Yo Dawg. I heard you like goin' to the Celestial Kingdom...

Last night our FHE lesson was on the Plan of Salvation (or as I like to call it: The Great Plan of Happiness!)
We were having a great discussion and lots of participation--and then Andy called. I walked over to answer the phone and within SECONDS everything deteriorated into a big wrestling match  (this is nothing new!). They let the dog in to join in the mayhem too. I came back with Dad on Skype so he could enjoy the chaos that we call family togetherness.

Later, I saw that my phone was on the couch where Shane had been sitting. I saw this texting interchange between Shane and Seth (who had been sitting two feet away on the other couch)

Shane: This lesson is the bomb.com

Seth: Pay attention.

Shane: Okay..........
Shane: I have given this lesson before in my class, but this one is much better than the other lame versions I have had.
Shane: My teacher forgot about final judgement and the spirit world.

Seth: hahaha

Shane: That's when I said "ummmmmm can I teach the lesson?" he instantly agreed.
Shane: Yur such an enourmis troll!!!!!!!!!
Shane: Yo dawg. I heard you like goin to the celestial kingdom.

Seth: lol

(I'm feeling pretty good about the fact that my lesson compared favorably to other lessons Shane has had on the subject. A little concerned about him critiquing his church teachers though. I have to say it's refreshing to see Seth telling Shane to pay attention--never thought I would see the day. Looks like we need some spelling practice for the word enormous. Nevermind that he randomly calls his big brother a troll!)

Sam adapted my visual aids to portray 

"The buffetings of satan"

Cultural Refinement

Last night for Family Home Evening, we went to see a Shakespeare play. It was performed in the Old Globe Theater in Balboa Park, downtown San Diego. I chose the play because it was a student production which means affordable. This is important when you are bringing along reluctant patrons of the arts. I hate to spend big bucks when the only return on investment is moans and groans.

In spite of my best efforts,
the youngsters are not big on activities that don't involve wearing damp, smelly shoes worn by hundreds of other people and hanging out with "quirky" characters in a bowling alley or large guns and loud ammunition (hopefully not during the same activity!)

In spite of their best efforts, I haven't given up yet.

So, with the lure of In N Out Burger for dinner, we set out for an evening of high-class entertainment. The production was one of his lesser-known plays. I looked up the summary so I could prepare the family--hoping it had enough entertainment value to keep them awake.

Oh my, Shakespeare--there's a reason you are timeless.

The play was "Pericles"-- I like to refer to it as the

"Jerry Springer of Shakespeare plays".
Here's a brief synopsis just to give you an idea of what I mean:

Incest, death threats, shipwrecks, jousting for wife, wife dies in childbirth, baby grows up--gets death threats, kidnapped by pirates, sold to a brothel, keeps her virtue by talking potential customers into becoming virtuous, brothel owners not happy, wife washes ashore and is revived, becomes a nun, husband finds wife, father finds daughter, they all live happily ever after.
Surprise! They don't all die at the end!

The production was well done and the student actors were quite talented. They threw in a few touches that were very funny ("Nacho Libre" type wrestling with masks, for one).

The quote of the evening comes from Sam:
"The King offers his daughter's hand in marriage to the winner of the tournament."
Sam: "Ewwww, just her hand?"

Another Ode to Oatmeal Cake

I sit down to the computer tonight with my tummy full of Oatmeal Cake. I did restrain myself to only two (ok, rather large) pieces. Sam was in charge of Family Night treat tonight--now that Spencer is off to college, Sam and I are the only two Oatmeal Cake advocates left in the family. And Sam can be a little fickle--sometimes he makes brownies or cookies. But I still love him.

The reason for this post, though, is to share a little discovery I made as I was paging through a cookbook. It was one of those Ward Relief Society compilation cookbooks. I love them because they are full of tried and true recipes with real ingredients from real people that you actually really know. So I came across a recipe for Oatmeal Cake. But the topping was a little different. I tried it tonight and to my surprise, a treat that I did not think could be improved upon, actually could be BETTER!

Here's the secret: When making the topping, use 4 Tbls. butter
1 C. brown sugar
1/4 C. canned milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Stir together and bring to a boil on med. heat. Boil for 2 minutes. Pour over warm cake and then sprinkle with: 1/2 C. coconut & 1/2 C. chopped walnuts

Enjoy!

Families Are FOR-EV-ERRRRRR

Gentle Reader,
I have been a little remiss of late in posting. This is due in part to a cold that has been keeping me from my beauty rest and draining me of my usual vim and vigor. But our Family Home Evening last night was memorable enough to motivate me to sit my phlegm-ridden body in front of the computer and share it with all of you.

Let me preface this by saying that we are diligent about FHE. We are depending on the promised blessings for basic obedience to the admonition that families gather every week for gospel study and quality family togetherness. We need all the help we can get--believe me! But, I will say that some are more meaningful than others. I held on through all the preschool and toddler years with a dream that one day they would all be old enough to sit through a well-prepared and spiritually uplifting lesson without any crying, whining, potty emergencies, diaper changes, spitting up, throwing up, bumps, bruises, fighting over whose turn it was for treat, spontaneous twirling and/or jumping, gymnastic moves over and around the furniture etc.

But here we are with children who should be old enough to sit still and listen. Maybe even participate --and I have to say--it's not all that much better. Different maybe, but not much better.

After much thought and prayer, we chose a Family Theme for the year: "Cherish Virtue". So each week during FHE we have a thought that goes along with the year's theme. Last night I prepared the thought (thank you Shanna!) and printed it up for each of them to post as a reminder: "The chief cause of failure and disappointment is trading what you want MOST for something you want at the moment."

I told them the Bible story of Jacob working 7 years for Rachel and then getting Leah- they discussed at length how awful to get stuck with someone with 'tender eyes'

"Does that mean she had puppy dog eyes?"

"Yeah, she was a dog!"

instead of someone 'beautiful and highly favored'

"So, Rachel was hot!"

"Now boys, highly favored means she was a young woman of quality-not just a pretty face."

"Yeah, but she was hot, right?"

I tried to bring them back around to the fact that Jacob "served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her" The whole point being that some things are worth waiting for. Here you see their favorite family activity: Free-for-all Wrestling

These matches break out spontaneously and at random moments.

Last night the camera was sitting on the table near-by so I captured the moment. This was somewhere between the opening song and the stampede for treats.

Something worth waiting for: a peaceful Family Home Evening.
Unfortunately, that would be an "EVENING" without the "FAMILY"

For now, I KNOW that families are forever--because one Family Home Evening feels like an ETERNITY.
But I'm sure when I look  back, the years will seem like"but a few days" for the love I have for them.

Labor of Love

Our FHE activity last night was tying a quilt for our soon-to-arrive addition to the family. Granddaughter and niece: Bailey! The youngsters are excited to be aunt and uncles (saying "Uncle Sam" makes us laugh) and I could not begin to express how THRILLED I am to be a Grandma!

Are Wii Having Fun Yet?

For Family Night activity we all gathered 'round the Wii to have some quality time with the Wii Fit. We had all tried it a few times so Dad wanted to have a turn. You have to have healthy self-esteem to do it in front of others because it tells you your fitness level in huge graphics and print right there on the screen. Well, Dad went through the whole testing and got the verdict. Then he decided to do some yoga. Who would have thought yoga could be an entertaining spectator sport? He was doing 'The Tree' and the avatar trainer said in her creepy voice, "You seem a little shaky." (Dad had fallen off a few times) and Dad yelled, "You'd be shaky too if you were obese!"

"This is the night we've waited for, always a treat we have in store. We love each other more and more, with every family night......."

How Much is That Froggy in the Window

I call today's entry: Frog Blog...
This cute little critter peeked in the window last Sunday while Sam and I were making Family Night treat. We invited him in to have some, but he saw that it wasn't fly guts and hopped away. Hopefully back to his froggy family for Family Night.

Be Prepared!

For FHE this week we dragged out our 72 Hour Kit to go through it and see if we needed to update anything. My how time flies! The change of clothes I had in there for Shane were for the 3-year-old Shane--that was only SEVEN years ago. (Including a pair of 'Winnie the Pooh' underwear-- there's something disturbing about underwear that has Pooh on it). We all had a good laugh over the bright pink and purple jackets that were packed in there. Scott's old Orlando Magic sweatshirt was a big hit. The food was all expired and the Lifesavers were mushy. That would have been a little disheartening when we showed up at the shelter in the midst of some devastating disaster. "Mom, I'm hungry." "Here's some green tuna honey, and just lick those Lifesavers out of the wrapper." We made a list of things we needed to replace. One of the kids suggested we pack cigarettes and coffee. They pointed out that those would be hot commodities to stressed-out nicotine and caffeine addicts. Seth: "Yeah, I've got some cigarettes...that cot you have there looks mighty comfy..."