Follow the Prophet

Chorus
Follow the prophet, follow the prophet,
Follow the prophet; don’t go astray.
Follow the prophet, follow the prophet,
Follow the prophet; he knows the way.

This weekend is general conference and it seemed very appropriate that Neal was teaching the kids to sing Follow the Prophet in Primary for the month of March.  We liked the idea of dressing up the kids as the different prophets but thought it would be a hassle to bring a ton of props so I made posters.  To try to make them as church approved as possible, I tried my best to make them look like the pictures suggested in the March Friend magazine (pictured above).  I have a long ways to go with my artistic skills but they turned out to be fun. 

Not to make fun of the prophets or anything but our kids faces suggests certain captions and I’ve included them in quotes and italics so there is no mistaking that this is Jackie speaking and not the church ;)  I’ve also put down the verses of the song to go with the pictures.

 

“There’s nothing like a life-time of back-breaking labor to make a person HAPPY!!”

1. Adam was a prophet, first one that we know.
In a place called Eden, he helped things to grow.
Adam served the Lord by following his ways.
We are his descendants in the latter days.

 

“RIGHTEOUS!!”

2. Enoch was a prophet; he taught what was good.
People in his city did just what they should.
When they were so righteous that there was no sin,
Heav’nly Father took them up to live with him.

 

“Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?!?”

3. Noah was a prophet called to preach the word,
Tried to cry repentance, but nobody heard.
They were busy sinning—Noah preached in vain.
They wished they had listened when they saw the rain.

 

“Who’s your daddy?”

4. Abraham the prophet prayed to have a son,
So the Lord sent Isaac as the chosen one.
Isaac begat Jacob, known as Israel;
Jacob’s sons were twelve tribes, so the Bible tells.

 

“After all we’ve been through, you are worshipping a CALF?!?”

5. Moses was a prophet sent to Israel.
He would lead them to the promised land to dwell.
They were slow to follow, or so it appears.
They were in the wilderness for forty years.

“Peek-a-boo!”

6. Samuel was a prophet chosen as a boy.
Hannah promised God her son would serve with joy.
In the tabernacle, Samuel heard his name;
He was called by God and answered, “Here I am!”

“Did you just see that? What a rush…”

7. Jonah was a prophet, tried to run away,
But he later learned to listen and obey.
When we really try, the Lord won’t let us fail:
That’s what Jonah learned deep down inside the whale.

 

“Yep.  Still here.”

8. Daniel was a prophet. He refused to sin;
So the king threw Daniel in the lion’s den.
Angels calmed the lions, and the king soon saw
Daniel’s pow’r was great, for he obeyed God’s law.

 

“I make this look good!”       

9. Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to return.
He blesses us with prophets who help us to learn.
President Monson humbly leads God’s Church today.
As we heed his words, we’ll walk a righteous way.

Going to Church is Fun to Do

I don’t think I ever updated the blog on what Neal and I are currently involved in, church-wise.  Back in March when our ward boundaries changed and we became part of an adjacent ward, we were called (early on) to serve in Primary, Neal as the Primary Music Leader (leading and teaching music to children ages 3 to 11 yrs old) and myself as a Nursery Leader (a teacher for a class for children ages 18 months to 3 yrs old). 

As for Neal, he has had a lot of time spent with his particular calling and he has a fun energetic personality for that calling.  It is a time consuming calling but I think he is enjoying it and all the funny little quirks that come with it (Primary kids say the funniest things…)  I think, all in all, he has served in this calling for, what, 4+ years, not consecutively.  I particularly feel the blessings of this time around as Aedan seems to be learning right along side of Neal.  For the month of April our Primary learned a song called Sacred Names of Jesus from a past Friend issue, a short and simple song with optional duet that tells of many names Christ is known by in the scriptures and how we say these names with great reverence and respect.  The other day, Aedan randomly said to Neal, “Prince of Peace, Lamb of God” and we had to think about where he was getting that from and then it dawned on us that it was from the song.  He only hears Neal practicing it at home so I was quite surprised that he picked it up. 

As for my calling, I had always broadcasted to anyone  who would hear the fact that I wanted a Nursery calling after I was released from Stake Primary.  It took a while but I finally got my chance.  Anyone would admit that it isn’t the best timing as I will be having a baby in a few months but I am enjoying it while I can.  I will say that Nursery doesn’t come completely easy to me and I feel like I am working hard at it (mentally, spiritually, and physically, mostly the latter!).  I would almost be brave enough to say that anyone who feels Nursery callings are way easy either has never served in the Nursery or else does not fully grasp all that needs to happen in there.  I suppose you can say that about any calling really.  I love the kids, love the manual, love the activities, hate the poor air circulation in the room :), and love seeing the progress of the kids over time.  But I am wiped out afterwards, not sure if I can totally attribute that to pregnancy though. 

What has helped me the most? Meeting most of the kids at their home before they show up to my class (made a world of difference the first few weeks), using music ALL the time, using the Nursery lessons for our FHE the week before giving the lesson so I have a trial run with my own kid and I am prepared well in advance, giving the parents short lesson summary printouts of what we did in class and I know many of the families actually use them in the home.  I’m still learning and there seem to be new challenges each time I go but I’m enjoying it while I can.  I don’t know if Aedan benefits so much from me being in Nursery – I check up on him to see what he has learned (which I already know as his class does the same lessons as ours) and today when asked what did he learn about in Nursery he said, “We learned about Jesus and Mickey Mouse.”  I can’t quite make the connection…

I should probably write down all of our ideas for our callings as it seems we keep finding our way back into Primary.  I’ll save that for some other day and for some other blog …

*** I know the pics above aren’t directly church related but they are from one of Aedan’s friend’s birthday party (the kid in the yellow striped shirt) this past weekend.  It involved going to a park on a real school bus which was too cool for the kids.  He has been in the same Nursery class with all of these kids at one point or another.

Draper Temple Open House

On the way down from great grandma's house, we met my parents for the Draper LDS Temple open house. Prior to the temple being dedicated, any one who is interested in taking a walk through tour of the temple is welcome. Once the temple is dedicated only worthy LDS members 12 years old and up have the opportunity to enter the temple so we were very excited to give Aedan the chance to be able to go inside. He has asked to go to the temple in the past and he was excited for the chance to go.

The highlight of the day was the bus ride from where we parked to the temple entrance.

He also liked the tents and tunnels to get to and from the temple (they were provided to keep the guests out of the weather). Here he is with grandma and grandpa W.

Sadly, the way they had the system set up to transport all of the guests did not provide a good opportunity for us to see the outside of the temple. So when we got back to the car, Aedan and I drove up to the temple and got our picture. Aedan looks especially enthused here...

It was a beautiful temple inside and out and we were glad for the chance to go!

Goodbye to a Great Calling

Today I was released from my church calling as 1st Counselor in the Stake Primary Presidency. If you don't read any more of this post (I don't blame you, it is lengthy and I sound all weepy and stuff) you will at least know that. I have actually known for a few weeks that this was coming but wasn't called in to speak with a Stake Presidency member until yesterday. Knowing so far in advance has been torture and these past few weeks have been hard for me to let the news sink in. I have served in the presidency, first as Secretary, then as 2nd Counselor, then as 1st Counselor and again as 1st Counselor under a different presidency and all of that within 3 1/2 years. It is such a sad thing to be released as I have watched children grow, leaders come and go, and now Primary feels like family to me. And giving up family is not easy.

When I was first called back in 2005 I felt so inadequate with my previous Primary service experience being a pianist in a couple Primaries and a counselor in a Primary presidency in a singles ward. Yes, a singles ward. We had a girl who was bringing her friend's kids (who came from an abusive household, really quite sad) and then our counselor in the bishopric also brought his kids so we had a small Primary in a singles ward at BYU. For this Stake calling, I was called long before I became a mother and it was quite a difficult thought to process that I would have a responsibility over leaders over children when I had had no children of my own. Times have changed and while I've gained some experience I have still felt like there was no way I could have done it all without the help of the Lord. I've been truly blessed.

Some of you know that we just barely had a change in our presidency and wonder why another change so soon. The sister who served as the president has had some recent challenges in her work as an owner of several homes that she sells or rents out in Utah and her trials come as no surprise when you consider the housing market these days. She is needing to commit more time to her investments and is unable to stay here. I'm sad to hear of her trials but she is strong and willing to work and that is comforting.

Meanwhile I've never had so many people seem interested in how long I've served in this calling as I have in these past few weeks. Of course no one knew that I was being released but I had a hard time talking about it without tearing up. Even today I felt like I just couldn't look around at everyone just before Stake Conference began because I saw too many faces I've come to know and love and I didn't want to bawl again. I've been a tad bit emotional these last few weeks but I've had my chance to wish the new ladies luck and now I can move on.

I had several Stake leaders come up to me and say they heard we were leaving soon and I know that was taken into consideration for my release. We may be here all of next year for all I know and from my last post I said that Neal had a job interview and going into it he was under the impression that he was only being considered for a position in Chicago but it turns out that he qualifies for the local lab opening as well so we very well may be here much longer, we'll see. That said, I do feel (deep down, somewhere) like this was the right thing being released from my calling but that doesn't stop me from missing it and being sad over it! I have had a wonderful 3 1/2 years in my callings and now another very capable friend of mine will be filling in for me. I'm excited for her and the new presidency!

So that's it. I'll just be hanging out for a while I suppose. Actually I'll be subbing in for our ward primary music leader this Sunday - just can't let go of it I know! I have learned so much from this calling and have enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks to everyone who have supported me in my callings, particularly Neal who has always been there to help me emotionally and spiritually and Aedan who for a long time was my travelling buddy to visits throughout the Stake. I'm going to miss it all!

2008 CSMP Wrap up!

As part of my calling in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I have the privilege to attend as many Children's Sacrament Meeting Presentations in our Stake as possible. The presentations for this year have followed the theme I Am a Child of God and with each being held within the last quarter of the year and with holidays and general conference during that time also, a bunch of programs were held on the same day and so we split up as a Stake Primary presidency to make sure all are attended. Some have asked if it gets old seeing the same songs and the same topics presented and without hesitation I will say that it never gets old! Every program is different and even if they were all scripted the same, it would still be different because the children really make the program. I have shed tears at every single program I have attended this year because I feel the Spirit so strongly when I've heard the children sing or bear testimony. It could even be a darling sincere face that will get me, I'm that emotional about it.

One week ago I attended my last program for the year. I am really going to miss having this chance to witness so many great programs as there is a good chance we will not be here a year from now. I have learned and continue to learn so much from Primary children! Some Primary leaders have worried about what the kids would or would not do during the presentation but as an audience member I think those things make me chuckle a little and I even find myself looking forward to some of those moments on occaision. Some of the most silly Primary moments this year have been:

1) listening to a young boy sing out loud and strong but with the most monotone voice I have ever heard (there is bound to be a few angels who are tone deaf right?)

2) a not-so-young boy who felt it was a good idea to dance while sitting in the very front and while singing the song 'Called To Serve' (that song kinda makes me want to dance too)

3) younger kids who need their teacher whispering the words in their ears who often repeat back something that they didn't need to. Things like "ok, go sit down now" and "good job!" were told to them so they felt like they needed to say it into the microphone.

4) after singing the phrase "I hope they call me on a mission, when I have grown a foot or two" a young boy looked utterly disgusted and raised his hand. With a look of terror on his face he said, "But I don't want to have four legs!"

Loved every moment of it! I also appreciate the opportunity to see so many programs because I gather so many neat ideas. For example:

1) One branch had made the effort to help all the children to memorize their parts and talks and after they did their presentation for their branch members, they carpooled to a local senior care center and did the whole presentation over again for the residents there, all the talks and songs. How amazing! What a wonderful missionary tool and a terrific service for those people! After spreading the word on this idea another branch did something similar. So great!

2) One branch has a very dedicated teacher who teaches the children using sign language to supplement her lessons. Even though they have no current need for sign language in their Primary, they still have taken the time and energy to practice it and even signed one of the songs for the presentation. It was beautiful!

3) I actually got to accompany on the piano for a branch. People, if you need it, use your Stake leaders! We are here to help and it is never a burden for us! I loved participating in the program!

4) I have seen the talents of the children displayed so wonderfully - a girl who fills in as the pianist for her Primary, children taking turns playing the prelude music before the Sacrament Meeting began, children playing other instruments to accompany a song, children singing in smaller groups, family members singing as a group, a group of boys only singing (I think it is great when the boys don't shy away from singing these days), etc. So beautiful!

5) By far I enjoy the presentations that were mostly made by the children themselves. You can tell which ones are totally scripted by an adult and ones that come from the hearts of the young ones. I'm not saying one is right over the other but I am saying that I prefer it when the kids come up with their own thoughts and impressions over the topics. Sure there will be the odd word like 'waffles' inserted in their comments (I've heard this one a lot for some reason. Silly...) but as long as they are not going too far off the topic I think it is fine and fun.

6) One ward has a chorister who really gets the attention of all the children. When she would cut them off at the end of the song, they would all stop in unison. She could get them all to rise and sit in unison. It was like a professional chorale or something. This is totally not necessary lest you think that you need to focus a lot more time on this but I was very impressed and I think it showed a certain level of love and obedience happening in their Primary.

I could go on but the more I continue the more I am missing it all so I'll stop. Another great year coming to an end! Thanks to all of you who help make Primary a wonderful place to be!

General Conference Activities for Children and Youth

Once again the Semi-Annual General Conference for our church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will be held this coming weekend, Oct 4th and 5th. This is our chance to hear what the Lord would have us learn and improve on through the mouths of our living prophets. I like to gather some ideas of things to keep Aedan busy but somewhat involved in listening to the talks and music given in General Conference but I know it is a lot to ask of a two-year old. Especially when it is 8 hours in total. The idea is not to give them something so that they don't have to listen, but it is to hopefully enhance the experience, helping them pick out key points, bringing the event to their level, involving them somehow. Not to mention giving mom and dad a chance to experience more of conference too.

I've been scoping the web and found some activities for children (young and old as I think even I might enjoy being involved) and I thought maybe someone else could benefit too. Here goes, just click on the activity to link to the website. If you have any ideas/suggestions I'm all ears... These are ideas that can be used for FHE prior or after as review too. I probably wouldn't recommend many of these activities if you were going to be watching them at your local church building... Decide what is appropriate for your family and have fun and enjoy listening to General Conference!

• To start the list, here is my past post with some additional ideas and our family favorite activity, I Spy Jackie's Dad on TV game.
  

• ***updated*** I really like this General Conference packet from deseretbook.com and the Reverence Tent idea from the recent Friend issue.
  
  
• ***updated*** Another Gen. Conf packet which has something for every age. Lots of word search, crossword puzzle games.
  
  
• Conference Chase - board game where you listen for specific words during conference to advance on the board


• The Apostle Song - I found myself bobbing my head as I listened to this! A song to help you get to know the apostles better! Cute!


• Apostle Cards - a pic of each apostle with a very brief bio on the back


• General Conference Coloring Book


• Be Prepared for Conference Worksheet - for older kids/teens


• General Authority Ties - good for non-readers, coloring sheet to color the tie to match what each GA wore


• General Conference Booklet - maybe grade school appropriate, has bingo, color tie, write something learned from each talk, etc.


• General Conference Folder Journal - again for maybe grade school/preteen


• Tic Tac Toe: Before each General Conference, I make a tic-tac-toe board with the name of each member of the quorum of the twelve and the prophet and counselors in the boxes (one name in each box = 15 boxes). Then I tape a piece of candy on each square. When each person speaks my children have to listen and write down what the topic was. After that they can eat the candy on that square while they listen to the rest of the talk. (Idea from Euroca Marrott )


• Conference ABCs - List out one word that starts with each letter in the alphabet and cross them out when you hear them used. From Oct 2005 Friend


• Conference Coloring Activity - kind of like paint by numbers but it is color by words used.


• Conference Bingo - in color! but only 1 card


• Conference Bingo - many different cards and in black and white so they could color also


• General Conference Family Home Evening - all planned out for you with recipe for treat


• Conference Carousel - printout, color, assemble. From Apr 2001 Friend


• Make a Conference Basket! - cute but a little more prep time involved, making a basket full of goodies and activities for each child


• Print out past Friend magazine coloring pages


• Mini candy Bar Wrappers (from lds.about.com) - use mini candy wrappers of the Latter-day Apostles to test your children's knowledge and if they get it right (or are really close) they win the chocolate bar. There is one for each of the 15 LDS Apostles, both with and without their names (which would be on the bottom of the bar), as well as a sheet of all 15 ** Sounds like a lot of sugar to me but I suppose if you have a larger family it gets spread out thinner...


• Online Gen. Conf. quiz probably needs to be updated with new Gen. Authorities now


• A whole slew of Gen Conf games - crossword puzzles, name games, mazes, bingo, etc


• FHE Follow the Prophet or for that matter Deseret Book has many FHE ideas


• Different Apostle Cards, same idea

Behold Your Little Ones

As I mentioned in my last post, I recently helped out with our Stake Primary Leadership Training meeting and my major responsibilities were putting together a folder with all our handouts, making dessert (did the Daring Bakers Eclairs again), and putting together a presentation for new curriculum (new nursery manual and 2009 CSMP) and addressing any Sharing Time/Singing Time needs. As my general duties in our Stake Primary presidency, I have been assigned to be a "consultant" of sorts for all music and Nursery needs which works out perfectly because those are my favorite parts of Primary!

While we were setting up for the meeting in the Primary room, Aedan would frequently go up to the podium and fold his arms and bow his head to say a prayer in the microphone and he did this several times with an incredible reverent manner. Just yesterday, Aedan got behind me and put both hands on my head and said, "Close eyes mommy" and then started to say a prayer, trying to give me a blessing by the laying on of hands. Now while he does not yet have the priesthood authority to perform blessings, I am amazed he picked that up and recognized all the little bits of it. He recently saw Neal help give a friend a blessing before she had her baby and something about seeing his daddy serve and perform Christ-like acts really stuck with him.

I've had a lot of time to focus on the music aspect of Primary, keeping myself busy with making CDs of the CSMP music for each unit, occaisionally playing the piano while visiting some units, meeting with the music leaders. I would really like to put more emphasis on Nursery now and with the new Nursery manual, Behold Your Little Ones, I feel like Nursery is finally getting some additional attention church-wide. First off, Nursery is one of my favorite places to be on Sunday. I love it and it really makes me sad when people don't realize the importance of the Nursery class and view it as a "glorified babysitting" calling. I think we often don't realize how much kids this age are actually absorbing.

I love the title of this new manual, "Behold Your Little Ones" which comes from the Savior speaking to the Nephites in 3 Nephi 17:23 and the spiritual thought we chose to focus on complimented this theme nicely. Again, a worthwhile read, M. Russell Ballard's Great Shall Be the Peace of Thy Children talks about the significance of the word 'behold'. He says, "Notice that He didn’t say “glance at them” or “casually observe them” or “occasionally take a look in their general direction.” He said to behold them. To me that means that we should embrace them with our eyes and with our hearts; we should see and appreciate them for who they really are: spirit children of our Heavenly Father, with divine attributes"

Nursery is the first class of Primary and it provides a chance for children ages 18 months to 3 years old to learn basic truths about our church and the gospel and to really learn what being a child of God is all about. I'm sure many parents of toddlers can agree with me when they say that it is amazing the things they learn in Nursery. I know I need to do a better job at letting the teachers know how much we appreciate them. Aedan comes home and says things and sings songs that I know he learned in his Nursery class. So thank you to all of his teachers, both current and past!

This new manual is wonderful and I can see why they recommend that each family with Nursery age children should have a copy in their home - it works great for FHE and it is so incredibly easy to use. I am hoping they redo all of the manuals to be like this manual. Each lesson is in two pages or less and right by the lesson is your visual aids and an activity to copy and print. All the music for the lesson is written within the lesson, any tips to help the lesson go smoothly is written right in the margins... I love this manual! Buy one, I promise you won't regret it!

And for anyone actively using this manual for their Nursery calling, be sure to read the introduction very thoroughly as there are a few guidelines that have changed for Nursery. The obvious ones are that we are to use church-approved materials only in Nursery (ie. anything published directly from the LDS church, including music) and no set times for each activity but still keep a general schedule (snack, lesson, playtime, etc). These are the church's guidelines, not mine although I fully support them. Watch the introductory video online, it is pretty good too.

DigiScrapping and Church Callings, aka the end of free time as I know it...

I took a short break from blogging to recover after a very busy week last week. As some of you know, I am LDS and am currently serving as 1st Counselor in our Stake Primary Presidency and last Saturday was our Stake Leadership Training Meeting. I felt like we had a lot of material to cover in the time given to us and with several new Primary presidencies in our stake, we were hoping to answer a lot of questions they might have. While our Stake President wanted us to keep things simple, we also felt a need to spruce things up a bit as we wanted to help make it worth their while (several had to sacrifice a couple hours travel time to come, others sacrificed the chance to go to Time Out for Women which was unfortunately scheduled the same day) and also we wanted our efforts to reflect how we view our (and their) callings and responsibilities. Also we noticed some sisters throwing away our handouts on their way out the door at our last meeting... so we needed to put a little more effort into our presentation apparently.

We decided to center our meeting around the theme Behold the Children with a spiritual thought from an article written by M. Russell Ballard entitled "Great Shall Be the Peace of Thy Children" (Ensign, Apr. 1994). First off, if you serve the Primary (namely bishopric members) or serve in the Primary (especially teachers), I highly recommend that you read this article. I'd even recommend it all parents as much of this can be applied in the home. This article was perfect as the title shared the General Primary Theme (from 3 Nephi 22:13) and it targets several areas in which we all can improve in.

Well so as you can see from these pictures, I made a folder for each sister and while it was a lot of work I am very glad we did it. We were able to fit all of our paperwork in there and get it organized for ease in later use. I purchased inexpensive folders from Staples (Red, Blue, Yellow... Primary colors obviously) and did a little digital scrapbooking magic using Jessica Sprague's Echoes of Asia free kit (I know I've used this a lot but I love it and it was the only freebie that coordinated primary colors so nicely). I made a small card/magnet with our contact info and slipped it into the card slot in the front folder pocket. I wanted to have folder tabs to organize the material but they would have been way too costly even at the back-to-school sales and so I figured I would make my own. I just used cardstock for the page itself and printed out rectangles (digiscrapped up of course) with the file's information typed up neatly in text boxes. I did a repeat on both sides (so you can read the tab info from the back of the folder too) and glued the tabs onto the cardstock. Not only was it cheaper but it was very cute and coordinated so high fives all around.

I don't want to overly focus on the making of the folder although the contents are a bit lengthy for a post. I will say that most of the material was building upon what is already in the Church Handbook of Instruction and that should always be the first place to turn to when you have a question about how to do your calling the way the Lord would have you do it. We literally do a handbook highlight at each of our presidency meetings and I think if people were to really study it they would find that most of what they need is right there. Of course we also included updated info from lds.org, info/help from outside sources, and then any tidbits we have come to feel strongly about as a stake presidency. It was a lot of info and sometimes it might seem like we are critical of the units when we present this info but really, serving in the Primary is a lot bigger calling than many realize and we need the support and guidance from the Lord, and our general and stake church leaders to make sure we are ultimately doing what is best for the children to help them grow in the gospel. I am so amazed at how each Primary can function so well with such great responsibility - if you think about it, they are addressing audiences from ages 18months to 12 years old, having to become familiar with things that may be intimadating to them, such as music, scouting, Faith in God, activities, sacrament presentations, etc., and that is not even half of it. I truly appreciate those who serve the Primary children and I'm so grateful for my chance to be a part of it all. I love gathering ideas from all the different units and I just went to my first Children's Sacrament Meeting Program for 2008 and it was wonderful! Sure I could sit and tell you about all the funny things that went on but I will just say that I can never attend a CSMP without tearing up at least once because of the Spirit that is felt when I listen to these kids speak and sing out their little testimonies. I love it all!

*Pencil drawing at top Jesus and the Little Children by Frances Hook

Mii not so happy

I hate the evils of supply and demand.  We have been trying to get a Wii Fit for a couple months now, just trying at local stores as it is difficult to get one online plus we'd have to pay out a bit more than finding one locally.  I've been watching newspaper ads, making many phone calls, making many trips, and still the only ones I've seen in store are the demo ones that so mockingly peek back at me through a clear case.  Not that I will give you the play-by-play of my search but it will suffice to say that it seems that our church activity has prevented us from getting one. Say what? Well, one instance we missed getting a Wii Fit by 30 minutes because we had first gone to a baptism of one of the boys that Neal used to teach in Primary.  Every other time has been because the stores put them out for their sales week starting on Sunday and since we try our best to 'keep the sabbath day holy' we refrain from shopping on Sundays and so they sell out before Monday morning rolls around.  It has been really frustrating.  Really.

Every time I come home empty handed we will jokingly say, "That's what we get for keeping the commandment" and while we don't really think that is a punishment it certainly isn't a perk.  This past Sunday we had a Sunday School lesson comprising chapters 36, 37, and 38 of Alma in the Book Of Mormon and I think we had read this scripture: Alma 36:3 And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.  We were then asked whether we thought the idea that righteousness = less trials was a true statement or not.  There were many who commented that they believed it to be true and gave their reasons.  I have a hard time agreeing that it is completely true but then I could see it going either way. 

My thoughts, occaisionally influenced by logical reasoning, were that if A=B then B must = A and for some reason, turning that thought around to say that someone who receives less trials = must be a very righteous person just seems less true to me.  I appreciated the comment made by a sister who said that there are many righteous people who receive many difficult trials and just because someone's family is having troubles or someone is having a hard time in life it does not make them wicked and we need to be careful not to judge them.  But you know, I was thinking more on this and I decided that it really is a matter of perspective of the individual and it is very difficult to justly judge from an outsiders point of view. So I say it is a matter of perspective because I could either say, "I am trying to be a good person and yet I am still getting this trial of trying to find a Wii Fit" or I could say, "I am trying to be a good person and while I haven't got a Wii Fit, I'm sure I could count many blessings I've received by not breaking the Sabbath Day" or you might suggest I say, "Whoa, aren't we taking this a little too seriously? What happened to good old fashioned jogging?"  I think the way we personally view our trials makes a difference - kind of a glass half full/half empty sort of thing.  Meawhile, Mii and I are not getting any thinner by sitting and blogging about this... or is it I and Mii? I'm confused.

I mean look at all these people having fun!

I thought it interesting the difference in the wording of two almost identical verses.  The one I just listed above says "whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials" and another in Alma 38:5 "that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials" (italics added).  The second one is addressed to Alma's son Shiblon personally and the first is a bit more general in it's address.  But still!  There are many times I would love to be delivered but at very least, I feel supported in my trials.  I don't think I'm going to count my lack of a Wii Fit a trial so much and believe me, I'm not praying for one (ya, can you imagine? Deliver Mii!!)  nor do I find the temptation too great. I just think it is cynically humorous. 

Adventures in Nauvooland

Boy, when I say it like that it sounds more like an amusement park...

We've had some wonderful luck with coordinating our outings with the weather lately - last week we spent 1.5 days (the only 2 cool days in the month) in a little place called Nauvoo, Illinois.  Actually, the route we took brought us into some heavily flooded areas and they had to build the road up over the water to make a one lane passageway for all us visitors to get through.  It was pretty sad to see so many things destroyed by the flood but Nauvoo itself seemed to miss the most of it.  You know how you always (well, maybe not you) forget to bring something, oftentimes something crucial when you pack for a trip?  I got a phone call from a friend saying we left our front door key in the lock and the front door was unlocked.  Yikes!  No harm done though, we had some other friends pick up the key and lock the door for us.  Phew! Crisis averted!

photo curtesy of wunderground.com

Nauvoo was originally settled by some pioneer members of our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and the attraction is to see the Nauvoo LDS Temple, the Nauvoo Pageant, and to see many of the old restored buildings where prominent leaders and members of our church lived and made a living until they started their journey west to eventually settle in the Salt Lake Valley.  I should also add it is a good place to get fudge.  Again I digress...

We started off our evening by walking by the Nauvoo LDS Temple, which is not the original temple built as that one was destroyed after the Saints left, but it is made to be almost the same with a few modern conveniences added in (ah, A/C is bliss).  It is a beautiful temple and even just walking on the temple grounds I feel like it radiates the same peaceful feeling I feel as I visit any other LDS temple.  I especially appreciate seeing the temple in the company of my family as it seems to complete the feelings I experience there.  Aedan "Love(s) To See the Temple" and he loves to see all the beauty that surrounds it.  As a mark of a true house of God, I feel like I come away a slightly better person after attending the temple and I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to be sealed to my Neal for all eternity in an LDS temple.

We then went to a portion of the Sunset at the Mississippi program and I just have to say that while I recognize all the effort and talent that goes into such a show, I can't help but want to get up and do something else.  It was just fine, I don't mean to give you the impression that it isn't worthwhile but as we were going to the Nauvoo pageant immediately afterward I just wasn't in the mood to sit and listen to more singing and the like.  So we made our way to the pageant field and they have all sorts of fun pioneer games, crafts, activities going on.  I really quite enjoyed this - so much that I didn't get a single picture this year.

The pageant at Nauvoo was remade in the past few years and I must say that the new pageant is a big improvement.  I feel like they depict the life of the LDS pioneers in Nauvoo in a fun and uplifting way, with the main focus being on the prophet Joseph Smith and the building of the Nauvoo temple.  The music and dance is very tasteful and the cast and set are wonderful.  I think we've seen this pageant 3 times now and I highly recommend it.  Plus it is free. 

Blah blah... Oh What?!? Ok, author's interpretation here... it didn't really happen but it could have.

We walked back to our very humble Motel Nauvoo only to find that the road was blocked off - something about a gas leak in the apartment building directly behind our room.  By the time we got there they had already shut off the gas and the danger had dissipated so they were willing to let us go to our room.  No damage done but we were glad we missed the craziness of that event.

The next morning we had a lovely breakfast compliments of the Motel and then we set out to discover the various places in the old "downtown" Nauvoo.  Granted most of the stuff we did we had done before but it was all new to Aedan.  We learned about the Scoville bakery and got a gingerbread cookie, we learned how to make some rope/candles/flax cloth and how to use a bustle oven and sampled some yummy bread.  We learned how to make wagon wheels and horseshoes. 

We learned how they made leather shoes.  We went to the old post office and Aedan got to write a "letter".  We went on a horse drawn wagon ride where Aedan nodded off.  We all napped in the car and then went on an oxen-pulled covered wagon ride where the smell of the ox-poo was a bit too overwhelming for Aedan who then got "wagon"-sick all over.  He was very offended.  No I don't have a picture of that...

We got some fresh air at the Mississippi River and tossed a few rocks in.

We spent a little time in the Nauvoo visitor center and the statue garden.

We ended the day with a trip to the fudge factory and to the buffet at Hotel Nauvoo for our feast.  All in all, it was a fun trip with nice cool weather and good-old fashioned entertainment.  It was hard coming home to refrigeration, indoor plumbing, and a wii that had collected dust over two days but we managed after a time.  Barely.

All thy children shall be taught of the Lord;

and great shall be the peace of thy children (3 Nephi 22:13) I know "all thy children" includes me too...

I have always loved serving in Primary and I find I have a hard time going back to Relief Society - not because of the RS itself but because I get sudden urges to "get my wiggles out" and that just wouldn't be right for me to bust out in Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes whenever I get restless. I know what you are thinking, I should do it anyways, if not for me, for the entertainment value.

We had Stake Conference a while back where I was released and called to my same calling in the Stake Primary presidency (of course that happens when there is a change in president). The ways things go with that is I have to be set apart again which is something I personally look forward to as I find I receive much needed guidance and direction from my Heavenly Father, not to mention my past blessings for my callings have all been quite choice. Going into it this time though, I was thinking, this is weird, I've served in this calling for a while and I wondered how/if things will be different. One thing I will share with you is that in my blessing I was told that I will be blessed as I strive to ease into my calling. I instantly thought, what?!? It is the same calling. The man giving the blessing and setting apart knew that was the case, he is the husband of the other counselor who is also from the previous presidency.

I just had to laugh in my mind about that and couldn't think why that would be said. And just when I think I know myself I find out the Lord knows me better. It has been a very humbling experience "easing" into this calling - I can't quite explain why. Not that it has been extremely difficult but I am discovering and rediscovering my responsibilities and that can be quite a challenge sometimes. Going into it I thought it would be a no-brainer transition but I am finding out little by little, that I have many things yet to learn from our new presidency, from the units we serve, and from the Lord, and to never ever assume that I have reached my full potential. I am grateful for the push to become better and the opportunity to do better. The Lord does not want his followers to stand still in ways of learning, in ways of charity and of spirituallity - young or old, we are all "striving to ease" into our various callings of life. The only successful way to do this is to "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6).

My apologies for all the hyperlinks - I find our church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints does a much better job of explaining the terminology and I would hate to get anything wrong, I'm not perfect yet! I don't mean to assume you are a member of our church at all so if you have questions just ask!

A House of God

When I was a little girl, I couldn't pronounce the word "temple". I would say "plento". Or so I'm told. I don't remember any specific instances where the temple stands out in my mind from my childhood days - I am sure I saw plenty of them as they are abundant in the state of Utah. I suppose we as a family never had to make the same sacrifice of taking an entire weekend just to attend the temple as we do now where we live and most likely when my parents did go, we would stay at home with a babysitter or my grandma or something. A lot of the time we end up having to take Aedan with us, either working out some sort of swap with friends or family (luckily Neal's parents can work it out to have Aedan while we go) or we have done it where Neal and I will take turns watching Aedan while the other is in the temple.

Aedan loves to see the "tempo"

I am fine with it and all said and done, I still feel like we have it easier than others in our area because we have family we can spend the night with on the way. But all that said, I don't know how often I got to be close to a temple growing up, while Aedan has had several opportunities. Well, he doesn't quite understand why we go, and maybe he doesn't quite understand the sacrifice, but I am glad for the opportunity we have to bring him with us because I do think that he readily recognizes temples (and any other fancy building is a temple to him now) and from what little gospel learning he has had, he can associate it with perhaps God, or Jesus, or love. That is, in my mind, a wonderful thing!

All of us at the St Louis LDS Temple, pics taken over Thanksgiving weekend 2007.

I think around 18months old Aedan learned to say the last word/words of each line of the song I Love to See the Temple and he still loves to sing it. He went through a phase where instead of saying the word "pray" he would say "play" which just gives me the giggles. We just recorded this today (first verse only) as I hadn't successfully recorded it earlier and I also wanted to help him remember our recent temple trip. I'll post the lyrics because while the way he says things are cute, I may be the only one who understands him...


Words and Music by Janice Kapp Perry
I love to see the temple.
I'm going there someday
To feel the Holy Spirit,
To listen and to pray.
For the temple is a house of God,
A place of love and beauty.
I'll prepare myself while I am young;
This is my sacred duty.

Daddy's Boy

Today I was thinking that I'm so grateful that Neal is Aedan's daddy. There was no particular reason or event that happened today that made me think this, just one of those thoughts that pop up, probably not as often as they should. Life isn't easy for Neal and I sure appreciate his hard work he puts into his school, his church calling (which currently he is leading the Primary children in song this summer), and his family.

Earlier today Aedan grabbed a toy phone and put it up to his ear and said, "Hi, Neal. Talk to you later. Bye!" and then handed me the phone. He must hear that a lot.

Aedan gets very excited when I tell him he looks like daddy. I use this compliment to get him to wear his tie, or any shirt that doesn't have Thomas the Train or Elmo on it, or maybe a baseball cap. That is how I got him to enjoy wearing this hat to one of Neal's baseball games a few weeks ago.

Some friends of ours gave us a fun idea - we had Aedan ride the bus with Neal all the way to school and I drove to pick him up and took him to a toddler story time at the library afterwards. The story time is a regular thing but this was his first time on "daddy's bus". They waited at the bus stop...

... and hopped on the bus. I picked him up 20 minutes later and really, the ride didn't seem to phase him. Maybe next week he will be a little more animated about the whole thing.

Thank you Neal for being the greatest daddy we could ever hope for! We love you!

Sit, Aedan! Good Boy!

This weekend we drove to St Louis to attend the St Louis Missouri LDS Temple and to watch general conference with Neal's parents. The trip to the temple was wonderful and I really enjoyed general conference this weekend. I am finding that general conference is pretty hard for an almost two year old, having to sit through 4 two hour sessions. He just about had it during the last session and so we entertained ourselves by taking pictures.

These ones remind me of taking pictures in those photo booths they have at the mall.

Aedan's recent obsession - Thomas the Tank Engine and all of his friend-trains. He's officially entered boyhood.

They are watching general conference on tv and eating popcorn. Like grandpa, like grandson.