Die Hard Fan

Emma  has now read the Harry Potter series 3 times! She loves all things related to the story and loves many of the characters, not just Harry. After she finished reading the series the first time, our family had a Harry Potter marathon and watched all of the movies in one weekend. Her favorite character is Ginny because “she is a tough girl, and not so frilly.”

Emma has decorated her bedroom to look like a Griffindor dorm room. In the attached picture you can see pictures of the characters from the movies posted on her wall, and a reading corner with books, quill, and “parchments.” She wrote her own spell book based on what she found in the books, and made a “shelf” on the wall for “potions” she has crafted with paper and glitter etc. For Christmas she got a wand from her grandparents that came with a book which she adores. Emma just recently started saving her money for tickets to the Harry Potter park in Orlando. Because we live on the West coast, she has a long way to go before we can get our family of six there. She is determined though, and has all of her savings ($70.00 or so) in a canning jar bank in her bedroom.

Here is a more recent picture of her in her room.

How Not To Be Discouraged

Recently my Mom gave me a little blue card that was given out at a Youth Conference when I was twelve years old. I remember this conference because it was the first one I went to as a “Young Woman” and we had a great church leader speak to us. Actually, maybe it was part of our Stake Conference and not actually just for the youth, but I remember that it seemed like a big deal that Elder Gene R. Cook wanted to talk directly to the youth. This was in the days before the For the Strength of Youth program began so it was more unique to have something directed at us from a visiting General Authority. I was sitting on the left side of the chapel and he had a chalkboard on wheels brought in for his presentation. On the chalkboard he listed the main points of his talk, and they were also made up into little business card size reminders that we could take with us. I took the faded blue card that my Mom gave to me and put it in a picture frame. I gave that to Hunter for his room. It makes me feel better to know that as he heads into the middle school phase of life he has this list ready for him if he should be discouraged, or need the comfort of the Lord.

I love how Elder Cook lists things so simply, and since my oldest is fast approaching the age I was when I received this advice, I wanted to make a record of it. I tried to find a typed copy of the talk.  What I found was more recent, but seems to be the same as what he presented to us back in the 80’s. Read through the talk if you get the chance. It’s wonderful!

I’ll list here what it says on my card, and in italics write how it’s listed in his talk from 2000:

How to Invite the Spirit Immediately

“How Not To Be Discouraged”

1. Pray

2. Read Scriptures

3. Testify

4. Sing

5. Express Love to God and Man

6. Share Spiritual Experiences

7. Seek a Priesthood Blessing

How to Discourage Discouragement

Prayer

Scriptures

Cleanliness

Testify

Hymns

Love and Gratitude

Share Spiritual Experiences

Priesthood Blessings

First Loss!

Hannah lost her first baby tooth! This actually happened a while ago, and she just lost her second one the other day so I was reminded to give a little shout out for her. She was so excited to lose it so she could use her tooth fairy pillow and get some money from the tooth fairy. She was good about wiggling it a lot, but it did take a little tug from Mom to get it to fall out. Our kids usually get four quarters from the tooth fairy, and Hannah put it right into her pixie hollow bank. The kids have started saving all of their change for a trip to the Harry Potter amusement park set to open this spring. Since it’s in Florida it will take an awful lot of coins to get us there, but they think they can do it. I have to admit, I would love to go there too!

Mission San Luis Rey

Emma and I went with her class to tour the California mission in Oceanside. It was a beautiful day to learn some history and be with my cute girl! It is the largest of the missions, and we  enjoyed this area where there was a laundry and water system.

Two Great Families

Recently, we decided to take another look at some of the TV shows we were watching. I realized that there were shows on our TV that didn’t set a good example for our kids on how they should interact with family and friends. So many shows are filled with sarcasm and witty one-liners, and don’t model what I consider acceptable interactions. As our oldest heads into the middle school years, I find myself becoming more and more conservative about what I allow into our home. (I can feel myself becoming a frumpy stick-in-the mud, but I’d rather be too frumpy than too lenient.)  I set our DVR to tape some different shows, and have two favorites:

19 Kids and Counting

I love the Duggars. I will put on an episode of this show to give myself motivation when I’m feeling overwhelmed or just want to cheer up. Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar are wonderful parents. At first I wondered how they could possibly be available to so many children, but I am now just in awe of them. Their family is morally strong and they truly love each other. They do their bible study, and try their best to follow it’s teachings. Their children know how to work, and understand it’s value.  The parents have positive attitudes and it extends to each of their children. I know that we are only seeing a glimpse of their real life, but I love watching their family. This season is a bit different as they have shown some of the struggles they deal with as their 19th baby was born very early and is spending months in the NICU. Every family has ups and downs and I find watching their journey an inspiration for how I parent my little -in comparison- family.

The Cosby Show

This is a classic from the 80’s that I still find relevant today. I really like the earlier seasons where the Huxtable kids are closer to the ages of my kids. I know they’re not a real family, but they do portray a happy, healthy one. There are lessons taught on stealing, cheating, judging others, following rules etc., but they are also really fun. One of the first episodes I watched with the kids was where the family sings and dances to “Night Time is the Right Time” and all of my kids were laughing so hard they rolled on the floor. I remember watching this show as a kid, and found some of the other shows from that time too, but they were just not as good as this one. I have seriously thought about going without cable altogether, but as long as I can find shows like these and avoid the junk, I think we’ll keep it. For now anyway.

Readers Digest – August 2009

Swimming lessons for all four kids!

They passed!

Emma took an acting class, and had a great time in the 70s.

First Day of School!

Emma starts 4th Grade

Hunter’s in here somewhere. He was so fast I missed the picture of our 6th grader.

Hannah’s first day of kindergarten required lots of curls.

Sabrina also started a co-op preschool called, “Princess Academy.”

Also this month was a family reunion:

FHE: I Can Repent When I Make a Mistake

Rob taught this lesson, and it was the best one I’ve ever seen on repentance. First he told a story about a child that was invited to a super delicious dinner by his mom and dad. (Rob is a great story teller, but I’ll do my best to convey the gist of it here.) When he came to dinner his mom said, “if you want to have dinner, you need to wash your hands.” The boy said, “I don’t want to wash my hands. They’re not that dirty.” The mom told him that even if they are a little dirty, he still needs to wash them. She said, “Please wash them. I have this dinner ready for you, and I will be sad to see you miss out on your favorite dinner.”

…So, what would you do if this happened to you?

Our Heavenly Father has promised us a joyful life with Him if we will just repent when we make a mistake. Some things will take more time to resolve than others, but in the end the reward will be worth the effort.

Then we went through each scripture on these visual aids to show the steps of repentance. We all took turns reading the scriptures out loud and then discussing what they mean.

Recognize our sins Alma 42: 29
Feel sorrow for our sins Doctrine & Covenants 20:37
Forsake our sins D&C 58:43
Confess our sins D&C 61:2
Make restitution Ezekiel 33: 15-16
Forgive others 3 Nephi 13:14-15
Continue to keep the commandments D&C 1:32

I think the lesson itself is good, but what really made it great was the spirit of love that we felt as we discussed how much our Heavenly Father wants to give us blessings. But to get those blessings, he asks us to be clean.

It seems like a pretty sweet deal to me!