archeological finds and my musings

It was in the news yesterday that metal or lead books containing images about Jesus and his crucifixion had been found in a cave in Jordan. Now, I know there have been hoaxes before, but the images seem pretty legit. Only time with tell, but they have me thinking... I had no idea that any culture had used metal to inscribe books on. Now, it makes sense, as paper and papyrus would eventually fall apart and the records would be lost. However, the first metal books I'd ever heard of were the ones the were supposedly found in New York state by Joseph Smith. In one of the articles I was reading about this newest discovery had a line that has me really thinking. "Other texts from the period tell of sealed books of wisdom and of a secret tradition passed on by Jesus to his closest disciples." (Dr Margaret Becker, former president of the Society for Old Testament Study) What was this tradition? Could it be communion? Well, sure, except that tradition was passed on from Passover and its clear that 1st century churches practiced it at every fellowship. What if this tradition of passing on information and history on these plates was the secret passed on? What if Jesus had asked his faithful to continue this history, knowing that proof would be needed later that this practice happened? One of the main, early arguments of the Book of Mormon was that no one had ever heard of books being written on metal plates, let alone gold plates. We now know that these books did exist. How could an uneducated farmer make that up, and it be true? Its a fanciful story, until there's evidence that the things written inside happened. We know that books were written on metal, human sacrifice happened on this soil (see Cahokia Mounds info from Illinois), a society just died out for no reason, their technology was far beyond what had ever been thought of by the people on this soil, trade routes came from India to California's coast before 1000 BC, etc etc. So many of these things are talked about in the Book of Mormon. Its starting to seem more and more plausible, huh? I'm not saying, nor will I ever say, that the LDS church is not a cult. Any group that raises a man to the same level as God or Christ is a cult. We are not, nor will we ever be, as High or Holy as they are. Joseph Smith was a fallen man, a sinner. He is not a God. He could have been a tool used by God, though. Well, just something to think about. I'm off to fix supper and pack Willow's clothes. She's off to Grandpa and Grandma's for the week! She's excited and just can't wait :-D

hi, its me again

2am...why in the world am I still up??? Oh well :-D

Not really much going on around here. The weather needs to change very soon, so I can spend some time outside. I'm ready to get the yard cleaned up and get my garden ready. There is something about planting such small seeds, watching them grow then harvesting them that is just so much fun. This year's task? Learning to can. I wanted my grandma to teach me, but time got away from us before she went Home to the Lord. So, I will take what I learned by watching her and try to figure it out with books and the internet.

I've been studying and discussing with DH about Passover. It looks like we may skip out of the egg hunt and go with the Biblical feast. It will be fun to teach my family about the Exodus, and all of the symbolism in the Seder showing the way to Jesus. Maybe we will do an egg hunt just for the fun of it later, though! Who says it has to be to celebrate anything? Kids love to treasure hunt :-D

I'm preparing to change my diet. I weigh as much now as I did 9 months pregnant. I have to get this weight off. I'm so tired of looking in the mirror and being disgusted, then turning around and eating junk! Such a terrible cycle. So, we're going to purge the house this week, get rid of all of the junk food, and get ready to fill the house with the foods we should all be eating. We are all over weight, and we need to be healthier people. Our kids look great, I look like bloated road kill (how's that for imagery).

If I'm going to be holy, I must be holy in and out. I must take care of my home and family, as well as this Temple that God has given me. I have a high calling to be a mighty woman of God, and that means all of me. I must lay everything down, die to myself, and be raised in a newness and fulness of Christ. I must decrease, so He may increase!

I lay on my bed as I type tonight. I'm listening to my very hyper daughters play on the Wii, Rich plays on his computer, and everyone else is in their room. Its been a long week around here. William is sick with an upper respiratory problem, Thomas is teething, Tori has had an up and down week, and the stay at home moms are worn out!!! Brandy has been working a ton of split shifts at work, which have been keeping her busy and out of the house. Rich has now worked 2 days in a row, and seems to be loving it! So, I guess life is returning to normal around here. Its kinda nice :-D

Homeschooling has presented a few more challenges than I was prepared for, but isn't that just motherhood? I am hoping to start incorporating activities for Willow and Cameron soon. At Willow's age, I already knew my ABC's. I'm embarrassed to admit that she doesn't know hers. I need to get her caught back up.

Not much more going on. Still waiting to hear from the production company when we are going to air. We should know something very soon. Keep checking back!

So sorry I've gotten so far behind on keeping this blog up. Life in the Austin household is crazy sometimes. We filmed both weddings for TV, survived that nightmare almost unscathed. We are now waiting for the final cut to be approved for network to find out if it is even going to air. Just crazy stuff!!! During filming, we had 5 extra people staying in our home on top of the production crew in and out. Needless to say, I was sad when everyone had to go, but was ready for normalcy to return.

Tonight, I'm the last one up. Normally, I'm accompanied by Willow, who has decided that she wants to stay up until 2 AM. Yeah, I know, I should wake her up early and make her stay awake until bedtime and get her reset. Problem with that? Well, I'm homeschooling Tori all day, have 4 other kids here most of the day (Cameron is in school for 2 hours in the morning), a sister-wife that is depressed and a husband that desperately needs to get back to work before he looses all sanity. So, sorry, but I DON'T want to deal with a screaming and whiny child all day. I can deal with the lack of sleep. That is why God invented caffeine.

We pulled Tori out of public school in December. She was failing most of her classes due to lack of focus or drive. We have worked out a system with her, that seems to be doing her quite well. I plan enough work for her to do in 5 days. Each day, she is given a file folder with her daily assignments in them. These are accompanied by computer work and reading. She has the chance to get all of her work done by Thursday. I administer a weekly test on Friday morning, covering all that she has learned throughout the week, and the important information from the prior weeks. If she passes her test with a 60% or below, we have school all weekend. If she gets a 70-80%, she has school Friday and Saturday. 80-90%, we have a full day of classes on Friday. If Tori is able to pass her test with a 90% or above, she is free for the weekend. Guess what...I have yet to actually teach on a weekend. Now, mind you, we are still covering stuff she SHOULD have learned 1st semester, but at least she's learning it now. We are going to be having school all summer, but I'm hoping to have her at the same level as her classmates by September. In some classes, that's almost a 2 year jump! She is a smart little girl, we just had to find the best way to reach her.

I know I have a few poly wives out there that read my mindless ramblings. I have a question for you ladies. Do you ever feel like just giving up? I'm in a mood tonight, and I'm just tired of dealing with the drama that comes from living with all of these women! I know, the man should feel that way. The problem is, most of the time, I feel like the responsibilities of this house and everyone in it fall on my shoulders. I'm worn out! I need a "me" day.

I really need a Mommy and Willow day. We haven't had one of those in a long time. When I was working, I would make my payday "Mommy and Willow" time. I'd take her to McDonald's for supper and play with her, and maybe even go buy a new toy. I miss having that time and money to do special things with her. I can't just go take her to the park right now, as we have too much snow on the ground and its really cold still. But, laying in bed before she fell asleep, she grabbed me in a big hug and told me I'm the best mommy in the world. I cried. I felt so special at that moment. All the diapers, the pee-pee accidents, the sleepless nights, the ER runs, the colic, all just melted away in that moment. Now I remember why I wanted to become a mom. She's such a sweet little girl! I have truly been blessed.

Well, its midnight, and I have a full day of class tomorrow. Brandy is working a split shift, so she will be gone all day. I'm hoping that I can slip out early tomorrow and get away. Just don't want anyone upset with me if I do. But, I have to take care of me, too.

Until next time...blessings!

January 22, 2011

Well, the big day is here. We've made some changes. Brandy is no longer getting married on the 15th of January. Instead, I'm sealing myself to Rich on the 22nd. Yes, this is for TV. I love my family, and I want to show the world that just because we live this way doesn't mean we're scary people, or a cult. I'm really excited! I'm getting married again!!! I ordered my dress today. Its just a simple dress, but its so pretty. Now, its just a matter of planning the little stuff. If I know you personally, please send me an email and let me know if you are interested in coming! I'm going to do some email invites and some phone calls, but I dont want to offend anyone by asking. Soo, if you dont get an invite, but want to come...PLEASE let me know!!! Its not rude at all! I have so much to do, I know I'll forget people...

frustrations abound...

As I sit down to write this, Brandy is at work, Rich is sleeping, Ange is in bed with Cameron and Will. Willow and Thomas are in the playroom and Victoria is at school. It has been a tough week in this house. It all started with a conversation about our family having a reality show. Its just in talking stages, so nothing is decided yet. BUT, Ange flipped out. She was crying and saying how she doesn't want her whole life being shown on TV for the world to see. Rich got on her because it would be a great way for the family to have an extra income, on top of showing the world what a normal Poly family looks like. The Brown Family on TLC's Sister Wives have been together a long time, and have seperate housing setups. We are 9 people living in a 4 bedroom home. We have a minivan and a 4 door car. We live on 36,000 a year. We are an average family, except for the polygamy part.
To add to the drama, it appears it was the week to air dirty laundry in the house. We've had a lot of fights this week, mainly over time and money. Rich sleeps in my room during the day, as its in the back corner of the upstairs. Its quiet and dark. If it were Ange's room or Brandy's room, he'd still sleep in it. Ange gets upset because he spends so much time "with Julie". No, he sleeps in my room. I don't spend any more time with him in my room than anyone else does in their rooms. Yes, I admit, he and I run to the store together more often than anyone else. Rich and I are a lot alike, and sometimes he just needs to talk to someone. I happen to be that person because I don't bitch about everything and everyone all of the time. (Minus on here, because this is how I vent...)
Now, it feels like Ange doesn't want me here. She's always comparing herself to me, and feels like she can't do anything right. That's not true! Now, this house is a mess right now. She's having a hard time keeping up with 5 kids, a husband and the housework. Who wouldn't???

That being said, I am embarrassed to even think about this house being on television! It is chaotic and can look disastrous! I don't know how in the world we can get this thing ready!!! UGH i'm so stressed...

im back

So sorry for the delay in writing. Life can get very busy when you are a mom and working! But, since I'm home sick today, I figured I could get on and update about what's been going on.

First, I'm now working at Buy Buy Baby. Its a GREAT store. If youve ever been to Bed Bath and Beyond, imagine that store with baby stuff. That's it! My co workers are awesome and its a really positive work place. Love it!

B has been working as a crossing guard for an hour in the mornings, and an hour in the afternoons. Everyday I get to hear about how she was almost killed by a speeding car, or how the kids were so impatient and didn't want to wait for her to put the sign out. Oh, my personal favorite is how tired she is everyday! Seriously??? You work 2 hours. How tired can you be? Rich is working 12-14, I work 6-8. So don't want to hear it!

Ann has had her hands full with the kids. Cameron is severely delayed. We will be taking him to Children's hospital this winter for an evaluation. He is terribly uncoordinated, and has only a few words in his vocabulary. Willow has enough energy to keep a small city running for 10 years. My child is a blessing, but I never knew how much energy a child could have! Love it!!! Thomas and William are babies. They still don't sleep all the way through the night. Each of them is up at some point for a bottle. B swears that Thomas keeps her up for hours every night, but I have a hard time believing that. When I've watched him at night, he stirs a lot, but doesn't wake up.

The house is a little cleaner than before, but we still have a LOT of work to do. Mounds of stuff seem to collect in this house, and no one puts it away until Rich hollers about it. Normally, he hollers because i'm complaining to him. I just dont understand how a house can be dirty all of the time when there are two women here almost all day. Actually, I do understand. It's called laziness. If they would just spend a few minutes everyday on each room, and pick up as messes are made, then the house would never look like an atom bomb just detonated. Now, I'm not the strictest person when it comes to a clean house, but when there are babies crawling and this many people in and out, its nice to come home to a clean house. But, alas, that has been too much to ask.

Apparently, Rich was sent information about having our family on tv for a wedding. It was my assumption that it would be mine, as I'm the newest wife. Well, since B hasn't had her wedding, she thought it would be hers. Now, for as long as I know. B has said that she wanted to wait until she was out of college to have her wedding. She didn't want to do it, for whatever reason, while she was still in school. BUT, now that the opportunity has come up for her wedding to be nationally syndicated, she's all ready to jump at the chance. OMG her immaturity just grates on my nerves. Well, anyway, through his conversations with the producers, it sounds like they may be interested in more than just a brief story. We shall see where that leads us. I can't imagine this family or this house on TV. People love drama, and we have plenty of it!!!

Willow is at Grandma and Grandpa's for a week. I really miss her. I've never had her away from me for more than 2 nights. The house feels empty without her. I guess I pick her up Sunday evening. Then, Monday, we have a family friend flying in for a few days. I'm so excited to see her, but have a LOT of work to do around the house before she gets here. Guess I wont be sleeping much this week.

I'll try to get better about updating on here. Can't wait to share more about my crazy, wonderful life. Blessings!!