Teach your children to value education.

In a talk given to the women of the church in November 2000, President Hinckley suggested several things that parents might teach their children. Here is the second suggestion:

"Teach them to value education. “The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth” (D&C 93:36).

There rests upon the people of this Church a mandate from the Lord to acquire learning. It will bless their lives now and through all the years to come.

With fascination I watched one evening on television the story of a family in the Midwest. It included the father and mother and three sons and one daughter.

The father and mother determined when they married that they would do all they could to see that their children were exposed to the very best educational experiences.

They lived in a modest home. They observed modest ways. But they nurtured their children with knowledge. Every one of those children achieved in a remarkable way. Every one was well educated. One became a university president; the others became heads of large business institutions, successful individuals by any measure. "

"Teach your children when they are very young and small, and never quit. As long as they are in your home, let them be your primary interest."

Gordon B. Hinckley, “Your Greatest Challenge, Mother,” Ensign, Nov 2000, 97–100

Self-Portrait

My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Baby #3 will be making an appearance sometime in early April 2010!

Prepared Mama: Ready for Illness

Has this flu season got you worried? It seems like something flu related is always in the news, with a lot of dire reports. I have decided not to stress myself out worrying whether we are going to get sick or not, and am just doing my best to be prepared in the event that we do get sick. In the last 6 weeks or so everyone in my family has been sick with something. Nothing terribly serious (mostly coughs and runny noses and some fevers and ear infections), but it's been enough that I am ready for everyone to just be healthy.

So...this is what we're doing to be more proactive about our health.

We had a Family Home Evening lesson on staying healthy, including lessons in hand washing and how to properly blow your nose with a tissue. (You can view my staying healthy lesson here.)

We wash our hands a lot and keep the hand sanitizer handy.

We checked our cupboard and stocked up on essential medicines and supplies so we don't have to make a midnight or Sunday run to the pharmacy in an emergency. Items like children's ibuprofen and Tylenol (and some for the adults), extra diapers and wipes, Lysol cleaning wipes, etc. Ready Set Plan has a great list to give you ideas of what you might want to store.

We're working on getting our flu shots (but we keep getting thwarted by a child is already sick and therefore shouldn't be vaccinated whenever we have an appointment). We'll keep trying!

I'm educating myself about the flu and related illnesses. Here are some helpful articles/sites that I have come across:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: H1N1 General Information
American Academy of Pediatrics: H1N1 Flu Information
The Mayo Clinic: Hand Washing
Web MD: 12 Tips to Prevent a Cold
Questions and Answers about the Flu on Teach Mama
A story of a real family's experience with swine flu on Prepared LDS Family

I hope your family and mine can be healthy this season!

"Un"Prepared Mama: 72 hr Kits
Remember the posts about 72 hr kits I wrote last July? This one and this one and this one?

Well. Today I pulled out our food packs to check the expiration dates on the food items and see if anything needed to be replaced. I had planned to do this General Conference weekend, so I'm only a month behind schedule. As I started pulling out the food I discovered that all of the fruit cups, pop tarts, and peanut butter crackers are expiring either this month or next. That is a good portion of our food packs, and to me that is an unacceptable amount of food to have to replace in 4 or 5 months. That is just way too much effort.

So I'm going to have to rethink our food-pack menus and figure out something that is little longer lasting. I would love to hear your suggestions!

Friday Nature Walk on November 6th

We're going to be brave this week and explore someplace we've never been before.

When: Friday, November 6, 2009 at 10 a.m.
Where: Broken Arrow Bluff, 5724 SW 46th Place
Driving Directions: Since I haven't been here before, I'm not exactly sure of the directions. The park is located near Kanapaha Botanical Gardens and Lake Kanapaha. Take a look at this map. From Archer Road, it looks like you will turn on SW 57th Dr. and hopefully find it somewhere close!
What to bring: Drinking water, bug spray. Maybe snacks or a picnic lunch? You might also like to bring a camera or a journal for your children to record their discoveries.
Things to note: This park does not include a playground, but there are picnic tables.

Hopefully we can all find it! Let me know if you plan to attend so I can keep an eye out for you.

Teach your children to seek good friends.

In a talk given to the women of the church in November 2000, President Hinckley suggested several things that parents might teach their children. Here is the first suggestion:

"Teach them to seek for good friends. They are going to have friends, good or bad. Those friends will make a vast difference in their lives. It is important that they cultivate an attitude of tolerance toward all people, but it is more important that they gather around them those of their own kind who will bring out the best they have within them. Otherwise they may be infected with the ways of their associates.

I have never forgotten a story that Elder Robert Harbertson told at this Tabernacle pulpit. He spoke of an Indian boy who climbed a high mountain. It was cold up there. At his feet was a snake, a rattlesnake. The snake was cold and pleaded with the young man to pick it up and take it down where it was warmer.

The Indian boy listened to the enticings of the serpent. He gave in. He gathered it up into his arms and covered it with his shirt. He carried it down the mountain to where it was warm. He gently put it on the grass. When the snake was warm it raised its head and struck the boy with its poisonous fangs.

The boy cursed at the snake for striking him as an answer to his kindness. The snake replied, “You knew what I was when you picked me up” (“Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood,” Ensign, July 1989, 77).

Warn your children against those with poisonous fangs who will entice them, seduce them with easy talk, then injure and possibly destroy them."

"Teach your children when they are very young and small, and never quit. As long as they are in your home, let them be your primary interest."

Gordon B. Hinckley, “Your Greatest Challenge, Mother,” Ensign, Nov 2000, 97–100

Aligning my heart and actions with the right priorities

Today I read President Uchtdorf's talk from the April 2009 General Conference, "We Are Doing a Great Work and Cannot Come Down". Since this talk was given during the Priesthood Session, you might have missed it. Here are a few tidbits:

"We know what matters most in life—the Light of Christ teaches this to everyone. We as faithful Latter-day Saints have the Holy Ghost as a “constant companion” to teach us the things of eternal value. I imagine that any priesthood holder listening to my voice today, if asked to prepare a talk on the subject “what matters most,” could and would do an excellent job. Our weakness is in failing to align our actions with our conscience.

Pause for a moment and check where your own heart and thoughts are. Are you focused on the things that matter most? How you spend your quiet time may provide a valuable clue. Where do your thoughts go when the pressure of deadlines is gone? Are your thoughts and heart focused on those short-lived fleeting things that matter only in the moment or on things that matter most?

What grudges do you bear? What excuses do you cling to that keep you from being the kind of husband, father, son, and priesthood holder you know you should be? What are the things that distract you from your duties or hinder you from magnifying your calling more diligently?

Sometimes the things that distract us are not bad in and of themselves; often they even make us feel good.

It is possible to take even good things to excess. One example can be seen in a father or grandfather who spends hours upon hours searching for his ancestors or creating a blog while neglecting or avoiding quality or meaningful time with his own children and grandchildren. Another example could be a gardener who spends his days pulling weeds from the soil while ignoring the spiritual weeds that threaten to choke his soul.

Even some programs of the Church can become a distraction if we take them to extremes and allow them to dominate our time and our attention at the expense of things that matter most. We need balance in life.

When we truly love our Heavenly Father and His children, we demonstrate that love through our actions."

His words really touched me, and I felt the the tugging of the Spirit asking me to consider if I am focusing on the things that matter most most in my life.

President Uchtdorf goes on to discuss matters related to priesthood responsibilities for the men, but we can draw a parallel for the women by studying The Family: A Proclamation to the World.

"Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations...By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners."

I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels that my "to-do" list is much longer than the hours available in my day: Clean the house, make nutritious meals, work on food storage, develop my talents, exercise, read good books, teach my children, support my husband, help a neighbor, write in my journal (or blog!), go grocery shopping, magnify my calling...All of these things are good things, but it's near impossible to do all of them everyday. The key here is balance, and it's something that I am really trying to work on. Some days I do better than others, and some days I wish I could do things over.

President Uchtdorf counsels " We cannot and must note allow ourselves to get distracted from our sacred duty. We cannot and we must not lose focus on the things that matter most."

As a wife and a mother, my most important role is to nurture my family. How I carry out that role is a matter of prayer between myself and the Lord (and it will look different for every woman). But while I struggle to get things right in my life and my family, I'm thankful for the words of latter-day prophets who remind me of where my priorities should be.

Further Reading
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “We Are Doing a Great Work and Cannot Come Down,” Ensign, May 2009, 59–62
Thomas S. Monson, “Finding Joy in the Journey,” Liahona, Nov 2008, 84–87

Friday Nature Walk on October 30th

Even in the midst of our Halloween activities this week, we're going to take a little time on Friday morning and head to the park. If you live in the area you are welcome to join us!
When: Friday, October 30, 2009 at 10 a.m.
Where: Cofrin Nature Park, 4810 NW 8th Avenue
Driving Directions: From NW 34th St, turn left on NW 8th St. The park will be on the right, and the entrance is right before the tennis courts.
What to bring: Drinking water, bug spray. Maybe snacks or a picnic lunch? You might also like to bring a camera or a journal for your children to record their discoveries.
Things to note: Park includes a fun playground and picnic tables. Walking trail is a dirt path, so strollers are not advised.
We had a nice time at San Felasco Park last week. I let the Ant Bug use our old digital camera to document our nature walk, so the pictures in this post are courtesy of her!