This
Week in Review
First
we want to wish all of the Fathers a Happy Father’s Day. We are so grateful for your wonderful
examples and the important role you play in ours and our children’s lives. We truly appreciate all that you have done
and the sacrifices you have made on our behalf.
We’ve
worked really hard this week to stick to our schedule of all getting up
together and reading scriptures and saying prayers. I think Bekah Mae struggles with it the most
due to her desire to sleep in. The funny
thing has been that since the kids are so used to reading scriptures before
bed, they still request them along with their bedtime stories.
For Family Home Evening this week, we learned
about how we should behave in church.
Different behaviors were compared to different animals for example
kittens that swat at each other should keep their hands to themselves and
monkeys who climb under benches should stay in their seats. We learned that it is best to behave like a
butterfly and move gently and quietly and think about Jesus. Hopefully this will help us at church on
Sunday.
The
kids and I have been working on what we call “Pirate School” this week. I found a 5-week set of toddler through 2nd
grade activities and the first week is based on pirates (next week will be
ponds). We’d start out most days reading
a story about how to be a pirate, which got the kids excited and we had plenty
of “Argh”s and “Yo Ho Ho”s. The kids get
really excited to work on their letters and numbers, as well as pattern
recognition and shapes. Ben has even
been working on a few sight words. I’m
just impressed by how much they know and how quickly they pick up on things.
Zachary
has had a big week. On Sunday we
discovered his 1st tooth. He
also started to crawl with his tummy off the ground instead of just the army
crawl he’s been doing. Now, not only is
he pulling up and walking along the furniture and anything else in reach, but
he can also walk along with his push walker.
Robert’s
been busy with work and church. He’s
been in and out of court, worked to get service projects set up for members of
our ward and still found time to play with the kids. Ben appreciates their alone time of playing
with “Daddy Legos” that are too small for Bekah Mae and Zachary to be around.
Saturday
we went out to Magnolia where Marianne and Bradford are building their new home
and spent the afternoon playing in the pool and at the park. My parents flew in and Dave and Liz and Des
and their families showed up. The kids
had a blast and were so worn out at the end that Ben was telling us he was
tired and needed to go home. It’s always
nice to play with cousins and we appreciate Marianne and Bradford hosting
everyone.
Our
Cute Kids
While
I was putting the kids down for a nap Ben informed me that he had a joke to
tell me.
Ben:
How do bears eat bees?
Me:
They don’t
Ben:
No, Mommy it’s a really funny joke. How
do bears eat bees?
Me:
Okay, how do they?
Ben:
In a peanut butter sandwich.
He
then just started laughing; it was about the cutest thing ever. I just love watching the creativity and how
their minds work at this age. I only
wish that I could still see the world the way they do.
Thought
I’ve
started reading through the Conference talks from April. I always tend to read the talks from the
Quorum of the Twelve and First Presidency first and this time was no different. I enjoyed President Henry B. Eyring’s talk on
Hope. He started by saying, “Whoever you
are and wherever you may be, you hold in your hands the happiness of more
people than you can imagine.” As a
parent this means more than it did before.
Everything I do affects my kids.
If I’m grumpy, they are grumpy.
They copy the things we say and how we act. I want them to behave correctly, to treat
others kindly and be educated, but most importantly I want them to develop a
relationship with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I want my kids to learn to love them as I
do. I feel the most important thing I
can do for them is to teach them how to gain eternal life.
President
Eyring continued saying, “You have the opportunity to show many people the way
to greater happiness. When you choose
whether to make or keep a covenant with God, you choose whether you will leave
an inheritance of hope to those who might follow your example.” President Eyring told of one of his ancestors
who came to America and found and joined the church. Speaking of his ancestor he said, “He knew
that the happiness of eternal life comes through family bonds which continue
forever. …He knew it would not be
one great choice to make … but many small choices.”
He
reminded parents that they can’t force righteousness because it has to be
chosen, but that it is up to us to set the example. He offers three suggestions of things to do
while our children our young, which we are currently working on.
1. Daily Family Prayer
2. Family Scripture Study
3. Sharing our testimonies
He
says these things are easier and more effective when children are young. “Young children are often more sensitive to
the Spirit then we realize.”
I’ll
finish with a few more of my favorite quotes from his talk:
“If
we choose the right, we will find happiness – in time. …Those effects are
sure. Yet they are often delayed for a
purpose. If the blessings were
immediate, choosing the right would not build faith.”
[The
prophets] “know the way of the Lord, and so are always hopeful about His
kingdom. They know He is at its
head. He is all-powerful and He
cares. If you let Him be the leader of
your family, things will work out.”
“After
all we can do in faith, the Lord will justify our hopes for greater blessings
for our families than we can imagine. He
wants the best for them and for us, as His children.”