life. It is funny when you are put in a role of leadership, the darts and arrows that come with the territory. I am not saying that none of it is deserved, but it is sometimes more than one can bear. I am so thankful for ALL of the good people that surround me in my life and lift me when I am down. I could probably do each area in it's own list, but today, I am going to group you all in one. I am as always thankful for my husband and daughter. Refer back to gratitude list 1 & 2 for reasons why. I am very thankful for my family. It seems in the last year, I have been able to take the next step in the right direction with all of my relationships. How lucky I am to be able to hang out with my grandma. For my mom and sister and being able to talk with them on a daily basis with blogs and taking the baby steps to become closer to the family I have always imagined us to be. For the Rentmeister family and being the tribe we need to help each other in our daily lives. Always willing to help and support each other is a security I do fully appreciate. For good friends such as Katie and Ann and allowing me to join them on their nights out. For respecting who I am and no matter a difference of opinion, being a friend is really what is important. My neighbors who look after us and our home and always being willing to lend a hand. For Young Women who always make me laugh and remind me that the child like perspective is always refreshing and enlightening. How lucky I am to have such great people in my life.

2. I am thankful for Caroline and Becky. What an honor and priveledge it is to know and work with these 2 women. Never in my life have I had such trust and optimism when working with women. Any auxillary in the church will go through its ups and downs because we are a church of people. I think that because the church is still going and growing strong is a testimony in it self of how the church is the true church. If it wasn't then the people would have destroyed it long ago. I appreciate the counsel and love that Caroline and Becky have given to me and our presidency. They truly are righteous daughters of God. They understand service and have beautiful testimonies of their own. I look forward to the meetings I can have with them and be with them to think, brainstorm, ponder and have spiritual moments. I cannot testify enough how Heavenly Father calls the right women at the right time. I am with them today because of Him and I am forever in His debt for them.

3. I am thankful for my Priesthood leaders. We have a really great Bishopric in our ward and I have felt an overwhelming feeling of love they have for me. I know that they are truly called and sacrifice a ton for the benefit of the ward. I know that they will lead and guide us to what is best for all in the grand scheme of things. Mainly, I just want to express the love I have for them and I appreciate all that they do for me!

4. I am thankful for Womens Conference. When I was driving home the first night, I was talking with Brian on the phone and he asked me who I went with. I told him I went by myself and it surprised him a little. He wasn't the only person that was surprised. I expressed to him that I felt great blessings would come to me if I attended the conference and the fear of being by myself was not going to hold me back. Hence I was paid ten fold. What an honor to go and participate in an event where I was in the presence of Sheri Dew, John Bytheway, Julie Beck, President Monson and especially being surrounded by women who had the same goal that I did. To somehow make myself, my family, my friends and this world just a little bit more loving and better. I plan on attending every year unless family or other circumstances withold me. What an awesome event that is put together and I know that I am a better person because I was a part of it.

5. I am thankful for a budget. Well we are now 3 weeks into being on a budget and I can tell you it has been bittersweet. More towards the sweet than anything. Bitter because we really had to stretch this week because we did not have enough money for 2 weeks and I had to break down and eat Top Romen for dinner. But I cannot express the overwhelming feeling of control and happiness I feel from being on this budget. I cannot believe how many times I have had to say no this week for purchases, but when I look at the greater picuture, I feel much more happy. It was so much fun going grocery shopping with Brian and he having the calculator and having a game to stay under our budget for groceries so we could go out to dinner that night. In the end we were blessed ten fold. Joyce asked us to accompany her to the Josie 5oth Wedding Anniversary before we went out to dinner. It was at the Gathering Place in Gardner Village and they were serving food. Tons of food. We had dinner there and it didn't cost us a dime. Heavenly Father does bless us when we are obediant. So you ask me what am I planning to do with the extra money. We went to the DI and I bought a book and we bought a skirt and pants for Trek. Yeah I know, pretty sweet!

I really love doing these gratitude lists and I look forward to the beginning of the month so I can reflect and be thankful for the many blessings of my life. I truly am loved and blessed! I also want to express the love I have for all of you! Thanks!