To the Mothers in Zion: Do Things as a Family

This is part eight of my ongoing feature of President Benson's address to mothers.

Do Things as a Family. Eighth, take time to do things together as a family. Make family outings and picnics and birthday celebrations and trips special times and memory builders. Whenever possible, attend, as a family, events where one of the family members is involved, such as a school play, a ball game, a talk, a recital. Attend church meetings together and sit together as a family when you can. Mothers who help families pray and play together will stay together and will bless children’s lives forever.

Ezra Taft Benson, To the Mothers in Zion, address given at a fireside for parents, 22 February 1987.

Ghosts in the House

Are you ready for Halloween?

While Halloween is not at the top of my list when it comes to favorite holidays, I've been getting in to the spirit of things a little more now that I have a child old enough to be interested in the occasion.

The Ant Bug and I spent the afternoon making these cute Paper Ghost Garlands.

We used wax paper (instead of the recommended butcher paper) which provided a very "ghost-like" appearance. She had a good time drawing the faces, but eventually decided that the ghosts were better on their own, instead of part of a line. Our living and dining area is now looking sufficiently spooky with paper ghosts taped all over the walls.

And while we're on the subject of Halloween, a fitting book for the fall season that we have been enjoying is Too Many Pumpkins, by Linda White.

What would you do with too many pumpkins? Make pumpkin pie, of course!

To the Mothers in Zion: Read Scriptures Daily

This is part seven of my ongoing feature of President Benson's address to mothers.

Read Scriptures Daily. Seventh, take time daily to read the scriptures together as a family. Individual scripture reading is important, but family scripture reading is vital. Reading the Book of Mormon together as a family will especially bring increased spirituality into your home and will give both parents and children the power to resist temptation and to have the Holy Ghost as their constant companion. I promise you that the Book of Mormon will change the lives of your family.

Ezra Taft Benson, To the Mothers in Zion, address given at a fireside for parents, 22 February 1987.

On sleeping

There never was a
Child so lovely but his
Mother was glad to see him asleep.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Since the birth of my first child, sleep is something I have spent a lot of time thinking about. Sleep for my babies. Sleep for my toddler. Sleep for the child who thinks she is a big girl. And sleep for the tired mama.

Looking back, I sure wish I knew in those early days what I know now. The knowledge that you can put a baby in bed while she is still awake somehow escaped me in my first months of being a mother. I thought babies had to be held and rocked to sleep. Consequently, my baby and myself were set up for a rough sleeping situation, and many months of brief 30 minute naps.

I have read quite a few parenting books on the subject of sleep, and found some helpful tidbits of information in all of them (like The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley, or Secrets of the Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg). But the most helpful book by far has been Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth.

Dr. Weissbluth's book is very thorough. Beginning with a discussion of healthy sleep and its importance, he covers sleep problems and solutions from birth all the way through to adolescence. While I haven't followed his instructions religiously, I keep it handy on my bookshelf and find myself referring to it every few months.

A year ago, the Ant Bug was protesting the arrival of her baby sister by refusing to stay in her room at bedtime. Dr. Weissbluth's solution was to establish a set of sleep rules. The Ant Bug and I decorated a poster (we made a big deal out of it with color and stickers) and wrote down the sleep rules:

At bedtime we...
1. Stay in bed.
2. Close our eyes.
3. Stay very quiet.
4. Go to sleep.

With the right amount of motivation (yes, we did provide candy), she learned to stay in her bed and go to sleep. The poster is still on the wall for those occasions when she wants to test the limits, but now we have a plan that works.


The book has been a great coach for flowing with the changing sleep needs of the B. Everytime sleep has become an issue with her, I've found the exact problem and solution described in the book. I guess she must be a textbook baby. Recently we've been struggling a bit as she is making the transition from two naps a day down to one. On Sunday I opened the book and found a plan to get us through the transition time when one nap is not enough and two are nearly impossible. This week has been much better.


I also have to give a little link love to The Lazy Organizer. She posted her sleep plan in great detail, and it looks like a good one to me. Next time around, I'll be incorporating some of her ideas into my sleep plan.

Will there ever be a full night of sleep without interruptions? Probably only in my dreams. But in the meantime, why don't we all just take a nap at the computer?

To the Mothers in Zion: Be Together at Mealtimes

This is part six of my ongoing feature of President Benson's address to mothers.

"Be Together at Mealtimes. Sixth, take time to be together at mealtimes as often as possible. This is a challenge as the children get older and lives get busier. But happy conversation, sharing of the day’s plans and activities, and special teaching moments occur at mealtime because mothers and fathers and children work at it."

Ezra Taft Benson, To the Mothers in Zion, address given at a fireside for parents, 22 February 1987.

Birthday B

Happy First Birthday!

"The important thing
about being One
is that life
has just begun.

You can't quite talk.
You can't quite walk.
You've found your nose
and discovered your toes.
You've seen the moon and felt the sun.

But the most important thing about being One is that life has just begun."

Taken from Another Important Book, by Margaret Wise Brown.

Organize myself and establish my house

I just got home from a wonderful stake conference. The focus of the meeting was on strengthening families, and I was touched by many of the messages shared. I'll be sharing some of the things I learned in future posts. But the part that stood out to me the most, the lesson that I feel the Spirit most wanted me to learn today, came in the form of a scripture:

"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;"

Doctrine and Covenants 88:119