Homemaker

"Having Somewhere to go is home,
Having someone to love is family,
Having both is a blessing."

What does it take to make a place a home? I believe a home is a place where we feel safe and secure. A place where you and your family want to be. It is not just a place where one resides. So how do we be homemakers? We try to make our house a home. We can do this by inviting and keeping the spirit in our home.

How do we make our homes a place where the spirit can dwell? We can avoid contentions. "...he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me..."-3 Nephi 11:29We can pick an choose our battles. Somethings are just not worth arguing about or being right about. We can try to be the peacemaker in our homes and teach our children to also try to be peacemakers. We can also avoid things that will chase the spirit away, such as inappropriate music, movies, language, and games. Seek for opportunities to share the gospel in our homes. If we are following the prophets counsel and having family prayer, scripture study and family nights then we will definitely have the spirit in our home. By doing these things it shows our children and even our spouses that the gospel really is important to us. If they know that it is important to us, then it will be more likely important to them also. As I was visit teaching the other day my partner helped me realize that family night does not have to be an extravagant event. Especially when you have very young children. It can be just a time to get together, pray, and share a gospel principle, something that might be interesting to them. It does not have to be very long. Since we have started to have family night it has actually drawn me closer to my spouse. It gives us time as a family to talk about the gospel. They are not long, usually just prayer and a gospel story from the friend and some talking and of course a treat. But it is important quality time that we spend together. It is important that our children know that we love them and know that we are always there for them. I know that I always want my children to be able to come to me with anything and everything.

"Behold, mine house is a house of order..." D&C 132:8. It is important that our homes be a place of order. We can to this by being organized. By spending our time wisely. If something needs cleaned clean it, if something needs fixed fix it. What has really helped me is having a cleaning schedule. This helps we make sure my house remains clean. I have also found that if things have a place and I put them in there place when finished with them, then it helps to keep things in order. We can include our children in helping keep our homes orderly. Even a little toddler can help clean up their toys. My boys love to help dust. I give them a rag and they do their thing, at least it keeps them occupied while I am trying to clean to.

What is another part of being a homemaker, cooking & grocery shopping. Grocery shopping is kind of dreaded by me. It is not the funnest thing for my children, but it is something that has to be done. I have found that it is quicker and I do not forget things. If I look at the ads before I go and make a menu and a shopping list. I know people who are great at clipping coupons. I wish I could be better at that, just something to work on I guess. Other women I know do the online shopping, where they order their groceries on line and have them delivered to them. I guess just find out what works for you. Cooking, I think it is important to make sure your family has healthy meals. I love to make a list of 7 breakfast, 7 lunches, & 7 dinners for the week, make sure when I go shopping I get everything for those meals. So when I need to fix something I have all of the ingredients. I know women who cook meals for the month all on one day and stick them in the freezer. So then they have a quick meal. Being in an apartment that is just not feasible for me (little freezer). I also love fresh ingredients. But I do like to sometimes cook up some ground beef for tacos ahead of time or cook some extra chicken and shred it for quesadillas or chicken salad wraps. Anything that you can pre-do is great. So when you are in a hurry you can still have a nice meal.

I hope that we can all have happy homes and strive for the spirit to be in our homes. Remember the primary song, "Home is where the heart is, and warmth and love abound..."

I don't know if many people are reading this blog, I am wondering if it is worth doing. So if you want please leave a little comment and let me know if I should keep doing it.