So, last month the Primary theme was about being a missionary ("Because I know we are all children of God, I will share the gorpel with others" to be exact), and since my brother, Michael, is on a mission I asked him to share some of his favorite scriptures with me so I could share them with my kids during our morning devotionals. You know, reinforce the whole idea of being a missionary and sharing the gospel and help them feel closer to him while he is away because they keep asking when they get to see him again. Which is better than them not asking about him at all. Anyways, short explanation turning long, and Michael being the good missionary he is, he sent a huge list!! So I decided to share some with all of you. I copied and pasted this from the online scriptures at www.lds.org so it even has all the footnotes, should anyone wonder or care.
Joseph Smith-History 1:16-17
16. But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
17. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!
Our {Wild & Crazy} Days ~ Making our days a part of your days!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Catching Up . . . with US!!
So, we finally sold our house in Hurricane--HURRAY! And the search has begun for a new house (sigh). I dread the work involved with finding houses to look at, going to look at then, putting in offers and waiting to hear, then packing, moving, and unpacking. But hopefully it'll be over soon.
All our kids are doing great. I started school with Austin and Nyah probably about a month ago, mostly just math, phonics, penmanship, and reading, and we've slowly started adding in our other subjects like history and science. But things are going great. Austin reads everything he can find and he's thrilled he finished the first collection of BOB books (about 17 short readers) in about a week. Nyah, of course, feels left out and displays grand emotional outbursts to the effect, but she's really close to making the connections to reading on her own too. Olivia is constantly on the go. She loves going to the playground and slinding down the slides or sticking her hand in the sprinklers at the splash pad. Whenever we pass one in the car she begins pointing and exclaiming and gets adorably excited. Jolie is 3 months old and way cute. She's a very happy girl, smiling and cooing her days away.
Kurt and I are good, crashing on the couch after the kids are in bed and vegging to the Olympics. We love the Olympics.
All our kids are doing great. I started school with Austin and Nyah probably about a month ago, mostly just math, phonics, penmanship, and reading, and we've slowly started adding in our other subjects like history and science. But things are going great. Austin reads everything he can find and he's thrilled he finished the first collection of BOB books (about 17 short readers) in about a week. Nyah, of course, feels left out and displays grand emotional outbursts to the effect, but she's really close to making the connections to reading on her own too. Olivia is constantly on the go. She loves going to the playground and slinding down the slides or sticking her hand in the sprinklers at the splash pad. Whenever we pass one in the car she begins pointing and exclaiming and gets adorably excited. Jolie is 3 months old and way cute. She's a very happy girl, smiling and cooing her days away.
Kurt and I are good, crashing on the couch after the kids are in bed and vegging to the Olympics. We love the Olympics.
Catching Up . . . Book Reviews
Hello today!!
The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food by Jennifer 8. Lee-- As recently discussed with visiting family members, I haven't read a book so boring since high school/college text books. I wish the author had stuck to her quest of finding the origins of "Chinese" food in America. Instead, she addressed historical, political and social challenges facing Chinese people in America, interspersed with interesting tidbits about chinese food. Such as fortune cookies are Japanese, General Tso's chicken was never eaten by Genereal Tso, as most of the Chinese food Americans think of isn't really food eaten by Chinese people. My favorite line in the book came from her chapter about how Chinese restaurants began in America and the sheer number of them in America, where she concludes with: Our benchmark for Americanness is apple pie. But ask yourself: How often do you eat apple pie? How often do you eat Chinese food?
The Open Road by Pico Iyer-- This book is about the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism, the challenges he faces with the modern world, etc. What do I say about it? Hmmm, a Hindu Indian man, writing about his friend the Dalai Lama, leader of Tibetan Buddhism, being read by an American, Utah Mormon girl. Let's just say there was plenty "lost in translation." I won't even begin to attempt to think about how I'd review this book.
A Treasury of Great American Scandals: Tantalizing True Tales of Historic Misbehavior by the Founding Father and Others Who Let Freedom Swing by Michael Farquhar-- This is the second book I've read by Farquhar (A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten Americans--see Book Reviews) and it is much more entertaining than the first one. Actually, at times I felt like I was reading the National Enquirer because some of these scandals are so far-fetched. The difference would be that these stories are actually true. One favorite part was when the author declares what many of us have probably been thinking about the girls who started the Salem Witch Hunt in 1692, by stating they were probably "just plain bored." Another part is about Richard Nixon in the author's "American Hall of Shame" where he shares the president's tirades as captured on recording equipment in the oval office. Nixon and his bugs, right? Anywho-- I'll share a quote from the book: "On His Vietnam Policy: 'I'd rather use the nuclear bomb.'"
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi-- The kids and I love this book!! We've been listening to it in the car and it is wonderful. Disney totally messes up when they don't use more of the original stories. Kids would love a fairy with blue hair that is a little girl who becomes Pinocchio's sister, then an older woman who becomes Pinocchio's mother, then a blue goat who gives her cabin to the Talking Cricket, and finally the fairy who turns Pinocchio to a little boy. A blue goat? What is not to love about it!! We are listening to it again.
Picture Book: Marsupial Sue Presents The Runaway Pancake with audio CD, written and read-aloud by John Lithgow-- Think of the gingerbread man (can't catch me, etc.) but much more entertaining. "No, no. No, no, no. I'm too fast, you're too slow. Pan, pan, patty-cake pan . . . I can get away from you, I can." On the CD Lithgow is reading to a live audience of kids, which makes it much more fun.
The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food by Jennifer 8. Lee-- As recently discussed with visiting family members, I haven't read a book so boring since high school/college text books. I wish the author had stuck to her quest of finding the origins of "Chinese" food in America. Instead, she addressed historical, political and social challenges facing Chinese people in America, interspersed with interesting tidbits about chinese food. Such as fortune cookies are Japanese, General Tso's chicken was never eaten by Genereal Tso, as most of the Chinese food Americans think of isn't really food eaten by Chinese people. My favorite line in the book came from her chapter about how Chinese restaurants began in America and the sheer number of them in America, where she concludes with: Our benchmark for Americanness is apple pie. But ask yourself: How often do you eat apple pie? How often do you eat Chinese food?
The Open Road by Pico Iyer-- This book is about the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism, the challenges he faces with the modern world, etc. What do I say about it? Hmmm, a Hindu Indian man, writing about his friend the Dalai Lama, leader of Tibetan Buddhism, being read by an American, Utah Mormon girl. Let's just say there was plenty "lost in translation." I won't even begin to attempt to think about how I'd review this book.
A Treasury of Great American Scandals: Tantalizing True Tales of Historic Misbehavior by the Founding Father and Others Who Let Freedom Swing by Michael Farquhar-- This is the second book I've read by Farquhar (A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten Americans--see Book Reviews) and it is much more entertaining than the first one. Actually, at times I felt like I was reading the National Enquirer because some of these scandals are so far-fetched. The difference would be that these stories are actually true. One favorite part was when the author declares what many of us have probably been thinking about the girls who started the Salem Witch Hunt in 1692, by stating they were probably "just plain bored." Another part is about Richard Nixon in the author's "American Hall of Shame" where he shares the president's tirades as captured on recording equipment in the oval office. Nixon and his bugs, right? Anywho-- I'll share a quote from the book: "On His Vietnam Policy: 'I'd rather use the nuclear bomb.'"
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi-- The kids and I love this book!! We've been listening to it in the car and it is wonderful. Disney totally messes up when they don't use more of the original stories. Kids would love a fairy with blue hair that is a little girl who becomes Pinocchio's sister, then an older woman who becomes Pinocchio's mother, then a blue goat who gives her cabin to the Talking Cricket, and finally the fairy who turns Pinocchio to a little boy. A blue goat? What is not to love about it!! We are listening to it again.
Picture Book: Marsupial Sue Presents The Runaway Pancake with audio CD, written and read-aloud by John Lithgow-- Think of the gingerbread man (can't catch me, etc.) but much more entertaining. "No, no. No, no, no. I'm too fast, you're too slow. Pan, pan, patty-cake pan . . . I can get away from you, I can." On the CD Lithgow is reading to a live audience of kids, which makes it much more fun.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Memories . . . .
My friend did this on her blog and it is fun to see the memories everyone thinks of. Add a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's fun to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.
**As a side note, my internet service is pretty spotty right now so I'm sorry I haven't been posting much lately. Hopefully things will get better.**
**As a side note, my internet service is pretty spotty right now so I'm sorry I haven't been posting much lately. Hopefully things will get better.**
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)