Scripture of the Day: Hel. 13:19
Sunday, March 30, 2008
An American in Paris
I am so excited because this summer I will be taking a trip to Paris and London! My Mom and Dad take college students over as a part of the International Business Seminar tour and I will be meeting them for the last week of their trip. My good hubby will be staying home with the kids while I am gone for the 9 days. Of course, I have been to London (served my mission there), but I have never been to Paris. The only problem will be trying to see everything I want to see in the limited number of days I will be there, including, but not limited to:
and (pretend this is me in front of Versaille :-)
Any comments about the best stuff to do in Paris would be very welcome!
Scripture of the Day: Hel. 13:19
Scripture of the Day: Hel. 13:19
Friday, March 28, 2008
Foolin' Around
I generally look forward to April Fool's Day--but have yet to play any serious tricks. As a kid my grandfather used to make pancakes for us on April Fools and sneak a few shreds of newspaper into them! We laughed and loved his willingness to joke around. This year I think I will take a cue from him and play this food joke on my kids that I found: Meatloaf cupcakes!!!

The "cake" part is just regular meatloaf baked in small cupcake size rounds (do not bake in the cupcake foils because there will be too much grease--place in foils afterward), and the "frosting part" is mashed potatoes with some food coloring mixed in.
And in addition to the fake cupcakes for dinner, I will use some of these scripture "jokes" for our morning scripture study:
- The longest Sacrament meeting on record: Acts 19:8
- Men should date women from Utah: Lamentations 5:18
- Proof the Word of Wisdom was not followed in the Old Testament: Genesis 24:64
- Proof God is a woman and her name is Shirley: Amos 3:7
- God commanded Solomon to bring basketball to the people: 1 Chron. 28:6
Have fun foolin' around!
The "cake" part is just regular meatloaf baked in small cupcake size rounds (do not bake in the cupcake foils because there will be too much grease--place in foils afterward), and the "frosting part" is mashed potatoes with some food coloring mixed in.
And in addition to the fake cupcakes for dinner, I will use some of these scripture "jokes" for our morning scripture study:
- The longest Sacrament meeting on record: Acts 19:8
- Men should date women from Utah: Lamentations 5:18
- Proof the Word of Wisdom was not followed in the Old Testament: Genesis 24:64
- Proof God is a woman and her name is Shirley: Amos 3:7
- God commanded Solomon to bring basketball to the people: 1 Chron. 28:6
Have fun foolin' around!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Cakes Too Cute To Eat!
Speaking of food, here is the Scripture of the Day: Isaiah 55:1
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Picnic Party

But then I remembered that Steve and I needed to get our temple recommends signed by the stake presidency, which is from 6 to 7

It was lots of fun and the kids loved it. The weather was perfect and we had a great time. Many thanks to Mimi for the inspiration and the food!
Scripture of the Day: Deut. 28:12 (I love rain, but I was glad it did not rain on our picnic!)
I also bought a new camera--here is my first test shot with it--a bird of paradise flower in our front yard. Seems to work well, but the photographer needs a little practice with it!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Book of Mormon Reading Challenge
1. Take turns reading -- let each family member have a turn. I have found that about 5 verses is good for each person's turn.
2. If you have kids that do not read yet, involve them by whispering a few words into their ears and having them repeat the words out loud. Do this for one or two verses and then have another family member read.
3. If you have kids who read, but who still stumble over scripture verbiage, limit the number of verses they have to read to 2 or 3 to help minimize their frustration. You will notice their reading skills will greatly improve the more they practice.
4. Some days try using the scriptures on CD--especially if you find your family has fallen behind schedule. Have family members try to follow along in their own books. Try randomly stopping the CD at one point and then reward those who can point to where the reader was when it stopped. You may also try asking a reading comprehension type question to make sure they are listening.
Scripture of the Day: D&C 6:27
Monday, March 24, 2008
10 Things I Have to Do Today
This past weekend was like a marathon of activities--and now I need to catch up on the home front. Here is my Have To Do list for the day:
1. Fold laundry (6 loads piled on the couch)
2. Put away plastic Easter eggs (scattered all over the house)
3. Go to Phoenix for work photo shoot
4. Run carpool
5. Enter data into CUSD report
6. Exercise
7. Prepare FHE lesson
8. Weed/water garden
9. Help Kitty prepare FHE treat
10. As many other cleaning chores as I can get to
I guess I had better pray for some help and then get busy! Which leads me to the Scripture of the Day: D&C 19:38 -- pray for that Heavenly Treasure!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Easter Pics
This morning is the Easter egg hunt and then egg coloring this afternoon. And then tomorrow we have Easter baskets, more egg hunting, and Easter dinner with all of the family (both sides of the family). Should be a very busy weekend!
Scripture of the Day: Heb. 11:26. Despite all fun the Easter activities, don't forget to focus on the real "treasure" Easter celebrates!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Cool New Chairs

Scripture of the day: Matt. 6:19-20 -- a classic "treasure" scripture for you to enjoy!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Turned Hearts

While the girls were playing Sunday evening at my mom's house, Mom, Aunt Kay and I were watching a DVD of home movies made in the 1950s when they were children. Tears flowed freely as they looked back at the close family relationships, laughed at forgotten fun times, and remembered how things were. It was a great experience that has made me appreciate family relationship more fully. Aren't families great!?!
Scripture of the Day: Malachi 4:5-6 -- families are definitely Heavenly Treasure!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
A bit of solemn advice...
First, explain the meaning by giving a synonym they have heard before. Today I said that solemnities comes from the word solemn, which means serious and steady.
Second, reread the part of the scripture with the challenging word, replacing the hard word with the easier synonym (i.e., "let the serious things of eternity rest upon your minds"). This way they can hear the context and understand the meaning of the verse more fully.
Third, ask for them to give examples of gospel things that fit the definition. Be flexible with their responses. For example, today Kitty's example was reading the scriptures. My response was, "Right, obeying the commandments like reading our scriptures is something we should take seriously."
Fourth, give lots of praise!!! Tell them how smart they are for thinking up such good examples. The more times they have positive reinforcement during scripture time, the more they will enjoy the experience.
Have you had luck with other strategies? I would love to hear your successes!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Happy Birthday to my Hubby!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Easter Morning Scripture Study
Easter Sunday is next week, so I thought I would post this fun and memorable scripture study idea now since it requires a bit of preparation.
Place the following items and scriptures in 7 plastic Easter eggs:
Egg 1: leaf or flower (Matt. 25:36-39)
Egg 2: thorn (Mark 15:16-19)
Egg 3: nail (John 19:16-18)
Egg 4: small piece of white cloth (Luke 23:50-53)
Egg 5: clove spice (Luke 23:55-56)
Egg 6: stone (Matt. 27:60)
Egg 7: place only the scripture Luke 24:1-6 (ending at the word "risen")
On Easter morning gather your children around and open each egg in order, reading the scriptures and explaining the Easter story. Let the children take turns holding, feeling, and smelling the items in the eggs. For egg 7, explain that the egg is empty because the tomb was empty; Jesus had been resurrected. End by reading John 20:31 out loud and sharing your testimony of the Savior and the resurrection.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Montana Morning (Hannah, that is)
Scripture of the Day: Col. 3:16 (Hannah Montana is not exactly hymn-like, but music is still a Heavenly Treasure)
Friday, March 14, 2008
Anne Fan
Click here if you want to watch the clip on You Tube.
Scripture of the day: Isaiah 45:3
Thursday, March 13, 2008
My Brave Little Kitty

Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The Victory Garden
This past week and wonderful weather has had me in the garden a lot. I have planted some zucchini, cucumbers, tomato, and lettuce plants. I still need to put in some beans and I already have some bell peppers growing from last year. I even picked up some great ideas from this website about preparing soil and using above ground planters to grow.
I love the process of planting and seeing the seeds begin to grow and then eventually being able to harvest. Scripture study with my kids is a lot like planting seeds and then watching them grow and learn. The process is more drawn out, but the harvest is more bountiful. It is the true victory garden!
Scripture of the day: Alma 32:42-43
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
St. Patrick's Day Treasure Hunt
Here's a fun scripture study time activity to do on St. Patrick's Day with your kids. My kids love these picture treasure hunts and run from one location to the next so fast that I always wish it weren't over so quickly! Even the youngest ones can participate because they do not have to read to know where to go next. Give it a try and let me know how it works!
Instructions:
Collect about 8 to 10 pictures of household objects/locations (i.e., the dryer, doorbell, pillow, television, bathroom sink, etc.) from the internet or by using your digital camera. Make sure one picture is of the scriptures. Print out the pictures and glue them to shamrocks. Number the back of each shamrock lightly for reference purposes and make a list of each place by number. Make sure the shamrock with the picture of the scriptures is the last number on the list.
The night before St. Patrick's Day (or early that morning) leave shamrock number 1 out as the starting point of the treasure hunt; you may want to place it prominently at the breakfast table to catch your children's attention. The picture on shamrock 1 will serve as a clue as to where the kids will go for their next shamrock in the treasure hunt. "Hide" shamrock 2 in the location depicted on shamrock 1 (not too hard to see if your children are preschool age). Hide shamrock 3 in the location depicted on shamrock 2. Use your list to help you remember where each location is to hide them. Continue hiding all of the remaining shamrocks in this manner until all of the clues are in place. The last clue should direct the children to the scriptures.
Place a picture of a pot of gold in the scriptures as a bookmark in Proverbs 2:3-5. This will serve as the treasure, which you will read together and then briefly discuss.
When scripture time comes, announce that today you will be searching for treasure. Show them the first clue and help them follow it to the next clue location as shown in the picture. Soon they will be sprinting from clue to clue until they have reached the scriptures. When you are done reading the treasure, reward the kids with a fun treat or an extra big hug as a reward for being such great treasure hunters!
Happy treasure hunting!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Yum-O Muffins!
Last Saturday I made some yummy, yet healthy, muffins that I have fallen in love with. The flavors of cinnamon and pumpkin were so good (not to mention the smell :-). I can't take credit for the recipe--that goes to Hungry-girl.com (one of my favorite sites of all time). But no matter where the yumminess comes from, I say to all: ENJOY!
Take one Fiber One Apple Cinnamon muffin mix.
Ignore the box instructions for getting the batter ready.
Add to the mix: 1 cup of canned pumpkin, 1 cup of water, and 1/2 cup of Egg Beaters
Mix until combined.
Bake as per package instructions (400 degrees for 15 to 17 minutes).
This makes 18 muffins--rather than the 12 it says on the box.
For those of you on Weight Watchers, these muffins only have 1 point each!
So, eating healthy has its rewards: more heavenly treasure! Scripture for the day is D&C 89:18-19.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
12 years down, Eternity to go!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
The love of money...
Today's scripture was 1 Tim. 6:10, which has that famous quote "For the love of money is the root of all evil." This scripture coin discusses something we should not treasure. I had Patrick read this one out loud and then we talked about the plant comparison made here: evil being the plant and the love of money being its roots. Since the roots are responsible for taking up nourishment to keep a plant alive, I tried to help the kids understand that evil or bad things are often kept alive because someone "loves" money too much.
Oh, and don't forget to explain that the word "coveted" in this scripture means jealous or wanted. That's definitely a word that is not used very often, so kids will not know what it means.
Patrick put the coin up at the end of the rainbow and said it was "escaping" out of the "Heavenly Treasure" pot. A bit of silliness in the morning is always fun :-)!
Oh, and don't forget to explain that the word "coveted" in this scripture means jealous or wanted. That's definitely a word that is not used very often, so kids will not know what it means.
Patrick put the coin up at the end of the rainbow and said it was "escaping" out of the "Heavenly Treasure" pot. A bit of silliness in the morning is always fun :-)!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Beginnings
This is a new beginning for me, writing this blog of my experiences making scripture study work for my family of five. I must admit, getting scripture study in every day is still a challenge (probably always will be), and is definitely not always fun. But the rewards--both immediate and promised--are too great to pass up. So we trudge onward and I keep trying to find fun new ways to help my kids learn to love the scriptures and gain a testimony of the Savior.
As a disclaimer, I should mention I have a book being published this year with ideas for families and scripture study (Adventures with the Word of God: Making Scripture Study Fun for the Whole Family). It is a book of monthly, sometimes holiday, based themes to go along with scripture study. I have some new ideas, not in the book, that I am currently testing and would love feedback (if you feel so inclined).
So, this month's theme for my family is Heavenly Treasure. We are reading scriptures about things we should--or should not--place value on in this life. The scriptures are on the back of gold coins called Celestial Cents and we are placing them into a pot-o-gold.
Scripture of the Day: 2 Chron. 1:11-12 (treasure up wisdom and knowledge)
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