Every monday night we have Family Home Evening, which usually consists of a song, scripture, lesson and activity. Sometimes we do a game night and this is what we did last night. I had heard of this game called "Skittles" but we used M&Ms. You have a person rolling dice to get doubles and a person with a straw trying to get the skittles from the big bowl to the little bowl as quick as you can( no laughing, because it is really hard to suck and laugh at the same time) as soon as doubles are rolled it is the dice rollers turn to do the skittles and the dice go to the next player. Very fun and your lungs get a great workout. Valencia' friends Sam joined us for the night!
We always like to end the night with treat, so chocolate dipped
So yes it is very late putting this up, but I am finally getting to it. We went to the Jonas Brothers 3D Concert Experiance and brought Amia and had a blast. We got these sweet 3D glasses!
In the theater there was about six other people, so after a little while I let the girls get up and dance. They were doing cart wheels and dancing like maniacs, like at a real concert! The 3D part was kind of cool, but you had to wear the glasses or the movie was totally fuzzy. So afterward we had to go get out concert t-shirts. We went to Sears.
I never did get a picture of the shirts they got because we got sidetracked by trying on a bunch of great outfits.
Then we went to Wendy's for frosties and brain freezes. I was a great memorable night and way easier to put together than a friend birthday, I think more enjoyable for everyone too. Will have to do something like this again.
Today I was in the car with Vincent after I had picked him up from school. His water bottle fell out of the cup holder then a little way down the street it happened again. He said "Now that is ridicleous, oh I can't say that ridicleous. " It totally made me laugh so hard. I encouraged him that he can say ridiculous. He told me "thanks". He is way to cute and I love how kids can just make your day by a few words they say. One of Gods little tender mercies.
Valencia is doing the Jump Rope for Heart. This is the only fundraiser that we do during the year so if you would like to donate you can do it online by going here! Thank you so much!
I guess there is a show on HBO called "Big Love" about non-Mormon polygamists and they are going to unknowingly portray what goes on in the mormon temple. I guess throughout the show more and more Mormon themes are being woven in. This is something sacred to me and I hope that people will not get the wrong idea about who we are from the wrong source. The media tends to do this with all different religions and it is something that separates us not brings us together.I hope if we have questions about someones religion we will go to the source, not the media or other who do not know. That is how we come together. Here are some things the church has put out to show why we build temples.
SALT LAKE CITY 9 March 2009 Like other large faith groups, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sometimes finds itself on the receiving end of attention from Hollywood or Broadway, television series or books, and the news media. Sometimes depictions of the Church and its people are quite accurate. Sometimes the images are false or play to stereotypes. Occasionally, they are in appallingly bad taste.
As Catholics, Jews and Muslims have known for centuries, such attention is inevitable once an institution or faith group reaches a size or prominence sufficient to attract notice. Yet Latter-day Saints – sometimes known as Mormons - still wonder whether and how they should respond when news or entertainment media insensitively trivialize or misrepresent sacred beliefs or practices.
Church members are about to face that question again. Before the first season of the HBO series Big Love aired more than two years ago, the show’s creators and HBO executives assured the Church that the series wouldn’t be about Mormons. However, Internet references to Big Love indicate that more and more Mormon themes are now being woven into the show and that the characters are often unsympathetic figures who come across as narrow and self-righteous. And according to TV Guide, it now seems the show’s writers are to depict what they understand to be sacred temple ceremonies.
Certainly Church members are offended when their most sacred practices are misrepresented or presented without context or understanding. Last week some Church members began e-mail chains calling for cancellations of subscriptions to AOL, which, like HBO, is owned by Time Warner. Certainly such a boycott by hundreds of thousands of computer-savvy Latter-day Saints could have an economic impact on the company. Individual Latter-day Saints have the right to take such actions if they choose.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an institution does not call for boycotts. Such a step would simply generate the kind of controversy that the media loves and in the end would increase audiences for the series. As Elder M. Russell Ballard and Elder Robert D. Hales of the Council of the Twelve Apostles have both said recently, when expressing themselves in the public arena, Latter-day Saints should conduct themselves with dignity and thoughtfulness.
Not only is this the model that Jesus Christ taught and demonstrated in his own life, but it also reflects the reality of the strength and maturity of Church members today. As someone recently said, “This isn’t 1830, and there aren’t just six of us anymore.” In other words, with a global membership of thirteen and a half million there is no need to feel defensive when the Church is moving forward so rapidly. The Church’s strength is in its faithful members in 170-plus countries, and there is no evidence that extreme misrepresentations in the media that appeal only to a narrow audience have any long-term negative effect on the Church.
Examples:
* During the Mitt Romney election campaign for the presidency of the United States, commentator Lawrence O’Donnell hurled abuse at the Church in a television moment that became known among many Church members as “the O’Donnell rant.” Today, his statements are remembered only as a testament to intolerance and ignorance. They had no effect on the Church that can be measured.
* When the comedy writers for South Park produced a gross portrayal of Church history, individual Church members no doubt felt uncomfortable. But once again it inflicted no perceptible or lasting damage to a church that is growing by at least a quarter of a million new members every year.
* When an independent film company produced a grossly distorted version of the Mountain Meadows Massacre two years ago, the Church ignored it. Perhaps partly as a result of that refusal to engender the controversy that the producers hoped for, the movie flopped at the box office and lost millions.
* In recent months, some gay activists have barraged the media with accusations about “hateful” attitudes of Latter-day Saints in supporting Proposition 8 in California, which maintained the traditional definition of marriage. They even organized a protest march around the Salt Lake Temple. Again, the Church has refused to be goaded into a Mormons versus gays battle and has simply stated its position in tones that are reasonable and respectful. Meanwhile, missionary work and Church members in California remain as robust and vibrant as ever, and support for the Church has come from many unexpected quarters — including some former critics and other churches.
Now comes another series of Big Love, and despite earlier assurances from HBO it once again blurs the distinctions between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the show’s fictional non-Mormon characters and their practices. Such things say much more about the insensitivities of writers, producers and TV executives than they say about Latter-day Saints.
If the Church allowed critics and opponents to choose the ground on which its battles are fought, it would risk being distracted from the focus and mission it has pursued successfully for nearly 180 years. Instead, the Church itself will determine its own course as it continues to preach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world.
I saw this little poem on this blog and just loved it! I spend more time searching around on the internet then I do blogging, so I guess I can share little bits of happy that I find.
Let Me Have Courage
Let me have courage to believe in myself
not only on the days when I'm doing great
and nothing seems impossible,
but on the days when the world looks lousy and
I'm losing, and the road ahead seems to hard:
when I wonder if I'm brave enough,
smart enough, strong enough,
and I must be crazy to try.
Don't let me quit - let me have courage in myself.
No matter how many people
discourage me, doubt me, laugh at me,
warn me, think me a fool,
don't let me listen.
Let me hear another voice saying,
You can do it, and you will.
If no one else in the world cares or believes in me,
let me have the courage to believe in myself!!
I have been chatting with some other bloggers and I am thinking that it is best that I make my blog private in the next week. If you would still like to keep up on what we are up to then send me an email or contact me on facebook so I can send you an invite. Cherrio!
Vincent was able to go sing at the mall today with his preschool class. They sang Bear hunt, Slippery Fish, Wheels on the Bus and Coconut soap. Oh they are so cute! I love being able to go on field trips. This one went smoothly, which is not always the case. They made their own shirts for the performance, so colorful!
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss. Last night Valencia set out all her clothes for today. Her class theme for the day is Wacky Wednesday. This is what she came up with. She let me have creative freedom on her hair, maybe she will think about that a little more next time. She actually loved it! I love that she doesn't care if she looks like a fool when she goes out in public. When at least most of the time, she didn't have matching shoes for her dress yesterday so she choose to stay home. Maybe I should not keep my kids up till 11:30 it sure makes for a hectic day.
