One of my favorite activities that everyone loves in the family is “snuggle time” before bed. I remember as a child and even as a teenager, my mom coming into my bedroom at night and sitting on the side of my bed to just talk about whatever was on my mind. I loved and cherished this one-on-one time with my mom.
Now that I am a mom, I marvel at how she had the energy and patience at the end of the long day, to make time to talk to each one of us. I wish I could say that I’m doing just as good of a job as my mom. But, I’m trying. As a mother of 4, I find it really hard to spend time with each one of my children every night. So, we have a set schedule. I’ve assigned each child two nights a week that is just for them to be snuggled. (My two youngest share one of the days, if you are trying to figure out the math!) I set aside time each night to chat about their day, read books, or have their back tickled. My kids love knowing it’s their special time with mom and it let’s me know that they really look forward to being with me. Of course, I never forget to give them hugs, kisses and tell them how much I love them!
O.k. I have to admit that if there would have been a whole plate full of these delicious treats I would have eaten them all that night in front of everyone, at our Baptism preview. I have never had a more delicious dessert of oreos and yet I didn’t know they were made from oreos until I asked for the recipe.
1 Full package of Oreo cookies
6 oz. of Cream Cheese
White Chocolate (melted)
Leave out 3 or 4 Oreos from the package. Food process the rest of the cookies until you have a fine constancy. Add your cream cheese and mix everything together. Form into small balls and then dip in your white chocolate. Crush up your left over Oreos and sprinkle some crumbs on top of your chocolate balls. Let sit and harden.
Just be sure to have some one else in the room making them with you so you have some left by the time you are done making them! 
This family home evening lesson is to supplement what your children learned in primary on Sunday. It can be easily adapted for small children or older children who may be ready to dive in to deeper doctrine. The children have been learning about the atonement this month.
Opening Song: The Third Article of Faith p. 123
Opening prayer
Lesson/Activity: This week they are one and the same!
Have your family act out the scripture story of Alma the younger and his conversion to the gospel. It is found in Alma 36. The kids love acting it out. It really brings the story to life. While you are telling the story point out how the people may have felt when Alma was speaking against the church. He was the son of the prophet. They may have felt confused, angry, helpless, etc. Throughout the story point out how the people involved may have felt – try to make the story come to life for them. The table below will help you outline what happened in the story and how it relates to us today (I found this on LDS.org in a talk given by a general authority – it is fabulous!)
| Verse
(Alma 36) |
Phrases from the scriptures |
Parallels to our day |
| 6 |
Alma went about seeking to destroy the church |
You commit a sin |
| 6-11 |
God sent His angel to stop Alma |
You get caught in your sin |
| 11-16 |
Alma was struck with fear; he was racked with torment |
You are tormented, afraid and penitent |
| 17 |
Alma remembered to have heard his father prophesy of the Atonement |
You remember what you were taught in family home evening about the Atonement |
| 18 |
Alma prayed for mercy |
You pray for forgiveness |
| 19 |
Alma could remember his pains no more |
You feel no more pain for your sins |
| 21-23 |
Alma received joy, light and strength |
You receive joy, light and strength |
| 24 |
Alma labored without ceasing to save souls. |
You teach those around you the gospel and you are a good example |
| 27 |
Alma was supported in his trials |
You are supported in your trials |
Testimony: Share your testimony of the Savior and what the atonement means to you. You may want to have your children finish the following phrases:
I am grateful to the Savior because _____________ and
The Savior will help me ____________________
This will give them a chance to share their testimony of the Savior.
Closing Prayer
Treat
Okay so I realize I’m a little behind (since this post should have happened on Friday!). I have had a crazy 3 weeks and completely spaced my post – so sorry! Anyway I wanted to leave a fun idea for you since we have had President’s Day this month. My little boy was born on Abraham Lincoln’s birthday (February 12th) so every year we spend a little time talking about him. I came across a fun activity you can do with your kids. It is called Penny Puzzle.
Can you find the following things on the front side of a Lincoln penny? Be careful, some are tricky. The first answer is given.
1. Flowers – tulips (two lips)
2. Fruit
3. Part of a river
4. Country
5. Small animal
6. A drink that is against the word of wisdom
7. Yourself
Good luck! You may want to give a little history on Abraham Lincoln as you do this activity. He was a man worth learning about.
Do you feel like your night’s are full of chaos? Does it drive you nuts trying to get everyone in bed? Do you panic on Sunday night when you realize you have to face another crazy week? This video has tips and ideas on how to organize your time and put everything into perspective. Good luck with your new routine!
Evening & Weekly Routines
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHT5kgoHf8E[/youtube]
Here’s a great way to have your Webelo pass off a cub scout requirement and get a great tradition idea in as well. When my oldest was 10 he had to make something USEFUL from wood. We came up with the idea of making wooden hearts with wire in the top for some love note holders for our Valentine’s Day Dinner. (I know that they look VERY homemade, but that too brings up those great memories of watching him make these by himself. I wouldn’t change a thing about it.) You and/or your spouse can write a letter to each of your children expressing why you love them and what qualities they have that you really enjoy. Put them in your card holder and place them on the table at dinner time. Then, before or after dinner, everyone can open theirs and read it aloud or to themselves while sitting at the table. It’s a great way to spend Valentine’s Dinner with your family and bring some extra bit of love to your children. You can even express a desire for your children to do the same for you and your spouse so that everyone can have a little something to read.
Another fun idea is to have a bucket with their names on it. Walmart has some cute red tin ones on sale right now. We have ours high up so no one can get in them until Valentine’s Day. On that day they get to retrieve them down and look inside for a special Valentine’s Day treat. This could be anything from socks, candy, gift card, coupon for a night out, etc. Make it match what they would think would be cool. In these times of spending thrifty, give everyone a bottle of bubbles and you can have a bubble war with the family! Everyone will be laughing by the end and you will have created a fun and simple, yet memorable, event that they will remember for a long time. Sometimes the cheapest ideas make the greatest memories!
CHALLENGE: Try it and see. I would love to see your comments on what you put in your child’s bucket that didn’t cost a lot of money but was something that created a great memory. I will be looking after Valentine’s Day to see who rises up to the challenge. Remember part of the challenge is to come back and share your ideas with me and everyone else who reads our blog!
If you’re looking for a fun Valentine’s Day Tradition, check out: www.preparednotscared.blogspot.com!
I will be posting Valentine’s Day Ideas
Today & Tomorrow!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Okay so it’s not rocket science but when I found these I was heaven just looking at them. I LOVE chocolate covered strawberries. I never think to make them but I sure love it when I get to eat them! This is the perfect Valentine treat! It is somewhat healthy (after all it does incorporate fruit right?) and it has a very important ingredient – CHOCOLATE! You can serve them as an after school snack, give them to your sweetheart or send them as a surprise in your child’s lunch box along with a love note from mom. If you aren’t into strawberries turn it into a fondue night and have fun with pretzels, pineapple, shortbread cookies (there goes the healthy part), and anything else you love covered in chocolate. I found this recipe on the Food Network and it is delicious!
Ingredients
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 3 ounces white chocolate, chopped
- 1 pound strawberries with stems (about 20), washed and dried very well
Directions
Put the semisweet and white chocolates into 2 separate heatproof medium bowls. Fill 2 medium saucepans with a couple inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat; set the bowls of chocolate over the water to melt. Stir until smooth. (Alternatively, melt the chocolates in a microwave at half power, for 1 minute, stir and then heat for another minute or until melted.)
Once the chocolates are melted and smooth, remove from the heat. Line a sheet pan with parchment or waxed paper. Holding the strawberry by the stem, dip the fruit into the dark chocolate, lift and twist slightly, letting any excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Set strawberries on the parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries. Dip a fork in the white chocolate and drizzle the white chocolate over the dipped strawberries.
Set the strawberries aside until the chocolate sets, about 30 minutes.
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!
Last week I needed a quick idea for Family Home Evening. I was so grateful for the Friend that is put out by the LDS Church. What a great resource for us busy moms! I found an article on words that build up instead of tearing down. Perfect for my family as I listened to them fight and not talk nicely to each other over the past few days. Even I have lost my patience and haven’t said things to my kids in the nicest tone or way. Here is what we did for our Family Home Evening and it turned out great!
Opening Song: When There’s Love at Home
Opening Prayer:
Lesson: “Words that Build Up!”, The Friend, January 2010
I discussed the story by asking how we are doing as a family with how we talk to each other. We ran through some examples that we’ve seen in the family. Both in ways we have built each other up and ways we have torn each other down. We discussed how powerful words can be and how they can make you feel.
Activity/Challenge: I cut out the picture from the friend article and attached it to the top of my pantry. I had my 6 year old help cut out paper strips for a paper chain before FHE. I explained to the family that during the week we were going to work on how we talked to each other. When we treat each other nicely, we add a paper chain to “build our family up”. If we are not nice, a chain is torn away (although, we did say that if a person were to apologize, and mean it, we wouldn’t take off a chain). Our goal was to build our chain until it reached the floor. The reward is to go out for icecream as a family. Everyone was very excited!
Scripture and Closing prayer:
Game: We played a game as a family and I was amazed at how they were willing to share and take turns!
Treat: I made a quick treat since I was running out of time, but it would be fun to make smores or icecream sundaes. Somthing that the family can “build up”.
