Note. This is a very direct post for me to write. Please to not read if you do not understand mine and my family's way of thinking. This is not meant to cause offense, it is simply food for the thought.
I've been thinking a lot lately about this generation. Why has our generation become like this? Why do we need to set aside a specific night of the week to learn about the gospel. The early saints did stuff like this every night without the Prophet having to tell them to because they had such a love for this gospel and they knew it was the right thing to do. But now we need the Prophet to tell us to do that one night a week. Is this not example enough?
And then I can't help but wonder why half of the Church's members are even members if they don't believe in it(the doctrine taught). Is it because...do I dare say it...that it makes them look good? I mean who wants to do hard things?
I recently read a post here about the Temple being viewed on as a Venue not a Virtue. This is so scary!
I don't know what else to write. Other than this is so Sad!
I thought it might be fun to make a list of some of my favorite books. So this is what you get:
Jane Eyre Robinson Crusoe The Princess Academy Little Britches Man of the Family The Fields of Home Pride and Prejudice The Goose Girl the Home Ranch The Work and the Glory Series The Screwtape Letters The Little House Series the Great Little Madison Silas Marner The Freedom Factor The Dog in the Wood The Constitution The Declaration Alex Rider Blood Red Horse Fablehaven Series A Wrinkle in Time Johnny Tremain Book of a Thousand Days Green Jasper Blaze of Silver Enna Burning The Princess and the Goblin The Winter of Red Snow Strength And Honor: The Life Of Dolley Madison Mr. Midshipman Hornblower (Book 1 of the Hornblower Saga) The Proper Role of Government The Hiding Place
These are anywhere from 3 to 5 stars on my goodreads shelf to most of them aren't my FAVORITES!
I have so many thoughts going through my head and can't write them down properly so I am working on it. And improving my punctuation and grammar. It's so hard because I get a good thought going in my head and I start writing it down and it's coming into a post and then all of the sudden it just drops and makes no sense and I save it as a draft! You should see how many saved drafts I have! I have to go through and delete them every once in a while so I don't feel bad! One step at a time!
Today was Outlaw days. We were in the Parade for my dad's campaign I walked Hank in it and then we ran home, saddled the horses and went over to the arena. We forgot the camera so I don't have any pictures. Caleb won the calf riding(all 3 of the boys did it) and I did barrels and poles. On barrels my time was 25.something and on poles my time was 35. something. It was kind of cool, because my goal times were 25 for barrels and 35 for poles!! After I just finished poles I was doing the half circle that I usually do right after my run so I don't run right into the gate(I've tried that and I almost FLEW out of the saddle!) but Bailey didn't want to stop after the half circle and I kind of lost my hold and almost fell off! I was like half on for a couple of seconds! Jared did barrels too(he didn't want to do poles). It was a fun day! Fanny got to go too because it was a travel opportunity, to meet new horses, be around lots of new sounds, etc. we didn't compete on her though. She just got to watch! And thankfully it didn't rain! It was supposed to earlier this month when we looked and we were watching it throughout the week and then one day it said it was only supposed to be cloudy! And it was PERFECT for a rodeo. I wore a short sleeved shirt even!
"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." — Thomas Jefferson
"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have. The course of history shows us that as a government grows, liberty decreases." — Thomas Jefferson
"It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible." — George Washington
"Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples’ liberty’s teeth" — George Washington
"It is one of my sources of happiness never to desire a knowledge of other people's business." — Dolley Madison
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." — James Madison
"Americans have the right and advantage of being armed - unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." — James Madison
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" — Patrick Henry
"They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power." — Patrick Henry
In D&C 89: 12 it says "Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly" So, referring to this, do you need meat at every meal? As I have pondered this I have come to the conclusion that you don't! Now you may be thinking " what! an 11 year old girl telling ME what to or not to eat???" but really! Think about it, do you need it? We have found eating vegetables as our main course we have been stronger, have had more energy and have come closer to our Heavenly Father. Now you may be thinking something like this "but what about protein?" Well, Fruits and Vegetables have more protein then you may think. And you can still have all sorts of Yummy foods like this that we had today for lunch as the MAIN dish! You HAVE to try it!
So, our friends have been posting about the way they feed their horses, so I decided to give a shot at remembering how we do "our way of doing business."
Okay, lets start with Bailey, the bad-mannered-off-the-track-mare but, I love her!
Pasture is what she gets in the Spring/Fall/Summer in the Winter she gets Grass hay with a salt block year round. She gets a TINY bit of Grain every once in a while. Not a lot because, this is Bailey, a cup of grain is enough to make her act like she was 2 again for a week!!!!!! Remember the salt. This is essential for horses. Also sometimes she gets Quietex (from the syringe) when she is overly "excited."
Now, Fanny, the...hmmm...the old gentle(when she wants to be) mare. Fanny gets Pasture like Bailey, she also gets Grass hay in the winter. Both of our horses gets Blankets in the winter so they don't have to burn as much fat. Fanny is like 25, a "senior," so she gets Alegra Senior feed, we pick ours up in big 50 lb bags at the Co-op in Shoshone for about $19, this last about 1-2 months depending on how much Bailey gets. She gets " half of a #10 can" of this every day with 1-2 TBS of MSM to keep her joints loose. The kind we got was about $8. Alegra brand Senior is pellets, and the texture of MSM is like salt, so I add a splash of water to the mixture and stir it with my "stirring" stick to make the MSM stick to the pellets, before I started adding water the MSM would fall to the bottom of the bucket and she wouldn't eat it. She also has access to salt(oops, I just switched pastures, I still need to move the salt). I don't know ow long we will keep her on grain, probably not for the whole summer. When we got Fanny she was way underweight. In just the first week of having her on grain we saw a noticeable difference in her weight( sure, it was small but it had only been a week)
Another key to healthy horses is to worm them regularly. I made a a plan that I hope to follow, I made it last week after they got their April worming.
I based my plan off of a more professional plan. But do what you feel is best for your horses! I do 2 stronger "Zaps" a year because both of my horses are older, so you figure what's best for you.
As for feet, we have a great Farrier, J2. We like to have our horses shod in the summer(they have to be done every 8 weeks) and just let them be barefoot in the winter when we don't use them. This also lets their feet relax for a few months.
Don't forget to Vaccinate, West Nile, Tetanus, WEE(western Equine Equinox a sleeping sickness) and EEE(Eastern Equine Equinox same as WEE but Eastern instead of Western) are the first most important ones. Some people get more specific but these are really the only ones you need.
Today I noticed a sore on Fanny's leg so I will look at it tomorrow to find a remedy, I'll let you know if I figured out a cool trick!
So as many of you know, my mom posted this post. So after reading that post you know that we have been having green smoothies a lot lately! At first I didn't really like them, I guess I didn't like tons of fruit in them or something, but anyway, one day I decided I wanted a green smoothie (just thinking about it right know makes my stomach rumble!). then I realized we didn't have anything to put in it. Then I remembered we had tons of frozen carrots in the freezer from our garden a couple of years ago. We had a little bit of zucchini too(My nice aunt called today and said that she had some extra, and wanted to know if we wanted it, I said we'll take it!!!) . Then I realized we didn't have any fruit. but then my mom suggested using applesauce, YUM!!! Good thing we are going to Twin tomorrow to get more fruit.
Anyway, here's my thrown together smoothie:
about 1/2 to 1 can applesauce depending on your tastes about 1 cup FROZEN shredded Zucchini about 1/4 cup FROZEN shredded(not steamed, raw) carrots Ice(optional)
Blend together, enjoy.
Sometimes when I want it really cold I will put Ice cubs in it, if you use fresh veggies make sure you drain then very well and you will have to put in lots of Ice cubes if you want the same texture. I take my veggies straight out of the freezer so there is Ice on them that is why you need extra ice cubes w/ fresh veggies.
Just FYI: the finished product looks like applesauce w/ little orange and light green specks.
This is my hero report I wrote for my commonwealth school:
Dolley Payne Todd Madison
Dolley Madison is my hero, being the First Lady she was always looked up to. She was a mother to the people and was always there for them. She went through hardships, illnesses, pain and life-changing experiences.
Dorthea (or Dolley) Payne was born on May 20, 1768 in New Garden, North Carolina. Dolley was born to Mary Coles (a Virginian) and John Payne (also a Virginian). Mary Coles was both a Virginian and a Quaker. When Mary married John she would normally have been expelled from the Quaker society, but after they were married John converted to the Quaker faith. Then in 1769 John moved his family back to Virginia Dolley was very close to her mother’s family. Soon Dolley was joined by 7 younger siblings, four boys, Walter, William Temple, Isaac and John, and three girls (four including Dolley), Lucy, Anna and Mary. When Dolley was young she always dreamed of wearing fine clothes and jewelry. Because as a Quaker she never was allowed to. She wore plain grey dresses and no jewelry. She had one gold pin that her grandmother (her father’s mother who was not a Quaker) had given to her, she wore it every day hidden inside her dress and after walking anywhere she would check to make sure it was still there! One day she was walking. And when she was feeling for it she found it was not on her dress! She had lost it, this was a very sad day for little Dolley!
In 1783 John Payne emancipated his slaves and moved his family to Philadelphia to start a business as a starch merchant. His business never did well and finally collapsed. He died in 1792. Dolley’s mother, Mary, struggled to make ends meet and finally decided to start a boarding house. A year later she moved back to Virginia to live with her daughter Lucy. Lucy had married George Steptoe Washington a nephew to the famous General Washington. George Steptoe was not a Quaker and did not desire to be, so when she married out of the faith she was expelled. When Mary left for Virginia she took her 2 youngest children, Mary and John Payne Jr, with her.
Dolley’s father’s dying wish was for Dolley to marry a Quaker Lawyer, John Todd. I believe in her affections she wished for no more then a dear friendship and did not desire anything more. Dolley knew that her father had great trust in this man and believed that he would give Dolley a comfortable home, he also believed that John’s business would be a great success in the near future, so she obliged to marry him. This event happened in January 1790, they had two sons: John Payne Todd born 1792 (he was usually called Payne) and WilliamTempleTodd (born 1793). Dolley’s sister Anna (she was not married) lived with the Todd’s.
Dolley was happy and grew to love John very much. In the fall of 1793 the known-to-well epidemic of Yellow Fever broke out. Unfortunately William had been bore in the middle of this epidemic. The birth had left Mother and child weak. John was very worried about his wife and child. So he took them out of the plague infested city to Gray’s Ferry which was a good distance outside of the city limits. John’s loyal law clerk stayed behind to manage the business which was busy with settling wills he also stayed at the house. After a while the business was needing another person to help settle wills. The threat of death forgotten, John returned to the city. Sadly John caught the fever, knowing he was close to death he stumbled to Gray’s ferry and died in his wife’s arms. Just hours after John died, Dolley’s newborn William was said to have cought the fever, he died hours after that. The child was described as being “very weakly from birth.” It is unknown if he died from the fever or ofnatural causes. We do not have the details of his death. In just 1 month Dolley lost her husband, son, father-in-law and her mother-in law. And to sharpen the blow: just months later her two older brothers both died from other things. Dolley never recovered from this emotional blow.
As a widow Dolley returned to Philadelphia with her son Payne. Later on, in May of 1794, James Madison asked his friend Aaron Burr to take him to Dolley’s house to meet her officially. He had first laid eyes on her at a party. Although Madison was the age of forty-three, a, long-time bachelor and seventeen years Dolley’s senior Dolley agreed to court him. They had a quick courtship and before long Madison had proposed to Dolley. She accepted. They were married on September 15, 1794. For marrying James, a non-Quaker she was expelled from the Quaker society. Even if she hadn’t married out of the faith she would have been disgraced for marrying just 9 months after John had died. James and Dolley along with Payne lived in Philadelphia for the next three years. After three years he took his family to his house, Montpelier, in OrangeCountyVirginia. James Madison and Thomas Jefferson were very close friends so it was no surprise to the Madison’s, when Jefferson was elected in 1801 that he asked James to be his Secretary of State. Of course Madison accepted. He moved his family to Washington D.C. Being the Secretary of State’s wife didn’t have any official duties come with it but, President Jefferson was a widower and his daughters were still in Virginia so Dolley was pleased to host Jefferson parties.
With the approaching Presidential election Jefferson did not want to serve a third term, the Democratic - Republican Party asked James to run. James did obligingly. James ran and won, making Dolley the official first lady from 1809 to 1817. During this time Dolley acted as a mother to the people. When theBritish were marching to Washington James had to leave Dolley alone with one servant in what is now called the Whitehouse, Dolley hurriedly took all of the valuable silver, jewelry, gems and other precious things, and sent them off, waiting until the British were just a few miles away. When the British were finally just a little over a mile away Dolley decided to save Stuart’s painting of George Washington, it was nailed to the frame so she hurriedly took all the nails out rolledit up, and left as fast as she could!!! A few days later James was reunited with Dolley.
After James’ two terms as President, James and Dolley moved back to their estate, Montpelier. During all of this, Payne, Dolley’s son was in Paris, gambling and using up all of his step-father’s money. He went missing for a while. Later in a letter to Payne, Dolley says “I am impatient to hear from you, my dearest Payne, and had I known where to direct I should have written you before this: not that there is anything particular to communicate, but for the pleasure of repeating how much I love you, and to hear of your happiness.” When Dolley wrote this letter Payne was actually in Philadelphia, it was hard to predict where he was! Dolley had given Payne too much reign growing up, consequently he was a lazy no-good drunkard. However, Dolley always loved Payne with all of her heart. In 1830 He went to prison in Philadelphia the Madison’s had to sell land in Kentucky and mortgage ½ of Montpelier to pay his debts!
James died on June 28, 1836. Dolley stayed at Montpelier for another year, her niece Anna came to live with her and Payne came to stay. Dolley took a part of James’ papers (he was the only person to write down a word for word account of the Constitutional Congress) copied them and then Congress agreed to buy the first installment of them for $30,000. Then, in 1837, Dolley decided to leave Montpelier to Payne and left with Anna to go to live with Dolley’s sister Anna, and her husband Richard Cutts.
While Dolley was away Payne could not manage Montpelier because of alcohol which caused illness. Dolley tried to find a buyer for the rest of James’ paper, but it seemed impossible, so she sold Montpelier to pay debts. Later, in 1848, congress agreed to buy the rest of James’ papers for $25,000.
Dolley fell in 1849 and after about five days of this sickness she died peacefully on July 12. Her funeral was on July 17 and she was buried in Washington but, after several years the people felt it appropriate for her to be buried next to James in the family cemetery. She was and with honor!
...Fanny. My friend in Dietrich had a friend who was trying to get rid of her, so we claimed her! Since she lost so much weight during the winter(she is 20+) we put her on grain and MSM (she is pretty stiff on one of her back legs, the MSM loosens her up!)
This Weekend we were able to go to Salt Lake for a quick getaway. We were able to see our friends that we haven't seen for about 5 years and we were able to go to Temple Square! I love Temple Square in the spring(all year for that matter) because all the flowers are in bloom! I love being able to walk down the sidewalk and see the flowers on all sides, you can smell them while you're walking! This time I decided to be the photographer, I think some of the pics did turn out pretty well if I do say so myself... Sorry that they are messed up in size!
The Puppies are ready for homes, we unfortunately cannot deliver to other States, however we will be able to deliver to Utah this weekend(we will be in SLC) They're cute!
Today for lunch we went on a picnic to the land, and we went all the way down to the slew! For those of you who haven't been over it's a ways, down through a 15-20 acre pasture, over the bridge walk through a bunch of brush and walla! We found a really nice spot on the bank and settled in for the afternoon! Mom read a book to the boys and then they played and then read some more and then played some more while I disappeared to the horses. I love Rural Idaho! Home Sweet Home!!!
And then I can't help but wonder why half of the Church's members are even members if they don't believe in it(the doctrine taught). Is it because...do I dare say it...that it makes them look good? I mean who wants to do hard things?
