New Calling

After being in the Primary Presidency for a year and a half I grew to love that calling. The other girls in the presidency were in for 2 years longer... I think. Two weeks ago we were all released and a new presidency was called. We new for nearly a month before we were released and it seemed to be a bitter-sweet last few weeks. We all had not been in RS for 3 years or longer and were excited to be able to go back. However, we will miss our calling and the sweet spirit those children bring. They truly are blessings from Heavenly Father. I'm confident the new presidency will do a fantastic job. I laughed because even though I knew who the new president was going to be I actually had a dream the night before the change and dreamt of which girl would get what calling. When I went to church that afternoon my dream became reality! My dream was exactly right!!!

Andy and I joked around that it won't be long before I get a new calling because Bishop Bledsoe is determined to put me to work. Well, we had stake conference last week and then yesterday I was called to be the new Mia Maid Advisor. I didn't even have one Sunday to go to RS! I am so excited, though!!! I haven't been in YW for nearly 5 years and I was so disappointed when I had to be released due to a move. No plans of a move in the near future so I hope I stay in YW for a long time! The funniest thing about the change in callings... my running buddy, Angela, that I so often talk about took my place in Primary and I took her place in YW! It has been a pretty easy switch I think.

Just a funny side note... The Sunday I was released my phone rang and I didn't answer because I didn't recognize the number. I thought it might be someone calling to ask if I would say a prayer in sacrament meeting. While at church Jason Hammer asked if I got his message. I told him I did and that I don't answer my phone Sunday morning to avoid being asked to say a prayer. He laughed and said, "No! You didn't! Well, it's Brother Ashcraft who makes all those phone calls. He's in charge of prayers and talks. So he's the one you need to avoid." So when I got the call from Brother Ashcraft I told Andy, "He asked if we would speak on Sunday." Andy said, "Are you kidding me?! I swear we just spoke a couple months ago!" I really had him going before I laughed and said, "I'm just kidding. He wants to come over tonight to talk to me about a calling." Brother Ashcraft got a good laugh about it, too.

Anniversary Lunch-Date!

Okay, I know these are not the best pictures ever, but our camera has failed and we are still looking for an inexpensive one to replace it. We went to one of our favorite restaurants, Tucanos, and had lunch with a bunch of friends. It's not lame to celebrate your anniversary with other people! We had such a great time! Thanks to our friends who joined us!

(Right to left) Shawn & Roslyn, Devin & Christina, Andy & I, Brandon & Sarah, Bryce & Angela, and Maria & Paulo (Angela's sister and brother-in-law who were here visiting). The more the merrier!

Stuffing our faces with yummy, yummy food!!!

And of course we did spend the rest of the day together. We later went to the Bullock's house so we could visit while Dana was here. Afterward we did a little window shopping, went to the movies and saw "Bounty Hunter"... so funny! And of course we finished our date by going to Walmart. No date is complete till you visit a grocery store! My mom was so kind to take the girls for us so we could have a night off. They loved it!!! My step dad cleared his schedule to spend the day with the girls. When we dropped them off he said, "There's really not much to do today with it being so windy except... FLY A KITE!!!" They were so excited! My mom said they got the kite up and it did a nose dive and broke on the first flight. So they ventured out to buy two more. Sammy offered to trade Ashley for the kite... and Ashley agreed! They got to keep the kite without trading. They ended up going to church with my mom and she said they were wonderful for her. It sure makes it easier knowing they were on their best behavior. Thanks so much, Mom (and Dale), for taking the kids for us!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Just a little shout out to say Happy St. Patrick's Day! I love to celebrate SPD mostly because it's close to our anniversary, but for other reasons, too. It's fun to watch the girls get excited about it now that they're getting older.

Yesterday I started a new tradition of the "Legends of the Leprechauns" with the girls. Check it out here. (My SIL posted it on her website) Anyway, you decorate a box and leave it in the moonlight for the leprechauns to fill with treasure and hide in an unusual place. I also was telling the girls to make sure to wear green so you don't get pinched. I pointed out that I was not wearing green so if it were SPD already they could pinch me. Katie turned and punched me! I laughed and said, "I said pinch, not punch!" She laughed and punched me again. What a nice little girl. So we decorated an old shoe box and left it on the table in the moonlight.

This morning the girls found their first clue and went on a scavenger hunt. It was really fun to watch them run from place to place and discover the box on the shelf of a closet. Even Katie got excited! The box was filled with candy, green headbands, green cups, sidewalk chalk, and a small activity toy for each of them. Sammy said, "When I get home from school I'm going to unload the dishwasher and then show my friends my stuff." (It's been a fight to get her to do her chores, so I was happy with her response.)

I hope you all have a fun and lucky St. Patrick's Day!!!

7 Years Ago From Today...

Andy and I were sealed for time and all eternity in the Mount Timpanogos Temple. It was one of the best days of our lives and I'm so glad that I get to spend forever with my wonderful husband. He is such an amazing daddy to my girls and I couldn't ask for anyone better. I am so glad that he holds the priesthood and is the protector of our family. He works so hard to provide for our family and it has been such a blessing for the opportunity to stay home with our girls. I love you forever!

As for you who are wondering what we did to celebrate... nothing yet. We are planning on shipping the girls to grandma's house Saturday and going out with some friends to Tucanos! Yummy!!! For our actual anniversary Andy got off work early so the two of us could have a meeting with Sammy's teacher, principal, and school guidance counselor. Afterward, since it was such a nice day Andy and Bryce spent the rest of the afternoon playing tennis. And then of course I still have my routine of running. It seemed like a rather normal day... I know we're boring. Bryce is still teasing me about running on my anniversary. Why not? It makes me happy.

(Andy and I both stink from our exercising and when I mentioned that we both need a shower his response was, with an upturned lip, "Do you really care?" Happy Anniversary!!!)

Sorry I don't have pictures up and running. Our camera will not take pictures, we can only view what's on our memory card... and I can't figure out how to download those. However, if you would like to see a slide show click here. I laugh because we basically did the same thing last year. One of these days I'll upload some of our recent pictures, but really nothing has changed. Till then, I'm sorry.

How do you answer the door?

Last Sunday we pulled into the church parking lot and the Wadsworth family parked right next to us. Jeff immediately started calling my name impatiently. He told me a story that I just had to share! With it being fast Sunday Jeff was going around with the deacon boys collecting fast offerings. One of the boys, Jared (who is also the bishop's son), had only been a couple of times and always went to the door with Jeff. Last Sunday was his first time going to the door by himself and he was so nervous. He told Jeff, "I don't know who the Wyne's are." And of course Jeff being the good leader that he is reassured Jared that he would know who we were as soon as he saw us. So he timidly rang the door bell and waited. (Ashley, Ashley, Ashley... I love you, but sometimes you embarrass the heck out of me.) Ashley answered the door stark naked!!! Poor Jared after a few minutes of waiting inside for someone to come downstairs, with no luck, he returned to the car and asked, "Brother Wadsworth, what do I do?!" Jeff was laughing and said, "Hey, at least her pony tails were done. Go back and ring the door bell and maybe someone will come to the door dressed." Ashley didn't even come and tell us someone was waiting in our living room! When I asked her later why she answered the door naked she told me, "My dress was downstairs." Well then... I guess that makes it okay, right?

What did I do?

One of my faithful commenting friends asked, "Now that it's been a couple days, how's it going?" since the room switch-a-roo. Well, I was so upset with Andy that night I couldn't even look at him so I slept in the other room. When Andy was leaving for work he came in to kiss me goodbye... the nerve! :) He asked why I slept in there and I told him to take a wild guess. His response you ask? "I didn't do it on purpose." What? The bed didn't dissemble and reassemble itself! "Well, I didn't mean to make you mad. I just thought we would try it out. I didn't think it was that big of a deal." Oh? Then why did you deliberately wait till I was out of the house for a couple hours? Hm. What did I do? I would show you if I could get my pictures to download on my computer, but I can't. So I did something I thought would tick Andy off just enough to show him how I felt... I took Ashley to get her ears pierced!!! The worst part was that Katie looked up at me with her big, beautiful, brown eyes and said, "Mommy, I pwease get my eaws piewsed?" I didn't for the fact that I thought Andy would divorce me. We got home the same time Andy did and he at first said, "What the heck?" My response? "I didn't do it on purpose." Andy said, "You can take down the bed in 5 minutes." I said, "You can take out the earrings and the holes will be closed in five days. I just didn't think it was that big of a deal." Apparently it wasn't because that was about the end of his argument. I told him I almost got Katie's done and he said, "Why didn't you?" What?!! He told Katie she could get her ears pierced when she is all potty trained. She is now more motivated and excited about the learning process.

The girls are all in the same room still, but that doesn't mean Andy has won the argument completely. I'll admit the girls have gone to bed much better for the past couple days, but the mess issue has not been resolved. I'll keep you posted on the updates.

We needed the marriage ref... and Nate refused!

To answer the previous post... with the votes people were correct on the color personalities with Andy, Sammy, and we think Ashley. We are still trying to figure out what color she is but we tend to think she's a white. I was voted a red or blue personality. Both wrong! However, they were both tied for second highest. I happen to be a yellow personality... but I'm not feeling like one right now. I usually (not always) don't hold a grudge. If someone offends me I tend to get over it quickly. I guess it depends on how strongly I feel on the subject of the argument. Tonight I really wish I had a forgiving nature in me...

Andy and I have been having a discussion about putting all the girls in one room and turning the other two rooms into a guest room and a toy room. Both of us had a difference in opinion and we kept saying we'll talk about it later. Emily said Nate should be our "Marriage Ref" while he was here. (Have you seen that show? So funny!) Anyway, Nate refused to get into our argument. Curse you Nate!!!

Andy thinks that if we put all the girls in one room and move their toys out that only one room will be messy. That's really the end of his argument. I feel like we don't have a great routine for the girls going to bed unless they are seperated. And even that doesn't work all the time. When all three are in the same room they fight, play, talk, and get out of bed a million times. It seems to take hours to get them to actually go to sleep. Beside that I don't think moving the toys out will help much. Half the mess is their clothes! And the killer for me is that the "toy room" will always be messy! In my whole life I've only known one person to have a clean toy room!

The kicker for me not feeling so forgiving you ask? I went to a party tonight to watch my friend, Jill, on the Dr. Oz Show. We had a great time and when I came home the house was dark and quiet. Great! I was feeling very grateful toward Andy and then that changed the moment I walked upstairs... He moved all three girls into one room!!! He took down the twin bed from one room and set it up in the same room as the bunk! I can't believe he did it without finishing our discussion! It might be awhile before I get over this one!

Positive Parenting Week 3

Personality Color Code:

Okay this one is really fun! I think this was one of the funnest classes ever! And it really opened my eyes to a lot of things. I realized why I react the way I do to certain things, and I learned why Sammy does the things she does. I love this class!

There are 3 basic things that make up our personality

• We come with a pre-existing core personality


• Gender (certain emotions and feelings)


• Environment (example: oldest child vs. youngest child.)
  

Our goal in the color code personality is to be the strengths of all the colors. Be a rainbow if you will.
We started our class with taking a color code personality test for ourselves. I was a bit surprised for two reasons. I first thought we would be taking them to figure out our children. Second, I was surprised to find out was color I was. Any guesses??? The test was taken from the book "The Color Code" by Taylor Heartman if you are interested to find out what color you are.

There are 4 colors:

• Red (Power)
  
• Blue (Intimacy)


• White (Peace)


• Yellow (Fun)

Red: Power
They are motivated by power! They are right! Just ask them. They tend to be the leaders of the world and we desperately need them. They believe they are good. Reds work quickly but like to have things done their way. They want to win! They get out of sorts if they lose and they want a bottom line. Be direct! They are a lot more prone to do it if they are not filled with woes. They are control oriented and they are good problem solvers. Learn to listen and be more sensitive. Don't embarrass a red in front of other people! They crave approval. Allow a red child to pick their own jobs. They want to be productive. They will have hotter tempers, but then it's gone. Present issues logically and demand their attention and respect. Be direct, brief and specific in conversation. Be productive and efficient. Offer them leadership opportunities. Verbalize your feelings and support their decisive nature. Promote their intelligent reasoning where appropriate. Be prepared with facts and figures. Respect their need to make their own decision their own way. Don't argue from an emotional perspective, because they will argue for the sake of arguing. Don't expect a Red to have a personal and intimate relationship, and be careful how much you expect from them. Don't force them to hug or kiss you. Don't attack them personally and don't take their arguments personally. Don't demand constant social interaction. They need alone time!

Blue: Intimacy
(Blue personalities are the majority.) They are loyal and predictable. Blues have closer relationships. They are family and group oriented. They are very well organized. They create stability and safety. They like slow and careful change. Don't spring things on them! They like to have a plan and want to know why. They do things because it's the "right" thing to do. Learn to count your blessings and quit being so negative. They can get stuck-- stagnates. They will take on other's problems as their own. Sometimes they lack creativity and are afraid to take risks. They tend to procrastinate. Blue is a very strong personality! If living in a jungle Blue/Red would be a lion. Be loyal, sincere, and genuine. Be sensitive and soft spoken in your approach. Promote their creativity and allow ample time for them to gather their thoughts before expressing themselves. Don't make them feel guilty. Don't be rude or abrupt. Don't demand perfection (they already expect too much of themselves). Don't expect quick forgiveness and immediate action. Don't expect them to bounce back easily or quickly from depression. Do not abandon them! They expect so much from themselves and take on other's problems that it's easier for them to fall into depression. They need to learn to lighten up and not take things too seriously and have some fun!

White: Peace
They have the attitude of, "Why can't everybody get along and be nice?" They are easily broken. If you come across too strong, you'll discourage them and they'll quit and give up. Be careful about criticism. They are hard to motivate and you may have to hold their hand through a lot of things. For example, you could tell your white child to go clean their room and they would say, "Okay, Mom!" Ten minutes later you'll find them outside with the dog. This could go on and instead you may need to go with them to their room and say, "Okay, I want you to pick up the barbie dolls and put them in the toy box... Now I want you to pick up the books and put them on the shelf." However, they like things simple and peaceful. They'll do things right because they don't want to stand out. They will be the one at a dance content to sit in a corner. They don't mind playing/being by themselves. As a parent we need to teach the white child to be more aggressive. They fear criticism and work and they don't trust their own judgement. Be firm, but gentle and patient! That is key, in my opinion. Patience!!! They are happy to stay home, so make it a place they love!

Yellow: Fun!
They are very people oriented! They love to talk about themselves and tend to be interrupters. They are open and share their feelings. They have trouble staying focused. They don't need to be neat, and may feel that cleaning is a necessary evil. They want to be liked! This can be dangerous for a teenager in these perilous times. If they are turned in the right direction they will do very well, but they want to be popular. They fear rejection and are easily led. They are the life of a party! They like to have fun in the family and when there isn't any they will create it. "We need more yellows in the world!" They are the minority. (There were only 3 in our entire class.) You need to be positive with them. Adore them and touch them physically. Accept their playful teasing. Remember they are tender and praise them. Remember they hold feelings deeply and enjoy their charismatic innocence. Allow them opportunity for verbal expression and promote playful activities for and with them. Don't ignore them! Don't be too serious or sober in criticism and demand perfection. Don't push them too intensely. Don't forget they have "down" times also. Don't expect them to dwell on problems (think of Pollyanna). Don't classify them as "just" lightweight social butterflies. Don't totally control their schedules. Allow them to be spontaneous!
It was really fun to listen to Sister Tanner talk about her personality and her husband's. She is a blue and her husband is a "Bright Yellow!" I loved that she talked about her husband used to frustrate her and now she can honestly say that she doesn't criticize him. "When he (sniffs), I don't hate him! And I have to say that I'm grateful he's a yellow. He has taught me how to have fun." It really was very sweet, and so fun to sit in that class!

Homework:

• Figure out what you, your spouse, and children's colors are


• Figure out their needs


• Strengthen their strengths


• Help them overcome their weaknesses

This next week you will pigeonhole people. You are allowed to do that for one week! If you do it longer you don't allow them to change. Tell your children in their own language that you love them. As you accept and understand who your children are they will feel your love.

Now, I'm curious to see what you think our color's are? Andy and I at one point turned, looked at each other, and said, "Sam's a ___!" We still can't quite figure out what Ashley is but we are eliminating what she is not. And Katie is just a 2 year old. She's too young to have a definite personality color, yet. I thought Andy's color was very bright and obvious but I was surprised to find out what I was. However, Shiloam picked them all out off the top of her head. There are polls to the right so you can vote or you can leave me a comment. I'll let you in on the answers soon.

Daddy-Daughter Date!

A couple weeks ago our neighbors across the street told us that it's tradition that a couple of the dads on the street get together and take their daughters to the Valentine's dance at the Rec. Center. They start by going to the Knight's house for pictures, followed by going to dinner somewhere, and then they head off to the dance. It's for dads and daughters age 3 to 12... I think. So this year Ashley, Sammy, and Andy joined in the festivities!

Give Daddy a smooch!

(Hard to believe Sammy was spittin' fire minutes before this picture!)

(Ron and his daughter Madison, Gordon and his girls Emma and Gracie, Andy and our girls Sammy and Ashley, and Chris and his daughter Timber.)

The whole gang! They went to the Olive Garden for dinner.

Sammy and Gracie dancing the night away!

Andy said they all had a great time! I will gladly give up my Valentine's night out for the girls to have a special night with Andy. I'm sure they will be talking about this for a long, long time. (I really didn't give up my night with Andy... It just happened a day early!)

And since Katie wasn't old enough this year. She and I went out! We went to McDonald's (I know, I go big) with Brigetta, Mikayla, and Porter. Katie had a great time and hardly realized she was missing out on the dance. We then went to Target and she picked out her very own plastic cell phone! Whoa! And then we slipped over to my mom's house for a quick visit. We love Grandma's house!!! (Porter calls her G-G, it's pretty cute!)

I Hate Sugar Cookies, but...

I have always hated sugar cookies...always! I don't like the taste of the cookie and I especially don't like frosting. I think that's why I mostly hate cake, too. Anyway, I came across a recipe for sugar cookies that "The Girl Who Ate Everything" claimed to be the best. I figured I would try them, even if they are just for my girls. Well, I have to agree! These are seriously the best sugar cookies I've ever tasted! I even thought about going back for another one. Yummy! Check out the recipe here!

Additional, funny side note! I even had a dream about them last night that someone (I don't know who) ate them and I was very upset. When I woke up I had to laugh and then of course make sure there were some cookies left. Phew! The girls didn't eat them all!

We love Aunt Lisa!

As I mentioned we spent last weekend in eastern Idaho. We stayed with Lisa and Doug and just before we arrived we planned on stopping at my favorite restaurant, Cafe Rio. Yummy!!! We called Lisa to find out the quickest way there and she said we should leave the girls with her. How could we pass that up? We were very surprised when Katie didn't even whimper when we left. Shortly after Lisa went down to the basement to find Katie and Ashley undressing. She said, "Whoa, whoa! What's going on?" They managed to find dress up clothes in a house where the youngest girl is 9 and wasn't ever really into that. The next girl up is a teenager! Things were said such as, "Where did that come from?" and, "I forgot we had that. Where did they find it?" Those girls could find sparkles in a tornado!

Later that day Lisa was helping Whitney get ready for cheer and this is the conversation that went on.
Lisa: Katie, are you going to grow up and be a cheerleader?
Katie: No, I be a princess.
Lisa: Where's your prince?
Katie: Uh, he's at my castle.
Whitney: What color is your castle?
Katie: Mm, purple!

It was so stinkin' cute to listen to! My girls had such a fun time at Aunt Lisa's house and it was hard to pull them away. They were pretty upset when we told them we were leaving straight from American Falls to go home. Apparently we need to make more trips that way. We love you Lisa and thank you for your kindness!

Family Weekend

This last Thursday I was getting ready for our much needed trip to eastern Idaho. I got a phone call from Emily and she asked if she could come home with us on Sunday. Absolutely! We left Friday morning and headed to IF for a fun filled family weekend. We visited, ate yummy food, ran (Wahoo!), visited some more, and stuffed ourselves... again. Sunday we went to Halle's blessing and decided Katie is banned from sitting with Grandpa Wyne during sacrament meeting! He thought it was so funny to make her laugh and then when I would turn and make a face at her, he would make me laugh with his comment, "Nice face." After the luncheon at Sarah's house we headed home.

Nate, Emily, and family joined us at our house. The kids have played so well together and Emily and I have been able to play, too, while the boys brought home the bacon! While Emily and I were out having fun doing a little shopping Emily said, "Hey Ally, here's a jacket I want you to try on. Do you have a shirt on?" I opened the door and she said, "Hey, Lexi has that same tank top! She wears it with a little black shrug." I grabbed the one I had on the hanger and said, "Like this one?" I didn't end up getting either, but later we were at Aeropostle finding sweat pants that don't make me look like a boy and Nate took pictures and sent them to Lexi to let her pick out some for babysitting. I picked out mine and then Lexi texted Nate back with her choice. Apparently my 11 year old niece and I have the same taste. I think she struts them better than I do, though. Isn't she cute? Sorry, I didn't have any other pictures of the weekend.

A Full Marathon?

I got a phone call last night from my SIL, Emily, asking me a question, "Do you have any desire to run a full marathon?" She told me that there are two she was looking into doing. The first you have to run as a team and it's based on a lottery. We have to register by April 1st and then they let us know I think by April 30th if we get in or not. That one is not till October so I have plenty of time to train. The other one is a bit intimidating even for a marathon. It's done at Walt Disney World and it's called "The Goofy Challenge." The first day you run a half marathon. Okay, that's not so bad, I've done lots of those. The second day, however, you run a full marathon. That's right! You run a half and then the very next day you run a full. You get three medals for that one and Emily thought, "What idiot could I sucker into running with me?" I'm a sucker for medals! I love the ones I have but I'm not sure I'm willing to kill myself for three medals. I told Emily I would think about it, but a lot of my decision rests on a certain trial I mentioned earlier. I think the one in October seems like something I could contemplate. What do you think?

I Should Be More Careful!

As you may know Andy and I take a parenting class on Thursdays. Andy had double duty at work today so he was running a little late. In the meantime the girls and I sat down together for dinner. Sammy asked for seconds which included another piece of Challah bread. The end piece wasn't quite cut all the way through. I grabbed the bread knife and "Whoops!" You guessed it! I cut my thumb pretty good. It bled for quite awhile and I wondered if I should need a stitch. Thanks to my friend, Christina, we ducked out on the ER. I held open the cut and she super glued it shut for me. Sting!!! The bleeding has stopped and now the tip of my thumb is a little numb, but yippee for no needles and we made it to class right on time. Thanks, Dr. Christina!

Postitive Parenting Week 2

4 Legs of the table: Family Home Evening, Family Prayer, Family Scripture Study, and Regular Temple Attendance.

"When we try in faith to walk in obedience to the requests of the Priesthood, the Lord opens the way--even when there appears to be no way." (Pres. Gordon B. Hinkley)

Sister Tanner started out the class saying that she went to the temple on a Friday afternoon and it was crazy busy. She talked to one of her friends that is a temple worker and said, "Hey what's going on? Is there a wedding or something?" The friend's response was, "No. It's just the New Year. Come back in February and it'll be back to normal." Of course we all laughed but were reminded of our New Year resolutions.

Whenever you make a goal, half is what you are going to do. The other half is what you have to give up. Example: When training for my half marathons I have a schedule of how many miles I have run each day. I run four days a week and my training is at least ten weeks long. If I continue to run races the training continues. The thing I give up is my time. That time used to be spent with my family, watching my favorite TV shows, doing cross stitch, and other activities.

There was a story of a dad and his son. As they were discussing what movie to see the boy asked his dad what PG-13 meant. The dad told him that it meant the movie was mostly good, but there were some parts that were not. The boy said, "We're a PG-13 family! We're good most of the time." With that story Sister Tanner talked about setting our goals of the 4 legs of the table, being obedient to the commandments, and doing them with exactness. The Stripling Warriors followed and obeyed with exactness. If the Lord makes a promise He will follow through with exactness! The Lord never leaves us not knowing what He wants from us. The Lord wants us to succeed and He has told us with exactness what to do to save our families through the law of witnesses. Our Prophet has told us on numerous occasions what the Lord wants of us and His promises in return.

"There is a law,... upon which all blessings are predicated-- And when we receive any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." (D&C 130: 20-21)

Prayer:
"In the past, having family prayer once a day may have been all right. But in the future it will not be enough if we are going to save our families." (Pres. Spencer W. Kimball) We are in that future he was talking about. It's not enough to have a few extra words at mealtime. Kneel down! Pray morning and night, and more often in troubled times. In the morning ask for guidance and protection. Pray in specifics for each member of the family. In the evening return and report.

Scripture Study:

If we as parents will read the Book of Mormon daily personally, and with our children we will have the following:

• The Spirit of reverence will increase
• There will be mutual respect
• Consideration for each other
• Spirit of contention will depart
• Parents will counsel in love and wisdom
• Children will be more responsive and submissive
• Righteousness will increase
• Faith, hope, and charity will abound
• There will be peace, joy, and happiness

Get everyone their own set of scriptures. Have a scripture bag because it creates a warm fuzzy feeling in the children. Remember that videos such as "The Living Scriptures" or CD's such as "Scripture Scouts" are wonderful and help teach the children they should not be the means of scripture study. Children need to hear the language of the scriptures. They will learn to love it! Put scripture heroes on their walls. Have "markers" for their scriptures. They are their work books. Underline! Write notes, and teach them to study and use the scriptures.

FHE:

"If the Saints obey this counsel to have regular FHE we promise that great blessings will result. Love at home and obedience to parents will increase; faith will develop in the hearts of the youth of Israel and they will gain power to combat the evil influences and temptations which will beset them."

• Be enthusiastic
• Challenge and involve the children
• Introduce variety into the lessons
• Use resource materials
• Take advantage of teaching moments
• Don't be afraid to experiment
• Teach the gospel for it's own sake

Teach the gospel and build family ties. We've been directed to have FHE on Monday nights. Follow with exactness! We should give FHE the highest priority. It's family home evening, not family home hour. Have a lesson and then spend the rest of the time bonding. Bond through the spirit!

Temple Attendance:

You are invited... to spend a half day (or even a full day) in the temple each month. "Let us be a temple-attending and a temple loving people." (Pres. Howard W. Hunter)

• In a man, you will become mighty; if a woman, powerful.
• It will serve as great "insurance protection: for you marriage.
• The blessings of the Eternal Gods will be called down upon you, and great spiritual growth will be yours.
• Unseen angels will watch over your loved ones when Satanic forces tempt them.
• Your families will draw close to the Lord and there will be no empty chairs in the Celestial Kingdom.
• Your children will go on missions.
• Your children will get married in the temple.
• The veil will be thin, you will have great spiritual growth, and many spiritual experiences will distill upon you.
• You will be prepared for exaltation--with a celestial body, a celestial mind, and a celestial personality.
• You will become receptive to divine guidance and you will receive spiritual perception to help you grapple with your problems and cares.
• You will see clearly how to make critical decisions that weigh heavily on your mind.
• You will become more Christlike. (Elder Vaughn Featherstone)

"Maintaining our spiritual strength is a daily challenge. The greatest source of that spiritual strength comes from our temples." (Pres. James E. Faust)

Homework:

Do one of these 4 legs of the table with exactness for 8 weeks!