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(or.... a Bryan's FHE follow up)
I had a "hey, kids really do sometimes listen during family home evening" moment today.
We had dropped Bryan off at Kindergarten and were out running some errands when out of the blue,
Caleb said to me, "mom, rocks can be bad AND good."
Oh Yeah? (trying not to laugh)
"yep, they are bad if you throw them at people, but you can build walls and good stuff with them too, so they are bad AND good."
nice to know that he heard something, kinda wish it had been the part about "quickly obeying when mom asks you to do something," or the "be reverent during family scripture study" part, or the "don't fight with your brother."
but hey... something is better than nothing, right???
Friday, September 16, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
a "boring" lesson... by Bryan
For Family Home Evening tonight, it was Bryan's turn to teach the lesson. Tim was helping him put something together and was trying to get him to break away from the "pick a picture from the gospel art kit and tell the scripture story" type of lesson that is becoming the all too familiar fall back around here when it is a kids week to teach. (which is 4 out of 6 times in this house).
As they were throwing around ideas - of which Bryan's were pretty random and all over the spectrum, not really connected in any sort of rhyme or reason, and Tim was trying to help him think of a SINGLE topic that our family could actually BENEFIT from, or apply/relate to this week. Tim reminded Bryan that he and I will be going to the temple this week for ward temple night and that the lesson could be about temples.
Imagine in your mind, in the most monotone, boring voice EVER, Bryan's reply:
"Mom and dad are going to the temple this week. THE END. - That would be a boring lesson!"
He's right, that would be a pretty boring lesson. He ended up going with "how to build a stronger family," with some random "stepping stones to get to Jesus," "rocks can be good or bad," ("because you can use them to throw at people which is bad, or you can use them to build walls, which is good, so they are half good half bad.") and having someone read out loud his list of goals from his last father/son interview.
Throw in the other kids with their various attention spans - or lack there-of, their attitudes, some more pleasant than others, and a few dogs who were trying desperately to get us to play fetch and tug of war with the squeaky toy.... and ONE thing I know for certain, FHE at our house is NOT boring!!!
As they were throwing around ideas - of which Bryan's were pretty random and all over the spectrum, not really connected in any sort of rhyme or reason, and Tim was trying to help him think of a SINGLE topic that our family could actually BENEFIT from, or apply/relate to this week. Tim reminded Bryan that he and I will be going to the temple this week for ward temple night and that the lesson could be about temples.
Imagine in your mind, in the most monotone, boring voice EVER, Bryan's reply:
"Mom and dad are going to the temple this week. THE END. - That would be a boring lesson!"
He's right, that would be a pretty boring lesson. He ended up going with "how to build a stronger family," with some random "stepping stones to get to Jesus," "rocks can be good or bad," ("because you can use them to throw at people which is bad, or you can use them to build walls, which is good, so they are half good half bad.") and having someone read out loud his list of goals from his last father/son interview.
Throw in the other kids with their various attention spans - or lack there-of, their attitudes, some more pleasant than others, and a few dogs who were trying desperately to get us to play fetch and tug of war with the squeaky toy.... and ONE thing I know for certain, FHE at our house is NOT boring!!!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Whew!!! what a week!
Betcha all thought that I'd just give up on my new facebook goals and just log in regardless of if I blogged or not - right??? NOPE, just been so totally CRAZY around here that I pretty much haven't been online for a few days. It's been an eventful few days -
Brief background: We have a rental property up in West Valley and the tenants moved out unexpectedly. We were lucky to find some new tenants the first week we had the home listed, and they wanted to move in ASAP. Tuesday night, Tim and Brian (our handyman) went out to the property to get an idea of needed repairs. The carpet was really bad and needed to be replaced in addition to other repairs needed. Brian was able to get his team of carpet guys to come in the following day to lay carpet.
So Wednesday morning, around 11'ish I got a call from Tim. We have been thinking about replacing our carpets for a while now, and have talked about it a few times with Brian. The carpet guys told Brian that if we went ahead with the same carpet they were putting into the rental, and did it at the same time, we could get a good deal on it. We decided to jump in head first and agreed to be ready the next day for installers to be here. I spent the remainder of Wednesday clearing everything out of the front room and 3 upstairs bedrooms. Then we painted Bryan & Caleb's room. (it was the WORST in the house. Would have loved to have a few more days to paint the other rooms, but there just wasn't time - I did get the baseboards in the front room done as well.) They arrived on Thursday around 1:30 and I was ready! (I had just barely finished, but was ready)
They ripped out all the old carpet (it was the original carpet that was installed when we built the house in 1998) then while they went to pick up the carpet and take a lunch break, I re-vacuumed all the edges and the carpet pads so it was ready to put the carpet down. They got back around 5 and once they were all settled again, I headed out with the kids to met Tim for dinner. (my kitchen was full of bookshelves, books, computers, tvs, mattresses, etc... and I was WAY too tired to try to actually prepare something. We got home just before 8 to find brand new carpet in four rooms and the stairs! (well, actually, they were still finishing up the stairs and a few places.)
I spent all day Friday moving things back into the rooms. My neighbor and friend Paula came over that morning and helped. It was a good thing, because I was totally spent and wouldn't have been able to get much done on my own. Sometimes it takes having another person there to keep you moving....
I didn't have it in me to totally finish, so I took all that "end stuff" (all those things that don't have a home and you should probably just throw away but you just can't...) and shoved it in a tote. I'm hoping that I'll be able to tackle it next week with a fresh outlook. Spent the day today doing some finishing cleaning, emptying a couple of "catch all baskets" and right now, at THIS MOMENT, the house is pretty good.
The carpets, while maybe not exactly what I would have chose, are nice - and they are perfect for a house full of pets and kids who show no regard for cleanliness.
We took the computer out of our room (wanted more space) so we are experimenting with me using a laptop instead of the desktop. I'm finding it hard to type on this thing, my fingers keep slipping onto the wrong keys, but we'll see how it works out.
I did take some pictures, but I'll just add them to this post (or make a new one) once they are off the camera.
Brief background: We have a rental property up in West Valley and the tenants moved out unexpectedly. We were lucky to find some new tenants the first week we had the home listed, and they wanted to move in ASAP. Tuesday night, Tim and Brian (our handyman) went out to the property to get an idea of needed repairs. The carpet was really bad and needed to be replaced in addition to other repairs needed. Brian was able to get his team of carpet guys to come in the following day to lay carpet.
So Wednesday morning, around 11'ish I got a call from Tim. We have been thinking about replacing our carpets for a while now, and have talked about it a few times with Brian. The carpet guys told Brian that if we went ahead with the same carpet they were putting into the rental, and did it at the same time, we could get a good deal on it. We decided to jump in head first and agreed to be ready the next day for installers to be here. I spent the remainder of Wednesday clearing everything out of the front room and 3 upstairs bedrooms. Then we painted Bryan & Caleb's room. (it was the WORST in the house. Would have loved to have a few more days to paint the other rooms, but there just wasn't time - I did get the baseboards in the front room done as well.) They arrived on Thursday around 1:30 and I was ready! (I had just barely finished, but was ready)
They ripped out all the old carpet (it was the original carpet that was installed when we built the house in 1998) then while they went to pick up the carpet and take a lunch break, I re-vacuumed all the edges and the carpet pads so it was ready to put the carpet down. They got back around 5 and once they were all settled again, I headed out with the kids to met Tim for dinner. (my kitchen was full of bookshelves, books, computers, tvs, mattresses, etc... and I was WAY too tired to try to actually prepare something. We got home just before 8 to find brand new carpet in four rooms and the stairs! (well, actually, they were still finishing up the stairs and a few places.)
I spent all day Friday moving things back into the rooms. My neighbor and friend Paula came over that morning and helped. It was a good thing, because I was totally spent and wouldn't have been able to get much done on my own. Sometimes it takes having another person there to keep you moving....
I didn't have it in me to totally finish, so I took all that "end stuff" (all those things that don't have a home and you should probably just throw away but you just can't...) and shoved it in a tote. I'm hoping that I'll be able to tackle it next week with a fresh outlook. Spent the day today doing some finishing cleaning, emptying a couple of "catch all baskets" and right now, at THIS MOMENT, the house is pretty good.
The carpets, while maybe not exactly what I would have chose, are nice - and they are perfect for a house full of pets and kids who show no regard for cleanliness.
We took the computer out of our room (wanted more space) so we are experimenting with me using a laptop instead of the desktop. I'm finding it hard to type on this thing, my fingers keep slipping onto the wrong keys, but we'll see how it works out.
I did take some pictures, but I'll just add them to this post (or make a new one) once they are off the camera.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
face cards vs face book
*please note that my left shift key (the one I use most of the time) is broken, (works sporadically at best) and it is not likely that I will be going through to fix all of the lower case letters. please just ignore.
VS.
several weeks ago we were having a "game night" for our young women's activity. I just grabbed a stack of games from our game closet that could have at least 6 players at a time - easy to learn, and quick to play. one of the games i took is called sequence. it is played by drawing a card (basic facecards) and matching the cards to the corresponding picture on the game board. you then place a token of your color on that space and try to get 5 in a row. it's simple, easy to learn, easy to play, and you can play with 3 teams of 2, so i figured it was a good game to take.
we get there, a group of kids pick that table and i proceed to teach them how to play and get them started. then one of our young women came in and pretty much freaked out because we were playing with facecards - which are "forbidden in the church" and are of the devil!
Now, I knew vaguely about the recommendation given many years ago that members of the church shouldn't play with face cards. I mostly know about it only because i remember a story told by my grandfather, about how he remembered his parents throwing their face cards into the wood burning stove when the counsel was given. I wondered if maybe I was leading these poor youth down the paths of sin, so I came home and looked up what i could about it.
the issue regarding the use of playing with face cards seems to have originated from president joseph f. smith. I liked this ensign article,written in 1984 by "Former Stake President, Idaho Falls Idaho Ammon West Stake" in response to the question "How should I feel about playing cards"
he concluded his response by saying, "While it is best to avoid the use of “playing cards,” my personal experiences indicate that our family has enjoyed many benefits from playing games with cards. At a time when amusements are generally enjoyed alone, for example TV viewing and video game playing, we in our family like to play card games together. It has been both unifying and has provided the arena for much give and take. All in all, playing card games has given us many delightful moments."
As i thought about this, I determined that the use of facebook, television, other computer distractions, are much more likely than face cards to
1) waste huge chunks of my time
2) open me up to a wide variety of evils,
3) "dull and stupor" my mind,
4) become addictive
etc....
i shared my thoughts regarding this with those (few) girls who seemed interested and/or concerned about the first yw's adamant cries that i had brought SATAN into the church. I told them that they are safer playing a game of sequence for 20 minutes at a youth activity, in cultural hall of the church, then they are spending hours and hours involved in social media, mind numbing and spirit dulling "music," and watching questionable television shows and movies. (I found it hilarious that the girl who started all this chose to stay at that game table (all the while complaining about the evil of it all) since that's where the BOYS that she thinks are cute were sitting. I guess maybe it's ok to be in the presence of Satan if the boys are cute enough?????? NOT!)
I know this is more than long enough already, but i just have to follow up with this - two weekends ago at our stake conference there were several talks that mentioned the over used of facebook, and other other social networking sites. it was prompted that i too am going overboard and am addicted. Elder Oak's talk on good, better, best was quoted a couple of times.
GOOD - facebook allows me to connect with friends and family and know what's going on in their lives
BETTER - blogging is a venue for me to journal - which we are supposed to be doing, and still lets me connect with family and friends (those that are willing to take the time to read more that the 150 characters (or whatever the number is) at a time. (my "blogging" went way down hill once i got a facebook account and now what do I have to show for it? pretty much nothing.)
BEST - writing in my private journal
I'm not so good at writing in my private journal, but i can move it up a step by writing the more "non-personal things" in this forum. My new "facebook rule" is that i cannot log into facebook unless I have
1) worked for at least 1 hour on my "housework"
and
2) written something on my blog with in two days
VS.
several weeks ago we were having a "game night" for our young women's activity. I just grabbed a stack of games from our game closet that could have at least 6 players at a time - easy to learn, and quick to play. one of the games i took is called sequence. it is played by drawing a card (basic facecards) and matching the cards to the corresponding picture on the game board. you then place a token of your color on that space and try to get 5 in a row. it's simple, easy to learn, easy to play, and you can play with 3 teams of 2, so i figured it was a good game to take.
we get there, a group of kids pick that table and i proceed to teach them how to play and get them started. then one of our young women came in and pretty much freaked out because we were playing with facecards - which are "forbidden in the church" and are of the devil!
Now, I knew vaguely about the recommendation given many years ago that members of the church shouldn't play with face cards. I mostly know about it only because i remember a story told by my grandfather, about how he remembered his parents throwing their face cards into the wood burning stove when the counsel was given. I wondered if maybe I was leading these poor youth down the paths of sin, so I came home and looked up what i could about it.
the issue regarding the use of playing with face cards seems to have originated from president joseph f. smith. I liked this ensign article,written in 1984 by "Former Stake President, Idaho Falls Idaho Ammon West Stake" in response to the question "How should I feel about playing cards"
"The two most common criticisms of card playing have been, first, that it is a waste of time, and second, that it tends to end in gambling. Both criticisms are valid because, while extremes, they too often occur. Writing at a time before the advent of excessive TV viewing, which is the modern time waster, and before the coming of extensive state-sponsored lotteries, which today enhance the tendency to gamble, some of our General Authorities have spoken out against card playing. Let us consider what President Joseph F. Smith said:
“While a simple game of cards in itself may be harmless, it is a fact that by immoderate repetition it ends in an infatuation for chance schemes, in habits of excess, in waste of precious time, in dulling and stupor of the mind, and in the complete destruction of religious feeling. … There is the grave danger that lurks in persistent card playing, which begets the spirit of gambling, of speculation and that awakens the dangerous desire to get something for nothing.
“One’s character may be determined in some measure by the quality of one’s amusements. Men and women of industrious business-like, and thoughtful habits care little for frivolous pastimes, for pleasures that are sought for their own sake. It is not easy to imagine that leading men in the Church would find any pleasure that was either inspiring or helpful at the card table” (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed., Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1939, p. 329).
he concluded his response by saying, "While it is best to avoid the use of “playing cards,” my personal experiences indicate that our family has enjoyed many benefits from playing games with cards. At a time when amusements are generally enjoyed alone, for example TV viewing and video game playing, we in our family like to play card games together. It has been both unifying and has provided the arena for much give and take. All in all, playing card games has given us many delightful moments."
As i thought about this, I determined that the use of facebook, television, other computer distractions, are much more likely than face cards to
1) waste huge chunks of my time
2) open me up to a wide variety of evils,
3) "dull and stupor" my mind,
4) become addictive
etc....
i shared my thoughts regarding this with those (few) girls who seemed interested and/or concerned about the first yw's adamant cries that i had brought SATAN into the church. I told them that they are safer playing a game of sequence for 20 minutes at a youth activity, in cultural hall of the church, then they are spending hours and hours involved in social media, mind numbing and spirit dulling "music," and watching questionable television shows and movies. (I found it hilarious that the girl who started all this chose to stay at that game table (all the while complaining about the evil of it all) since that's where the BOYS that she thinks are cute were sitting. I guess maybe it's ok to be in the presence of Satan if the boys are cute enough?????? NOT!)
I know this is more than long enough already, but i just have to follow up with this - two weekends ago at our stake conference there were several talks that mentioned the over used of facebook, and other other social networking sites. it was prompted that i too am going overboard and am addicted. Elder Oak's talk on good, better, best was quoted a couple of times.
GOOD - facebook allows me to connect with friends and family and know what's going on in their lives
BETTER - blogging is a venue for me to journal - which we are supposed to be doing, and still lets me connect with family and friends (those that are willing to take the time to read more that the 150 characters (or whatever the number is) at a time. (my "blogging" went way down hill once i got a facebook account and now what do I have to show for it? pretty much nothing.)
BEST - writing in my private journal
I'm not so good at writing in my private journal, but i can move it up a step by writing the more "non-personal things" in this forum. My new "facebook rule" is that i cannot log into facebook unless I have
1) worked for at least 1 hour on my "housework"
and
2) written something on my blog with in two days
Saturday, April 2, 2011
General Conference, Day 1
Ok - I'm feeling like a "spiritually out of tune" slacker or something. Typically, the Saturday morning session of conference knocks me off my feet! Today's conference sessions were good, and I learned things I needed to hear, but nothing that fit into the "balm of Gilead" category for my soul - as in recent years past. Might have had something to do with the fact that I have had most/all of the kids in the same room as me, and was helping them with their conference packets, etc... Or maybe it could also have to do with the fact that I have had some great spiritual experiences in the past couple months, so maybe I wasn't so desperately in need this time round? who knows? (Could also very likely have been that I was SUPER tired and was fighting hard to stay awake! - not really conducive to divine inspiration...)
I did take notes,
From Elder Perry I was taught that I need to do better myself and in teaching my children to observe the Sabbath and keep it holy.
Sister Steven's talk just made me grateful I had so many great years with the children of the 10th ward
Elder Gonzalez reminded me how to be a "true follower of Christ."
Elder Richard's talk was about the purpose of pain and trials in our lives, and how the Atonement is the source to overcome pain, both physical, spiritual, emotional, mental, etc...
Elder Cook gave a great talk about power of a righteous woman and how the women in the church are incredible! It was inspiring to recognize the power and influence that woman can have and a good reminder that I need to be better at wielding that power in righteous ways.
Elder Eyring spoke of caring for the poor and the needy. I figure I'll be pulling out this talk when the YW want to plan service activities :)
My favorite part of President Packer's talk was his story about "John, leave it alone." Taking offense is a surefire way to hurt yourself -
My favorite two lines from Elder Nelson were "our faith NOW becomes part of our posterity's faith LATER." and that we cannot take the "cafeteria approach to obedience."
I had some bountiful basket issues that had to be resolved in during the next two talks, so I missed both names, and I missed most of the 2nd talk...but the topics of the first talk was the doctrine of Eternal families. He warned of three of Satan's big tools to destroy families. Selfishness, Greed, and Pornography. I am certainly guilty of selfishness far to often and need to work on that as well. He also reassured that weekly FHE, daily prayer and scripture, difficult though it is, WILL fortify the family.
Elder Oaks gave a great talk on the power of our DESIRES. We must lose desire to sin (this is a choice we make) and must "readjust our desires" to put eternal things first.
Finally, Elder Ballard spoke on the essential principle of CHARITY, the pure love of Christ.
#1 - charity begins at home,
#2 - Charity in our wards ("there is no place for gossip" - jumped out at me, another upcoming lesson in YW's I'm sure;)
#3 - charity in our communities.
It was a good conference. I was REALLY REALLY tired, having gotten to bed after midnight, then woken up at least twice that I remember by Caleb, and then up at 5:30 for BB. I guess I'm lucky that I got as much out of it as I did.
While Tim was at Priesthood session, I met with one of my sweet Beehive girls and did my first personal Progress... uh, would it be called an interview??? Whatever you call it, it was good. I love to see the faith and hope of these beautiful young ladies. T. is a GREAT young lady and I look forward to getting to know her better and watching her grow.
all in all, a good day
I did take notes,
From Elder Perry I was taught that I need to do better myself and in teaching my children to observe the Sabbath and keep it holy.
Sister Steven's talk just made me grateful I had so many great years with the children of the 10th ward
Elder Gonzalez reminded me how to be a "true follower of Christ."
Elder Richard's talk was about the purpose of pain and trials in our lives, and how the Atonement is the source to overcome pain, both physical, spiritual, emotional, mental, etc...
Elder Cook gave a great talk about power of a righteous woman and how the women in the church are incredible! It was inspiring to recognize the power and influence that woman can have and a good reminder that I need to be better at wielding that power in righteous ways.
Elder Eyring spoke of caring for the poor and the needy. I figure I'll be pulling out this talk when the YW want to plan service activities :)
My favorite part of President Packer's talk was his story about "John, leave it alone." Taking offense is a surefire way to hurt yourself -
My favorite two lines from Elder Nelson were "our faith NOW becomes part of our posterity's faith LATER." and that we cannot take the "cafeteria approach to obedience."
I had some bountiful basket issues that had to be resolved in during the next two talks, so I missed both names, and I missed most of the 2nd talk...but the topics of the first talk was the doctrine of Eternal families. He warned of three of Satan's big tools to destroy families. Selfishness, Greed, and Pornography. I am certainly guilty of selfishness far to often and need to work on that as well. He also reassured that weekly FHE, daily prayer and scripture, difficult though it is, WILL fortify the family.
Elder Oaks gave a great talk on the power of our DESIRES. We must lose desire to sin (this is a choice we make) and must "readjust our desires" to put eternal things first.
Finally, Elder Ballard spoke on the essential principle of CHARITY, the pure love of Christ.
#1 - charity begins at home,
#2 - Charity in our wards ("there is no place for gossip" - jumped out at me, another upcoming lesson in YW's I'm sure;)
#3 - charity in our communities.
It was a good conference. I was REALLY REALLY tired, having gotten to bed after midnight, then woken up at least twice that I remember by Caleb, and then up at 5:30 for BB. I guess I'm lucky that I got as much out of it as I did.
While Tim was at Priesthood session, I met with one of my sweet Beehive girls and did my first personal Progress... uh, would it be called an interview??? Whatever you call it, it was good. I love to see the faith and hope of these beautiful young ladies. T. is a GREAT young lady and I look forward to getting to know her better and watching her grow.
all in all, a good day
Honor and Beasts
GREAT news on the academic front -
For the first time EVER, Aaron made the honor roll. (2 B's, the rest A's.) We are super proud of him. He set the goal and worked hard. (plus a little extra prodding and encouragement from parents, but HE DID IT!)
Another great piece of news with Aaron is that he FINALLY found a book (series) that he likes! He has started reading the Beast Quest Series by Adam Blade. In the past 3 (maybe 4) weeks he has read 10 books!!!!! You have NO idea how WONDERFUL this is to me. Up to this point, I would be hard pressed to think of ONE book that he read, cover to cover, on his own. Granted, these books are pretty short (under 100 pages) and simple, but that is beside the point. The point is - that he found something that interests him and that he WANTS to read. I am praying that this will serve as a springboard to launch him into other books, but regardless of where we go from here - he found a book, read a book, comprehended the storyline of a book, and wanted MORE...
For the first time EVER, Aaron made the honor roll. (2 B's, the rest A's.) We are super proud of him. He set the goal and worked hard. (plus a little extra prodding and encouragement from parents, but HE DID IT!)
Another great piece of news with Aaron is that he FINALLY found a book (series) that he likes! He has started reading the Beast Quest Series by Adam Blade. In the past 3 (maybe 4) weeks he has read 10 books!!!!! You have NO idea how WONDERFUL this is to me. Up to this point, I would be hard pressed to think of ONE book that he read, cover to cover, on his own. Granted, these books are pretty short (under 100 pages) and simple, but that is beside the point. The point is - that he found something that interests him and that he WANTS to read. I am praying that this will serve as a springboard to launch him into other books, but regardless of where we go from here - he found a book, read a book, comprehended the storyline of a book, and wanted MORE...
HALLELUJAH!!!!!
Friday, April 1, 2011
a quick funny...
I have so much to do today, I shouldn't be on here at all, but since i am trying to play blog catch up, I'll just share a quick FUNNY Katrina moment.
It was about a week or so ago, and I don't recall what evactly she was talking about, but Katrina was talking to Tim and said something like
"I haven't be able to do (whatever it was) for 500 hundred million days."
Tim - "you haven't even been alive for that many days."
Katrina - "I know dad, I was just abbreviating."
It was about a week or so ago, and I don't recall what evactly she was talking about, but Katrina was talking to Tim and said something like
"I haven't be able to do (whatever it was) for 500 hundred million days."
Tim - "you haven't even been alive for that many days."
Katrina - "I know dad, I was just abbreviating."
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