It's Official. . . .

In the wee hours of the morning, I completed the last requirement to become a certified "Model Mormon Homemaker".  How does one become that, you ask?  Well, there are many requirements--too many to list.  I've been working on it for years.  Sewing my own curtains for days on end when I could have just bought them at a cheaper price than the cost of the fabric alone.  Making healthy dinners that my children never planned on eating.  Sacrificing my summer to refinishing an old piano so that I could give my children piano lessons.  Walking through Wal-mart, coupons in hand, with the challenge of saving more than I would be spending.

Now, I can proudly say that I have conquered the last goal . . . . canning.  And not just any canning.  The kind of canning that requires you to spend 3 hours making just six pints of strawberry-peach jam.  (Pints are really small, now that I think about it.)  The kind of canning that takes days on end, arms and counters endlessly sticky.  But, you know. . . . it's kind of rewarding looking at those 120 quarts of peaches, apples and pears.  I am a canner.  At least once a year.  Okay, okay . . . my mom and dad were here and did most of the work (I owe you, by the way), but I helped a lot.  And we did it while listening to General Conference.  I think that gave me bonus points in my quest to become a "Model Mormon Homemaker".

(Multiply this amount by around 1,000 and that's what we did.)

Now I just need to learn the ins and outs of making my own baby wipes and cleaning supplies.  And then I think I will qualify to become an instructor of other "Model Mormon Homemaker" candidates.