Continued Joy

Well, nothing much to report, but I do have a quiet sense of peace and satisfaction tonight. We had the whole family over for dinner. That means 20+ people were in my home, all of them hungry, and all of them waiting to eat. Martin took out a bar-b-qued brisket that he had in the freezer, chopped it up and covered it with bar-b-que sauce. He then put it into a large crock pot that I have, and Aunt Cheryl washed, oiled and wrapped 15lbs of potatoes and put them in the oven. I had price-matched the potatoes at Walmart for .99 cents for a 5 lb bag, so I bought three bags and we used them all. The house was full, and finally so were all the tummies. As I sat surrounded by kids, teens and adults, once again, the feeling of joy so strong came over me. It was really nice.
In addition, I went to Kroger and bought 3ltr bottles of Ozarka water for .50 each. I knew if I waited I would find a great deal on water, and so far I have taken advantage of it. My goal is to get at least 50 bottles for the food storage, and this is a great opportunity for the family to help. I have told the families to contribute 10 bottles each, and this will easily meet my goal without my having to dip into my budget. The only challenge now is to find room to store it all. Not worried though, it will be fun to see what I can do about it. Even as I type, I am looking around at the possible places to put the water.
If Martin successfully returns to work, I am still going to continue to utilize my food storage. I think the time has come for all of us to act on the advice of our Prophets, past and present, to obtain and use a food storage. Now is the time to act, to learn while we still have time and to teach our children so that they can be ready to help theirs. I have a testimony that a food storage is vital for the future of our families, and I hope that I can relay my experience and determination into helping others. More than just storing food, is to frugally use what we have. I have finally broken the awful habit of going out for food, a habit that became very prominent since Hurricane Ike. More and more I am saying "no" when asked to go out, and instead, offering to cook at home. It often surprises me at how easy it is to make a meal on the run, and the feeling of accomplishment is so very worth the effort. So many changes have come from this ongoing set of trials, and most of them are wonderful. Each day brings more strength and feelings of worth.