More Diligent and Concerned at Home

The current what is up:

 

 

Emmers LOVES shoes. She likes to carry them around, screeches at me to put them on and off, and loves to watch them light up as she goes. All the makings of a true girl! She is also obsessed with pulling things that belong in the garbage out and putting objects that we want to keep in!

 

 

We have a new family member....Reginald Rockystar. He is the sweetest little schnauzer who loves cuddles and walks. He loves the kids and the cat. Andrew just loves him! We rescued him from  the local shelter.

 

 

Jaxson is loving school. He is in first grade this year with Mrs. Abytea. He loves Legos and is always impressing me with the things he creates. He continues to grow like a weed...just this week I will be replacing worn out shoes that are four months old! Also, he taught himself how to ride a bike this summer, AWESOME!

 

 

 

Now for the spiritual happenings:

 

 

Some time ago I heard the following passage from a talk by David A. Bednar (More Diligent and Concerned at Home).

 

"Sometimes Sister Bednar and I wondered if our efforts to do these spiritually essential things were worthwhile. Now and then verses of scripture were read amid outbursts such as “He’s touching me!” “Make him stop looking at me!” “Mom, he’s breathing my air!” Sincere prayers occasionally were interrupted with giggling and poking. And with active, rambunctious boys, family home evening lessons did not always produce high levels of edification. At times Sister Bednar and I were exasperated because the righteous habits we worked so hard to foster did not seem to yield immediately the spiritual results we wanted and expected."

 

"Today if you could ask our adult sons what they remember about family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening, I believe I know how they would answer. They likely would not identify a particular prayer or a specific instance of scripture study or an especially meaningful family home evening lesson as the defining moment in their spiritual development. What they would say they remember is that as a family we were consistent." See talk here

 

Truthfully, these words has to ruminate with me for quite sometime. I have many great abilities but teaching my children about the gospel has always been a bit of a road block. Not that I do not want to share the joy that is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ, but I have so doubted my ability to teach. I got the jean of compassion/care hence my calling to become a nurse, not a teacher. So I began to think of my childhood and how my mother approached situations. (She is of course the best teacher ever!)

 

 I too do not remember specific instances of life altering lessons taught at home. I do however remember how my family and ward family made me feel. That my friends, is the solid foundation on which I have built my testimony. Because of the knowledge I have that Jesus Christ lives and loves me, I am able to trust that the Holy Spirit will compensate where I fall short.

 

Over the past month I have made a steadfast effort to hold regular FHE. Through the assistance of Pinterest and the good old Internet we have had some amazing times.  (Truthfully, I am pretty sure Pinterest was invented just so I could get my FHE act together!) There were several sites, and many, many, many ideas. 

 

We decided to do a monthly topic that the four evenings would center around. Our first topic was "The Temple." We make a giant temple sugar cookie, crafted sugar temples, suspended temple mobiles and had some great conversations about preparing to enter the temple. In reflection, I cant figure out why I was intimidated by something that can be so much fun. How cunning the adversary is and how potent his ability to distract us.

 

 

Here is the super tasty fruits of our temple labor. Jaxson had fun making his own temple shape out of the dough and then frosting it. Using pre-made sugar cookie dough made this treat a snap.

I originally wanted to print off and cut out a temple template that I had found online. Unfortunately, our printer was on the fritz. We used a paper plate instead and came up with these suspended creations. I love how they turned out.

 

Jaxson is quite the artist

 

A little close up of mine. No rules just make a temple.

FINISHED!

 

Why yes those are suspended from my kitchen lights! :D

 

For some reason I missed the sugar cubes at Wal-mart, although I am not convinced that they sell them. Any who, instead of making sugar cube temples we used glue and sugar on black paper.

 

 

 We decided to share the beauty of the temple with the neighbors and anyone who passes by.

 

In the background is a cutout that we made of the temple. We also hung up the key words in this passage. D&C 88: 119

 

 

The title of Brother Bednars talk is truly inspired....More diligent and concerned at home.  For myself I have become keenly aware of how much time I can waste involved in things that have no spiritual or eternal significance. My goal that originally started as preforming a weekly act (FHE) has morphed into a desire to serve, teach and cultivate authentic relationships within my family.

We are FAMILY

    This would be my cute little family, just in case you forgot what we look like. What a hot, hot, sunny day for pictures. Thanks to our wing man Eric Alber for capturing such sweet, precious moments of our little family. For the most part you can gain quite a bit of information about our dynamics from these pictures.
     Emilee Pear is without a doubt our most serious child. I have always said from the beginning that she has two levels, happy and hysterical. I was impressed that we made it trough the session without any tears. She, however, was not loving the headband! That being said, she has a smile that will lite up a room. Her morning coo's melt my heart. She has just started walking and likes to go around laughing while she walks. As you can see she is most happy when she is near her brother. Without hesitation she will choose going to Jaxson over her father and I any day. I am so thankful that the age difference as of yet has not hindered the two from forming a relationship. As a side note let me just say that girls are much more interesting to dress! (Sorry Jaxson)
    Jaxson is a soul full of love. He is a loving, kind and always willing to be a friend. His days are spent making lego creations, when he is not in school of course.  He however will be the first to tell you when he would rather be doing something different. This whole shoot he was obsessed with getting a picture with our heads in the holes. We had to use it as motivation for him to participate...you know make it the final picture and all. He is truly growing into a handsome young man.
  Andrew is as you can see a GREAT dad. It is rare that we see anything but a kind face from him. Emilee loves to play with his facial hair and has decided to break my heart by saying "Dada" first. (Yes, I know it is phonetically easier but still!) Jaxson loves spending time watching "his dad" fix stuff. He also frequently tells me that "I was asking Dad, not you Mom!" Okay then! So thankful for such a caring and freaking hot eternal companion. I mean if you are going to spend eternity with someone better the hottie than school marm eh?
  Myself, as always, continues to rock the gap. I still am a nervous Nellie who strives to develop confidence in my abilities.
  That about sums it up. I am thankful to my Father in Heaven for blessing me with a life full of love and joy. Even in the darker moments of life there is a peace that comes from knowing who I am, where I came from and where we (the Packards) are headed!