Beanboozle

Someone gave us Beanboozle and the kids were excited to try it out.  I volunteered to be the photographer. I usually love games but I don't think I could stomach this one!

 Tellestrations - a fun Christmas gift more up my alley.

Food Storage Price Comparison

Dry Food Storage Product Price Comparison February 2017

	LDS Storage Center		Ready or Not Preparedness
Product	Amount	*Price in $	Amount	*Price in $
Black Beans	25 lb bulk bag	14.25 (.57/lb)	25 lb  bulk bag	25.00 ($1. 00/lb)
Pinto Beans	25 lb bulk bag	11.25 (.45/lb)	25 lb	19.00 ($.76/lb)
White Beans	25 lb bulk bag	14.50 (.58/lb)	25 lb	23.00 ($.92/lb)
White Flour	25 lb bulk bag	10.25 (.41/lb)	25 lb	8.00  (.32/lb)
White Flour			50 lb	14.00 (.28/lb)
Oats Quick	2.4 lb #10 can	3.25 ($1.35/lb)	50 lb	24.00 ($.48/lb)
Oats Regular	2.8 lb #10 can	3.25 ($1.16/lb)	50 lb	24.00 ($.48/lb)
Rice White	5.4 lb #10 can	4.00 ($.74/lb)	50 lb	23.00 ($.46/lb)
Sugar	25 lb bulk bag	12.25 ($.49/lb)	50 lb	25.00 ($.50/lb)
Wheat Hard Red	25 lb bulk bag	10.50 ($.42/lb)	25 lb	9.00 ($.36/lb)
Wheat Hard Red			50 lb	15.00 ($.30/lb)
Wheat White	25 lb bulk bag	11.75 ($.47/lb)	25 lb	9.00 ($.36/lb)
Wheat White			50 lb	15.00 ($.30/lb)
Milk Nonfat Dry	1.8 lb #10 can	3.00 ($1.67/lb)	50 lb	83.00 ($1.46/lb)
Hot Cocoa	2 lb #10 can	4.00 ($2.00/lb)	25 lb	41.00  ($1.64/lb)
Hot Cocoa			50 lb	83.00 (1.66/lb)

*Tax will be added to your purchase for both locations.  The least expensive option is in bold. Ready or Not Preparedness charges a $3 fee per person ordering to cover the shipment/transport of your order from Utah to Rexburg.

The LDS cannery in Idaho Falls does offer the convenient option of having products from 25 lb bulk bags packaged in #10 cans with oxygen absorbers, but you pay a bit more than the bulk price listed to cover the cost of the cans/lids and oxygen packs. Items listed above in #10 cans include the can in the price.

The items from Ready or Not Preparedness Order from Honeyville Grains come in bags and will store better if transferred to airtight buckets unless you plan to rotate through them quickly.  Unfortunately the cannery no longer allows us to use the #10 canner for personal use.

Additional items sold at the LDS cannery include apple slices, refried beans, carrots, fruit drink mix, granola, macaroni, pancake mix, potato flakes and pearls, and spaghetti.

Additonal items sold in this order from Ready or Not Preparedness include kidney beans, lentils, lima beans, multi beans, pink beans, great northern beans, green and yellow split peas, white and yellow grits, cornmeal, masa, masa tortilla, masa tamale, white and yellow popcorn, white and yellow corn, almond flour, bread flour, barley flour, buckwheat flour, chickpea flour, coconut flour, high gluten flour, potato flour, rye flour, rice flour, tortilla flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, churro mix, cocoa, cornstarch, lime, powdered molasses, soy grits, tapioca starch, salt, sea salt, soy tvp, gluten, oat bran, oat groats,  steel cut oats, oat powder, brown rice, parboiled rice, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, flax meal, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, buckwheat grouts, barley, kamut, millet, mixed 9 grain or 6 grain, rye, brown sugar, granulated honey, powdered sugar, cracked wheat, cream of wheat, kibbled wheat, organic wheat, semolina, wheat bran, wheat germ.  A separate bulk order for other dehydrated items Ready or Not orders from Honeyville will be available in the future.

22 Days of Wellness Challenge

January Provident Living Focus: Physical Health
"Maintaining the best possible physical health has been a gospel ideal throughout the ages—from the strict dietary laws of ancient Israel, with the example of Daniel and his associates, to the Word of

Home Teachers and Heartfelt Gifts

My parents left a message on my phone several days before Christmas letting me know that our dear family friend and home teacher Paul Meiling was missing after traveling to Pocatello to drop off some books.   His last known location was less than 5 minutes from our old home in Pocatello so I posted the story to facebook hoping that perhaps one of our friends might have seen him. After 2 days of praying and checking and rechecking updates on his find facebook page I was so relieved to hear

Our Gift to the Saviour

December Self Reliance Focus: Spiritual Self-Reliance
"As you submit your wills to God, you are giving Him the only thing you can actually give Him that is really yours to give. Don’t wait too long to find the altar or to begin to place the gift of your wills upon it!"
("Remember how merciful the Lord hath been." Neal A Maxwell)
Challenge: Come to know Christ better by doing what he did - Participate in "Light the World" or set a spiritual goal for improvement to complete as your "gift to Christ" this Christmas.
I am going to preach a hard doctrine to you now. The submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. It is a hard doctrine, but it is true. The many other things we give to God, however nice that may be of us, are actually things He has already given us, and He has loaned them to us. But when we begin to submit ourselves by letting our wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him. And that hard doctrine lies at the center of discipleship. There is a part of us that is ultimately sovereign, the mind and heart, where we really do decide which way to go and what to do. And when we submit to His will, then we’ve really given Him the one final thing He asks of us. And the other things are not very, very important. It is the only possession we have that we can give, and there is no lessening of our agency as a result. Instead, what we see is a flowering of our talents and more and more surges of joy. Submission to Him is the only form of submission that is completely safe.
"Insights from my Life." Neal A. Maxwell 

Born in a stable, cradled in a manger, He came forth from heaven to live on earth as mortal man and to establish the kingdom of God. His glorious gospel reshaped the thinking of the world. He lived for us, and He died for us. What can we, in return, give to Him?

I love the words penned by the English poet Christina Rossetti:

What can I give Him,

Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd

I would bring a lamb.

If I were a Wise Man

I would do my part,

Yet what can I give Him?

Give my heart.¹

^{May we give as the Savior gave. To give of oneself is a holy gift. We give as a remembrance of all the Savior has given. May we also give gifts that have eternal value, along with our gifts that eventually break or are forgotten. How much better the world would be if we all gave gifts of understanding and compassion, of service and friendship, of kindness and gentleness.}

^{"The Real Joy of Christmas" Thomas S. Monson}

When the Weather Outside is Frightful...

We do the best we can hibernating inside!
After some frigid cold days of weather that makes your nostrils stick like glue, it warmed up a bit so it could snow some more.  It made me think of cold days serving in Minnesota and I'm grateful not be out walking in a dress in this weather.The snow was so deep on Christmas day some people had a hard time just getting a block away to make it to our church.  We were so grateful for a kind neighbor who plowed our driveway with his 4 wheeler!  We were running late so we fit a record 11 people all in our little Traverse to traverse a block away.  I'm sure the weight of the load helped us with traction and I was so grateful that we got rid of our 12 passenger fishtailer that couldn't have handled the feat.

I love this part of the holiday season partly because we are so "unscheduled."  With no sports practice, lessons or events to have to rush off to, I enjoy playing games as a family, watching "Christmas Oranges" cuddled up in warm blankets on the couch, seeing my husband rally the kids to clean up the kitchen and reminiscing with relatives about good times and sharing spiritual thoughts. Perhaps the most nostalgic moment for me was singing Christmas carols around the piano on Christmas evening.  We don't do this very often and I felt grateful to have some of Jared's family up to visit to add to our voices and enjoy late night sharing of memories together.

 The best part of the break for Becca is sleeping in with no homework looming over her head!  I'm so grateful she helps out with some of the cooking too.

Jacob and Dan spend a lot of time perfecting their flipping skills, and I like seeing them work together instead of being contentious,but I had to draw the line when I saw them grab a bottle of dish soap they were hoping to flip up onto my family room window sills.

Emily and Alyssa have enjoyed some creative coloring and cooking projects.

EZ Bake Oven

Washi Tape Manicure

Joshua is pretty enthralled with his new tool set.  But lest you think our life is just full of facebook fantasy bliss, I thought I'd share this last pic.
 
I wasn't sure whether to laugh, shout or cry when I came up the stairs and found out that he had brought in a bucket of sand from the garage onto the carpet so he could use his drill with it :(  Alyssa was sweet enough to help him clean up the mess.

Earlier this month ...

I braved the cold to go see Alyssa's school Christmas program which was amazing!  I loved seeing the fun choreography with Jingle Bells, hearing the kids actually sing with enthusiasm, and hearing them sing Silent Night along instead of just a bunch of songs that have nothing to do with Christmas. Alyssa, unlike some of her siblings, really seems to enjoy performing and it was fun to see her personality as she really got into the groove of the moves.   

Our younger kids had a fun time reenacting the nativity at the ward Christmas party.  Having the huge stage with all of their friends joining them and a large audience of adult spectators brought out the reverent side in them which doesn't usually happen when we try to reenact at our house on Christmas Eve.  Joshua was so excited for his turn to rush up on stage with all of the other angels and wise men.

 On Christmas Eve we chose to watch the Nativity Bible Videos since our "Mary" had already dozed off to sleep.