Our family went to the Ogden Temple Open House this past week. I felt the Spirit there. I love the feeling of love of God and love of family in every temple I visit. I can’t wait for it to be open, I will be going there often as we are in its temple district. (After I cut Venture’s hair. I let him keep it long until the Mastering Knighthood Summit was over, which it is now.)

I found this quote from President Joseph Fielding Smith this morning in my gospel study reading of the Teachings of the Presidents of the Church manual for my Power Actions. He gave it before offering the dedicatory prayer for the original Ogden Utah Temple, when it was dedicated in 1972.

 “May I remind you that when we dedicate a house to the Lord, what we really do is dedicate ourselves to the Lord’s service, with a covenant that we shall use the house in the way he intends that it shall be used.” I will be thinking of this during the upcoming dedication of the renovated temple in two weeks.

Wow, that statement has more meaning today than ever. With Elder Andersen’s #templechallenge, perhaps that could mean that God wants us to be coming to the temple with our own names, and helping our youth find names. Maybe it means that God wants us to be dedicated to attending the temple more frequently than we are used to, if we live close. Did you know that LDS church has a web site all about Elder Andersen’s challenge? It’s right here.

I will be thinking of this statement from President Smith during the upcoming dedication of the renovated temple in two weeks. I took the youth (12 and up) in my family to the Bountiful temple almost every week this summer, and I am committed to continuing with that goal during the school year. I couldn’t do it without my friend Katie’s help. She babysits my little ones while I take her boys and my boys. Sometimes my 18 year old daughter has come with us as well, when she didn’t have work. One week the kids saw Elder Russell M. Nelson there and got to shake his hand!

Here are the blessings promised us when we attend the temple, especially with our own names of relatives:

1. Increased spiritual protection

2. Stronger testimony and conversion

3. Help from the other side

4. Enhanced temple experiences.

As we keep looking toward the temple and use it the way God intends us to use it, all is well!

So while the big boys were off playing at  ‪#‎mksummit14‬ (Mastering Knighthood Summit 2014) I took up my friend Katie’s offer to go play at the “beach,” aka Pineview Reservoir. Who says summer is over? The two little ones and I hopped in her awesomely rare 9 seater diesel powered Excursion and off we went into the mountains. It was a wonderful refreshing afternoon after doggedly working for over three weeks on my end of summer purge of two basement storage rooms in order to create a Family Clothes Closet. This dejunking is one of my Girl Goals. I almost went to bed three nights ago without doing my Girl Goal of dejunking for 30 minutes a day. As I had my Date With God before I went to bed (which consists of writing in my journal and checking off my boxes as to whether I did my scripture reading, AM and PM prayers, journal writing for the day, and three Girl Goals) I remembered that I hadn’t done my dejunking goal for the day. I was so dumbfounded. Seriously!? After the initial shock of realizing I would not be going to bed anytime soon, I went to the basement to keep organizing the main storage room. It felt soooo good to know I kept that commitment to myself, even though it was 11:30 when I did it.

After three weeks (with constant interruptions) of dejunking I am not done yet. That’s the way it goes, right, moms? I just have to keep reminding myself that the pace I am going is OK and it’s OK if such and such corner or shelf is not done by the end of the day, and if a room is not done by the end of the week. So this beach trip was a nice break. Aww, the freedom of homeschooling. I love it! We had our first day of Commonwealth School the day before. Here’s my baby, at five years old, with his buddy, Katie’s son, pictured below.

Katie is the chairman of the board of our Commonwealth. She is writing a supercool TJED curriculum for under 12s (core and love of learning phases) to be used in a group setting, like a Commonwealth. It’s called House of the Book. It’s God and family-based, with a framework of the Hebrew alphabet. I hop to blog about it soon. Hop over here to her web site to learn more. We used the first year of the curriculum (all written and published now!) last year and now we are off to year 2. I am so glad I took a break and made these memories with Katie and our children. It was a gorgeous summer afternoon! Thank you Katie!

This is Katie’s sweet daughter. She was wearing a beautiful swimsuit from Diane Hopkins’ SwimModest swimwear line.

I took a picnic and came up with a simple wrap to bring. It tasted so yummy! Just take a tortilla of your choice (hopefully made of sprouted or soaked flour) and then melt some cheese on it, then add a slice of meat and some avocado, then roll it up. It tasted simply divine. I also brought some of my homemade lacto-fermented pickles and that zippy taste added the finishing touch to my picnic lunch.

After we came home I got to do my dejunking and then it was off on another picnic, a date with my husband at the park to pick up my older son from the Summit debriefing for the Master Knights. It was a great family day. I am so grateful that I have the freedom to spend time with family and friends like this.

This time of year, the transition from summer to fall with a new homeschool year, always brings with it some frustration, anger, and sadness for me, for a variety of reasons I won’t go into here. But this year I have been combatting the blues with organization and dejunking of the basement, which includes our homeschooling room. I am digging through layers of stuff that haven’t seen the light in almost 10 years! I am creating a family closet to permanently organize all the kids’ clothing once and for all! I have also organized the board and card games, to help us easily find games (with all the pieces intact) for Family Home Evening. It is definitely helping. I have felt increased happiness and a new set of eyes to help me be content with what I have, as well as determination to stay steadfast in habits to bring about greater fruit. In the meantime, I am finding lots of buried treasures in my basement storage rooms.

One of the treasures I found some was handouts from a 1999 homeschooling conference, with pages by LaDawn Jacob, the featured speaker in the video above. LaDawn’s inspirational thoughts have helped me so much this week to renew my devotion to the calling of motherhood and the calling of homeschooling. I feel so blessed to know her. This video has me recommitted to reinstill the habits of memorization and storytelling for family bonding and learning. I love how she talks about how she continues to work on memorizing poetry and Shakespeare while she works out on her treadmill or picks grapes. In the video, she says she takes a clothespin and attaches paper to grapevines so she can memorize lines while she harvests her grapes. I love it, she is so cute! Cheryl Carson, a popular speaker and author from Utah County, wrote a book about her called “Homemade Joy from the House of Jacob”, which I have a copy of. I had forgotten about it and now feel a desire to pull it out and recommit to its principles. It currently sells for $75, used,  on amazon!

Then the next day I watched/listened to a Duggars 19 Kids and Counting Episode as I continued the dejunking adventure. It is probably my favorite one I’ve seen so far. Watching these amazing kids band together to create a special night to honor their parents made me feel an increased sense of love for my own family. I feel called to encourage my children to create their own entertainment, of music and acting, and to use it to serve and bless others, instead of relying on mass-produced media. I also liked watching the three couples in the family go out on a date together to a special etiquette dinner at a friend’s home. I excitedly realized, “Hey I could do this with my two older kids of dating age still at home and my hubby. We could go on a triple date! We could even go on a quadruple date after my missionary son gets home in November!” My 16 year old son’s reaction: “Oh, mom! That would be horrible!” My 18 year old daughter’s reaction: “That sounds fun!” We shall see what happens. I am determined to do it sometime this fall. Maybe my friend Katie will be willing to let us use her big dining room, and we can involve her and her husband and her son who will turn 16 in the fall.

After I listened to the Duggars’ video, I continued to do my excavation dig in my basement storage room, through boxes of papers, books, toys, and clothes, and listened to Chapter 42, about family love, from the Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith. It’s about how family is the sweetest union for all of time and eternity. I definitely felt that love when I heard the Duggars singing at the end of the video.

I liked this quote from the Joseph Smith manual about Joseph Smith’s family life after he saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ:

“Every evening we gathered our children together,” Lucy Mack Smith recalled, father, mother, sons, and daughters listening in breathless anxiety to the religious teachings of a boy [seventeen] years of age.”

“We were convinced that God was about to bring to light something that we might stay our minds upon, something that we could get a more definite idea of than anything which had been taught us heretofore, and we rejoiced in it with exceeding great joy. The sweetest union and happiness pervaded our house. No jar nor discord disturbed our peace, and tranquility reigned in our midst.

This is the joy that comes from being with families, serving each other, and reflecting on the light of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Yes, problems arise in families, but they can be overcome through the gospel of Jesus Christ. I cherish the counsel that LaDawn Jacob gave to Cheryl Carson, which Cheryl shares on her web site here:

1. Life is hard, but I can do hard things

2. My circumstances may not be ideal, but I can do the best I can with what I have,

3. Things take time.

And all of these things best take place in a family. Truly, happiness is homemade!

Apparently, intelligence is homemade as well. Watch the second generation of LaDawn Jacob in action below as her daughter, Jenet Jacob Erikson, PhD, shares with us on how learning in childhood best takes place in the home during work and play, in the context of meaningful, loving, family relationships.

Have you heard the news? My friends at LDS Holistic Living are offering two free downloads to aid in getting educated about childhood vaccines. We all won’t our children to be healthy and happy. Where do vaccinations fit into the equation of vibrant health and happiness? Get these downloads to aid in this decision that you can’t avoid as a parent. Don’t delay in downloading them, they are available for FREE until midnight Sept. 1. Here is the scoop:

……All last week a major story broke that the mainstream media has ignored. 

(Editor’s note: you can read the story HERE, but snopes.com claims it isn’t true, HERE.)

But we haven’t!  
In case you haven’t heard, a CDC whistleblower has come forward revealing the fraud he committed on a vaccine/autism study back in 2004 that reveals a 340% autism risk increasein males vaccination on schedule with the MMR.  There are several links below that you can read to get info on this story that has new revelations everyday. 

Because of this, here at LDS Holistic Living we have been getting questions and emails in regards to this and vaccines in general.  To aid you in your journey regarding vaccines, we have made 2 audio downloads on vaccines free untilMonday, Sept 1 at midnight.

FREE DOWNLOADS

Use coupon code: GIBSON to redeem the 2011presentation “The Childhood Vaccinations Controversy” by Dr. Robert Gibson here.

Use coupon code:   STITCHER to redeem the2013 presentation ” Vaccines, Know the Facts” by Dr. Kristina Stitcher here.

BUT WAIT!  THERE’S MORE!

The fine people from The Greater Good have made their movie free to watch until Tuesday (9/2) at 4am.  http://vimeo.com/29998236

Have you ever wondered how to use sponge curlers without having frizz curls in the end? Growing up, my sisters and I used to do our hair with “spongies” and then brush the curls into a frizz, that we called “cotton candy.” The lovely Erin Bates shows us how to avoid frizzies in these videos. Thank you Erin for these great tips!

This is me with my missionary son. He comes home in three months! We are so excited. He gets to be in Mayberry right now. I’m so jealous!

Did you know that there is now an officially approved program for church missionaries to be able to receive chiropractic treatments for a very affordable co pay of $10?  They just need to go to a DMBA approved provider.  The providers’ network is being built world wide.  Go to http://ldschiro.com/ for more information on how the program works.  Or better yet, please direct your mission presidents/ mission moms/nurses and area medical advisors to this website so they can get familiar with the system.  Its as simple as getting any provider in the world DMBA approved.  The church will pay up to $60 for a single treatment and then your missionary just pays a small $10 co-pay.  

This past weekend I celebrated my 23rd wedding anniversary! Woo-hoo! 23 years and 7 kids have brought a lot of changes! I am grateful for my marriage and have found a lot of happiness, as well as challenges and trials, and ultimately joy, from this amazing journey.

Here are some great resources for date night and anniversary celebrations. When I make it a point to have consistent date night with my dh, life is so much more fun!

First of all, The Dating Divas blog. They have games and printables to spice up your romance on any day, and fun date night and anniversary ideas as well. 

Laura Brotherson has a blog with tons of videos and podcasts on how to strengthen your marriage. She is an LDS mom and wife with a degree in marriage and family therapy. It’s fun to see that she was at BYU the same time I was and got married a month before I did. I plan on listening to all of her podcasts, they look really good. 

Enjoy!

I was at this presentation in the video above, featuring AnnMarie Norton, back at the Family Forum in March 2014. She teaches you how to simplify storing clothes and rotating laundry by having a family closet in the laundry room. I first heard about the “family closet” idea from the Duggars. Here’s a video below about it.

I felt discouraged for sometime after I heard about the Duggar system, as my laundry room is the size of a small closet. It’s not even big enough to set up an ironing board. Then I finally realized, hey I could use the storage room across the hall. So I am finally taking the plunge and purging my family storage room, right across the hall from my tiny laundry room, so that I can have a family closet like in the video above. I am hoping that it will cut down on the mess in the boys’ room by getting rid of the dressers. I like that with this system, you don’t have to rotate clothes in and out of bedrooms at the change of seasons or when kids grow out of their clothes. Who wants to join me in purging and making more room and time for the things that matter most? Think of all the time you and the kids will save not putting clothes away in bedrooms.

Here’s another mom’s laundry system. I would love to hear from any of you how you manage the laundry and out of season clothes in your home.

It’s time for another Mothers Who Know Class and Giveaway of a registration! This photo above features three of the favorite mothers in my life, my two sisters and my mom. We had a week-long family reunion/vacation at the beach a few weeks ago. I snapped this picture on an early morning walk we took on a foggy morning at Corona del Mar.

In case you haven’t read my recent blog posts, I love the beach! I see the beach and ocean as fitting metaphors for our lives as moms. We all experience waves of energy, the highs and lows of health, finances, relationships, resources, and beauty. The waves never stop! Sometimes the waves are rather peaceful, especially during low tide, and sometimes the waves are destructive tsunamis that leave tremendous debris in their wake. We can’t control the waves, they are always there. But we can prepare ourselves to be at peace with them and minimize the destruction they cause, no matter the size. Hey, we can even have fun with the waves and their residue, the sandy beach!

Do you want to feel peace in your life, no matter the force of the waves? Do you want to feel that you are growing stronger in your personal connection to God? Do you want to learn how to fight back when satan attacks you with his sneaky modern warfare strategies of addictive behaviors? Do you want to learn how to prepare for the individualized attacks the enemy dishes out on you relentlessly everyday? Do you want to be a “Mother Who Knows” so you can mentor your children to prevent addictions in their lives so they can be happier?

Then come take the class! I am going to do the last class for 2014, on Wednesdays, starting August 27, over the phone. It is an 8 week course and will end on Wednesday October 15th. Cost is $97 if you register by the early bird deadline of Friday August 15th midnight MT. After that the price increases to $147. You will also need to pay an additional $50 to buy the course materials. Go HERE to get all the details about registering.

If you want to enter for a chance to win a FREE registration, comment below! The winner will be announced on Monday August 11, around 3 PM MT.

Hey, did you all know it’s World Breastfeeding Week! I am not breastfeeding any more but have fond memories of my 18, nearly consecutive, breastfeeding years AND my years as a La Leche League Leader. 

To celebrate WBW, you can get a cool breastfeeding app FREE this week, August 1-7, from renowned LLL Leader, author, and IBCLC Lactation Consultant Nancy Morhrbacher. Get all the details from her own words, copied from her web site, below…

This year my World Breastfeeding Week (August 1-7) gift to the world is to make my newly redesigned Breastfeeding Solutions smartphone app (usually $4.99) FREE to everyone. No need for a promo code. For this limited time, my app will simply be FREE from AMAZON’S APPSTORE (for Android phones) and the APP STORE (for iPhones). Due to Google Play’s pricing rules, it will be 99 cents there.

Download it now AT NO CHARGE, and all future updates will be FREE, too.

To see how my app works, check out its 2-minute YouTube video. You are also welcome to share the above image. The badges below are direct links to download the free app.

Will you please help me spread the word? I’d love for my friends around the world and the mothers they help to take advantage of this unique opportunity to take my app for a test drive.

Happy World Breastfeeding Week!

Reviews of the Breastfeeding Solutions App

KellyMom.com: “Need a great breastfeeding app? The Breastfeeding Solutions app by Nancy Mohrbacher, IBCLC, FILCA is it! I installed it as soon as it was available, and have found it to be easy to use, and full of excellent information.”

Best for Babes Foundation: “It appears that Nancy Mohrbacher, IBCLC, FILCA has created the WORLD’S BEST BREASTFEEDING APP. If you don’t want to waste hours googling answers to your breastfeeding issues, or reading through thousands of threads, this app is for you.” 

Elise F. (mother-to-mother breastfeeding counselor): “I find myself using the app all the time when responding to questions from new moms.  It’s easy to navigate and gets me to the answers I need quickly.  I am also able to use it as a sort of ‘checklist’ when sharing info with moms to make sure I’ve not forgotten anything.”

Radiolana: “An app written with the new mother in mind—concise and respectful troubleshooting with links to information for further reading. Have seen no app better than this!”

amaag4: “Just recently I became concerned with my BFing supply. I was very worried and google was giving me mixed answers. An LC in my area posted this, so I decided to buy it. Within the first 10 seconds of looking through the app I found exactly what I was looking for. I can’t wait to read through other concerns!”

Dana Thomson: “Worth every penny! Helped save my breastfeeding relationship! I recommend this to anyone who wants to breastfeed. Regardless of whether or not you have a problem.”