Christmas Service

One of my favorite things about the Christmas season is the Light The World Challenge put on by the church. It is a month full of  different service challenges to help "light the world". This year, the church switched it up a bit. Instead of day to day challenges, they broke it down into weekly challenges. Week one is "Light the World" second is "Light the Community" and then "Light Your Family" and lastly, "Light Your Faith".

As we talked about different ways we could Light The World, something that resignated with my boys is that there are millions of poor around the world with less than us. And while there are plenty of ways to help world organizations, I wanted something a little bit more direct for my kids. So we decided to help the poor of Idaho Falls. There is a halfway house for single mothers called, The Haven, and they are always looking for donations. We chose to make cinnamon rolls, sell them for a dollar a piece, and take the proceeds to purchases needed items for the Haven.

It all started with a simple Facebook post on the ward page. I thought we would be able to make about 24 rolls and that would be enough to buy a couple of things. In less than 24 hours, we had 72 orders of cinnamons. I was a bit overwhelmed and intimated, but after a quick phone call to my mom about how orchestrate the cooking, I was feeling much better and that this was something I could do to help. After two days of baking, the boys delivered all the treats and gathered all the money. My heart was warmed as family after family gave more than they committed to. At the end of the night, we had $130 to spend on helping others.

The next day, we went to the dollar store for cleaning supplies. We purchased a trunk full of things and took it to The Haven. The boys witnessed first hand what helping others looks like. They saw the goodness of the people that donated more and they saw what it looks like to live in a different situation than ours. I was so proud of them.

I hope it touched them like it touched me. As a mom, my biggest goal is to raise boys that become kind, loving and compassionate men. And I try to provide as many opportunities to reinforce that as possible. However, most of the time, it ends up affected me more. The service touches my heart and watching my kids serve together is truly magical. They help me see everything that is good in this world.

Tayden and I also had one more service opportunity this week. My family was asked to ring the Salvation Army bell at Walmart. I volunteered and Tayden tagged along. While it was cold and neither of us were overly excited, it was a wonderful opportunity. Tayden even said at one point, "This is actually kind of fun". I think what he felt was the blessings of service.




I'm grateful for this season and the blessing of service. I hope as I strive to teach my boys to serve, that it becomes second nature for them and something they look forward to doing. Because when we serve the other Children of God, we see the worth of them and feel the love that our Savior has for them. And is there anything greater?

Snowy Kyle

It’s no secret I’m quite enamored with Kyle. Being the youngest, I find myself completely smitten with him and all the cute things he’s doing. Winter has been quite fun for him, especially with the snow. Even the littlest bit we have. No matter how many times I tell him how cold it is, he decides how cold it really is for himself. I swear the child feels no cold.  But, I never let him play for long unless he’s appropriately dressed. This morning he was adamant on shoveling the grass instead of the walk so he could still make rabbit prints on the driveway. 

After playing without warm clothes, he decided snow clothes aren’t such a bad idea. He always laughs when he puts them on and tells me how fat he is. This particular morning was my favorite. The Christmas music was blaring, I was washing windows, and he was playing out in the snow “fixing his engine”. 

It’s been fun watching him explore the magic of the Christmas season. He was quite confused about the Christmas tree and why we had to have it up before Christmas Day. Now he’s accepted that part and is excited watching the gift pile grow each day. 

I’m grateful to watch this last child unfold the winter world! I watched my other boys and loved it equally, but knowing this will be last time I witness it, I’m watching it that much closer and loving it that much more. 

Turkey Birthday

Scotts birthday landed on Thanksgiving this year. Which is quite convenient because he sure loves him some pumpkin pie. It was a really great birthday. After 12 years of marriage, we are finally getting birthdays down. Usually, we struggle, but this year we hit out of the park.

Wednesday night, Scott was looking at some shoes he had been eyeing for a couple of weeks. They turned up on sale, so he asked if he could run to the store to get them. I had nothing pressing at home, so I agreed. He got ready to go and said his goodbyes. Before he could make it out the door, I asked if he was going to take his phone. He saw it sitting on top of a very familiar box...he opened it up and found the shoes inside. I had already bought them for his birthday! He laughed and laughed that he unknowingly ruined his birthday present. You have to understand he ALWAYS guesses his gifts and I ALWAYS get mad. But this year I played it cool and he was shocked to see them. But it was still so funny that he wrecked my surprise yet again. 

His actual birthday I spent the morning cooking. We went to my parents for Thanksgiving this year, which was a change since we always go to Packards. I was in charge of pumpkin pie (which I made the night before) apple pie, orange rolls and regular rolls. The orange roll disaster was first. Apparently, I only have half of my mother in laws recipe. My dough wasn't rising and I was about to give up and throw it out. But, I decided to stick with it and try to salvage what I could. I made another yeast starter, kneaded it into my dough and eyed the extra flour. And wouldn't you know...it worked!! I saved the sweet rolls. And they tasted wonderful. I was so proud of myself.

The apple pie mishap was next. I decided to stick with my regular recipe which is so yummy, but sometimes yields a runny pie. I researched how to combat that issue and decided cornstarch was my solution. So, I cornstarched my syrup...but it was a little much. My syrup thickened to much I could hardly pour it over my pie (It pours over the lattice work and into the pie. This creates a sugary crunchy top). Again, I decided to trouble shoot. I deconstructed my pie the best I could, added some water to my syrup and sugared it back to taste. It was a hassle, but I baked it anyway and crossed my fingers. I made sure to cut it before serving it at my parents house and much to my delight it looked amazing. I put it on the serving table and had many compliments and requests for the recipe. Again, I was so proud of myself.

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have so much to be thankful for. But I love when it lands on my husbands birthday, because it is such a great reminder of how thankful I am for him. All of my gratitude starts with him. My kids, my home, my life in Idaho...its all possible because of him. I love him beyond words. 

Colored Rice

The two little boys were bored the other day and I’d had enough TV, so I mustered up the energy to make a mess. They love playing in colored rice, but it can get out of hand quick... I mean, kids playing with rice... it’s not exactly tidy. But, they loved it and I’m so glad I gave in.  They played for hours and it turned out to be just the mess we needed. 

School Pictures

I’m too cheap to buy school pictures, but I still love taking a picture of the proof. 

Tayden is doing well in school. His grades are good, although he hates reading. Having him read is like pulling teeth. He can read fine, but he’d rather be outside playing football or hanging out with friends. He has a lot of friends and enjoys the social part of school. He’s also quite the goof and loves to make people laugh in his class. Fourth grade is pretty great. 

Beckett loves school. He says he doesn’t like it, but really he just doesn’t like getting up for school. Math is definitely his strong suit. His teacher wrote each kid in the class why she was grateful for them and to Beckett she wrote, “I’m grateful that you always catch my mistakes in math.” He also has a good group of friends. Which makes me happy because I was so nervous while he was in speech that friends would be hard for him, but it’s totally not. Kids love my Beckett boy. 

Cache loves kindergarten. He is soaking up everything his teacher throws at him and brings it home to practice. He writes all day long and practices his letters and reading. He loves learning the most out of the three boys. The major set back with Cache is his talking, which is no surprise. But he is really getting a handle on it, so I’m proud of him! 

President Nelson

Years ago, when  Thomas S Monson was the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I had no particular draw to Elder Russell M Nelson. I knew he would be the next prophet and I was always kind of sad about that because I didn't love him like I loved President Monson or President Hinckley.

That all changed when I stood in our front room during the solemn assembly and sustained President Nelson. I felt a near immediate love and support for our new prophet. As I listened to him speak for the first time that general conference the spirit bore witness to me that he was our living prophet, seer and revelator. And from that moment on, I've been hooked on his every word. I feel a great hastening of the work with President Nelson and I feel like he is helping me prepare for the second coming by his words and challenges.

He challenged the women of the church to stay off all social media for 10 days. During the fast he asked us to be more deliberate with our time and to take notice of how we felt. The first day or two were hard, but I soon realized that life was happening all around me and it was far better than the life of others I was witnessing on social media. The fast helped me to appreciate myself more instead of comparing my worst to everyone elses best. And it kept me off my phone and present with my kids. I found my sense of priorities so clear. After the fast was over, I took a few days to jump back onto my social media outlets. And when I did, I cleaned them up greatly. I quit following anyone who didn't truly matter or wasn't uplifting to me and limited my checking time to the evening. Its been really great.

The second challenge that I have loved was the challenge to read the Book of Mormon before the end of the year. Spending time in the Book of Mormon has been a huge blessing to me. For the past couple of months, maybe even years, I've felt my testimony wavering. Not to the point that I didn't believe in the gospel, but where I could feel my strength weakening. I would come up with goals to try to help, but if I fell short, I would give up. This challenge to read the Book of Mormon quickly became a life style and my testimony has shot up. My craving for church knowledge is like never before. I find myself listening to past conference talks in the car, listening to church music over pandora, and reading church material. The best part about it is likening all of it to life. I find life lessons every day or saying, "Like in the scriptures when..." Its been amazing. I actually had legitimate and relevant  comments to make in Sunday school last week. It shows me the power of the Book of Mormon is real.

President Nelson has also challenged us to attend the temple more often. I was concerned about finding the time for this, until my friend invited me to do initiatory work with her. We went when our little kids where at Joy School and we were in and out within about an hour. A whole new world has been opened up to me. I've done some family research and found names of those who needed work done and did it for them. I have a monthly date set and while its not doing a session, I'm still in the temple furthering the work. And as a patron said, "Initiatory is important too."And when my season of life changes and I have more time, I will do more endowment sessions. But right now, I am thankful that I am gaining a habit of regular temple work.

Watching President Nelson lead the church, under the direction of Jesus Christ, has been miraculous to watch. He's 92 years old and has endless energy and strength. He is buoyed up by the hand of the Lord. Like I said, there has been a hastening of the work and changes being made--but for the first time, I'm not scared. I'm excited to see the changes happening and feel like I am being made ready. Its a huge blessing and I hope people can see my change and I can inspire them to change as well. I hope I can make the necessary changes to our family that my kids may have the knowledge of the truthfulness of the gospel. I mean more than going to church, but practicing it daily and learning at home. I want their testimony to define who they are. And more than ever, I feel up to the challenge. All because of the love of a Prophet.

Growing

As I changed out our family pictures this week, I couldn’t help but take a trip down memory lane. Would you take a look at how much these boys have grown!!