Creative Cover Ups

For those that are familiar with an LDS meeting house, you might know that we have great basketball courts (we call them Cultural Halls). Many functions are held in these cultural halls....wedding receptions, holiday parties, activities, etc.

But the things about our cultural halls (in my opinion) is that they aren't the prettiest things and almost impossible to make pretty or disguise. Well, I found this idea on a blog and thought... genius. Why not wrap up those ugly wall "whatchamacallits" with wrapping paper.

This image shows this for a christmas party, but you could do it for any party with any type of wrapping paper.

The idea and the beautiful party decor above came from Stitch Market, I love it. I have to remember this for future activities that I am in charge of.

Strawberry Season!

Here in the central valley, strawberry season happens twice a year and right now is the first round. The strawberries are sooo delicious. It is hard not to eat a whole bushel in one sitting.

So, for Mutual the other night, we had to take advantage and make strawberry freezer jam. It is so easy and something the girls could take home with them. I think they really liked it. The shocker to them was how much sugar is required to make jam. They couldn't believe it. It was good for them to see the hidden "dangers" of certain foods. They taste good, but there is a reason.

Here is the recipe we used:

INGREDIENTS
* 2 cups crushed fresh strawberries
* 4 cups sugar
* 1 (1.75 ounce) package dry pectin
* 3/4 cup water

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix crushed strawberries with sugar, and let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the pectin into the water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 1 minute. Stir the boiling water into the strawberries. Allow to stand for 3 minutes before pouring into jars or other storage containers.
2. Place tops on the containers, and leave for 24 hours. Place into freezer, and store frozen until ready to use.


Also, here is the label I made for the containers, in case anyone wants to use it.

New Blog Redesign

I was contacted by a woman asking if I would redesign her blog. She and her husband and family are in the military, so she wanted a plane/travel theme. I created three versions for her... one was based on luggage and travel, another was a plane and the last was a paper plane theme. Here is the one she decided on. Customizing blogs can be so much fun.

Food Storage Recipe - Tuna Casserole

Tuna Casserole

8 ounces cooked noodles
1 can tuna
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2/3 cup powdered milk (see directions on package for mixing)
1 cup Ritz crackers, crushed into crumbs
1 cup canned peas, drained

Mix tuna, peas and noodles together and layer in greased casserole dish. Combine cream of mushroom soup and milk and pour over tuna and noodles mixture. Top with crushed cracker crumbs. Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

A fun bag for kids

I found this idea (while searching for Young Women activity ideas) and thought it would be a blast to make for Hannah and Ella.

I have to think it is pretty sturdy and my children love CapriSuns, so why wouldn't they love this purse.

Click Here to learn how to make it.

A few more details

I know I have already shown pictures from Hannah's Tinkerbell Party, but I wanted to post the individual elements again (mostly for my own record). And in case you are interested, you can see them a little bit better.

Also, for the thank you cards. I took pictures of each of the girls dressed as fairies and made postcards of them with a caption that read "Thank you "fairy" much".

I have to share one of the cutest parts of this party. It was seeing all the girls sitting watching Hannah open her gifts and if you got on the floor... all you say was the back of their heads with 10 pink fairy wings and 10 heads of ribbons. I wish I had taken a picture... it was so cute and fun to see all those fairies bundled together.

My 3 Ring Circus Shower

Okay, so I have to share pictures from my baby shower. My friend Heather is so great. she put together the cutest shower with the cutest details. It was a circus themed shower and it was over the top (pun intended). Not to mention that she just had a baby herself 8 weeks ago, but she still insisted on putting together the shower... what a woman and what a friend.

Thanks so much Heather... it was soooo cute. You are the best!

BackYard Completion

well, almost. It is complete enough that the girls can go outside and play. As you can see by all the toys that are already scattered about. But we still have to put in a trellis, an outdoor BBQ area and a jungle gym. But more or less, it is done. I love it and am so happy to have a backyard. Happy Mother's day to me!

Happy Mother's Day

I thought this comic strip was cute. I wanted to tell my mom how great I think she is. She is a wonderful example of service, love and faith. She has taught me so many great things that I now get to share and pass on to my own children. I have never not felt her love and thank her for all she has done, does do and will continue to do for my happiness.

I also wanted to tell my mother-in-law, how grateful I am that she is the mother of my husband and for raising him to be the man he is. My children and I get to benefit because of her great mothering. Thanks for raising a man that I was lucky enough to marry.

I hope everyone has a great day. The highlights of my day were listening to Hannah sing loud and proud during church, getting a yummy treat at church (although I was hoping for caramel apples, but See's candy bars did just fine) and a day of relaxation and Chris cooking dinner. It is great to be a mom.

This is cute

I found this on the blog called Ambrosia Girl and thought is was pretty dead on and clever.
Wanted to share in time for tomorrow.

Another Clever Idea

I love this website called 2Clever. And yet again, they shared something quite clever. If ever you are in charge of a treat for young kids, what a fun way to do it. Just put different cereals, treats and candies in glass containers and let the kids pick out what they want and put them in cute little cups. So, easy, cute and clever. Love the idea, so I thought I would share.

Picture comes from 2 Clever blog.

My Girly Girls

Thank heavens for blogs. At least I can capture some of life's moments in a journal-like fashion. Here are the latest moments in my girl's lives.

Ella

1) She loves to eat breakfast with dad... why? Because she puts her pile of dry cereal into his bowl one at a time and then he feeds her breakfast. it is like a game. She fills up his bowl with cereal and then he feeds her. Why wouldn't she love it.

2) Ella knows most (if not all) the noises that animals make. Some of the noises only her parents would be able to make out... but she is putting two and two together and it makes for a much more fun reading time.

3) Ella loves to walk around the house with a phone and laugh and say "oh- yay". She does it constantly and just thinks being on the phone is so funny.

4) Ella will say "Mommy/Daddy, "A". And that is her way of telling us to say the alphabet, letter by letter, so she can repeat it. She is getting pretty good at recognizing the letters of the alphabet.

5) If you read #3 of Hannah's, it has now been replaced with Ella being Sparkles and Ella now crawls around on all fours, arffing. Sparkles in now a dog.


Hannah

1) I think I mentioned once before that Hannah loves the t.v. show Cash Cab. Well, we now play it in the car. Chris will be the host and word for word they play the game while he asks her trivia questions and she racks up money with each correct answer. At the end, she gets to decide if she will risk all her money on the last bonus question or take her money.. she always takes the money.

2) The other day Hannah and I were coloring and it eventually turned into us making books. Hannah was very specific that our books had certain pages. We had to have a cover page, a silly page, a birthday page, a regular page and a "the end' page. Then we stapled them together and now they sit on the bookshelf.

3) On a daily basis, Hannah decides that she is a cat named Sparkles. She crawls around on all fours and talks in a Sparkles' voice. She named the cat and gave Ella a name too - Meow Meowie.

4) Hannah begged to go to a ballet performance of one of my Young Women. I thought, what the heck, why not, she is getting old enough. So, we went and saw "A midsummer night's Dream". She did pretty good. She had a lot of questions (and it isn't the easiest of stories to explain), but she did great and loved the part where the dancing frogs came out on stage.

5) Hannah was thrilled to celebrate her birthday for 3 days. She kept telling everyone. Friday was my birthday at preschool. Saturday is my birthday with my friends. And Sunday is my birthday with my family. What a lucky girl, if you ask me.

Backyard under Construction

After 4 years of being home owners, we finally have our first backyard. It was finished this weekend and it is sooo pretty. I am thrilled and my life will be different to have a backyard where the girls can go and play (instead of the garage, which was becoming their play area of choice... ughh).

But before I share the final finished product, I wanted to show the work in progress. Here are some picture of our backyard while they were working on it. Pretty pictures coming soon.

Hannah's Birthday Party

Yesterday was Hannah's birthday and it was a big success. Although the party had to be moved indoors because of the only rain storm we have had in months and will have all summer,but it worked out just fine. Hannah had her Tinkerbell party. Here is a summary of what we did.

I hired a face painter. She was absolutely fabulous! Affordable, fun and really cute art for the girls. Tons of glitter, frills and colors. She did their faces, arms, legs, anklets, bracelets and necklaces. If anyone in Fresno needs a face painter... let me know... she is great!

When the girls came in they all got their wings and halo (This site had the best items for a fairy party... super cute and cheap). Then they either had their faces painted, decorated their own wands (which I got at Michaels) or decorated pretzel wands with melting chocolate and sprinkles. It was a lot of chaos, but tons of fun.

Next, we had lunch. Then the girls had a fairy coronation. Each girl got a new fairy name and a certificate welcoming them as fairy by the Never Council. I put a butterfly clip in their hair and they got sprinkled with pixie dust and got to make a pixie wish. Then we had a parade with their decorated wands and wings and halo, as they chanted "WE BELIEVE IN FAIRIES!"

Then we had cupcakes and opened up gifts.

Hannah definitely had to be given the new fairy name Tinkerbell. I was told for weeks that was going to be her new name. At first many of the girls weren't too sure about the face painting(including Hannah), but when they realized that they could get their legs and arms painted (instead of their faces) almost all the girls couldn't get enough paint! Most of the girls left covered in pretty paint.

Hannah's other request was to have a Tinkerbell candle on her cupcake. That was easy to do. The girls were all so cute in their cute wings and painted bodies and covered in glitter. Most of the girls pixie wishes were "to be a real fairy" and I told them all... that today they were!

As for clean-up... let's just say we will be cleaning up glitter for months to come. Our house is covered in it. But at least glitter is pretty and adds a sparkle to our house :-)

Need some Help!

So, my daughter is 5 years old and is still not potty trained during the night. I am at a loss on how to do this. She is such a deep sleeper, so how do I start the process? Do I have to let her wet her bed or are there other ways going about this?

Please all those that have experience in this matter... give me any tips you might have. Please!

Food Storage Recipe - Honey Whole Wheat Bread

I saw this recipe and thought... I want to make it (regardless of whether it is food storage or not)... but it can be used for both purposes... so that I why I had to include it on my blog. 1) food storage recipe and 2) just a great bread recipe.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 package quick rise yeast
¾ c. milk (can also use powdered milk)
¾ c. water
2 T. honey
2 T. vegetable oil
2 c. whole wheat flour

Directions:

Combine 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, salt, and yeast in large mixing bowl. Heat milk, water, honey and oil until hot to touch. Gradually add to dry ingredients. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add ½ cup all-purpose flour. Beat at high speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. With spoon, stir in whole wheat flour and enough additional all-purpose flour to make stiff dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover, let rest for 10 minutes. Spray loaf pan with vegetable pan spray. Roll dough to 12×8” rectangle. Roll up from short end to make loaf. Pinch seam and ends to seal. Place, seam side down, in prepared pan. Cover, let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan, cool in a wire rack.

Thanks again FoodStorageMadeEasy.

Logo Design NEWS

I wanted to share some concepts of some logos I have been creating. I have had a nice steady flow of clients and it has been so much fun to be creative and work with these great individuals.

here is just a peak at what i have created lately... to see all the concepts and final logos....click here.

Also, I wanted to let people know that I am going to have a baby in about 6 weeks (give or take). So, with that being said... if you are at all interested in a logo... now would be the time. Depending on the project and/or person...it takes about 2-3 weeks to finish a project... so NOW is the time to contact me and get your project going. I won't be taking new clients past May 20th. And I will have to let you all know when I am feeling back to normal to take clients again.

So, if you have been thinking of "polishing" your logo or even just getting your first one... drop me an email!

Young Women's Lesson - Plan of Salvation

Normally, I don't do this. I try really hard to keep to the lesson schedule and the lesson in the Young Women's manual, but this week I am teaching and it is our fourth lesson (in a row) on the priesthood. I really tried to teach lesson #16 (Women and Priesthood Bearers), but the more I thought about it, the more I really felt like the girls would lose interest discussing for the 4th week in a row about the priesthood and how they as young women can support those priesthood holders in our lives.

So, with much thought and prayer... I have decided to veer away from the scheduled lesson plan and give a lesson on something just as important. Something that I feel doesn't get taught enough (or in depth) to the youth of the church. And that is the Plan of Salvation.

So, this lesson plan is on just that. In my defense, I do want to say that the last bit of my lesson does talk a little about what lesson 16's objective is.... which is "understand that a woman and her husband can enter the highest degree of celestial glory only together." So, I didn't completely ignore the lesson plan :-)

My lesson is focused on teaching the girls about the plan of Salvation as if it were a story or a play. I got this idea from a talk from Pres. Boyd K. Packer. I create a "Playbill" program titled "The Plan of Salvation. The greatest story ever told". Inside this program are questions about the Plan of Salvation and summaries about the different "Acts" of this play and elements of the plan. I also included below some discussion questions to help the girls get involved and learn a bit more.

Here is the my lesson including the text from the program I created. Also, I used the Plan of Salvation clipart I created awhile back.
NOTE: I am pretty sure it will take more than one lesson to go through everything... I figured I would start and see how far we get.

PLAN OF SALVATION

QUESTION 1
God’s Plan of Salvation is also known as the...
a) Plan of Happiness
b) Plan of Redemption
c) Plan of Mercy
d) All of the above

Think of the Plan of Salvation as a play or a story. Just like any play there are different ACTS that separate the play into segments. The Plan of Salvation has THREE ACTS.

Let’s discuss ACT 1

PRE-MORTAL EXISTENCE

QUESTION 2
How many of God’s spirit children rebelled and followed Satan?
a) 1/4
b) 1/3
c) 1/2
d) 2/3

QUESTION 3
Which of the following did NOT happen in the pre-existence?
a) God’s plan was presented
b) Kolob was destroyed
c) a Savior was chosen
d) Lucifer rebelled
e) There was a war

QUESTION 4
In our pre-mortal life we existed with God as what?
a) Matter
b) Spirits
c) Children of God
d) All of the above

Summary: Pre-mortal Existence
Before we were born, we lived with God. We are and were His spirit children and He taught and guided us while we lived with Him. This was an active time. We developed talents and we made friendships with our brothers and sisters. But we couldn’t progress as far as we needed to in God’s presence. The Plan of Salvation was set forth for our welfare—we would go to earth to develop and be tested, to see if we’d choose good even if it was hard. We would need a Savior to return, however. Lucifer asked to be the Savior, but rebelled against the plan. He didn’t like the idea of free will—his idea was that everyone should come back to God and that sin should be impossible, which would ruin the point of having a mortal life in the first place. Jesus Christ was chosen as the Savior and He and God created the world. Lucifer continued to rebel and became a devil, fallen from heaven. A third of the spirits followed him. The devil and the other rebelling spirits will never be born. They will never have bodies.

At this point, I brought out a jar of cookies and talked about the following parable:

The Parable of the Cookie Jar
Has your mother ever made cookies and then told you not to eat any of them? I know, it's the ultimate test! But how will you prove whether you have the character to leave the cookies alone? Is it when your mother stands there with her hand on top of the jar? Is it when she leaves the room momentarily?

Isn't your real proof when Mom leaves and goes off to pick up Jimmy from soccer? That's right. She has to be gone so that you really have an opportunity to exercise your agency.

The same was true in Heaven. God had to allow us some distance, so we could truly choose our way. That is why he sent us to earth and drew a "veil of forgetfulness" over our minds. We have to prove what kind of person we really are. So this life is a time of proving, or probation. Alma 12:24.

God sends prophets and gives us the scriptures to teach us of His plan for us, but we have to accept much of it on faith. That is a crucial part of His plan, because it allows us to have real freedom.

When we go ahead and eat that cookie (when we have been told not to), we have committed a sin or disobeyed Heavenly Father. It is only by using the Atonement that we can be forgiven and return to live with him again.

BIRTH

QUESTION 5
T/F: Adam and Eve messed up God’s plan when they partook of the fruit.
a) True
b) False

QUESTION 6
We are born on earth to...
a) Receive a body
b) Become like God
c) Be tried and tested
d) Develop faith in Christ
e) All of the above

QUESTION 7
If Adam and Eve had not partaken of the fruit we would...
a) Have been born in paradise and not in this fallen world
b) Still be in heaven, waiting to be born
c) Have a perfect world with no sin

Summary: Birth
To be born, we had to have been faithful before we were born. If someone was born, they accepted the Plan. Birth is the first step.

End ACT 1

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) How did we respond to the plan of salvation?
2) Lucifer rebelled against the plan of salvation, what happened to him and his followers?
3) Who is the central figure of the Plan of Salvation?

Now we start ACT II.

We might think that this ACT is the end of the play or story and it should said
'And they all lived happily ever after' at the end, but there is no promise that this will happen. This line "and they lived happily ever after" belongs after the third act (which we will discuss later).

EARTH - MORTALITY

QUESTION 8
Under the direction of our Father in Heaven, who created the earth and everything on it?
a) Jesus Christ
b) Lucifer
c) No one, everything evolved from the big bang

QUESTION 9
T/F: Satan and his followers do not have a physical body.
a) True
b) False

Summary: Mortality
Again, we came here to be tested. Can we live how God would have us live if we don’t live with Him? We can, of course. Each one of us. We can learn to have faith in things that can’t be proven—things of the spirit. We can learn to treat each other gently and kindly and to look out for each other. And we learn to live within families.

QUESTION 10
T/F: There is no life after death
a) True
b) False

QUESTION 11
When we die...
a) We remain in a black void of nothingness
b) We remain in a black void of nothingness until the resurrection
c) Our bodies and spirit are separated

SUMMARY: Death
In many ways, death is like birth. It’s a beginning, rather than the end—a transition, really. We move from the mortal world into the spirit world.


QUESTION 12
T/F: When we die our spirits also die.
a) True
b) False

QUESTION 13
What do spirits look like?
a) Blobs
b) Gaseous matter that floats aimlessly about
c) Glowing light
d) Similar to that of a regular human person, just without a body

QUESTION 14
The spirit world is divided into...
a) Prison and premortal life
b) Paradise and post mortal life
c) Premortal existence and paradise
d) Paradise and prison

QUESTION 15
In the Spirit World...
a) Christ’s church was organized
b) Missionary work continues
c) People can repent and accept the gospel
d) All of the above

QUESTION 16
In the Spirit World can people be baptized?
a) Yes
b) No

SUMMARY: Spirit World
The spirit world is in two parts. People who didn’t learn the gospel of Christ in their life go to spirit prison, but they can learn and accept it in death. God will give us every opportunity. Those who learned and lived the gospel go to spirit paradise.


DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1)What are some purposes of our mortal life?
2) People who do not receive the gospel on earth will have that opportunity in the spirit world. What can we do on earth to help them receive all the blessings of the plan of salvation?
3) We are subject to physical death and also to spiritual death. What is a spiritual death?
What two things does the Plan provide regarding these two deaths?

End ACT 2

Let discuss the last ACT 3

RESURRECTION

QUESTION 17
The resurrection is the reuniting of the...
a) spirit and body
b) spirit world and premortal world
c) heaven and earth

QUESTION 18
T/F: Jesus Christ was the first person to be resurrected.
a) True
b) False

SUMMARY: Resurrection
It doesn’t matter if we are righteous or not—we’ll all be resurrected. Our spirit will join our body again. Christ’s death and resurrection gave everyone that gift.

JUDGEMENT:

QUESTION 19
How must we prepare for God’s final judgment?
a) Be selfish
b) Sin
c) Repent
d) Dance a jig

SUMMARY: Judgment
After the Second Coming of Christ, where He will reign over the Millennium, then comes the Last Judgment. We’ll all be judged for our obedience to the commandments and faith. There are four places we may go after this Judgment. The Lord revealed to the founder of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith that there are three kingdoms in heaven—the Celestial (or highest), the Terrestial, and the Telestial. Only a very few, the very most wicked, go to Outer Darkness, where the devil lives.

The Three Kingdoms

QUESTION 20
We believe that heaven is divided into three kingdoms called...
a) Heaven, Hell, and the Spirit World
b) Celestial, Telestial, and Outer Darkness
c) Tappestia, Pardisia, and Gloralia
d) Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial

QUESTION 21
Those who are cast into Outer Darkness are...
a) Satan’s followers from the pre-existence
b) Those who rebelled in the pre-existence
c) Sons of Perdition
d) All of the above

QUESTION 22
T/F: Children who die on earth will live with God in the highest kingdom.
a) True
b) False

CELESTIAL KINGDOM - D&C 76:50–70, 92–96; 131:1–4; 132:19–24; 137
The glory of the Celestial Kingdom is compared with that of the
sun. It is the highest degree of glory we can receive and is
where God and Jesus Christ dwell. Those who receive this glory
have:

* Accepted Christ as their Savior
* Repented and received a remission of their sins through
Christ's atonement
* Kept God's commandments, and
* Received the saving ordinances (such as baptism, and the
Gift of the Holy Ghost)
* Children that have died before the age of eight years old

The Celestial Kingdom itself is divided into three degrees. To attain the
highest degree and be an eternal family one must receive the ordinance
of marriage, called a sealing, which is performed in sacred temples.

TERRESTRIAL KINGDOM - D&C 76:71–80, 91, 97
The second degree of glory is the Terrestrial Kingdom and its glory is
compared with that of the moon. Those who inherit this kingdom of glory
are they who were good people during life but "were blinded by the
craftiness of men." (see DC 76:75)

They are also those who:

* died without law;
* Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards
received it.
* These are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the
fulness of the Father.
* These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore,
they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God"
(D&C 76:72,74,77,79.)

Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve explained: “Those destined to inherit the terrestrial kingdom are: (1) those who died ‘without law’—those heathen and pagan people who do not hear the gospel in this life, and who would not accept it with all their hearts should they hear it; (2) those who hear and reject the gospel in this life and then accept it in the spirit world; (3) those ‘who are honorable men of the earth, who [are] blinded by the craftiness of men’; and (4) those who are lukewarm members of the true church and who have testimonies, but who are not true and faithful in all things” (A New Witness for the Articles of Faith [1985], 146).


TELESTIAL KINGDOM - D&C 76:81–90, 98–106, 109–12.
This last kingdom is like the glory of the stars and is for those unrepentant
sinners who did evil in life. They will suffer for their sins before inheriting the
Telestial Kingdom.

A good way to help the girls understand what order the kingdom go in... "telestial" has the "L' in it for LOSER (put your fingers in the shape of an "L" to your forehead). Only "LOSERS" will be in the telestial kingdom. And you don't want to be a LOSER :-)

You may need to explain that the “hell” is spirit prison, a temporary state between death and resurrection. Those in spirit prison who do not accept the gospel will eventually be resurrected and inherit telestial glory.

They are also those:

* who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus.
* These are they who deny not the Holy Spirit.
* These are they who are thrust down to hell.
* These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil until the
last resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb, shall have
finished his work.
* These are they who receive not of his fulness in the eternal world, but
of the Holy Spirit" (D&C 76:82-86.)

Outer Darkness

Those who are cast into Outer Darkness are...
a) Satan’s followers from the pre-existence
b) Those who rebelled in the pre-existence
c) Sons of Perdition
d) All of the above

Outer Darkness is where the sons of perdition are sent. A son of perdition is
someone who denied the witness of the Holy Ghost. This means that God
revealed His Son Jesus Christ to someone who, after receiving a witness of
Christ's divinity through the Holy Ghost, later denied it. (See D&C 76:43.)

The Prophet Joseph Smith said: “What must a man do to commit the unpardonable sin? He must receive the Holy Ghost, have the heavens opened unto him, and know God, and then sin against Him. After a man has sinned against the Holy Ghost, there is no repentance for him. He has got to say that the sun does not shine while he sees it; he has got to deny Jesus Christ when the heavens have been opened unto him, and to deny the plan of salvation with his eyes open to the truth of it; and from that time he begins to be an enemy” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 358).

An example of a son of perdition would be Cain, son of Adam and Eve. He
walked and talked with Christ but he chose Satan and denied the truth
when he lied to God, thus becoming a son of perdition. (See Moses 5:16-26)

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) Who will be exalted in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom?
2) Why are sons of perdition condemned to experience such great suffering?


Heavenly Father’s plan is to help each of his children to return to
live with him again. To achieve that divine potential, you must
enter into celestial marriage with a righteous priesthood bearer.
Man is essential to woman, and woman is essential to man and
together living righteously and in harmony with Heavenly Father’s
gospel together you can have all the promises, blessings,
mansions and joy your Heavenly Father has in store for you!

.........And that is the greatest story ever told!

My handout were the cookies and the "playbill".

Ay Matey Pirate Party

I came across this Pirate Birthday party on Becks & Avi's blog. It is amazing and so fun. I had to share it. I loved the decorations, the favors and the cupcakes. When my boy is big enough... this is one party I am going to "copy". Check it out.

Tinkerbell Invites

Hannah has had her birthday party theme planned out for months. I asked her in February what kind of birthday party she wanted to have and without a second thought she said "a Tinkerbell Party". I tried and tried to change her mind (I wanted a Strawberry Shortcake party or a Candyland Party or a Fancy Nancy Party), but she wasn't about to falter. So, for the last several months it has been all about her Tinkerbell party.

So, I have of course given in and went with my daughter's wishes. Although I have dubbed it "An Enchanted Fairy (Tinkerbell) Party". Here are the invites that we handed out. I had them printed at Costco as postcards. They really turned out great.