In my art class we were given the assignment of creating a paper of Aesthetic Moments in our life. The teacher asked for a list type of format that could always grow. This is my creative take on my assignment :)
1 day ago
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
1000 Card Pick Up Anyone?
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Sign Language
I recently received this article. I am pro-signing for children, it has saved me countless heartaches and tantrums because my children were able to sign for what they needed instead of doing the screaming thing, which nobody wins in that situation. Please read the following, it is interesting and I believe very helpful.
Sign Language As An Addition To Child Care Curriculum
One of the keys to surviving in a tilted economic system in which opportunities to achieve a decent standard of living will be limited is versatility – and the ability to communicate articulately in a variety of ways with the widest possible audience. This includes bilingual ability as well as the ability to communicate in non-verbal ways for the benefit of the disabled – primarily the deaf.
At the same time, a growing shortage of qualified interpreters fluent in American Sign Language has led to more career opportunities – and if current trends continue, it's likely that skilled ASL interpreters will have little problem securing lucrative employment in a society where such a commodity is destined to be in short supply.
Signing Before They Can Speak
A great deal of research has clearly demonstrated that the early years – ages 2 to five – are the best time to educate children in different modes of communication and language. This teaching can be done at home or can be found as a part of child care curriculums. Going beyond the spoken word (though it is an optimal time for children to learn a second language); many young children have an aptitude for signing as well.
As you may know, many indigenous peoples around the world, including American Indian nations, have used sign language for centuries to facilitate communication with other tribes with whom they do not share a language. Some paleontologists and anthropologists theorize that Neanderthals – who apparently lacked the vocal mechanism to produce many spoken words – depended a great deal upon hand gestures to communicate.
In fact, recent research suggests that sign language is innate. An article published in the Boulder Daily Camera in 2003 presented strong evidence that babies as young as six months old communicate with their hands:
"...by 6 to 7 months, babies can remember a sign. At eight months, children
can begin to imitate gestures and sign single words. By 24 months, children
can sign compound words and full sentences. They say sign language reduces
frustration in young children by giving them a means to express themselves
before they know how to talk." (Glarion, 2003)
Also cited it the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development study that demonstrates that young children who are taught sign language at an early age actually develop better verbal skills as they get older. The ability to sign has also helped parents in communicating with autistic children; one parent reports that "using sign language allowed her to communicate with her [autistic] son and minimized his frustration...[he now] has an advanced vocabulary and excels in math, spelling and music" (Glarion, 2003).
The Best Time To Start
Not only does early childhood education in signing give pre-verbal youngsters a way to communicate, it can also strengthen the parent-child bond – in addition to giving children a solid foundation for learning a skill that will serve them well in the future. The evidence suggests that the best time to start learning ASL is before a child can even walk – and the implications for facilitating the parent-child relationship are amazing.
Co-written by Emily Patterson and Kathleen Thomas
Emily and Kathleen are Communications Coordinators for the network of Texas child care facilities belonging to the AdvancED® accredited family of Primrose child care schools. Primrose Schools are located in 16 states throughout the U.S. and are dedicated to delivering progressive, early childhood, Balanced Learning® curriculum throughout their preschools.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
A Glimpse Into the Future? I HOPE NOT!!
I wonder if I should be worried that the following pictures are a glimpse into my children's future....A Burglar and a Homeless Person
Please tell me this is just a phase!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Relief Society Lessons- GP 26 Sacrifice
I have decided to start posting my lessons on Relief Society....Keep in mind that I add things and sisters add their comments. But this can maybe help get an idea what to do for lessons in the future? Some of the words come from the manual, some come from the ensign, most come from me. So plagerism is not exactly going to be correct, but don't hold that against me. I also may have grammar eorrors, remember, this is for my lesson not for an English Assignment.
Gospel Principles 26: Sacrifice
I am going to do something a little different to start out this lesson. I’m going to tell you the story of one of my descendants Benjamin Jones Redd. I felt strongly that I need to use a story to begin with. At first I was going to do the Prophet Joseph Smith, and then I was reading a talk by Elder M. Russell Ballard and he started talking about the overwhelming sacrifices the founders of the Church made to establish the kingdom of God in this last dispensation, and then it hit me. I knew I needed to do a personal story. Yes I may not have known this ancestor, but I was recently able to type up his story and I knew that all of our ancestors showed faith when they followed the prophet’s words.
BENJAMIN JONES REDD
Benjamin Jones Redd
Benjamin Jones Redd, the youngest son of John Hardison Redd and his wife, Elizabeth Hancock, was born after the family left their old home in North Carolina and settled in Rutherford County, Tennessee. He was born June 20, 1842, and was just four years younger than his brother, John, Holt, and six years younger than Lemuel Hardison.
We know little about him as a child. He grew up on the plantation in Rutherford County and lived there until he was eight years old, when he went with his parents to Utah. Because he was the baby of the family, he probably rode or walked as he chose, and I don’t think he was even asked to help in any way with the chores of traveling and camping every night. On second thought, idleness was never tolerated among the settlers of early Utah; neither was it tolerated in the Redd family, and so he may have done as much as any other youngsters of his age—maybe even more. He came across the plains with three older sisters and two older brothers. They went directly to Spanish Fork to settle.
By the end of 1853, only Benjamin and his brother, Lem, were at home with his father. Then Lem left when he married in January of 1856. Benjamin, fourteen years old, was then the only child at home. Just two years later, in May 1858, Benjamin’s father died, and Benjamin went to live with Lemuel and his family. Early in 1862 they were called to settle southern Utah. Benjamin, then 20 years old, left for the south with Lemuel. Benjamin and Luke were the cattle herders, tenders, and drivers on the trip south.
The next year, 1863, at 21 years of age Benjamin answered a call from Brigham Young. New Harmony was asked to send three outfits, wagons, oxen, and provisions back to Florence, Nebraska in order to help bring poor immigrants from foreign countries who were unable to come themselves. The townspeople donated the outfits, and the drivers donated their time. George W. Sevy, Lemuel H. Redd, and GeorgeHill agreed to raise a team and a wagon and outfit it with provisions for Benjamin J. Redd to drive. Other drivers were M.H. Darrell and George Woolsey.
They were set apart and blessed for their mission on March 26, 1863. When asked if they had anything to say, Benjamin spoke up to ask for a community dance before they left. (It was the custom for all missionaries to be given a farewell dance before leaving home.) Benjamin’s request was granted, and it was reported that they all had a good time. At 10:00 a.m. on Sunday March 29, 1863, the three teams rolled out “in good spirits and well fitted out.”
The immigrants in the Nebraska camps must have rejoiced when they saw the ox teams coming for them. It means that their anxious longing to come to Utah was to be realized. It was a long trip for the volunteers to make, in all nearly four thousand miles round trip by ox team. It was really an act of brotherly love to take that long, slow, dangerous trip to bring in those poor immigrants. Apparently, the strain of the long trip did not go completely unnoticed, for on Sunday, November 22, 1863, it is reported that “President Lee proceeded to settle some differences arising among M.H. Darrell, George Woolsey, and Benjamin J. Redd, teamsters who crossed the plains that season to aid immigration. All difference settled.”
The Indians of the southern Utah area were not yet reconciled to having settlers on their lands. They stole many horses and cattle and it became necessary to place guards over the live-stock for the first few years. The story is told that Benjamin was on his way home one night after spending the evening with his sweetheart, when a guard called, “Throw up your hands.” Benjamin kept silent for a moment because he recognized the guard and thought it was a joke. But the guard had mistaken him for an Indian, and was aiming his rifle to fire when Benjamin finally spoke, just in time to save his life.
On the day Benjamin was 23 years old, June 20, 1865 he married Clarissa Alvira Taylor at New Harmony. The ceremony was performed by William Pace. After his marriage, Benjamin bought a lot and built a log house on it just across the street from the present residence of Roy Grant. That would be on the lower street on the south side and at the west end of it. It would also be just next west of his sister, Ann Elizabeth.
In that little home their first child, Sarah Elizabeth, was born. She remembers some of the early circumstances of the little pioneer town. One of her earliest remembrances is that fear of Indians, who were dangerous enemies then. The men had to sit up nights to guard their loved ones and their belongings. Even then, the Indians would slip in and steal cattle, horses, and anything they could lay their hands on. Some of the settlers hobbled and staked their animals so the Indians couldn’t steal them. Often, the Indians would be so enraged by this that they would kill the animals with poisoned arrows.
Sarah was a jolly, sweet, laughing, happy child. She had the jolliest laugh of anyone. An Indian took a liking to her, and one day he came into the house, threw a sack of money on the table, and grabbed Sarah by the hand. “Me pay for papoose,” he said, “take white papoose to wickiup.” Sarah’s mother was powerless, and the Indian was nearly to the door when Benjamin came to the rescue. He gave the Indian his money back and pushed him out of the house.
In those early days there was bran and cornmeal bread. The cornmeal was ground between two rocks, and the flour was milled at Kanarraville. There were vegetables, fresh and dried, corned beef, fresh and cured pork, part of the time milk, butter, and eggs, and always molasses for desert, made from sugar cane raised by Sarah’s father. The delicacies of today were unheard of then, of course. Sarah said:
How well I remember the first can of honey I ever saw. My father traded for it at Pioche for my mother, who was ill. I slipped in and got a spoonful and hid while I ate it in tiny tastes—so it would last as long as possible, feeling guilty all the time. And it was the best of anything I had ever tasted.
The shoes Sarah wore were made by her father from beef hides tanned in Salt Lake City. It took a month or two to get them tanned and back. The shoes were not good looking but they were comfortable and lasted a long time. The pioneer children went barefooted in the summer to save their shoes for winter. Sarah said: “I remember how the hot earth burned my fee; the shade trees were too small to help much. I’d run from one sage brush to the next. Then I’d sit on the ground and hold my feet in the air to cool them off.”
Vivid in Sarah’s memory are the cards and spinning wheel her mother had to card and spin the thread to make their clothes, jean pants and hickory shirts for her father, made with tiniest stitches by hand. Her mother taught her to sew. She had to piece a quilt before she was seven years old.
They didn’t live long in the little log house, because a big flood almost destroyed the structure. The location was abandoned for a location in the center of town now owned by Reese Davis. It is diagonally across the street from the meeting house. At the new home, Benjamin Franklin was born on April 6, 1868. He was affectionately called “Benny.”
Later, the parents and their two children made the trip to Salt Lake City by wagon and ox teams to be sealed for eternity. It took about three weeks each way to make the journey. When they were all dressed in their Sunday best and ready to go, Benny filled a hat with mud and put it on his head. He was surely a discouraging sight to his mother with the mud running all over his head and down his only Sunday suit. Heartsick, his mother sat down and cried. The only thing she could do was put Benny to bed while she washed, dried and ironed his suit before they could go to Salt Lake. They did their temple work March 11, 1869.
Benny was a lovely baby, very cute, but he contracted measles and died at the age of two years. Thus, death had entered into their family for the first time.
Shortly thereafter, Benjamin purchased a farm north of town. In order to be close to his work, he made a house there and moved his family into it. On July 22, 1871, their third child was born, Mary Catherine. Farm life was difficult in those days—and dangerous. The Indians were savage and mean, and Clarissa was in constant fear. She learned to shoot a gun so she could protect herself and her babies. It was strictly for protection and not for sport. On one occasion she killed a wildcat, and another time she slew a skunk. But life was hard, and the fact that Clarissa was never at ease because of the Indians induced her husband to buy a house in town. Their third home was a new adobe house on the lot owned by Orson Hammond today. It was on the upper street, just back of Lemuel’s home. The house was unfinished, so Benjamin fixed and plastered it, then moved his family in before it was thoroughly dried. His wife wasn’t strong, and the cold she contracted in the damp house weakened her. She never fully recovered.
Shortly afterward, August 3, 1873, she gave birth to a baby girl, Anna Maria Vilate, their fourth child. The little mother was not strong enough to take care of her baby, so Mrs. Ella Sawyer took her and cared for her until her death at the age of four months, the second death in the family. Clarissa never recovered, and on January 18, 1874, she was called to her eternal home, leaving behind her husband, Sarah, seven years, and Mary (Molly), two years to struggle through the pioneer days without a mother.
It was a hard lot for Benjamin to do the work in the fields and care for his house and family. When there is no mother, it seems that grandmother comes next, and Sarah and Molly lived with their Grandmother Taylor most of the time for the next two years. At the age of nine, Sarah went home to keep house for her father. She was a willing worker. As soon as her father left for work she did the washing. She well remembered how her father’s garments looked stretched lengthwise on the fence, a worse color than tattle tale gray. And in winter when they were contrasted with the white snow, they were tattle tale black, Sarah said.
Sarah said: “Father would give us our baths on Saturday afternoon, then take Mary and me by the hand to visit Mother’s grave. I can still remember how he would cry during those visits.”
Sarah heard her father swear only once. He was plowing the garden when the horse balked and he called it a “son of a bee.” Benny, who was not yet two at the time, hit his stick horse and repeated, “Get up, you son of a bee.” That was enough to hurt his father. He took the little fellow in his arms and cried. Then he said, “I am sorry, and I promise you’ll never hear me say anything like that again.”
Sarah was much older than Aunts Luella and Alice, and so she could remember the cloth Clarissa made for them. That first quilt she pieced was done before her mother died. Their home was like all other pioneer homes where everything had to be done by hand, the hard way.
Benjamin was a hard worker and good provider, and after four years of managing the inside and the outside of the home, he married again. He and Nancy Luella Workman were married February 8, 1877, in the St. George Temple. To this union were born Benjamin Jacob, Robert Edward, John Hardison, Lemuel Wilson, Harvey Cornelius, Nancy Rebecca, and Oliver Arthur. The seventh child was born shortly after Benjamin died. Four of these boys lived and grew to maturity. Nancy moved out to Colorado but came back to New Harmony on visits. The boys came oftener and stayed with their sister Sarah Redd Prince.
Benjamin loved his church and was a willing worker, faithfully performing the tasks that fell to him. He held offices in some of the ward auxiliary organizations. For one year he donated work to help the St. George Temple, and according to reports in the ward records he frequently made cash donations.
He responded with other patriots to fight the Indians and was a member of the Jacob Hamblin expedition. He was a great peace maker. He would never allow his family to tear down another’s character. His motto was, “Blessed is the peacemaker.” His advice to his family was to always do right. He acquired the habit of punctuality, and he was orderly and systematic in his routine habits.
Benjamin’s life record was closed September 16, 1887. Typhoid fever was the cause of his death. A beautiful tribute was paid him by his brother, Lemuel H. Redd, at his funeral. He said: “No one knew his heart and inner desires as I did. He never wronged or hurt anyone intentionally in his life. He was goodness itself. To me who knew him so well, I can truthfully say he was the best man I ever knew.”
His granddaughter, Juanita wrote:
It is important that a state should remember its pioneers, not merely because they were outstanding in the performance of work, in the endurance of hardships, and in difficulties and experiences which are woven like a web into the historic fabric of our nation and state. It is fitting that we give honor to those noble pioneers for the heritage they bequeathed to us, their descendants. To this worthy group Benjamin Jones Redd belongs.
Benjamin Redd and other pioneers showed humble obedience. They heeded the prophet’s words. And as Elder Ballard states in the Oct. 1998 Ensign, “their humble obedience focused my mind on the eternal nature of the law of sacrifice, a vital part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Over time the practice of Sacrifice changed during the New Testament period, the purposes of the law of sacrifice remained in place even after the Atonement of Christ fulfilled the law of Moses. Often times when we hear “law of Moses” we tend to think of animal sacrifices. Sometimes it is hard to wrap your mind around something so gruesome as being connected to the gospel of love. However, if we take into consideration the two major purposes of the law of sacrifice that has been applied to Adam, Abraham, Moses, and the New Testament Apostles, and even to us in these latter days, we can better understand, accept and live the law of sacrifice.
The two purposes are:
1. To test and Prove Us
2. To Assist us in Coming unto Christ
SCRIPTURE #1 (D&C 98:14–15)
“For if ye will not abide in my covenant ye are not worthy of me”
QUOTE #1 ELDER M. RUSSELL BALLARD
Sometimes it’s easier to look at the past and give recognition to those that came before us. Their struggles and sacrifices seem so big and so important. Yet, while we sit here, we seem to have it so much worse than them. We may not have to have the physical hardships of crossing the plains, of fighting for our lives, or of burying our loved ones in unmarked graves. But daily we are fighting a battle. A battle that Satan wants to win, and he is constantly ranging this war. We fight for ourselves and we fight for our children. How often to get down on our knees and ask for help, how often do we sacrifice doing something fun because we know that is not what the Father would have us do. How often are our kids sacrificing “popularity” to stand up for what they believe in? We may not be passing the plains but we are fighting drugs, pornography, language, movies, and books that are filled with evil and yes sometimes we falter but we are trying. We are being tested and we are proving to our Heavenly Father that we want to come unto Christ.
Sorry, I got off on my soap box. Let’s redirect. We know the purpose of sacrifice, but what is the significance behind it?
Christ’s atoning sacrifice marked the end of sacrifices by the shedding of blood. Such outward sacrifice was replaced by the ordinance of the sacrament. The ordinance of the sacrament was given to remind us of the Savior’s great sacrifice. We should partake of the sacrament often. The emblems of bread and water remind us of the Savior’s body and of His blood, which He shed for us.
From the time of Adam and Eve to the time of Jesus Christ, the Lord’s people practiced the law of sacrifice. They were commanded to offer as sacrifices the firstlings of their flocks. These animals had to be perfect, without blemish. The ordinance was given to remind the people that Jesus Christ, the Firstborn of the Father, would come into the world. He would be perfect in every way, and He would offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. (See Moses 5:5–8.)
Jesus did come and offer Himself as a sacrifice, just as the people had been taught He would. Because of His sacrifice, everyone will be saved from physical death by the Resurrection and all can be saved from their sins through faith in Jesus Christ.
We do not sacrifice by the shedding of blood anymore, but we are still asked to sacrifice. He has said, “Ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood,…and your burnt offerings shall be done away…And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 9:19-20)
A “broken heart and a contrite spirit” means that we offer deep sorrow for our sins as we humble ourselves and repent of them.
How does sacrifice help us come unto Christ?
“Let us here observe, that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation; … it is through the medium of the sacrifice of all earthly things that men do actually know that they are doing the things that are well pleasing in the sight of God. When a man has offered in sacrifice all that he has for the truth’s sake, not even withholding his life, and believing before God that he has been called to make this sacrifice because he seeks to do his will, he does know, most assuredly, that God does and will accept his sacrifice and offering, and that he has not, nor will not seek his face in vain. Under these circumstances, then, he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay hold on eternal life” (Lectures on Faith [1985], 69).
Through sacrifice we are able to learn something about ourselves—what we are willing to offer to the Lord through our obedience.
We may not be asked to sacrifice all things. But like Abraham, we should be willing to sacrifice everything to become worthy to live in the presence of the Lord.
A few examples from the manual of sacrifices people have made:
· A Relief Society visiting teacher served for 30 years without missing an assignment.
· A group of Saints in South Africa rode for three days, standing up, to be able to hear and see the prophet of the Lord.
· At an area conference in Mexico, members of the Church slept on the ground and fasted during the days of the conference. They had used all their money just to get to the conference and had nothing left for food and shelter.
· One family sold their car to get the money they wanted to contribute to a temple building fund.
· Another family sold their home to get money to go to the temple.
· Many faithful Latter-day Saints have very little to live on, yet they pay their tithes and offerings.
· One brother sacrificed his job because he refused to work on Sunday.
· In one branch, the youth gave freely and willingly of their time to care for the young children while their parents helped build the meetinghouse.
· Young men and women give up or postpone good job opportunities, education, or sports to serve as missionaries.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
They Say a Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words
My little 3.5 year old is being a huge help. She volunteered to vacuum the couch for me. I had to grab my camera and take a picture of my Sweet Pea. Little did I know, when I would be taking the picture, my 2 year old would be taking a sacrifice for the team. Do not ask how old the piece of Eggo was that he is shoveling into his mouth. Just be happy that he is still alive after eating it.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Ouch!
This is not the call you want to get.
I was in Fillmore for a Girl's weekend of Scrapbooking when I received a call, "Have to go, they are calling Jayden for an X-Ray."
Not a lot of information to go off of before being hung up on.
Come to find out, Aspen and Jayden were riding a horse in St. George and got bucked off, and the end result:
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Pumpkin Carving
When we returned home from Vegas today, we had two beautiful pumpkins greeting us on the doorstep (thank you Misty!) With Grandma and Grandpa visiting, we figured, what better way to celebrate Grandpa's Birthday?
Giving "Papa" Hugs
No fear of Getting Dirty Here
Happy Little Boy
Teaching Mom How It's Done
Happy Halloween!!!
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