Timeline of 12/7/12 - 12/12/12.

'Tis the Season.

Friday. Jackson coughs.

Saturday. Playtime at birthday party. Good times. Sickness fell that afternoon and evening on three little Steelboys (in the form of fever, more coughing, etc.). OTC Meds administered.

Sunday. Sickness continued. OTC Meds administered.

Monday. Sickness continued. Sickness was on it's way out, though. OTC Meds administered.

Tuesday. Sickness brought Jackson to pediatrician's office to be diagnosed with pneumonia. Closer to bedtime, Carter returned to super-sick. Thank you, Brady for being almost all better. OTC and Rx Meds administered.

Wednesday. Jackson & Carter seen at pediatrician's office. More meds for Jackson. Flu diagnosis for Carter. More OTC and Rx meds administered.

Wednesday night at 9:00. Chilly night. Three kids took showers, after which I pampered the heck out of them, blowing warm air from my blow dryer onto their towel laden bodies. They sigh in thankfulness and joy. Their hair blow-dried. Lotion applied on chapped upper lips, nostrils and hands. Hugs and warm feelings. That was by *far* my favorite part of the last five days.

Mosiah 24:14 "Ease the burdens..."

While visiting my Aunt June recently, I noticed a hand written scripture she keeps on her refrigerator. It is a passage from The Book of Mormon, specifically the book of Mosiah, Chapter 24, verse 14. It would not be a stretch to assume that this scripture has buoyed her up in spirit countless times, as she has been through so very much in the last several years. I love the Book of Mormon, and have a testimony that these words are true.

A little photoshop creation of this special scripture

pint sized compliments

Since I last posted, Brady has potty trained. So has Carter. It's a thing of beauty.

Kidding. It has been a long, long time though, hasn't it?

Today a typical Steelboy thing happened. We were out and about, driving in the car (it had been a good 30 seconds since we left our house), when Brady got mad at Carter, and hit him. I didn't see it happen, but I heard something, not to mention the outcry that ensued, so I shouted said in a soft tone, "What happened?" Brady answered "I hit 'im!" Honesty is my favorite.

So, naturally, moms should punish hitters. It came to me only after a few seconds, "Brady! Now right now I want you to tell Carter 10 reasons that you love 'im! Now. Get started. Go. Now."

"He plays with me. He wrestles with me."

"Tell him he's got beautiful blue eyes!" I might have said.

"He has beautiful blue eyes. He's nice."

I suspect a few were duplicates.

Afterward, Carter just beamed! In the rear view mirror I asked him, "Carter, did you love that - hearing all those nice things about YOU?" His face said yes.

Brady's feelings now hurt that he "never has people say nice things about him" motivated me to invite Thing 1 and Thing 3 to pay him the same respects. It got started with Jackson's "He's nice. He plays with me." They are so creative with their compliments, those Steelboys. "He looks so cool in his black and white clothes!" I might have said.

With only about 2 more minutes of the car ride left till we reached out destination, I suggested that it was time to shower Jackson with compliments. In unison, the other two offer "He's good at basketball." "He's got the best smile!" I might have said. We went on and on with a few more personalized comments about Jackson, and when needing only one more nice sentence, the most sincere little Carter-man spoke up with my favorite line of the day: "When I ask him to play hero factory with me, and he says no, he says it in a nice voice." 5-year old honesty. Top that!

A couple hours later. Sweet boys. Ish.

Our Easter Lesson

I really love this visual aid shared in this blog post. I know it will help the kids enjoy and take a little more away from the Easter lesson I'm putting together.

Because the post is more fit for a signing time in Primary (Mormon talk for kids sunday school hour), I wanted to try to find a good way to fit an all-encompassing Easter lesson behind the tissue paper, and in the paper bags. This is what I've come up with. We'll make sure to designate a good little 20-30 minutes during the day tomorrow to talk all about Easter, leading into Easter Sunday. I do last minute. Yes, I do. And I do it well. So Ha!

I will build the board just as the blogger did. Inside the bags, there will be items and scripture verses printed out that address each of these topics.

1. What does resurrection mean?
In Leah's words - It's something/someone that is dead being made alive again. I will likely put into a bag a picture of one my favorite perrennials - Lantana. When lantana is alive and thriving, it's strong and beautiful. The lantana in my yard typically grows a good 4 feet tall, and shows the most amazing array of blossoms all summer long. Lantana dies when it starts getting cold in the autumn. When this happens, I cut the plant back to a small stoop (only about an inch or two off the ground). This stoop looks like a dead cluster of sticks - brittle, no life at all. BUT, every spring, new life emerges once again.

2. What does atonement mean? 
Copying from a primary manual... Link here.   


The Atonement is Jesus Christ’s voluntary act of suffering for our sins and giving His life on the cross to overcome death. We need the atonement to satisfy Heavenly Father's plan. In this plan, Heavenly Father lets us all come to Earth to gain bodies, experience joy and learn in families, experience pain along the way, but we will all one day die. We need a Savior to save us from  physical death and make our resurrections possible.


Another citation I like is from LDS.org where we see the definition of "redeem." It says "To deliver, to purchase, or to ransom, such as to free a person from bondage by payment. Redemption refers to the atonement of Jesus Christ and to deliverance from sin. Jesus’ atonement redeems all mankind from physical death. Through his atonement, those who have faith in him and who repent are also redeemed from spiritual death."


3.What happened to Jesus leading up to his crucifixion and on that very day?


Scripture citations beautifully portrayed in this video. 


Jesus was betrayed. Matthew 6:14-16
Jesus was denied. Luke 22:54-62
Jesus was rejected. Luke 9:22
Jesus was bound. Mark 15:1
Jesus was mocked. Matthew 27:29
Jesus was reviled. Matthew 27:39
Jesus was scourged. John 19:1
Jesus was spit on. Mark 15:19
Jesus was crucified. John 19:17-19

Show picture of Jesus on the cross. Share these scriptures:

John 19:16-42 and all of John, chapter 20. This is the most reading intensive question of all.

4. Why did they crucify Him? 
If I have over-simplified this, I'm wide open to suggestions on how to make it more accurate. I will print a picture of a king wearing a crown. The description is that (again, according to Leah) Ceasar was the king of the Jews. The Jews crucified Jesus because they felt that Jesus was trying to say that *HE* was their king. Mark 15:1-14. 


5. Watch the "He Is Risen Video" on youtube. 7 1/2 minutes. Beautiful! It ends with Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene as cited in John, chapter 20, verse 17. Link to video.

6. Who did Jesus Christ atone/die for? 

In the Book of Mormon, we find a passage that says: "Behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord." Helaman 14:17. Also, the third Article of Faith says: "We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."

I also wish to impress upon the kids that an idea like "all mankind" is kind of hard to fathom. But, to make it more personal, we will make sure to list the kids, one by one, and many of the people they know and love - even those who they've never met, like Steve, Rodney's dad, and their great-grandparents. The atonement is for each individual person who has ever lived, or will ever live.

I'll end now. :) 

I know these things are true. I am so very thankful for my Savior. I am thankful for the Plan of Happiness. I know that through Him, I can be with my family forever. 


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This is my day after edit with a few pictures of the board and the kids! :)

3"x4" cutouts from poster board, tissue paper & simple image for each question

They really enjoyed the destruction part. ;)

The First Vision

I was reminded of this beautiful text earlier tonight, and wanted to create something with it.

Image should be clickable, to view larger, if you wish.

I'll take this moment to share that I do believe that Joseph Smith did have a vision, just as he said he did. I believe that God the Father, and our elder brother, Jesus Christ appeared to him. Just before, Joseph had been confused about which church to join, and was reading in the scriptures (James 1:5) and knew he should ask God for help with the matter. What happened next is a miracle, indeed.

More about the history and organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can be found at this link: http://www.lds.org/church/organization/the-church-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng

Marriage and Parenting

Just a couple of Photoshop creations I made last night. I got the quotes from this talk I listened to this past weekend. Here's a link for a video of this very uplifting message by Elder Russell M. Nelson, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  I'm so thankful for my blessings of a happy marriage and the opportunity to be a parent to three of God's most beautiful creations. <3