Penelope Leach, Ph.D. (Psychologist and author of Your Baby and Child) said, “If you’ve been around kids, particularly young kids, for any length of time, [you know] it’s absolutely true that all the most important things in life are learned through play.”

Now, my question is, is there enough play going on when a child sits in front of a television or a video game? Kids are mesmerized by television and video games. Thus, stuck to the “Boob tube,” they make less demands on their parents time and this gives parents the freedom to play the things they want to play. Ahhh! Could this be true? Yes, I’ve been there and done that. Perhaps not consciously, but the T.V. can be a great babysitter. Is that really what you want for your child--your grandchild? If so, then read no further. If you want a list of things you and your child can do to minimize time spent in front of the screen, here’s some things your child and you can do together:
1) As my mother-in-law used to call it, “water your toes.” Turn on the hose, fill a bucket, paint the sidewalk with water, make handprints with water, splash water. Use a cup and count how many cups of water are in the bucket 2) As you kick a ball, feel the wind in your face or the warm sun on your face, neck, head. 3) Chase each other. Include friends in a game of tag. 4) Have a tea party—even with your son(s). Dress up and let children pretend they’re adults. 5) Learn how to bounce and dribble a ball. 6) Wear each other out learning how to jump rope again. 7) Lift up rocks and boards and find creatures under them. Look at them through a magnifier. 8) Catch grasshoppers, frogs, lady bugs, ants. What do their bodies feel like—smooth, slimy, rough? 9) Make some mud and squish your hands and toes in it. Make mud pies. Let the mud dry on your skin. How does it feel. (I was just thinking the children are such a wonderful excuse to play and be a kid again.) 10) Find caterpillars and learn about them as you touch them. 11) Pull up grass by its roots and eat the white end of the root and pretend that you’ll never run out of food as long as there’s “grass-root soup” to be made. (Make sure no chemicals or fertilizers have put on the lawn recently.) 12) Blow up balloons and then let the air out slowly. Be animated by the sounds they make. Let them fly. 13) Fill balloons with water and...you know the rest. Does your child? 14) Roll and tumble on the ground. This will lead to acrobatics. 15) Play in sand—make sandcastles, sift sand, bury each other in the sand. 16) Play on swings and gliders. Talk about what going high does to the tummy. 17) Have jumping time and hopping time and skipping time. 18) Find a hill (not too big) and roll down it. 19) Take turns being pulled in a wagon. Carry treasures in a wagon. 20) Find a little stream or ditch and let different things float down it. What things float or sink? 21) Practice taking turns drinking water from a hose, crossing tricky bars, going down slides, putting pieces to a puzzle together. 22) Get large boxes and have fun pretending you’re in a spaceship, a car, a jail, a boat, etc. 23) In winter, make snowmen, angels in the snow, catch snowflakes on your tongue but never stick your tongue on frozen metal. 24) In Spring, take a close look at blossoms from a tree. 25) In summer, enjoy fresh produce from a garden you work together on. 26) In Fall, study leaves and critters that are preparing for winter.

In conclusion, Just play for the joy of it all. Oh, and check out www.intermountainlive.org for some humorous reminders about our lifestyles.

For Everyone that knows I love Noah’s Ark. Here’s a good one!

I couldn't resist sharing the following story today. I found no author to give credit to and the site said it could be used as a free public domain. Thus, because of my love for Noah's Ark stories, I am sharing this to add some fiction, some truth, and some humor.

In the year 2010, the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in the United States, and said: “Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see the end of all flesh before me. Build another Ark and save two of every living thing along with a few good humans.”

He gave Noah the blueprints, saying, “You have 6 months to build the Ark before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights.”   Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard-- but no Ark.

”Noah!” He roared, “I'm about to start the rain! Where is the Ark?”  

“Forgive me, Lord,” begged Noah, “but things have changed.   “I needed a building permit. I've been arguing with the inspector about the need for a sprinkler system. My neighbors claim that I've violated the neighborhood zoning laws by building the Ark in my yard and exceeding the height limitations. We had to go to the Development Appeal Board for a decision. Then the Department of Transportation demanded a bond be posted for the future costs of moving power lines and other over-head obstructions, to clear the passage for the Ark's move to the sea. I told them that the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of it.

“Getting the wood was another problem. There's a ban on cutting local trees in order to save the spotted owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owls - but no go! When I started gathering the animals, an animal rights group sued me. They insisted that I was confining wild animals against their will. They argued the accommodations were too restrictive, and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confined space. Then the EPA ruled that I couldn't build the Ark until they'd conducted an environmental impact study on your proposed flood. I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on how many minorities I'm supposed to hire for my building crew. Immigration and Naturalization are checking the green-card status of most of the people who want to work. The trades unions say I can't use my sons. They insist I have to hire only Union workers with Ark-building experience.

“To make matters worse, the IRS seized all my assets, claiming I'm trying to leave the country illegally with endangered species. So, forgive me, Lord, but it would take at least 10 years for me to finish this Ark.”

Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched across the sky.   Noah looked up in wonder and asked, “You mean you're not going to destroy the world?”  

“No,” said the Lord. “Looks like the government beat me to it.”

Kvetching

What is it? It sounds like some form of ball game doesn’t it? I think it would be a good name for a game. Actually, kvetching is Yiddish for “complaining.” Is it good or is it bad? I think it can be either. Are parents allowed kvetching? Should children be allowed to kvetch? I think it all depends on whether or not the kvetching is constructive. Everyone needs the chance to vent—to get things out in the open. The old adage, “children are to be seen and not heard,” is offensive to me. Good, effective communication skills are the hardest things to learn. Why try to quiet children when they are trying to make their challenges known?

Since the word “complaining” is so commonplace in our English language, could “kvetching” be used as a clue word between parent and child or parent to parent, that “Hey, I really need you to listen to me!” A child might say, “Hey dad. I need to do some kvetching.” Dad’s ears perk up and he says, “Okay, let’s hear what you have to say.” This sounds simple, but it would get my attention.

Perhaps a few other things could be considered when it comes to kvetching. 1) For every item that is complained about, the complainer has to have 2 things that he/she can speak well of. 2) As children get older, they need to come to you with a list of possible solutions to the things they are kvetching about. 3) Encourage the child to keep a “Kvetching Journal” wherein he/she writes down the things that disturb him/her. I learned this secret a long time ago: If something is bothering me, I will brood over it trying to remember why I am justified in being upset. Amazingly, as soon as I write everything down, my mind relaxes because it isn’t trying to remember all of its justifications for upset, and moves on. Rarely do I have to refer back to the journal entry because I forget about the upset and have solved the problem while evaluating it on paper.

I hesitate to do so, but here’s wishing you—HAPPY KVETCHING!!!

Happy Birthday to two special people today!

I want to wish two special people a wonderful birthday today. Happy birthday to my niece Kelly and to my granddaughter, Sophie. I wish you both a wonderful day. I love you.

Teach Children to Save

Today is "National Teach Children to Save" day. As I saw this on my calendar, I had the thought that this is one thing that is probably ignored quite a bit by today's society. All around us are the enticements to satisfy a want with the mentality that the things we want are "needs." I do not profess that I know how to teach children to save because I know how easy it is to ask myself, "Is this a need or is it a want?" When I conclude that it is a want, I still will usually buy it with the justification that I will do better next time. How many of us are like this? And, what is the solution?

In my parent's day, they didn't use credit cards. Thus, when the money ran out, the buying power was gone. I think the adage was, "No mun, no fun."

Perhaps it all comes down to teaching children to have integrity with themselves. If they can ask themselves, "Is it a need? Is it a want? Can I live without it?" and then be honest with themselves when the answer to all three questions is "no." They will learn a self-discipline that will help them throughout their lives.

Another rule a child might give him or herself would be to wait at least 24 hours after deciding that he/she wants to buy an item and see if the item is still important to him/her.

Benjamin Franklin said, "A penny saved is a penny earned." This is so true. Perhaps you could have some fun with this idea and have your child make a bank in which he deposits every penny that he resists spending on something and after a period of time let him count it and evaluate the importance of how much money he/she has saved. I know I have been amazed at how much money collects in a jar when I always put my change in it.

Instant gratification becomes a weakness for all of us. We can set an example for our children by teaching them that we can resist our "toys and goodies" too. Once again, I think I will work on practicing what I preach.

A Salute to Nature

May I suggest you take your family on a hike and have a picnic. For the picnic, use only those foods that come directly from the earth. Yes, that means fresh fruits and vegetables. My, they will taste good after hiking for a while. Be sure to have a happy conversation about the things you are able to observe around you while eating (Count your blessings.) If you love music as I do, be sure and sing some songs, too.

As far as the hike goes, make sure everyone that is able carry his/her own backpack with his/her food in it. Be sure to carry a sketchbook and art pencils, too. Then, after your picnic, allow everyone time to draw something they observe in nature. Thus the beginnings of your Family Nature Book. Be sure to date the drawings and give credit to each creator. Take time to find out "why?" the artist chose his/her subject.

Plan to do this in each season of the year. It could become a great tradition and part of your Family Home Evenings.

Oh, and one more thing, pass on the lesson that your parents probably taught you when you were young: "We always leave the picnic area cleaner than we found it."

Who said the following?

I thought it would be fun to see if anyone could guess who said all of the following quotes. The same person said them all and I think he or she pretty much says it all about how I feel about the home, too.

"I look upon the home as the basis from which radiate all good influences. If, in every home in the land, there were a competent father and a helpful mother, our officers of the law would have much less to do in protecting society from the lawless."

"Homes are made permanent through love. Though you neglect some of your business, though you neglect some of your cattle, though you fail to produce full crops, study to hold your children's love."

"In every well-ordered home in the Church, the glad free spirit of childhood is led to honor its country and to worship its God; and every man sees in the home the nucleus of eternal companionship and everlasting life."

"The relationship of the children to the parents should be one which would enable those children to carry out ideal citizenship as they become related to the neighborhood, the Church, and to the larger forms of society. Be extremely careful of those activities which require you to be away from your small children. The secret of good citizenship lies in the home. The secret of instilling faith in God, faith in his Son, the Redeemer of the world, faith in the organizations of the Church, lies in the home. There it is centered."

"The home is truly the basic unit of society, and parenthood is next to Godhead. Let us see that our home is such that if an angel called, he would be pleased to remain."

"In no better way can high achievement in life be better realized than in excelling in the art of home building. In that kind of home we may experience on earth a taste of heaven."

"Would you have a strong and virile nation?--then keep your homes pure. Would you reduce delinquency and crime?--lessen the number of broken homes. It is time that civilized peoples realize that the home largely determines whether children shall be of high or low character. Home-building, therefore, should be the paramount purpose of parents and of the nation. The secret of good citizenship lies in the home."

"I praise God for the instructions he has given his people regarding the sacredness, the sanctity, and permanence of the family relationship and the home. We are living in a most momentous age. We see on every hand manifestations of commotion. The world seemingly is stirred as it has never been stirred before. In the midst of this world of confusion, the home, the fundamental institution of society, is also threatened. One of the highest ideals of life is to keep secure and free from sorrow the homes of the Church and of the nation."

I am making this a contest. In "comments" tell me who you think said all of the above quotes. If you guess correctly and if more than one person guesses correctly, I will put you name in a drawing and give you a game if your name is chosen. Of course, you will need to identify yourself and give me information so that I can get the game to you. Have fun.

Blessings of a Wonderful Man in Your Life

I've been thinking a lot about the different roles men and women play. I am impressed with the thought that we women do not always take the time to appreciate all that our husbands do for us--that we take for granted--that we expect as every-day, routine things. Maybe I'm just one of the lucky few that has a husband that gets up every day and goes to work without expressing dread. He works long and hard at work and then, when he comes home he asks me what I would like to do. If I have nothing in mind then he says, "I think I'll go out and work in the yard (greenhouse or garden)then."

If I have something I want to do, then my husband readily makes himself ready for my heart's desire. I am amazed how kind and compassionate a man can be. You would think that after a long day's work that a man might say, "I've done my work now let me alone. I want to do my own thing." I know I'm not saying this very well but if a man takes his family, work and church responsibilities seriously, there just isn't very much time left for him to do things that are for his personal gratification. Good men seem to give their all for those they love. They don't think of themselves first and foremost do they?

Today, I would like to encourage that a little more empathy be given to that wonderful man in your life. Think of things that you can do to build him up. Can you express a little more appreciation? Can you make sure you fix him good, nutritious meals? When he arrives home, will you drop everything you're doing and greet him with excitement because he's home? Perhaps you could find interest in his interests and be by his side a little more. With a prayer in your heart, brainstorm on ways that you can lighten your sweetheart's burdens. Don't take him and all that he does for granted even one more day. Evaluate on paper all that he does for you, your family and others and I know you will feel deep gratitude for the blessings of a wonderful man in your life. Now, I must go and take my own advice.

"Caughtcha”

At my son-in-law’s work, his bosses have and incentive program to encourage workers to be at their best all the time. It’s called “Caught ya.’” Basically the bosses give out tickets when they see good work, extra effort, good attitude, etc. The employees then put their tickets into a drawing container. The bosses pick and choose when they want to have their “Caught ya’” day (no one ever knows when it’s going to be). But on that day there is great excitement because great prizes are handed out to those employees that have their tickets drawn.

Well, this got me thinking. Wouldn’t it be great fun to have a “Caughtcha” tradition in your family? Oh, it could really be BIG! Parents could brainstorm on what behavior, work, attitudes, goals accomplished, etc. that they wanted their children to focus on. Then, they could have another brainstorm session on prizes to be given at random drawings. These could be coupons for back rubs, an outing, a game of the child’s choice, help with a project or cleaning a room, etc. You get the idea. Even your children could submit prize coupons for things they would like to do for other members of the family that win. I guess if your budget allows, you could even purchase grand prizes of toys and games, books or art supplies, etc. Or you could have a prize bag with a coupon that gives the winning child a chance to choose from the prize bag. You would also have to decide how you wanted "Caughcha" tickets to be given—just by mom and dad. Could children suggest siblings that have done something nice? I first thought that everyone could submit tickets for their siblings but Rachael said the siblings would scheme and say, “I’ll put your name in if you’ll put my name in.” Rachael’s probably right. So, again, you can think all of these things through on your own.

I can see great benefits for this type of tradition. First, think of the service family members could give to others if they made up coupons to add to the prize box. Also, children may not get instant gratification for good behavior so they must learn patience. "Caughtcha" would get everyone focusing on the good of others. And, everyone would have something to look forward to on a regular basis. Anyway, it’s just an idea but I would love to try it if I were in that stage of life still. Oh and one more thing:

It’s “Turn off the T.V. Week.” I found a neat site to go to for more ideas for you and your family to investigate for good times together:

http://family.go.com/entertainment/pkg-tv-turnoff/

Focus on the Ten Commandments

Would you agree with me as an adult, that the things we learned as children are remembered much better than those things that we try to remember now? I can remember phone numbers, mathematical equations, the Articles of Faith, people’s names, and dates from my childhood. But ask me to remember a phone number or a scripture I’ve tried to memorize in recent days that I’ve worked on for a week, and I would be hard pressed to do so.

For some reason I never had the occasion when I was young to commit to memory the Ten Commandments. I have tried to memorize them and their order in my adulthood but they do not stay with me. So, I am suggesting that families spend time learning (memorizing) the Ten Commandments. Bless your young children with the opportunity to really remember the Ten Commandments (And maybe even the 1st and great commandment and the 2nd that is like unto it) and then in a week or so play this game:

HOT BRICKS 
Played like Hot Potato except you pass around a toy brick (Lego or block) and the person that is holding it when the timer rings (or music is stopped) has to state one of the 10 commandments. If they can't give one, they are out.

Final Questions for “It’s all About You !”

SPENDING TIME:
1) To what organizations have you belonged? List those important to you.
2) What community projects have you worked on? What volunteer work have you ever done?
3) Did you ever make a float for a parade? Were you ever in a parade?
4) To what political party have you belonged? Why? Have you been actively involved in politics? (campaigning, candidate, supporter, etc.)
5) Tell about your health. Have you ever been hospitalized? Why? Did you ever have to use crutches or a wheelchair? What illnesses have you had? Do you wear glasses or a hearing aid? When did you begin to wear them? Do you have any ailments now? Explain.
6) What was your first full-time job? How much did you earn? What were your responsibilities?
7) What other employment have you had? Whom did you work for and for how long? What were your responsibilities? What work have you liked best? Are you retired? When? Was it a big adjustment?
8) Have you had any hobbies? What are they? Do you have any collections (stamps, coins, rocks, embroidery, etc.)?
9) Have you traveled? How many states have you been in? Countries? Have you been on a ship, plane, train, bus? Explain. What was the biggest rip taken as an adult? When, where, and with whom?
10) Have you ever met anyone famous? Tell about it.
11) What moments do you remember most? Tell about one of your sad/happy times. Tell about your most embarrassing moments. What was one of your proudest times? When were you the most frightened? What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you?
12) Have you ever seen or been in a disaster? What kind? When? Where? Have you ever been in a flood? Fire? Hurricane? Car accident?
13) Have you ever served in the military or been involved in wartime service? What kind? When and where?
14) What do you do with your time now? What do you want to accomplish before your life is over?
15) Have you lived through historical events? Tell about some of them-first man on the moon, Kennedy assassination, Pearl Harbor, The Cold War, WWII, Berlin Wall built and torn down, the Depressions, major inventions developed, etc.

CHILDREN:
1) What are your children’s names? When and where were they born? Tell about it and how you felt when you found out. How did you choose their names? Are any of the names “family names” passed from one generation to the next?
2) What was each child like as a baby? Cute? Cranky? Did he/she ever get spanked? 3) What chores did she/he have to do? Did you give him/her an allowance? Did he/she behave in school? What grades? What did he/she like to do best? Did he/she keep a clean room? Did he/she do something special to surprise you?
3)What are some of your favorite memories of your family life when your children were growing up?
4) In what ways did you raise your children as you had been raised? In what ways did you raise them differently?
5) What has been most difficult or trying for you as a parent? What was the least difficult?
6) How did you feel when all your children left home?
7) Do you worry about your children?
8) Do you have any grandchildren? How many? How did you feel when you found out you were going to be a grandparent for the first time? How did you find out? How many great-grandchildren do you have? What do you like best about being a grandparent?

FEELINGS:
1) Do you believe in God? Why?
2) To what religion do you belong? Do you go to church regularly? What is it like in your church? What do they teach you? Are you a teacher?
3) Were you baptized? How, when where? Tell about it.
4) Have you ever gone on a mission? Where? Tell about it.
5) Have you ever had any spiritual experiences? Tell about them.
6) Do you believe in life after death? Are you afraid to die?
7) Write your testimony of your religious beliefs.
8) What are some of your favorite scriptures and quotes?
9) What are some of your favorite books?
10) As you look back, do you have any favorite years? What made them so special? Is there a time you would like to live over?
11) What do you value most in a friend? Who are some of your dearest friends? Tell about them.
12) What issues or causes have you felt strongly about?
13) In times of trouble, who or what has helped you pull through?
14) What major happenings in the world have affected your life most?
15) How do you feel about the future?
16) What advice can you give?
17) What is your creed for living a good life?

President Spencer W. Kimball said: “I urge all of the people of this church to give serious attention to their family histories, to encourage their parents and grandparents to write their journals, and let no family go into eternity without having left their memoirs for their children, their grandchildren, and their posterity. This is a duty and a responsibility.” May 1978 Ensign, pg. 4

Even More of More of “It’s All About You!”

TRADITIONS-HOLIDAYS:
1) Tell about your family traditions. Food, music, reading, etc.
2) What were the traditional or favorite recipes served at family gatherings?
3) Did you have family reunions? Tell about them.
4) What did you do on New Year’s Eve?
5) Tell about Valentine’s Day. Did you make valentines? How did you deliver them? Did you have a valentine box at school? Did you ever get flowers or candy?
6) Tell about Easter. Did you dye eggs? How? Did you hide eggs and Easter baskets? Did you go to church?
7) Tell about decoration or Memorial Day. Did you take flowers to the cemetery?
8) Tell about the Fourth of July. Did you have fireworks? Did your family have a picnic?
9) Tell about Halloween. What did you wear for costumes? Did you make your own? Buy one? Did you have a party? Did you play tricks on anyone or visa versa? Were you scared of ghosts, goblins, and witches? Did you go trick-or treating?
10) Tell about Thanksgiving. Did you have a turkey. What else? Who came to dinner? Did you go somewhere besides home to eat?
11) Tell about Christmas. Did you celebrate it? Did Santa visit your house? Did you ever see or talk to him? Did you write him letters? Did you hang a stocking? What did Santa leave in it? What time did you get up in the morning? Did you have a tree? Buy it? Cut it? What were the decorations like? What gifts did you get and give? Tell about your most memorable Christmas. Tell about Christmas Eve. Was it hard to get to sleep? Did you have a nativity scene and talk about Jesus?
12) How did you celebrate your birthdays? Did you ever have a party? Tell about it or them. Which birthday do you remember most?
13) What was the best gift you ever received when you were growing up? What was the best gift you ever gave?
14) Where there any other traditional events celebrated in your home? What family traditions have been most meaningful to you?

DATING/MARRIAGE:
1) How old were you when you started dating? Tell about your first date. Did you date a lot? Did your parents have to approve of your dates? Tell about your first kiss. Did you think you were popular? Were you ever shy? What did you think about yourself? Were you engaged more than once?
2) How did you meet your mate? How old were you? What attracted you to him/her? Tell about your courtship. Where did you go on dates? Describe him/her. Tell about the proposal and engagement ring. How long did you go together before you were engaged? How long were you engaged?
3) When and where was the wedding? What did you wear? What is your strongest memory from your wedding? Who was there (in general)? Tell about your honeymoon.
4) What was your adjustment to marriage? Were there any surprises?
5) Did you know how to cook when you were first married? Were there any cooking disasters?
6) What work did you do to make a living? Did you both work?
7) Tell a favorite story or two about your mate.
8) Have you been married more than once? If so, when, why, and to whom?
9) How are times different then than now? Entertainment, cleaning house, chores, toys, transportation, money/economy, working, cooking, raising a family, shopping.
10) What do we have now that you didn’t have then?
11) What did you have then that we don’t have now?
12) Tell about the home(s) you have lived in. Your first, second, etc. Where have you most enjoyed living and why?
13) Did you and your mate ever disagree about anything? Did you sulk, pout, or argue? How did you solve your problems?

If you can't follow through with these questions and interviews now, please be sure to copy and paste them for your future reference. These questions are great starters!

Even More of “It’s All About You!”

More questions to help complete a personal history. (This is going to be such a treasure! I’m excited for your family.)

GRAMMAR SCHOOL:
1) What was the name of your school, where was it, and what did it look like? How did you get there? Walk, ride? How far was it from your house? Were you ever late?
2) What did you do at recess? What games did you play? Did you ever have a Maypole or a field day? What was the playground like? What was lunchtime like? School or sack lunch? Where did you eat?
3) Did you ever play hookey? Tell about it.
4) What classes or subjects do you remember? Did you have homework? How much? What kind of grades did you get? What were your favorite/worst classes or subjects?
5)What teachers do you remember? Did you have a mean/good teacher? Were you ever teacher’s pet?
6) In what activities did you participate? Were you ever on a school team? If you were a member of a club(s), what was it? Were you ever involved in music or drama? Were you in the school band? Did you go to school dances? Were you involved in sports?
7) What did you like best about school? What did you like least?
8) What honors did you receive? Were you ever a school or class officer? Did you receive awards or prizes for achievements in athletics, scholarship, etc.?
9) What songs or dances were popular?
10) What kind of clothing did you wear? Were there fads? How were they different than clothes worn by young people today?

JR. HIGH SCHOOL:
Repeat the same questions that were given in Grammar School with this one additional question:

1) What did you do on Jr. High Graduation Night? What did you wear? Did you have a date?

HIGH SCHOOL:

Again, all of the questions are the same except for this one:

1) What did you do on High School Graduation Night? What did you wear? Did you have a date?

POST HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION:
1) Did you attend school after high school? Where? How long? What was your major course of study? Did you graduate? What honors or degrees did you earn? Did you belong to a sorority or fraternity?
3) Apart from school, what have been your most important learning experiences?

More of “It’s All About You!”

How’s your determination to get answers to yesterday’s questions going? Still thinking about the need to do so? If you’re answer is “yes,” don’t feel bad, you’re not alone. Here are a few more questions. (I just had a thought that maybe you could add some of these questions to your “conversation jar.” You’re children love to here about your life, too!) Well, here’s the questions.

GROWING UP:
1) When you were a young child, what did you look like? What was your hair color? Did you have freckles? Were you fat or skinny? When you were a teenager, what did you look like?
2)What is the very first thing you remember?
3)Where did you live? What do you remember about your home(s)? Draw a floor plan of your home(s). How big was your yard? How many rooms did your home have? Did you have a barn or other buildings? Was there an attic or creepy room that scared you? Draw a map of your neighborhood and where your friends lived.
4) How big was your room? What did it look like? Did you have to share it? Could you keep it messy if you wanted?
5) How many people lived in your house? Did relatives come to visit? Did they stay long?
6) What appliances did you have in your home (for cooking, washing, heating, etc.)? Did you have electricity or did you use lamps? Did you have an indoor bathroom or an outhouse?
7) What was your favorite thing in the whole house? Did you save anything?
8) Were you ever punished? Why and how were you punished? Where was your favorite place to go when you were sad or angry? Did you ever run away from home or just hide from your parents? Why? Were you ever grounded? Did you ever talk back to your parents or other adults?
9) What was your bedtime? Did you ever have sleepovers? Tell about them.
10) Who pulled your teeth? How was it done? How much did the Tooth Fairy leave for a tooth?
11) Did you live where there was snow? Did you make snowmen? What other things did you do in the snow?
12) Did you have best friends? Name and describe them. Did you have fights and secrets?
13) Were you ever teased? How and who did it? Was there a bully who picked on you?
14) What household chores did you have to do? What kind of work have you done for pay? How much did you earn? What responsibilities did you have?
15) Was your mom a good cook? What were some thing you had to eat? Did you have a special place at the table? What were your favorite foods? What were your least favorite foods?
16) Did you have any pets? Tell about them. What were their names.
17) What did you do for fun? What games did you play? Did you have a favorite toy or toys?
18) Were you ever sick? Tell about it. Were you afraid of doctors or shots? Did you ever go to the hospital? Have you had stitches or broken bones? Did you have your tonsils out? Were you ever quarantined? What medicines did your mother give you? Did you ever have warts?
19) Did you have any favorite books or stories? Did you go to the library?
20) What did you want to be when your grew up? What did your parents want you to do or be?
21) Do you remember how much things cost? What years? (clothes, toys, food, gasoline, movies, stamps, etc.)
22) Did you get an allowance? How did you spend your money? What could you buy for a quarter?
23) How old were you when you learned to drive? How often did you get to take the family car? What kind of car was it? Did you have your own car?
24) Who most influenced your thinking? At what age? Why? Did you have a mentor-someone you admired and followed?
25) As a teenager, how did you get along with your parents? Your brothers and? Did you like being a teenager?
26) When did you move away from home? Where did you go and why?
27) What types of recreation did you enjoy? Did you go swimming, fishing, skating, state fair, amusement parks, camping, traveling? Tell about it.

Tomorrow I will give you questions about “Grammar School,” “Jr. High School,” “High School,” and “Post High School Education.”

It’s All About YOU!

Yesterday I promised you that I would give you some questions to help you get information from your grandparents about their lives. Here’s the first set of questions. (I want to give credit to Lindsay Powell for these questions that I found in a manual entitled 2008 Family History Fair. It had no copyright.) During the next few days you might consider saving these questions for they would help you get your history recorded and even your children’s history, too. Wouldn’t it be lovely to make the “beginnings” of your children’s histories in the form of a little book that has these questions provided? (Just an idea!)

YOU:
1) What is your full name? Were you named after someone? Did you have a nickname? What was it? How did you get it?
2) What is your birth date? Where were you born (city, county, state, country)? Were you born in a hospital or at home? Was there anything unusual about the circumstances of your birth? Do you know how much it cost for your delivery, Dr. and hospital stay? What was your weight and length? Did you have hair?

FAMILY:
1) From what country did your ancestors migrate? When was it? Where did they settle? When and where were they born? What ship did they travel on?
2)What is your father’s name? What is his birth date and place? What do you remember most about him from your childhood? What did he look like (body build, hair and eye color, etc.)? What work did he do? Is he still alive? If not, when , where, and how did he die?
3) What is your mother’s name? What is her birth date and place? What do you remember most about her from your childhood? What did she look like(body build, hair color and length, eye color, etc.)? Did she work outside the home. What did she do at home? Is she still alive? If not, when where, and how did she die?
4) How many brothers and sisters did you have? Give their full names, nicknames, birth and death dates & places in the order they were born. (Include children who died early in life or at birth.) Where did they fit in?
5)How did you spend your time together? Did you ever take vacations with your family? Where did you go? Tell about some vacations that you remember.
6) To which family members did you feel closest to. Why?
7) Was “English” the only language spoken in your home? If not, what other language was spoken and by whom?
8) What part did religion play in your life? Did you attend church regularly? Of what church did you belong?
8) Did your family have enough money? Was it ever a concern to you?
10) What were one or two of the worst times in your family life?
11) What were one or two of the best times in your family life?
12) Are their any family heirlooms that have been passed from one generation to another?

Tomorrow I will provide questions for “Growing Up.” Have an historical day.

Wow…! Grandpa and Grandma, Please Tell Me More!!!

How much do your children know about their grandparents’ younger years? Do you realize that their history offers one of the richest sources of tradition and identity within your family? Children are a captive audience if you can get grandpa to tell about his favorite childhood activities or if you can get grandma to tell about her first “crush.” Schedule time to visit grandparents or to have them come to your home. Have dinner and use your conversation jar to stimulate questions. Perhaps you could even make up some questions that are made specifically with the grandparents’ histories in mind. (Be sure to let the grandparents know in advance that you will be fishing for stories from their background.) Maybe you will want to wait until after dinner to begin the sharing time. Get comfy and cozy with pillows and blankets and start asking questions. Before you know it, you’ll be laughing and hoping that you can remember every detail of the stories you are told. Thus, you might consider recording the stories if your grandparents grant you permission.

Tomorrow & the next few days, I will share some questions you might ask to get a complete history from anyone—but it would be especially nice for you to record grandparents’ answers for your Family History Record.

Family Activity Fun Box

I am sure, if you are like me, usually you don’t mind fixing dinner if you know what you want to prepare. The challenge is in the decision of “What shall I fix?” I think the same holds true with spending quality time with your family. If you can’t think of something to do, you allow television or other non-planned things to take over the time you could spend together as a family. So, what can you do to prevent this? How about making a Family Activity Fun Box.

I’m sure I don’t need to give you suggestions but I will anyway because it will help me get mine done for times when my grandchildren are here. I think I’ll use a cute box and have fun decorating it. (Your children can help you, too.) Think of all the activities you would like to do with your family and write them on slips of paper. During this step be sure to include family members. Some of the things I would like to do will be different than yours because my grandchildren range from the ages of 9 years-old to newborn. Here are some suggestions to get you thinking: 1) bowling, 2)read a book aloud 3) play “hot/cold” 4) go for a walk 5) swing 6) play in a sandbox 7)hide treasures in the sandbox and then allow everyone time to dig for “buried treasure 8) have pizza delivered and play a game 9) make cookies and take them to a neighbor 10) lay on the ground and look at the stars by night or the clouds by day.

Be sure to replenish the slips of paper either by replacing them or by adding to the box as family members come up with more ideas. Truly, if you don’t have alternative ideas for filling your time, the unwanted fillers will monopolize your family’s time.

Family Focus Game

Here's my blog for today. It's in a JPeg file for you to open in another page and print. Or just click on it. It will then give you a page where you can go into edit, then "select all", then in edit again you can command "copy". At this point you can go in to your favorite word processing program and in edit of that program you can command to "paste." At this point enlarge it to fit your page and print. This is a great game or activity for large groups including extended family. Get Grandpa and Grandma to play. Use it in Family Home Evening.

Hooray! It's Daddy Day!

The other day I mentioned that Jeff gave each of our children (individually & when they were little) 1/2 hour every Sunday to play whatever they wanted to play. Sometimes he played Barbies or with dolls. Sometimes he played games. Sometimes he wrestled. Sometimes I would find him answering questions that the child would have. I found that the bonding between Jeff and each of the children was amazing. I don’t think any of them have ever forgotten the love that was felt during those times. So, with Dad’s in mind, I’ve been wondering what Dad’s could do (or Mom’s) to create quality time with their children. Here are a few ideas: 1) Pack a picnic and go for a surprise outing to your favorite place—the back yard, the canyon, a park, Grandma’s. 2) Go to Deseret Industries or other discount or Seconds store and allow your child to find a “Theme” treasure—a book on animals, an amazing cooking utensil, a game for “memory’s sake,” an outfit for “An Evening of Dancing” 3) go to a ball game, fishing, hiking, a nature walk, digging for worms. 4) go to the library and explore a child’s interest with him or her. 5) listen to different types of music and dance and/or sing, too! 6) Ask questions like, “What’s the most important job in the world?” or “Who is your hero?” 7) Lay on a blanket on a cloudy day and find different shapes in the clouds. Don’t forget to listen to your child’s ideas as they start to flow freely. 8) Make something with “Dad’s tools!” 9) Read a book together. Show enthusiasm by reading the book faithfully each day or night as pre-determined. Be sure to review the previous reading day’s pages. 10) Dad, you could also make of list of things you want your child to know in the next year and then systematically work on these. 11) Work on a scrapbook.

No more "Boo Hoos" because of the "Tube!"

I received the following as an email the other day from my dear friend Carol. (Thanks Carol!) I have no idea whether this really happened but surely it could have. I sense that there are many children all over the world that feel television, computers, and the telephone are all competition for attention they need so badly. Read this and let me know what you think:

A teacher from Primary School asks her students to write an essay about what they would like God to do for them. At the end of the day while marking the essays, she read one that made her very emotional.
Her husband, that had just walked in, saw her crying and asked her, “What happened?”

She answered, “Read this. It's one of my student's essays.”

“Oh God, tonight I ask you something very special: Make me into a television.
I want to take its place. Live like the TV in my house. Have my own special place, and have my family around ME . To be taken seriously when I talk....I want to be the center of attention and be heard without interruptions or questions. I want to receive the same special care that the TV receives when it is not working. Have the company of my dad when he arrives home from work, even when he is tired. And I want
my mom to want me when she is sad and upset, instead of ignoring me... And... I want my brothers to fight to be with me... I want to feel that family just leaves everything aside, every now and then, just to spend some time with me. And last but not least, make it that I can make them all happy and entertain them...Lord I don't ask you for much... I just want to live like every TV.”

At that moment the husband said:
“My goodness, poor kid. What horrible parents!”

She looked up at him and said, “That essay is our son's!!!” Author Unknown

Have you ever tried removing the television for an extended period of time? While we were raising our family, we eliminated television for extended periods of time several times. It didn’t hurt the children one bit. In fact, it seemed like those times were more blissful and our family was connected. Usually we would justify returning to the television so that we could watch General Conference.

General Conference ended last week and so we have a six-month period where television can be eliminated. What a perfect time for a family experiment. What can your family do without television? Here’s what I thought of: 1) Plan, plant, weed & water, & harvest a garden together. 2) Go for walks, hikes, or runs together. 3) Spruce up your yard. 4) Have cooking school. 5) Sing songs. 6) Learn how to play instruments together. 7) Make popcorn balls. 8) Visit friends and loved ones. 9) Go to a nearby canyon or park and have a picnic. 10) Play games. 11) Make a family video. 12) Have a puppet show. 13) Play with play dough. 14) Make collages of seeds, grains, or things you can find from your yard. 15) Read stories together. 16) Have a talent show. 17) Catch grasshoppers. 18) Do a project or craft together. 19) Play music and dance and be silly together. 20) Do service projects together. 21) Work on merit badges with your sons or value experiences with your daughters. 22) exercise together. 23) Get on the floor and play with your tiny ones. 24) Visit local museums, libraries, parks, etc. 25) Draw (scribble) together. 26)Go for bikes rides. 27) And, don’t forget to get your children’s ideas for things you can do together & write them down.

I hope I’ll be seeing you on one of your evening’s outings since you’ll now make time to visit. Put me on your list, okay? We would love to see you!!!

Play Together, Stay Together

I can’t remember how many times I have heard, “A family that plays together stays together.” (Okay, I’ve also heard it put, “A family that prays together stays together,” too.) But just ask yourself these questions and apply them to my favorite question that I ask myself to determine if something is true: “If people of the world would do this, would the world be a better place to raise my family in?” If you can answer with an exclamation, “Yes!” Then, in my opinion, it’s a pretty good idea to try and apply the idea.

So, with the above in mind, consider playing with your children. Children are a great excuse “to play.” My mother is staying with me right now and she said yesterday when a few of my grandchildren were playing, “I wish I could be your grandchild. I want to play, too.” I told her she could play, too. And almost she cried, “I can’t. It’s too hard to get up and down.” Trust me, I know the years pass all too quickly. Soon, I will be in my mother’s position and my children will be in mine. But perhaps if I can take learning from what my mother said, I can stay younger by continuing to play with my grandchildren. Parents, you too can play with your children. Turn off the television. Turn of the video games (at least for a while) and test the benefits of playing (spending quality time) with your children. Kids talk when they play, and they don’t have to get your attention because they already have it if you’re playing with them. Some of my children still talk about the season of our lives when Jeff (my husband) devoted 1/2 hour every Sunday by playing with each child doing whatever they wanted to do. (Happy memories—not of what they played but that dad played with them.) I am sure you have many inside Board Games and card games. Play them often when outside weather encourages it. With Spring here may I suggest some outside activities: walks, hide and seek, croquet, badminton, tennis, basketball, any kind of ball, hopscotch, jump rope, roller skating, hiking, gardening, exploring, learning outdoor cooking skills, biking. You get the idea. Please, just spend lots of time with your children. I know you will never be sorry.

Conversation Ball (An Object Lesson) & Lovely Thoughts for Your Conversation Jars

Getting conversations rolling during dinner may be difficult; especially if you have older children that have learned that they don’t have to talk if they don’t want to. So here’s an idea to help you bring the point home on the importance of learning to converse with one another: 1) Gather several balls. 2) Have family members sit on the floor on the opposite side of the room. 3) Throw the balls to individuals with the instruction to “catch it and hold it in your lap.” 4) When all have balls in their laps, just sit and look at them for a moment or two until someone asks you what point you are trying to make. 5) At this point say, “It really isn’t much of a game until you throw the ball back to me is it? Then point out that conversation also requires people to toss their ideas back and forth to one another. Point out that if your “catch” another person’s comment but fail to return a comment of your own, it is like holding the ball in you lap. The game is dead-ended. 6) Now, practice “throwing” words back and forth with family members. You might ask, “Joe, Did you have a good time with Grandma, today ?” If Joe responds, Yes,” then he has caught your words but has failed to return any words back to me. If Joe responds with, “Yes, we had ice cream!” Joe has learned to return the conversation ball. 7) Be sure to point out how well family members are playing conversation ball during the passing days.

Although I could supply you with lots more conversation questions for your Conversation Jars, I got thinking in the night that good quotes are fun to talk about, too. So, look up “conversation starters” on Google if you want more of them. Here now, I will include some lovely quotes that might add meaningful conversations to your meals (They can be copied and then pasted into your word processor. Print them up, cut them and add them to your Conversation Jar:

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along’….You must do the thing you think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt

Sometimes God calms the storm raging around us, and sometimes He calms us and lets the storm rage on.

To Have striven, to have made an effort, to have been true to certain ideals—this alone is worth the struggle. We are here to add what we can to, not to get what we can from life.—Sir William Osler

This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good!

Security is not born of inexhaustible wealth but of unquenchable faith. Spencer W. Kimball

A heart stitched with prayer is more precious to God than a tapestry of gold.

God made you as you are in order to use you as He planned.

When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. Helen Keller

Worldly hope is wishful thinking, gentle dreaming of fairies, magic wands, and limitless credit card balances. Christ-centered hope focuses on the truth that with God nothing is impossible.

The Lord saved for now those spirits who would have the courage and determination to face the world, and all the powers of the evil one and who would build up the Zion of our God, fearless of all consequences. George Q. Cannon

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain

There is no such thing in anyone’s life as an unimportant day. Alexander Woolcott

We can do no great things; only small things with great love.
Mother Teresa

Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity. Henry Van Dyke

You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love. Henry Drummond

I think that God means that we shall do more than we have yet done in furtherance of his plans and he will open the way for our doing. Abraham Lincoln

Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity. Margaret D. Nadauld

We salute you, sisters, for the joy that is yours as you rejoice in a baby’s first smile and as you listen with eager ear to a child’s first day at school which bespeaks a special selflessness. Women, more quickly than others, will understand the possible dangers when the word self is militantly placed before other words like fulfillment. You rock a sobbing child without wondering if today’s world is passing you by, because you know you hold tomorrow tightly in your arms. Neal A. Maxwell.

The right way to pray for the answer to all your problems is to feel and know that the Indwelling God knows only the answer. Because this is true, you will only know the answer and recall the truth: God never faileth. Joseph Murphy

Time is really all we have. And every individual has an equal portion of it. The trick is to get more out of what is available to us. Gordon B. Hinckley

Truly, there is nothing more vital to our success and our happiness here in mortality that learning to hear the voice of the Spirit, for it is the Spirit who reveals to us our identity-which isn’t just who we are, but who we have always been. Sheri L. Dew

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it. Life is bliss, taste it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is sorrow, overcome it. Life is a song, sing it. Life is a struggle, accept it. Life is a tragedy, confront it. Life is an adventure, dare it. Life is luck, make it. Life is too precious, do not destroy it. Life is life, fight for it. Mother Teresa

There is no obstacle too great, no challenge too difficult, if we have faith. Gordon B. Hinckley

Self trust is the essence of heroism. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Only the Lord can compare crosses, but all crosses are easier to carry when we keep moving. Neal A. Maxwell

For the faithful, our finest hours are sometimes during or just following our darkest hours. Neal A. Maxwell

Be glad of life, because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars. Henry Van Dyke

Solitude is bearable only with god. Andre’ Gide

You can’t do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth. Shira Tehrani

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook. William James

If...we truly want the best for our sons and daughters, we would want for them—not status—but more meekness, mercy, love, patience, and submissiveness. Neal A. Maxwell

With every ounce of...obedience comes a bushel of blessings. Neal A. Maxwell

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Eleanor Roosevelt

If you suffer pain and heartache, for the good that you have done, God has honored you and blessed you, to become just like His son. Peter G. Czerny

Motherhood is not what was left over after our Father blessed His sons with priesthood ordination. It was the most ennobling endowment He could give His daughters, a sacred trust that gave women an unparalleled role in helping His children keep their second estate. Sheri L. Dew

Nothing is so strong as gentleness, and nothing is so gentle as real strength. Ralph Sockman

I wonder sometimes if we realize the importance of music. I wonder if we know that the Lord himself is concerned about it. Pres. George Albert Smith

We must be clear about our most crucial role as women if we hope to stand steadfast and immovable regarding the issues that swirl around our gender. For Satan has declared war on motherhood. He knows that those who rock the cradle can rock his earthly empire. And he knows that without righteous mothers loving and leading the next generation, the kingdom of God will fail. Sheri L. Dew

To withdraw into our private sanctuaries not only deprives others of our love, our talents, and our service, but it also deprives us of chances to serve, to love, and to be loved. Neal A. Maxwell

I am asking that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life we “accentuate the positive.” I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort. Gordon B. Hinckley

All my life I’ve wanted to be somebody. But I see now I should have been more specific. Jane Wagner

I attribute my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education which I received from my mother. George Washington

Don’t let life discourage you. Everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was. Richard L. Evans

God does not begin by asking us about our ability, but only about our availability, and if we then prove our dependability, he will increase our capability! Neal A. Maxwell

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. Abraham Lincoln

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is. Albert Einstein

We can do no great things—only small things with great love. Mother Teresa

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it. Helen Keller

Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete. If you’re alive, it isn’t. Richard Bach

Prayer should be the key of the day and the lock of the night. Thomas Fuller

If wickedness never was happiness, then righteousness never was misery.

I do not pray for success. I ask for faithfulness. Mother Teresa

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in my pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return. Mary Jean Iron

And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years. Abraham Lincoln

Only God can fully know what absolute honesty is. Therefore each of us has to conceive what this great ideal may be to the best of our ability. Bill W.

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless. Mother Teresa

What you possess in the world will be found at the day of your death to belong to someone else. But what you are will be yours forever. Henry Van Dyke

Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be. Abraham Lincoln

If you judge people, you have no time to love them. Mother Teresa

If we find nothing of interest where we are, we are likely to find little of lasting interest where we wish to go. Edwin Way Teale

The greatest happiness you can have is knowing that you do not necessarily require happiness. William Saroyan

Be such a man, and live such a life, that if every man were such as you, and every life a life like yours, this earth would be God’s Paradise. Phillips Brooks

We are each of us angels with only one wing, & we can only fly by embracing one another. Luciano de Crescenzo

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice. Cherokee Expression

We should not complain about our own life’s not being a rose garden when we remember who wore the crown of thorns. Neal A. Maxwell

Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. Harold Whitman

We are more than what we do, much more than what we accomplish...far more than what we possess. William Arthur Ward

We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey. Steven R. Covey

It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that make happiness. Charles Spurgeon

When you’re having a genuine bad hair day and someone says, “Have a nice day,” simply respond with, “Thanks, but I’ve made other plans!”

Virtue and morality surely must be true principles of God; otherwise, why would we feel so badly when those we love are not virtuous or morally clean? Lori Nelson Bennett

Inspiration comes more as a feeling than as a sound. Elder Boyd K. Packer

It is the grand privilege of every Latter-day Saint...to have the manifestations of the spirit every day of our lives. Pres. Lorenzo Snow

Every man has the privilege to exercise these gifts and these privileges in the conduct of his own affairs; in bringing up his children in the way they should go; in the management of his business, or whatever he does. It is his right to enjoy the spirit of revelation and of inspiration to do the right thing, to be wise and prudent, just and good, in everything that he does. Pres. Harold B. Lee

Because it raises our spirits and helps us resist evil and seek good, the feeling of uplift that is communicated by reading the scriptures or by enjoying wholesome music, art, or literature is a distinct function (as well as a form) of revelation. Dallin H. Oaks


Restraint is one of the most common functions of revelation. It often comes by surprise. Even though we have not asked for revelation or guidance on a particular subject, if we are keeping the commandments of God and living in tune with his Spirit, a restraining force will steer us away from things we should not do. Dallin H. Oaks

A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas...and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation. Prophet Joseph Smith

All of us are entitled to the spirit of prophecy & of revelation in our lives, both for our personal affairs & in our ministry. The prayerful study & pondering of the holy scriptures will do as much , or more than any other single thing, to bring that spirit, the spirit of prophecy and the spirit of revelation, into our lives. Elder Bruce R. McConkie

Conversation Starters

Yesterday I promised that I would give ideas on conversation starters. I’ve been collecting them for years. As a parent, you might want to keep a few basic questions printed on a 3X5 card to enable you to have conversations with your children privately or collectively while in the car, at the dinner table or at bedtime. Here’s a short list to choose from for your 3X5 card:

If you could ask God one question, what would it be?

What was the __________ (choose one: most challenging, funniest, most surprising, most amazing) thing that happened to you today?

Tell me your favorite joke.

What was the nicest thing you did for someone else today? How did it make you feel? What was the nicest thing that someone else did for you today? How did it make you feel?

If you were writing a Blog about your day, what would the title be?

Describe your day in three words.

Describe “the perfect day,” from the time you wake up until you go to bed.

In two minutes, tell me as much about your day as you can.

Teach me one thing that you learned today that you think I don’t know.

If you were the President of the United States, name one thing that you would change about our country immediately.

What do you think the world needs—right now?

If you were given $1000, how would you spend it?

What can I do for you that would make your life better?

If you were on a deserted island for a year and you could choose one thing to have with you, what would you want?

If you could invent something that would make life better, what would it be?

In your opinion, what is the greatest invention ever made?

If you could visit with a person from history, who would it be? Why?

If you could be an Olympian, what sport would you like to participate in?

If you were to loose one of your senses and you could choose which one it was, which sense do you think you would choose? Why? If it had to be sight or hearing, which one?

Why do so many people enjoy going to the Disney parks?

If you could go on a vacation anywhere in the United States, where would you go?

If you could make a movie, what would it be about? What type would it be? (Drama, history, comedy, mystery?)

Now for questions to put in your Conversation Jar. Let’s start with the humorous conversation starters that I have been saving. Perhaps you can come up with more humorous ones as well and maybe even find some that younger children will enjoy. Consider printing these conversations starters with humor on green paper (or color of your choice), then when the family seems to need humor, someone can be instructed to pull out a “green” slip of paper for that evening’s conversation around the dinner table. Here’s the humorous list:

Why isn't the number 11 pronounced onety-one?    

If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhea...does that mean that one out of five enjoys it?

Why do croutons come in airtight packages? Aren't they just stale bread to begin with?

If people from Poland are called Poles, then why aren't people from Holland called Holes?

If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist, but a person who drives a racecar is not called a racist?

If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?
If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, then doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked and dry cleaners depressed?

If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it Fed UP?

What hair color do they put on the driver's licenses of  bald men?

Do Lipton Tea employees take 'coffee breaks?

I thought about how mothers feed their babies with tiny little spoons and forks, so I wondered what do Chinese mothers use. Toothpicks?

Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are we supposed to do, write to them? Why don't they just put their pictures on the postage stamps so the mailmen can look for them while they deliver the mail?

Is it true that you never really learn to swear until you learn to drive?

If a cow laughed, would milk come out of her nose?

Whatever happened to Preparations A through G?

As income tax time  approaches, did you ever notice: When you put the two words 'The' and 'IRS' together, it spells... 'THEIRS'?

Now copy and paste these ideas into your word processor. I make 3 columns with mine (you get more to a page that way), and print them, cut them up a put them in a cute little jar or box. Start your fun conversations tonight. (Even older couples can use the stimulation for conversations.) I’ll include more conversation starters tomorrow. Until then, enjoy dinner at your home!

Shall We Gather 'Round the Dinner Table?

I'll never forget while eating lunch with Michelle at Primary Children's Hospital I observed a little girl about Sophie's age (at that time Sophie was almost two), sitting quietly across from her mother, using a fork and eating her lunch. She didn't stand on her chair or get off of it over and over for that matter. She ate well and her mother would talk to her in a quiet, calm way. I was struck with the thought, "This little girl's family sits together as a family and eats their dinner together on a regular basis." Intrigued, I asked the mother if they did indeed eat often together as a family. The mother's eyes brightened as she said, "Yes, this is very important to me for my family." Michelle and I then had a lovely chat with this fine mother.

Now, with time to think about this important subject, "Eating together as a Family," I would like to share some ideas of why it is important and also things that can be done as we gather as a family around the table.

Dinnertime is often the only time a family has to be together. I think one would agree that it is important that at least once a day all members of the family sit down together and relax and find out what everybody's day has been like. Also, a little bit of effort put into making each meal special goes a long way toward health and contentment. As families get older, there will be times when a family member is absent. If we make dinnertime together a priority, however, we will have more times being together than not.

There is so much that can be done around the table. Here are a few ideas with no particular order of importance: 1) Have Culture or Ethnic nights. Let family members choose what they want to learn about. Plan assignments such as who will find recipes fitting the culture, who will prepare them, someone to find interesting facts about a culture, someone to find music from that culture to be listened to while eating, perhaps an after dinner craft related to the culture could be made. Be creative and enthused. This could become a favorite monthly event. 2) At some time during the day (preferably when the family is gathered for morning scriptures and prayer), have family members express their wish for "today." Write it down (So you might consider having a scribe). Then, at dinnertime, allow each family member time to share how or if their wish came to pass. The scribe could record a little bit of this and it could become a family journal about things learned and experienced. What a treasure this would be! 3)Have a "Scripture of the Week." Memorization could be rewarded. Values could be applied. Just think, 52 scriptures could be internalized in a year's time. Again, a record could be kept of which scriptures have been treasured. 4) Make a conversation jar and keep it as part of the centerpiece at your dinner table.(I'll give you a good start for this jar in my next blog.) Each night you could have someone pull out a question to be discussed by the entire family. Be sure to encourage "all" to participate. Keep a sense of humor (to me this is the most important rule) and never allow criticism or derogatory comments to be added by others while someone else is focusing on the question. (Manners are thus learned at the dinner table.) 5)Play different types of music during your meals and allow family members the time to discuss what the music does for their moods and the level of enjoyment the music allows them while eating their food. 6)Discuss important "news events" of the day. 7) Learn about a different value each week. Share experiences that you have learned about that value each evening.

Well, I am sure you can see the value of gathering 'round the dinner table. Don't just say, "I'll work on it." Remember and do it. The benefits will be great and you surely won't have any regrets.

Shall we gather 'round the table?

In my mind, I've been wondering if families have lost an important opportunity to gather and enjoy one another on a regular basis because they no longer have sit-down meals together? Oh, they might eat together--in front of the television. (I know we do this far too often!) But, something is lost when a family fails to enjoy time together around the dinner table. Can you think of some benefits of eating at least one meal together as a family? Think about it and I will, too. Later, I will share some of my ideas on the benefits of togetherness at the table. Until then, enjoy the
following amazing little recipe that I think any fine cook would want to have for her family. The suggested variations make it fun. Enjoy!

Anytime Drop-in Biscuits

2 c flour
3 T sugar
4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2/3 c shortening
1 large egg
1 c milk

Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening. Mix egg and milk, then add to flour-shortening mixture, and stir just till moist. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls on greased baking sheet. Bake at 425 F for 10-12 minutes. For Breakfast: Make a well in top of unbaked biscuit and fill with teaspoon of fruit preserves. For lunch: Add 1/2 c of grated cheese to dry ingredients. For dinner: Add 1/2 c currants and 1/4 c chopped walnuts. OR: Make them pure and simple and eat with butter, gravy, honey, or absolutely no topping at all!