It’s Great To Be Eight Countdown: Day 7

Day 7.  We are almost there! One more full day left before Cory turns eight!  Today we learned more about our baptismal covenants.  As a family we read “Baptism and The Three Bears” (I printed out enough copies for everyone to follow along) and then we enjoyed our gummy bear snacks.

Baptism and The Three Bears

I’m sure all of you know the story of the Three Bears. Sometime this year you will be baptized and I want to tell you about the 3 bears of baptism. These bears remind us of the covenants we make with our Heavenly Father when we are baptized. A covenant is a very special kind of promise. The baptismal covenant is promises we make and the promise of great blessings our Heavenly Father makes to us. He NEVER breaks HIS promises, but he knows that sometimes we might break ours. So he has given us a chance every week to renew our Baptismal Covenant or in other words start over to keep our promises to Him. It is when we take the sacrament that we can renew the promises we made when we were baptized.

We don’t hear these covenants or promises when we are being baptized but we find them in the scriptures. The first promise or the first BEAR is in the Book of Mormon in the 26th chapter of Mosiah verse 18. We promise that we are willing to bear, carry or be known by his name and we will be His children and belong to Him. Just as you bear your father’s name and you belong to him. In ancient times the followers of Jesus were called Christians. Now we can be called Latter-day Saints or Christians. Either one means we bear His name.

Our second BEAR of baptism is to bear testimony, to offer or to bear witness that we know Jesus is the Son of God. That we know He is our Savior and we know His gospel is true. We must bear this testimony all the rest of our lives. This is one way we show our love for Jesus and our Heavenly Father.

Our third BEAR of baptism is that we bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light. That means we help each other with the work that needs to be done and also we help others when they have trouble and sorrow so they won’t suffer alone. This is one way we can follow the Savior’s commandment to love one another, the same way He loves us.

Alma taught these same baptism covenants to the people. He was baptizing people at the waters of Mormon. … [Read Mosiah 18: 8-10.  Take note of the three  bears: "called his people"  for bear his name, "stand as witness" for bear testimony and bear one another's burdens.]

Did you hear what Heavenly Father promises – that He will pour out His spirit upon us, I can think of nothing better than to always have his spirit with us.

If you forget these covenants listen carefully to the priests as they bless the sacrament.  And remember your bears …

You bear His name.
You bear your testimony.
You bear one another’s burdens.

{The “Baptism and the Three Bears” lesson, along with a free printable bookmark, can be found here.}

{Our Baptismal Covenants bear handout can also be found here, courtesy of Susan Fitch Design.}

It’s Great To Be Eight Countdown: Day 6

Day 6.  Our focus for today – traffic signs and commandments.  When we drive on a road, traffic signs can keep us safe if we obey them. This is what Cory found on the kitchen counter this morning:

When we travel along our journey in life, we can be safe if we follow the commandments that God has asked us to obey.  By following His commandments we can stay on the strait and narrow path (although when we stray, repentance will help us get back on the right path) and that will eventually lead us back to our Heavenly Father.  When we do this we are learning to choose the right.

Getting baptized is one of God’s commandments.  Following the prophet, reading and studying the scriptures and listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost will also keep us safe.

I had to get a little creative with the treat aspect for this mini lesson. I told Cory that kisses and hugs are signs that we love him.  Also, a dove is a sign of peace and Christ has asked us to be peacemakers.

{The traffic signs can be found here.  However, you first need to open the document in Word to view the traffic signs.}

{The January 1989 issue of the Friend magazine also has an excellent poem about traffic signs and following the commandments. Images in PDF format for this poem can be found here.}

It’s Great To Be Eight Countdown: Day 5

Day 5.  Today we talked about the importance of prayer.  Deciding to get baptized is a very important decision a person needs to make.  It is important to pray about your choice to know if what you are doing is right.

I used chocolate covered pretzels for a sweet twist.

We read James 1:5 together and talked about how Joseph Smith received an answer to his prayer. We then talked about times when Cory, and anyone else in our family, has received an answer to prayer.  We reiterated how sometimes prayers are answered pretty quickly and other times we need to wait on the Lord.  Finally we discussed how praying helps nurture our testimony.

PRETZEL PRAYER:

[above image courtesy of winmark] 

[above image and quote below courtesy of spotgirl] 

Pretzels have an interesting history.

Around the year 610, a monk decided to make a treat for the children who had learned to recite their prayers. Christians in those days prayed by folding their hands across their chests with each hand touching the opposite shoulder. This clever monk formed the dough so that it would look like hands folded in prayer. He gave his creation the name pretiola, which in Latin means “little reward.”

The simple shape of the pretzel, arms folded in prayer, reminds us to pray each day!

It’s Great To Be Eight Countdown: Day 4

Day 4.  We are halfway done with our eight day countdown!  Today’s topic of conversation is how to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We will also review the Fourth Article of Faith:

“We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

{This baptism candy bar wrapper can be found here.}

It’s Great To Be Eight Countdown: Day 3

Day 3.  This is what greeted Cory in his bedroom today when he got home:

We talked about six footsteps that lead to baptism.

   1. Believe in and learn about Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.

  2. Pray to Heavenly Father.

   3. Be forgiving and love others.

  4. Choose the right every day.

  5. Read or listen to scripture stories.

  6. Be eight years old.

At the end of the footprints was a Fruit by the Foot and a picture of children with Christ.  On the back of the picture were the 13 Articles of Faith.

{This idea originally came from the Primary 2: Choose the Right A Manual. It is Lesson 12, “I Can Prepare for Baptism.”  The footprints have already been created and can be opened as a PDF or Word File on the Sugardoodle website.}

It’s Great To Be Eight Countdown: Day 2

Day 2.  This is what the after school handout and gift consisted of today:

Baptism is a lifesaver.  It’s a key that opens the gateway to eternal life and the celestial kingdom.

{Feel free to use the image below to copy or download to make your own handout.}

It’s Great To Be Eight Countdown: Day 1

Cory will be turning eight next week and soon after that he will be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is a personal choice he has made, and we have been helping him prepare to make his own decision for awhile.

To help him celebrate this special time and event in his life, we decided to do an eight day “It’s Great To Be Eight Countdown” with him – a countdown to his eighth birthday!  (You could also do this as an eight day countdown to your child’s baptism date.) We wanted to help emphasize to him the monumental and life changing choice he is making.  Through Pinterest, Sugardoodle and Google searches, I have come up with eight handouts and/or mini-lessons to do as a family the eight days prior to his birthday.

Day 1.  Today I had the first handout waiting for him (and the other kids so they could participate) on the counter when he got home from school.  He was pleasantly surprised.  We also talked about how 29 years ago on this very day I was baptized.

We are so proud of you for “chewzing” to get baptized.  We are also so proud  of you for “chewzing” to make and keep sacred covenants.  We love you!

{Feel free to use the JPEG image below to copy or download to make your own handout.  You can also adapt this to be a countdown to your child’s actual baptism date.}

Pokémon Inspired Birthday Party

We are gearing up for Cory’s 8th birthday next week (8 is a significant age for us since we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), so we decided to throw him a birthday party to help him celebrate.

My mode of operation?  Simple, low-key and budget-friendly.

Cory decided he only wanted to invite a handful of friends from school (at times he can get a bit overstimulated in large groups) and since many of them have extra curricular activities on Saturdays (Japanese school, ski lessons, basketball games, etc.) we thought it would be best to hold his party on a Friday evening.  I wasn’t expecting everyone we invited to be able to come, but apparently Friday nights are the time to hold a party because we had everyone RSVP a firm yes!  Good thing we only invited 6 friends because a houseful of energetic and silly boys can be quite an active affair.

Cory is still currently obsessed with all things Pokémon so it was easy for us to choose a theme for his special event.  I decided to plan way more games and activities than I knew we would need in a two-hour  block just so I could channel all the energy if I needed to.  (We only ended up doing about half of the activities planned, which was perfectly fine with me. My main goal was to keep the kids content and occupied.)

Guess the number of Pokémon Eggs – We used jelly bellies for our eggs.

Pokémon Activity Station – We had the following available: coloring sheets, index cards so they could create their own Pokémon characters and lots of handbooks (from the library) for them to look at.

Raichu Pokemon Bingo [you can make and print a variety of bingo card themes from this website] - We used skittles for the markers.

Pokémon Training Mission – We colored an extra bingo card and cut the squares apart.  We put each square in a plastic egg and then hid them in our family room downstairs.  The kids then had to find all the missing Pokémon.

Caterpie Cocoon Wrap – You use toilet paper to wrap your teammate, like the mummy game.  (You could judge who was the fastest, who had the strongest wrap, who was wrapped the most creatively, etc.)

Baltoy Tag –  Baltoy is a Pokémon that is a top so the kids played tag, but they had to hop on one foot.  They added a spinning element to their game as well.

Pikachu, Pikachu, Onix – Good old fashioned duck, duck, goose.

Ash Says - Good old fashioned Simon Says.

Energy Basketball – Every time they made a shot, I gave them a Pokémon energy card.  (It’s a good thing I have a large stash of Pokémon cards that I have collected from consignment stores, friends and family.)

When things got too hectic, I simply turned on some Pokémon shows I recorded from the TV.

The boys all seemed to have a lot of fun.  I think they really enjoyed being able to do what boys this age do best – being loud, silly and crazy!  They also looked at each others Pokémon cards (I can’t believe the collections these kids have!) and then we had cake and opened presents.  I have now been introduced to Lego Chima and beyblades, things I wasn’t overly familiar with prior to his party.

As our guests left, we handed them their goody bags. We definitely made sure there were Pokémon cards as party favors!

All in all I think the party was a success.  One of Cory’s friends at school today even said it was the best party ever!  Not sure if I would go that far !!  The most important thing, though, is Cory had a blast!  That made all the planning and enduring of the boisterous and booming noise worth it !!

[I would have documented the party more with photos, but we didn't have enough hands to coordinate all the activities involving constantly moving boys, take pictures and then make sure the 4 year old and 21 month old siblings stayed out of trouble !!]

Another Birthday

A couple of weeks ago I celebrated my birthday.  I am not so sure the lyrics from the primary song I used to sing in my youth are still applicable to me:

Turning 37 seems too close to 40.  And being 40 seems too mature for me – not that that age is old or anything. I just don’t feel like I have accomplished enough in my life to be so wise yet.

I think I like the way my friend said it best.  This year I celebrated the 8th anniversary of my 29th birthday.  That sounds much better !!

My birthday fell on a Saturday this year. It was definitely enjoyable to be able to sleep in and rest! I woke up to a plethora of cards waiting for me.

Eli made me a Light Saber Birthday Cake card.

Cory made me a Pokemon card.

Keri wrote me a beautiful note and made me a darling, little hand-stitched pillow. I love the creativity that runs in that girl!

I also received some birthday cards via snail mail – my mail box loves it when it gets “real” mail and not just junk and bills.

I definitely felt doted on this year. Thank you for all the birthday love I received via Facebook posts, phone calls and phone texts, lunches, flowers and chocolates that were given.  They all brightened my day and my week!

Since Randy and I were going to head out in the evening for a dinner date, we decided to share some doughnuts with the kids earlier in the day.  They always like to be incorporated into our birthday celebrations.

Randy and I had a delightful evening together. It was incredibly wonderful to get out and away from everyday life for a bit.  We relaxed over dinner and chatted a ton.  We had some very meaningful and enlightening conversations.

I even ended up with two birthday dinner desserts.  I got a complimentary one with our dinner, but after walking around the mall for a bit and realizing that all the movies we wanted to see started too late, we decided to indulge in a gourmet piece of cheesecake and headed to a different restaurant. It tasted heavenly! I even somewhat enjoyed it when all the waiters and waitresses sang to me.

Being 37 in the year 2013 seems a bit ominous to me (maybe it is all the 3′s in there, or all the odd numbers represented, or the fact that the supposedly unlucky number 13 is present), but so far I am learning to enjoy and embrace this new age and new year.  Maybe I really will start to feel wiser !

My 2013 Word of the Year

My brain is trying to wrap itself around the fact that 2013 is truly here.  2013 is present day life right now, not something still in the future.

At the beginning of December I started thinking about what I wanted my new word of the year to be.  I pondered it for awhile and thought I had chosen it.  There were a couple in the running.  But then about a week ago a different word worked its way into my mind and it has not budged.

It is a powerful word.  A strong word.  A word that has a lot of potential if I fully embrace it in the manner I envision it.

My word for 2013?

This definition captures the essence of what it means to me rather well.

In particular, the words “process” and “potentiality” jump out at me.

This year I want to focus more on the process and progress I am making in my life, and not so much on a-once-attained-and-then-you’re-done kind of goal.  For me “becoming” focuses on the journey – the potholes, the speed bumps, the coastings, the uphills, the downhills, the joy rides – and not the final destination.

Becoming is a present tense word, not past tense or future tense.  It is optimistic.  It is hopeful.  It is forgiving and tolerant.  It is merciful. It is flexible.  It is open minded, resourceful, respectful and accepting.

By choosing the word becoming, I feel like it means I am embracing all of me more fully – my faults, flaws, mistakes, blunders, successes, idiosyncrasies, advancements and everything in between.  Choosing the word becoming means accepting myself while on this journey of life, and not just the end-of-journey me.  It means embracing the me who dusts herself off and journeys on with courage and determination, even if it is a bit timidly at times, as opposed to wallowing in the dust while on the ground and staying put because I got dirty or marred.

It means filling my bucket with Drops of Awesome.   It means remembering “you made the right choice once. And in that moment you were the person you want to be and that is a triumph. … Drop of Awesome!”

I want to focus more on these moments so I can become the person I want to become, the person I know I can be, as opposed to allowing the negative self talk battling it out in my brain to bring me down into despair and discouragement. “[God] wants us to feel joy. Not later, when we no longer make mistakes, but right now.” 

This year I want to work on more truly accepting myself as who I am and where I am in my life journey.  I need to remember that this life is a process and I won’t be complete until its done … and more importantly I won’t be complete until after the Atonement of Christ has made it so.  I need to recognize that I am a work-in-progress and then become joyful of this state of being I am in, of where I am right now in present day life.

This means:

• Becoming more joyful.
• Becoming a more compassionate listener.
• Becoming calmer and less of a reactive and yelly mom.
• Becoming more purposeful in my relationships with my children.
• Becoming less of a night owl.
• Becoming more comfortable in my own skin  - physically, emotionally, and intellectually.  In other words embracing me for who I am and then becoming OK with the fact that that me might be different than most people.
• Becoming more healthy and fit, and not as reliant on and addicted to sugar.
• Becoming more willing to share and give of myself.
• Becoming more aware of those around me.
• Becoming more gentle.
• Becoming more gracious.
• Becoming more charitable – more patient, more long suffering and less easily offended.
• Becoming one with my Savior.

These might sound like a lot of lofty goals, but they aren’t as long as I remain steadily pointed in the right direction and then accept the stumbles I know I will have along the way.  For me it is learning how to live in the moment, learning how to relish the small victories and not letting the bumps keep me down.

In reality it is the process of moving in the right direction, one baby step at a time.  One Drop of Awesome at a time until I need a new bucket to hold all the drops I have collected.

Indeed it is becoming.

I hope everyone is having a healthy, happy and purposeful start to their new year.

Keeping Christmas

“Home for the holidays.”

Last year was a first for our family – staying put in Western Washington to celebrate Christmas with just the six of us.  This year, we chose to do the same thing.  It’s a bittersweet decision because we miss seeing all of our extended family and spending this special time of year together with them.  But then on the other hand, it is enjoyable to be in our own home and starting our own family traditions during this blessed season.

We spent the afternoon and evening of Christmas Eve together with my “sister from other parents” and her husband and two daughters.  We cooked, played games, laughed, ate chocolate, chatted, enjoyed a delicious meal, exchanged gifts and read the Nativity.  It was a simple and delightful time.

When we got home later in the evening, we opened our Christmas Eve package from Grandma and Grandpa.  The kids loved their holiday Beanie Babies (Ari enjoyed his the next morning, he fell asleep on the car ride home).  Randy appreciated the socks he got and I like the new kitchen towels and other items I received.

Before going to bed, Eli helped us get a plate ready for Santa.  He wanted to give him 4 cookies since he is four years old.  He was also insistent that we give something to Santa’s reindeer.  He looked around the kitchen for some ideas.  I suggested some carrots or a banana.  After thinking for a minute, he matter-of-factly stated he wanted to leave a tomato for the reindeers.  I love that kid (and tomatoes!).  This is one of my new favorite pictures.

Keri surprised us with a hand crafted ornament she created from a sewing kit she had in her room. She knows how much I love nativities, so she sewed us our very own Baby Jesus ornament.  Eli also has a fascination with Baby Jesus.  Nearly all month long he went around singing the song “Baby in a Manger” which he was learning in Primary at Church.  [Brief side note - Eli also thought that Baby Jesus really came to our Ward Christmas party.  He really wanted to see him in the manger while Keri was playing Mary.]

Once the kids were all settled and asleep, and after I spent some time on the phone with some siblings, we got the house ready for Christmas morning.  The holiday shopping is nearly always done by Halloween or Thanksgiving, but the wrapping is what is hard for me to stay on top of.  It is challenging to do it in secret when your kids get older and stay up later.  Thankfully we were able to get it done before Christmas Eve this year … just barely.

Here are the kids on Christmas morning.  They were all up by about 8:00, though Ari had been up for awhile.  [I forgot to get a picture of all of us together next to the tree.  Hopefully I'll remember to do that next year.]

Before opening gifts, the kids first open their stockings.

We take turns opening presents, from youngest to oldest. I am surprised at how much Ari was into opening things!  Our other kids could care less when they were this age about unwrapping things.  Ari really enjoys throwing and kicking balls. He was thrilled with the gifts he got.

Eli has been very into super heroes and Star Wars lately.

Keri adores owls and really liked the new owl jewelry she received.

Cory has been obsessed with Pokemon for the last few months. Needless to say he was beyond ecstatic with the gifts he got.  After opening a few of his gifts, all Pokemon related, he emphatically exclaimed with his arms thrown out, “I am going to explode with happiness!”  He then said, “I am glad this is not just a dream.”  He let us know, “It’s like my wish came true.  I pretty much got all the Pokemon in the world.”  It was fun to see him so excited!

After all the presents were opened, Keri stealthily put one more under the tree.  A gift for me.  I was very impressed with how secretive she kept this process from me.  She and Randy dubbed it Operation Blackberry (because they met up to go shopping next to some blackberry bushes).  She even wrapped it without me knowing about it. I love what she picked out for me. It is so sweet and tender and so appropriate since angels have been on my mind a lot this season. It proudly sits on our fireplace mantle.

One of the best Christmas miracles of the day was how well the kids got along – little to no bickering!  That was one of the best presents ever.

Another funny quote came from Eli.  He got some new Cars 2 underwear he has been coveting.  When people ask how Christmas was, he likes to tell them, “I love my underwear.”  [In fact he may or may not have unzipped his blanket sleeper when the missionaries stopped by later that day and showed them his new present .]

The kids enjoyed putting together Cory’s new bookshelf with their Dad.  I really like how the books are now up off the floor. His room looks much nicer. [Eli is sporting his new Christmas Spiderman costume.  He loves it, though he still desperately wants a Darth Vader costume.]

I think Eli sums it up best.  At the end of opening our gifts he asserted, “That was a good Merry Christmas.”

[Note to self - Next year make sure you have at least *one* picture taken with you in it.  Sheesh?!  I guess I will throw a picture of me into the previous post just to document I was here this Christmas season .]

Some Of the Hustle and Bustle

Before writing our 2012 Christmas post, I thought I would do a brief picture recap of a few of the things we did before the big day.

We received a couple of unexpected packages in the mail and some gifts from local neighbors and friends. THANK YOU!!

Keri had two separate choir holiday concerts.  I am thoroughly impressed with how well this middle school choir sounds. Her choir teacher is stellar!

Eli had a preschool holiday concert.  I asked him afterward why he kept inserting random words into the songs, and he said because he likes to be funny! [He is also currently going through an I only-want-to-wear-shorts-or-rolled-up-pants stage. Such is life and the battles we choose to choose .]

Randy and I went to his work holiday party.  [Note to self - Next year take a picture of *both* of us.]

Keri played Mary at our Ward Christmas Party.

Keri made potpourri (lemons, oranges, cloves, cranberries and cinnamon sticks) at an activity and we delivered some of it to our neighbors.  It made our house smell heavenly when we simmered it!

We made our annual gingerbread house. A tradition in our family for the past 8 years!