Celebration of Family History

I was given tickets to A Celebration of Family History at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City. It was beautifully done. A ball of purple yarn served as a metaphor for the family ties that bind us together. I came away from the meeting wanting to further my own family history. The spirit was strong, touching our hearts. It was a call to remember those have gone before… David McCullough refuted the saying, “Gone but not forgotten.” He said the truth is that “If not forgotten, they are not gone. We remember them. We honor them. We must not ever lose sight of them.”
McCullough reminded us to “Read the classics. They stand the test of time. Each book is a journey, a hunt, an adventure.” He stated we are doing an inadequate job of teaching, educating our children. He asked, “How can we claim to love our county and not know its history?” He stated education belongs at home. “Teach History: The history of family, of county, of the world and of music. History is about life and time. History isn’t boring. Take kids to historic sites. Let them see you get excited about history. Share what you love. Attitudes aren’t taught—they are caught.”
He also urged us to keep a personal journal. He is the loss of journal writing is “a shame. It is a loss of working out our thoughts on paper. As we sit down to write, we get a thought, an idea, we would not have gotten otherwise.” He discussed the journal of John Adams—and other great men of history.
I send my gratitude to all who sang, who put together the beautiful videos and who spoke or helped in every way for a memorable evening. Thank you.

Inspiration

We are not always given the knowledge of what will happen. Graciously, we are given inspiration and the gift of choice is ours.

Lately, I’ve been praying to be more open to promptings from the Spirit – and for enough awareness of those promptings to follow through and do what I should. 
Recently it was snowing like crazy just when it was time to go to work. I knew it was snowing and was ready to leave early, when my husband called to say there were cars off the side of the road and an accident, all within two miles of my house. I took a deep breath, said a prayer and asked what I should do. It came to me that I should call and see if I could get the night off. Now, I’m not one to call in every time there is a storm. Instead, I rely on my God to get me to and from work safely. Tonight was different. I wasn’t told what would happen if I went, but was given the inspiration and the choice. I feel I was being kept safe in a different way. I called work and they said to stay home. It surprised me, though it shouldn’t have. God prepared the way and the means.

May He continue to do so, for me and my family, and for all of you.

Teaching our Children

The April LDS conference seemed to emphasize families. I want to focus for a minute on L. Tom Perry’s Talk on Mothers Teaching Children in the Home.

I love his discussion of the role of mothers. It is sweet when he talks of his own mother and the things she taught. “My mother understood the value of teaching her children about standards, values, and doctrine while they were young. While she was grateful to others who taught her children outside the home at either school or church, she recognized that parents are entrusted with the education of their children and, ultimately, parents must ensure that their children are being taught what their Heavenly Father would have them learn.”

Elder Perry says: “Teaching in the home is becoming increasingly important in today’s world, where the influence of the adversary is so widespread and he is attacking, attempting to erode and destroy the very foundation of our society, even the family. Parents must resolve that teaching in the home is a most sacred and important responsibility.”

How often do we get frustrated with our children? Are they hearing anything we are saying? Are they listening? Some days may be difficult, but we can do it, even when we think we can’t. We must be consistent and patient. For, as Elder Perry says: “Parents must bring light and truth into their homes by one family prayer, one scripture study session, one family home evening, one book read aloud, one song, and one family meal at a time. They know that the influence of righteous, conscientious, persistent, daily parenting is among the most powerful and sustaining forces for good in the world. The health of any society, the happiness of its people, their prosperity, and their peace all find common roots in the teaching of children in the home.”

Sunday Song 2: Broken

This beautiful song is by Kenneth Cope: Broken

Recipe 1: Banana Bread

This banana bread recipe has never failed. I found it in a church cookbook, called Second Helpin’s, that was given to me when I got married. The contributor of this recipe is Pat Wayment. Thanks, Pat!

Pat’s Banana Walnut Bread

1 cup sugar

½ cup shortening

1 cup mashed bananas

1 tsp baking soda

2 large eggs

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1 ¾ cups regular flour or 2 cups cake flour

Optional: 

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chocolate chips

Cream sugar, shortening, add eggs one at a time, then bananas (Pam’s note: I mash bananas with a potato masher). Add baking soda, cinnamon, vanilla and then flour. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. (I also sprinkled some on top of one of the loafs in the picture.) Bake at 350* for 50-60 minutes in greased and floured loaf pan. When done, if not eaten immediately – cool and wrap in plastic bag while warm. Keep refrigerated. (Pam’s note: this step is never necessary at my house, it gets eaten fast!)

Homeschool 1: K'Nex

A little while back, John researched different contests for a homeschool assignment. He wondered if K’Nex had a contest. We looked it up and found they did, but the real news was that they had educational kits to aid learning about physical science. We’ve been holding a class once a week and it has been a blast! The first kit was wheels, axles and inclined planes. We are now working on Gears. These kits are fun, whether you homeschool or not, they are a good thing.

Healthy Living Tip 3: Celiac and Gluten

For years I thought, if I ever end up with some horrible disease, I’ll go vegetarian. A few months ago I decided this was really self-defeating—after all, eating well can keep bad diseases and problems away, so why wait for them to show up?
So I’ve been trying harder. Only it wasn’t enough. I was having some problems and decided to check a few things. The diagnosis is in: I have Celiac Disease. This means I need to cut out all gluten from my diet. Insert evil laughter.
As much as I love sweet things, I love breads even more. Nothing beats a warm roll with honey butter on it or a pineapple upside down cake with melting ice cream. Or a wide cinnamon roll. They say I can still have those things, just as soon as I learn how to bake them. I’ll do that as soon as I decide what kind of flour I want to use: almond? Rice? Potato? And what is Xanthan Gum?
I’m sure I’ll figure it out one day. Until then, I think I’ll stick to meals and foods I do know, tweaking them a little if I need to. I do want to have some comfort foods around, so if I am feeling deprived, I can treat myself. I found a great list, made to go with your kid to school, but it works for me. I hope it helps you, too.