Family Scripture Study

We started our morning study with the first chapter of Jacob in the Book of Mormon.  Jacob makes it very clear what his purpose is in writing on the plates.  

He says, "Wherefore we labored diligently among our people, that we might persuade them to come unto Christ, and partake of the goodness of God, that they might enter into his rest, lest by any means he should swear in his wrath they should not enter in, as in the provocation in the days of temptation while the children of Israel were in the wilderness."

"Wherefore, we would to God that we could persuade all men not to rebel against God, to provoke him to anger, but that all men would believe in Christ, and view his death, and suffer his cross and bear the shame of the world..."

Jacob stood firm in his testimony of Christ like his brother, Nephi who said,

 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by ^bgrace that we are saved, after all we can do.

 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our  children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.

Come Unto Christ - Theme Song for 2014 - (music video)
It wasn't until I heard this song and watched the video during our study time that it really sunk into my heart  and I was touched by the spirit.  When I saw the individuals turn to Christ, it became very real and I was reminded of my purpose.  I am here to bring my family to Christ.  It's not about clean bedrooms, tidy kitchens, well planned menus, groomed lawns (although I would love all these things) - it is about bringing them to the Savior.

Easter Sunday

We had a fabulous Easter weekend.  It was full with several sessions of stake conference but we also had time to make more family memories.  Once again Corbin found the golden egg!

 Vivian stuffed the eggs for the outdoor hunt while the others were at a early morning youth fireside.

 We actually started our Easter celebration with the scripture eggs that retell the story of Christ's resurrection.  I found the information here for the resurrection eggs HERE.

 Porter is sharing his scripture with us.

 Baskets are ready to go.

 Everyone is searching high and low for eggs.  Do you see Tisha in the background?  Her and David joined us for dinner.

 Porter is still looking!

 Olivia is counting her eggs.  They each got to find 18 - that keeps everyone happy. 

 Tisha made this delicious gluten free Easter cake!  Oh course, the peeps and jelly beans were sought after.

 Little things around the house.

We all enjoyed Corbin's bunnies, Shadow and Copper.  This was our first time with Copper - isn't he precious!  He was patient with me and my need to cuddle him.

Wicked Comes to Town

This year Paul and I took Olivia to see Wicked.  She has been listening the the soundtrack for several weeks and knew all the songs by heart!  It was fabulous. (Above is a picture of the cast).

The pictures below were found at this site.

 

Weekend at Grandparents Plus Two Events!

 Vivian - by the chicken coop, of course!

 Olivia - at the book of Story Book Park

 Porter - hanging out!

 I guess I got another picture of her.  They sure love this park.

This bed caught my eye at the Gathering Place (quilt store).  The pillows were cute and I love the bright colors.  After walking through the store and seeing so many different colors and quilts, I was exhausted.

We had a easy going Friday, Mom named it "Mosey Mode".  We went to the park, to the Bernina store (I'm looking for a sewing machine), to Gossner's for icecream (I enjoyed my favorite flavor - Black Licorice), to the quilt store, to Spinners (a fun restaurant) and then back home again.

 Mom wanted to show us this fun restaurant, Spinners.  Everything has to do with cycling.  We enjoyed some yummy fries and sweet potato chips with special sauce!

 Olivia performed a few piano songs - she just started taking lessons this fall.

 Friday night Mom and I attended a workshop about building relationships.  It was a great event, I learned a lot plus had a some good laughs.  Matt Townsend calls himself a communication and relationship expert.  Check out his website, here.  I bought his book, now I just need to read it.  I thought he was "right on" with the seven basic needs for a healthy relationship.

 Porter, Olivia, and I attended a children's workshop put on by Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson - they were incredible!  I went that evening with Mom and Keith to their concert - I wish Corbin was with me.  They are extremely talented and entertaining.  I was able to shake Jon's hand and have him autograph a few piano books for me (that I bought there).  Check out the Piano Guys on youtube!

Here is a video of the song that they performed at the beginning of the performance.  I love the expression of the seniors!

I thought the song that they did where "Love Story Meets Viva LaVida" is amazing.  It won't let me embed the video, but you can go here for the video.  They also performed this.

It's time to go home...I had the girls get their pj's on for the ride home.  We had a great time, even though Vivian came down with strep throat.  We got her on medication and she survived a shot in the leg to give her an extra boost of antibiotics.

FHE - Harvesting & Pie in a Jar

For FHE, we each made our own pie in a jar - totally from scratch (the filling and crust)!  The kids had a lot of fun. We put the pies in the oven and then harvested the rest of the onions and red potatoes out of the garden.  By the time we were done, our pies were ready to be eaten!  The lesson was on the law of the harvest as well as Porter's message of bringing others unto Christ.  Last week Corbin gave out another Book of Mormon to a friend at school (he plans on giving out another soon) - he is our example of sharing the message of Christ with others.

 Looks like I caught Porter in action.  We had fun making our pies.

 Even Jr. was helping us in the garden.  I grew broccoli, but never harvested it...it all went to seed!

 I have some acorn squash still growing.  Aren't they so cute?

 We have Roma tomatoes galore.  I am going to can them!  Any ideas?

 Porter and a chicken

Olivia and Jr.  He wasn't being cooperative for the photo, I couldn't get him to look at me.

 The pigs are enjoying the corn stalks.

Memorial Day

Saturday we attended a Memorial service at a local cemetery, this is a annual tradition that we started last year.  The ceremony was wonderful even in our winter coats!  I am grateful to our military and their families that make it possible for us to live in this free land.

This is one of my favorite family events.  We have so much to be grateful for - our families, our country, and our God.  After the service, they provide hotdogs, soda, chips and frozen treats - which is an added bonus!

Spring Break at Home - Will I Survive?

Today was our first day of spring break!  The kids all kept busy.  Corbin helped out for a few hours with a tennis camp at his high school, while the rest of us ran to Best Buy for a new Kinect game (Kinectimals, which they love) and a shopping adventure at Costco that ended with a greasy sausage and lemonade!  The kids then played with some new ward friends, while I got almost nothing done, other than prepare dinner and FHE dessert!  I need to manage my time better - no more talking on the phone for me.

I am hoping that the weather warms up so it will feel like spring.  Other things we have on our agenda include:

• movie at the theater (Tangled)
• playing at an indoor game/arcade place
• picnic and fun at the park
• hike
• lunch at Costa Vida
• trip to the library -I can't wait to pick up my book on hold, Left to tell : discovering God amidst the Rwandan holocaust (I just recently watched the movie, Hotel Rawanda, a must see)
• yard work
• paint the laundry room and boys bathroom
• clean up stamp/craft room
• visit with Tara, Niels, and Gage (they are coming up to play)!
• swimming at Y (if someone invites us, hint...hint)
• craft time
• friend time
• family time - cousins

Riding Hershey

Susan, Greg, and Trinity had our family out to ride Hershey, Trinity's horse. Susan was kind to walk the girls around and around the arena while they enjoyed their rides. And a special thank you to Trinity for sharing her horse with us!

You see that Corbin was brave enough to ride a few moments bareback on a different horse - a larger one.

Greg was surprised that he had a gift waiting for him. Take a look at the photo of him and Paul and you will see the gift in the background - a horse named Magic! I've had a few surprise gifts from Paul (that I did not want) so this was pure fun for me to watch this play out before my eyes.

Porter was the only one that wouldn't ride. He preferred to watch the fun instead of participate.

These pictures were taken back in March. I failed to capture a new photo of Trinity. She was sure a little showgirl on her horse. She definitely has the confidence and is gaining more and more skills to take charge of her horse!

Thanks so much for all the fun Susan!

100 Years of Broadcasting

We had almost the best seats in the house (thanks to Uncle Larry) - we were 10 rows from the front center out of 21,000 seats! It was awesome. In front of us we saw Elder Nelson, Elder Perry and President Monson and his wife.

Here we have Tiffani, Mom, Tara, Niels, and Keith. The performance was outstanding! It was the celebration of the choir with their 100 years of broadcasting!

Information about the Choir:

The 360 members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir represent men and women from many different backgrounds and professions and range in age from 25 to 60. They reflect a medley of unique lives and experiences and are brought together by their love for singing and their faith. Their incomparable voices are the common chord that unites to form the choral group known all over the world as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

The Choir has appeared at 13 world's fairs and expositions, performed at the inaugurations of five U.S. presidents, and sung for numerous worldwide telecasts and special events.

Five of the Choir's recordings have achieved "gold record" and two have achieved "platinum record" status. The most popular was the Grammy-Award-winning 1959 release of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Battle Hymn of the Republic

On the way to the Conference Center, I stopped for a quick photo by the Salt Lake Temple where Paul and I were married 16 years ago!




Here is another video by the Tabernacle Choir - I love this song, Praise to the Man, about our past prophet, Joseph Smith.