Mommy Daughter Date

{9.27.14}

It's time again for our bi-annual General Women's Broadcast. We made a special date night of it. We got all dressed up, went to dinner at Olive Garden where we loaded up on Chicken Scampi, house salad and breadsticks, then we went to the women's social and finally listened to the broadcast. It was a fun night being together but I think it all might have been a little too much for my girl. She was exhausted after all of it. ;) Baby steps. 

Here are the talks were were lucky to hear. Watch, listen, print or download them here.

• Prepared in a Manner That Never Had Been Known, by Linda K. Burton
• Preparing for the temple.
• As temples are prepared for the people people need to prepare for the temple.
• Parable of  the 10 virgins- liken to us preparing for the temple.
• Listed ways of how we can "add oil to our lamps"- family prayer, scripture study, deeds of kindness, chaste thoughts...

• "Where much is required, much more will be given."
• Covenant Daughters of God, by Jean A. Stevens
• She shares the story of her parents courting and marriage and then shares this thought-
• There is no doubt the details of your story will be different than hers. But principles from her life apply to all of us. When daughters of God focus on the temple and on their sacred covenants, God is able to send blessings in personal and powerful ways. Like my mother’s example to me, your choice to believe and keep covenants will leave a rich legacy of faith for those who follow you. 
• Sharing your Light, by Neill F. Marriott- I loved listening to this Sister with her cute Texam accent. :)
• Elder M. Russell Ballard writes: “We need more of the distinctive, influential voices and faith of women. We need them to learn the doctrine and to understand what we believe so that they can bear their testimonies about the truth of all things.”
• The scriptures teach, “That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light.”⁴
• Elder D. Todd Christofferson said, “In all events, a mother can exert an influence unequaled by any other person in any other relationship.”⁸ 
• ^{My days were full of forgettable things like folding laundry, reading children’s books, and putting casseroles together for dinner. Sometimes in the harbor of our homes, we can’t see that by the simple, consistent acts—including family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening—great things are brought to pass. But I testify that these very acts carry eternal significance. Great joy comes when those little boats—our children—grow into mighty seafaring vessels filled with gospel light and ready to “embark in the service of God.”9 Our small acts of faith and service are how most of us can continue in God and eventually bring eternal light and glory to our family, our friends, and our associates. You truly carry a circle of influence with you!}
• Living the Gospel Joyful, by Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf (one of my FAVORITE speakers!!)
•  Your Heavenly Father has high aspirations for you, but your divine origin alone does not guarantee you a divine inheritance. God sent you here to prepare for a future greater than anything you can imagine. The promised blessings of God to the faithful are glorious and inspiring.... It takes more than a spiritual birth certificate or a “Child of God Membership Card” to qualify for these incomprehensible blessings.
•  I think, that we imagine that God has all of His blessings locked in a huge cloud up in heaven, refusing to give them to us unless we comply with some strict, paternalistic requirements He has set up. But the commandments aren’t like that at all. In reality, Heavenly Father is constantly raining blessings upon us. It is our fear, doubt, and sin that, like an umbrella, block these blessings from reaching us. We need to accept that the commandments of God aren’t just a long list of good ideas. They aren’t “life hacks” from an Internet blog or motivational quotes from a Pinterest board. They are divine counsel, based on eternal truths, given to bring “peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come.”⁶ His commandments are the loving instructions and the divine help for us to close the umbrella so we can receive the shower of heavenly blessings.
• ONE OF MY FAVORITE THOUGHTS from this Session-
• Yes, God loves you this very day and always.
  He is not waiting to love you until you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles. He is aware that you reach up to Him in heartfelt and hopeful prayer. He knows of the times you have held onto the fading light and believed—even in the midst of growing darkness. He knows of your sufferings. He knows of your remorse for the times you have fallen short or failed. And still He loves you.
  And God knows of your successes; though they may seem small to you, He acknowledges and cherishes each one of them. He loves you for extending yourself to others. He loves you for reaching out and helping others bear their heavy burdens—even when you are struggling with your own.
  He knows everything about you. He sees you clearly—He knows you as you really are. And He loves you—today and always!

It was a wonderful session, filled with the Spirit. These messages strengthened me, and lifted me up and they inspire me to do more and be better.  :) Thanks for a great night Alivia. IT.WAS.AWESOME.

Summer's bounty

Another bounteous, delicious summer. Check it out!

Look at this handsome boy! He loves corn on the cob so when Grandma offered him some he had TWO!

Yummeee! That's some good corn from Pap's field. 

Mmmm. We've also been enjoying some yummy peaches and nectarines from the orchards. So juicy and sweet. Levi digs in and doesn't give up until all that's left is the pit. ;)

Pap gave me some tomatoes from his garden and I decided I'd make some more of my roasted marinara sauce. Here's everything all mixed together ready to bake- tomatoes, oregano, basil, garlic, salt and pepper, olive oil, and chicken broth. 

(Note: I made a double batch of sauce which I ran through a Victorio strainer, the simmered for 5 hours and got 1.5 quarts of sauce. However, it will be heavenly delicious sauce which I'll save for a special occasion, but this might be one of my last ventures in sauce making. Almost 20 pounds of tomatoes, 3 hours of prep and cooking, 1/4 hour of straining, 5 hours of simmering and about 1 hour in the water bath canner for 1.5 quarts of sauce. Not sure if this math adds up.)

Why I scrapbook

I am a record keeper. My favorite, most creative way to do this is through scrapbooking; you can combine your pictures and pretty pages along with the story and it makes it more interesting than just putting the pictures in an album with no explanation. 

I've been scrapbooking for about 20 years (sheesh that makes me sound old) and I really enjoy it. It keeps evolving; this industry has changed so much in that time frame and I'm happy to say I've learned from all the changes along the way.

I have an excellent memory when it comes to names and numbers, but I'm not so good at telling you what I are for lunch 2 days ago. This is why I scrapbook- not only so I can remember these precious memories but so my children can know and remember them too. 

Getting out our scrapbooks is one of our favorite things to do, especially on Sundays. The boys love just looking at the pictures and remembering those moments and Alivia loves readings what I wrote about her. 

She was looking through her preschool album saying "oh I remember that!"

As they looked at their albums it made my heart smile. :) This is why I scrapbook- to see them enjoy them and remember those moments. I love that you can see Alivia's smile from under her cheekbones. :) She kept her album out for a few days and looked at it day after day. She really enjoys them. I know the boys will too once they learn how to read my handwriting (which is always a work in progress).

{finale} Summer at the parks

Well, we didn't quite get all 30 parks done this year, but we DID do 24/30! I am TOTALLY happy with that considering we actually only had 42 days of the summer to do these rubbings. PRETTY GOOD FOLKS!

A closer look at the rubbings. This year's theme was science experiments, etc.

All 3 kids did them this year,

Alivia and Jackson read 800+ minutes this summer and got these certificates. Levi was read to (which counts too) for about 650 minutes. NICE job kids!

With the completion of these 800 minutes and parks program this kids got certificates to 2 minor league baseball games, and an ice cream party. Unfortunately we were on our vacation for ALL of them, so we gave them to our cousins. :)

Jackson's school prize for reading 800 minutes was popcorn and a movie with the principal after he started 1st grade. (He said they watched an Arthur movie about bullying and being a friend.)

Alivias school prize was a slip and slide party (after 3rd grade started). She had a great time and LOVED it!! I love these summer programs. They are great. They keep us busy and learning and having fun!