Another Family In Need!!!!!

I'm sure many of you that are from Utah or have family here have heard about the accident in the Nutty Putty Caves on Thanksgiving. A young man, John Jones was exploring the caves and got stuck in a very small spot upside down and was unable to free him self. For I believe over 24 hours emergency response teams from all over the Salt Lake and Utah County areas tried to free this man, sadly it was much too difficult and dangerous to free him and he passed away. John leaves behind his wife Emily, a baby girl, and a baby on the way.

Stephanie from the blog, http://www.adailyscoop.blogspot.com/ is holding an online auction to raise money for this young window, make sure to check it out! You can also helping by going to Wells Fargo and donating to the Emily Jones Memorial Fund.

You can read more about John Jones and his family HERE!

Our family, like lots of other families are having to be cautious this Christmas season due to the economy, but every little bit does help, and the little bit of extra I can come up with will go to help both this family and the family I posted about earlier today:). Giving is TRULY what Christmas is ALL about, I have been blessed with a home, a good job for my husband, food to eat, the Gospel, a healthy family, and my list could go on and on. I know that there are a few things I can scratch off my Christmas lists so that I can give to these families in need instead!

Liver For Lulu (please check this out)

I recieved an email today from a friend asking for help for her best friends daughter. This friends baby girl has a liver disease and this family is in need of help!!! You can check out her blog at...

http://www.liverforlulu.blogspot.com/

Being the Christmas season what a perfect time for us to GIVE!!! THIS Thursday December 3rd friends and family are having a boutique in honor of this precious little girl and her family to raise money for her medical expenses. So COME, SHOP, find some great Christmas gifts and support this darling family!!!

Cranberry Farms Club House
2400 West 2400 North
Lehi, Utah
Thursday December 3rd, 2009
3-9pm

There will be over 20 different vendors at the event...
Chic Boutique Jeans
Close to my heart scrapbooking
Glitter toes
Layers
It's sew cute (girls clothing)
Usborne Books
Pampered chef
Swanky hats
Scentcy
Cookie Lee Jewlery
Feel beautiful hair products
Watches
Photography
Bows & Hats
Vinyl
Baby Bedding & MORE!!!

LoVe this BLOG....

I foung this very fun blog tonight and thought I would share, this women is BURSTING with creative ideas! Check it out, you won't be disapointed :)

www.meandmyinsanity.blogspot.com

I have a feeling I will be visiting her blog often for fun, creative ideas!!!

{Nienie, you are my hero}

Since my blog is focused around "inspiration", I wanted to do a post specifically about one very incredible women who has inspired me in ways I don't even know how to adequately express. I'm SURE many (or most) of you have heard of Stephanie Nielson and her blog the nienie dialogues. If you HAVEN'T heard of her (or of her family) this is one story YOU MUST READ! It is the most beautiful story of love, peace, and hope.

I started reading Nienie's blog over a year ago. My cute friend Tara had been reading her blog and shared it with me. My oldest daughter was about to start Kindergarten and like most mothers I was having some very mixed emotions about my little princess being old enough to go to school! Tara had told me about a post that Nienie had recently done about a 'Back to School Feast' in honor of her daughters starting the new school year. No detail was left out in Nienie's dinner honoring her daughters. The table was decorated to a "T" with her most beautiful dishes, home made crowns were made for the girls to wear, they toasted to the new year, and even had a fashion show. As I read this post about this fabulous feast, I thought, "this is my kind of women". I was immediately intrigued by Nienie. As I continued to read more and more of Nienie's blog I soon discovered that she is not only an incredible mother, but she has an incredible testimony of the Gospel, she is madly in love with her husband, she's got spunk & sas (which I love), and she has her priorities right where they NEED to be. WHO wouldn't want to be like her?

Shortly after I started reading her blog, Nienie and her husband were in a plane crash and were both seriously injured. I was in total shock. It is so unbelievable how in a blink of an eye life can change so quickly. I continued to follow Nienie's story of recovery through her sisters blog, cjane (who is equally as delightful). I didn't realize last year when I just happened upon Nienie's blog, that her story, her families story, would change my life. I have prayed for this family, I have fasted for this family, and I have shed many, many tears while following their story. I have been deeply touched by their powerful messages of strength, courage, and faith. I don't even know how to put into words the impact this beautiful story has had on my life. I know that Heavenly Father lead me to this story to help me through my own trials, to help me re-focus my life on WHAT REALLY MATTERS, to put my life into better perspective and to strengthen my testimony. What an incredible GIFT!

Last year was our first year doing OUR back to school FEAST for our children. We made yummy food, invited great friends to join us, set goals for the year, had a rockin' fashion show, and then finished our evening with Priesthood Blessings given by the Fathers. It was so much fun and a tradition that we will carry on throughout our children's school years. Sadly school started today and we have not yet had our 2009 'Back To School Feast'. Our family has just moved and my husband is still working out of state, but AS SOON as he is HOME with us we will have our feast, I can hardly wait, the plans are already being made, and they kids are so excited!

With Love,

Brittany

*** To Nienie, you may never read this, but I wanted to Thank You for the amazing women that you are. You are truly a treasure, an instrument in Gods hands. Congratulations on climbing the "Y", WHAT an accomplishment! You are such a beautiful daughter of our Heavenly Father, both INSIDE AND OUT!

FaMiLy Emergency Binder

So I have to admit, I have only made it to week 8, but my family emergency binder has already come in handy a number of times. We recently moved, but had put majority of our belongings in storage for a few months. Having my Emergency Binder has been so nice for finding copies of birth certificates, the kids shot records, etc... I know that this is a big project, but I think that everyone needs one of these. You just never know when disaster is going to strike and in a moments notice you could loose everything. Last summer a tornado ripped through our old neighborhood and completely destroyed several homes. I remember thinking OVER & OVER again, "that could have been US". The tornado did in fact effect us personally because we still owned our home and had it rented out at the time. The tornado ripped a huge portion of the roof right off the house. Luckily the tenants were safely in the basement at the time. That experience was proof to me that no one is exempt from a disaster effecting their family!!

As soon as we get all moved into our new house and I FIND all of my documents etc... I am going to GET TO WORK on finishing my Emergency Binder, I wouldn't want to be caught with out it if another disaster comes our way!!


Brittany


FAMILY EMERGENCY BINDER INSTRUCTIONS-

(All of this info is from a very dedicated "Emergency Preparedness Coordinator" in my ward(church) back in Kansas City)

If you had to suddenly leave your home due to impending natural disaster, and had only a few minutes to gather everything you would need, including important papers, family history, and treasured pictures, how long would it take you?

Vital financial records should be kept in a safe place. Copies of these documents should be available for taking with you if you have to leave your home in an emergency. As an alternative, you could scan these documents into your computer and take a disc or flash drive instead of paper copies.

This year, we are going to assemble a Vital Records Binder that will contain the important information you would need and want to take with you. We will do it week by week through a small task each week—“…by small and simple things are great things brought to pass.”

Week 1-Locate or purchase a 2” binder with 50 - 100 plastic page protectors. Purchase tabbed dividers, if desired, to divide the book into sections. Store the Ward Emergency Plan in the binder.

Week 2-Locate birth certificates for all family members. Make copies and put in binder.

Week 3-Locate Social Security cards for all family members. Make copies and put in binder.

Week 4-Make copies of driver’s licenses and put in binder.

Week 5-Make copies of passports and put in binder.

Week 6-Make copies of important phone numbers and addresses and put in binder. Include family, friends, doctors, dentist, business and other important numbers.

Week 7-Scan non-digital photos and burn all digital photos to a CD or flash drive. Put in one of the sheet protectors in the binder.

Week 8-Copy family history records to a cd or flash drive and put in binder.

Week 9- Locate voter cards, make copies, and put in binder.

Week 10-: Locate three years of tax returns, make copies, and put in binder, or copy tax files to a CD and store the tax software with the tax files in the binder.

Week 11-Locate recent investment statements, one for each account including 401K, make copies, and put in binder.

Week 12-If you use electronic money management programs such as Quicken or Microsoft Money, copy data files to CD and put cd for software program in binder.

Week 13-Locate your most recent bank statements, make copies, and put in binder

Week 14-Locate credit card statements, make copies, and put in binder—or alternatively, make copies of front and back of all credit cards.

Week 15- Locate loan payoff papers, make copies, and put in binder.
Locate recent Social Security Statement, make copies, and put in binder.

Week 16-
1. Locate all car titles and registrations, make copies, and put in binder.
2. Locate auto loan papers, make copies, and put in binder.
3. Make copy of recent auto insurance statement and put in binder.
4. Locate copy of any extended warranties, make a copy, and put in binder.

Week 17-Locate all Life insurance policies, make copies, and put in binder. Make a copy of your wills and put in binder. If you have a trust, make a copy and put in binder.

Week 18-
Make copies of:
Marriage License (Divorce/custody papers)
Citizenship Papers
Military Records
Prepaid Burial contracts
Adoption Papers

Week 19-
Prepare list of medications for each family member.
Make copies of any important medical or dental records and put in binder.
Make copies of all health and dental insurance cards, both sides, and put in binder
Make copy of living will and put in binder.
Locate all Immunization Records, make copies, and put in binder.

Week 20-
Make copies of any professional licenses and put in binder.
Make copies of any important business papers and put in binder.
Make copy of updated resume and put in binder (includes job and education dates that may be difficult to remember.
Make copies of company benefits statements and put in binder.
Make copies of degrees and professional licenses and put in binder.

Week 21-
Locate recent house payment statement, make copy, and put in binder.
Locate homeowner’s insurance policy, make copy, and put in binder.
Locate all recent utility bills including cell phone, make copies, and put in binder
Conduct a home inventory, print and put in binder.
Take a video or pictures of all items in your home, burn to CD and put in binder. binder

Our Homes, Sanctuaries from the World

I recieved this "family gems" email in my inbox today. It actually happened to be just what I needed to hear at that exact moment. Life has been a bit stressful lately, I know most people know what that is like :), I really need to work on staying calmer and working hard to always have our home be a place where the Spirit can dwell! I am grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who always ever so gently puts me in my place, I have some apologizing to do, to my husband that is, poor guy seems to always get the wrong end of the stick when I am in a bad mood. I'm sorry babe, I love you so much, I especially love that you love me even when I am grumpy!!

I came across this lovely blog a few days ago that I wanted to share. It is called

JOYS OF HOME. I really love this blog because the woman who the blog belongs to is so creative, she spends very little money making her home a beautiful place, and she inspires me to try harder to make my home a Sanctuary from the World for my family.

Enjoy!

~Brittany

Does Your Home Have a Place for Gospel Priorities?

“Imagine that you are opening your front door and walking inside your home. What do you see, and how do you feel? Is it a place of love, peace, and refuge from the world, as is the temple? Is it clean and orderly? As you walk through the rooms of your home, do you see uplifting images which include appropriate pictures of the temple and the Savior? Is your bedroom or sleeping area a place for personal prayer? Is your gathering area or kitchen a place where food is prepared and enjoyed together, allowing uplifting conversation and family time? Are scriptures found in a room where the family can study, pray, and learn together? Can you find your personal gospel study space? Does the music you hear or the entertainment you see, online or otherwise, offend the Spirit? Is the conversation uplifting and without contention? That concludes our tour. Perhaps you, as I, found a few spots that need some ‘home improvement’—hopefully not an ‘extreme home makeover.’ ”

“Whether our living space is large or small, humble or extravagant, there is a place for each of these gospel priorities in each of our homes."

65th Anniversary of D-day

Tonight as I was flipping the channels, I unintentionally made my way to C-Span, not a usual for me. When my children watch tv it is almost always on the Disney channel, and I am more of an hgtv kind of girl. Well as I saw what was on, I was immediately drawn in, it was a memorial for the 65th Anniversary of D-day. Something that most of my friends and family don't know about me is my fascination with history, it was by far my favorite subject in school. Someday when I go back to finish my degree I would love the opportunity to take many history classes. D-day holds a special place in my heart because both of my grandfathers are veterans and served in World War II. My dads father, Verdon, served in the Navy, as far as I know he was not near by when they stormed the beaches of Normandy, but non the less he left his home and his family as a 20 (something) year old man to serve his country. What a honor to know that my grandfather selflessly served the United States and the world in the effort to bring world peace and to stop the inhumanity that was taking place in Europe. My mom's father, Vernon served in the Army, he was there the day they stormed the beaches, he took place in that amazing sacrifice, and selflessly risked his life in the name of freedom. Once as a child I had to write a paper on D-day, so I called my grandfather (who has now passed away) to ask him questions about his experience there. My grandfather (who had a very tender heart, no doubt some of his emotions came from the events witnessed in World War II) wept into the phone as he described some of the things he had the unfortunate opportunity of experiencing. There were certain things that were to painful for him to even talk about. Ever since that experience with my grandfather I have a very special place in my heart for those that have served bravely in the armed forces. I can't even begin to understand the sacrifice! My grandfather was married when he served in World War II, in June of 1944 his oldest daughter was one year old, imagine what my grandmother endured while he was away. The not-knowing if you husband was going to live or die must have been excruciating for her. Having to raise and provide for a child as a young mother alone must have been such a trial. I am so grateful for the blessing of Freedom. I think often times it is easy to take our Freedoms here in the U.S.A. for granted. I salute all those that have served and defended our Country, you are truly hero's!!