For Family Home Evening we used a lesson from the LDS Living Magazine found here . It was on Fasting and how when you fast you must also pray. I thought it was good for Asher because since he got baptized he has started fasting. I pointed out that if you just don't eat how will Heavenly Father know what you are doing? It was definitely something that I think helped him understand more about why we fast and how we fast. For the game we played PIG, with the basketball hoop.

FHE Idea

For Family Home Evening this week we talked about Prayer and how to improve our personal prayers with our Heavenly Father. I found two really good talks on prayer found HERE and HERE . One of the talks has ideas about what you can do to help improve your prayers and the other one is a story about a time that prayer helped someone. The boys gave good ideas about things that they could pray for and also told about some times that they prayed and it helped them to feel better. A few years ago Asher kept getting scared to go to bed. A few minutes after we would put him to bed he would start yelling for us and then tell us he was scared about fire's and people breaking into our house. This was the time that we really stressed the importance of prayer, we didn't find him any other alternative to his problem, just night after night we kept telling him "ok let's have a special prayer". Sometimes Josh would give him a Father's blessing, but we were very adamant on helping him rely on the Lord. We did not keep the door open or buy a night light or anything like that, we wanted to help him gain a relationship with his Heavenly Father. This went on for a few weeks, maybe even a month but eventually it got less and less until one day we didn't even realize it was over. I truly did not even realize the importance this brought to Asher's life until a few weeks ago when my second son Elijah started having the same thing happen to him, I over heard Asher telling Elijah about how you handle this kind of a thing. Elijah only did this for a few nights and we said special prayers for him too. I am so grateful for this knowledge and that I am able to help my children grow closer to their Heavenly Father.

FHE Idea

For Family Home Evening yesterday we talked about stealing. We talked about little stealing, big stealing and how stealing is stealing. We talked about obvious situations like stealing candy from a store etc. But we also talked about maybe stealing a ruler from school because the school has so many or stealing something from your friend because he has like fifty of the same thing. Elijah said the cutest things like "Mom I would NEVER do that", the way he would say that was so cute and innocent, I wish he could stay like that forever. We had yummy brownies for dessert, I posted the recipe about a year ago but going to repost because seriously they are to die for!

Caramel Brownies

1 German Chocolate Cake Mix
2/3 Cup Canned Milk (Evaporated)
3/4 Cup Butter
1 Bag Chocolate Chips
2/3 Cup Chopped Nuts (optional)
1 Lb. Caramels- Melted in microwave

Add 1/3 Cup milk ( I use a tiny bit more) and butter to cake mix. Stir well. Add nuts. (I don't use nuts). Spread 1/2 cake batter in greased and floured 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 7-8 min at 375. Add 1/3 cup milk to melted caramels (I buy the caramel chip bags kind of like chocolate chips but caramels) mix well and spread over baked portion of cake. Put chocolate chips on top of caramel and remaining cake mix as top layer. The remaining cake mix will just be gobs here and there covering the top every few inches. Bake 18-19 minutes at 375. We like it warm with ice cream.

FHE Idea

We talked about Choosing the Right. I used the article CTR by Sydney S. Reynolds found here . We used little signs one that is a sunshine and one that is a cloud. Every time we read about something I would ask them if that was being a sunshine or a cloud. Then I also asked them to tell me about a time that they could have been a cloud but decided to be a sunshine. Asher told about the time that he let his friend go first in the line at school even though it wasn't her turn. Elijah said that he could not play with his friends at school but instead he does so he can be a sunshine. Luke and Joaquin just smiled

FHE Idea

For Family Home Evening we talked about communication. Sometimes in families we tend to be a little vague, which leads to anger or fighting because somebody didn't listen to their brother right or Mom didn't explain things very well. Some key points: How many times have we thought someone should have understood what we wanted done and then gotten angry when the task wasn't completed exactly how we wanted it? We need to be clear, explain, make sure they understand and be more patient and considerate of others feelings. I explained it more on their level and I am pretty sure they knew exactly what I was talking about. This lesson was good because I think I need it too :) Then we did this activity where I had already drawn a bug with certain requirements, I sat this aside so they wouldn't see it and gave them each a piece of paper and a pencil. Then I started the different steps to replicate mine without them seeing it beforehand. Step 1 Draw the body of the bug, step 2 draw the head of the bug.... step 9 decorate the back of the bug. Then we each took turns looking at one another's bugs and marking them A-F, all the boys got A's from one another. Then I showed them mine and told them that they all got it wrong, it was suppose to look like this. They got sad looks and started saying well you didn't tell us to do...... they realized how important it is to explain things better to one another so that we could all be on the same page. Asher even caught me later in the night and said "Mom you didn't tell us to do it like that", Ha I guess I should watch what I teach them- great!! Then we played connect four, believe it or not Luke kicked our butts!

For Family Home Evening this week we took the boys grocery shopping!! :) Yeah sounds exciting huh?? We actually talked about money and budgets (Yes I know they are a little bit small for this but...) I still think it is good that they realize money doesn't grow on trees. We gave them a budget and made them pick out what we were going to have for dinner. They did a really good job and even had to put some things back because they didn't have enough money. It also gave Asher a good chance to add things up visually. We also introduced them to our new "Kindness Chart" (ignore the picture of the little girl on the page, I found a boy and pasted over :) I bought these cool Heritage Maker reward cards that I bought from Amber and I love them. Unfortunately I don't think you can see the cards unless you are a member but they are cute and fun. They start out as a template with already pre-made rewards but you can change any of them, so I customized some of them to our family. The boys were super excited!! They have to get 6 stickers on their Kindness Chart before they get to choose a rewards card. I have loved it so far because they have to be kind, which effects chores, favors, brothers, sharing, pretty much everything. Hopefully it works good!

FHE Idea

"Do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of." - Benjamin Franklin

I got this email for a family home evening idea and LOVED it.  This time of year is of course New Years Resolutions.  I've really been thinking about how I spend my time and how much of it I waste, especially on the internet.

For a complete lesson go HERE.

FHE Idea

We took the boys to the park, ate dinner and went to a neighbors home to see her AMAZING Christmas Village! Seriously it was the coolest thing ever. She has been collecting Christmas Villages for over 30 years. She has made trees, mountians rocks etc. to go with her villages, truly a talent! She had trains weaving in and out, so much work goes into setting it up each year. My kids were in heaven and of course when we left they wanted to start collecting our own. It was a fun evening together.

FHE Idea

For family home evening tonight we talked about different countries and the different ways they celebrate Christmas. Asher had already learned about some of them in school so he kept going into more description about them. Then we read the book "I Believe in Santa Claus" by Adamson/Randall. I love this book! It relates Santa Claus and Jesus Christ. I think it does a very good job at reminding everyone what Christmas is really about but also uses the modern way. Not sure if that makes sense but buy it and you'll see what I mean. For the Activity we decorated a Gingerbread house, this is one of the boys favorite tradtions. They were so cute and got really into it. It turned out very cute and you could tell that they worked together! For dessert we had cookies that Asher made at Scouts, he was very proud of them and how drippy the frosting was :)

FHE Idea

For Family Home Evening this week we decided to decorate the Christmas tree- the boys have been wanting to put it up since before Thanksgiving. I have a silent rule that no Christmas decorations go up before December 1, Asher would love to veto this rule :) The boys are getting so excited for Christmas, they are all at fun ages this year. It was fun watching them get all excited about the ornaments and every few minutes they would say "Oh, this was my favorite ornament" two minutes later "Oh, this is my favorite ornament too". Pretty much every ornament was their favorites!

Image found here.  

FHE Idea

For family home evening we talked about Traditions. With the holidays coming up I wanted to know what the boys favorite traditions have been so far- Asher loves how we decorate a ginger bread house each year, Elijah didn't really understand the concept but loved how we eat lots of food :) We also talked about the Family Proclamation. I mostly hit on how each person's gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal and eternal identity and purpose. A lot of things are going on with the world right now that does not support this and I wanted my boys to know how lucky they are to be born who they are- future fathers, grandfathers and Uncles. How lucky they are going to be to be able to support their own families someday. They were so cute and got huge smiles on their faces. Although they don't know about the stuff going on in the world I want to make sure they know how special their Heavenly Father has made them. Asher was so excited to be able to play Jingle Bells for the Song and all the boys had fun coloring place mats for them and their cousins for the Christmas Party!

FHE Idea

For Family Home Evening Asher had the lesson. He talked about giving gifts and how it makes you feel good ( I am sure it has nothing to do with receiving them either :) We made Chore sheets for each boy and wrote down a few chores for each day. The boys are going to start doing a few extra chores a week to earn money for Christmas presents for one another. We did this last year too and it worked out really good. It is nice watching the boys spend their hard earned money on someone else. Elijah is usually so excited when he buys the gifts that he usually says "Asher it is not a book", with a huge smile that tells all. He did it on his birthday a few months ago so I am sure he will do it again for Christmas too, he is so cute! Elijah had the game and it was one of those make it up as we go, it was a twist of mother may I and tag. Elijah kept telling us what to do but forgot to trick us into getting out, so we basically just followed everything he did for twenty minutes. He kept giggling and Asher kept looking at me and whispering "This is boring". By the end I had convinced Asher to pretend like it was fun, Luke thought it really was fun and Elijah thought he made up the coolest game ever! We topped the night off with ice cream- YUMMY! I am making my kids addicts too, poor boys!

FHE Idea

For Family home evening we bought yummy pizza from the Pizza Factory and went up on the Red Hill. While we ate I did a lesson on"Trying to be more like Jesus" from the 2008 November Friend Magazine. After the lesson I had Elijah and Asher tell me about a time that they were trying to be like Jesus. Asher said that the other day in school his friend was a little slow finishing up some work so he got all of her supplies ready for her for the next project- What a nice helper. Elijah had a hard time thinking so I helped him remember how the other day he was a big helper with a stressed out Mama :) We were late getting home and Asher was being a little bit complicated, without me even asking Elijah went in and got his pajama's on, brushed his teeth and waited on the couch for scriptures before I even noticed, it made my night!! Each boy is going to try and be more like Jesus with their siblings this week, we shall see!
The boys enjoyed hiking around watching the Sunset.

FHE Idea

It was a very cold cold day but my boys wanted to go to the school and play so bad for FHE game, so we were very brave and lasted a whole 30 minutes! It really didn't seem to bother them but Mom was being a wimp!! For the lesson we read the story "Tithing Shoes" by Patricia and Dewayne Warnock. It has really cute pictures if you read it from the actual Friend Magazine. Elijah was so cute the whole time he had shocked looks on his face like he couldn't believe the things that were happening in the story- very cute! So i asked the boys "Should the Mom pay their tithing or buy the boy shoes"? Of course the obvious answer is to pay tithing so of course they said that, then I said "But this little boy will have no other shoes at all so he will never ever get to leave the house". You could see Elijah thinking well maybe the shoes then but Asher was so good and said "Mom if they pay their tithing then Heavenly Father will help it be okay", then he proceeded to tell me a story about a time Josh and I actually followed this example and we indeed were taken care of. I was shocked he remembered the story I had told him, I need to give him more credit :) I was very proud of his answer, what a cute guy!

FHE Idea

Last night for family home evening we had a lesson on Prayer. Like most kids, my children pray about the same things over and over and as fast as possible. So we talked about all of the things that we can pray about. Then we colored prayer sheets and drew a picture in the center about one thing we are grateful for. Asher was grateful for knowing when to choose the right, Elijah was grateful for our house, Luke was grateful for Spiderman :) and I drew a picture of the world. Daddy had to work again but he was impressed with the kids drawings.

For the game we actually did something out of Asher's Scout book. We talked about cooperation and then played this bean game. The boys stood on a chair and below was a plastic cup, they had to see how many beans they could get in the cup within a minute. Asher was a pro and got 106! Elijah got 5 and Luke got 3. They loved this game and it was totally easy. I love how kids can be entertained with the smallest things. Sometimes I think we try too hard.

FHE Idea

I had this idea emailed to me and I thought it was perfect, General Conference.  With conference this weekend it would be great to prepare the family for it.  You can get the lesson here.

FHE Idea

For family home evening we read the story Blobs. I have looked on the internet for it and haven't been able to find it anywhere, I am also not sure where I collected it. Some of you may have already heard it but i'll post it anyways.

Blobs

There was a blob who was a glob of nothing much at all. He wasn't exactly short or wide or thin or fat or tall. Or little or flat or big huge or anything you might see. A kind of quiet, rather sad and lonely blob was he.

One day the blob went walking down the road to find a friend. He met a round ball and he stopped. "Play with me?" said the blob to the ball. "I'm lonely as I can be." The red ball frowned. "If you are not round then you can not play with me!" Was the blob round?

The blob sobbed and started walking again. Next he met a square block and he stopped "Can you play with me?" asked the blob. "I'm as lonely as I can be" Said the blob to the square "Beware if you're not a square then you can't play with me!" Was the Blob a square?

So once again the blob walked down the road. He met a sail boat whose sail was a 3 cornered triangle. And he stopped "Play with me" requested the blob to the boat. "Have you got 3 corners like me?" replied the triangle. Did the blob have 3 corners like a triangle?

Sadly, so sadly the blob walked on. Pretty soon he met a star. "Play with me" pleaded the blob to the star "I'm as lonely as I can be". The star replied "If you don't have points, then you can't play with me!" Did the blob have any points like a star?

So the blob kept walking and who do you think he met? Another blob who was a glob of nothing much at all. Who wasn't exactly square, or round, or thin, or wide, or tall, or anything you might see, who smiled and happily said, "will you be friends with me?" And what do you think the blob said? "YES!"

DC 18:10 Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God
Dessert Jello Jigglers (Blobs)

We cut out the shapes- blobs, triangle, circle etc. And gave everyone a part so they were participating.

FHE Idea

 Image from here.

TOPIC: Light

"That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light . . . until the perfect day."

  D&C 50:24

For the complete lesson click here.

FHE Idea

We did things a little different this week and did everything backwards. We started with the game and played baseball outside! Asher and Elijah are getting so good and hit many home runs. Luckily we were playing with a plastic ball because Asher accidentally hit me right in the forehead! He felt really bad and came running immediately. Luke hit the ball a few times and would start running around yelling home run with his hands going up and down in the air like he just won a medal! Very cute! Dad was at work so he missed out but we still had a good time. For the lesson we talked about the Holy Bible. I found some cute crossword puzzles and a word puzzle- Asher & Elijah worked together and were able to figure them all out. I wanted to make sure my boys understood what consisted of his scriptures- The Bible, BOM, D&C & Pearl of Great Price.

FHE Idea

"It is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire.” -Orson F. Whitney

Today's FHE idea is on {PATIENCE}.  You can get the lesson and activity here.

I felt that this was a really good topic.  I have recently had a friend going through a terrible loss and this lessons is very inspiring.