Who's Your Hero?

I found this fabulous artist who has painted 24 amazing pictures of heroes from the scriptures. He has done 12 from the Bible and 12 from the Book of Mormon. He sells them as posters, 11x14, and 3x5 sizes at really great prices. They depict men and women of courage, faith and strength in a way that is beautiful and powerful. Each picture quotes the scriptures describing them as well as time frames, and asks "Who's Your Hero?" It is just the kind of artwork that would appeal to most kids. I love the concept and the idea of these heroes decorating my kids' walls. LOVE IT!! I'm thinking Christmas.... Check it out!
www.realheroposters.com

What a zoo!

I haven't been to the Hogle Zoo for a few years. Wow! They've made some improvements. What a great zoo! I took my 18 month-old and my nearly 3 year old a few days ago. Good timing. They start charging at age 3. Anyway, we had a wonderful time! The kids really loved all of the animals, naming them, mimicing them and talking all about them. We caught the bird show (which I highly recommend!) and rode the train. Fun was had by all! So, if you're looking for a good place to spend a day with the family, don't forget about the zoo. It's a classic.

Cache-in' in!

A couple of weeks ago our family became the proud owners of a GPS system. You know what that means. Yup. We've started geocaching. So fun! There are so many geocaches out there, even close by. Everyone in the family enjoys it and we take turns. I highly recommend it for good, clean, cheap family fun. If you are already in the geocaching crowd and find a log with SKAK listed, we beat you to it!

Easter

Our family loves Easter! We do things a bit differently from most families, though. You see, the Easter Bunny has so many families to visit that he likes to do some the day before everyone else. We signed up for this option a few years ago. So, sometime during the night on Friday night, he comes to our home and fills our Easter baskets and hides our eggs. The kids get to participate in the fun egg hunting tradition on Saturday morning instead of Sunday. They've never complained about having the Easter Bunny one day early. They are kids, after all! Then on Easter Sunday, we focus solely on our Savior Jesus Christ and the uncomparable sacrifice he made for all of us. We especially discuss the beauty and promise of the resurrection and what that means for each of us. Usually we also have a big family dinner with grandparents, etc. on that day.

This year, I'm aiming to have a special family discussion on Easter morning where we can talk about all of the symbols of Easter. As part of that time, we will talk about the sacrament, and I'm hoping that when we partake later on in church that each of my older kids will be thinking a little deeper about the significance of it all.

I love this time of year. Everything is so fresh and new. And, I love that our church's General Conference coincides with the Easter season. A time to reflect, to recommit, to learn, grow and blossom. To start again. I hope to infuse my family with those very concepts. That is, after all, the great plan.

Church Videos on YouTube

The Church has just launched a new YouTube channel with videos. See http://www.youtube.com/mormonmessages. Read an explanation of additional video sites at http://ldsmediatalk.com/2009/02/07/church-videos-for-blogs-and-web-sites/

Don't forget the small stuff!

When trying to help our children learn the value of serving others, I think we all tend to look at the big service projects, thinking that we need to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and care for the sick. Of course we do! But don't forget that the little stuff counts too. You are probably helping your children learn about service more than you think. Family chores are self-help, but also service oriented. Caring for a neighbor's pet while they are away, bringing in the groceries from the car, running downstairs for a jar of tomatoes and sharing a favorite toy are all baby steps, but legitimate forms of service. So, let's not be too hard on ourselves. Our kids are learning each day. And in the long run, perhaps those day to day projects will end up being the biggest shapers of character after all.

Thinkin' Globally

My husband and I have been trying to find a way to send our teenagers to a third world country. No...not to stay! Though it's tempting at times. We're thinking hard labor service. You know, work the grouchies out of them, help them learn to look outside of themselves, develop some deep gratitude for all they have, and really help someone or many someones in a way that will change lives and lift communities.
So this is what we found. There are several local organizations who take teenagers on two week-ish excursions to roll up their sleeves and do some good in this world. (While I know there are many other groups that do such things, I think I'd feel better working with a local group. Paranoid, I know.) Some of the places they go have been Bolivia, Tonga, Kenya, Mexico, Fiji, Brazil and Peru. While there, they may do all kinds of things like build schools, orphanages, dig wells, anything that will help the locals pull themselves out of despair and poverty. Most of these groups also include a day or two of sight-seeing. Because they are non-profit, those going can solicit help to pay for it from individuals and businesses who can write it off as a charitable contribution. Each group is chaperoned by several adult volunteers. In our case, either my hubby or I would go too.
Some of the groups we have found are:
http://www.ays.org/
http://www.hopeprojects.net/
http://www.youthlinc.org/
We're thinking we'll take our oldest in 2011. Extra bonus...he can do his Eagle project for scouts as part of his trip!

FHE Lessons for 2009

I love Sugardoodle.net! It is a place where latter-day saints can share ideas for their callings. I was on there today and I found a packet the was put together that includes Family Home Evenings for the year. You can click here to download it. Thanks Stephanie Finlayson for your hard work.

Kiva

I love the concept of micro loans. Small loans given directly to poverty stricken individuals or families in 3rd world countries who cannot get loans elsewhere. As a rule, these people could lift themselves out of poverty if just given the chance. While there are many groups that will take your money and put it to good use in a micro loan capacity, usually you do not know who you are loaning to. A while ago I stumbled upon an on-line organization which matches donations with those needing them in a wonderful way. At Kiva, you pick the specific person or group you want to help. Each has a profile so you know who they are, where they live, what their life is like, how much they need and what they need the money for. You can donate in increments of $25 and even see how much they have raised so far. And here's the best part. The loans are due within one year, you can watch as they repay, and you get your money back! While you always have the option to take that money out, I believe the exciting part is that you can use those same funds to simply re-loan to another person.

This year our family voted on what to do with a small jar of charity money we had accumulated throughout the year. We chose to give it to Kiva. Together we read through many deserving candidates and voted to sponsor an industrious single mom in Tanzania. 26 different lenders helped raise the $825 she needed to buy a second sewing machine and supplies for her small tailoring business. It will be exciting for us to watch as she succeeds in moving forward and repaying her loan. We look forward to using that same money to sponsor another next year. I love how this is connecting my children to someone across the world in such dramatically different circumstances than ours. For us, this is win/win!

For more information about Kiva, go to http://www.kiva.org/.

Simple Family Home Evening

Have you ever noticed that there are usually 13 steps on a staircase? Well, that is the case at my home. A simple and fun family night is to practice the 13 Articles of Faith. Everyone starts at the bottom step and you go step by step reciting the articles of faith. This is fun and helpful for primary aged children, not to mention it is always a good refresher course for mom and dad. :)