Our great desire is to raise our children in truth & righteousness!

Yesterday Wyatt shared his testimony publicly for the first time in Fast and Testimony Sacrament Meeting.  He had mentioned earlier that morning he thought he wanted to do it but was feeling very nervous.  We talked about how testimonies don't have to be a bunch of fancy words.  They are simply when we share what we believe and how it makes us feel.  I could not have been prouder - or weepier!  He testified that he knows Jesus was resurrected and that Heavenly Father loves us.  He testified that he knows President Monson really is a prophet from God.  He had poise and courage, and was overall totally amazing.  Earlier that day he had also confided that he wasn't sure he wanted to fast because it was hard to be so hungry.  I told him fasting wasn't supposed to be easy - that was one of the reasons we fast.  We are proving to ourselves and to Heavenly Father that our spirit controls the desires of our bodies, not the other way around.  Of course, as I'm telling him this, he's looking down at his feet as he makes them turn side-to-side.  So glad I had such a captive audience!  But THEN....  in primary just a few hours later where I was substituting for the pianist, they discussed fasting in Sharing Time.  When she asked what some of the blessings we can receive from fasting are, Wyatt raised his hand and said, "We get power.  Our spirits get power over our bodies."  Ka-Pow!  To top it all off, that night he presented a sweet lesson about testimonies during our Family Home Evening time.  Brett and I were genuinely impressed at his confidence and preparation.  He reminded us that when we share our feelings and experiences with the Holy Ghost, we are sharing our testimonies.  What an awesome kid!

David A. Bednar has said, "Our testimony of gospel truth should be reflected both in our words and in our deeds.  And our testimonies are proclaimed and lived most powerfully in our own homes.  Spouses, parents, and CHILDREN should strive to overcome any hesitancy, reluctance, or embarrassment about bearing testimony.  We should both create and look for opportunities to bear testimony of gospel truths - and live them."

Wyatt, hearing your testimony today brought the Spirit into my heart.  Your words made my own testimony grow and I was strengthened by your example.  I'm overjoyed to know that you really do believe in Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.  They ARE real and they DO love know you.  The Savior has encouraged us to be as little children.  That is because children usually have faith so much easier than adults and are more willing to learn and change.  You have been a shining example to me of someone with great faith and a submissive nature.  I hope you will continue to help your testimony grow through prayer, reading the scriptures, and being aware of making good choices.  I also hope you will continue to share your testimony often.  I know the more you share it, the stronger it will be and as you grow into a young man your foundation will be strong and sure, just like the man who "build his house upon the rock" instead of sand.  These are some of the things that will help you keep the promises you will make when you are baptized in a few months.  I know your Heavenly Father is proud of you and very, very pleased that you have such an anxious desire to enter the waters of baptism and make covenants with Him.  You are an important person in my life and I'm grateful for the different ways you make me a better person.  You inspire me!  I love you!

Batter up!

Thanks to the Langeland's awesome planning skills, 

a friendly neighborhood game of the all-American sport 

was played at Hogan Park.  Thank you, Gerrards, Glasseys, Bodily's, Carters, and Langelands 

for a super-fun night!  Next time I won't take it so easy on you... ;)

Our Potter Party was Magical!

 On Sunday night a strange visitor came to our home.  It was Hedwig, Harry Potter's pet owl.  He looked a little bloated from his journey - suspiciously as bloated as a balloon, but we let him in anyway.  It was a good thing because his personality was very bouncy and airy!  He floated right over to Wyatt, who untied the note Hedwig had carried all the way from Hogwarts.

 The note told Wyatt how proud his parents are that he had taken on reading such a grand book as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, that he stuck with it and finished it like a real reading champ!  To celebrate this act of wizardry and accomplishment, Wyatt was invited to a Potter Party!

As we are mere Muggles, we first had to hop aboard 

the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9 3/4.  

Here are the kids "passing through" the brick wall from the Muggle (non-wizard) world to the platform:

On the other side, they found Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry's dining hall.

Hedwig was our centerpiece (thanks, Deb, for the owl-loaner!) 

along with the treats we would eat during the movie.

They were all a big hit!

Acid Pops (suckers dipped in Pop Rocks)

Cockroach Clusters (chocolate covered almonds)

Licorice Wands (black licorice whips 

dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles)

Muggle Chocolate-dipped Pretzels

Cauldron Cakes (Hostess Cakes with Licorice Handles)

The Dinner Menu:

Hogwart's Castle's famous Meat Pies (beef empanadas) - received luke-warmly

Hagrid's Favorite Jelly Slugs - a favorite

Dumbledore Soft Rolls - who doesn't love rolls?

McGonagall Pasta Salad - passed by all the kids

Snape's favorite Butter Beer - like a root beer float but with sprite 

and instead of just vanilla ice cream you drizzle 

some butterscotch syrup in there.  Delish!

Lockhart's Favorite Pumpkin Pasties (pumpkin empanadas) - super yummy, super easy!

 Before we sat down to eat, the sorting hat told us 

which side of the table to sit on: Gryffindor or Slytherin

 Everyone had potter glasses, so of course 

we had to snap some pictures of each of us 

wearing our Harry-spectacles.  

Even Charli!

 After our Potter Feast, we headed outside for House Games

 Quidditch Broom Races

 Pin the Wand on Harry

Harry Potter Character Memory Game

 In the end, Gryffindor was defeated by 

Slytherin in 2 out of the 3 House Games.

***

We watched the movie then the kids had 

one final treat of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Jelly Beans.

Barf, Booger, and Dog Food were favorites.  

No one had the guts to try Skunk Spray.

clearing obstacles from FHE...

To reinforce the FHE lesson we'd had on the importance of exercise and physical activity, we stepped outside for a friendly family competition in an obstacle course. Players had to push a wheelbarrow to a ball which was then kicked into the soccer net. Then they had to hula hoop five times, jump over swim noodles, carry an egg with a spoon and drop it into a bucket, then make a "basket" with a ball into a large bucket. It was a lot of laughing, a lot of running, and a lot of fun!

F.H.E. brought to you by: WYATT

A few weeks ago Wyatt asked if he could present

the Family Home Evening Lesson.

So with some preparation, he delivered a great lesson

on the symbolism of the Sacrament.

Carson couldn't be left out, so he led the music while we sang
Wyatt and I worked together and wrote down his lesson.
Here he is reading it--we were so proud of him!
He did a fabulous job and was so adorable when he'd ask questions.
In that patronizing, "Can anyone tell me...?"
and if you knew the answer,
"Thaaaaaat's right! Good job, Daddy!"

B-2-S FHE & First Days : 2009 Edition

On our last "summer vacation" weekend, we held a special FHE called "Back-2-School". The kids had seen me making preparations here and there for about a week, so they'd been anticipating all the fun surprises. I'm happy to say it was a huge hit and loads of fun!

I found some cute (cheap!) decorations at the Dollar Store (streamers, cut outs for the wall) and we used our Little People Bus as our centerpiece.

After prayer, we started our lesson by singing "The Wheels on the Bus". (This could very well have been the highlight of Carson's evening!) Then we had a lesson talking about the things we can do to be good students and also tips on how to make new friends. We broke into two groups, each group listing their ideas. After reviewing everyone's suggestions, we picked our favorite ones and made an official list. Those lists were then posted on our FHE board upstairs (a magnet board specifically used to display something that brings to mind our most recent FHE lessons--hopefully it helps carry the lesson on throughout the week as a reminder).

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Then we had dinner, Cafeteria-style, of course! We all had trays and walked through the "line" along the counter island. The menu was delish and old-school, as you can see in the picture below!~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Following dinner, two teams went on a treasure hunt! Halle and Wyatt had written clues, and had to use some serious teamwork to figure some of them out. Daddy and Carson had clues with pictures (I had gone around the house, photographing different locations for clues). It worked very well and Carson felt special that he got to participate and pretty much be able to do it by his big-boy-self. Here's team "Hyatt" finding their treasure: a huge gift bag full of school supplies for all three kids, plus some items they could take to their teachers (kleenex, hand sanitizer, crayons, pencils, etc.). There was also a storybook for each child about going back to school. It was fun to sit and read through them. My favorite was the story which told about a girl who is nervous and scared about the first day of school. You never see her...just parts of her, like her feet as she puts on her shoes, etc. At the end you realize it's not a girl at all--it's the teacher who has butterflies about her first day back to teaching school! Gave some nice insight that maybe the teachers get a little nervous, too!

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Carson found his treasure hiding behind the blanket rack. It was a special dessert: School Bus Twinkies! Next time I will use the miniature oreos, as the regular ones made our buses "monster trucks", but it didn't matter...they still tasted very yummy! (And can you get any more sinful than TWINKIES and OREOS???
Hello, Calories...Hello, Heaven!)We ended our FHE with a common tradition: Father's Blessings.

I'm so grateful for the priesthood Brett holds and the worthiness he has to use it. It is an incredible gift in our lives, being able to start a new year knowing the Lord has been asked to help you specifically in that area. We have great kids--they are bright, energetic, and caring. But it's wonderful to know the Lord is on their side, by their side, in their day-to-day activities.

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Breakfast First Day of School:
Waffles & Strawberries with a tall glass of OJ

Halle loves going to her beautiful new school, and loves even more the fact that she can walk there with her friends! It was hard for her mama to let her go on her own, but she's done fabulously and has also proved that so far she can be trusted to go straight there and back (even in a timely manner!). I have such a cool daughter!

Halle's teacher, "Mrs. H"
~~~~~~~~~~Wyatt is a "senior" in preschool this year.
Next year he will graduate and move onto greener
pastures in kindergarten! For now, however,
he's enjoying being back with Miss Amy and making
new friends the hopefully will be right there with him
next year as he changes to the 'big school'.