Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Ideas (Week of July 21st)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

We are back! We spent the last two weeks traveling and with our children and grandchildren in Utah and witnessed the Name and Blessing of our 20th grandchild. What a fabulous time we had with our family! Two of our children and their children caravaned back with us to California! And of course, there was the wonderful treat of homemade ice cream from the Cache Diary in Beaver, Utah. A must stop each time. And of course, we could not forget the "squeaky cheese" for our son-in-law. A fun treat, when you bite into it is squeaks!

Blessings of Vegetable Gardens and Grandchildren:

This week after getting back from Utah we have our daughter and grandchildren visiting from Missouri. We are having fun being together. Our grandchild especially love our vegetable garden and finding ripened tomatoes each day and eating them in our salad. Today we harvested our carrots we have been growing.

What fun they had digging in the dirt and finding surprises, large carrots, fat carrots, small carrots and ones that braided themselves together as they grew. What a joy it was to spend time with them and talking. They also loved the worms we found throughout the dirt. Now we will scrub the carrots, peel them, slice them, blanch them and then freeze them to have all year. I will get one more crop once I plant new carrot seeds. We will have some with our dinner tonight.

The corn is coming along, and so far we are enjoying fresh tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers and other vegetables we planted.

The blessings of a vegetable garden are spending time as a family tending and harvesting the vegetables as you talk, especially with our grandchildren, harvesting the vegetables and eat them immediately, sharing with neighbors, freezing and canning them for future use, saving money and it adds to our food storage. Planting a small seed and watching it grow is such a miracle to me and my grandchildren. That from that little seed you get carrots, radishes, tomatoes, corn. zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, pumpkins and many other vegetables.

It is still not to late to plant some vegetables. I will get another crop of carrots and corn. After the Fall harvest I will plant the cool vegetables, which are lettuces, celery, broccoli and others. Living in California we can have a vegetable garden almost the whole year.

Weekly Assignment: 72 Hour Individual Emergency Stressor Kit...

If you have been following the blog this past two weeks you should have completed each family members 72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Personal Hygiene Kit. Now we are onto the last kit, the Stressor Kit. If you have missed any of the weekly assignments go back to the last week in December 2013 to complete Food and Personal Hygiene Kits.

What is a Stressor Kit? A Stressor Kit is a kit that will help you and your family members during a disaster or stressful situation. If provides things to do. There are 10 items in this kit. We will add one or two items each week.

This week add the following:

1) Paper pad and a pen or pencil (with a sharpener) for each members Stressor Kit.

2) For the parents--a copy of all your insurance. Auto, Homeowners/Homeowner-Condo/Renters, Life, Personal Articles, Personal Umbrella, Business Policy(ies), Medical, any type of insurance you have. If you do not want to make copies (which is better because it shows your coverage and information), then list the insurance company name, phone number and address, the type of policy, the policy number, your insurance agent or broker name and phone number. Note: You can reduce the size of the insurance policy and get several on one page the others on the back of the page.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

Why do you keep a tent in your car? While on our road trip to Utah, some of our grandchildren asked me why we have a tent in our car. I explained that we always need to be prepared. What if we were out and there was a natural disaster or an emergency situation where we could not get home. We would have our 72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Backpacks and a tent for shelter no matter where we  might be trapped. They seemed to like the idea. I am all about be prepared no matter where I am!

How can our food storage help us with our personal finances? Last night at our BYU-Idaho Pathway Gathering we were talking about finances and how to avoid debt and other financial issues. We are currently Service Missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints BYU-Idaho Pathway Program.

Being an Emergency Preparedness Leader and advocate of always being prepared, I explained that having food storage and emergency supplies could also help with our finances. If we lost our jobs, had serious health issues and could not work, or were hurt on the job and ended up on Disability, we would have our food storage to help us through by not having to spend a lot of money on groceries for ourselves and our families. Several years ago our 6 months of food storage help us greatly when my husband was injured on the job and could not work for 3 months. Disability does not cover all the bills.

Comments: All your comments, ideas, suggestions and experiences are welcome! We all learn from each other. Thank you for your comments.

Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness (Week of June 30th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

Quotes:

“Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46.)

 “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 21:7)

Last Sunday my husband and I were asked to give talks in our Ward Sacrament Meeting from a talk from the April 1976 General Conference, "Family Preparedness" given by Spencer W. Kimball (President of The Church of Jesus of Christ of Latter-day Saints). We are grateful for that assignment and opportunity to learn. I encourage you to read this great talk and see how you and your family are doing in these areas.

This week I ran across a talk referenced in an article in the July 2013 Ensign "Powdered Milk, Budgets, and Blessings", pages 64-67. Click here to read the entire article, "Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually" by Elder Robert D. Hales (Apostle of the Quorum of the Twelve, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Below is a quote from that article...

"What is a provident provider?

All of us are responsible to provide for ourselves and our families in both temporal and spiritual ways. To provide providently, we must practice the principles of provident living: joyfully living within our means, being content with what we have, avoiding excessive debt, and diligently saving and preparing for rainy-day emergencies. When we live providently, we can provide for ourselves and our families and also follow the Savior’s example to serve and bless others."

It is our responsibility to provide for the needs of our family, not our church, not our local or federal government, not our neighbors. What are we doing to provide for them? Are we working towards a year's supply of Food Storage (where possible), water and emergency supplies, or at least a 3-months supply, or 6-months? Are we striving to be spiritually prepared and teaching our family also? Do we have a plan and goals, as an individual, as a family, to strive and become prepared for whatever may come our way? What are we doing to achieve them? Are we doing anything?

If not, why not?
Weekly Assignment: 72 Hour Individual Emergency Personal Hygiene Kit

This week add the following:

1) Deodorant (only for those that need it) per family member's personal hygiene kit.

2) Sunscreen Lotion (only one per adult in your family to be shared by the other younger family members)

3) Prescription medications for 3-5 days and/or vitamins  

Note: I have given you the last 3 items to add to your personal hygiene kit for each family member. Add all the items listed below and the ones above to your 72 Hour Individual Emergency Personal Hygiene Kit per family member and place the kit into the 72 Hour Individual Emergency Backpack for each family member.

Place these item in the large plastic zip lock bag marked Personal Hygiene Kit with their name for each household family member along with the other items we have already added: tooth brush, a small tube of tooth paste, a bottle of "no rinse" shampoo (one per every two people in the family), a small bar of bath soap with a wash cloth, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, heavy work gloves, roll of toilet paper, feminine hygiene items or diapers, 3 respirator masks, rain poncho, an emergency (reflecting) space blanket, small brush or comb, and an extra pair of prescription eyeglasses (old ones in case yours break).

Congratulations! Once you add the last 3 items above for this weekly assignment you have completed the 72 Hour Individual Emergency Personal Hygiene Kit per family member. I am giving you until July 20th to add these items while I have family visiting from out of state and we are on vacation. July 21st we will start on the 72 Hour Individual Emergency Stressor Kit. The last kit for your 72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Backpack. If you have missed any of the 72 Hour Individual Emergency Food Kit or Personal Hygiene Kit go back to the beginning of this year and follow each blog posting.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

Summer/Emergency Cooking: Emergency Essentials/Preparedness Pantry is doing a series of classes on how to purchase a Dutch Oven and how to cook with it. Great information! Click here to view--Dutch Ovens, part 1 and here Dutch Ovens, part 2. Each day there will be more information. Google "Preparedness Pantry, How to cook with a Dutch Oven". Part 3 will teach you Dutch Oven breakfast recipes.


Comments: All your comments, ideas, suggestions and experiences are welcome! We all learn from each other. Thank you for your comments.

Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Ideas (Week of June 23rd)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

The great blessings of food storage and emergency preparedness....

After the Joplin, Missouri, US tornado hit Joplin over a year ago, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Bishops in the area went into action. They called a meeting of their Ward Councils, which were held by light from a lantern due to no electricity, that same night after the tornado hit that afternoon, and put into action their Ward and Stake Emergency Plans and the church Welfare Program. As many of the Ward leaders that could attend who did not have damage or loss to their homes were there, even some of those with loss were there. Being the Young Women's President at the time, our daughter was in attendance. They assigned teams to go out and assess the needs of the Ward members and surrounding neighbors. Since cell phones were not working well they text as many Ward members as possible to see how they were and their needs. They reported back their

findings. They also assessed the Ward members who were not effected by the damages or loss and assessed how much they could help with food, water, clothing, bedding, shelter and other emergency needs. Overwhelmingly the members helped other members and neighbors. How could they do this?

Many of them had food storage and emergency supplies because they had followed the council and warnings of our General Authorities and local church leaders. They were able to help their Ward member families and neighbors. Supplies came pouring in. Great blessings and spiritual experiences came from their preparedness!

Other blessings of being prepared are ...

Having peace of mind and spirit knowing you are prepared

Knowing you will be able to take care of your family and loved ones

Knowing your family is not only temporally prepared, but also spiritually prepared
Knowing you will be able to help your neighbors and friends
Knowing you followed the council and warnings of our church General Authorities and local church leaders

Many may say their food storage and emergency supplies are for their family. If they help others, others will come and soon they will not have what they will need for their own family. I am not saying give it all away, be wise. The Lord will truly bless you if you give to others. You will have sufficient for your needs.

I read a quote given by spokesman Bill O'Reilly, "Helping others...isn't just the right thing to do. It is the patriotic thing to do." It is the Lord's way too. We are disciples of Jesus Christ. As disciples we promise to help others in need.

In Luke 6:46 we read, "Why call ye me Lord, Lord and do not the things I say?"

We need to be people of action, we need to be prepared by having on hand food, water and emergency supplies so we can help our family and others when the time comes.

Weekly Assignment: 72 Hour Emergency Individual Personal Hygiene Kit

This week add the following:

1) Comb or small brush per family member's personal hygiene kit.    

2) If you wear eyeglasses, an extra pair of old glasses in case yours break. Place them in an eyeglass case or wrap them so they do not break.

Place these item in the large plastic zip lock bag for each household family member along with the other items we have already added: tooth brush, a small tube of tooth paste, a bottle of "no rinse" shampoo (one per every two people in the family), a small bar of bath soap with a wash cloth, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, heavy work gloves, roll of toilet paper, feminine hygiene items or diapers, 3 respirator masks, rain poncho and an emergency (reflecting) space blanket.

LDS Dry Pack Canneries Closing:

There have been rumors going around on blogs and emails about the Federal Government closing down The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Dry Pack Canneries. This rumor is not true. I personally called our Los Angeles Dry Pack Cannery and the director said it is not true. They are, however, changing how 89  of the 101 dry pack canneries in the United States will operator. Click on the link below for more details and a statement from our church leaders..

LDS Dry Pack Canneries not closing

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

Summer/BBQ Season: A great time to stock up on condiments, sauces and charcoal which are usually on sale this time of year. Also, if you do not have a vegetable garden, it is a great time to stock up on fresh vegetables in season and on sale, blanch and freeze them for future use. If you blanch them before freezing in plastic freezer zip lock bags they will keep for up to a year. Make sure you mark the date on the bag.

How long do you blanch vegetables before freezing? You will need to slice or chop them first. Do not blanch whole vegetables. You usually only blanch them about 2-3 minutes in boiling water, then put immediately into a large bowl of ice water, drain well, then freeze. You can "Google" a chart that will tell you how long to blanch for each type of fresh vegetable. Do not blanch bell peppers before freezing them. Slice them, remove the seeds, lay on a cookie sheet, place them in the freeze, freeze until frozen, place in a plastic freezer zip lock bag, write the date on the bag and freeze. Will keep for a year.

Comments: All your comments, ideas, suggestions and experiences are welcome! We all learn from each other. Thank you for your comments.

Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Ideas (Week of June 16th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

Quotes:

"...when we really get into hard times, where food is scarce or there is none at all, and so with clothing and shelter, money may be no good for there may be nothing to buy, and you cannot eat money, you cannot get enough of it together to burn to keep you warm, and you cannot wear it." (President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. -Church News, November 21, 1953, p. 4)

 “The time will come that gold will hold no comparison in value to a bushel of wheat.” (Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, vol. 1, p. 250, 1943 ed., p. 298)

I love these quotes! They may have been spoken several ago, but they hold true today. We have been warned and warned to store water, food, clothing and emergency supplies. There will come a time when no matter how much money you have there will be none of these items to purchase, and other items. Due to droughts, severe weather conditions, transportation issues, war and many other things, there may be no food to purchase. You will have only what you stored for the future. Plus, money may become obsolete. I think bartering will be how you will get the things you need. You may need extra food and other supplies, plus know a trade, to barter for what you will need.

Am I trying to scare you, you bet I am! If that is what it will take for you to prepare for what may be down the road, yes. The scriptures and our church leaders warn us of days when there will not enough food to eat. It just takes adding a few extra cans or packages of food each time you go grocery shopping. Try it and see if you will not be amazed how fast your food storage builds up.

Weekly Assignment: 72 Hour Individual Emergency Personal Hygiene Kit:

This week add the following:

One Emergency (reflecting) Space Blanket per family member's 72 Hour Individual Emergency Personal Hygiene Kit. You can find these for $1.75 and one for $3.75 each at emergencyessential.com. These can also be found at Target, Kmart, WalMart, sporting good stores and other department stores in their camping area. We only have 4 more items to add to the 72 Hour Personal Hygiene Kit.

Note: If you  have not already and are going to order your rain poncho from emergencyessentials.com it is a good time to order them at the same time to save on shipping cost.

Place this item in the large plastic zip lock bag for each household family member along with the other items we have already added: tooth brush, a small tube of tooth paste, a bottle of "no rinse" shampoo (one per every two people in the family), a small bar of bath soap with a wash cloth, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, heavy work gloves, roll of toilet paper, feminine hygiene items or diapers, 3 respirator masks and rain poncho. Note: I placed the toilet paper in a medium size plastic zip lock bag separate from the other items, and then put it in the backpack.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

Now that you have food stored, how will you cook it if you cannot use or conventional stove? It is best to have several ways to cook, like a BBQ with charcoal (easier and safer to store), a Dutch Oven (practice how to cook with one, lots of fun), a Butane Stove with cans of Butane fuel (also practice using it), a fire pit, and or a solar oven. See the posting under "Postings" on the right side of this blog under "Cooking, Heating and Lighting" for more ideas on different types of cooking equipment and safety when using them.

Remember to the first rule of food storage---rotate, rotate, rotate what you store. Food is too costly to let it goes to waste. Also, store only what your family will eat.

Comments: All your comments, ideas, suggestions and experiences are welcome! We all learn from each other. Thank you for your comments.

Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Ideas (Week of June 9th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

Congratulations! The Omar and Tanya Ramil Family and the Helen Trefflich Family each won a one burner Butane Stove with two cans of Butane fuel for the April and May Carson Ward FREE Monthly Giveaway Drawing.

Trials of Faith...

The last few weeks have been "trials of faith" for our family and many more in the Mid-west area with tornadoes and flooding, and for families not living close by knowing if their family is alright. Our daughter's family, who live in Carl Junction, Missouri, USA, were threatened by tornadoes last week as well as one of our friends daughter's family in Oklahoma, USA. It was a very scary situation for several hours when I saw Carl Junction, Missouri, USA come up on the weather channel, that the tornado was upon them. My Aunt, who lives a block away from our daughter, said the tornado went over them this time. It was a scary time for them. The people in the areas take shelter either in a basement, tornado shelter or the safest place in their home or business for several hours. First they hear the tornado siren. Then they hear things like "the tornado is 10 minutes away". Our friend tried to get hold of his daughter by calling her, but no answer, as did we, but he remembered some times texting works. There was a delay with them being in their tornado shelter but he was able to hear back from her. His daughter asked him, "What should we do?". He told her it all comes down to "faith". Thank goodness our daughter and her family are alright, as well as our friend's family.

FAITH is a very powerful word! We all need faith in our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ to get through these trials of our faith. We need to know and believe that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are there watching over us. We do not always know in this life why we lost a loved one, our home or our precious things. We need faith to believe and trust in God. Most material things can be replaced, and having a knowledge of eternal families and that we will see them again can bring comfort.

"There is nothing that we are enduring that Jesus does not understand, and He waits for us to go to our Heavenly Father in prayer. I testify that if we will be obedient and if we are diligent, our prayers will be answered, our problems will diminish, our fears will dissipate, light will come upon us, the darkness of despair will be dispersed, and we will be close to the Lord and feel of His love and of the comfort of the Holy Ghost". (Elder Robert D. Hales, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints)

"I will never forget thee, O house of Israel. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; they walls are continually before me." (1 Nephi 21:15-16)

Our lives are not without trials and challenges, but if we are prepared both spiritually and temporally it will make it a little easier to get through them. Faith in our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ will get us through them.

Texting: I am always saying texting works in emergency situations and is best to use. Here I say that all the time, but I forgot myself when trying to get hold of our daughter. I kept calling their land line getting a busy signal and their cell phone with no answer. I totally forgot about texting her. Texting works as in the case of our friend trying to reach his daughter. Always use texting in an emergency situation to keep the cell phone and other phone lines open for emergency personnel.

Weekly Assignment: 72 Hour Individual Emergency Personal Hygiene Kit

This week add the following:

Rain poncho per family 72 Hour Individual Emergency Personal Hygiene Kit. You can find these for a $1 and one for $3.50 at

emergencyessential.com. These can also be found at Target, Kmart, WalMart, sporting good stores and other department stores in their camping area.

Note: Next week we will be adding the Emergency (Space) Blanket. You can also purchase these from emergencyessentials.com for $1.75 and $3.75 each. If you are ordering the rain poncho you might want to order the emergency blanket to save on postage.

Place these items in the large plastic zip lock bag for each household family member along with the other items we have already added: tooth brush, a small tube of tooth paste, a bottle of "no rinse" shampoo (one per every two people in the family), a small bar of bath soap with a wash cloth, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, heavy work gloves, roll of toilet paper, feminine hygiene items or diapers, and 3 respirator masks. Note: I placed the toilet paper in a medium size plastic zip lock bag separate from the other items, and then put it in the backpack.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

Road Trips and Vacation Trips: Many of you will be taking vacation road trips or renting cars in areas where you fly. Be aware of the weather in those areas and use extreme caution while driving in those weather conditions. Review the warnings in "Disaster Situation and What to Do" on the right side of this blog under "Postings". Be cautious and do not take any chances when it comes to your safety and your family's. Always keep food, water, a blanket, a First-aid kit, flares, flashlight with extra batteries, radio with extra batteries or a solar radio, and a road map of the area you will be traveling in while traveling in our car.

Comments: All your comments, ideas, suggestions and experiences are welcome! We all learn from each other. Thank you for your comments.

Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Ideas (Week of June 2nd)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

First, thank you for all the wonderful comments last week. Love them and they help others.

Be Committed

I know we all have so much going on in our lives, but we all need to do a little more regarding being prepared, so do I! I often think our household is prepared pretty well, then I think about it, are we really? I think you really never know until you go through something.

I heard a gentle man who lives in the country speaking on television and he thought they were prepared until they had to take shelter in their tornado shelter and found out they forgot to store bottled water in the shelter. He also realized when they lost their electricity for several hours they forgot to hook up their water well pump to their emergency generator.

I know when my husband was in a serious car accident while on the job several years ago we used our 6 months food storage we had on hand. It really helped out while he spent 3 month recuperating, and since we did not need to spend much money on food, it could go to the other bills, disability checks are a lot less than your regular salary. We were grateful we had out food storage at the time with several small children to feed.

This past week in the United States we have watched unfold on television, or if you live in those areas, flooding in the mid-west, tons of snow on the East coast, fires on the West cost, tornado threats, and of course, those people in Moore, Oklahoma and other surrounding cities devastated by the EF5 tornado. And, we hear about earthquakes all over the world almost daily. You might say, but why have food storage and emergency supplies if they are going to be destroyed by flooding, fires, tornadoes, etc.?

Why? Because you are being obedient. We have been admonished in the scriptures and by our General, Stake and Ward leaders to be prepared. If we are obedient Heavenly Father will bless us and provide for our needs. Not what we want, but what we need. In Doctrine and Covenants 82:10 we read, "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." In Romans 8:28 we read, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” If we love the Lord and are obedient to His teachings in the scriptures and follow the council of our church leaders, Heavenly Father will watch over us and provide for our needs.

You are not alone! Work as a family, or with a friend, make goals and work towards them.

Weekly Assignment: 72 Hour Individual Emergency Personal Hygiene Kit

This week add the following...

3 Respirator masks per individual personal hygiene kit--I have found these at WalMart, Target, Sporting Goods stores, and on emergencyessentials.com. Just type in "respirator masks" in the search box. There are two types, one for $12.95 (10 in a box), about $1.30 for each one, or $14.95 (20 in a box), about 70 cents for each one.

Note: The next two weeks we will be adding rain ponchos and emergency (reflecting, space) blankets. They are about a $1 each on Emergency Essentials. If you order the respirator masks you might want to order these too to save on shipping. Their shipping is either $6, $9 or $12, depending on how much you order. You could also go in with someone to shave on shipping.

Place these items in the large plastic zip lock bag for each household family member along with the other items we have already added: tooth brush, a small tube of tooth paste, a bottle of "no rinse" shampoo (one per every two people in the family), a small bar of bath soap with a wash cloth, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, heavy work gloves, roll of toilet paper, and feminine hygiene items or diapers. Note: I placed the toilet paper in a medium size plastic zip lock bag separate from the other items, and then put it in the backpack. You may be able to get the toilet paper (if you smash it down) and the feminine hygiene items in a side or front pocket.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

You can do it...just a little at a time! If we would just purchase a few extra cans or packages of food each week we go grocery shopping before you know it you will have a month, two

months, or even three months of food stored. This also goes for paper products like toilet paper, paper plates, etc and emergency and medical supplies. Just a little at a time is better than nothing. It does not take much to add to our food storage and emergency supplies.

EmergencyEssentials.com--I find them to be one of the lowest priced companies when it comes to food storage (dehydrated or freeze-dried foods) and emergency supplies. They also have low shipping fees. I once ordered 30 portable toilets for our church members and the total cost for shipping was $12. The UPS truck was full of portable toilets. Big 5 in the United States is another great place to purchase camping equipment like tents, sleeping bags and other items. They have great sales all the time.

WATER!!! I cannot say this enough...one of the most important things to store is drinking water. You can live without food for several days, but you can only live without water for about 3 days. Figure out how much your family uses in water a day, then multiply by the number of weeks or months you want to store. Remember, you will also need water not just for drinking but for cooking and hygiene.

"Leading experts suggest one to two gallons of potable water per day for each person in your home as a good amount. Drink enough water to ensure each member stays hydrated and the body can function properly (two quarts or a half gallon per day).


You will also need water for food preparation and hygiene. A two week period supply for each member of your family is recommended. It is also smart to have a purification system or device to purify water to

aid in long-term situations where you may be using a stream or rainwater as a source.

Your drinking water is best commercially packaged in bottles or pouches and not opened until it is ready for use. Stay mindful of the expiration date." (SurvivalBased.com)

WaterBrick Water Container 3.5 Gallon BPA Free Portable and Stackable: I love these, great for storing water because you can stack them in your closets, put them under your beds and even make a side table by stacking them and putting a top, like glass, over then and then cover them with a table cloth. You can purchase them on Amazon.com for $25.95 each. If you fill them with regular tap water see the link below on how to treat the water before storing it.

Remember, do not store plastic water bottles or containers directly on your concrete garage floor, they will absorb the chemicals in the concrete. Place them on wood 2x4s so air can circulate around them. All water should be stored in a cool place. If not insulated and cool inside, your garage is too hot! If you store regular water from the tap make sure you treat it correctly before storing it. See the "Postings" on the right under "Water Storage and Water Barrels".

Comments: All your comments, ideas, suggestions and experiences are welcome! We all learn from each other. Thank you for your comments.

Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Ideas (Week of May 26th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

So many thoughts...

My mind is full of so many thoughts due to things that have happened this week. I am going to attempt to share a little of each of them. Please do not forget the "Weekly Assignment" below all my thoughts for this week.

First, A Few Thoughts on Memorial Day...

I am indeed grateful to all those you have fought and stood strong for the freedoms we enjoy today in the United States of America. I am so eternally grateful to all the loved ones and family who have lost loved ones and for those who serve our country far away from home, either in the military or by other ways. I was raised by parents who dearly loved this country and taught us as children to respect and love this country too. My Dad served faithfull in the United States Army for 21 years. He loved this country, he gave his life and his determination to protect this country and its people. He served in WWII, was on the Bataan Death March, was a POW for 3 years in a consentration camp, and served in the Korean War. My husband dutiful served in Vietnam, when many protested, so others could enjoy the freedoms we enjoy. Great great grandparents, uncles, and cousins have fought in the Revoluationary War, the War Between the States, WW I, WW II and the Spanish Amrecian War all because they believed in this country and freedom. I am proud of this country and will always stand for freedom! I am proud to say "I AM AN AMERCIAN!!!". A Salute to all you who have served, given their lives and will serve in the future! I honor you!!!

Oklahoma Tornado...

Once again a state and a community have been hit by a natural disaster. Our hearts go out to all those in the Oklahoma community who have been effected by the tornado. Much has been lost, lives, pets, homes,

precious memories, schools, businesses, and a community as a whole. Please keep these people in your prayers and thoughts.

Each time there is a natural disaster, or any type of disaster or emergency situation, I listen intently for new information that may help me better help you to be better prepared and how to better handle the emergency and survive.

Family matters most...

Our family is precious! Of course, our family matters the most in any emergency situation. Make sure all your family members, especially your children, know what to do before, during and after an emergency

situation or natural disaster. Have family emergency practice drills for whatever type of natural disaster you may have in your area.




Out of State and other contact information...

If your family is separated make sure they all know the family's out of state, or out of country, contact person and their phone number. This information should be on their school emergency card, on a card in their backpack or in their wallet. For young children you might want to even consider putting it on the tongue part of their shoe, under neither in permanent marker, make sure they know it is there and explain why it is there. Also consider putting their name on their underwear or shirt tags, anywhere someone will see it to help identify them, make sure your children know if they are lost or separated from you to ask an adult for help, look for a police officer, a fireman, a rescue search person or anyone that may help they find their way back to you. Teach your children your phone number and their address and ask them periodically to repeat it.

Also, have an emergency location to meet at if your family is separated. In the case of the Joplin and Moore City tornadoes, it may be hard to locate the location your family is to meet due to street signs and other signs may be destroyed. Try to find some place the family will be able to recognize and locate.

Calling on your cell phone...

Only call on your cell phone if you need emergency help or rescue, otherwise, keep the phone lines open for emergency personnel only. If you have texting on your phone, use that to communicate with family and loved ones, it keeps the phone lines open.

First Responders...

You may be the first responder in a natural disaster or emergency situation. DO NOT go into a calaspsed

structure. Everyone should have some first-aid skills. Get a first-aid book, know and practice them. Attend to the most servere enjuries first. If possible, move victims from dangerous areas. Be careful!

We need to be prepared...

As we have seen in previous natural disasters like Katrina and Sandy in the United States, and terriortist attacks throughout the world, it takes the federal and local govenments awhile to respond. We need to have water, food, emergency equipment and medical supplies on hand at all times. We need to be able to take care of ourselves and our families for 72 hours to 2 weeks. Will you be able to do that?

Stay calm...

The best thing you can do before, during and after an emergency situation or natural disaster is STAY CALM AND ACT QUICKLY! Say a prayer, even if it is a silent prayer.

Get out your emergency equipment...

Last Sunday our Ward Elders Quorum President approached me with a great idea which I have mentioned before on this blog. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE EMERGENCY SITUATION IS UPON YOU TO GET OUT YOUR EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT TO USE IT! IT MAY BE TOO LATE!

Many of us have purchased tents, sleeping bags, emergency cooking equipment like a Butane stove and fuel or a Dutch Oven, emergency lanterns (either propane, solar or battery operated), a gas or fuel less generator, and other emergency equipment and never have taken it out of the box to set up the tent, open the sleeping bag, used and cooked on the cooking equipment, used the lantern or turned on the generator. Once you open it you may find there are missing pieces or it does not work. It will be too late to take it back to store if the emergency is upon you.

Take out your tent and set it up. If you do not know how, ask a Boy Scout, or a friend or neighbor. Same thing for the emergency lantern, cooking equipment, etc. Read the instructions before using any equipment you are not familiar with. Keep the instruction booklets in a plastic zip lock bag (to protect it from water damage) with the equipment, either duck taped on or tied on. Know how to use them before you need them.

In a few weeks our Ward is having a Ward Camp out July 25th-27th. What a great time to go along and learn how to use your emergency equipment. There will be many there to assist you. Have a family camp out in the back yard and use your equipment. Remember to replace any fuel or batteries you used.

Just Believe...

So many of us are overwhelmed with even the thought of setting up food storage and emergency supplies. Were do we start? How do we start? What do we need and how much? What resources are there? It cost to much! I have no room! I have no time! That is what this blog is about, to help you get started and become prepared. Read though the blog postings over the years and the different articles under "Postings" on the right side to learn how to get started and how to do it. Do not be afraid or feel overwhelmed. Just believe you can do it! You can do it, make a plan and take small steps or goals to accomplish your final goal, being prepared for what ever emergency may come your way. There are many there to help you along the way and this blog site is one of them. YOU CAN DO IT.

Food Storage Ideas:

Find great ideas for storing your food storage an emergency supplies at Emergency Essentials, click on this link---"Baby Steps: Make room for your food and supply storage".

Weekly Assignment: 72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Personal Hygiene Kit

This week add the following:

This week I am going to give you two items to add. You should already have these on hand. Remember, you need enough for 3 days.

1) Roll of toilet paper for each person

2) Feminine hygiene items or diapers for your baby

Place these item in the large plastic zip lock bag for each household family member along with the other items we have already added: tooth brush, a small tube of tooth paste, a bottle of "no rinse" shampoo (one per every two people in the family), a small bar of bath soap with a wash cloth, baby wipes, hand sanitizer and heavy work gloves. Note: I placed the toilet paper in a medium size plactic zip lock bag separate from the other items, and then put it in the backpack. You may be able to get the toilet paper, femimine hygiene items in a side or front pocket.

Great Emergency Preparedness Medical Tip:

When one of our sons was a whelder he injured his eyes from the welding flash. He could hardly open them, they burned really bad. My husband discovered if you take potato juice and put it in the eyes it eases the pain. Here is how you do it---Shred a potato and place the shredded potato in a small wash cloth, squeeze out the juice and place the juice into the eyes. You will feel almost instant relief.

Comments: All your comments, ideas, suggestions and experiences are welcome! We all learn from each other. Thank you for your comments.