Real content

I promised you real content. An occupant for this onesie: coming soon.

The Newlyweds

You probably thought we fell off the face of the earth. We kind of did. We have had so much fun this past month (can you believe it's almost been a month!?) just spending time with each other.


Here are a few pictures for your curiosity's sake. Our photographers were great! These are a few photos from the sneak-preview they gave us from our wedding day.

(You can check out more of their work or contact them through their website: hatchphotography.blogspot.com)


We enjoyed a WONDERFUL honeymoon to San Diego. We'll be sure to include more photos soon.

Thanks for all your love and support during our wedding festivities. We have grown and learned a lot and are grateful to have shared in our special day with you!

Shout out

To cousin "New Mom" Jill Facer who won $50,000 on Wipeout last night.


Congrats, Jill!

(Photo taken from Jill's Facebook profile pic)

The Family is of God

Have you ever heard this song? I heard it for the first time tonight and love the words. Check them out:

1. Our Father has a family. It’s me!
It’s you, all others too: we are His children.
He sent each one of us to earth, through birth,
To live and learn here in fam’lies.

2. A father’s place is to preside, provide,
To love and teach the gospel to his children.
A father leads in fam’ly prayer to share
Their love for Father in Heaven.

3. A mother’s purpose is to care, prepare,
To nurture and to strengthen all her children.
She teaches children to obey, to pray,
To love and serve in the fam’ly.

4. I’ll love and serve my family and be
A good example to each fam’ly member.
And when I am a mom or dad, so glad,
I’ll help my fam’ly remember:

[Chorus]
God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be—
This is how He shares His love, for the fam’ly is of God.

Words and music: Matthew Neeley

Click here for a PDF of the music
Click here to hear the song

I know the family is of God. Each person in the family has a divine role and, yes, it's all part of helping us become what our Father in Heaven wants us to become so we can return and live with Him someday.

72-Hour Kits

For Family Home Evening the past two weeks, we have talked about and worked on updating our 72-hour kits. Tonight we worked on our 72-hour food kits, taking out old food and replacing it with new "rations."

Over the years we learned that there are other sources of emergency food than dehydrated 72-hour kit meals (space food) in a box.

While there are all sorts of variations, my mom used these recommended "rations" from the food kits we put together a few years ago. This is what we created:


72-Hours Kit for 1 person
A minimum of 4 liters of water per kit is suggested

Day 1
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Hot Chocolate, Raisins
Lunch: Ramen Soup, Crackers, Fruit Snack, Juice Drink
Dinner: Mac & Cheese, Raisins, Drink Mix
Snack: 5 Candy, Gum, Fruit Roll

Day 2
Breakfast: Granola, Apple Cider, Raisins
Lunch: Soup-can, Crackers, Fruit Snack, Apple Juice
Dinner: Ramen Soup, Crackers, Drink Mix
Snack: 5 Candy, Gum, Trail Mix

Day 3
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Hot Chocolate, Raisins
Lunch: Chicken Broth, Jerky / Granola Bar, Fruit Snack, Juice Drink
Dinner: Vienna Sausage, Cheese & Crackers, Drink Mix
Snack: 5 Candy, Gum, Granola Bar

Note: The picture only shows one liter of water, but you should have at least four liters per person.

We used Ziploc bags to hold the bouillon cube, gum, and other small things. Then we put all the juices and foodstuffs in two gallon-size Ziploc bags.

I'm grateful for prophets who have counseled us to prepare for "stormy weather" and parents who have always taught and encouraged those principles we now live by.

A favorite quote by President Monson is:

"Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their . . . supply of food . . . and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year’s supply of debt and are food-free.”
(President Thomas S. Monson, “That Noble Gift—Love at Home,” Church News, May 12, 2001, 7. Also quoted in Liahona, March 2009, p.5)

And one on spiritual self-reliance from Elder Christofferson in the April 2009 General Conference:

It is a simple illustration of a profound power that is much needed in our day and that will become increasingly crucial in days ahead. We need strong Christians who can persevere against hardship, who can sustain hope through tragedy, who can lift others by their example and their compassion, and who can consistently overcome temptations. We need strong Christians who can make important things happen by their faith and who can defend the truth of Jesus Christ against moral relativism and militant atheism.

What is the source of such moral and spiritual power, and how do we obtain it? The source is God. Our access to that power is through our covenants with Him.

(For the whole talk, click here).

I know that God's prophets know what is best for us and will help us to prepare for those "stormy days" ahead. And I feel great courage in their words, knowing that God will bless me when I obey.

Happy Anniversary!

Here's a little shout-out to two wonderful people who started this eternal family 27 years and one week ago (I'm slow on posting this one). My then-newlywed aunt and uncle lined them up. My uncle, who had just snatched my mother's older sister, met my dad at work. "I was selfish, really," he said. "I had to figure out a way to keep your dad around." Fortunately for all of us, his plan worked! Thank you, Aunt Ireta and Uncle John.

Fortunately, my mother was kind and patient (she knew on the second date) and my dad made the right choice.

Twenty-seven years and four kids later (my oldest brother passed away), they are happy, in love, and going strong!

Thanks, mom and dad, for all your hard work and for 27 wonderful years! Here's to the the next 27 years (and the eternity to follow that).

We love you! (and we're glad you got to go on a little getaway-- you deserve that.)

For more about eternal families and how your family can be happiest, click here. We're grateful to know death is not the end.