I need your help.

I am packing to come home, Help. I can not think of everything to bring. I have to pack lightly because I can only have one bag.
Help me so I don't forget anything.

Eggs

Okay so maybe the water topic is a little dry but how about eggs. Did you know that you can store eggs unrefrigerated for up to a year if you rub them with mineral oil and then store them narrow end down. Of course you can still refrigerate them for added shelf life and freshness but they can be just left on a shelf. The garage in AZ may not be the best place but a cool storage room is best. It is recommended though that after 6 months you crack into a separate bowl before use just to be sure it isn't spoiled. You'll know its bad if it has an odor. So when eggs go on sale you can stock up and not worry about them spoilling. I thought this little tid bit was really interesting and I had never heard of it before so that is why I am passing it on to you. Just thought you might like to try it.

Water

So I'll start with kind of the basics. I know that we all know to store water and we know that it is important, vital really. So shouldn't it be the very first thing we start to store because we can't live without it? So maybe you have heard different but I think it is recommended to store 2 gallons a day for two weeks per person. So for my family of 8 ( including new baby already) we would need 16 gallons everyday for 14 days which comes out to 224 gallons. There are lots of ways to store the water from large 50 gallon drums to 2 liter soda pop bottles (don't use milk jugs as they disintegrate to quickly). The use of plastics in general is iffy. It is recommended to use PETE plastics for water storage. The Church website lds.org of course has great info on storing water, things to do and things to avoid. So check that out for some basic info but I want to share a few things you may not have heard of. First if you store water in the large 50 gallon drums you'll need to store a syphon system to get the water back out of the drums. Of course you'll want to replace that water about once a year and my understanding is that if it comes from a clean source to begin with you won't need to filter that water in an emergency, but what do you do if you run out of water and the emergency lasts longer than two weeks? You may have to go out in search of water from unclean sources in which case you will need a way to clean that water. Aqua Rain is a product that can filter 25-30 gallons of water per day. It can be found on the Internet. I am told not to go for knock off brands as they don't filter out all harmful bacteria like the Aqua Rain does. It is pricey at about 200$ but for families that live near each other one should supply enough water to share. There is also a cheaper version that I have heard about recently that uses a five gallon bucket and a conversion kit. We are ordering them in our ward right now they are 26$ if you are interested let me know very quickly and I can order extras. Another way to clean the water is by chlorinating concentrates. They are inexpensive about 15-20$ but supposedly more difficult to use. The instructions have to be followed very carefully or it can be harmful. A little scary but probably worth storing anyway because of the price.

So I know there is a lot of info on water storage and if you know more about the subject please post it for all of us to benefit. This info that I am getting is in a packet form and if you want more details on how the products work or where to get them email me and I will make copies and send them out or maybe I can even scan it and email it to anyone interested.

So I was thinking that we could inspire each other by leaving comments on the status of your water supply or your plans and goals to improve it. I have found that once you get started with all of this it can be very exciting to learn new things. I think that storing water is one of the easiest and most important ways to start out this huge undertaking of being prepared. So your challenge is to leave a comment about your status on water supply and goals to improve it and then to go and do it. Then let us all know when you have reached your goal.

Good Luck!

Congratulations Austin, Mallory & Macey 2008

I bet they never thought this day would come!

We are so proud of Austin and thankful he made it.

Congratulations Austin, Macey, Mallory! You guys did what seemed was impossible. Your family is behind you, cheering you on. Welcome to your future. Live it well.

awwwwwww

Happy Mother's Day!

I just became a contributer to this blog. Yeah! Thanks Ashley. Here is my best pic of Grandma! Happy Mother's Day to all ya Mamas out there.

Congrats to Gavin and Chessa!

Everyone mark your calenders for June 20!

Preparedness

Here is my first preparedness post and if any you have any tips this is a great place to share. I want to hear what you know too. I just learned about a new website today. It is http://www.simplylivingsmart.com/ I thought it was pretty cool. It gives video lessons on how to use your food storage and step by step lessons on how to get started. It is free to register so I think it is worth spending some time there.

Good Times!

If you don't already know, today is a very special day! It's mine and Sam's 29th anniversary. I know, I know, most of you are saying I can't believe they made it and the rest of you are saying, I can't believe they would WANT to make it! But here we are celebrating this very special day, we strive to spend a lot of quality time together to keep our marriage strong and unbreakable. So I'm working on my computer and Sam is cleaning the garage, the perfect recipe for a perfect marriage (him in one room and me in the other)

Happy Anniversary, Sam! I love you! (in case I don't see you)

Redundant, but. . .

I already posted this on my blog, but in case you don't read it - this is the last picture of my kids with G & G before we moved to Mexico (June 2005). I think she looks so great in this picture - just the way I want to remember her. I think at this point we all kind of knew she was sick, but never imagined we were losing her. It makes me so thankful for those weekend drives up to Taylor when we were here visiting at Christmas and Spring Break that first year in medical school.

I actually remember this one day a couple of weeks before Grandma died (I think maybe it was when we took that picture of G and G with the pitch fork and that big family picture of all of us). Grandma was having a particularly good day, considering her health at that point. We moved her chair out to the back porch. She held baby Ada and Caelan on her lap and had the most serene smile on her face. There was just a spirit about her and about the family that day that really invited peace. It is so strange to me right now to think that this day so close to her death would hold such happy memories, but even thinking about it now makes me feel warm and fuzzy. We seriously have the greatest family and we owe it all to Grandma's spirit. She was the GLUE and I know you all agree. We have to remember her to keep that glue holding strong - SO DON'T FORGET!

Here is my Contribution

Christmas 2001 This was the best thing I could find, without having to scan in a picture. I don't really know how to do that and usually need danny's help. So this is one I had on the computer already. I look pretty miserable but I was due with Audrie any day so that explains it.
I sure miss having her visit us. We always had a great time.

my contribution

Keara's wedding



Passey women

Fun for Mom's Birthday.

This was Beth and I when we were younger.

Everyone post their favorite picture with mom. I think it would be fun. The picture with us when we were in High School was out in front of the Phantom of the Opera Theatre. It was so much fun.