FHE: Latter-Day Prophets!

We have been working on memorizing the 6th & 7th Articles of Faith these past couple months.  So I thought it would be good to have an FHE focused on prophets and specifically, our latter-day prophets.  We believe in revelation today from God to His servants & that is something that sets us apart from many other Christian religions.  I was really happy with the object lesson Dad did & the craft I did, & the hand out.  Hope it can spark an idea for how to teach your family about the wonderful gift we have of latter-day prophets!  The Gospel is true!  Keep up the good work teaching your children values & hope! It's a crazy world, but we don't ever have to feel discouraged when we have faith in Christ.  Love, Eva

S'mores & Preisthood Ordinances: A Delicious Object Lesson

We wanted to make s'mores and it was Monday night, so I decided to tie it in with our theme for the month, ordinances.  I thought about the graham cracker squares, sweet chocolate pieces, and white marshmallows and came up with this...   

I loved explaining with s'mores to my kids that just like a s'more could theoretically keep being added to and keep going and going, families and covenants are meant to also.  

They go on and on and bind us forever.

And now just some fun pics of my kids cooking.  

Sammy doing a happy dance over graham crackers...

 Roasting the sweetness!

 

 Proud girl!

 Even Sammy gave it a try.

 He was super proud.

 So was I...

 I like trying a variety of chocolates in my smores.  We related this to our endowment, teaching our kids that some people get endowed before their mission, or before getting married, or when they are older.  It's different for everyone, but still sweet!

 Proof I was there!

  Some fun jumping on the trampoline!

 Proof Dad was there!

 Sophia was gone for a while and came out with water for everyone.  What a thoughtful surprise!

I was so proud of her.

FHE can be short and simple sometimes and still be a great night.  When it's "wholesome" like the Proclamation on the Family describes, relationships grow, love is felt, and that is the perfect environment for learning.  The Gospel is true!  Love, Eva

Thankful For Food & Learning To Make Do!

                                 

The other morning we had a mini breakfast feast (YUM) and used the opportunity to talk about two things.  First, we learned about different kinds of food and how grateful we are to have such a variety.  

We used some pie crust stamps we had in some whole wheat pancakes!  I asked my kids if they knew the Four Food groups or about the Food Pyramid.  I know "Your Plate" is the new thing, but I couldn't help feel a little sad they hadn't heard about the old-school food categories.  I taught them that even though the pan cakes where in the Grains category, they had dairy in them too because of the eggs.  The kids thought that was pretty silly.

We used some fruit we had on hand to make a turkey too!

We didn't have everything the cookbook asked for, but we made do and substituted to create our delicious fruit medley.  That is another topic we are starting to learn about- Making Do!  Part of being grateful is recognizing you don't have to have everything.  Like Brigham Young said, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without!"

When they were done though, they didn't want to eat them.  So we covered them with seran wrap and stuck them in the fridge for viewing. LOL

With the pork chops, fruit, pancakes, milk, juice and eggs we learned that we had a little from each food group for our meal.  The point of this simple time together was to be grateful for the many kinds of food we get to eat and just enjoying what we have!  Remember, the Gospel is true and spending time teaching your children is always worth it, even if it's just in casual conversation!  Love, Eva

FHE Can Be A Bowl Of Cherries...LITERALLY! :)

Although June is passed (WOW!  Is it just me or is summer flying?!) I wanted to share a really fun activity we did along The Friend's theme of working together...we picked cherries!

It was so nice to be out in God's beauty, working in the sun and gathering food as a family. 

 

We do have our own garden, so we've discussed the idea of sowing seeds, watering and nurturing the plants in order to have the reward of eating something yummy.  But it was much more fun to be in someone else's orchard, reaching up high and then hearing the plop as a cherry landed in the old tin bucket.

 

 

There I am too!  :)

 

And I think being on ladders always "tops" pulling weeds in the dirt. LOL 

 

 

After we got home we ate our spoils (at only 50 cents a pound!  Yay for cheap orchards!) and of course read Alma and talked about the seeds of testimonies we all have.  My husband held a tiny cherry pit in his hand and explained that those big trees came from little seeds like that one.  Isn't that incredible?!  Just think of the BIG effects our little efforts as a family will yield as we nurture each other!  I do know that as we nurture our testimonies, feed them and ponder on them they can grow and be just as sweet as those yummy cherries we enjoyed on a summer evening.
The Gospel IS true!  Love, Eva

 

"Sharing" Success!

We had a great FHE last night (yay!) based on the First Presidency message in this month's Friend, "The Gospel- A Gift To Share."

First, I "shared" some ice cream that I really liked with everyone.  Then the kids "shared" some songs with puppets we had been enjoying them perform earlier in the day so Dad could see them too.  Then (Surprise!) Dad wanted to do a puppet show!  He used the puppets to teach a lesson about sharing.  He showed everything from nice sharing to bullying and not sharing to saying sorry and being friends again.

We wrapped things up by explaining how when you have something you like you want to share it with others.  Not everyone knows aobut God or Jesus.  What could we do?  I practically saw the lightbulb go on over my daughter's head!

"We can share the gospel with them!"

Yes, we can!  We can pray for missionary opportunities.  Missionaries and friends shared the Gospel with both of my parents and I'm so grateful they did and that they then shared it with me.

I think FHE went better last night because I didn't think of it as a huge event that needed to be planned.  I wanted us to enjoy a dessert together, the songs the kids had been practicing and a spiritual message.  That was it.  We had a lot less stress and a lot more learning and fun this way.

I hope this gives you some ideas you can "share" with your family!  The Gospel is true!  What you are doing is worth it and will affect more people than you can imagine!  Love, Eva

Writing Before Sunrise...And the BEST Family Home Evening

Today I am writing before the sun comes up.  This seems to be the best time for me to write, as once kids are up and the day is rolling it is so hard to pull myself away from them.  Mostly, because I don't want to. :)

But not writing makes me grumpy, and evening time is hubby time.  So this is how it will be at least on those blessed mornings where Samuel actually sleeps 6 hours straight!  I have a feeling today is going to be a great day!

I wanted to share a quote I've been thinking about for weeks...

"...insisting that you have a picture-perfect family home evening each week—even though doing so makes you and everyone around you miserable—may not be the best choice. Instead, ask yourself, “What could we do as a family that would be enjoyable and spiritual and bring us closer together?” That family home evening—though it may be modest in scope and execution—may have far more positive long-term results.

Our journey toward perfection is long, but we can find wonder and delight in even the tiniest steps in that journey."  

The entire wonderful "Forget Me Not" talk is linked below...

http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/general-relief-society-meeting/2011/09/forget-me-not?lang=eng&query=forgotten,+%28name%3a%22Dieter+F.+Uchtdorf%22%29

It's true.  My favorite FHE from the past month was not the one were we went out to the lake as a family, or started our own journals.  They were fun, but it was the most simple one that meant the most to me.

 We made lemonade.  I did some mock-whining and kept trying to drink it before it was done, to explain the need for working.  This made the kids and Daddy laugh.  "You have to stir it Mom!"  "Your arms aren't tired!"  We talked about how work brings us blessings.  So important for all of us to remember sometimes!

 Then we just played a memory game with pictures of the prophets that I bought at Dollar Tree.

We flipped over the card said a sentence or two about the picture and then tried to find the matches.  It was simple, sweet and taught our family at the same time.

I hope you have an enjoyable and spiritual moment as a family today!  Happy Monday Night!  The Gospel IS true!  I'll leave you with one more wonderful quote from President Uchtdorf's talk "Forget Me Not"...

Dear sisters, many of you are endlessly compassionate and patient with the weaknesses of others. Please remember also to be compassionate and patient with yourself.

In the meantime, be thankful for all the small successes in your home, your family relationships, your education and livelihood, your Church participation and personal improvement. Like the forget-me-nots, these successes may seem tiny to you and they may go unnoticed by others, but God notices them and they are not small to Him. If you consider success to be only the most perfect rose or dazzling orchid, you may miss some of life’s sweetest experiences.  Luv, Eva

FHE Game Idea: Prophet Puzzles

I feel like I'm at least 3 weeks behind with my posts, but onward ever onward!  Right?!  :)  Getting discouraged will only stop me from getting it done.  So I'm excited to finally be getting back to some writing and sharing.  I learned SO MUCH that I am eager to post here from Women's Conference at BYU.  After being in the same room and hearing Elder Andersen speak last week I am happy to honestly say that I know we have living prophets today.  That is one of the things that sets us apart from other religions.  Here is how my husband explained latter-day revelation to our kids at FHE last week...

Picture (the baby Jesus!  sorry, I couldn't resist) a wall or use a book to be the wall.  Heavenly Father is on one side of the wall and we are all on the other.  Prophets stand on the wall in between.  Even though Heavenly Father can send us personal messages, when he has something to tell everyone he tells the prophets on the wall.  Then they can tell it to all the world.  (And not be hit by arrows if they are being shot at, Michael interjected. :) )

We looked at the Conference Ensign to see all the people we sustain as revelators in the church.  I love that even women are chosen and inspired to give us messages from the Lord at General Conference.  I think that testifies to the true way Heavenly Father sees us and not the way the world would have us value ourselves.

Then we chose 2 apostles to learn about.  Chad read from some of the biography on the back of the picture (all while we were eating dinner LOL- you do what you have to do to!)

Then we turned them into puzzles and had fun getting the pictures put back together.  This is a great way to introduce and remind your children of who are leaders are.

There are great people in the world today, serving, teaching and testifying of the comfort and safety in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  They are parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, primary leaders, bishops and prophets.  The Gospel is true!  I love you and hope you enjoy this activity!  Love, Eva

Best of Intentions :)

Things have gone two ways this week.  The first way was wonderful.  We made the warm-fuzzies for FHE after much convincing that it was a "craft."  Apparently my daughter thinks all crafts must involve tape or glue sticks and this one didn't. :)  But really, after we had made two warm-fuzzies and paired up (my son with daddy and my daughter with me) we had so much fun doing a sneaky service.  I really was, well we ALL were, excited-like Christmas!  My daughter and I made the bed and left the warm fuzzy there for my husband and son to find.  My husband and son cleaned the playroom- yes, CLEANED THE PLAYROOM! :)  I have not done something that was that much fun with my family for a while.  And that's not because we don't spend time together, because we do, but we rarely do service.  After doing this activity I am really going to try to do service with my family more!

Since then though, we haven't done a thing. :)  I'm excited about working on these activities starting tomorrow...

WEDNESDAY: "What Can I Learn From The Scriptures?" pg. 7 of the August 2011 Issue of The Friend
For this article I'm planning on cutting out each phrase from Elder Christofferson's talk and attaching it to something that represents the phrase, and then hiding the items.  Since my daughter loves singing primary songs louder and quieter to find things, we will sing to find them.  There may be items that work better for your family and depending on what you have on hand, but this is what I came up with, starting with the phrase at the top of the page and working clockwise.
1) A net to represent that having faith is believing the Lord will always catch us!  When we have faith we know He is there for us every time we fall.
2) A plastic vegetable to represent the Word of Wisdom and the blessings of health that come from it, as found in the scriptures.
3) A copy of our Book of Mormon stories on DVD to show the different ways God has given us to learn about the scriptures.
4) A long piece of paper- could be newspaper or wrapping paper.  I will show that it's easy to rip the edge but if it's folded on it's edge over and over again (like making a paper fan) then it gets thick and is hard to tear.  This is how faith is, fragile at first but stronger with each scripture story we read.
5) A blank piece of paper so they can draw a scene of our family and friends living with God in our premortal life.  I'm excited about letting them use their imaginations to create a visual of something we've only talked about before!

THURSDAY: "A Faithful Finish" pgs. 8-9
For this great story I'm planning on sharing it and talking about not giving up.  My kids are 5 and 3, and at the stage where they want to do things by themselves.  They can see how to do it, but still need practice.  This story is a great testimony of practicing to work towards a goal.  It's also good to recognize that we don't have to be first to do a good job, we just have to do our best.  And of course, some racing of our own in the backyard will be in order.  Maybe I'll even get some little plastic trophies from the dollar store to award after. :)    

FRIDAY: "Taking Care of Me" pg.10
This one's WAY easy!  Just read it and fill 'er out.  Or better yet, let the children check off the boxes!

SATURDAY: "Finding People to Teach" pg. 11
Another easy and quick one- play the game!  If you have older children you could photocopy or print off more pages, then let them cut out circles and make their own gameboards.  Be sure to point out what the missionaries are doing to find people to teach-pray, study the scriptures and share their testimonies!  Make a special effort to have family prayer and scripture study in preparation for the Sabbath.  Since this week is Fast and Testimony Sacrament Meeting, you could even encourage your children to bear their testimonies too!

I hope you can find the time to do at least one of these activities.  And even if you don't, I know the Lord will bless us according to the desires and intents of our hearts.  Some weeks are easier than others.  But they ARE easiest when the Spirit is with us, so do try and that will be enough.  :)  Remember, the gospel is true!

Love Ya'all, Eva