Do you know that some day, I plan to be awesome. Some day I will have it all together. Some day I will get everything done that I set my mind to. Do you know what I want to do with this life Heavenly Father has given me? I want to share the gospel through song and story with my own family. I want to travel all over the country on a big bus and sing. I want to be home in the summer to tend my garden and reenergize. But come the fall, I want to travel and worship and minister. I want my kids to share their testimonies and get used to being in the public and serving and making the world a better place. And I want to adopt. I want to give children-teens, wards of the state a chance to be part of a family. I want my children to be strong, hard working, and talented. I want to homeschool on the road. I want them to constantly be learning and growing. I hope to be there in 5 years. So how do I go from here to there? Do you make long term plans for your family? I want to hear about them. with love- Jo

Wondering where I have been?

I have been writing over at my Shaffer Sisters Blog.  My sisters and I are trying to get a company off the ground, and we have been trying like crazy to develop some blog loyalty over there.  So, if you love what I write, please go over to http://shaffer-sisters.blogspot.com/ and follow me there. 
You can get to know a little more about my family, and all of our little quirks. 
This is still my family journal, but until we can get that blog back up, I probably won't be writing much over here.  Thanks Friends!
with love

Merry Monday!

Christmas 2010

#2 said, "Momma- I think Jesus is fake and Santa Clause is real."

Oh boy, I thought to myself, we have some work to do. Then I asked him why he thought that. He said, "Well Jesus died, but Santa Clause lives forever."

Things to teach #2-

-The definition of Fake

- Reiterate the Resurrection

This little boy never stops thinking!
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There is a super cute/cheap/ easy craft for this picture at this link http://theturquoisepiano.blogspot.com/2011/12/6th-day-of-christmas-framed-santa-with.html

Oh, what do you do in the winter time?

photo found here :http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/skjetlein

When the snow flies in the country, what do you do with your precious time?

We are in love with the snow.  We love the quiet and cold that begs to see footprints.  We love the constantly falling snow that nourishes next summers garden.  We love the red runny noses.  We love the snow puddles left next to drying boots.  We love the bright white of Winter!  As winter has set in, I have found myself drinking more cups of cider and making many hardy stews.  Today I am borrowing this recipe http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/  from Pioneer woman.  I am anticipating that delicious smell of cinnamon rolls baking in the oven.  I love the PW's instructions that tell me to do one step and then wait an hour before I continue on.  It seems familiar.  Basically the way I do everything around here.    The boys have already built a snow cave, played with the neighbors dog, shoveled the walk twice, done their school work, minus about 5 pages of reading that I imagine will be done at bed time, finished their house chores, made tracks in the fresh snow, eaten breakfast, snack, snack, lunch, and a snack.  Now I have them in their bedrooms doing some cleaning.  I am listening to the conference talks, sipping some cider, and waiting for the timer to ring, so I can add the next ingredient to the rolls.  Happy Wintering to you all!

this picture reminds me of my boys it comes from this site http://frontierfreedom.blogspot.com/2011/01/snow-caves-and-slickin.html

with love,
jo

I am so glad it is over!

I am grateful for the right that I have to vote.  I am grateful that I live in this country, where the only discomfort I feel when voting is to stand in a 4 hour line- which is a pretty inspiring site!  I am grateful that I have the privilege and right to pray to my Heavenly Father, publicly and privately.  We are part of a great nation. Now as the elections have been decided, I am grateful to be able to move forward.  We are praying for you President Obama and your family.
As we proceed after the election, I am grateful that we have missionaries working marvelously    They are preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They are teaching about the miracle of the atonement.  They are teaching the commandments, self reliance, the importance of marriage, life, morality, fathers and mothers.  They are teaching about saving for a rainy day.  They are teaching about our living day prophet.  They are teaching people to obey the laws of the land.   I also pray for them and their families.
The proceeding two paragraphs correlate for me.  I believe that whatever flaws a man has, the Savior and his teachings can make up the difference.  He is the way, the light, the truth.  If we follow him, it will be down a path of everlasting happiness.
We live in a great time where we can share our thoughts feelings and beliefs through many forms of media.  My thoughts are those of love and peace.  My feelings are of hope in Jesus Christs enduring love.  My belief is that he wants me to share his message of hope and love with each of you.
I encourage you all to pray for our country.  I encourage you to seek out the same hope and love for yourselves.  If you are looking for a place to find the hope for the future that I have, I encourage you to go to mormon.org/chat.   There are missionaries on the site ready to answer your questions, pray for you, and share their testimonies of Christ, his love, and his atoning sacrifice.
Or if you would prefer, you can ask me.  Just leave a comment and your email address in my box.
With love,
jo

{this moment}

. . . . . . . . . . 

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

. . . . . . . . . . 

I hope they call me on a mission: Day 1

Well I am a homeschooling momma.  I figured when I moved to MT, I would just put the kids back in school.  However, I guess that was not the right path- as much as I hoped the spirit would say-YES these schools are exactly where your kids need to be.  It didn't happen that way.

I am not sure if you all know or not, but I am a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints.  That title is a mouth full, though when broken down, it means a lot.  It means Christ restored church on the earth, in these last days before the time when the Savior comes again.  We are also commonly referred to as Mormons.  

I am telling you this today, because it is a precursor to some very exciting news that the prophet of our church told us during a worldwide meeting we had last weekend.   http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/church-lowers-age-requirement-for-missionary-service  Male missionaries will leave from home to serve full time missions at the age of 18 now.  That is a huge deal!  My boys (I have 4) have always planned on leaving for their missions at age 19.  But, now they get to go a whole year sooner.  Females (I have 1) will also get to serve full time missions at the age of 19, instead of 21.

This got my mind thinking about how I can train my little missionaries while I home school. I decided to study a manual that our church publishes titled "Teaching, no greater call" http://www.lds.org/manual/teaching-no-greater-call-a-resource-guide-for-gospel-teaching?lang=eng

Today we had our first lesson.  We used the scripture about hiding your light under a bushel.  It can be found in Matthew Chapter 5 and in 3 Nephi chapter 12.  I asked the kids what they thought it meant to let our lights shine.  They came up with all sorts of answers that let me know that they weren't really sure.  So we sang some songs and  then I lit a candle.  I showed them how bright it was, and let them feel the warmth.  Then I covered it.  The light of course went out.  That really got their juices flowing.  They understood that when we share our light, we can "light someone else's candle" and when we cover it or don't use it, it goes out.  Then they understood that our light comes from our testimony of the savior.

 This turned in to a mini-sub science lesson, about what a fire needs to burn.  (fuel, oxygen, heat, and a chemical reaction)  This mini lesson got the kids looking for what those things might represent in the spiritual sense.
 fuel is scripture study
Oxygen is sharing your testimony
heat is the light of Christ
chemical reaction is the change of heart

               

After the lesson the kids decided to practice being missionaries.  They knocked on my door.  When I invited them in, they bore their testimonies of the Savior, his atonement, and the happiness that the gospel brings.  

Day one success!