Turn off the Thunder

The other night, it had started to rain at our house. Along with the rain, there came the thunder and lightening. Jon and I were both very excited by this. As it started to really come down, We heard Brett upstairs screaming. We ran upstairs to see what was the matter, and I rocked him for a little bit. He was so scared of the lightening, that I could not pry him off of me. I kept telling him that it was ok, but nothing I said could convince him. He just kept crying, "Turn off the Thunder Mama!" I felt so helpless, I had no idea what to do. Then I remembered the conference talk by Elder Bednar, that he gave this last conference. He said this:

I pray for the guidance of the Holy Ghost as I describe a spiritual early warning system that can help parents in Zion to be watchful and discerning concerning their children. This early warning system applies to children of all ages and contains three basic components: (1) reading and talking about the Book of Mormon with your children, (2) bearing testimony of gospel truths spontaneously with your children, and (3) inviting children as gospel learners to act and not merely be acted upon. Parents who do these things faithfully will be blessed to recognize early signals of spiritual growth in or challenges with their children and be better prepared to receive inspiration to strengthen and help those children.

I had this prompting that I should bear testimony that God hears our prayers. I dismissed the thought, I convinced myself that Brett would have no idea what I was talking about. The prompting came again, so I thought, "what the heck, I'll try it." So I held him tight and told him that there was no way that mommy could turn off the thunder. I told him that only Heavenly Father could turn it off. I also told him that I knew that if we prayed to Heavenly Father, He would turn off the thunder. I told him that the reason I knew this was, because Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers. Brett immediatly looked up at me and folded his arms, the spirit was SO strong. We prayed and then we went down stairs to wait out the thunder. I was kicking myself, all I kept thinking was, "Why did I tell Brett it would stop?" What if it doesn't stop?" Then I just said a little prayer, "Please Heavenly Father, turn off the thunder." With every strike of lightening, I would cringe. Finally after 30 minutes (we were watching a movie), Brett looka up at me and exclaims, "It stopped Mama!" I listened, but heard nothing. I was relieved and very thankful. I thought that he would forget the whole episode by morning, but was proved wrong, very wrong. This incident touched my son so much that it was all he cold talk about for a week. He told everyone that we talked to that Heavenly Father turned off the thunder.

What a Cutie

I know, he is too cute for his own good. This boy has good some good genes. My only problem is that I need to get this picture edited, but I don't have the talent. Does anyone want to edit it for me??

Mmm, Mmm Good

We were celebrating my birthday a few weeks ago and I couldn't help myself (which seems to be a re-occurring theme). I squirted a little whipped cream on Kate's tray and this is what happened.

She loved it to say the least. She was almost frantic trying to eat it as fast as she could, so I gave her more. I am the BEST mom ever!

Kate at 10 Months

Our sweet Girl at 10 Months has enjoyed the following:
*Clapping her Hands
*Cut her Upper left tooth(doubt she enjoyed that).
*Took three steps
*Feeds other people her food
*Standing steady
*Walks five steps
*Cut her Upper Right tooth(I didn't enjoy it, so I doubt she did either)
*Says Mama
*Gives kisses when she wants too
*Takes eight steps
*Eating every tiny scrap of dirt off the floor(Yuck)!

She keeps us busy. There is nothing that we love more, then to pick her and and snuggle. She is a super sweet girl, with tender feelings. We have dicovered that she is a Mama's girl and loves to pat Me on the back when we snuggle. She is very dramatic, and often we laugh at her when she is mad. I know that sounds back, but really it is hilarious.

Pinewood Derby

We had our Pinewood Derby a few weeks ago. All of the boys had a blast racing their cars, and there were no tears. Here are the treats that I made for the event.

Our race cars.

Since we have allergies I had to make rice krispie treats. So I made Original, Chocolate, Orange and Peppermint.
Lovin' every minute of cub scouts.

Kate Relaxing

She just flops over Papa's lap and hangs out, she even falls asleep in this position.

Ain't It Great To Be Crazy

For Valentines day, Jon and I decided to get some children's songs for Brett. We ordered 150 fun songs for kids from Amazon, which you can find here. You can also listen to clips of the songs. For the most part they are super silly. Every morning Brett asks me to turn on these songs, and at bed time he wants me to sing them to him. Anyway there is this song on there called, "Boom, Boom Ain't it great to be crazy?" Which as of lately I think sums up my life. Brett seems to really enjoy this song, so every morning we start out our crazy day with it. Here are the extremely silly lyrics for this song.

A horse and a flea and three blind mice
Sat on a curbstone shooting dice
The horse he slipped and fell on the flea
"Whoops," said the flea, "There's a horse on me!"

Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?
Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?
Giddy and foolish the whole day through
Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?

Way down South where bananas grow
A flea stepped on an elephant's toe
The elephant cried, with tears in his eyes
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?
Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?
Giddy and foolish the whole day through
Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?

Way up North where there's ice and snow
There lived a penguin and his name was Joe
He got so tired of black and white
He wore pink slacks to the dance last night!

Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?
Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?
Giddy and foolish the whole day through
Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?

Eli, Eli had some socks
A dollar a pair and a nickel a box
The more you wear 'em the better they get
And you put 'em in the water and they don't get wet!

Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?
Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?
Giddy and foolish the whole day through
Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?

Called myself on the telephone
Just to hear that golden tone
Asked myself out for a date
Said be ready 'bout half-past eight!

Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?
Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?
Giddy and foolish the whole day through
Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?

Took myself to the picture show
Sat myself on the very last row
Wrapped my arms around my waist
Got so fresh I slapped my face!

Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?
Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?
Giddy and foolish the whole day through
Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?

Just so you know, it is great to be crazy. Wouldn't trade my craziness for anything.

RS Temple Trip

Every year the Relief Society goes to the temple together. Last year, I was pregnant and so emotions were running high as I sat in the endowment room. The spirit was so strong as I sat there with my beloved sisters all dressed in white. I made friendships there that day, that have blessed the lives of me and my family.

This year, I was a little distracted as I went through the session. I was put in charge of the luncheon, after the session. All through the session, I was so worried that I wouldn't have enough food. I felt so bad that I could not pay attention, and the my mind kept racing. As I sat in the Celestial Room, I closed my eyes and sent a plea to heaven. Praying for the extra help that I needed to be a good wife and mother. This overwhelming feeling came over me. It was warm, it was comforting. I started to cry, it was one of those feelings that I wish I could feel every day. It was this powerful love. I felt so loved. It is exactly what I needed.

The Luncheon was great, the food was a big hit. We had: Chicken Salad Sandwiches on Cessants, with Veggie tray, Jello Parfait, Cream Puffs and Lime water.

I needed to be there and I think that the decision to make me in charge of food was inspired.

Easter

So Easter was kind of crazy for us. We spent it down at Mom and Dad Wierschke's. I was looking forward to a great Easter/Conference weekend, sadly it didn't go that well. I came down with a massive migraine during the drive down. It go so bad that it put me in bed during Easter dinner. Jon's cold that he had for a week turned into a massive ear infection. Luckily we know a doctor down there, and he was able to help us out with a prescription. By Sunday evening, Jon was feeling tons better.

We did our Easter Egg hunt inside and we were all in our Jammies, so no pictures of the hunt in action. Here are the kids with their loot. *I just want to say that in my quest to lose baby weight, we had a candy free Easter, which is a big accomplishment for me.*


All in all we had fun and Conference was very inspiring.

Newest Members of the Family/Fish Tank

Our Fish tank started to grow brown algae and was taking over the whole tank. We went to the pet store after days of research, and got us some algae lovin' friends. After 8 hours, our tank was sparkling clean.

This is Alfie out Algae Eater. I love this little guy.This is Ike one of our Ghost Shrimp. Ghost shrimp are the greatest, you can watch their food go through them.
This is Mike, our other Ghost Shrimp. Sorry Uncle Mike, this shrimp was not named after you. We had to name them after a great duo, because they are great shrimp.

Our other Platys were acting wierd, so we bought a Rainbow blue platy. Brett named her Violet. Excuse the fish tank, I took this picture right after we got back from Conference and the weekend feeder is still in there.

Cub Scouts

My first pack meeting was a big flop. This month theme is flight. One of the requirements in the book that is related to flight is weather. So I was going to teach the boys about, why the sky is blue. Now I am not a scientist and I had to have Jon try the experiment and explain it to me a million times. Well I goofed up the experiment and pretty much lost the boys attention. One boy said, "Man, I should have stayed home." I felt like a big failure, until he said, "My hand hurts." He went on to tell me that he flew off of his bike, right before pack meeting and that he was hurting pretty bad. I felt a little better.

I successfully taught them how to make Popsicle stick airplanes, which shatter on impact, and they LOVED it. I should have known that they would love anything that got destroyed. I really need to start thinking like a boy.

Last week, we did pinewood derby prep, which I was of no use to the boys. Instead I entertained those who were done with their cars. I brought a bucket of water, a quarter, several pennies, and a bag of candy. The boy that could drop a penny and have it land on the quarter got a piece of candy. None of the boys were successful, and kept begging me to let them try again.

I'm Lovin' Scouts.

The Fall of Adam and Eve

Here is my outline for my lesson on the Fall of Adam And Eve. I have only used quotes from apostles and Prophets. I didn't want there to be any hesitancy, and I didn't want to speculate. I don't feel this is a gospel topic that people really should speculate about. If you have any questions, you can email me(email address is on the sidebar) or leave a comment. I would love to share other things that I have but am very hesitant to share it on the blog. If you are interested in other material, drop me a line. I got most of my material from my old stake president and a CES teacher. Enjoy!

Modern Revelation and the Fall

Mainstream Christianity Views Adam and Eve as villains, but what insights do we gain from Modern Revelation?

1. The importance of the doctrine of the Fall

Christians (and even Muslims) know the story of the Fall of Adam. However, their views of the fall differ greatly from the beliefs that we as Latter-day Saints hold. We are going to discuss (please discuss, ask questions) some of the areas where our beliefs differ from the commonly held beliefs and why understanding these differences are of fundamental importance in understanding the Plan of Salvation.

QUOTE 1
God himself, the Father of us all, ordained and established a plan of salvation whereby his spirit children might advance and progress and become like him. It is the gospel of God, the plan of Eternal Elohim, the system that saves and exalts, and it consists of three things. These three are the very pillars of eternity itself. They are the most important events that ever have or will occur in all eternity. They are the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement…we must know how and in what manner these three eternal verities—the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement—are inseparably woven together to form one plan of salvation. No one of them stands alone; each of them ties into the other two; and without a knowledge of all of them, it is not possible to know the truth about any one of them. Bruce R. McConkie, “Christ and the Creation,” Ensign, Jun 1982, 9

1 Pillars of Eternity Quotes
1. Quote 2 Atonement – “The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the heart and core and center of revealed religion…Immortality and Eternal life are the children of the Atonement” McConkie
2. Quote 3 Fall – “But, be it remembered, the Atonement came because of the Fall…If there had been no Fall, there would be no Atonement with its consequent immortality and Eternal life. Thus, just as surely as salvation comes because of the Atonement, so also salvation comes because of the Fall.” McConkie
3. Quote 4 Creation – “And be it also remembered that the Fall was made possible because an infinite Creator…made the earth and man and all forms of life in such a state that they could fall…thus was introduced the type and kind of existence needed to put into operation all of the terms and conditions of the Father’s eternal plan of salvation.” McConkie

2. The nature of Adam and Eve

A. Who are Adam and Eve? What do we know about their pre-mortal condition?

a. Manual Pg 27 paragraph 2

B. What insight does this provide?

a. They were the noblest of Father’s Children

b. They were given the honor of bringing mortality into the world. They were the best Heavenly Father had to offer.

3. Two Commandments

A. If it was God’s plan that Adam and Eve were to stay in the garden then why would God plant a tree that, by partaking from, would get Adam and Eve expelled from the Garden?

a. Quote 5 The Lord said to Adam, here is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you want to stay here then don’t partake of the fruit. If you want to stay here then I forbid you to eat of this fruit. Mortality was initiated through the eating of the forbidden fruit, if you want to call it forbidden, but I think the Lord made it clear that it was not forbidden. In order to comply with the great plan of happiness, Adam had Eve were forbidden to stay in the Garden of Paradise. Adam could not multiply until he had partaken of the fruit of this particular tree and brought upon himself mortality, which was inevitable and necessary in the great plan of salvation. And in fact the Lord forbade Adam and Eve to stay in Eden. He merely said to Adam, if you want to stay here, this is the situation. But you may act for yourself and you may eat of it if you want. If you desire to stay in the Garden of Eden, I forbid you to eat it. Joseph Fielding Smith, Address given at the Salt Lake Institute of Religion, 14 Jan 1961

b. The Tree of Knowledge was given to provide opposition and allow man to have agency (2 Nephi 2:11-12,15-16)

B. Why was having children so important

a. Allow all of God’s children to receive bodies and then ultimately exaltation

b. By having children it increases our chances for sorrow and also for happiness

4. Innocent not Ignorant

A. Adam and Eve were Innocent

B. They were not ignorant, they knew the plan

a. Quote 6 These terrible risks of sorrow and death were facts Adam and Eve were willing to face in order that “men might be”. But they – like us – were able and willing to venture these only with the knowledge that there would be safety at the end of the day for those who wanted it and lived for it. They were willing to transgress knowingly and consciously (the only way they could “fall” into the consequences of mortality, insamuch as Elohim certainly could not force innocent parties out of the garden and still be a just God) only because they had a full knowledge of the plan of salvation, which would provide for them a way back from their struggle with death and hell. As Adam would later say, “Blessed by the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God. Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, p 202-203

C. Partaking of the fruit was a conscious decision

a. Satan thought that he was destroying the plan, but he “knew not the mind of God” (Moses 4:6)

5. Blessings of the Fall

A. Mainstream Christianity doesn’t see fall as a blessing

a. Adam and Eve saw their fall as a blessing (Moses 5:10-11)

B. They could have kids, all mankind could partake of salvation

C. They could know good and evil, experience the opposition

D. They could progress and achieve salvation

E. Agency and Accountability (2Nephi 2:27)