Utah Food Bank

"For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink..." 

Matthew 25:35

A while back I read reading something on fb and something changed within my heart.Being a mother is no easy role. It's not easy to teach my kids life lessons, school lessons, home lessons, and work lessons. But I need to make certain choices on how I want my kids to walk as adults. 

So I want to teach my kids how to walk with the Lord. How to be honorable. To be honest. Love to learn. Hold a charitable heart. Assume the good and doubt the bad in people. 

But these lessons can't be taught from just talking. I need to put these words into motion. So I looked around how how my kids can help those in need. Most shelters/services/charities have age requirements. But that didn't stop me. I found out on the Utah Food Bank that my kids and I can deliver boxes of food to people. To the people who need it but can't get to the food bank.

We signed up and fell in love with the spirit that this service brings. 

 In the 1 hour it takes to pick up the boxes from the food bank and then deliver I seen my kids (and myself too) attitudes change, energy increase, joy fill our spirits. They were so excited to see if the person was home so they could give all the yummy goodness to them. 

We signed up to do this once a month for the next 6 months. 

I also found out this fact. That the food banks are in need of fresh produce and perishable items. It never accord to me that all the food that drives collect are canned/non perishable foods. So to have a fresh tomatoes or banana I never thought about others not having access to this. 
So I signed up with the Utah Food Bank's program The Green Urban Lunchbox.
This is a group where locals sign up to be drop off stops. Each drop off site collects the produce, weighs it, then takes it to the designated food bank in the area. 

I am the only drop off site in my county. :( It's sad but at least there is 1 now. 

The Bountiful Pantry is my designated food drop off.
This is me after dropping off 108lbs of produce at 8am. I'm super tired but SUPER joyful that people, strangers, are caring about other's so much to drop off produce.

One week I got this at my door. This photo card was attached to a 16lb bag of produce. It's such a wonderful way to honor someone by helping someone else.

My kids have grown so excited about this project. They are always looking in our food bank box to see if there's any donation. They are excited to hand the bags off to the pantry workers. They are excited to go grocery shopping since it means they can pick a few things out for the pantry. I'm so happy we can do this as a family. I'm thankful for the prompting which lead us to finding ways to service others. 

This Summer

This summer Mike and I sat down with each kiddo and made a summer goal. Some goals were academic. Some were emotional goals. Some were social. But either way those goals haven't really been met. I'm realizing we're not really goal people. We're more, "We should do..... Oh something shiny!" This mind set doesn't work for many. Honestly it doesn't work for Mike but he loves me so much that he just rolls with it.

So these past few weeks have been busy. I took our kids to the mall for the 1st time.  Huge milestone for Lily and Ducati.

Hailey had an eye doctors appointment so everyone got to experience the magic of a MALL!
We went to Hotdog on a Stick for lunch. Went on a mini shopping spree at Bath and Body works. I liked that we went during their semi-annual clearance sale so EVERYTHING was on sale.

 But Hailey was very happy to get glasses. The first thing she did after she got her glasses was read a book. She tells me, "WOW! I've really missed a lot!"

Mike had Father's Day a day early. The kids tried their best to show Mike how much they love him. There was homemade cards, a few new art pieces, and their best to give quality and not quantity gifts. So with a budget they went shopping and got him a few new summer clothing pieces which he hated. So it was the thought that counted. :)

My neighbor/friend helped me plant tomatoes this year. And so far they are growing!! This is the first time I've grown something on purpose and it didn't die. So everyday we're going out and finding new yummy tomatoes and just eating them off the vine thingies. :) As a family we are enjoying gardening. Our kids love to weed the garden and water the plants. So we might expand next year and add another fruit. But 1 plant this year was enough for us to give it the care it needed.

We gave up our Costco membership. Nothing special but still good for us since we never went unless if it was for gum. So on our last shopping trip Mike loaded up on gum. Then hid everything!!

On the 4th of July we kept it small since we're not big fans on crowds. We had a BBQ with a small group of friends. Had all the kids playing in water which caused our yard to overflood into the neighbors yard. At least he doesn't have to water his yard. :)

Afterwards we went to city fireworks and WOW! We love them! Sure street fireworks are fun but to be able to feel the fireworks explode. To have that feeling in our chest... it's awesome!
Anyways to prepare for the wait we packed up some water, snacks, crafts, and a blanket in some backpacks. The firework show was amazing! Ducati didn't remember seeing such huge fireworks since she's only seen them from the distance. So she was staring up into the sky the entire time.

I'm so glad we went. But the next day I was regretting it. The backpack I was carrying didn't feel heavy at the time but oh my! I felt it the next day. How can chips and bananas cause so much pain!! So for the next few days I was in so much pain I couldn't get off the couch. I hate having back issues.

This of course caused a wrench in my plans but thankfully my kids rolled with it.

 

This gave us a chance to catch up on some reading, go see Finding Dory (TWICE), eat some forgotten freezer meals, and play on the second trampoline Mike brought. Yes- we now own 2 trampolines!


We've also:
-visited Mike's brother and his family.

-been adventuring with my sister in law (I'll post later)

-gone to the dentist for a chipped tooth

-updated our living room furniture from "Yikes" to "Good"

-purchased a new fridge since our original one died. This was a learning experience since I never purchased a new appliance before.

-taught our kids about budgets and savings so they are on board for saving for next years vacation

-Mike is signing up for college. Paralegal Studies to help bridge him into becoming a lawyer.

-Dejunking our house from top to bottom. It's been a process but so worth it.


So our plans this summer sort of went off into a different direction. But that's OK with us. Life plans change all the time; that's what makes Life interesting.

Mike's Work pics

I love seeing Mike's work photos. All those moments he's so proud of and I get a glimpse into his daily life. 

Here I got to see his before and after windows of the top of the Conference Center. 

I don't think people realize how difficult it is to keep Temple Square clean. With millions and millions of people visiting this area every year it takes 100's of people to keep it clean so each person can feel the spirit there. 

Of course Mike is always safe with his team. LOL!

When I first seen this photo I gasped since these guys are laying on windows. But it turns out the windows are really thick and supported in a way that they can hold lots of weight.
All in the day of the life of Mike.

Mike's Team BBQ

The are so many reasons why I was thankful for this BBQ.
 Mike's workers were able to meet his family and WE got to meet the team he talks so much about.

So for the entire week we cleaned and prepared our yard. I'll post what we did later since we really transformed our yard.

Anyways the day of our BBQ I was so excited I hardly slept.
Guest arrived at varied times. So while everyone was getting here Mike and Connor (one of this team mates) played on the trampoline.

Civilize jumping turned into a trick show off. This was entertaining to watch. 

Now Mike's turn. Haha! This guy has so many tramp tricks that Connor stood and watched for a few minutes.

Mike made his Salmon Ladder. So everyone gave it a try. For being their first try everyone did great but no one made it to the top.

Once everyone got here we said the meal prayer and feasted on burgers, hot dogs, and potluck sides.

 Mike and Amber.

 Jasen and Danielle sitting on my brand new painted bench.

Somehow arm wrestling was instigated. Mike (red) won Mike (white) 

 So Mike (red) played Mike (yellow) which only added another victory for him.
Yes my Mike works with several other Mike's so he just calls each one by their last name so this is what I did too. But I don't want to write down their last names on here so everyone is going to be called Mike instead.


During the BBQ we played a couple of "Get-To-Know-You" games. This helped me get to know everyone better and helped those who were not on Mike's team also learn about the work crew. It was just fun! Everyone had to write down something no one knows about them and we had to guess who that belonged too.
Then we played a game where everyone had to switch sides of our clothesline if the statement applied to them like..... they play an instrument or went on a mission. I had a list of like 25 questions ; all those questions I would ask Mike but he had no idea- I finally put them all down and asked everyone.

But toward the end of the BBQ Mike presented everyone with awards. Working for the church there is something called The Leadership Pattern.

Every worker, manager, employee, or supervisor tries to work with these patterns in mind. So Mike and I thought it would be great to acknowledge each person for their hard work and contribution to their team. Mike really wanted this to be special so we ordered some plastic trophies from Amazon and labeled each one with a quality from the leadership pattern. Sure this might have been betrayed as funny but once Mike started his speech everyone got quiet and were happy to be recognized in front of their family and friends for their hard work. 

Jasen was awarded "The Spirit Award" - Following the direction of The Spirit. 

Connor was awarded "Direction" Award- Define Direction.

Mike L. was awarded "Organize" Award- Organizing the work. 

Each worker came up with such pride that finally someone is noticing their hard work.

Mike was awarded "Render" Award- Render An Account

Matt was awarded "Counsel" Award- Counsel Together

Mike T was awarded "Build" Award- Building Capability. 

After speaking a few words about each person and giving them their ward my Mike thought his presentation was over BUT it wasn't.

I sneaked another trophy inside his bag the night before with his notes that was labeled "Example" so he can put it on the table as a decoration. But actually it was for him. I stood up and talked to everyone how much Mike really cares for each person. I talked about how Mike wanted to be different than other leads so he made that change. He understands that he's not just given stewardship over his team for their work goals but also their spiritual, temporal, emotional, and live goals. I teared up thinking all those phone calls in the middle of the night. The temple dates with everyone. The long talks after their shifts are over. The weekend car repairs he does. I explained that even though he clocks out Mike doesn't stop thinking about everyone. He wants each person to become a lead themselves and that I hoped they would follow Mike's example of showing love to each one of their future teammates.
I really don't remember what I said. I was in the moment and guided by the spirit on what to say. But I gave Mike the "EXAMPLE" Award and everyone clapped for him.

(Sure some of his team were not able to make it he gave out those award at work on Monday. And those people felt so happy to be given an award and cheered for. The photo above is with those workers who did attend. One day I will get an entire team photo.)

Miss Lily wanted an award too for being awesome. Connor let her play with his but then it was time to give it back. Small and simple things can make a big deal to someone. 

While the adults did their thing and watched a movie since it started to rain the kids played some more.

It was such an amazing experience that we are planning another one for the summer months. Perhaps with Mike's entire group instead of just his team. 

I'm thankful for this opportunity to make new friends, to see my husband open up to his team and allow them to see him in a more personal setting. I'm thankful for everyone coming even though we live in the middle of nowhere. I'm thankful for the amazing leader my husband is. I'm thankful that he works on such a wonderful team where each person takes care of one another. I'm thankful for this amazing day. 

Homeschooling

My days have changed up since I no longer need to think about work. So now all that brain space I was preoccupying with work schedules and work stuff is now being used on how to improve our homeschooling experience.

First change up is more games. Learning needs to be fun. If it's not fun (at least for the younger ones) they are not going to want to learn. So thanks to some homeschool families recommendations I ordered this game- Scramble States. 

The story is about how states wanted to move to a different part of the US and after giving it a try they wanted to go back where they originally were. So the game ask players to find the states who have wildflowers at their state flowers. Or which states are west of Missouri. Not really based on the story but it's really fun.

They play this game almost once a day. Sometimes more than once. They tell me all the time how fun it is. Me- I love how it's educational. They have been learning geography, state flowers, capitals, state nick names, and team work. 

With weather permitting we've been taking walks or rides to the duck park near us. Some days I've noticed that we just need a change of scenery or everyone gets on eachothers nerves. So first thing in the morning we go for our walk/ride. Days when it's raining or snowing I can tell the difference in peoples attitudes so I try my best to keep things low key that day. 

We've had more time for art. I love art! I love everything about it. So it's my goal to teach my kids to develop their art skills or at least to appreciate the work of other artist. So there's so much more projects and pictures hanging up around our house. Here's Ducati with fairy picture. I admit for some time I thought she traced pictures out of books but then while I was helping a bigger kid on the couch I looked over and seen Ducati drawing the fairy free hand. I was so happy with her and her patience. I had to capture this moment forever so she's showing me her drawing and the fairy she was drawing. 

And our newest game is Hedbanz Act Up!
This is so much fun and no one even suspects me that the reason why I purchased this was for the reading. HAHAHA! Each person has a headband on their head with a card which they can't see. The other players act out what the card says and if the person guesses right they are one step closer to winning. It's been so much fun and I've noticed Lily and Ducati improve their reading.

It's been so much fun seeing the love of learning grow and glow in each one of my kids. Homeschooling them has it's moments of difficulty but it's so worth it.

India

Thanks to Little Passports this month we are learning about India!! 

All things exotic, bright, and HOT!! 

We've done a lot these past weeks!

*Ordered take out from Taste of India. I especially ordered to mild so we could give it a try without burning our tongues off. But we could still feel the kick! Afterwards we gave a family vote the pakoras (vegetable patty), tandoori chicken (chicken cooked in a clay oven so it comes out red), and the naan (flatbread) are good. The kheer (ride pudding) no body liked. The mango ice cream and gulab jaman (dumbling dipped in rose syrup) were DELICIOUS! So if we ate Indian food again our kids agreed that so long they got the gulab jaman they would eat anything.

*we learned about the Taj Mahal.

*colored our own mandala

*learned about a few gods. Honestly I skipped this part since 1st there was too many and 2nd I didn't want to confuse my kids that there's Heavenly Father who is a person and not an elephant.

*we listened to hindi primary songs. and by request we listened to hindi Frozen songs. It was fun to watch our girls not miss one single dance move while they listened to, "Let it Go".

* we watched a few documentaries

*learned about the flag

*Ghandi

*made some mango lassi (smoothie)

*did some yoga :)

*and I can't really remember what else we learned about. It's been a few weeks now so I'm sure there's more.
But we finished off our study lesson by celebrating at home The Festival of Colors!!

It's a celebration welcoming spring and "dusting" off winter blues. So I ordered holi powder from Amazon and everyone grabbed some clothes they could throw away since this stuff stains (it says it doesn't stain but it always does in our case)
Anyways yesterday was the perfect day to welcome in spring. So while doing the research it's said that the more colored you are the more blessed you'll be. But you can't color yourself. It's considered greed. So you bless others and they bless you. So my kids loved this idea.

Yes, everyone was too excited that they didn't wait for Mason to find his other shoe so he only wore 1.

Soon their chalk activity turned into a chasing activity. Oh well.... I'll just add P.E. too the lesson ;)

 Lily's caught being greedy!!

 Since my phone is old and lame I had to completely saturate these photos in Picasa so the chalk can be seen against the sunshine. I don't care if my lawn doesn't look real. I wanted to catch my kids throwing blessings to eachother.

After they were done they took showers immediately and like I said before threw their clothes away. They have absolutely loved learning about India and some of their customs. So now onto FRANCE!!