72 Hour Emergency Kit Documents

For March's Provident Living class, we were given a list of important documents to keep with our 72 hr. kits. I thought I'd share some of it with you, just in case you'd like to have copies with yours. Place the items in a folder with your kits so that you can grab it and go if needed.

• Scriptures
• Family history disk
• Patriarchal Blessing
• Birth certificates
• Will
• Passports
• Vaccination records
• Homeowners insurance policy
• Auto insurance policy
• Life insurance policy
• Bank statements
• Utility statements
• Work/tax documents that would be difficult to replace
• Retirement statement
• Internet passwords (banking, work, personal, school, etc...)
• Cash - small bills and change
• Credit card, or copies of card front and back
• Pre-paid phone card
• Social Security cards
• Family evacuation/communication plans
• List of doctors and their phone numbers
• Summary of family member's known allergies, illnesses, surgeries, hospitalization's, etc.
• Copies of important prescriptions for medicines and eyeglasses
• Anything else you feel important

Helpless

I mentioned Alex's broken arm; but, that wasn't the only event that happened in a very short weekend! Our poor cat had an adventure of her own.

Sunday, the birds were calling, the sun beckoned, and my little Chicken Nugget sat eager to venture out side. I don't let her out very often; but, it was so lovely, I couldn't say "no."

Later, after our family walk and dinner, I remembered Chicken Nugget was still outside. I called to her, but heard no response. No meow, no jingle from her little bell, nothing. So, I shut the door.

A few minutes later, I tried again. Still nothing. I was beginning to worry. After a few more tries, and a couple walks up and down the street yelling, "Chicken Nugget, here kitty, kitty, kitty," I still couldn't find her. As my mind wondered, I began to worry. Is she hurt? Is she lost? Where is my kitty?!

At about 10:30 p.m., Jake found her. For the most part, besides being anxious and a few other injuries, she was o.k.. Do you know where she was? In a tree. A very tall tree. She was about forty-feet UP in a Cotton Wood tree. Remember all those commercials and movies about firemen rescuing cats from trees? They don't because, "Eventually, they come down."

After calling dispatch, animal control, and speaking to three different veterinary offices, all with the same conclusion - my seven-month-old house cat was stuck - there was nothing I could do. I was frantic. After all, it's not like I wasn't trying to get her down; I just couldn't do it on my own.

Finely, after twenty-five hours of worry, my hero stepped in and saved the day! Jake ascended the twenty-eight foot ladder, nearly to the top. He was hanging on to the tree! My neighbor, Keith, taped a bunch of poles together with a roller brush at the end. Standing on the ground, he began rubbing and poking Chicken Nugget. I thought she was going to fall! But, she climbed down to Jake, and now we have our kitty back!

I did see a parallel to this situation, though. We're all here, living life, doing what ever it is we do, with the goal to return to our Heavenly Father. The only catch is - we can't do it on our own. It's not like I wasn't trying to get my cat. I just couldn't do it by myself. I needed help. I needed someone else. It wasn't until Jake stepped in and rescued my cat, that I was able to have her back. When it comes to this life, all that I can do isn't enough to return to my Heavenly Father. But, because of the Atonement, and all the things it makes possible, I can live with Him again. I am grateful for the Atonement; and, I'm grateful that I have a loving Heavenly Father who helped me understand it a little better.

Alex's Great Fall

Oh what craziness has befallen us this last week! I'm not even going to get into the cat right now.

Last Friday, Alex missed a rung on the bunk bed ladder. After an amazing fall, and without landing on either arm, he managed to break both bones in his left forearm. WOW!!! The break was so bad, the pediatrician wouldn't set it. X-rays were taken and sent directly to the orthopedic surgeon; and, an appointment for surgery was scheduled six hours after Alex's last meal. Poor Alex still had to wait almost four hours.

While we were waiting, Jake, and a neighbor, gave Alex a blessing. I am so grateful! When we arrived back at the hospital, the woman we registered with was talking all about Alex's surgery, and how unusual it is for a Dr. to hand her a packet and say "we're having surgery today." But, as fate would have it, or rather it was a huge blessing, he ended up not having it. The surgeon set the bone and it was good! Hooray for Alex!

After Alex woke up, he was so mad at Jake! (Jake is the one who gave him to the Anesthetist). For the next hour, he'd either cry, bury his head, and try to get away from Jake, or ignore him completely! It was kind of funny. Jake even tried to entice him with a shake, but it did no good! Who would have thunk?

Friday, he has more x-rays and will get a new soft cast with a little color. Oh what joy! But in all seriousness, I am so grateful it wasn't worse! I just hope he doesn't figure out how to hit people with it. :)

St. Patrick's Day Celebration

First off, if I were to say, "I'm not excited about going to school," it would be a lie. I can't wait! I've been busy studying math, and Jake said I'm going to make him look bad. Whatever! Hopefully, we'll both be able to take Math 1050 together during the summer. Well, we can both take it, just not at the same time because that would require a baby sitter. And, Jake has already informed me that we can't study together, because our minds think differently. (Does his reasoning sound a little weird to anyone else)? I believe it all stems from the I'll-make-him-look-bad-syndrome, which he's suddenly beginning to develop. Jake makes me laugh! The only reason I'm studying math, is because I'm not comfortable with my math abilities. So there you have it. I can do this!

So, on to St. Patrick's day...

First thing that morning, I ran into the kids room to tell them a little Leprechaun left a prize! Well, what was it? Toys? Chocolate coins? No! A new package of construction paper and a full bottle of glue! He probably though it would be a sneaky trick not leaving toys or candy; but, my kids love construction paper and glue. So the Leprechaun's plan was foiled.

After dressing in a little green, we had a small Irish breakfast: Fried Eggs and Potato Farls. They were yummy. I was stuffed! Even the kids liked it. Mercedes loved the Potato Farls, which are like a mashed potato patty. Then, we watched "Darby O'Gill and the Little People*". The Leprechauns fascinated Mercedes! She was amazed at how small they were, and was so excited that one came to our house! We also tried Irish Soda Bread, colored pictures of Leprechauns, and almost played some Gaelic games. I guess we'll get to them later.

Did you do anything fun for St. Patrick's day?

*Just a word of warning. If you have sensitive children, skip the Banchi. When I was little, she was very scary; so, we skipped that part.

Let it Begin

I went and spoke to an Advisor over at the college, and do you know what she said? "I'd really like to see you test into Math 1050." Then she handed me a list of websites to study and sent me on my way. I took Math 1010 in 2003. That was, um...SIX years ago. It's a good challenge; so, I'm off to the races.

It's not impossible!

Just Us

I just wanted to write a little post, and let you all know what we've been up to. I haven't done anything really exciting, except, yesterday, I felt like I was in the kitchen all day. It was crazy! I made meat loaf, baked potatoes, and steamed broccoli for lunch. We had homemade peach cobbler for dessert; and, I baked cookies. Don't ask me why we needed peach cobbler AND cookies in the same day. We just enjoyed eating them. :)

Jake has the week off for Spring Break. I'm glad. Thursday's are as good as Saturday's to me, because it's the first day of the week he's home for the evening. Not this week, though. Maybe we can do something fun. Ah, knowing us, we probably wont do anything.

Mercedes has a new teacher in Primary. Yesterday was the first Sunday this year she's come home from church, and told me about her lesson. This could be a good thing. She has decided she wants to go on a mission. We better start saving.

Christina in into everything! It's just her. She doesn't ask questions when she wonders about things. No, that would be too easy. She likes to take things apart and figure out how they work. Somethings don't even need to be taken apart. They can just be dumped on the floor and spread all around, or what ever she does to try and figure said item out. I'm glad she's curious, but if she's quite, I know some breakthrough is happening somewhere.

Alex has an ear infection. As soon as he was on antibiotics, he got a virus. Go figure. He's miserable, and can't fight it because of the nature of antibiotics. I'm just glad he takes a little nap every day. It's a good break.

Chicken Nugget is a wonderful cat! Whenever one of the children is crying, she goes and sits near them until they're better. She has to be careful not to get to close, or they'll wrap her in blankets and carry her around like a doll. I don't think she likes it much, but she is so good at dealing with it! We love our Chicken Nugget. Funniest thing happened the other day! We bought some chicken nuggets, and when Jake told the kids what we were eating for dinner, they looked at their plates and started freaking out. They thought we were eating our cat! It was SO funny!

I hope all is well for you!

Brown Sugar Meatloaf

We tried a new meat loaf recipe yesterday. Actually, to be honest, I never use a recipe for meat loaf. I just throw every thing in a bowl, mix, and bake. But, I ran out of Molasses, so I resorted to a recipe. Those of us who ate it, liked it! I might have to resort to this recipe again.

1/2 c. brown sugar, packed

1/2 c. ketchup

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

3/4 c. milk

2 eggs

1 1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1 small onion (I used dried onion)

1/4 t. ginger

3/4 c. oats, bread crumbs, or cracker crumbs (I used homemade sour dough bread crumbs. Yum)!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Press brown sugar into bottom of 9 x 5 loaf pan. Spread ketchup over brown sugar. Mix remaining ingredients and place in loaf pan. Press meat to even. Place in oven and bake 1 hr., or until juices run clear.

Clean Out Your Inbox

Alright, the time has come. This is the day I will clean out my Inbox. What about you? Do you have an Inbox that needs cleaning?

Friday, my grandma called. We talked for a minute, and then I asked, "Grandma, did you get the last e-mail I sent, with the Chili Sauce Recipe?" "No," she responded, "I haven't got an e-mail from you in a very long time." Hmm, that's interesting, because I haven't received a response from her in a "very long time." Suddenly, it dawned on me, "Grandma, will you check your Spam list and see if that's where my e-mails have gone?" She didn't know what Spam was; so, I had the opportunity to check it for her.

Long story short, when she opened her e-mail for me, I discovered hundreds of messages - most of which were unopened. After a brief search, I found my little messages buried in the Inbox. Grandma just couldn't "see" them.

This was a huge light bulb moment for me. That Inbox is like life - full of the things I allow to fill it. My question is, are we burying things of importance in the mess of non-importance? Life is full of good things, but is the good crowding out the great?

The more I think about it, the more I realize how many countless hours are spent getting us preoccupied with things that don't really matter, and believing they do. I don't think making time for what matters most will be easy, but, I feel like it can be done. Start small, end big. Clean the Inbox.

What about you? Do you have an Inbox that needs cleaning?

Our Newest Pet

We've got a new pet. That's right! A little puppy. She's been here for about two days now and is just the sweetest little thing ever. We love her! Quite frequently, she's caught carrying a huge doll arm in her mouth, which she wants to play fetch with. Mercedes is so funny with her. She'll say, "Is that your bone? Is that your bone?" And huck it for the puppy to retrieve. If that's not all, she loves to play, climb in our laps, and run all over. It is so funny to watch!

I wonder how long this phase of Christina will last? Hmm...

We really do need a puppy. Well, let me rephrase that. We'd all really like a puppy. Imagine the day when we have a crazy, drooling, one-hundred-fifty pound pooch lounging around. I can't wait! And, neither can the children.

Spring is in the Air

It's happened. It's finely happened! One of the foot prints in our front yard has melted and grass is peaking up at me! Spring is on its way and I am SO excited!!! As my sister would say,

"This is me, doing a happy dance."

100% Whole Wheat Bread

This isn't an actual picture of the recipe; but, it looks like the tasty awesomely fluffy bread, Anita, made for Provident Living last week. Everybody loved it, except me of course, 'cause I can't eat it! Enjoy!!!

2 1/2 tsp. yeast

1 1/2 c. warm water

2 Tbsp. oil

2 Tbsp. Honey

4 c. whole wheat flour

1 tsp. salt

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast with water, honey, and 1 1/2 cups flour. Wait for bubbles to begin. Add salt and the rest of the flour until you have non-sticky, elastic dough. Knead for 5 minutes and place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down, knead briefly, and let rise again until doubled. Shape down dough into desired loaf shape. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, and let rise for 10 to 15 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until done.

Makes one loaf.

Go Forth with Faith

Do you ever feel like there's too much to do and you don't know where to begin? Where do you start? How do you start? How is it going to be accomplished? I've been pondering this a lot the last little while. Even without a lot of non-essentials, life is involved. Family, work, church, and school are consuming with their slew of things to be done. So how do we do it?

I was reading in this month's Ensign and ran across a quote by President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He said, "If you are helpless, he is not. If you are lost, he is not. If you don't know what to do next, he knows. It would take a miracle, you say? Well, if it takes a miracle, why not?"

Why not let a miracle happen in your life? The Lord will fight your battles for you if you just begin.

This quote was used in, "What Mothers Can Learn from the Savior." To read the entire article, click here.