B+C+B+C+B+C: More Christmas THANKS

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

More Christmas THANKS

This one is for Brianna's Nonny and Papa, who sent us two large boxes full of Christmas joy. Though my mother claims she really "scaled back" this year, I feel just as spoiled as usual!

We had a lot of fun opening everything (one day before she told us we could... sorry Mom, no self-control here). I'm pretty sure my mother single-handedly supported Deseret Book's sales profits this year. We were thrilled to get 2 sets of Children's Bible stories, a music CD of favorite children's songs about Christ, "The Old Testament For Latter-Day Families," "Favorite Songs For LDS Children," "Favorite Songs For LDS Families," (both of the previous two mentioned are spiral-bound books filled with beautiful artwork and inspiring stories behind selected songs, with the sheet music included and relevant scriptures displayed) a large FHE bag (a handmade gift from my mother I was quite impressed with), and little bag for Brianna that says "I love to read the scriptures." Then the secular gifts - mostly centered around cupcakes. My mother has dove into the trendy world of gourmet cupcakes. So of course I'm expected to as well. We received Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook (amazing photos in that one - that lady, as weird as she is, sure is creative), another book called 101 Gourmet Cupcakes in Ten Minutes, a cupcake cooking sheet with tote-lid, a set of those fancy tips for decorating with frostings, and a container full of paper cupcake holders with festive designs for every holiday. And because my mom just can't give enough... a nice icecream scoop, a darling hat/glove set for Brianna, The Music Maker (very nostalgic for me - loved that thing as a kid), and... Secret Spice. It's the most amazing spice you'll ever taste. It's made by a family friend and sold by word-of-mouth only. Ingredients are kept lock-and-key. I'd rather starve than go without it.
Anyways... I hate doing posts like this, for risk of turning my blog into a brag. But I want my parents to feel uber-appreciated, as they should - because they made our Christmas so much more special and fun.

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Quotes I want to remember

"The Lord knows our bearing capacity, both as to coping and to comprehending, and He will not give us more to bear than we can manage at the moment, though to us it may seem otherwise. Just as no temptations will come to us from which we cannot escape or which we cannot bear, we will not be given more trials than we can sustain."
- Neal A. Maxwell

"It is a fundamental truth that the responsibilities of motherhood cannot be successfully delegated. No, not to day-care centers, not to schools, not to nurseries, not to babysitters. We become enamored with men's theories such as the idea of preschool training outside the home for young children. Not only does this put added pressure on the budget, but it places young children in an environment away from mother's influence."
-Ezra Taft Benson

“Perhaps there has never been a time when we had greater need to pray and to teach our family members to pray. Prayer is a defense against temptation. It is through earnest and heartfelt prayer that we can receive the needed blessings and the support required to make our way in this sometimes difficult and challenging journey we call mortality.”
-Thomas S. Monson

“Live the gospel as conspicuously as you can. Keep the covenants your children know you have made. And bear your testimony! Don’t just assume your children will somehow get the drift of your beliefs on their own.
-Jeffrey R. Holland

"We hold in our arms the rising generation. They come to this earth with important responsibilities and great spiritual capacities. We cannot be casual in how we prepare them. Our challenge as parents and teachers is not to create a spiritual core in their souls but rather to fan the flame of their spiritual core already aglow with the fire of their premortal faith."
-Neil L. Andersen

"Certainly there are times when getting the family together to read the scriptures does not stack up as a spiritual experience worthy of a journal entry. But we must not be deterred. There are special times when the spirit of a son or daughter is just right and the power of these great scriptures goes down into their heart like fire. As we honor our Heavenly Father in our homes, He will honor our efforts."
-Neil L. Andersen

President Hinckley admonished both men and women to be nurturers. He said, ‘How much more beautiful would be the society in which we live if every father . . . and . . . mother regarded [their] children . . . as gifts from the God of heaven . . . and brought them up with true affection in the wisdom and admonition of the Lord.’ ”
-Susan W. Tanner

"Children are like trees. When they are young, their lives can be shaped and directed, usually with ever so little effort. Said the writer of Proverbs, 'Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it' (22:6). That training finds its roots in the home. There will be little of help from other sources. Do not depend on government to help in this darkening situation. Barbara Bush, wife of former U.S. president George Bush, spoke wisely: 'Your success as a family, our success as society, depends not on what happens at the White House, but on what happens inside your house.' "
-Gordon B. Hinckley

“I give counsel to husbands and wives. Pray for the love which allows you to see the good in your companion. Pray for the love that makes weaknesses and mistakes seem small. Pray for the love to make your companion’s joy your own. Pray for the love to want to lessen the load and soften the sorrows of your companion.”
-Henry B. Eyring

“Reverent behavior is not a natural tendency for most children. It is a quality that is taught by parents and leaders through example and training. But remember, if reverence is rooted in love, so is the teaching of it. Harshness in our training begets resentment, not reverence.”
-Margaret S. Lifferth

"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else."
- M. Russell Ballard

“As parents, we should remember that our lives may be the book from the family library which the children most treasure. Are our examples worthy of emulation? Do we live in such a way that a son or a daughter may say, ‘I want to follow my dad,’ or ‘I want to be like my mother’?”
-Thomas S. Monson

“Security for our families comes from learning self-control, avoiding the excesses of this world, and being temperate in all things.”
-Kent D. Watson

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

More Christmas THANKS

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