New church calling!

I was released from Nursery and put in as an Activity Days leader for the senior group of girls ages 10 & 11 (my daughter's group).  We had our first activity and I brought too much stuff and know better now to have things a little simpler instead of offering too many options. 

In my daughter's Activity Days binder there was this paper, but the link offered to print another one was dead, so I made my own and fixed a few errors.  Mine also has a better font in my opinion.  :)  This is a great one-page checklist that the girls can keep in their binder.  The leaders would have a sheet for each girl to track what they have completed.  It lists everything in the Faith in God booklet put out by the LDS or Mormon Church  www.lds.org  I'm excited to work with these cute girls (there's over a dozen in our group!). 

Click below (on the link under the picture where it says CLICK HERE) if you'd like to download the file.

CLICK HERE

(This is my first attempt at google docs so please be patient and send me a comment if it doesn't work)

Father's Day printable

Here's a little poem for the Nursery kids to give to their dads this Sunday for Father's Day.  I plan on attaching it to colored cardstock and then putting their colored-ink handprint over the text. 

Simple, sweet and practically free!

 

 

Copy and transfer to Word document, no margins.  Print onto 8.5x11 paper then slice into two.  There's room at the bottom for their name.

Fourteen Fun Sunday Activities

I feel sometimes that even though Sunday is a day of rest we don't accomplish anything good after we come home from church.  It almost feels wasted and instead we should be reflecting on how to improve our lives.  The kids try to sneak in some mindless TV so I came up with a long list of things they pick from to keep the Sabbath Day holy and we put it in a prominent place and refer to it every Sunday.  I understand that everyone's circumstances are different and so are the opinions of what is holy and what is not.  These work for our family and we become closer by doing them so it's good in my book of life so please don't judge.  I'm simply sharing what works for us and hopefully some of these will work for your family too.  Have a wonderful Sabbath!
 

 

MORE Nursery Ideas

I'm still loving Nursery!  (My daughter is a little troublemaker sometimes but I still enjoy watching these toddlers learn that Jesus loves them.)  I feel the kids get enough silly songs from TV, preschool, etc. so we're going to try and focus on "church-approved" songs to get them ready for Primary.  I also thought it would be nice to have a back-up plan in case our music teacher doesn't show up.  Life happens and it's always nice to be prepared, right? 

Nursery Singing Time Ideas

Set out Foam Squares (everyone gets the same color so they don’t fight over a color to sit on)

Sing “Here We Are Together” (261) to start and help kids learn each other’s names.

If it’s someone’s birthday that week sing the “Happy, Happy Birthday” (284a) song.

Next is a seasonal song: “Rain is Falling All Around” (271b).  Can change it depending on the season - sun is shining, wind is blowing, leaves are falling, snow is falling.

“I Love to See the Temple” (95). Hold pictures of temples and/or use hand actions.

“Give Said the Little Stream” (236) and have them twirl blue ribbon taped to jumbo craft sticks.

“Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” (60) and hold Sunbeam paper plates to their faces.

“Popcorn Popping” (242) and use hand actions.

“If you’re happy (266).  With bells – you can change it to clap your hands, spin around, blink your eyes.

“Do as I’m doing” (276) with bells bicycle your hands, sway back and forth, tap the floor & clap

“Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” (275a) using hand actions

“Jesus Said Love Everyone” (61) hold fleece hearts and sing softly

“I Hope They Call Me on a Mission” (169) Clip missionary name tags to their clothes with clothespins

I made a 4x6 file in photoshop (there are 2 tags on each print) then I printed them at Costco & used packing tape to laminate them.

“Follow the Prophet” (110) sing just the chorus and march around the room with Monson’s picture

“I Am like a Star” (163) hold star-on-a-stick
 
“I Wiggle” (271) using hand actions

“I Am a Child of God” (301) Have them hold a picture of Jesus with the Children

Have them turn in their colored floor squares and then blow bubbles till the parents come get them.

Here are 4 flashcards you can copy to Word.  Be sure to use narrow margins.  Then print and cut.  That's 16 songs to choose from.  :)

 

 

LDS Nursery Ideas

I was called to serve in our Nursery and I have to say I was a little more than excited to go in there.  Those cute little faces, the funny things they say and I get to play, play, play.  I had planned on sharing this with the other wards in our stake at our upcoming Stake Training but I thought maybe someone out there might find it useful as well.  For some reason I can't upload the whole file so it's missing pictures.  Email me if you'd like and I'll send you the Word file.  (Also see my "More Nursery Ideas" post)

Nursery Snack Ideas for the Whole Year!

Remember to ask parents about any food allergies and try to avoid common ones like nuts.   Always be sure to wash their hands before & after they eat.  We like using a foaming hand soap pump and they love the bubbles in their hands.  Usually we put the snacks in a white coffee filter liner and they also receive a small cup of water.  Children love to please at this age so remind them to say “please” and “thank you” and clean up after themselves when they’re done.  The Friend magazine always has fun recipe ideas for kids so look there as well.  Below are some fun ideas to go along with each lesson.

 

Lesson #              Title

1              I Am a Child of God

Each child is unique just like no two snowflakes are the same.  With child safe (and washed) scissors, fold up a tortilla and have children cut out their own unique shape.  You could also have mini marshmallows for snowballs.

2             Heavenly Father Has a Plan for Me

Eat treats that start with the letter P, such as popcorn, peaches, pretzels, pears.  Repeat the name of the snacks and the word “Plan”

3             I Can Pray to Heavenly Father

Soft Pretzels – the story behind this snack is that a monk used leftover dough and looped it into this shape to remind children to fold their arms to pray.  You could also make edible play dough but call it pray-dough.
4             Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ Love Me

Make heart shaped rice crispy treats.  It should take them awhile to chew it.  J  You could frost it with some very light pink frosting – being careful not to mess up their clothes.

5             Jesus Christ Showed Us How to Love Others

Strawberries sliced in half, heart shaped snacks like cookies, bread, etc.

6             The Holy Ghost Helps Me

Ask the children to each help you prepare the snack.  An older child can help pump out hand soap, another child can pass out one treat, etc. and thank them individually by name, “Thank you John for being such a good helper today”

7              Jesus Christ Created the World for Me

Make large round sugar cookies and have kids decorate them with blue frosting for the water, green for land.  Remember to barely color the frosting so it won’t ruin clothing.

8             Sunday Is a Day to Remember Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ

                Show the picture of Heavenly Father and Jesus appearing to Joseph.  We’re told they were as bright as the sun so we’re using very light colored snacks.  On a small flour tortilla spread marshmallow cream and add sliced bananas.

9             I Have a Body like Heavenly Father's

 Gingerbread man cutter for cookies, rice krispy treats, bread.

10           I Will Take Care of My Body

We can have healthy bodies by eating healthy foods.  Slice some apples, cut some carrots, etc.

11            I Love My Family         

Bring a heart cookie stamp/cutter and cut and/or stamp bread, cookie, large fruit slices.  Heart-shaped watermelon slices would be yummy and healthy.
12           I Can Pray with My Family
Again, Soft Pretzels – the story behind this snack is that a monk used leftover dough and looped it into this shape to remind children to fold their arms to pray.  You could also make edible play dough but call it pray-dough.
13           My Family Can Be Together Forever

                Use regular size goldfish and baby size goldfish to represent a family.  Can use other big/mini snacks such as showing a regular muffin and they eat get a mini muffin.

14           I Will Obey

                Use whatever leftover treats you have but ask the children to help you and as they do so thank them for being obedient.

15           I Will Be Thankful

Thankful cups if around Thanksgiving: fill with whatever snacks you want and ask them what they are thankful for.  Write it down on the turkey’s feathers and they can take the empty cup home OR

Thankful rolls: write a thankful message on a piece of paper, wrap in foil, then insert in the crack of rolls before baking.  Ask children to break their roll open and you can read something that we can all be thankful for – have each roll be different.

16           I Will Say "I'm Sorry"

                Make oatmeal raisin cookies, making a happy face with the raisins or do the same type of thing with oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  It makes others happy when we say “I’m sorry”

17            I Will Share    

Eat child gets a small cup filled with one color of Fruit Loops.  They must share with each other so everyone gets a color.  Can use Cheerios and Apple Jacks if you need more colors for more kids.  If you have leftovers you can make a necklace for them to take home.
18           I Will Love Others

Make heart shaped cinnamon rolls or sugar cookies with a Dove chocolate heart in the center.

19           I Can Be Happy

                Walmart brand fruit snacks are shaped like happy faces.  OR you could use leftover snacks and make happy faces with them – raisins for eyes, etc.

20          I Will Be Reverent

                Use pretzels to remind them how they should fold their arms.  You can make eyes from a large marshmallow and colored m&ms reminding them to close their eyes during the prayer.

21           Joseph Smith Saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ

                Give each child 2 large marshmallows representing Heavenly Father and Jesus.  A gingerbread man could represent Joseph as a young boy.

22           The Book of Mormon Teaches Me about Jesus Christ

Make scripture snacks from graham crackers.  Red string licorice can be the bookmark.  Save some for the next lesson since you’ll probably have leftovers.   

Take home gift: Tape 2 gold Hershey’s nuggets to a black/navy construction paper and print off a short scripture verse on white paper, & add a red embroidery floss for a bookmark.
23           I Love the Scriptures

                Again, make scripture snacks from graham crackers.  Red string licorice can be the bookmark.

24           I Will Follow the Prophet

                Have the children paint with vanilla pudding on black construction paper a picture of the prophet.  They can take it home.  OR paint it on a large graham cracker and they can eat it. 

25           I Belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Use leftovers and lace up a necklace.  Each of us is a little different but we all belong in this church.

26           I Will Be Baptized and Confirmed

Sing “When I Am Baptized” which talks about rainbows.  Make rainbow cupcakes or waffles using food coloring and canned whipped cream.  You can also talk about how they’ll wear white at their baptism.  A great take home idea would be wrapping a Kit Kat with the baptismal covenant reminder to Keep His commandments, Always remember him and Take his name upon you.

27           The Sacrament Helps Me Think about Jesus Christ

                Give them a slice of bread (can be fun bread like cinnamon raisin, etc.) and break into pieces like the sacrament and as they eat a piece ask them to share with the other kids something they like to  think about during the sacrament that helps them remember Jesus.

28          Heavenly Father Blesses Me through the Priesthood

Fill some clear vinyl gloves with popcorn so it looks like a priesthood holder’s hands.  You could mix in some other snack in there as well if you like.

29           Jesus Christ Was Resurrected (Easter)

Resurrection Rolls – Wrap a large Rhodes roll dough ball around a large marshmallow sealing really well, brush with butter and roll in cinnamon sugar and bake as usual.  The marshmallow will melt and create an empty tomb.  Chilled hard boiled eggs might be fun to eat with this as well. 

Another idea that could be eaten there or taken home is “Some bunny loves you” snack bags.  Annie’s brand bunny shaped snacks (cheddar or chocolate flavors)

 

*Birthday Treat Ideas: 

Bake light-colored cupcakes in ice cream cones and “frost” with canned whipped cream kept cool in a lunch sack with an ice pack.  Kids love to see it squirt out.  Add sprinkles if you like.  Don’t forget to sing “Happy Birthday!”  The child who is celebrating their birthday gets to take home a little baggie filled with small treats and a Happy Birthday note tied with a ribbon.

 

*Christmas Lesson Treat Idea:

Make Star window cookies.  Crush hard candies and place in the middle of the stars when you bake. They will melt down and look like glass.  Remind the children the shepherds and wise men followed the star to find Jesus when he was born.  Also, you could slice an apple horizontally to find a hidden star inside.

 

*General Conference Prep Idea

Remind them to Make the Most (fun size m&m’s) of General Conference.  You could also print off a GAPK picture and make it into a lacing card for them to play with while listening to conference with their families.

So far behind, where to start?

I've been a slacker blogger, sorry.  Life happens though.  I was released from Relief Society and am now the newest Nursery Teacher.  Snacks, storytime and toys... what's not to love?  I really do enjoy it and the time goes by fast and it's a good workout getting up and down all the time with those adorable toddlers.

I just realized I haven't even downloaded the pictures off my camera since my last post.  Christmas was great in our new home.  We stuck to 3 gifts because that's what the Savior received.  Everyone was happy and it was enough. 

I had a late start to my New Year's Resolutions.  My 5 year old told me in a complimentary way and with his sweet, innocent smile that I was the fattest mommy ever (he seriously thought that was a good thing) which made me realize (again) that I needed to make some changes.  So late January I signed up at the local gym and have been going almost every day.  20 pounds lighter now, I'm happier and eating healthier and praying I don't get injured again.  So far so good.  I'm doing a 25 mile bike race next week!

February my oldest turned 14 and started growing facial hair.  Scary.  :S  But the rest of him is perfectly perfect so I'm not complaining, I just like to tease him about it.  Our baby broke her arm falling from a padded ottoman onto padded carpet.  Our first broken bone and it's the baby!  Luckily it didn't require surgery but still cost us an arm and a leg.  No pun intended.  They day she got her cast off, she immediately wanted to swing on the monkey bars again.  She's learning new words every day.  I love her to pieces.  I haven't been able to cut my hair because she loves to play with it and tickle her face with it.  It's her pacifier.  She just came in here and saw a freckle on my arm, called it an owie and kissed it better.  See?  She's adorable.  I'm so lucky!

March we celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary and went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse which was heavenly.  They put rose petals on our table and gave us free dessert.  Then I blindfolded my husband and drove him to a hotel for massages, more dessert and a restful night's sleep without little kids coming in at 5:00am.  (Thanks to my parents for driving up and watching our kids)  It was fabulous and I'm looking forward to next year for our Sweet Sixteen.  Maybe if we start saving now we can go on our first cruise.

April we enjoyed LDS General Conference in a new way.  It was a little pricey, took longer, required some work but everyone listened to all the sessions so it was a success.  I'll share...

Darin Adams is a co-host of Studio 5, my favorite local morning show that I like to Tivo.  He was featured on another show as to how they keep their family together for the 4 two-hour sessions of church that airs on TV semi-annually.  I love watching it because it's like a vacation but a sprititual feast all at the same time.  Anyway, he shared the idea that for each apostle that they listen to they have a snack that is somehow related to that person or their name.  He gave a few suggestions but not a complete list so I had to do a little research.  Here's what we came up with:

President Thomas S. Monson (Darin had the honor of meeting him in person and asked him what his favorite treat was and he said...) Orange Sherbet
Henry B. Eyring - airheads (he's a physics grad, a pretty smart guy, not an airhead)
Deiter F. Uchtdorf - German waffles (they're hard, thin and have a yummy caramel center)
Boyd K. Packer - a "pack" of gum.  I know some of these are a stretch.
L. Tom Perry - raspberries because he's from Logan Utah and they grow them best there and we needed some healthy snacks in here.
Elder Oaks - reminded me of an Oak tree.  Trees give us nuts so we had mixed nuts.  Stretchy like spandex huh?
Elder Ballard - was president of the Canadian mission so we made Figgy Duff (like bread pudding but with molasses)
Elder Hales - yogurt covered raisins that look like HAIL because Walmart doesn't carry dippin dots which would've been much cooler.
Elder Nelson - carrots because heart surgeons like healthy options.
Elder Scott - pop rocks because he was a nuclear engineer.
Elder Holland - I found Holland mints!  They're hard, round and peppermint flavored.
Elder Bednar (who unfortunately didn't speak in any of those 4 sessions but maybe he did at Priesthood session?)  Pringles because he was president of BYU Idaho and they do potatoes best up there.
Elder Cook - we "cook"ed up some chocolate chip "cook"ies.  :) 
Elder Christoffereson - Snickers salad from the BYU cookbook since that's where he gradutated from.  It's basically cool whip that has blue food coloring with cut up Snickers. 
Elder Anderson - knows 4 languages and lived in Florida so we shared 4 oranges.

Hope you're enjoying a wonderful spring day!  ~Karen

Challenge

Our Relief Society is doing the Book of Mormon challenge again. We read the Book of Mormon in just 6 weeks - interestingly enough it ends right before I'm to be induced. This time I wanted to challenge myself a little more so for FHE a few weeks ago, I challenged our family to read together every night and it has been such a blessing. The kids stop and ask questions and we've had so many great discussions. Granted, it takes twice as long and sometimes the little ones fall asleep but it's been well worth it to take the time together to study the gospel as a family. I challenge you to read the scriptures together with your family every night and see what great blessings come from it. I find it funny that when my kids ask how many chapters we need to read that night and I say, "four", they say, "that's all?" :)

By studying the word of God we will feel the love of God in our lives. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the lesson that I gave when we issued the challenge to our RS sisters:

"Whatever you read, listen to, or look at has an effect on you. Therefore, choose only entertainment and media that uplift you. Good entertainment will help you to have good thoughts and make righteous choices. It will allow you to enjoy yourself without losing the Spirit of the Lord." ~from the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet

President Gordon B. Hinckley promised members who read the Book of Mormon that “there will come into your lives and into your homes an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God”.

Elder Holland's talk in the October General Conference was so inspiring as well. Here's the link to it: http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1117-28,00.html It reminded me of Bruce R. McConkie's last talk when he said:

"And now, as pertaining to this perfect atonement, wrought by the shedding of the blood of God—I testify that it took place in Gethsemane and at Golgotha, and as pertaining to Jesus Christ, I testify that he is the Son of the Living God and was crucified for the sins of the world. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. This I know of myself independent of any other person. I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears. But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way."

Let us feel the great influence this book has to offer. It was written for us, for our day. The blessings that come from reading the Book of Mormon are too great to pass over. Let us feel the change in our lives as we read daily from it. This is my testimony and I share it with the world. ~Karen~

Deacon

Our oldest turned 12 recently so we had a big party at Classic Skating. Grandma Young and Troy's sister and most of her family made the trek from Arizona to be here for the special occasion. The cousins had so much fun playing together, especially the 2 girls.

In our church, when the boys turn 12 they have the opportunity to receive the Aaronic priesthood. It's a big honor. Besides holding the priesthood, they collect fast offerings, pass the sacrament, help take care of the church building and for more info you can go to http://www.lds.org/ to learn more about it and what it means. Here are a few pictures we took:

In the money machine at Classic

I have 2 priesthood holders in my house now!
Note: I'm 7 1/2 months pregnant- hence the crop-job

It was fun having family come and visit

Last Saturday we got to take him to the temple to do baptisms for the dead with some family file names. After they were stamping the date on our cards, I realized, "Hey, it's Grandpa Young's birthday!" Grandpa would have been 86 this year. We miss you and love you Grandpa!

Long time no blog

We really have been busy with all our summer activities and yet I'm already planning my to-do list for when school starts and I have some ME-time again. You know me and lists:

*Potty train my baby boy
*Walk/Bike/Run every day with N in stroller or bike trailer. Also put him in a gym class of some sorts - he already likes to do front flips off the couch and onto the love sac.
*Get all the kids into swim lessons. I'm hoping it won't be so busy once school starts.
*SCRAPBOOK - I feel sooo far behind
*Quilting - all the kids need new, bigger quilts and I want to do a patriotic one for picnics.
*Finish painting the inside of the house: ceilings, doors, trim and touch-up.
*Deep clean every nook and cranny. It's true what they say: Cleaning the house with kids still in it is like shoveling the driveway in a blizzard.
*Temple at least once a week and get my scripture reading in every day.
*Index 100 names per week. This is my newest thing. You transcript old census files so temple work can be done on them. Check it out at http://www.familysearch.org/

I must say that one of the funnest new things we've done this summer is HIKING every Friday. It's just gorgeous around here and it's fun for the kids & they get some fresh air. Here are some of our favorite places we've gone:

*Cascade Springs up American Fork Canyon. Very pretty with little fish and butterflies.
*Ensign Peak - a little steep in some parts but the view is to die for! You gotta go, now. There's so much wonderful history up there as well in the lower memorial garden.
*Bridal Veil Falls - short, paved and just plain fun since there are snakes & squirrels along the way. The kids liked Krispy Kreme donuts on the way home as their reward for the long drive.
*Cecret Lake - I spelled it right, really. Last year there was still snow up there in July. Salamanders in the little lake up at the top = pure bliss for boys.
*Red Butte Gardens - there was a free day. I love freebies.
*This is the Place Park - another free day. It was packed with people.
*Donut Falls - it was packed when we went on the 4th of July weekend. I'd like to go again so we can go all the way to the top and see the actual part where the water falls into a hole in the rock. Hence the name, Donut Falls.
*Mt. Timpanogos - kinda steep but worth it for the view. I recommend the cave tour if you don't have a baby who's afraid of the dark. Last year, N woke up crying and the tour guide hurried us thru the rest of the tour since no one could hear him speak above N's terrified cries.

Ensign Peak:

Look for my upcoming post about our trip to Ouray, Colorado. We had so much fun there. If it wasn't so cold in the winter, I would consider moving there.

One more side note: Z and J both moved up in their piano books. Hooray!

Relief Society Enrichment Ideas

I thought I would share what our ward is doing for Enrichment and hopefully ya'll will share what has worked well in your women. I love swapping ideas!

Quarterly Enrichment Meetings:

These are the big, all-out ones that we provide child care for and it almost always involves delicious food. We try to get all the women to come to these.

1. Birthday Dinner celebrating RS B-day. We did this potluck on Earth Day and did it as green as possible. We asked our Stake RS president to give a short talk. We also played a 60 Second Social game where we had each sister ask the other a few questions (from a list we provided). After a minute, one side would rotate down so they ended up talking to 1/2 the ladies there. It was so much fun! It was hard getting the ladies to stop talking and move on down the line. Then for dessert we had a variety but it had to include green lime Jell-O in it. :)

2. Service Auction. I'm excited to bring this back again. Sisters come with homemade crafts or goodies OR they can auction off services such as babysitting, cleaning, lessons, etc. Then there is a list of ways to earn points such as 10 pts for visiting teaching this month, 5 pts for every child you've had, etc. They tally their points then use them to buy things up for auction. We're going to try to get an older but fast-talking gentleman to come be our official auctioneer. Last time we served food storage desserts & appetizers like pinto bean fudge and fruit smoothies from canned fruit and powdered milk.

3. Humanitarian Project. I've spoken about it before but White Elegance has AMAZING prices that can't be beat on their Humanitarian kits that you can assemble and turn back in to them or to the Humanitarian Center. Not sure which one we'll do yet.

4. Progressive Dinner. My mother's ward did this and women carpooled together. I started it in my ward when I was Enrichment Leader and it's stuck around. It's potluck and you separate into groups then go to one house for appetizers, another for main course, another for salads. RS provides rolls and paper goods and a short Christmas program at the end with dessert served and a small gift is given.

Enrichment Activity Groups:

These are smaller groups of women who would like to meet together on a regular basis and is headed up by someone who will organize it and tell people what, when and where.

1. Temple 1st Tuesday of each month 10am session. Babysitting swap available.

2. Book Club 1st Thursday of each month at 7pm. Preferrably books by General Authorities. Some books we've done are: Sheri Dew's book "God Wants a Powerful People", Beverly Campbell's book "Eve and the Choice Made in the Garden of Eden", Ferrell's book "The Peacegiver", Truman Madsen's "The Temple: Where Heaven Meets Earth"

3. Scrapbooking & Crafting 4th Friday night each month 6:30-9:30pm. Finish up leftover projects and offer one optional project per month: April- Explosion boxes, May- glass etching, June-Quiet Books, no July (Pioneer Day). Sept-Living Christ frame, October - Vinyl FHE board, Nov- large vinyl clock, No Dec (Christmas Day), Jan- jewelry, Feb - fridge photo magnets, Mar- Glass block w/ vinyl, April – pillowcases, May - Capri Sun bags, June – Table Talk ?s in IKEA jar w/ vinyl, no July (Pioneer Day), Aug- Cute Aprons, Sept – Family Memories Game, Oct – flannel rice bags, Nov – vinyl family chore chart, no December (Christmas). Yes, I'm in charge of this group - can you tell? :)

4. Quilting Bee. No cost, donations and helping kids welcome. 2nd Thursdays 7-9pm. Tied quilts are donated to Humanitarian Center. FYI, cheapest place I've found to get stuff is Walmart. Flat sheet for the backing, high loft batting and a top fabric that has a pattern so I don't have to mark it.

5. Cooking/Food Storage. Summer canning (such as making jam), Rotation/Room Ideas, 72 hour kits, etc. Held quarterly.

6. Single Sisters Group – They come up with ideas for the single sisters in our ward such as lunch dates, movie nights, going to a museum or art show, etc..

7. Summer Walking every Tuesday and Thursday 9-10pm around the neighborhood.

8. Summer Hiking Friday mornings with kids, easy hikes. This one's also mine. Email me if you'd like the list of locations or you can google it for your area. I love living in Utah! The kids have so much fun in the great outdoors and it's even funner doing it with other kids.

Great deal on Humanitarian Kits

We've done Humanitarian Kits before for church. Spent lots of time looking for the best prices and had to shop at several different places to get the best deals on each item. This year as a family we plan to do a couple different kinds of kits for Family Home Evening since a few weeks ago I took the kids and toured the Humanitarian Center downtown and I almost cried when I heard about how babies are being sent home from the hospital wrapped in only newspaper, that children can't attend school if they don't have their own supplies, and that because people lack basic hygiene items in disaster circumstances illness spreads too quickly.

So I was very excited when I saw that White Elegance has kits that you can buy, assemble and then deliver back to their store or a Bishop's storehouse - all for less than wholesale. I can't come close to their prices! So I thought I would share: http://whiteelegance.com/catalog/default.php?cPath=29

It takes about 2 weeks (sometimes less if they already have it in stock) till they ship you the kits, or you can pick them up from their store and save yourself S&H. You can order just a few for FHE or large orders for church service activities. I'm so excited! This means we can do more kits and help more people. Check it out and do some good!

Hygiene Kits $4.91
Newborn Kits $9.11

School Kits $7.08

Good Goal

Recently our Relief Society Presidency gave out personalized letters that invited every sister to come closer to Christ by reading the Book of Mormon in just six short weeks. I've never read the Book of Mormon that fast before and I have to say that this first week has been a challenge. Things come up and I'm sure Satan is trying very hard to discourage us from finishing together. Don't worry - I won't let him do that to me, I'm too stubborn. LOL I know that only good can come from this.

I'm up for the challenge, are YOU? You can choose to read a certain number of pages or a certain number of chapters each day. There are many sites online that offer calculators and on http://www.hinckleychallenge.com/ you can get a little blog tracker for fun.

Only good can come from reading the Book of Mormon. You can do it! If you're hesitant, ask yourself "why?" Sure you might have to give up watching your favorite show every night. But what good is that TV show in your life... seriously. It's always good to evaluate your priorities every now and then. LMK if you're up for a good challenge and we can have a cyber party when we finish! :)

"Don't you wonder what would happen if we treated our Book of Mormon like we treat our cell phones?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we spent an hour or more using it every day?
What if we used it to receive messages from the "text"?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we used it as we traveled?
What if we used it in case of an emergency?
Oh, and a few more things- Unlike our cell phones, one Plan fits all.
Unlimited usage.
No roaming charges.
You always have reception.
No weak signals AND we dont ever have to worry about our Book of Mormon being disconnected, because our Savior already paid the bill!" --Author Unknown