Memorizing & Remembering Christ this Christmas

We are on a memorizing kick.

It started off with our friends, the Brady's, inviting us to their recitation night.

I memorized "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" because I want to be more compassionate and caring.

That hymn, when recited like a poem, is such a touching story.

Donny recited "Good King Wenceslas," which he already had memorized, but he acted it out so well-  

he is good at bringing out meaning with the way he says things.

Sadie recited "Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?"

She really does live that hymn- she is constantly noticing needs and feelings of those around her.

Myriam memorized "The Living Christ," the testimony of the first presidency and 12 apostles.

The Living Christ

Now, the rest of the family has joined her in the challenge to memorize that by Christmas.

It has been an awesome experience for me.

As I have recited the words to myself during the day

and taught them to my children- explaining the meaning line by line-

I have really felt the Holy Ghost bear witness to me of Jesus Christ.

It has made this Christmas season a 

season of personally seeking a stronger relationship with the Savior.

Today I finished memorizing The Living Christ with the younger kids 

(we do a little bit every morning before school).
Reciting the Living Christ Christmas Morning
We have been studying the life of Christ in the New Testament during the week
and watching the Bible Videos that match what we have read on Sundays.
These are so well done- they have really helped us
understand the life and teachings of Jesus Christ visually.
We are going to watch them all together as one big movie
for family night right before Christmas.
Bible Videos

Myriam has already gone on to memorizing The Sermon on the Mount.

(She is a little bit of an over-achiever)

Relationships are Magnifying Glasses

I believe that we all have or will have a relationship in our life that will bring out the worst in us.
In a weak relationship, we think that the other person is the problem, 
when really they are just a magnifying glass to our problems.
They bring out the areas where we are weak and ungodly so that we are forced to face it... 
The relationship begins to heal when we change our nature, not when they change.
The key to changing our own nature is tapping into God.  We cannot change ourselves on our own... we need to tap into his power (grace) and access the atonement of Christ.

Myriam's 12th Birthday

 Myriam turned 12 and all she wanted was a hot breakfast!

(She usually gets left-overs since she leaves for school so early)

We made her a big pink smoothie (beets, strawberries, milk)

and german pancakes.

We took her out to dinner at The Crepery.

Grandma Jolene, Grandpa Steve, and Grandma Anderson came with us.

She got to go to young womens on her birthday!

We sang at a Christmas dinner, then came back to our house for dessert.

For her family party, we are going to do baptisms for the dead

in the Bountiful Temple with the Johnson aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents.

She is preparing family names for all of them to do.

We love Myriam and are so glad she is in our family!

CHORES & ROUTINES- Constantly Evolving Programs

I often wonder if I will ever come up with the "perfect program."
I have found that principles remain the same, but programs need to change
in order to meet the changing needs of the family.
2 guiding principles for work are
1. Everyone needs to do their part (Many hands make light work) and
2. The idler shall not eat the bread of the laborer (Work earns food)
We are currently at a program transition from "3 chores a day" to "3 chores a week"
in order to open up more free time on school days.

3 CHORES A DAY
("The Basics"= getting yourself ready, tidying your room, & family scripture study
are not considered chores. They are mandatory prior to breakfast.)
(I currently am doing "The Basics" twice each morning- once with the older kids before they take off for middle school and junior high, then again with my elementary school kids.)
These are the 3 chores that have to be completed before dinner
1- Family Chore
2- Music Practice
3- Homework (yardwork in the summer)

The "family chore" is their cooking or cleaning assignment.
(Hunter cooked breakfast, Packer did a load of laundry,
Myriam cooked dinner, Sadie washed or vacuumed out a vehicle,
and Holland and Benson helped me with the housecleaning- vacuuming/mopping/scrubbing)

Their 3 daily chores had to be completed by dinner.
I broke it down into "food parts" so they got "paid" for what they did get done.
-Family Chore earned grain,
-Piano earned protein,
-Homework earned fruits/veggies

I actually did pay them money at the end of the week- 10 cents for each chore they did (50 cents a day)
3 daily chores + 1= "cards" +1= "scriptures"= 5 ten cent jobs
(It only amounted to $3 a week, which they used to buy their own clothes, fun & extra learning)
Paying for their own stuff and earning their allowance developed gratitude and self reliance.

3 CHORES A WEEK
Everyone does these 3 things each week:
1. Laundry (their own load on a set day each week- I assist the younger ones)
2. Cook Dinner (one night a week on a set day- they pre-plan with me- I assist the younger ones)
3. Housework (a major cleaning job-"Saturday Suds"-right after breakfast)

We divided our Saturday Suds into 6 job descriptions:
1- SHINER (toilets, sinks, counters, mirrors, glass door, 1 window)
2- HARD FLOORS (shake rugs, mop kitchen floor, bathroom floors, laundry room, garbages)
3- FURNITURE (fridge, stove, microwave, couches, desk, piano, organs)
4- CARPET FLOORS (basement, living rooms, halls, bedrooms, closets, stairs)
5- VEHICLES (clean, vacuum, detail all vehicles)
6- GARAGE (straighten bikes,toys, work bench; sweep)

*DAILY MEAL CLEAN UP:
1-After breakfast, lunch, & snack they each wash their own dishes and
wipe their own place since they have to take off so fast.
2-After dinner they do their assigned job they have been trained in:
wash dishes, dry dishes, load dishwasher, wipe tables & chairs, sweep floor, vacuum living room)
*I often set a timer and reward them with a small food if I need them to clean up quickly.

Hosting Thanksgiving

This year we hosted an Anderson thanksgiving dinner at our house.

The night before, grandma Anderson provided pizza and we 

got to mingle with Alexa and her fiance Joe.

Here is a picture of Kathy telling stories to the children after dinner.

Donny's sister, Kimala, and her children (Casey and Leanna) and grand baby (Riley)

surprised everyone by driving all the way from Seattle. 

They drove all night and arrived at 5:30am on thanksgiving day.

(Donny bought a guest bed for Holland's room and got it all set up just in time)

Here is a picture of the oldest Anderson grandchild (Leanna), 

the youngest Anderson grandchild (Benson), and the first Anderson great grandchild (Riley).

My kids couldn't get enough of Riley.  

When they said goodbye after three days, they were so sad to have him go.

Here is Holland holding Riley. She loved "mothering" him.

On Thanksgiving day, we all worked our tails off in the kitchen.

Myriam and Hunter spent the morning shining silverware, 

then Myriam made 5 apple pies from scratch. 

She was peeling and chopping apples forever!

(When her beautiful cousin, Marissa, came, she jumped in and helped her.)

Sadie made cute name cards, set all the tables, 

and then made 3 huge bowls of mashed potatoes.

As Donny would say, she has "the abundance mentality."

Holland and Packer each made a strawberry pretzel jello,

Donny cooked the turkey, and I made tons of rolls.

(Aunt Marla was in charge of salad and she went overboard-

she made 5 different kinds and they were all delicious.)

After all the cooking and cleaning, 

they are now more grateful for all the work they never noticed before.

The rest of our weekend was full of play and eating left-overs.

Bridgett and Meagan slept over. The girls decorated for Christmas, 

played dress ups, made up harp/violin duets, and played card games. 

The boys went shooting, put up Christmas lights and played neighborhood basketball.

We all played ultimate Frisbee, went hot-tubbing at grandma's, and watched BYU football.

3 cheers for family gatherings!!!

I am so grateful to have great in-laws.

They are so fun to talk and play with. 

ANGER

ANGER & PERFECTION
I often struggle to bridle my passions, especially anger.
The cause of my anger is often my desire for perfection.
I get upset when things don't go perfectly. 
It has developed a bad habit of noticing the negative side of things 
(since I want to get rid of the imperfection). 
Lately I have been trying to notice the positive side of every situation 
which has helped me be happier- I find joy if I look for it.
(Inspired by Elder Uchtdorf's talk :grateful-in-any-circumstances) 
Being perfect isn't doing things perfectly, but treating people perfectly (with love)-
especially when they didn't do things perfectly.
Therefore, gratitude and optimism (looking at the bright side of things) are anger prevention.
I think it is because anger is a thought-sin (see Elder Lynn Robbins talk Agency & Anger) and pumping in grateful thoughts produces good feelings.  
Thoughts generate feelings.

ANGER & ADDICTION
I recently read through the 12 Steps Addiction Recover Program
and applied it to anger. I LOVED it. 
It has really helped me ponder the nature of God and His power to help me rid myself of ungodliness and develop a God-like nature.
I love all the writing exercises- they are such humbling and self-examining experiences.
My favorite part was writing down all my weaknesses in one column and then writing the opposite strength that I can seek for God's help in changing.
Every time I feel angry it is because one of my weakness is being triggered.
Anger is my warning signal that I am being ungodly.  
If I then recognize the triggered weakness and pray for the opposite virtue, it goes away.
IT IS AN AWESOME WAY TO TAP INTO GRACE= 
THE ENABLING POWER of GOD 
and really help the atonement come into effect in my life= 
getting me back into "oneness" with God.

Here are some of the weaknesses that I am praying for help to become strengths:
Demanding into Gracious
Stingy into Generous
Dull into Playful
Ignorant/Self Absorbed into Understanding/Caring
Critical into Encouraging

5 Ways to Save Money Being a HOMEMAKER

One of my favorite phrases is "A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned."

When my husband and I got married, we both wanted me to be able to stay at home

to take care of the children.  Every time we have been pinched on our financial budget,

we have decided to spend less instead of seeking ways for me to earn additional money.

What I have discovered is that SAVING money by being industrious 

is more SATISFYING then earning and spending money.

It develops self-reliance from the world.  

Every time I pull hot loaves of fresh bread out of the oven, I feel great.

In contrast, I often feel regretful after blowing money on something unnecessary. 

Here are five main ways to save money by being a homemaker:

1- CARING for CHILDREN

- Tending your own children

2- PREPARING FOOD

- Growing a garden
- Preserving food for the future (canning and freezing)
- Making meals from scratch. (Mastering your own favorite recipes)

3- CLEANING/MAINTAINING
- Doing your own housework and laundry.
- Mending/repairing clothing and other things you own (bikes, furniture, etc)
- Giving your husband and children hair cuts.

4- TEACHING

- Reading to your children and teach them to read
- Developing your own talents and teaching them to your children (piano, singing, organ)
- Helping them with their homework

5- LIVING HEALTHY
- Feeding your family healthy foods and making them taste well.
- Getting everyone to bed early
- Playing with your family- walking/biking to school with them; exercising with your husband
- Researching health remedies

SODAS

I want to share my current system of consequences.

I feel like I lose it less if I have a system in place so I don't have to use anger to punish.

I got this from the book "A House United" by Nicholeen Peck... she calls it the "rule of 3"- I use it for everything

(I know that doesn't match love and logic, but then I don't have to creatively match the consequence to the action

 in the moment, I just let the system do it's work)

So, here are the standard escalating consequences: 

1- Major Job 

2- Write SODAS

3- 24 Hour loss of privileges

Here's how I work it. If they do something wrong (even just talk back to me when I give them an instruction)

1st- they get an extra job (I keep a running tally of things I need them to do around the house and pull it out when someone is in trouble.  It is amazing how work helps them get the spirit back. After they are done working they are usually pleasant)

2nd- if they are rude when I tell them that job, they write SODAS after they are done with the job

(Or the younger kids verbalize the sodas with me)

3rd- if they can't accept the job and sodas, and are out of emotional control, they lose priviledges for 24 hours. (no play, snacks, etc. During that time, they do job after job after job)  

(I don't give the younger kids this consequence, I just send them to immediate naptime- usually when they are out of emotional control, they are just tired/delirious)

Here is an example of SODAS:

SITUATION: I am playing a game with my brother and he didn't count one of my points.

OPTIONS: 1- I can punch my brother and demand him to change the score.

                  2- I can let it go and keep playing

DISADVANTAGES:  1- I get a consequence (job), I lose the spirit, and I won't get to keep playing the game

                               2- I won't have as many points as I deserve in the game

ADVANTAGES:   1- I get even and feel momentarily satisfied

                          2- I get to keep playing the game

SOLUTION:   Next time my brother doesn't count the score right in a game, I will let it go and keep playing.

They actually LOVE doing sodas.  It is great training on emotional control- because their consequences escalate if they can't accept the first one calmly. I even do sodas myself when I have lost it or when I am trying to make a choice about something weighing on my mind. (They can do more than two options, I just do two to keep it simple.)

**One of the key principles to giving instructions & consequences is 

to have them look at you in the EYES with a CALM face.  

You have to be calm before you can give any instructions.  

This is exactly what Christ was teaching when he says to first 

"cast the beam out of your own eye,

then you can see clearly to get the mote out of their eye." (Sermon on the Mount)

You cannot correct in anger and hate- that is the beam.

You can correct (pull out their mote), but you have to be calm first (have your beam/anger out)

Also, I keep repeating in my mind the phrase "Perfectly handle Imperfect People."

Christ teaches us to love our enemies and do good to them that use you (imperfect people),

Returning good for evil, loving, praying for, going the extra mile are all perfect ways to handle others.

In fact, right after all that he commands us to "be perfect."  

I must confess, I know all this better than I apply it.

I often find myself being prompted to stay calm and I push the still small voice aside and do it my own way....

which I always regret. I know I need to pray more for power to resist temptations. 

Scholastic Highlights

Packer is working really hard on getting his "Great American Award."

He has been memorizing the states and capitals, the presidents of the United States,

the Gettysburg Address, etc.  

He is self driven on this, more than on any homework in the past.

This video is him singing the "Presidents of the United States" with his sisters

to a tune that my mom wrote for me when I was learning them in elementary school.

Presidents of the United States

I've also been working on teaching Holland to read

and Benson is catching on faster than her.

Here is a quick video of him reading the "Green Book"

Benson Reading

Myriam bagpiped with Donny at the school talent show

(it was the end of her 5th grade year).

She blew everyone away!

Amazing Grace Elementary Talent Show
I love that they are developing a love of learning.

Annie Musical

                                 

Sadie wrote and directed a musical for our kids and 3 other families in our neighborhood.

(The Bradys, Cantwells, and Hamiltons).  

The Bradys and Cantwells have been doing a family bookclub with us for the past few years 

and we decided to take a break and do a musical this month.  

The kids took it all on themselves and the parents just got to enjoy.

Sadie learned so much and really developed some great skills 

in organization, technology, management, choreography, time management, etc. 

They did a great job performing it- 

I was happy to see my children "anxiously engaged in a good cause"

Sadie was Miss Hannigan, Packer was Rooster,

Myriam was Annie, 

Holland was an orphan,

 Hunter was a policeman

(and he managed the music/sound)

What great kids!
Here is the link to the youtube video:
"Annie by Sadie"

Monument Valley Trip

Over fall break, I took my family to Monument Valley with some of my siblings and their families.

 We had an indian placement brother, Eric Cly, who was from there.

Donny and Myriam bagpiped "Go My Son" at his grave.

(He was struck by lightning 8 years ago while selling indian jewelry)

 We had a bus tour- this photo is in front of a monument called "3 Sisters"

We hiked to the top of a huge Mesa- 

(it was one of my favorite hikes ever)

On the way there, we stopped at Goblin Valley and had a hay day!

As we pulled up and my kids looked out at the neat arrangements of rocks 

they saw a huge playground and gave a huge cheer in our van.

(They were as happy as if they had arrived at Disneyland)

They took off running- they climbed and played and explored all morning.

It was the perfect time of year to go because it wasn't hot!

On the way home, we stopped and hiked to Delicate Arch.

 During all our hiking, we had a "buddy system"

to keep track of all our kids.  

Myriam had to do a lot of hiking with Benson,

Sadie with Holland, Donny with Packer, and I was with Hunter.

(Hunter got a lesson here about not carving his name at a National Park!)

It was such a fun, quick trip.

Thanks to Lizzie and Charles for drumming it up and inviting us.

2014 4H/Lamb Photos

 This year we enjoyed raising and selling lambs again at the fair.

Sadie's lamb didn't weigh enough to be sold at the fair, so she only earned money for showing her lamb.

Myriam earned a good amount of money because she bribed the sellers 

by telling them she would bagpipe for them afterwards (which she did and they loved it)

Packer's lamb weighed exactly 100 pounds, so he barely made it.  

He and Sadie's lambs weren't that healthy this year- they had prolapsing issues.

This was a tough year to do lambs because we were gone to Nauvoo for 2 1/2 weeks,

but thanks to great friends and neighbors, they were taken care of while we were gone.

Hunter can't wait until next year to be able to have his own lamb. 

(The kids can start the summer after their 3rd grade year)

We are also grateful for a great neighbor, Kip Farmer, who provides all the lambs 

which is an awesome experience for our children to learn responsibility.

Grandma and Sophie were so supportive to come up
 and see the kids show their lambs at the fair.

Myriam is phenomenal at showing her lamb.
She has such great showmanship and lamb control.

Packer and his lamb, "Dandilion"

Myriam and her lamb, "Buddy"

Sadie and her lamb, "Strawberry"

2014 Kid Portraits

My sister, Sophie, took fantastic photos of us yesterday.

She is as good as a professional.

Look at these cute kids!

 Benson

 Holland

 Hunter

 Myriam

 Packer

Sadie