Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Hello Family,
We hope the sun is shining on your side of the world. It has been shining here.
Derek is now completely done with the Bar Exam. He worked hard in school and in studying for the exam. We now wait for April to find out the results. All our prayers are that come April Derek will be able to hang up his shingle as an attorney.
This week we made friends with a few more families of the homeschool community here. We went to the bi-monthly homeschool swim at the Marshall White pool. It actually brought back memories homeschooling in Layton and Hooper when we used to go to the Marshall White pool. I remember one time after we had just moved here Hunter (then about 6) walked right up to the pool and jumped in. The lifeguard swam to save him and wanted me to sign a report she wrote up. I refused to sign it telling her that Hunter was an excellent swimmer – he had learned to since our home on in Glendale, Arizona had a pool.
Most of my old homeschool
friends have moved: Darcy Nalder is back
in Canada; Andrea Percival is up by Logan. But Melinda recognized
me and I had a very fun time getting acquainted with the women who were
homeschooling and had brought their children to socialize at the pool.
We have really been
trying to not shop at stores that are open on Sunday since we have moved
back. I don’t think there was actually
an option for a grocery store that was not open on Sunday in Little Rock. The only three options I knew about were
Walmart, Kroger and Whole Foods all of which are open on Sunday. But here in Utah there are options. You do pay a little more for most things. But I need the blessings that keeping the
Sabbath Day brings. I need the Lord to
bless us financially and otherwise. I
need my children to be safe. So I know
that I need to up my level of commitment to keeping the ten commandments and do
a better job at keeping the Sabbath day holy.
If you haven’t noticed I
am much better disciplined at taking things out of my life – not doing
something – then adding things into my life – doing something. It’s much easier for me to not eat sweets
than to remember to drink my water.
Anyway back to not
supporting businesses that do not observe the Sabbath. We were doing our regular scripture study as
a family and read 2 Nephi 15:22 - 23 where it says “Wo unto the mighty…who
justify the wicked for reward.” And we
stopped and talked about the questions “How do people justify the wicked for
reward.” We talked about how the judges
might take bribes and let the wicked go free
And then we talked about
how when we shop Monday – Saturday at places that are also open on Sunday our
money goes to support businesses that are breaking the Sabbath. And the reason we are doing this is because
we are trying to save a little money (trying to reward ourselves with more
money at the end of the month.) So the
children all agreed that we need to really try our best to never shop at a
store that is open on Sunday.
We are lucky. We have Bowman’s nearby that is not open on
Sunday. Wal-mart (which we won’t be
shopping at any more) is 5 minutes or 2.2 miles away. Bowman’s is 8 minutes or 3.5 miles away. Funny how it seemed so much further away
before I actually mapquested the difference in distance.
The two biggest things we
were having a problem with price-wise was finding a place that was not open on
Sunday that would give us a good price on honey and organic milk. And on the way home on Thursday I found a
small grocery store called Saccos that is not open on Sunday that has a great
deal on local raw honey – not cheaper than Sams (which we are not shopping at
either because it is open on Sunday).but it is local honey and raw honey. Oh well – perhaps obeying the commandments
always requires sacrifice in more ways than one.
Still from everything I
know of God you can’t not put the Lord in your debt. If you keep a commandment He will immediately
bless you. So I expect blessings for
trying to keep the Sabbath a little better.
I hope I don’t sound mercenary. I
don’t mean to be that way. I just know
that for every blessing there is a law that predicates it. And I’m hoping to find those laws to get some
blessings.
I posted the question
where to buy gas at a station that is not open on Sunday to the Davis County Homeschool group. And they quickly replied with a station that
is not far from us in Kaysville. So that
is where we will be filling up. I love how I can turn to the homeschool community for so many of my questions - and how someone there always seems to be thinking along the same lines.
Did you know that 100
independent dairies have closed in Utah in the last 20 years. Something is wrong with that. There should be more dairies not less as
there are more people not less. I came
across an article on the Deseret News.
One of the local dairy men were saying that if we lose all our independent
dairies the price of milk and milk products will go up. You can see that happening already. Blessings to anyone who doesn’t buy from
Wal-mart and Sams and supports some local business instead. I have seen how high prices go in Arkansas
when there is no competition.
Try typing the word god in the middle of a sentence. Notice how spell check does not mark it as wrong? What is up with that. You can type wal-mart and spell check will tell you that you need to capitalize it. Colt pointed that one out to me. Conspiracy? There is a quote that says “I will call tripe whenever I am served tripe.” I think I like calling conspiracy. When I say conspiracy I simply mean that someone planned it that way – it did not just happen by accident and that someone probably has an agenda that I wouldn’t agree with.
I had a fun time meeting with some homeschool moms and discussing curriculum. I picked up some names of some programs that I would like to try. Apologia Science. Wish we all had the money to buy and try what we wanted.
The Standard Examiner reported today that census numbers show that children across the nation being cared for by their grandparents went from 42,000 in 2000 to 83,000 in 2010. Experts site drug addiction of parents as the primary reason for the grandparents taking over that role.
The article goes on to say that “All research indicates that children are better served when placed in the home of a relative than going to a stranger’s home in foster care.” If that is so then why does the government only fund foster care. Why will they not help grandparents out with funds?
Sometimes I have to wonder why people do things. For example, why would my mom’s doctor suggest Gatorade for her diarrhea? Now I understand that a person would want to have a good balance of electrolytes and diarrhea can unbalance them. There is a study of the ingredients of Gatorade below our signatures.
If you are trying to have a drink with electrolytes in it try adding some drops of Endure by trace minerals to your water . No sugars, no artificial dyes, just the minerals that you need!
I love life and all it throws at me to sort through. I love being able to see the good from the bad. I even love learning that I have been wrong in the past and now need to change my life to something better. Life is a constant tweaking to stay longer on the more perfect path.
Wesley has discovered hide and seek. He will tell us where he is hiding and will then want us to act surprised when we find him.
This week for our homeschool documentaries we watched Farmagedden about the persecution of small farms around the nation. And we watched A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Moon about a belief that there is no way we landed on the moon in 1969. Thinking about it, if we landed on the moon in 1969, why haven’t we been able to duplicate it any time in my memory – any time in the last 30 years? It raises some red flags.
That’s about all here.
We love you and pray the best for you
Derek & Suzanne & family
Let's look at the ingredients of Gatorade rain berry flavor.
1.
Water – good
2.
Sucrose – not good for
diabetics
3.
Dextrose – corn sugar – not good for diabetics
4.
Natural flavor – what natural
flavors they say by the nutrition facts that there is no fruit juice – I wish
the USA had laws that you had to label everything like Europe
Citric acid
– Citric Acid In
Industry
There
are several ways to generate citric acid outside of a biological system. One of
the simplest is to extract it from citrus fruits, such as oranges. However,
this is impractical on a very large scale, and as citric acid is a major
ingredient in foods and beauty products, large quantities are necessary.
Instead, modern citric acid production occurs through using a species of
fungus, which converts sugar into citric acid, explain Drs. W. Lotfy and
colleagues in a 2007 article in "Bioresource Technology."Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/477815-how-is-citric-acid-made-where-does-it-come-from/#ixzz2MENLl6hR
5.
6.
Salt – goodq\] =
7.
Monopotassium phosphate,
8.
phosphoric acid
Red 40
- Red 40 is a commonly used food coloring
dye added to a variety of products. While it may make food esthetically
pleasing in appearance, it can cause a negative reaction in those who consume
it.
Children are most often the ones who
have sensitivity to red 40, whether or not their parents have realized it or
not. Reactions include temper tantrums, hyperactivity, aggressive behavior,
uncontrollable crying and screaming, kicking, nervousness, dizziness, inability
to concentrate and sit still among other findings. Physically you may get
frequent headaches or migraines, upset stomach and feel ill after ingesting
this additive. Often when Red 40 is eliminated from the child's diet a
remarkable change is noticed immediately.
Red 40 is used in many food products
including kool-aid, orange and other flavored sodas, cheetos and dorito chips,
strawberry pop-tarts, any candy with red coloring to it including m&m's,
skittles, many chewing gums, etc. Also many children's vitamins and pain
relievers/cold medicine have red 40 in the ingredients.
When red 40 was first approved by the
FDA as a food coloring additive there was some controversy as to whether or not
it caused tumors and cancer. Those claims have been proven to be false but now
many parents, Doctors and Teachers are becoming aware of other concerns
regarding intake of red 40, especially in young children.
Many times consumable products include
both high amounts of sugar as well as red #40 so it can be hard to determine if
the child's behavior or reaction is because of the sugar or because of the food
dye. Both can cause similar results but it is clear that red 40 can be a
culprit on it's own as similar results occur when sugar is not present.
Children who have been diagnosed with ADHD (Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) generally have significant improvements of
their behavior and ability to concentrate when artificial additives such as red
food dye is removed from their diet. Red 40 can also affect adults; it is a
common trigger for migraines. It can also cause an upset stomach and make you
feel uncomfortable and jittery.
Of course not all bad behavior and ADHD
are a result of food dyes but it can most definitely be a contributing factor
and is one worth looking into. Red 40 is not an essential part of our diet,
it's quite the opposite. Red #3 and Red #40 are the two food coloring additives
approved for use in food (by the FDA) yet if they were sprayed on weeds they
would work as a pesticide. Many parents have had success in eliminating red 40
from their child's diet, the results have been favorable.
It's hard to get away from this food
dye completely as it's in a large number of products. Always read the
ingredient label and anytime you see the word "red" be cautious.
Often those sensitive to red food dyes also have reactions to yellow. Inform
your child's school and teacher, daycare and babysitters so they are aware of a
possible reaction. So much of convenience and junk food geared towards children
contains harmful additives and dyes. Educate your children about what they
should look for, so they know red 40 is not something they should consume.
9.