GUEST PREP TIMELINE

I found this checklist and thought it was worth keeping on file.  I don't ever seem to prepare well enough and early enough for guests.  This is a good resource!

THE POWER OF LOVE

THE POWER OF LOVE

By Connie Richardson

 Written in Spring 2003

                Recently, our family has experienced the great power of love.  We recently adopted 3 beautiful children from Russia, ages 2, 3, and 4.  This added to our beautiful family of 6 children, ages 2, 4, 7, 9, 10, and 12.  Many people looked at us with dazed eyes and spouted off many questions of “why?”  Our family could do nothing but reply with excitement about our adventure the lay ahead.

            September 2003 we met 3 beautiful children in an orphanage in far east Russia.  After 19 hours in a plane and 5 hours on a bus, we were able to turn our 2 dimensional photos into real children.  We spent just 10 hours with these precious children over 2 days.  Our goal was to share our love and desire to be their parents and pray that their hearts would receive.  At the end of 2 short days we saw somber children begin to open up and receive.  At our final visit we goodbye.  As we parted, our quietest little girl came running back to us and didn’t want to let go.  I had our interpreter promise her that “mama will be back.”  It tore my heart as I left my babies.  Love had softened their hearts, but love had also placed them in my heart.

            We didn’t return to Russia for 4 long months.  January 2003 we finally arrived to bring them home.  We worried that they had forgotten us.  We were so wrong. We were told of times when our children had misunderstood caregivers and thought we had returned.  When they did not see us, they sobbed and cried. This broke our hearts.  They were longing for us to return.  They longed for the love and acceptance they had felt.

            Our legal work and waiting period had finally passed and it was time to go home.  As I made the trip home, these sweet children never looked back.  They took hold of my hand and trudged the 27-hour journey through a new and foreign world.  It was truly a miracle to me that they had endless trust in me, their mother.  They never doubted, never feared, never resisted.  They pushed forward as we journeyed “home.”  Did they understand what “home” really meant?  I was sure that they didn’t understand how their lives would change from all they had ever known, but in their hearts they were miraculously at peace.  The only explanation I can formulate is that they knew in their hearts they were loved.  They knew they had a family and off they were to find them.

            Gratefully, we are all finally home.  All 9 children and 2 parents are adjusting very well.  We have challenges, of course, but as we strive to love more and more, each day our patience and ability to work with love increases.  These beautiful children have never questioned our parental role.  They seem to embrace it with hugs, kisses, and beautiful smiles.  Our older children have developed love for their new siblings so quickly and the love is returned.  This has been a beautiful miracle of love to witness as well. 

All of our hearts are full of love and gratitude for these new children.  What a wonderful experience that demonstrates “the more love you give away, the more you receive.”  We are in another chapter of our journey as we unify and solidify our family relationships and continue to develop love and trust.  I do not doubt that love will be our strongest glue.

MY THREE WHITE DRESSES

MY THREE  WHITE  DRESSES

My  mom bought me a white dress,  Not red or pink or blue.

     She said it was a special  dress,  Like very other few.

There has been just one before,  A dress now put away,

     That I wore some time ago,  Upon my blessing day.

As a little baby clothed,  In my first white dress,

      My Dad held me in his arms,  There to name and bless.

So pure and clean was I just then, With time to grow and learn,

     About the Father’s plan for me,. My glory I must earn.

Now I’ve reached  the age to judge,  The wrong road from the right,

     And I am here to be baptized,  In this dress of white.

So once again I’m free from sin,  The path is clear to me.

     I’ll grasp the road and hold on tight,  I now with certainty.

Just as mud would stain my dress,  Sin would strain my soul,

     The key is to repent or bleach,  For whiteness is my goal.

And if I try my very best,  Then richly blessed I’ll be,

     Wearing inside God’s holy house, White dress number three.

So today I make this pledge:  I’ll strive to choose the right,

     Through this sacred baptism ordinance, In my second dress of white.

PASTA ANIMALS CRAFT

What fun to have with pipe cleaners and pasta!!!

WOMEN

WOMEN

God bless women.

They smile when they want to scream.

They sing when they want to cry.

They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous.

They fight for what they believe in.

They stand up for injustice.

They don’t take “No” for an answer when they believe there is a better solution.

They go without new shoes so their children can have them.

They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.

They love unconditionally.

They cry when their children excel and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy when they hear about a birth or a new marriage.

Their hearts break when a friend dies.

They have sorrow at the loss of a family member. 

They are strong when they think there is no strength left.

They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all sizes, in all colors and shapes.

They’ll drive, fly, walk, run, text or e-mail you to show how much they care!

The heart of a woman is what makes the world spin!

Women do more than just give birth.

They bring joy and hope.

They give compassion and ideals.

They give moral support to their family and friends.

Women have a lot to say and a lot to give.

MOTHER WILL ALWAYS BE THERE

I thought this was beautiful.

 

MOTHER IS ALWAYS THERE

The young mother set her foot on the path of life.  “Is this the long way?” she asked.  And the guide said: “Yes, and the way is hard.  And you will be old before you reach the end of it.  But the end will be better than the beginning.  “But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe anything could be better than these years.  So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams; and the sun shone on them, and the young Mother cried, “Nothing will ever be lovelier than this.”

Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said, “Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near,” and it guided them beyond the darkness.  And that night the Mother said, “This ist he best day of all for I have shown my children God.”

And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and the mother grew old and she was little and bent.  But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage.  And when they way was rough, they lifted her, for she was a slight as a feather; and at last they came to a hill, and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide.

And mother said; “I have reached the end of my journey.  And now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them.”

And the children said, “You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates.”

And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her.  And they said:  “We cannot see her, but she is with us still.  A mother like ours is more than a memory.  She is a living presence.”

Your mother is always with you.  She’s the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street;

She’s the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks;

She’s the cool hand on your brow when you’re not well.

Your mother lives inside your laughter.

And she’s crystallized in every tear drop.

She’s the place you come from, your first home; and she’s the map you follow with every step you take.

She’s your first love and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can separate you..

Not time, not space… not even death:

PRINCIPALS OF EQUAL PARTNERSHIP

PRINCIPALS OF EQUAL PARTNERSHIP

Although the exact allocation and implementation of family responsibilities may differ between families and across time within the same family, the following principles of equal partnership should prevail at all times and places.

Equal and United in Power	Husbands and wives each have common and unique powers or stewardships that are balanced; each is essential to become like God.
Equal and United in Purpose	Wives and husbands work toward the same, equal purpose which is to aid in bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of themselves, each other, and their children.
Equal and Unites in Possibility	Husbands and wives are yoked together as an independent unit.  Their ultimate, eternal possibilities are as a joined couple, not as individuals.
Equal and United in Participation	Wives and husbands have equal levels of responsibility and participation in the plan of salvation and in the sacred work of family life.  Husbands are as dependent on wives as wives are husbands.
Equal and United in Prominence	There is no value hierarchies or value distinctions between women and men nor in the stewardships they fulfill as wives and husbands, mothers and fathers.

10 WAYS TO SPEND TIME WITH YOUR CHILDREN

TEN WAYS TO SPEND TIME WITH YOUR CHILDREN

Ezra Taft Benson

1.  “Be at the Crossroads”:  take time to always be at the crossroads when your children are either coming or going – when they leave and return from school, when they leave and return from dates, when they bring friends home.

2.  “Be a Real Friend”:  Listen to your children, really listen.  Talk with them, laugh and joke with them, sing with them, play with them, cry with them, hug them, honestly praise them.

3.  “Read to Your Children”:  You will plant a love for good literature and a real love for the scriptures if you will read to your children regularly.

4.  “Pray with Your Children”:  Have your children feel of your faith as you call down the blessings of heaven upon them.  Paraphrasing the words of James, ‘The … fervent prayer of a righteous (mother) availeth much’ (James 5:16)

5.  “Have Weekly Home Evenings”:  Participate in a spiritual and an uplifting home evening each week … Make this one of your great family traditions.

6.  “Be Together at Mealtimes”:  Happy conversation, sharing of the day’s plans and activities, and special teaching moments occur at mealtime because mothers and fathers and children work at it.

7.  “Read Scriptures daily”:  Reading the Book of Mormon together as a family will especially bring increased spirituality into your home and will give both parents and children the power to resist temptation and to have the Holy  Ghost as their constant companion.

8.  “Do Things as a Family”:  Make family outings and picnics and birthday celebrations and trips special times and memory builders.  Whenever possible, attend as a family, events where one of the family members if involved.

9.  “Teach Your Family”:  Catch the teaching moments.  This can be done anytime during the day – at mealtime, in casual settings, or at special sit-down times together, at the foot of the bed at the end of the day, or during an early morning walk together.

10.  “Truly Love Your Children”:  A mother’s unqualified love approaches Christ-like love.

(To the mothers in Zion, address given at a fireside for parents; February 22, 1987)

CHEESE BALL

CHEESE BALL

8 oz cream cheese

2C grated cheese

1T worchestershire sauce

¼ C crumbled bacon

½ C diced nuts (very fine)

¼ C chopped green onion

Mix all but the nuts together in food processor.  Shape into a ball with plastic wrap.  Roll in  nuts.  Serve immediately or wrap in plastic and chill or freeze.