by Melanie

FHE: Canyon Shenanigans and Deep-fried Sushi

March 21, 2017 in Family Room, Out the Door by Melanie

I miss the old days of blogging when everyone had a blogspot family blog with photos of everyday life, a widget full of their favorite songs that autoplayed when you opened the page, and a blogroll of their friends’ blogs. I loved discovering old friends and catching up on what they were doing through their cute pictures of family adventures. I loved it when blogs were about telling stories and sharing experiences.

Now it seems like blogging is all about pageviews, sponsored posts, affiliate links, and SEO. The family blogs were abandoned for social media. We share snapshots instead of stories, how-tos instead of here is my life, and tweets instead of time together. Can we get back to storytelling and family adventures?

We had a fantastic FHE last night. Beth and Bree are in California with their high school orchestra, so we loaded up Babs, Joy, and Chuck in the truck and headed up the canyon. I had to do some location scouting for a film I’m working on for a school project, so we made it a family affair, exploring the canyon and taking plenty of photos to bring back to my group. (Don’t we all love group projects???)

My lens was so horribly dirty that all of my photos look like this: one central spot in focus and the rest a blur from a lens completely covered in smudges. Also, the canyon is even more dead and brown than I expected. It’s a good thing I don’t have to turn in my location scouting photos.

Steve is one of the only people in the world still playing Pokemon Go, and he’s got our whole family still playing along with him. While I looked for good hammocking trees and fishing bridges with the help of Joy and Chuck, Babs and Steve searched for Bulbasaurs and Magikarps. You know they’ve gotta catch ’em all.

When I had everything I needed and Babs was out of pokeballs, it was time to find a pokestop and some food. We were up Provo Canyon and had a Riverwoods gift card, so we decided it was a great time to introduce our little sweeties to sushi at Happy Sumo. Let’s just say we don’t feel the need to go back anytime soon.

Joy is loving all things Japanese lately, even taking a Japanese class at school and creating her own manga for a class project, and she said the sushi was delicious but she wouldn’t ever order it for herself. She was content with her teriyaki beef bowl. Of course, the veggies were covered in batter and deep fried, so who wouldn’t be content with that?

Chuck tried a tiny corner of a Vegas Roll and could barely get over the idea of eating sushi to even get it to her mouth. We tried to tell her it wasn’t real sushi, but she didn’t really care that it was deep fried and delicious. She was really excited about her teriyaki chicken bowl and dipping everything into any sauce she could find – not so much about sushi.

Babs discovered she loves sweet and sour chicken as much as I do – which is not at all – and we had no idea! She even politely answered the waitress positively when asked if everything was tasting okay. It wasn’t until we were getting ready to leave that she mentioned she never needs to order that again. She was happy to end the night with ice cream to make up for the whole plate of food she ate and hated.

This is obviously not our sushi. I just really love crab won tons and couldn’t pass them up.

Am I the only one who feels like a horrible parent when my kids suffer in silence? We won the gift card that was paying for this meal, so we weren’t even spending any money. For me that’s the perfect time to try new things and not feel bad if I don’t like them, but my sweet girl was along for the ride and too nice to say anything negative. I would have happily ordered Babs something she could actually enjoy.

I’m super proud that she has learned to politely eat whatever is being served, and I really appreciate that when I spend time sweating over a hot stove to make dinner, but I wish she wasn’t silently hating the food she ordered when we were trying to do something special and fun. Even the veggies served with her meal ended up being the few veggies she hates all combined into one horrifying mix!

I keep thinking about it and wondering what I should have done to make her experience better. Pressed more when I asked how it was? Read her mind and ordered her something new? Deterred her from her menu choice because it’s something I don’t like? None of those seems like a very good option. While I don’t believe my job is to rescue her from every unpleasantness in life, I do want her to know it’s okay to speak her mind and that her needs matter.

Overall it was a fantastic night and everyone had a blast. Chuck asked if our next dining out adventure could include Mo’ Bettah’s instead, and I’ve gotta say, I agree. I’m not really a sushi fan either, but Hawaiian-style teriyaki? Yes, please.

Always,
Melanie

by Melanie

16 Eggs-cellent Easter Ideas

March 21, 2015 in Family Room, Guest Room by Melanie

Easter is right around the corner, and I have gathered a fabulous batch of Easter recipes, crafts, and ideas to help you plan your Easter celebration.

easter-roundup


Broccoli Ham Ring • Forty Eighteen

Easter Egg Hunt Quiet Book Activity • Mommy Envy

What to put in your toddler’s {candy-free} Easter basket • xo, lauren & jane

Family Fun Easter Scavenger Hunt • Stuffed Suitcase

Stenciled Easter Sign • Occasionally Crafty

Easter Paper Carrot Garland • A Sparkle of Genius

Easter Egg Wreath Tutorial • A Vision to Remember

DIY Stenciled Easter Sign • The Happy Scraps

Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with Springtime Chips • Mirlandra’s Kitchen

Weight Watchers Easter Recipes • Simple Nourished Living

Oreo Bunny Truffles • Key Lime Digital Designs

Easter Nest Rice Krispie Treats • The Things I Love Most

How to Make a Chocolate Nest • I Really Love Chocolate

Book Page Easter Egg Banner • Creations by Kara

Baymax Easter Eggs and Chalkboard Paint Easter Eggs • R & R Workshop

I love Easter! This Broccoli Ham Ring is one of my favorite things to make with our leftover Easter ham.

ham-broccoli-ring

I always include these Brown Sugar Carrots as part of our Easter feast.

carrots

These amazing Cherry Cheesecake Bars would be a perfect Easter dessert.

cherry cheese bars

How do you celebrate Easter?

by Melanie

14 Fun Ways to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

March 7, 2015 in Family Room by Melanie

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St. Patrick’s Day isn’t just for pinching your friends who forgot to wear green anymore. Now it’s the perfect excuse for a fun celebration. I love to keep things simple, so I gathered 14 simple celebrations for St. Patrick’s Day for a festive, easy holiday.

These  St. Patrick’s Day printables from Forty Eighteen are all ready for you to print and attach to your treats.

stpatsdayprint

Jane from xo, lauren & jane does something fabulous with mint chocolate chips to make a green treat that is perfect for anyone who loves mint and chocolate. (And really… who doesn’t love mint and chocolate??)

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Hoping to find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? How about inside the rainbow… if that rainbow is a cookie. These Rainbow Treasure Cookies from Stuffed Suitcase scream St. Patrick’s Day!

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So colorful and so tasty, my kiddos would LOVE these! They wouldn’t even need to find the pot of gold with Rainbow Pudding Pops from Saving Cent by Cent as the tasty rainbow.

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This is perfect! I love this St. Patrick’s Day printable from Occasionally Crafty.

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If you love sprinkles and tasty surprises, these Pot of Gold Cookies from A Sparkle of Genius are the perfect treat for you. I especially love the gold center… because it’s caramel. yummo!

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Hahaha, Blushing Leprechauns. I love these great cookies from For What It’s Worth

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Cute, cute decor makes any holiday better. That’s why I love this St. Patrick’s Day Canvas Art from Shambray.

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And this great Lucky St. Patrick’s day Printable from The Happy Scraps. I just love how a great printable makes an area instantly festive.

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Learn how to make a traditional St. Patrick’s Day dinner: How to Make Corned Beef Dinner from Mirlandra’s Kitchen.

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This Lucky Leprechaun Parfait from Jessica Weible Blogs is such an adorable treat! What more can you ask of a dessert than cute on the table and absolutely delicious in your mouth!

I love the idea of spreading some luck to a friend like this Bucket of Luck from Maybe I Will. Love her list of what to put in the basket and the free printable to attach to it.

Make a great dessert with this template and directions for a St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Cake from The Things I Love Most.

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We always have a green dinner, and this Green Deviled Eggs and Broccoli Ham Ring from Forty Eighteen is in the running this year.

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How do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

by Melanie

52 Weeks to Fortify Your Family

January 22, 2015 in Family Room, Mailbox by Melanie

I have never been one of those moms who cries at every milestone, sad to see my babies grow up. I love my babies, but I love to see how they will conquer the next stage of life. It’s exciting to see them get older and grow in wisdom and beauty and see their personalities blossom.

There has been one HUGE exception to this general rule, however.

Junior High. Ugh.

There is just something about sending my sweet, innocent babies to junior high that knocks the wind out of me and leaves me gasping for air.

Kindergarten? Bring it on! High school? No problem! But junior high still gives me nightmares and makes me wish I could keep my family in a force field, a bubble of safety where my babies can stay young and innocent.

incredibles forcefield 1

But because school teaches much more than just reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic, and Steve and I believe it is important for our kids to learn those valuable lessons, we send our little girls off to junior high, cringing and holding our breath and hoping we have prepared them well enough for those difficult years.

Since I don’t have a force field, I have to find other ways to strengthen my family, to fortify them against the dangers of the world. The most important way I know to do this is to teach them who they are, to instill in them an understanding of where they come from and what makes them great.

Ultimately, I want my daughters to know that they have another parent who loves them and knows them even better than Steve and me, a Heavenly Father from whom they have inherited divine attributes that make them great. I want them to understand that their relationship to God is the most important relationship they will ever have and that it needs to be constantly nourished. I want them to know how to talk to Him and how to hear His voice. I know that their relationship with Heavenly Father will be the greatest source of strength in their lives and can be their “force field” to keep them safe no matter what they encounter.

Instilling this knowledge in our children takes time and consistent effort, but life is so busy! Between youth activities, church meetings, orchestra concerts, play rehearsals, and team practices, not to mention homework, playing with friends, chores, and a million other demands on our time, we are lucky to spend time together on any given day. I have gone a full 24 hours without seeing Beth at all — and we live in the same house!! That’s crazy!

website header amazon bestseller2

I was so excited when I heard about this new book from Nicole Carpenter: 52 Weeks to Fortify Your Family: 5-Minute Messages. The idea behind this book is so simple but so powerful: daily 5-minute devotionals for your family. Nicole has put together 52 weeks of daily devotionals, arranged by topic so you can find exactly what your family needs in any given week.

I love that each daily message is short, but even more than that I love the extras that really turn your devotional into something meaningful. Each daily scripture discussion is right on topic, and the weekly questions start real discussions with opportunities to learn and bear testimony. I love that Nicole has included a reference to a conference address each week for more insight into that week’s theme. This could easily become your Family Home Evening lesson for the week.

52 Weeks to Fortify Your Family book cover Armor Your Children

I love that the book is small. That may sound strange, but it’s just not intimidating. At first glance it looks like something we can manage and enjoy. I have been thinking for months that I want to print a weekly quote and and display it in a frame where we will pass by it often and read it. Nicole is right there with a weekly quote, too! I can’t wait to get it printed so it is right in front of us and on our minds all week long.

I believe one of the best tools for strengthening our family is to make the gospel a part of our everyday lives. We live it, of course, but it’s also needs to be a normal topic of conversation. We talk about scriptures we have read, lessons we have learned, times that we have seen the hand of God in our lives and received answers to prayers.

“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins”  (2 Nephi 25:26).

How will our children know the importance of the gospel in our lives if if’s only something they see on Sunday? We need to make sure we’re bringing the gospel into focus every day. I love that 52 Weeks to Fortify Your Family: 5-Minute Messages brings the gospel into focus for a few minutes each day. I am so excited to make it through all 52 weeks.

52-Weeks-to-Fortify-blog-tour1

I am even more excited for the chance I have today as part of this blog tour to give away a copy of Nicole’s book! You can enter using the Rafflecopter below. Or you can order your own copy of 52 Weeks to Fortify Your Family: 5-Minute Messages today and get to work building that force field around your family!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Does junior high scare you, too? What do you do to fortify your family?

by Melanie

I Know

October 10, 2014 in Family Room by Melanie

I am so excited to be part of this amazing group of bloggers celebrating our faith today!

Pinable Image

We belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints otherwise known as “The Mormons”. We are proud of this part of who we are!

We are excited to team up with over 65+ of us strong… to extend an invitation to see a film. A film entitled “Meet The Mormons”. This film is not meant to be an “in your face” – you must join our church film. It is simply designed and produced to uplift and inspire you through six stories of those of our faith who have followed promptings to follow Christ more fully in their lives. We hope you take the opportunity to enjoy this film.

We hope your hearts are made light as you feel the goodness that comes from following our Christ and Savior. All proceeds from the film will be donated to The American Red Cross. So not only will you be uplifted and inspired, your money will be going to an amazing charity!!

We also would like to take a moment and share our personal testimonies, stories of our own personal conversions, and our own stories of how following our Savior, Jesus Christ has changed our lives.

The light of the gospel of Jesus Christ offers a joy and hope that only following him can provide. We hope as you click through and read our stories and testimonies of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, you will feel uplifted and encouraged. We are by you! We love connecting with our readers, that is why many of us do what we do!

Please be kind and considerate in your comments. It takes great bravery for us to open our hearts and our mouths to share with you such a tender and personal part of who we are. We share because we feel strongly the need to share the peace and the hope that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I'm A Mormon #1

Adrienne | Free Time Frolics , Camille | Chicken Scratch n’ Sniff , Natalie & Rebekah | House of Sprinkles , Kathleen| Fearlessly Creative Moms

Emily | The Benson Street , Staci | The Potter’s Place, Alyssa | Alyssa.Marie , Kristen | Capturing Joy , Aly | Entirely Eventful Day

Katie | Clarks Condensed, Larissa | Just Another Day In Paradise , Camille | My Mommy Style , Candice | She’s Crafty

Anita | Live Like You Are Rich, Landee | Landee Lu , Tara & Devin | Salt & Pepper Moms , Mallory & Savannah | Classy Clutter Kelli & Kristi| Lolly Jane

McKenzie | Girl Loves Glam , Pam & Lisa | Over The Big Moon , Melanie | Forty Eighteen , Sky | Capital B Adell | Baked in Arizona

I'm a Mormon #2

Andie | Maybe I Will , Shatzi | Love and Laundry , Robyn | Create it Go , Rachel | R & R Workshop

Tiffany | Feel Great In 8 , Katelyn | What Up Fagens? , Brittany | BrittanyBullen , Ginger | Ginger Snap Crafts , Stephanie | Crafting In The Rain

Chelsey | Cee Me Be , Amber | Crazy Little Projects , Kallie | Smitten By, Elyse, Kristen, Lauren, Steph, Kendra & Camille | Six Sisters Stuff Annette | Tips From A Typical Mom

Amberly | Life With Amberly & Joe , Taralyn | Keep Moving Forward With Me , Jessica | What Does The Cox Say? , Lisa | Mabey She Made It , Kiki | Kiki & Company

Kierste | Simply Kierste , Tayler | The Morrell Tale, Jennifer | My Daylights , Cambria | Live To Be Inspired, Danielle | Today’s The Best Day

I'm a Mormon #3

Amber | Dessert Now Dinner Later, Natalie | The Creative Mom, Bobbie | A Vision To Remember , Becky | Babes In Hairland

Lisa | Pebbles & Pigtails , Mandy | Sugar Bee Crafts , Krista | Reclaim, Renew, Remodel , Wendy | Musings, Miracles, and Mayhem

Nat & Holly | My Sister’s Suitcase, Britni| Play.Party.Pin , Montserrat | Cranial Hiccups , Heidi | A Lively Hope , Ashley & Meegan | Flats to Flip Flops

Alexis | We Like to Learn As We Go, Amy | The English Geek , Mariel | Or So She Says Carrian | Oh Sweet Basil

Kirtley | The Gist of Fit | Aubrey | Dreaming of Someday, Natalie| The Messanos, Angela | Handmade In The Heartland

I am so happy to be a part of this ‘testimony train’ and to take this chance to share what means the most to me.

As a young girl, I lived the gospel because my parents taught me that was right. I believed because they believed.

As a teenager, that wasn’t enough for me. I’m not good at doing things just because someone said I should. It has to be my idea. I have to choose for myself.

One Sunday afternoon, a young man was speaking in church. He was someone I looked up to and admired, so I really listened to what he said. He sounded a lot like me – he wasn’t content just to believe what everyone else believed. He had to know for himself. He wanted to know if God was real, if He was really listening, and if He really knew this boy individually and loved him.

I wanted to know all of those things, too, so I really listened up now. And then, my “ah-ha moment” happened.

Do you know what he did? He asked.

So simple. So profound. He wanted an answer from God, so he prayed and asked God.

I realized that day in my teenage girl heart that I had never just asked.

I didn’t run right home and drop to my knees that day, but a little while later when I had spent the day studying and pondering, I did just that.

I was at BYU Campus Education Week with my family and had spent the day listening to youth speakers who taught the gospel in ways that I could relate to. I was amazed with the way they could have us cracking up one second and completely filled with the spirit the next. I had been taught all about who I am as a child of God and that He knows and loves me, and I wanted to know – for myself – if that was true.

I knelt down next to my bed in the student apartment we were renting for the week, and poured out my young girl heart in prayer. I asked my Heavenly Father if He was really there, if knew me, if he loved me, and if he really listened to me and answered my prayers.

I hadn’t even finished saying the words when I could feel arms wrapped around me. I was filled with an overwhelming feeling of love and peace, and I knew that my prayers had been answered. I knew that in fact God really is there. He is my Heavenly Father. He knows me. He loves me. And he hears and answers my prayers.

That was a life-changing moment for me. It didn’t change how I was living, but it changed why I lived the way I did. It didn’t change who I was, but it changed the way I felt about who I was. It didn’t change how God saw me, but it changed how I saw God. I knew who I was. I knew I was His. And I knew I would always be.

That moment was the first of many experiences I have had with my own personal revelation that have become my unshakable testimony of the gospel taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know it is true. I know living the gospel brings happiness and peace. I know it is worth every sacrifice and effort we make to live it. I know the Book of Mormon is truly the word of God. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he really saw what he said he saw. I know Jesus Christ is my Savior.

I’m a Mormon. I know it. I live it. I love it.

Thanks, brittanybullen.com for the great images!

You can join the testimony train by linking up your blog post, Mormon.org profile, favorite conference talk, or any other way you want to share your testimony.


If you want to know what all the fuss is about, I would be happy to help you get a free copy of the Book of Mormon. Just leave me a comment and make sure I have a way to contact you.

I know it’s true.

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