Our Feb Goal

Thank you Leesa for that very interesting challege for Mar. Dad is really going to have to help with that one. Now I will report on the goal for Feb. We of couse read the article for Pres, Eyring in the beginning of the month, in the middle of the month and again last night. I think Dad and I are pretty good about doing all Ronda challenged us to do most of the time, but we promised each other we would try to be more aware of each others needs and remember each other more in our prayers. I think the thing we worked on more then anything was praying for all the other members in our family for love to be shown to each other so no empty chair will be left. Dad has always shown a lot of love to me and his children, but we both tried harder this month. I tried really hard to make dad's life a little easier by pushing myself a little more to have something cooking when he came home after a long day at work. He tried to help me with little things like if I would mention that I couldn't get something open I would find it in the fridge the next morning opened ect. Or I find things like oranges peeled and waiting for me when I wake up. He does not complain when he has to do the laudry after work or sweep the floor or vacummn or do the dishes if I do not get them done. He also does not complain when people invite us to things that I cannot do and so he doesn't go either and he never complains on the things he misses out on because of me . In the beginning of the month we seems to be bickering a little more then usually and after the first couple of days we realized because of our new goal Satan was trying to interfer. When we became aware of that we concentrated more on showing the love we both knew the other deserved. I think dad and I are pretty good about showing others the love we have for one another, but when we were challenged to concentrate a little more we were better and more in love then ever. We both like the song quoted in Elder Eyring's talk "I'm Trying to be Like Jesus" and hope this month we have showed to each other and people we meet everyday. Thank you Ronda for this wonderful goal to work on. We also took the challenge and gave a generous donation to the haiti fund. We love all of you and are glad we have disided to do these monthy goals. Thanks Jill

March Goal

Since that last two months have been spiritual and emotional goals I'm going to change things up a bit and do more concrete physical and financial preparedness goals.
I'm going to make a short list and you need to pick four that apply to your family. One per week is what I want you do to. Since we are all in different situations I'm giving more options than four so you can pick the ones that apply most to your families. (Although all are good and should be done at some time!)

Physical (not the exercise type, sorry Steve!):
1. Change out the food/snacks and clothing (everyone should have at least one change of clothes) that are in your 72 hour backpacks. I've heard that a great time to do these are around every gen. conference time. Put summer clothes in your 72 backpacks in the April conf. and warmer winter clothes during the Oct. conf. Plus your kids outgrow things all the time, so this will help to always have clothes that fit. Also, change the snack foods: granola bars, fruit snacks, water bottles, soup cans, etc. that might be in there. We always want fresh stuff, right? You can make a family home evening event of changing everything. That way the kids also know what is in them!
2. Fill or change out water in your water storage barrels. You'd better have some already! Also great to do every gen. conf. time. Ideally you'd have a 55 gal. drum for each person in your family. They can line the walls in your garage. Just make sure they are not directly on the cement. Blue is the recommended color to prevent algae growth in the water. Smaller barrels are fine, you just need more of them.
3. Create an emergency preparedness car kit for each of your cars. I've got some lists if anyone needs them. We have a backpack for each car. Others use a paint can. Whatever floats your boat.
4. Buy some additional food storage items. Also cook at least one meal during the week that uses ONLY items from your food storage. This will help you to know if your family even likes the food you have stored!

Financial
1. Put together your financial packet and place it in your 72 hour backpack. This should include things you don't want burned or otherwise destroyed like: insurance papers, social security cards, birth certificates, passports, car titles, home titles, savings bonds, wills, etc. I also have lists for this.
2. Create an online savings acct. or retirement acct. I just recently opened a Roth IRA for myself with Sharebuilder.com. Many other options are out there. I know some of you have one that Dad started for you, but nothing is continuously being added to them. I also just opened an online savings acct. with Ally Bank. It had the highest interest rate for a regular savings acct. This a great acct. for that 6 month emergency savings acct. that we are all supposed to have. If your hubby gets laid off for a year you'll be glad you had it!! It gets your money out of sight from your checking acct., is easy to transfer and access, and gets a better interest rate than any savings acct. you currently have at your regular bank. You can do a little research or I can advise. I also have an online savings acct. with FNBO and ING Banks. You also need to plan on setting aside a certain amount of money on a monthly basis to contribute to your acct. you create. The younger you start the better off you will be. If you open the retirement acct. don't plan to get that money back until you are 60 years old, FYI. The market is low right now and for someone who has 30 years left to invest it's an excellent time to get into it. But everyone should have this - and don't just depend on your husbands 401K for you retirement purposes!! The sooner you start something like this the more things will grow by the time you need it.
3. Read a financial book. Ones by Suze Orman (like, The 9 steps to Financial Freedom) and Dave Ramsey (Financial Peace and Financial Peace Revisited). They are easy read books, not full of financial jargon that no one understands. Most likely they will be in your closest library too.
4. Create a budget plan on the computer IF YOU DON"T ALREADY HAVE ONE. That are lots of programs that you can use or you can create one on a spreadsheet. Right now we use one called HomeBank. I think Dan got it online somewhere for free. This will help you see how much you can save too.

I've given 4 options in each category. Try to complete one a week, your choice. If you're ambitious and want to do more, great. Ones like creating the online savings acct will take you all of 5 minutes!
I suggest doing all of them sometime anyway.
Feel free to call with any questions, I love to talk about these subjects!!
Happy March!!

Swenson Family February Goal

Steve and I also read the article this month and discussed the high points that Ronda mentioned. Each day as we said our morning prayers it was wonderful to remember the goal and pray for the love that we need to show for each other. I joked with a few of you at the beginning of the month that this was going to be the hardest goal for me, seeing as how I get really agitated, very frequently with my dear spouse ( I won't mention any names). So, taking the time each day to actually think about showing love, thinking of other's needs first, and pushing aside other's weaknesses, was truly a blessing. Steve and I were able to get along better and step back to think about how the other person was feeling. I asked Steve what he learned the most and he said, "that my life is easier if I'm more worried about somebody else's instead of mine own." Steven even loved me enough this month to let me have a a girls day out while he took care of the kids all day.

We also contributed to the Haiti fund through the church and my kids also bought shoes at school for a program called, "Give a Pair, Show you Care" which gives the shoes to Hatian children so they won't get illnesses through wounds in their feet.

Thank you Ronda for this goal to think of other's first and try to be more Christlike to all those around us. We love you all and are grateful for the opportunity to do these monthly goals with you...........Fabulous idea, whoever came up with it!

cook february goal

We read the article at the beginning of the month and discussed it together. I can't remember all the things we discussed so I'll just mention a few of the things that I learned this month about this goal.
I realized that as I prayed for the love that allows me to see the good in my spouse, etc., not only did the prayers help but it also kept my mind focused on my responsibility as a wife and mother. If I took the time to think and pray for this love, I was more aware of how I was treating my family throughout the day. Many times I had to take a step back and I thought of President Eyring's talk and my heart was always softened and I became more loving.
I also realized how my weaknesses and faults affect my family and our happiness. And how much I need prayers on my behalf to be the woman I need to be.
Since you pray about the things you think about and you think about the things you pray about, I realized just how important it is to pray for love within our families and to truly 'try to be like Jesus.'
And we did contribute money to Haiti so thanks for the encouragement!
I really feel that we have benefited so much from this goal so thank you Ronda!

Feb. Goal results from the Joneses

I've been waiting to post my March goal so that everyone could comment on their Feb. goals first. We might as well be first.
Dan and I read the requested article together. Here are some things we've learned:
1. Trying to be like Jesus - that is truly an ongoing effort. It requires us to pay attention to what we say and how we treat others. Sometimes it's hard to pay attention to that all the time.
2. Loving and honoring parents - as we read that we thought of our own children and their obedience to us, but then we realized that just because we don't still live with our parents, it's still important to honor them in every way we can. They are a great source of wisdom and encouragement, and like the article said, they did give us life! I loved the quote on the grandmother's grave - "Please, no empty seats." Andrew's birthday is always a good reminder to do our best so as to be an eternal family - with all of us there!
3. Praying for your spouse - That doesn't just mean pray. In praying for more love for your spouse, you have to do that actions of serving them. Dan has been stepping up to the plate in putting our kids to bed and doing dishes to give me breaks. (Of course I'm pregnant too, so he'll really have to step it up in the coming months!) He's always willing to do things for me when he's home. I love him more than anything. Hopefully I'll be able to step it up for him.
4. Loving others and giving generously - (that wasn't really mentioned in the article, but was part of Ronda's goal too.) Dan's has always been amazed at the generosity of Mom and Dad. I think growing up with them and seeing that has helped us be generous people too. I don't even think of the extra money we give on our tithing slips as a sacrifice. We are just happy to be so very blessed and want to share that with the Lord to help others. Thanks Mom and Dad for your example.
In conclusion: We are trying to be like Jesus. (Just like the quoted song.) And even though we aren't perfect, we do try every day to be better people.
We love you all, our precious family. May we have no empty seats in heaven!

PS. We also contributed to Haiti, FYI.

Personal Request

Ok so first of all Ron has approved dates off for this summer. He is now off July 22-Aug. 3 so we will plan our trip home during that time. Just for information to those of you wondering.
Also yesterday at Brynja's doctor appointment she had lost 1/2 lb. so they doctor has decided she will now have a day at Primary Childrens where they will test her for Cystic Fybrois (sp), liver disorder, thyroid problems, Celiacs, and even lukemia because she has the enlarged nodes in her groin like Kylee did. We are asking if on Sunday everyone would include Brynja in their fast and prayers. We start at 10 on Monday morning. I don't know how long we will be there or when the results will come. The only thing I really know is the CF test is an almost 2 hour long sweat test so that does not sound fun. Lots of blood drawing too. Anyway if possible include her in your prayers and fasting this weekend.
Thanks
Ron and Ronda

Happy 27th Birthday Andrew

Happy Birthday to our little brother and son who would have been 27 today. Hard to imagine that after him being gone for almost 16 years. We all miss having him part of our lives on an everyday basis but comforting to know we can be a Forever Family. We all love you and miss so Happy Birthday and thanks for making us eat the same dinner every year (Not!)

Happy Birthday Andrew

As we all know, and as Sally already posted, today is Spaghetti Day! Braden is starting to catch the spirit of always eating spaghetti on Feb. 26. The last few weeks he's been asking when we get to remember Uncle Andrew. Well lil' bro, this day is for you. Happy Birthday! And I hope everyone enjoys their spaghetti today!

motherly questions

I don't know if it is the cold weather outside or some weird hormone thing, but I have had a really hard time consistently enjoying motherhood the last several months. I have discovered I have a short temper, and little things tick me off faster than I ever thought I was capable of. I have had a hard time admitting it to myself because I feel it just confirms that I am a bad mother.
Yesterday I was in a bad mood most of the day. Today started no better. It's not fair to Jason to come home to a cranky wife and it's definitely not fair to the kids to have to be with me all day... yet for some reason they still follow me everywhere and are always within 2 feet of me... which only amplifies my bad mood when they are whiny!
The thing is, I can't go on like this. This morning I was so annoyed with how annoyed I was getting!! I did one of my old tae-bo workouts and I have been feeling better. I think if I can keep that up it will help some... probably a lot. Maybe I can sweat out all my bad hormones...
So my question is... Mom, how did you survive living in the middle of no where with all of us? And sisters 3, what do you do now to be happy and content with your role as a mother?

Adam's Early B-day Party

The first round of Adam's 2nd birthday!
Dan's mom, sis. Dorothy, and Holly and Jack came for a few days last week. Chris requested that we celebrate Adam's b-day early so she could be here.

Here is the train cake I made:

This present is from the Cooks:
He loved it, he just got a little mad when we turned it around for the picture and he couldn't see it anymore!

This was also from the Cooks:
Everyone loves the ball! Lately he's had to fight his sisters for the chance to play with it!!

Here is the gift from the Swenson's:

The gift from Chris and us are not showing, and the Christenson's gift was saved from the second round of party.
He loved all his gifts. Thanks everyone, you're all awesome to send gifts all the way to NM!!

Ron's Make over

Ron is the BEST DAD in the world, this is Addison and Kylee running their beauty parlor. Oh ron looks so pretty!

Happy 2nd Birthday Brynja

This is Brynja opening a few presents and playing with her new Mickey Mouse Club House. Brandy of course made her the cute Minnie Mouse cake.

I basically just wanted to see if I could figure out how to put a photo on all by myself without Ron here. I did it (from what he had on the computer not directly from the camera)

Here is my latest creation. Somethin to keep me busy. It is just the quilt top.

Sorry that was the wrong picture!!! Here is our tree lit up. This was out our living room window. North Dakota winter wonderland!!

My camera finally started working again, I don't know why, but I am glad, so here is our Chrismas tree all lit up, my Christmas cake I made for our dinner with the missionaries and dad enjoying Christmas!!!!!

I am so proud of all of you for the hard work you all did in finishing the Jan goal. I am so impressed!!! I too have two new names to do also. They are my dad's brother and his wife. Thanks to Nancy I am able to put a copy on the blog.