Mormon Bloggers

I’ve decided that every Family Home Evening this month is going to involve showing a special person in our lives how grateful we are for them.  I can hardly wait!  The possibilities are endless. Scout leaders Church teachers School teachers The principal School counselors School volunteers Friends who have done so much for us Family members who are always there for us Neighbors who have been so great for years Our apartment manager who is so kind and understanding A wonderful friend of ours offered to watch our kids overnight while we went out to celebrate our 15 year anniversary.  It was so sweet of her and we hadn’t had that opportunity since our honeymoon.  She has become like family to us and I think to kick off our month of gratitude, we should give her a gratitude jar.  That’s when you write down reasons you are grateful for someone on slips of paper and they can pull one out each day to read them.  I think my kids would come up with hilarious ones to crack... Read the rest of this entry »

We have the most awesome women in our congregation who planned a wonderful Halloween party.  They didn’t have much of a budget to work with, but they are so creative, they made it so much fun and used things they already had from previous parties.  They have been known to plan Halloween parties for three months. They covered the long tables at the church with butcher paper and used burlap runners down the middle with some homemade centerpieces.  There were stuffed pumpkins and jars filled with beans and those little electric candles.  They had carnival games in one part of the gym, a family of scarecrows to greet people (looked like our bishop’s family), and the stage was set up for the youth to play games without small children bothering them.  Dinner was a potluck of macaroni and cheese, soups, chili, and salad.  Dessert was the mass amounts of candy handed out at the trunk or treat. I loved the costumes, including the last minute ones.  One boy carried a purse and... Read the rest of this entry »

Last week our Family Home Evening was about developing our talents.  We talked about how Heavenly Father wants us to use them and make them even better so we can serve Him and others.  I believe we all have talents hiding that we don’t even know about yet, but many times they can only be discovered by sticking with it.  Just because you don’t get it instantly like another person doesn’t mean that you can’t become outstanding at it. My nine-year-old son is learning to play the violin and he gets somewhat frustrated that he can’t get it to sound how he wants it to, but I assured him it will get better with lots of practice.  Many kids in the class feel lost and struggle to position their instruments correctly or read the notes.  Some kids still haven’t figured out how to work their music stands!  It’s been only about a month and it’s a pretty chaotic time, but I know that many of those kids can be great if they pay attention and practice... Read the rest of this entry »

Between Facebook, Twitter, and others sites, I have seen a lot of questions and comments about Mormons and their new commercials.  Stuff like: “I don’t get it.  What’s with these Mormon commercials?” “Why are Mormons taking over my TV?” “Is this because of Mitt Romney running for president?” “What’s with the PR push?” I just found one on Twitter asking why we have commercials featuring “black people” when we just barely let them into the church!  Hahaha!!!  OK, point proven that there are still misconceptions and stereotypes about our church that just aren’t true.  That is the purpose of these commercials – to show that we are quite diverse.  We have different cultures, backgrounds, trials, etc.  Some of us have had some pretty rough childhoods.  Others stray for a while and come back.  The church is for everyone.  These commercials don’t advertise a phone number to call for more... Read the rest of this entry »

I think every parent runs into major stumbling blocks with each of their children, causing us to search through countless parenting books looking for the right answer.  The trouble is, every child is so different, sometimes a book just won’t cover their particular issues.  My second son had been having many meltdowns and I went looking for help.  One book suggested lots and lots of praise.  I thought it sounded like a great idea and something that should be pretty obvious.  So I tried hard to notice all of the positive things he was doing and when I told him, “Good job!” he screamed at me, “DON’T SAY GOOD JOB!  GOOD JOB IS A BAD WORD!” I was stunned.  I had tried everything to calm him down and even a compliment brought on intense rage.  As I learned more about my son, especially with experiences at preschool, I realized he didn’t want any attention drawn towards him unless it was something he initiated.  As I prayed about what to do,... Read the rest of this entry »

My oldest son and my best friend have their birthdays within a couple days of each other, so it was a very action packed week.  My son turned 12, which is very significant when you’re Mormon.  Boys receive the Aaronic Priesthood when they turn 12 and they get to pass the sacrament. My best friend turned an undisclosed age.  She insists she is aging in reverse, so last year she was 29.  This year she is 28.  She was 29 for about three or for years before that too.  She does look quite young, so maybe lying about your age is the key to staying young. Anyway, my son has talked a lot about all of the gift cards and money he wants for his birthday.  I wondered just how rich he thought we were.  I was also a little sad because his days of wanting just simple toys are over.  I also wanted to make sure I got him something special to celebrate receiving the priesthood.  To lessen the boredom of giving him just money or gift cards, I sent him on a treasure hunt.  With the silly clues... Read the rest of this entry »

Six days ago I lost one of my best friends to asthma.  I have spent the week trying to do everything I can to support her family, especially her four children that she left behind.  She was a single mother and now her kids have to figure out where they are going to live.  Her oldest is 20 and going through school.  Her youngest just started high school.  Due to her constant health battles, she was on disability and lived in Section 8 housing, but she was always trying to get back on her feet.  She had a strong desire to work, but her asthma put her in the hospital repeatedly.  She started a new job just three weeks before she passed away and she was so happy about it, but also so drained. I was very hopeful that her daughter could have the lease transferred to her, but she has to be 21 in order for that to happen, so not only do the kids have to deal with the loss of their mother, they have until the end of the month to find a new place to live and figure out what to do with all... Read the rest of this entry »

My kids just started school last week and I am trying so hard to stay on top of everything, but it’s overwhelming.  We’re trying to get back into our routine while adding new things.  I have no idea how parents do it when they both work full time and have their kids enrolled in multiple sports, music lessons, etc. on top of getting homework done. Every year, my husband gives the kids and I a blessing before school starts.  The kids asked, “Why does Mom need one?” Hahahahahaha! WHY DOES MOM NEED ONE?! Hmmm …..  Let’s see ……. I stayed up until 1am filling out all forms I received times three and then some, only to have some forms not actually make it to their destination. I listen to children complaining and fighting every morning about their lunches.  “I don’t want honey!  I hate honey!”  “I hate jelly!”  “I hate peanut butter sandwiches!”  “I hate sandwich bags!  My sandwich gets squished!” ... Read the rest of this entry »

I was faced with a situation this week that made me sad and angry, but I also met some wonderful people who are on my side.  I am on a mailing list for a clothing company that previously had tasteful ads and I received their catalogs on a regular basis.  This week I suddenly received a catalog containing a very inappropriate cover and I was just fortunate that my kids didn’t see it.  Many customers though wrote to the company stating their children had gotten the mail for them and were very upset about what they were exposed to. The company sent the same canned apology to everyone.  They were sorry for our displeasure and were only trying to help “curvy” women to feel empowered. I’m a “curvy” woman and I have plenty of empowerment without being exposed to a group of half naked women on the cover of a catalog.  In fact, that doesn’t empower me at all.  No matter the size of the woman, I feel that when women parade their bodies around, they... Read the rest of this entry »

This week my husband lost his grandmother – his last remaining grandparent.  She lived without her husband these last ten years and has been missing her mother since she was 12.  She remained strong for quite a few years until she had to go into a nursing home due to repeated falls.  She was as sharp as a tack until the day she died though.  We were able to visit her last summer and have a delightful conversation.  She was so grateful to see us even though we came straight from our camping trip.  We just didn’t want to put it off another moment since it had been so long since we had seen her. There were mixed emotions with her passing.  I don’t think anyone is ever ready to lose someone so close.  No one can replace our loved ones.  But there was also comfort because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We sincerely believe that she is happily reunited with family and that she will be resurrected and have a body that fully functions again.  She fell so many times... Read the rest of this entry »

Years ago, I had no idea what a dutch oven was until my husband insisted we needed to buy one for emergencies.  All I saw was a large cast iron pot, but he started telling me about all the things you can cook in one.  I was excited to use it until he told me it had to be “seasoned”.  It sounded complicated.  I said, “OK, let’s go home and season it.”  He said it was too hot to season it, so we would do it another day. By the time I remembered it again, he said it was too cold. So our dutch oven set sat in storage for about eight years until I decided I didn’t care what the weather was like – I was going to season it or there was no point in having it.  I researched it and learned about the waxy coating you are supposed to scrub off with some steel wool.  That was a huge pain, but I never have to do that part again.  It’s not recommended, but you can season it in an oven.  I didn’t have a grill I could use, so I opened the windows... Read the rest of this entry »

There is a great talk by Elder Dallin H. Oaks called “Good, Better, Best”. He says, “We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.”  That is so true. Lately I feel some things are lacking in my family.  Not that we’re doing anything “bad”, but like Elder Oaks said, some things are good, some things are better, and some things are best.  With a lot more free time this summer, we have spent a lot more time watching movies or playing video games together.  It doesn’t help that we have had extremely mild or rainy weather, making it difficult to do a lot of outdoor activities, but we could choose to take more time to study the scriptures together, learn songs from the hymn book or Primary book, or just talk and listen to each other.  There isn’t anything wrong with watching a movie together, but there isn’t a... Read the rest of this entry »