The Start of a New Year
A little after 10am on a Tuesday morning, the house is quiet except the whir of the dryer, my typing on the keyboard and an occasional meow from one of the cats. Wow. Does anyone else feel the huge relief of Christmas holidays being over, decorations put away, normal routines recommenced? I realize the change might not be so great for single people, empty-nesters, those with preschoolers, or those who home school, etc. but for me, with all the kids back at school and Steven away at work, the peace is amazing. I can finally hear myself think again!
We had a wonderful holiday. The kids played with Legos, watched movies, played games and had fun. New Years Eve was spent at a party thrown by ward members talking and playing games. Yesterday the weather was nice and warm (40s and sunny, anyway... It is amazing what this California girl now considers "warm"!) and we rode bikes to the park to play.
Steven has been working at his contract job at Richmond Homes for over a week now, and seems to be enjoying it. He's been busy preparing for his interview with Ball Corporation this Friday, preparing stories that detail his accomplishments, figuring out the best way to present himself. We are hoping and praying that the interview goes really well, and he will have a permanent job come February.
I don't know if I mentioned my new callings here or not... I'm thinking not for some reason. Anyway, I was called as assistant Relief Society pianist. This has motivated me to practice playing the piano more recently, and especially to brush up on the hymns. My other calling is with Steven; we are now Webelos den leaders. We were called shortly before the holidays, so our first den meeting will be tomorrow (Wednesday) evening, and we will be working on the Readyman (first aid/ emergency response) badge. This should be interesting.
My Christmas gift from Hannah this year was a pound of yarn, and in the last couple weeks, I've been using it to expand my knitting skills. I made a hoodie for the teddy bear Peter gave me for Christmas, knitted some mittens, a beret type hat, and a shawl. This has been a fun project. I'm wondering what I should try next.
Last Sunday, our bishop asked every family in the ward to come up with a Family Righteousness Plan. We are frequently reminded that that while the Church is there to help, it is the parents' responsibility to teach their children the gospel. A Family Righteousness Plan is a plan for how we will teach our children the gospel. It includes things like family prayer and scripture study and Family Home Evenings. It can also include family trips to the temple (for the parents, for the youth to do baptisms, or a picnic on temple grounds to give younger children an opportunity to touch the temple.) It can include family history research, service projects, and missionary activities. We've been working on our own, but I wanted to mention the idea here, in case any of you wanted to take the challenge, to make a plan for raising your children in the gospel. Last night our stake had it's youth kick-off fireside to introduce the new church wide YM/YW theme for the year, and to share information about our Pioneer Trek which will occur this June. (Hannah gets to go this year; I'm so excited for her!!!) The theme is from Doctrine and Covenants 87:8, "Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved." I loved the theme song/video that they played, too. I had to find it and watch it again at home, and I want to share it with my boys, too. This morning I've been reviewing the talks given by the general YM and YW presidents about the new theme, and I love what Elaine S. Dalton said, "If you live with the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, then you stand in a holy place." The challenge is to live in such a way that you can have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, and that is where the Family Righteousness Plan can help: to teach our children, by word and example, what they need to do to invite the Spirit to be with them always. I love the gospel. I love the Church, and the help that we receive in guiding our children in righteous paths, and to holy places.
We had a wonderful holiday. The kids played with Legos, watched movies, played games and had fun. New Years Eve was spent at a party thrown by ward members talking and playing games. Yesterday the weather was nice and warm (40s and sunny, anyway... It is amazing what this California girl now considers "warm"!) and we rode bikes to the park to play.Steven has been working at his contract job at Richmond Homes for over a week now, and seems to be enjoying it. He's been busy preparing for his interview with Ball Corporation this Friday, preparing stories that detail his accomplishments, figuring out the best way to present himself. We are hoping and praying that the interview goes really well, and he will have a permanent job come February.
I don't know if I mentioned my new callings here or not... I'm thinking not for some reason. Anyway, I was called as assistant Relief Society pianist. This has motivated me to practice playing the piano more recently, and especially to brush up on the hymns. My other calling is with Steven; we are now Webelos den leaders. We were called shortly before the holidays, so our first den meeting will be tomorrow (Wednesday) evening, and we will be working on the Readyman (first aid/ emergency response) badge. This should be interesting.
Last Sunday, our bishop asked every family in the ward to come up with a Family Righteousness Plan. We are frequently reminded that that while the Church is there to help, it is the parents' responsibility to teach their children the gospel. A Family Righteousness Plan is a plan for how we will teach our children the gospel. It includes things like family prayer and scripture study and Family Home Evenings. It can also include family trips to the temple (for the parents, for the youth to do baptisms, or a picnic on temple grounds to give younger children an opportunity to touch the temple.) It can include family history research, service projects, and missionary activities. We've been working on our own, but I wanted to mention the idea here, in case any of you wanted to take the challenge, to make a plan for raising your children in the gospel. Last night our stake had it's youth kick-off fireside to introduce the new church wide YM/YW theme for the year, and to share information about our Pioneer Trek which will occur this June. (Hannah gets to go this year; I'm so excited for her!!!) The theme is from Doctrine and Covenants 87:8, "Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved." I loved the theme song/video that they played, too. I had to find it and watch it again at home, and I want to share it with my boys, too. This morning I've been reviewing the talks given by the general YM and YW presidents about the new theme, and I love what Elaine S. Dalton said, "If you live with the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, then you stand in a holy place." The challenge is to live in such a way that you can have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, and that is where the Family Righteousness Plan can help: to teach our children, by word and example, what they need to do to invite the Spirit to be with them always. I love the gospel. I love the Church, and the help that we receive in guiding our children in righteous paths, and to holy places.
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