Watch LDS Christmas Programs: Thirty Ways #7

We had an awesome day.  Tonight we watched parts of a Christmas concert with the kids and we decorated our main tree.  (I say main tree because this year we set up that additional inspirational tree in the other room.)  See  Original thirty ways  And then we were blessed to see the annual Christmas devotional from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. wow. It was phenomenal. Talk about bringing Christ into Christmas.  We got some great ideas from them too about how to keep this Christmas a meaningful one.

The concert we watched, "Ring Christmas Bells" has a story behind it.  Dustin and I were married at Christmas time and we like to get back to the Salt Lake City Temple Square area at Christmas time when we can.  For our anniversary last year we took a quick trip to see the annual Christmas concert at the conference center in Salt Lake City.  We were so so blessed because our dear kind awesome and wonderful friend Glen sings in the choir and was able to get us tickets on the SECOND ROW.  Anyway, we aren't sure if it was because it was second row or our date trip or just a truly exceptional concert but we loved it and it is one of the highlights of Dustin's life he just told me.  So, it is well worth seeing.  Anyway, we showed the kids the retelling of the story surrounding "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." 

 The annual Christmas Devotional can be seen here by December 6th.  http://lds.org/broadcasts/watch/christmas-devotional/2010/12?lang=eng 
It was really so so inspiring! The music was beautiful, the talks were heart changing and very timely.  We loved it and found ourselves lingering together in the family room after it was over.

We ate yummy cinnamon rolls. mmmmmm.  Thanks Grandma Jane for the recipe.

This is what it looks like right when we are done BEFORE I tweak it tomorrow when the kids are at school. :)

Fun Community Events: Thirty Ways #6

Hi there,
Well, this activity was admittedly not at all Christ focused.  And my plans to have a follow up devotional last night fell through.  But of course, December is an awesome time of year to participate in community events, shows, plays, parades, lightings, carriage rides etc.

We went to a local showing of the Nutcracker and it was so beautiful.  I was very impressed.  If you are in the area, here is their website http://www.lifesongstudio.com  It was great for us all to be out having fun together.  In the past, we have seen the Rockettes together, attended various live nativities, participated in concerts etc.  Later in December we will be seeing Annie in a local theater in the round type place.  Http://www.artisanct.com
Wish I had a personal picture. This one will have to do for now.

Nutcracker Photo &

Talk about Jesus: Thirty Ways #5

I am including everything we do this month even things like this which don't seem very creative.  But today we sang our Christmas carol, said a prayer, and talked about Jesus.  We talked about some of the things He did on earth. We mentioned all the people he healed. We talked about calming the storm.  We talked about washing the disciples feet, about His hours in Gethsemane, about his time on the cross.  We talked about His return.  The kids are so excited for Him to come back some day.  We talked about the scripture, "Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ."  It was a great quiet evening.  We felt closer to Him.

This year, I have also added several more word phrases to help us think of Jesus more.  It is still a work in progress, but this has been great fun.

Christmas Stories: Thirty Ways #4

We love to read stories! Over the years we have collected several binders full of Christmas stories designed to share one a day until Christmas.  Today, being December 1st. We read the Gift of the Magi...or at least a smaller kid friendly version.  It was fun to talk about love. 

And this month is also all about fun!! We can't forget all the activities we do that just encourage togetherness! One thing is a tradition we started last year and it brings ALL the family together.  We decorate with candy!

We tried another new thing last year.  I saw this fun handmade garland at a friends' house and loved it immediately.  I think I am a die hard fabric lover. :)  That is a string of lights.  We tied on strips of fabric and laid it along the back and sides of the couch.  LOVE IT!

Kindness Chain, Thirty Ways #3

Tonight was fun to see.  We read in Matthew in the Bible how Jesus told the disciples that the sheep on his right hand were those who fed and clothed and served Him on earth and explained that "inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Beautiful beautiful scripture, one of my very favorites.

So we talked about how Christmas is Jesus' birthday and if we want to give Him a present, the best thing would be for us to serve others.  We started a kindness chain. Every time someone in the family does something kind we record the act on a strip of paper.  Then on Christmas Eve, we string all these strips of paper together in a chain of kindness and gifts we have given to Jesus this month.  The kids get super excited. In fact, we ended the meeting and within 3 minutes, there were already two strips with kind acts written on them.  So this really works!!! :) Then they wanted to draw secret service names for the week too which we did.  Each person has a another person in the family to secretly serve all week long.  Great meeting, great times with the family.

This evening was the first time there were some conflicts with our time. Our oldest is overwhelmed about a huge test tomorrow, Dustin walked in from work late, and the four year old was having trouble finishing her dinner. But everyone settled and calmed while we sang our Christmas carol and said our prayer.  Just when you think there is no way to add one more thing to an evening (like a Christmas devotional) you realize that one more thing might be the most important of all the things.

Thirty Ways #2

As Promised, Mandi taught our lesson tonight on Mercy and Grace.

We want to focus on all the blessings we have because of Jesus Christ.  Mandi taught us that Mercy and Grace are the infinite virtue.  We learned that we all give our very best which is never quite good enough to return to Heavenly Father but then Christ makes up the difference so we can.  Everyone's very best, their 100% is different. It doesn't matter.  When we give our all, Christ completes the path and we can return to Him some day.  And even better, He helps us to do our best, enabling us along the way.  It is the beautiful power of Grace.  It was a nice evening and decorating (and eating) Gingerbread people was super fun too.

Thirty Ways to Add Christ to Christmas

Hello everyone!
We have started our Christmas holiday season and I just LOVE it and the kids are really appreciating it and so I thought we would share what we do each day.

Yesterday was the first day and we set up a new smaller tree in a different room.  On this tree were all our symbols of Christ in Christmas.  We had a lesson about each symbol and then put them up on the tree.  We will add some more to it, but this is how it started:

Stars:  We found some glittery start ornaments and talked about how Christ is the light of the world. And He always leaves a path to find Him.  When He was born, God put a new start in the sky, announcing His birth and leading people to Him.  We can see the path God left for us to find Jesus today through our scriptures and the prophets words.

Bell:  We found some bell ornaments.  We talked about how shepherds call their sheep using a bell and by name.  We know that Jesus calls us to be part of His flock. He wants us to follow Him. We need to listen for His voice and do what He says.  The bell calls the sheep together for safety and for food.

Candy Canes: We love to decorate with candycanes.  We talked about how if a sheep strays from the flock, the shepherd uses the crook to bring him back in.  If we make poor choices and stray from the flock, we can repent and be brought back in with the shepherds crook.

And we put up a nativity set of ornaments. It had all the pieces. So as we hung up each piece, we talked about how that character is important in the birth of Jesus.

It was a beautiful evening. We all love it.

We will be focusing on the Atonement of Jesus through this next month as well as ways to serve Him and more about His teachings.  Tonight we asked our 13 year old daughter to teach us about Mercy and God's grace and how it applies to her. We'll see what she comes up with. :) And we will be decorating gingerbread people.  I better get baking!!!

I told the kids no matter what is going on through December, the 7 PM hour is mine. :)

Merry Christmas!!!