Christmas Traditions

"Traditions offer opportunities to create memories, share love, and build strong bonds between family members.  They will not only help your family life be more peaceful and rewarding, they will also give your children memories they can draw on no matter where they go or who they grow up to be."     -Linda and Richard Eyre

I love Christmas so much!  When we moved across the country, I experienced a serious case of homesickness.  It was ridiculous.  The only thing that comforted me was surrounding myself with holiday traditions from my childhood.  I wanted to share some traditions that Mitch and I have started in our own tiny family...

To download fake fireplace click the following:

Print X3 copies LARGE BRICKS

Print X1 copy SMALL BRICKS

Print X1 copy FIREWOOD

Print X2 copies FIRE

To download Christmas Pictionary Cards, click here.

Lime Sorbet

7-Up

Green Sprinkles

CHRISTMAS CD

Mitch and his brothers record Christmas songs and make CDs for the family to enjoy every year around Christmas time

Christmas morning we like to sleep upside-down in bed so we wake up half confused and excited!  Then we enjoy a Christmas breakfast and eggnog.

And my FAVORITEST FAVORITE Christmas Pretzels

Preheat oven to 200 Degrees

Place a layer of pretzels  on a wax paper covered cookie sheet

Top each one with a kiss

Bake for about 4 minutes until the kisses are really soft

Immediately place 2 M&Ms on each one

MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

I can't wait for it to get here!

How Can I Learn To Be More Patient?

Get this week's lesson here.

My husband teaches the young men on Sunday, and he's started a tradition of introducing the lessons each week with a funny home video that "semi" has to do with the lesson topic.  I've given in.  It's ridiculous.  So here is my "Patience" video to kick off the beginning of class.

PATIENCE


Invite each young woman to write on a piece of paper a situation that would require patience (encourage them to include not just major traumas but also day-to-day irritations or inconveniences). Have them exchange papers with another young woman, write a response that would show patience, and then share with the class what they have written.

I made these papers to hand out at the beginning of class.  The girls can fill out part one and exchange their papers so they can fill out someone else's part two.

I want to mention the scripture story in Mosiah about Alma and his people who fled into the wilderness and were later captured…

Mosiah 23

21 Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith.

Mosiah 24

10 And it came to pass that so great were their afflictions that they began to cry mightily to God.

13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.

14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.

15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.

Has this ever happened to you before?  Through the Savior's atonement, your burdens can be lightened and you can endure your trials with ease.

I've always wondered about the story where Christ was carrying his cross through the streets and they pulled a man out of the crowd to help him.  I wonder if Heavenly Father allowed that to happen so the Savior could have the opportunity to experience what it feels like to have a burden lifted from His shoulders.  It's like foreshadowing of what He would do later in each of our lives.  How special must that moment have been?

If you look back at the scripture we read in Mosiah, I think a key word in the last verse was CHEERFUL ("they did submit cheerfully…").  We can't just drag ourselves through adversity, we have to continue to have a positive attitude.  No matter what we're dealing with, we can always look around and find things to be thankful for.

ACTIVITY: Give the YW ten seconds to look around the room and try to memorize everything RED in the room.  Make everyone close their eyes and catch them off guard by then asking them to list everything YELLOW they saw.  Explain to them that if we're too busy focusing on everything that's negative in our lives, we miss out on all of the positive blessings surrounding us at the same time.

When Frodo had to destroy the ring and wished it never came to him and that none of this had happened, Gandalf explained:
"So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide.  All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."

Nerd.  Yes, I am a nerd.

Marjorie Pay Hinckley has the best quotes.  I tried to make a handout for one of them, but I ran out of room.  So it's only parts of her quote put together, but it gives the same message  … I tried.

My particular assignment right now is to prepare to be a mother.  This time spent waiting has taught me a lot about patience.  I have learned to trust in the Lord and recognize that He has a better timetable than me and that there's a reason why we haven't been able to have kids.  I don't know the reason yet, but I'm sure when I look back, everything will make sense someday.

I want to explain to the girls how there will be times when we think we know what's best.  But what we don't realize is that we only see a little piece to the puzzle and our Heavenly Father is looking at the whole picture.  I found these pictures at floorsix.blogspot.com that I thought would make a fun activity. The girls can look at these close up shots and try and guess what each picture is.

CLOSE UP

WHOLE PICTURE

CLOSE UP

WHOLE PICTURE

CLOSE UP

WHOLE PICTURE

Also, I have to share this video.  I love President Uchtdorf.  This is seriously one of my favorites…

If You Could Hie To Kolob

I love my mom so much! She wrote this song for me so we could perform it together. If You Could Hie To Kolob is my favorite hymn, and this is her arrangement. I usually can't get through it without tearing up. She was truly inspired from a higher source when she wrote this. It's one of those songs that you have to hear live though.  A recording doesn't do it justice! So, I usually listen to it with my headphones blasting. I love you mom! Thank you so much for sharing your talent!

If you could hie to Kolob

In the twinkling of an eye,

And then continue onward

With that same speed to fly,

Do you think that you could ever,

Through all eternity,

Find out the generation

Where Gods began to be?

Or see the grand beginning,

Where space did not extend?

Or view the last creation,

Where Gods and matter end?

Methinks the Spirit whispers,

"No man has found 'pure space,'

Nor seen the outside curtains,

Where nothing has a place." ...

To download the SHEET MUSIC for the PIANO click here.

To download the SHEET MUSIC for the CELLO click here.

To visit my mom's music blog click here.

I love my mom's wording when she explains writing this song.  "The piece beings with contemplation--mysterious almost, but soon gains in strength and urgency, as one reaching desperately to comprehend greater things.  It's the music of a soul yearning for higher understanding."

How grateful I am that our Heavenly Father allows our curious minds to reach a greater understanding when we search it out.  He welcomes our questions and rewards us with inspiration when we do our part of pondering, praying, and studying.  I'm grateful for the mysteries of the gospel that allows us to seek Him out on our own and receive personal revelation allowing our testimonies to grow.  The lyrics to this song inspire me to do just that.

Elder Hutchings is HOME!!

The brother has finally come home.

I felt bad because my sister-in-law was ready to have a baby any day, so my older brother's family wasn't able to be there.  So, we had to make the airport as creative as possible to make up for the lack of family.  Luckily, Kenny was welcomed home and greeted by Floof, the sheep.

Wasn't planning on crying, but I couldn't help it.  I was so happy to see my sweet little bro.

Also, fantastic news is that he hasn't changed a bit.  Still the biggest goober I know. (Like, LITERALLY...  He's six and a half feet tall)

And thanks to pinterest, I discovered that, YES, it IS possible to make fancy-pantsy fondant from home.  Behold.... missionary cupcakes.

Pre-Camp Certification Jeopardy

Wednesday we're working on dutch oven cooking for girls camp certification.  We thought we should probably kill two birds with one stone and tackle a bunch of the girls' requirements in one night.  Behold... Girls Camp Certification Jeopardy

If anyone would like to use it, you can download it here.

Most of the answers you can find in the girls camp manuals, but you can download the answer guide here.

Oh, What Do You Do In The Summertime?

On this especially sunny Sunday, I was crazy craving lemonade.  And I wanted to spend as much time outside as possible, so this is pretty much what happened....

"Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?  Do you march in parades, or drink lemonades, or count all the stars in the sky?  Is that what you do?  So do I!"

I'm gonna say it...  Of the THOUSANDs of places we have lived, the summer weather in The Dalles is my absolute FAVORITE!  No humidity, no 'it's so hot I can't breathe' desert air, just pleasant, happy, smiling sunshine everyday.

We picked FRESH FRESH FRESH raspberries!  Holy smokes!  I couldn't stop eating them.

Stuntman came to visit while we were picking.  He kept head ramming my shoe. 

 "NOT NOW KITTY-FACE!"

Yes.

Easiest compote in the world award...

1 cup of raspberries

1 TBS of sugar

(Or maybe 2 if you're feeling cRaZy)

A couple squeezes of lemon

Warm it on the stove on low for a minute or two and BAM!  Add it to your lemonade.

Best. Day. Ever.

Easter Tree

I got this idea from The Family Home Evening Spot to make an EASTER TREE!  We all love Christmas trees, WHY NOT have a tree for Easter too?!?  I bet it would make a fun table decoration or visual aid for an Easter lesson.

There's a huge willow tree in our backyard with these beautiful branches.  I picked out a couple and spray painted it with two or three white coats.  Then I tied them together in a clump with some Easter grass and covered it up in the vase with more grass and a couple plastic eggs.  

I found some of my favorite pictures of Christ and Easter quotes and cropped them down to little  Instagram-like prints, then just slapped them together with some glue and ribbon.

Here are my ornament squares I made.  I used a bunch of images from the LDS gospel library, and I just googled the rest...

 HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!