Miscommunication

Here is an email I got from my husband's aunt last night.
"Hi Brooke,
Hope you and the family are well.
Barry just informed me that in order for you to be converted to the Mormon Church, it is a requirement to give the names of the dead and living relatives so that all the relatives be converted as well.
This was Barry's understanding from Ira's conversation.
Just in case there is a misunderstanding I would like to ask you since you are the source.
Did you or did you not give my name, Barry's and Caroline's to the Mormon Church?
Did the Mormon Church convert us or not?.
Please advise.
Thank you
Rachel"
***
When I read it, I got sick to my stomach. This implied that my father in-law is saying things that are simply NOT TRUE. I wanted to respond quickly without any emotion attached. Here's my first response.
"No, it's not a requirement. I have not given your names to anyone, nor do I plan to in the future."
***
I thought about it some more, and I decided that my first answer wasn't enough. I had to explain what the church believes, and make it easy to understand since my in-laws are all Jewish and not terribly familiar with many terms used in Christianity. I decided that since Aunt Rachel had copied her husband and my father in-law in the original email, I would do the same.
"Dear R*** family,

I was very taken aback by this email, and I would like to clarify a few things for you.

First and foremost, the LDS church believes in each persons agency. Agency is the ability and privilege God gives us to choose and to act for ourselves. http://tinyurl.com/bzs5tt

Baptisms for the dead are performed in LDS temples, but that individual must accept or reject that ordinance in the afterlife. http://tinyurl.com/c7vw6x

While I have done a tiny bit of research on your family, I have not submitted any names to the church's database.

You can not be converted without your consent."
***
My phone rang about 5 minutes after I sent the email, and the caller ID showed it was my father in-law. I didn't want to answer it... but did finally pick up the phone. He wanted to tell me the whole story on how the conversation came up with his brother in the first place. Basically, it was all a big misunderstanding! Ira made a bit of a joke and Barry took it seriously and took the meaning a step farther... Let's just say it didn't go over well with him and his wife! My father in-law said he felt badly about what had happened, and wanted me to know that when he dies if I want to put his name "on the list" that's fine with him, lol.

Bad Dream

Last night I had a bad dream. I was living in a "haunted" house, or something similar, and I knew that at 3am something supernatural (bad) was going to happen. At 2:18am I was on the computer and it started acting funny, so I ran and jumped in bed and started praying. I felt the need to pray out loud and very suddenly I couldn't. The evil presence was very strong. I began praying very fervently silently, and everything STOPPED... and I woke up pretty freaked out. I rolled over to see the clock fully expecting it to be about 3am, but thankfully it was 5:30. A little while later Hannah came in to snuggle with me, and we all got up around 6:30.

Emergency Preparedness

Last month I finished up our 72 hour kits, though I think you can probably always think of things to add. Today I worked on some addendum stuff, extra clothes!! Each kid now has a cold weather outfit and a warm weather outfit plus socks and underwear. As I was going through some hand-me-downs we acquired over Christmas vacation, I was able to pull out a few things for each of the bigger kids, and I even found two jackets to add! Both are mostly Elijah sized, but I'm pretty sure Hannah could fit into one in a pinch, and once she gets to big Leah will be able to wear one. I'd like to get one more jacket, or maybe two, and some inexpensive shoes... I'm thinking the thrift store might be a good place for those. I also need to get some clothes in there for Pete and myself. After that, I want to stock up on batteries, get diapers and wipes in the kit, and get some puzzle books.

Blender Wheat Pancakes

I made these pancakes for lunch yesterday, and they were SO good! In the past, I've had trouble making pancakes, but I bought an electric griddle (only $17!) and that made all the difference in the world. These blender wheat pancakes are EASY, and I used powdered milk, powdered eggs, and wheat straight from the #10 can. I think I'll be able to rotate through my food storage without any problems now. I even froze the leftover pancakes, and the kids ate them for breakfast just like normal (with storebought frozen pancakes). I plan on making another batch for Saturday breakfast, and a batch to freeze!

Potato Pearls directions

Since the directions on the bag of Potato Pearls is for making the entire bag at once, I needed to figure out the ratio of water to potato pearls. The amount I figured was for one serving: 1/4 cup of PP to 1/2 cup hot H2O.

Serv - Pearls - Water
1 - 1/4 c - 1/2 c
2 - 1/2 c- 1 c
4 - 1 c - 2 c
6 - 1 1/2 c - 3 c
8 - 2 c - 4 c

Blessing for Tonsilectomy

Tomorrow Elijah is having his tonsils and adenoids removed because of his sleep apnea. I've gone through periods of major worry about the procedure during the last month, but I finally have some peace. One of our Home Teachers and the missionaries came over and annointed Elijah and gave him a blessing. Brother Peachee also mentioned in the blessing that as Elijah grew he would "stand for Christ". That was a nice thing to hear!

Food Storage

There are a few really cool food storage websites that I read, and they are doing some cool stuff for the new year. In fact two of the blogs I already read have teamed up with a third I didn't know about and created Fun With Food Storage. I know I must be getting old because I'm actually excited about the whole thing ;)

Resolutions for 2009

I've kept up with my regular blog, but not this one... Here are some of the things I want to do better this year.
- scripture reading; I did really well for quite a while, but then I slacked off a lot. So, my goal is to read some everyday. I better get too it already, because I'm already behind!

- emergency preparedness; I've done a pretty good job in this department so far. I have our 72 hour kits ready to go, and they include food, water, and a binder of important documents. I have the food in milk jugs, but I think as those need to be replaced I will get ration bars instead so they will fit into the backpacks

- food storage; I've just started to really USE food storage, and I need to figure out how much to buy from the cannery, etc.

-visiting teaching; I want to do better with my two inactive sisters

-budget; spend less, save more!!

- computer; spend less time on the computer, and more time doing productive things

-food; eat healthier and *ahem* lose the rest of the baby weight