Seeds

Many people have expressed appreciation for what I shared in my last post and I wanted to do a bit of a follow up. It will be one month today since Jay was killed in a car accident. It might seem a little strange, but one of my predominant feelings is still gratitude. I had a lot to be grateful for before, but now I'm more grateful for many things that I took for granted.

I'm more grateful for every day and moment that I have with my family. I'm more grateful for every day and moment that I have. I'm more grateful that angels and the Spirit World are so close. I'm grateful for the amazing and thoughtful support I've received some so many people. I'm grateful for all the true principles I've learned throughout my life that have prepared me for a time such as this. 

Cloth Dipaper Misconceptions

I've been cloth diapering for over 3 years now, and still enjoy it! I have a clothes line now too so I can use the super powers of the sun and wind. (Those super powers include removing stains while drying clothes without effecting my energy bill). You can check out some of my other posts about cloth here.

I'll agree that cloth diapers aren't for everyone. If you are as passionate about disposable diapers as some are about politics and religion, then cloth is not for you. But otherwise, its worth considering.

First, I want  to clear up a few misconceptions. Then I'll share some other details in another post.

"I don't want to deal with poop"

If poop grosses you out that much, you might want to reconsider having children. Unless you have a full time nanny or you are really good at elimination communication, you will be dealing with poop. And whether you cloth diaper or not, raising children will include a fair amount of various bodily fluids, including poop. Just accept the fact that there will be things like pee, poo and throw up on clothes, in beds, and on you. Or cover your house, furniture and floor in plastic and wear a rain coat all the time.

That being said, cloth diapering has not increased the amount of poop I have to handle (unless I'm doing the flats and handwashing challenge). Breast fed poop is water soluble so it goes straight from babies bum to the wet bag to the washing machine. And since EBF poop is also more prone to blow outs, I highly recommend cloth diapering for as long as the baby is breastfed, even if you don't want to after. As far as dealing with more solid poops, there is a multitude of ways to do that.

"Cloth is too much work"

That's completely a matter of perspective. Choose the system that's best for your needs. You have to deal with the diapers before and after the baby wears them either way. Would you rather have more trips to the store(or online orders) or a bigger up front purchase and more laundry? Would you rather have more stinky garbage or laundry? And if laundry is your nemesis, there are cloth diaper washing services available, and probably neighbors that would be willing to do your diaper laundry for some extra income.

"Cloth smells funny"

This may be true if the wash routine needs tweaked. Otherwise, I prefer the smell of cloth over plastic but that's personal preference.s

My Not So Extreme Hippie Prepper Ways

My family lives in a small basement apartment. We don't have room (or a desire) for a TV because the drum set, piano and computer desk take up most of the living room space. So why would I even consider having an extra three month supply of food encroaching into our living space? What possessed me to fill five gallon buckets and stash them in every conceivable place I can?

The Power of Hope

With all the crazy stuff going on in the world and in our personal lives, it is so easy to be filled with despair and overwhelmed with everything. I'm grateful for the examples of many people around me that remind me how I should be looking at life. As I observe such valiant examples, I am convinced that our Heavenly Father wants us to be happy and hopeful instead of complaining and pessimistic.

Trials Are a Part of Life

Why I Will Never Apolagize For The Book Of Mormon

When we include the Book of Mormon, we have another witness of Christ and His doctrine, and with two witnesses, we get more clarity and less different interpretations.

When someone is learning about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one of the hardest parts  to swallow is often the Book of Mormon. If we are a Christian religion, why do we put so much emphasis on the Book of Mormon and the Joseph Smith story? Why can't we stick to the Bible like everyone else? If our religion is true, it should be found solely in the Bible without adding extra scripture, right?

When I am defending my viewpoints, I won't hesitate to use teachings from the Book of Mormon or modern prophets, even if I know my audience may not believe the same as I do. I want to use this post to explain my reasoning behind my methodology. I don't intend to change what I am doing or how I explain myself, and I want my readers to understand why.

Cloth Diapers Can Save The World! (Flats and Handwashing: Day 3)

What do George Orwell (author of 1984, Animal Farm and other satires) and I have in common? We both like to write (although in completely different styles) and we both believe that cloth diapers can save the world!

Ok, I know that sounds like a pretty grandiose claim (but I caught your attention, didn't I?). Let me explain how I believe this is all possible. Today's post for the Flats and Handwashing Challenge is going to take a step away from the logistics of it and talk about the beauty of cloth diapering!

Blanket Forts and Lasting Relationships

I recently came across this article. It talks about how many young single adults are participating in dating activities which encourage them to act like children. Things like building blanket forts and going on scavenger hunts for group dates. The author points out that this culture may encourage prolonged adolescence and make the transition to married life difficult.

I beg to differ.

This fort represents the joy and happiness our family experiences as we play together. Like the fort, the play time is only temporary buy helps us enjoy time together as we build meaningful lasting relationships.

What Is Truth?

Oh say, what is truth? 'Tis the fairest gem

That the riches of worlds can produce,

And priceless the value of truth will be when

The proud monarch's costliest diadem

Is counted but dross and refuse.

-John Jaques, 1827-1900

Truth is things as they really are, and it can be pretty hard to come by. 

I recently finished listening to the book "1984" by George Orwell. If you are into dark, depressing, futuristic stories that are eerily similar to the present even though they were written over half a century ago, this book is for you! If you want something inspiring and happy, don't read it. ;) 

Besides a feeling of hopelessness, the reader is left to ask this question: "Is the lunatic a person who believes there are problems in the world and that life and the system are less than perfect, even though they are the minority or even the only person who believes these things are so? Or is it lunacy to believe everything along with the crowd even when it doesn't really make sense?"

Ingrown Toenails and Virtuous Living

Repentance, Toenails, and Prostitutes

While I was a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I spent a lot of time walking around. Walking, less than ideal shoes, and poor care on my part led to an ingrown toenail that eventually became so painful I couldn't walk normally anymore and a piece of the nail needed to be surgically removed.

The afternoon after I had the piece of my toenail removed, I went out to work. Normally, we would walk around and talk to people, but with the big bandage on my toe, not to mention the throbbing toe within, I wasn't up for much walking. We prayed that the people would come to us, since I wasn't up for finding the people.

It wasn't long before we found ourselves waiting at a bus singing hymns waiting for the Lord to answer our prayer. It was answered when Cecilia came over to talk to us. We had talked with her before, and though she hadn't told us what she did for work, we had a pretty good guess when we saw what she was wearing on her way to her first day at a new job. As we sang "How Great Thou Art", something inside of her felt peace and hope that she hadn't felt for a long time. We talked with her and tried to help her know that God loved her. She still had doubts whether she could be forgiven or be accepted at church when she was working as a prostitute.

Easter Traditions

This year I wanted to start some Christ centered Easter traditions. I found lots of great stuff online, but I wanted my own variation that would be personalized and adapted for our family. So I've kind of combined various ideas into something that works for us.

Sow a Thought...

What we think doesn't just influence the way we see things, it influences who we are and what we do.

"Sow a thought, reap an action; 

sow an action, reap a habit; 

sow a habit, reap a character; 

sow a character, reap a destiny."
-unknown (I found this attributed to a multitude of people)

Who Are We? Part 3 - Our Potential

This the third part of a three part series. If you haven't already read the first two, make sure you check them out!

Who Are We? Part 1 - Little Children Are Alive In Christ
Who Are We? Part 2 - The Duality of Man

Suppose for a moment that I am a visitor from another planet. I have a tour guide that wants to show me some of the great things of this world. One of our first stops is to see an eagle.

"This bird is the great symbol of the United States of America," the guide explains. "Early in our nation's history, some of the leaders wanted the turkey to represent our great nation. Thankfully the eagle was chosen so we can have this majestic, powerful bird instead of a lowly turkey."

I stare at the birds in confusion. The choice seems far from clear to me, for this is what I've been presented with:



I share my confusion with my tour guide, "What manner of predators are around here? Are birds on the top of the food chain? Surely that tiny ball of fuzz with a beak is not as resilient as the turkey that proudly shows off its plumage! I see the turkey has wings to fly with, but the tiny eagle would only plummet to the ground if it was put in the air. What a messed up world this is!"

Who Are We? Part 2 - The Duality of Man

My last post was about the nature of little children. This post will delve more into the nature of people of every age.

There is a Native American legend that goes something like this:

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.

"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil--he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego."

He continued, "The other is good--he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you--and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed." (Cherokee Legend)

Who Are We? Part 1 - Little Children Are Alive In Christ

I would love to spend my time posting about how to make a perfect loaf of bread, delicious recipes, cloth diaper adventures, and how I keep my house completely spotless. But that isn't what I'm posting about today for a few main reasons:

1. I'm still busy reading other peoples' posts about a lot of those things before I know enough to write my own post. ;)
2. As awesome and important as a good loaf of bread is, there are other things of more eternal significance that have been weighing on my mind that I want to share.
3. My blog is written for anyone in the world to read, and as nice as warm bread and tasty meals are, they can't compare to the comfort and peace that comes from truth.

So now I'm going to proceed to share some things that are very dear to me in hopes that someone out there in the world can benefit from reading them. I'm planning to make this the first post in a series.

I've been seeing a lot of posts about "Are Babies Born Good?" and some fascinating studies supporting one side or the other. Since my baby isn't quite a year old yet, I know I am not the best person to write about these things from experience. I also realize that having a degree in education still doesn't amount to much next to the experience of many parents. However, I don't have to have years of experience as a mother or be versed in science to understand the scriptures and how God sees little children. If you want to see the wonderful post that inspired me to write this, click here. :)

Avoiding Worldly Trends

Getting married and starting a family has been a terrific experience and has definitely resulted in some paradigm shifts. I could learn and prepare a lot before hand (and I'm very grateful for all I did learn and prepare), but it is still something that wasn't real until I could understand it experiencially. This quote shows what I feel my purpose is, it applies specifically to me as a wife and mother, but it certainly encompasses a lot more than that.

"No one can calculate the tremendous force for good that you can become. You are the keepers of the hearth. You are the managers of the home. . . . I charge you to stand tall and be strong in defense of those great virtues which have been the backbone of our social progress. When you are united, your power is limitless. You can accomplish anything you wish to accomplish. And oh, how very, very great is the need for you in a world of crumbling values where the adversary seems so very much to be in control." -Gordon B. Hinckley