June-August

We had a great service project activity in May.  We got a quilt done for donation and we made stuffed animal owls for the NICU at IHC.  It was a lot of fun to socialize and drink smoothies while we "got our service on."  The owls turned out darling.  Thanks to everyone who came out that night and helped get these done.

In July, we had our 2nd annual clothing swap.  We combined with the 1st ward this year and we doubled the amount of stuff we had last year.  It was such a great day.  Many (like myself) were able to get clothes for their kids for school.  We also had a ton of adult clothes, shoes, toys, coats, books, and just fun miscellaneous items.  The clothes that were leftover will be going to the Africa donations (along with the dresses we collected at our 100 dresses activity).  It was fun to come have a treat, shop for free clothes, socialize, and then be able to donate so much afterward to Africa.  We had so many donations that we opened up the swap at the last 30-45 minutes to all of Fillmore and we still had a ton leftover.  We hope to do this again next year so put it in the back of your minds as you go through your items throughout the year.  We can set up a drop off if you have nowhere to store it too.   (The only picture I took at the swap had my son in it--this is just half of the room of donations).

Coming up on Saturday August 24th we will be having our Super Saturday.  We are combining with the 3rd ward for this activity and it is going to be excellent.  A lot of work and preparation has gone into this day (as well as speakers who will be traveling many hours to speak to us), so you really want to make sure to come.  The young women are invited to attend too.  It is from 10-5, but you do not need to come and stay the whole time.  Come for any part of the day you can make it.  The theme of this Super Saturday is "Timeless Teachings of the Savior" with all of our classes being centered around this theme. 

10:00-11:00    Keynote speakers:  Brother and Sister Loertscher (this will be held in the chapel).

11:15-12:00    Breakout sessions:  (choose one class, but they do repeat)
                       -Raising Responsible and Resilient Children
                       -Creating a Christ Centered and Peaceful Home
                       -Organization

12:15-1:00     Luncheon (Sweet pork salads--like at Costa Vida) 

1:15-2:00       Breakout sessions:  (choose one class)
                      -Christ Centered Christmas
                      -Christ centered Easter/Applying the Atonement in our Daily Lives
                      -Creating a Christ Centered and Peaceful Home

2:15-3:00     Breakout sessions:  (choose one class)
                     -Fun Family Scripture Time and How to have a succesful Family Home Evening
                     -Raising Responsible and Resilient Children
                     -Organization

3:00-5:00     Crafts:  We have had crafts on display at church to signup for.  We are offering a Family Birthday Reminder Board, YW personal progress holders, Temple Recommend Holders, and Missionary Growth Board.  If you have any questions about the crafts or signing up for one, contact the RS presidency.

Also at this time (if you didn't sign up for crafts or you get your crafts done fast), we are doing a service project in making pillow cases for children at Primary Children's Medical Center.  If you would like to donate any cute (for boys and girls) bright, happy, material we would really appreciate it.  The size of material we need for donations is 1 yard.

We will have a nursery available on this day as well so bring the kids if you need to.  If you have any questions about this day, please contact the RS Presidency.  We hope to see you all there!!!

 

Finally, on Tuesday September 3rd we will be having our annual Ward Harvest Dinner.  It will be at 6:00 p.m.  This year there will be an auction held at the dinner as a fundraiser.  If you are interested in donating any items, service, talents, etc., please contact the RS Presidency.  Ideas of donations could be anywhere from a household item, craft, babysitting, a blanket, a dinner for someone, dessert, etc.  The options are limitless.  Get creative!! 

 

We are also asked to bring our Title of Liberty to display at the Ward Harvest Dinner.  If you have not made yours yet, you need to come up with a family motto/saying/scripture.  It can be that in which you believe, value, and in essence are willing to work and stand for and then turn it into something that can be displayed at your house.  Ideas could be printing the words that you want and put it in a frame, vinyl saying on tile, wood board or on the wall.  It could be a picture or a banner/flag that hangs in the home or it could be a wall hanging.  For my title of liberty, I had my children think of the things we needed to work on most this year.  We came up with "Love, Kindness and Prayer."  We put the words on a 5x7 wooden board and had a picture of Christ in the center reminding us that he is our strength in working on these three areas.  It will be fun to see all the Title of Liberties on display at the Ward Harvest Dinner. 

 

 

May Provident Living

Provident Living

Remember to make adjustments to this month’s provident living goals so that they meet the needs of your individual circumstances and families.

 

May

“The revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah.”  (“To the Fathers in Israel,” October 1987 General Conference)

 

Spiritual Goal:  Share The Book of Mormon with a someone of another faith or invite a less active family to Family Home Evening or church.  This is a perfect month for it since invitation Sunday is coming up on May 19^th.

 

Provident Living Goal:  Make a goal to exercise regularly and put a plan in place to reach your goal.

 

Storage Goal:

-100 pounds per person of a variety of cereal grains—rice, oatmeal, cornmeal, etc.

-24 rolls of paper towels per person

-24 packages of flavored gelatin per person

-Garden seeds

-1 small bottle of olive oil (for consecrating)

-At least one month prescription for all doctor prescribed medication

72-hour Kit:

-Battery-powered radio

-Battery-powered light

-Batteries

 

5 Tips in 5 minutes (well almost)

Our April activity was a lot of fun and very informative.  We had 6 wonderful ladies come and give us 5 tips on different subjects. 

We started the night by playing a fun facts game and the winners got a cleaning/cooking prize.  It was fun to learn some new facts and even the Bishop won a game!!

Our first speaker was Rita Tanner.  She spoke to us on Fashion.

She started the presentation in one outfit and proceeded to change her clothes by adding different shirts, scarves, belts, jewelry, shoes, etc.  She was awesome and we learned a lot.  I definitely want to go stock on some basics as she talked about.  She also talked about different body types.  She suggested we go through our closets and try everything we have on.  If it doesn't work, get rid of it.  She had a whole segment on scarves, which we didn't even get to.  We will definitely have to have her back.  It so much fun!!

We also heard from Angelia Hansen.  She gave us a great discussion about gardening.  She said her favorite tip was to marry someone who loves gardening.  (That's a good start).  She talked to us about the basics of gardening and not to plant more than what you could eat.  A good tip was to only plant one zucchini plant (as even on a bad year, you still have too much zucchini).  A great tip also was to write on a rock with a permanent marker what you grew in what place.  Then the next year you can turn the rock over and write again what you planted.  Also write specifically what brand or type of food you planted (like a certain tomato) so the next year when you want to get what works, you will remember what you had.  She also suggested we have fun with our gardens and try something new each year.  I was definitely inspired to get my garden going (or have my husband who loves to do it start).

Crystal Leatham gave us a great presentation on fun and nutritious snacks.  I learned a lot from the tips she uses to make snacks fun and healthy for her children.  She gave us a great handout on some fun recipes to try.  One tip she suggested is to put yogurt in a Ziploc bag and to cut the corner of it (or use pastry bag).  Then squeeze it out making dots of yogurt on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  You then freeze the yogurt dots and you have a fun, healthy snack of frozen yogurt bites.  Another fun recipe she gave us was for homemade fruit snacks.  They sound very easy and very nutritional, made with real fruit. 

 

1 cup mixed berries                                           ¼ cup water

½ cup applesauce                                                              ½ cup fruit juice (apply, cranberry, blueberry, whatever)

2 envelopes gelatin (1 envelope = 2 ½ teaspoons)

In a small sauce pan over medium heat combine the berries and water.  Bring to a boil and cook until berries are soft, about 5 minutes.  Transfer to a blender to puree berries until smooth.  Return to pot.  Add applesauce and return to a boil, then remove from heat, cover and set aside.  In a large bowl, sprinkle gelatin over fruit juice and let stand one minute.  Add hot fruit mixture and stir until gelatin completely dissolves, 3-5 minutes.  Pour into 8 x 8 inch glass or ceramic baking dish (or into molds).  Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours.  Cut into blocks or shapes.

 

 

Corrissa Shumway gave us some great tips on cleaning.  We learned a lot of ways to clean our house with products we already have in our homes.  She talked about a concoction of vinegar and liquid dawn dish soap to clean our bathtubs and toilets.  She also used this to clean her shower door.  She made a baking soda and water paste and scrubbed it over the door.  After she wiped that down, she used the vinegar/dawn mixture and she said it cleaned her doors great.  She also talked about using vinegar/water mixture to clean our windows.  It was also discussed to pour baking soda down our drains and then some vinegar (to start it bubbling) and it will help get rid of any smell coming out of your kitchen sink.  Many ladies also use baking soda to clean their toilets.  It was fun to hear a lot of cleaning tips to help make our lives easier and more productive (and cost effective).

 

 

Amy Rasmussen gave us some wonderful ideas on how to have a fun summer with our kids and grandkids.  She suggested we make a plan with our kids before summer starts and make sure to have your kids involved in the planning so you can do things they want to do.  She stated the importance of not stressing out if you don't get to everything on your list that week.  Even if you did one of the activities you planned for the week, it is more than you would have done had you not planned anything.  She suggested having themes for each day of the week when planning such as: Make and Create Monday, Time to Serve Tuesday, Wonderful Reading Wednesday, Think and Explore Thursday, Fun Science Friday.  She also talked about having a "cool down" space for your kids.  She is planning on making a space in her home that the family came up with:  Alaska.  She is planning on putting up some Christmas lights like the Northern lights and other fun decorations to make this room like their escape to Alaska.  Then when the kids are fighting or frustrated she can "send them to Alaska" to cool down and come out when they are feeling better.  What a fun idea!!!!  I loved her idea of a reading corner.  She took a simple brown box and they decorated it and put lights poking down from the top.  Then they can lay their heads in the box with a pillow and have a fun, creative place to read.  Anything to help our kids stay up on their reading is a great idea.  They will be excited to read if they have a fun place to do it.  She also plans on going to the library for their kids programs during the summer.  I got some great ideas for the summer from her.

 

 

Our last, but definitely not least, speaker was Kristine Camp.  She spoke to us on Family Home Evening.  Wow!!! Some wonderful ideas.  She started out by telling us the best idea their family ever had was opening treats.  Her son told her that they have opening prayer and an opening song, so he wanted to have opening treats.  So she gets something like skittles or Mike & Ike's, etc. and they begin by eating their opening treats.  She says they usually end up singing the opening song with a mouthful of candy, but it makes the kids excited to come to FHE (and they didn't get rid of closing treats).  She talked about taking advantage of the church's picture packets (can't remember the name) to use for Family Home Evening lessons.  A tip that I do is to take my kid's Faith in God or scout books and have them each pick something out to pass off each week during FHE.  There are a lot of good ideas in there.  Kristine gave us some fun ideas.  It was a great time.  (I have to mention that I had a picture of Kristine, but it got erased before I had it posted--Kristine you are off the hook).

 

We ended the night with some treats brought by the RS board and presidency.  A few of us made some go-to snacks that we like to make when we have to whip something up fast.  They were all delicious.

 

Thanks to everyone who made this night great. 

 

Don't forget to come to our next activity on Tuesday May 14th.  We are doing a service project of tying some quilts for the Africa kits.  (The same places our dresses we donated are going).  We have a lot of quilts built up in the RS closet we need to get done.  We did this last year and had a wonderful time so don't miss it.  We are also going to be making some stuffed animal owls for the IHC NICU.  They are in need of people to make these owls for them to give.  They are really easy and fun to make so if you don't want to quilt, please come and help us with these owls!!!  

 

We will have the quilts ready at 5:00 and will be done at 8:30.  You can come anytime between 5:00 and 8:30 that you can.  Come for the whole time or for as long as you can!!!

 

We will be having refreshments and babysitters will be there!! 

RS Birthday---a "twisting" good time

We had a wonderful time at our RS birthday dinner last month.  The theme of the dinner was D.O.T.S (Depending on the Savior). 

 

 

We had a wonderful dinner provided by the RS Presidency and the RS birthday dinner committee (Leisa Carling, Kathy Taylor, Bailee Wilcox, Jamie Monroe and Shaylee Whitaker--a special thanks to them all). 

 

 

We played a really fun game of twister and sadly I didn't get any pictures, as I was playing in the game, but congrats to Charity Tingey and Heidi Culley who were the last two standing. 

 

Leisa Carling related playing twister to the theme Depending on the Savior.  She read a poem that she had written especially for this night.

 

"Sometimes our choices can get us in a bind...

When we're feeling under pressure we may not always act real kind...

Sometimes we feel like we're twisted up in knots...

Sometimes we may forget what the Savior always taught.

Thank goodness for DOTS (depend on the Savior) .com...

You will never drop service with DOTS.com in the cloud.

You can phone, tweet or Facebook or even pray out loud...

It's as easy as a breeze, just get down on your knees...

And don't forget to pause and listen to the spirit's gentle pleas."

 

 

 

Everything was decorated so cute with dots, even down to the yummy dessert.

 

 

After dessert we were inspired by a beautiful story by Sister Connie Martin to end this wonderful night. 

 

Again thanks to everyone who came and to all who helped make this a beautiful night.

 

Don't forget our next activity on Tuesday April 9 at 7:00.  We will be learning a few helpful tips from different sisters in our ward.  There will be refreshments and babysitting available.  We will also be playing a fun trivia game with prizes.

 

Hope to see you all there!!

 

 

Getting the most out of General Conference

General Conference is next weekend.  This is an amazing opportunity for each of us to receive some personal spiritual guidance in our lives.  There are many ideas out there that we can use for general conference to be a teaching aid to our children.  We are counseled to have our children watch general conference with us too.  There are many activities we can do with our children and grandchildren to keep them engaged during conference.  Here are a few suggestions:

1.  GENERAL CONFERENCE BINGO---Make bingo cards with pictures of the apostles.  When that apostle comes to the pulpit, they get to mark it off their card.  You could also do this with certain words.  When a certain word is said (such as testimony, faith, baptism, etc.) you get to mark it off your card. 

2.  KNOW THAT VOICE—Make a CD of the prophet and apostles voices from their General Conference talks at www.lds.org.  Play only a few seconds of each one and have everyone in the family write down who they think is speaking.  The player with the most correct answers wins a prize!

3.  PROPHET AND APOSTLES FRUIT BASKET—Sit in a circle with one person standing in the middle with a rolled-up newspaper.  Everyone chooses a name of an apostle.  Start by calling out one of the apostles’ names that a player has chosen.  The person in the middle tries to “bump” that player’s head before s/he can call out someone else’s name.  If s/he calls a name that has not been chosen, s/he is automatically in the middle.

4.  COLOR THAT TIE---Find a printable online (sugardoodle.net is a good place to look) of the apostles. Every time a new apostle gets up to speak have the children pay attention to what color of tie he is wearing and color it in on the paper you have printed out.  They will be excited to see who is coming up and be more alert to who the apostle is and what they look like.

5.  CONFERENCE TREAT BUCKETS---Find a container that would work to put your kid's favorite treat in (such as M&Ms).  Write words that will most likely be said over and over again throughout conference such as temple, family, scripture, prayer, etc.  Every time they hear the word they get to go and get a treat out of the bucket.

6.  WHO’S WHO—Lay the pictures of the prophet and apostles on the floor with their names covered up.  Read each name and have a family member find the picture.  This can be a fun timed game in which the person with the fastest time gets a prize.

7.  PROPHET SENIORITY—Lay the pictures of the prophets and apostles on the floor scrambled up.  Have a family member put the pictures in order of seniority.  This can be a fun timed game.

8.  GENERAL CONFERENCE JENGA---Make a list of certain words that you feel will be said (for example temple, testimony, church, missionary, prophet, etc.)  When a word is said you take turns taking a block out of the Jenga pile in order until the pile falls over.  When it falls over set it back up and start over again.

9.  Write down what topics you think will be talked about during general conference and whoever has the most right topics gets a treat.

10.  TREASURE HUNT---Ask a question about a general authority at each stop.  If they get the right answer, you read them the next clue.  Make sure to have a treat at the end!

11.  If one of the general authorities is shown on T.V. and one of the kids knows his name, s/he gets a treat (during conference).

12.  If kids can tell you what the speaker talked about after s/he talked, the child gets a treat (during conference).

13.  GENERAL CONFERENCE BAGGIES---Have a special treat or activity in a baggy that kids get to open when that apostle gets up to speak.

14.  If a child takes notes on a speaker, s/he gets a treat (during conference).

15.  Read Mosiah 2:5-9 and talk about it.  Set up a tent in your T.V. room during conference like they did in King Benjamin’s time.

16.  CONFERENCE PENNIES---Have children listen to conference carefully.  Have specific words be worth a certain amount of pennies (could also use tickets).  Every time they hear the word said they get that many pennies or tickets.  At the end of conference they can use their pennies to go to the "conference store" to get some fun prizes.  The more they listened to conference and the more pennies they earned, the more fun things they can get.  Could buy fun dollar store prizes making them worth different amounts.

AFTER CONFERENCE: During conference, mom keeps good notes on the speakers’ messages. The Monday after conference, mom writes the topics of the talks on paper and tapes them on the wall. Pass out pictures of the apostles and first presidency to family members. Have each one name the person in their picture and pick the topic that matches their person. Then have them tell what they learned from that talk. You have the opportunity to become a member of an exclusive club called the A.U.C. Challenge family to act upon those things that they learned in conference for the next 6 months. You can even make up business type cards with A.U.C. (see below) for them to put in their wallets, on their mirror, in their locker, etc. to remind them to act upon conference. A.U.C. = Act Upon Conference Buy each family member their own conference issue of the Ensign and use it as your FHE manual for the next 6 months.

 

“Members of the church are entitled to personal revelation as they listen to and study the

inspired words spoken at general conference” (President Uchtdorf, Liahona, Sept. 2011).

Conference is a wonderful time where we can receive wonderful inspiration in our lives.  We can be good examples to our children and grandchildren by listening and watching conference with them. 

If you have any fun traditions that you do with your children or grandchildren for general conference please leave a comment on here and we will be sure to add it to our list!!!

Remember general conference is April 6 and 7 at 10:00 and 2:00 with the priesthood session on the 6th at 6:00 p.m.

Provident Living April

Provident Living

Remember to make adjustments to this month’s provident living goals so that they meet the needs of your individual circumstances and families.  Let a member of the Relief Society presidency know about your successes, questions, or struggles and we’ll include them in this section of the newsletter to help other ward members.

April
Doctrine and Covenants 38:30—If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.

Spiritual Goal:  Attend the temple one more session than you normally do this month.

Provident Living Goal:  If you normally do not grow a garden, plan to grow at least one vegetable this year.  If you already have a garden, either 1) grow a vegetable you haven’t tried before OR 2) try a new method or technique this year.

Storage Goal:
2 pounds yeast per person
2 pounds baking powder per person
1 pound baking soda per person
10 cans evaporated milk per person
10 pounds peanut butter per person
Spices, seasonings, condiments, vanilla

72-hour Kit:
4 granola bars per person
2 sticks beef jerky per person
1 package chewing gum per person
Hard candies or lollipops—at least 12 per person
(these items will be rotated every 6 months—see October)

Provident Living February

Provident Living

 

Remember to make adjustments to this month’s provident living goals so that they meet the needs of your individual circumstances and families.  Let a member of the Relief Society presidency know about your successes, questions, or struggles and we’ll include them in the Provident Living section of the newsletter or the blog to help other ward members.

 

February

James E. Faust said: “There is a wise old saying: “Eat it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” Thrift is a practice of not wasting anything. Some people are able to get by because of the absence of expense. They have their shoes resoled, they patch, they mend, they sew, and they save money. They avoid installment buying, and make purchases only after saving enough to pay cash, thus avoiding interest charges. Frugality means to practice careful economy. (See Webster’s New World Dictionary, 2d. college edition.)” (“The Responsibility for Welfare Rests with Me and My Family,” April 1986 General Conference)

 

Spiritual Goal:  Schedule a time each day to read with your family from The Book of Mormon.

 

Provident Living Goal:  Plan and carry out a Family Home Evening on home fires.  Include planning an escape route and practicing it.

 

Storage Goal:

100 pounds (total) pasta and flour per person

Hand grain mill

Thread Needles

Buttons

Zippers

 

72 Hour Kit: 

1 gallon water per person

Scriptures

Personal documents—genealogical records, wills, passports, insurance information, contracts, birth certificates, patriarchal blessings, etc.  Also think about putting copies of these in a safety deposit box.

$25 cash