Las Vegas and The 2nd Amendment

Our vacation started with a visit to Las Vegas where Brent's sister Julie and her family live. We arrived Thursday afternoon and stayed until Sunday morning.

The children had a wonderful time playing on the playset in the backyard, at the park, making up plays, watching movies late at night at their "sleepovers."
Uncle Julian was there as well. Friday and Saturday brought Brent, Jesse, and Julian together for an (I'll call it) "educational experience."
The "Educational Experience"

They attended 24 hours worth of classes on gun safety and handling at a place called Frontsite. When Brent first showed me the introductory video I cringed inside. It seemed like a violent video game (which we are completely opposed to). When I learned the philosophy behind the training, however I was convinced not that it was just a good idea, but it was critical for Brent.

Julian bought a membership to Frontsite which allowed Brent and Jesse to tag along free of charge (it is usually quite an investment). If someone would have told me Brent would be attending a class like this 3 years ago I would have laughed. In fact, both of us were uncomfortable with weapons. Neither of us grew up in a home with them. I would describe my personal beliefs as anti-guns, especially in the home. If there is anything I have learned, or rather the theme of my life should be, "People Change."
The Constitution and Founding Fathers

The last couple years Brent and I have felt guided to become better students of the Constitution and the principles upon which our nation was founded. One thing the Founding Fathers were passionate about was the right to bear arms. In their opinion, it was a crucial element of maintaining an honest government and land of liberty for all citizens. As our love and devotion for the Constitution has grown, we decided we needed to exercise our right as Americans to bear arms.


Guns in the Home

We now have guns in our home. First, to support the Second Amendment. Second, as a source of self-defense in the event of calamitous circumstances. We do not hunt (although if we had no food left I wouldn't be opposed). We are not trying to protect ourselves from a random intruder. Our guns are stored in locked cases, in a locked secret compartment, in a locked concealed room. They aren't readily accessible, is what I am trying to say.

Am I 100% comfortable with guns in the house? Yes. If my husband is home in the event we need to use them, which I pray we never will. I am not comfortable using them myself. I don't even like to really hold them or look at them. This is dangerous on my part, and something I will need to work on in the future. Right now I am just banking on having my husband around. I will stick with the tazors and pepper spray.

Do my children have any possible access to the guns or know where they are? No. Do they know we have them? Yes. They also understand why we choose to have them in the home.

In my Husbands Words...

Here is an excerpt from an email discussion between Brent and his cousin on owning weapons, war etc. It is worthwhile read if you have a moment.

I believe that the 2nd amendment, peaceful resolutions, non- violence, non sport hunting and defensive wars can all be in harmony with each other. The sacred nature of owning weapons for self defense has been lost in many cases, but if revived, can be the link to correct thinking regarding weapon ownership and the distinction of responsible defensive wars and immoral aggressive wars.

I am not a supporter of the war in Iraq, Iran, Afganistan or anywhere else where life is being lost, unless some country invades the USA and we need to defend ourselves on our own land, war is not the answer. (I don't shoot with friends on weekends, only at ranges to keep my skills every year or so.) I am a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment, and equally if not more vigilant in my support of defensive wars only (no aggressive wars).

[I hope to] persuade, or at least set the example, for fellow Utahans, conservatives/republicans/ tactical training buffs and anyone else within my sphere of influence of the correct meaning of the 2nd Amendment, the Constitution and their possible ill-directed support of war.

Most people fall right or left, red or blue, MCain or Obama, etc... I don't... I fall with principles (at least I try). I feel it is a lack of education and or too much zeal without correct insight and pride that leads people to these bulwark/immovable left/right only stances. The founders were not war aggressors..they wanted to trade and be friendly with all and war with none, stay out of other countries affairs have a moral nation secured with God given rights and let people make choices.

Weapons and war are a two edged sword, we should only use the defensive edge, it takes moral restraint, much like law makers in regards to enacting laws. Laws are also a double edged sword, there's a side that is constitutional, and liberty loving and a side that is tyrannical and big government. My hope is that I can wake my peers up to the proper perspectives on these issues and change mine if they are not correct...

I agree 100% with...proper training...[which can be expensive.] Certainly some have more money than others. This is not my argument. My argument comes because I believe (my own statistics ...real scientific here) many Americans are lazy and indolent. Much time, money and effort is spent on shopping, attending movies, listening to music, partying, porn, watching TV, etc. There is no desire (or very little) to do something of value, learn the constitution, serve others or to try constantly improve. This is why you [Justin] are such a hero. You serve others and seek to always do so in your charity work.

...Justin started an amazing NonProfit called These Numbers Have Faces. (TNHF) It is an excellent charity which has our full support. Please investigate if you are looking for worthwhile places to invest. And you can count on all the money going to the absolute right places and people. No fluff. TNHF is not about making people dependent on him or his organization. Instead it is about empowerment and education...

Not that leisure is bad or unnecessary but the constant leisure (I see in Utah anyway) and desire to be entertained 24/7 doesn't inspire people to do things of value very often. We live in a very decadent society. My concealed weapon permit course, offered in every state that has gun laws (yes I have a concealed permit, no I do not carry a weapon on me but I felt it was my duty to obtain this. If I support the 2nd amend. I better understand what and why I support it) cost $75 and all other knowledge and training has been obtained for free on the internet or seeking out others with experience that could mentor me.

My point is...these things are available at an affordable cost but the noise of society ensnares people to seek only after self-gratification. IE..I was never a gun lover (I'm still not..I'm just not a gun hater unless you are using it to attack people) but I forced myself to be educated on the issue because I felt it my duty as a supporter of the Constitution.

Regarding assault rifles..It's difficult for me to separate different models of guns from each other, after all they are all designed, big or small with the same objective, to kill.

....My definition of a God given rights fall under three categories life, liberty, and property. So if we agree on what a right is I would say emphatically, we must exercise our rights in order to become what God wants us to become. In respect to guns, the right would be to defend our God given rights of life, liberty and property. As a father and leader of my home I believe it is my responsibility to be prepared to defend (no aggression) my family in the case of eminent danger IE social unrest due to biblical proportion calamity. So in answer to your question I would say Yes..we should exercise our rights.

Regarding Mormons, In general your statement would be close. The Mormon religion teaches people to be prepared; get out of debt; store some food, money, etc for a rainy day. Some take this more seriously than others. Many don't do anything. These things are common sense to me and I have a much stricter adherence to these principles than most...

I couldn't agree more with the good Archbishop...we will learn this during the Second Coming when the .."wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them."

Conclusions

While this wasn't Brent's first choice on how to spend 2 days of his life, it was an important way. To handle a weapon designed to kill is a solemn and sacred responsibility. Both he and I agree, whomever is doing the handling must be skilled and comfortable in the operation. So here we stand today.

72 Hour Kits for Young Families: Packing for Children

In my opinion, some of the best things you can pack for children are the exceedingly comforting and novel.

Activities and Toys: Coloring books, crayons, stuffed animal, hair ribbons and rubber bands, and books. The play dough is novel and illegal at all times in our house. So this is huge treat. Callista kept trying to sneak off with it all day as I had the kits out.

Clothing: I pack 3 sets of clothing. Clothing that can be slept in or worn. I have a pair of heavy sweats for each child, light weight thermals, and an athletic outfit. Everything is about 2 sizes too big. Plenty of room to grow but easy to roll.

I also include a pair of sturdy shoes. I try desperately to stay away from "light-ups" on a regular basis but think they are brilliant for the kits.

I pack 9 diapers and a whole pack of wipees. The girls have 3 changes of underwear and socks and toothbrushes.

Protection: Each child has a whistle on a string, small flashlight, glowstick, rain poncho, security blanket, and 6 hand warmers. We also have 1 mini foghorn. (When I was teaching school one of my students gave me one of these. Sometimes I really felt like giving it a nice long blow!)

They also have a copy of their passports and birth certificates in their bag.

Did I forget anything?

We carry the medical equipment, cash, and other documents in Brent and I's bags. I will post about those later.

72 Hour Kits for Young Families: What Food to Pack

Here are the Finished Products...Stay posted over the Next Week to Learn About Everything Inside!!

Every 6-12 months or so I try to refresh the food in our 72 hour kits. My purpose in this post is to inspire you to put together 72 hour kits for your family, if you haven't done so yet. Especially if you have little children. Think of your children little faces, hungry and tear-stained, cold and wet. When we become parents we make a solemn commitment to protect and care for these little ones. Moms must be prepared for all circumstances.

It takes effort and a financial investment but it is ridiculous to not make this a priority. We built ours up over the course of several years to meet our needs. This is part one of three. First we'll talk food. Here is what we've got.

Preparing Food for 72 Hour Kits
It is important to remember to include things your family is accustomed to eating. And also some comfort foods for your children. For mine, it is their vitamins, pretzels and fruit leather.

While we don't eat prepared food usually, I have found from experience, the preservatives are helpful in this situation. My homemade energy bars were rock hard in just a couple months. The store bought versions last infinitely longer.

3 Days worth of food for everyone. Organized by meals/days/family member.
Day1
Breakfast: 3/4 c raw oatmeal, 2 xylitol packets, 1 box raisens, vitamins**
Lunch: Beef Jerky, 2 fruit leather, pretzels
Dinner:Tuna kit, Annies crackers, hot chocolate mix (xylitol, powdered milk, and cocoa powder), 1 box cranberries

Day 2
Breakfast:Energy trail mix, 1 box Juicy Juice, vitamins
Lunch: 2 cliff z bars, trail mix
Dinner: Soup in flip top cans, Annie's crackers, 2 fruit leather

Day 3
Breakfast:Vegan Granola Bars, 1 box raisens,
Lunch: beef jerkey, trail mix, pretzels
Dinner:Tuna kit, Annies crackers, 2 fruit leather

We also have lots of bubble and chewing gum.

That is the jist of the menu. The children each have 2 water bottles per day. Brent and I have 3 per day. We also have 2 filtering water bottles.

For heating water we have an Alco-Bright stove. A great indoor/outdoor survival stove with 10,000 BTU of heat.

**My kids day would not be complete without their daily fix of gummy vitamins. One multi, one omega, and one calcium. It is their little indulgence for the day. They roll out of bed and start asking for them.

The idea is to include nutrient dense food which is simple to prepare and lasts a long time. We also have 3 days worth of MRE food bars, 1200 calories a piece. If we got really hungry these would be helpful, or in the case of needing to help others or a longer duration without access to food.

The food cost me about $80 shopping at both Target and Costco. I had a bunch left over, which I bagged and put in each of our cars. I buy organic, premium foods. You can do it for less if you sacrifice quality. I don't recommend it. How could I ever reccommend high fructose corn syrup and msg?

And PLEASE!!! if you have better ideas, let me know. I can be dense. But I am like a sponge too. I love to soak up new information.

A Will and a Trust

The next several months Brent and I have the opportunity for some unique time alone. In April, we are headed to the East Coast for 5 days, in celebration of our 10 year anniversary.

June will find us lounging on the beaches of Hawaii with Ellery and the rest of Brent's family. In honor of my mother-in-laws 60th birthday.

I approach these trips with excitement and anticipation. Unfortunately there is a dark side to all of this. Our plane could run into a flock of seagulls and not have as heroic of a pilot, or a random piece of space junk from exploding satellites could fall out of orbit and into our plane.

I think we are avoiding the Bermuda triangle, but there are some odd people in NYC and some really tall towers. Who knows.

With this in mind we are revisiting our wills and setting up a trust. Previously, we had used an online site to help us build our wills. This worked decent, except we received them and never got around to notarizing them for the entire year. In light of that we decided to work with a flesh and blood lawyer. Really, sometimes it is just nice to have a warm body to fire questions at. Also we decided to set up a trust, which we currently do not have.

We don't have the final costs yet but it will be between $300-400. A small price for peace of mind.

A trust allows us more flexibility and the ability to bequeath our estate to our children under 18 years of age. If we had only a will a probate court would be making the decisions. This could take years, and we can only hope for the best. Not good enough.

Who will replace me?

It is hard to think of who will replace me as a mother. Who will replace Brent as a father. Thankfully I have an incredible older sister. A sister who despite her own five children running around, always finds time to hold my babies. And when she holds them it isn't void of feeling, instead it is with love and affection. A brother-in-law who is a spiritual leader, a provider, frugal and honest. My blessings are measured in the bushels and not stalks!

My good sister never batted an eye when I asked her if she would take my children. In fact, in a hopefully non prescient fashion, she told me she was prepared for the call. Just that morning she was thinking of my children, and to offer herself as a guardian. Do you think I should stay home...my goodness!

I even inserted a line that I want a portion of my trust to be allocated to house cleaning, laundry and cooking help for my childrens' guardians. It is a lot of work to try and raise all those children. No one will have to feel guilty for taking money out so a mother can be a mother! Not that I want my children to be pampered...on the contrary I want them to work and cook. But it is important to me some of the burden be lifted of the mundane tasks.

Part of self-reliance is having our affairs in order. This is just one more step. We seek not to be a burden on anyone, in life or death. So if the inopportune stray space trash happens upon us, our children will be cared for.

We've all Taken to the Army Crawl!

Imagine billowing smoke, flames leaping out in all directions. These girls would be prepared! (Although as I sit here and write this and look at Ellery's jammies, somehow they don't strike me as very flame resistant.)
With Emmett as our inspiration, tonight we taught the girls the finer aspects of fire safety. They proved to be professional "army crawlers." Apparently they have been paying fastidious attention to their little brother for the past FIVE MONTHS of commando crawling. Aren't they supposed to grow out of that?

I loved the opportune timing of our power flickering on and off as we had this family lesson on what to do in emergencies tonight. Brent and I have been taking a Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) course for the past 2 months. It has been marginal. In fact, the last meeting I went to I got the eerie feeling it was enabling some rather odd power hungry citizens. It almost felt like a citizen army was being raised as people talked about commandeering vehicles and creating day cares for children so their parents could go rescue. My text to Brent during this

"We need our own shelter ."

Preferably one the crazy vigilante CERT teams don't know about! I applaud preparedness. Brent and I are probably even a bit obsessive about being prepared. But even a little power can sometimes corrupt people. Such was my premonition in CERT class.