Food Storage

It's official, we FINALLY have a 6 month supply of food storage! It's just the basics, but it's good to know we could survive off of it if the need arose. It's good to feel comfortable when the topic of food storage arises instead of having a sinking unprepared feeling. I still need to add more salt, sugar, baking soda/powder, water(when we get a house I think I'll just buy a couple of big drums), oil, and vitamins. I'm kicking myself for not ordering my food storage last time my ward went to the cannery. The prices have gone up significantly in just a couple of months(4 dollars for a 25 lb bag of wheat). Oh well, better late than never. I'm currently reading The Great and Terrible book series; nothing motivates you to get your food storage like a depiction of the world with a food shortage. GREAT series by the way, I highly recommend it! I'm on the 4th book and there are 6 in the series; I'm having a hard time putting it down.

The recommendation for an adult for one month is 25 lbs of grains (wheat, oats, rice, etc) and 5 lbs of legumes (beans, etc). Providentliving.org is a great place to get information on what to store, how to store it, and tons of other information regarding preparedness and self reliance.

1st Swim of Summer

Sad that we are at the end of June and yesterday was the first time we have been swimming! My kids are like their mama-if it isn't hot and the water isn't warm, count me out! My sister Krystal and sister-in-law Lauren are in town for the week with their kids so we went to the Othello pool for an hour and a half on what was supposed to be the hottest day of the year thus far. I think it actually was, but it didn't feel too warm once in the water. :) Nevertheless, we had a good time, and thanks to Krystal I brought my camera AND actually took pictures. Ignore the fact that I have no tan or make up.

Kyra was NOT okay being in the water and screamed every time she even got a a few drops splashed on her. It wasn't until 5 minutes before we left that she randomly decided to have a change of heart about the water and smiled when I put her in (maybe because by that point the water was warmer than it was outside?).

First reactions to the water with cousin Ethen(Krystal's baby)

Hayden loved it and had a good time playing with his cousins and some friends from nursery who happened to be there as well. He still doesn't like the idea of water running over his head, but perhaps a few more trips to the pool will help ebb his fear.

Krystal and sleeping Ethen. He napped in the pool!

With Krystal and Ethen

I know I am biased, but I think my kids are adorable
When Kyra finally smiled in the water I had to get a picture!
I love this!
All the cousins: Ozkar, Siena, Maia(don't be fooled, she IS caucasian. LUCKY!), Ethen, Kyra, Hayden

Sleep

I took sleep for granted before I was a mother. I didn't realize how precious and how invigorating getting 8 hours of sleep was. Every time I hear a young single male talk about how tired he is(usually by his own free will) he gets the 'don't go there when talking with a mother because you don't understand the meaning of tired' look. Even as a mother my children are good sleepers. However, the last month Kyra has slept through the night only once...last night. The precious girl is still sleeping, and it's been well over 9 hours. I feel like a new woman! When I don't get at least 7 hours total (or 6 consecutive) my productivity goes down, my energy for working out is zero(so I really haven't been, not with any consistency). In fact, my energy for anything is virtually zero.

This past month has made me SO GRATEFUL that my kids normally sleep so well! How do mother's do it whose babies don't sleep through the night early on? Makala, HOW ARE YOU SURVIVING??!! Makala has two preemies and does not sleep for more than 1 1/2 hours consecutively. We're praying that your body will hold out as long as your babies are in this stage, and that they will grow quickly!

Fathers

I am so thankful for fathers! I can't imagine my life without the many wonderful men that bear the name "father."

Dax is an amazing father. He takes individual time with our children and will come home from a long day at work and play with Hayden despite having next to no energy. I am grateful that Dax is so willing to learn what our children need developmentally. Because I graduated in Child Development he will ask me what we can do for each of our kids for their developmental stage.


I am in love with this picture, partly because it isn't a staged shot, and partially because my boys are so handsome.

Another one of my favorite pictures. Maybe I just love pictures of my husband and kids. Come on, does anything melt your heart like watching your husband love your children?



My father is a great example of hard work and being productive with your time...almost to a fault. Nothing is beneath him, and I have seen him do jobs other men wouldn't even consider. He also is probably the most faithful journal writer I know. I am grateful that he is my father.

My father-in-law did so many great things for his children. He held interviews, counseled, and taught his children everything from the gospel to car mechanics(thank goodness for both of those!) He is a great man, and raised Dax so that he could be the man that I wanted.

My Grandpa Christensen (mother's father). My other grandfather died when I was young, so when I think of a grandfather he is who comes to mind. He is an amazing man. He is even an awesome cook! He is the perfect embodiment of a grandpa.

I am also thankful for my Grandpa Jensen, Dax's Grandpa's Taylor, Webb, Wells, and Gibbons. All extraordinary men, even if I only know that through stories from others.

In church I was reminded just how much mothers and father need each other. In a prayer someone gave thanks for the women who made the men fathers. Mothers and fathers need each other to be complete, you can't get a mother without the involvement of a father and vice versa. I am thankful for that joint responsibility. I love fathers! Happy Father's Day to all fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and brothers!

Lost

Today I lost Hayden for the first time. Well, technically he wandered away from the house. If you ask him about it, he says, "I ran away from mommy and she was sad, sad, sad without me!" No idea where he got the terminology "running away." Really, he just got so interested looking for sticks that he kept walking to find another one, and before you know it he was long gone. I got him ready to go out to the play group in the park (step out the back gate and you are in the park, literally), and told him that I was going to feed Kyra for a few minutes before we went out. When I went to get him 10 minutes later I couldn't find him anywhere. Not in the house, not in the backyard or front yard, and not in the park. I started to panic internally. Once I really realized he was gone and all of the possibilities about what could have happened to him started to sink in I began to go crazy. Hayden has played in the backyard hundreds of times before, and never once has he left my parent's property. I've started to loosen the reins a little bit and let him go out in the backyard alone and I check on him every few minutes.

Twenty minutes later my sister-in-law and I are frantically calling his name up and down the street and finally I went to the far end of the park calling his name. A lady saw me and asked who I was looking for and I told her a little boy. She said, "Hayden, right?" It turns out he went up the street and turned the corner at the end of the block. He was walking on the sidewalk and playing(this sidewalk borders the far end of the park) and the lady noticed that he didn't have an adult with him. She noticed a police car parked at the nearby mortuary so she took him over. I called and they said he was at the police station, so I made my way home to get the car to pick him up. Meanwhile, I called my mother to tell her what happened and that I was on my way to the police station to pick up Hayden. A couple of minutes later she called me back and told me that Hayden was at the high school (my mother works there in the office). Apparently when they asked Hayden about his parents he said that his daddy works at the school (although he knows he doesn't) so they took him there to try and find a parent. Obviously the dispatcher didn't tell them I called and was going to come get him. When they asked him his name he said Hayden Wells, but when they asked his daddy's name he said Dax and it is such an uncommon name that they didn't understand him and kept thinking he was still saying dad. Anyway, the principal is in our ward and recognized him as well.

Hayden didn't cry at all the entire time! He was pretty emotionally drained after the incident (so was I) though. No more play time for Hayden outside without Mommy for a LONG TIME, even with locks on the gates. It will probably take a good year or two for my nerves to settle down. I don't even want to know what Dax is going to say when I get a hold of him...

Thank goodness for good people in the world and for a merciful Heavenly Father who answers the prayers of a mother who has been a little too careless.

Everyday Life

I can't say we have done anything exciting lately or that we have been super busy, but it seems like my daily personal time has dwindled down from an hour, to minutes, to seconds some days.

Hayden is growing like a weed, and eating like a cow. He tipped the scales at 36.4 lbs today. No wonder my double stroller is a beast to push, it weighs 80 lbs! He is giving me a taste of my own medicine. "No, mommy, I'm going to give YOU a time out!" has been heard frequently lately. I need to work on my redirection tactics, obviously. Still, he can be the sweetest boy, and it melts my heart every time he tells me that I look so pretty (the few days I get my hair and make up done) or tells me he loves me and gives me a hug.

Kyra now has 6 teeth and I'm anticipating a 7th any day now. Sleep has been affected, but I can't complain because normally my kids are great sleepers. She was burned on Grandma's baseboard heater (Hayden turned it on unbeknown to me, on HIGH) and had some nasty blisters that just recently opened. We're trying to keep infections at bay. She progressed from an army crawl to a "real" crawl on her nine month mark.

I acquired a double jogger through the graciousness of my sister Kimberly and I LOVE it. My arms are loving the workout as well. I need to find a walking buddy and make it a daily habit of it. In Provo Hayden and I went walking with a friend and her baby most mornings and then ended at the park to let Hayden play for an hour. My hair finally feels like it is growing, hallelujah! I may attempt to have my bad hair cut fixed here in the near future, after 8 months. :)

Dax has been putting in long hours lately, but hopefully we are on the tail end of that. They really aren't THAT long, but by the time you add the 45 minute commute each way it seems longer.

My sister Krystal just got here to visit for the day from Utah. Once again I'm reminded how much I miss my "Utah" siblings.