How's it Going?

It's going great! What? My first New Year's resolution. Strengthening my family has been fun. One of the "Teaching Self Government" ideas is to have a once a week activity with the whole family. I actually asked Nicholeen about this because we already have FHE (family home evening). She said that they do FHE on Sunday and the activity on Monday. The reason is the anticipation of a family planned event is really important. It has been especially important in our home right now. One child is making some huge changes and has lost privileges quite a bit. Family time is special and every child gets to participate in all of the planned family stuff, even if they don't have privileges. We've only had two activities so far but I can see it's something the kids are going to relish and become more creative in planning as time goes on. We did puzzles the first night and went sledding last night. We had intended to build a snow man and have a snowball fight but the snow wasn't right for either. We had sledding as our secondary plan. It turned out to be a great lesson in having fun even though plans change.

They Grow Too Fast!

Karlyn rolled over Sunday. I can't believe it. She's such a people person baby. She LOVES to be talked to and held BUT she doesn't like to cuddle. She wants to see everything going on around her so always has to face out. We took her sleigh riding (she didn't sled of course). She liked being with us but hated the snow suit - she couldn't suck her thumb.

Thomas Jefferson knew

How did Jefferson know?

HOW DID JEFFERSON KNOW?
When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.Thomas Jefferson

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. Thomas Jefferson

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world. Thomas Jefferson

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. Thomas Jefferson

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government. Thomas Jefferson

No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. Thomas Jefferson

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. Thomas Jefferson

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. Thomas Jefferson

To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical. Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:'I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.'

Such a Lovely week

I love vacation-relaxation time. Sometimes vacations don't work out like that. This one did. Brent and I have both been really tired lately. We decided to have a quiet New Year's Eve. Instead of inviting family or friends over, we watched a movie with the kids (Night at the Museum) and then put the kids to bed. We then played a little WII Fit Plus and watched "An Affair to Remember." It was so nice. New Year's Day we invited another family to our house to sleigh ride and have nachos and hot cocoa. We ended up having 5 of the kids at our home after that and we played games until they left. Saturday, we went to my moms for our annual sea food dinner. Wow, I wish I would have taken a picture of the crab legs. They were huge!!! It was fun getting together with family. We learned a fun game, Jungle Uno, which was a riot. Sunday, we had a Christmas get together with Brent's family. It was fun. You know the best thing? My kids were SO good.

Goal Number 2

My second goal is a physical one. I want to get in to shape! I have about 10 lbs to lose from being pregnant. I don't want to just lose the weight, I want to be fit. I plan to keep eating well and start some sort of exercising. It's no problem in the summer, but I'm not sure yet what to do for the winter. I'd like Brent and I to take the kids biking in Southern Utah this summer so biking will definitely be part of the program. My body was made for running, but I really don't like to run. I might have to do a little though for conditioning. Okay, it's been typed out, it's official!

Call to Action

Many have heard of the Health Care Reform Bill. Do you know what's in it? The bill is supposed to make health care affordable to all US citizens. From the research I have done, this is not the case. What this bill really does is chip away at our precious constitutional freedoms. It also chips away at our pocketbook. Mark Shurtleff, Utah Attorney General, and 9 other State Attorney Generals are working together to check in to the legality and constitutionality of this bill. We often say to ourselves, "what can I do?" What we can do is make our voices heard. History shows us that citizens must stand up and fight. We can no longer just stand back and hope that our elected leaders will do the right thing. Those elected leaders that are voting "for the people" need to be supported. Bob Bennett has a petition to help stop the Health Care Reform bill. Find out for yourself what is in this bill and others. Decide for yourself if what is being passed is good for our country. Does it support our constitution? If you feel inclined, sign the petition and think about becoming a delegate for your state.

Planning for a new year

This coming year, I am hoping to fulfill three main goals, maybe four, I'm still thinking about exactly what I want these goals to be. There is one goal, a family one, that Brent and I are already working on. It is to strengthen our home by doing things that allow the Spirit to be in our home as often as possible. We have already seen a huge change happening. I recently learned of the Peck family. They live in Tooele Utah and hosted two teens from the UK for a show called, "The World's Strictest Parents." (warning, BBC does not edit swearing and such in this video). I was quite impressed by the Peck family and wanted to learn more about them and their parenting style. I found out that Nicholeen Peck has a website, Teaching Self Government, and recently came out with a book called, "A House United, Teaching Self Government." I am still learning how to implement self government in our home, but already it is making a huge impact on our family. We had an appointment set to take one of our sons to see a sought out child phsychiatrist (or is it psychologist?). We set this appointment months ago but don't feel the need for it any longer. Our home has a great deal less stress going on and my children are learning to work together and get along with each other. I have tried many systems of discipline, some have put me on the right path, this one seems to combine the best of many programs.