Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye
shall prosper in the land."
(2 Nephi 4:4)
From The Book of Mormon, this scripture has been a common
theme throughout its pages, and this particular saying is mentioned 34 times!
34 TIMES! It's important, and we know it.
Our little family has successfully read through the Book of Mormon
three times together. We plan to finish it again
in October and then start over!
I shared with the children the importance of keeping the commandments,
emphasizing that they encompass more than just the
Ten Commandments given to Moses.
These commandments are scriptures and words given to us
by our prophets and apostles, who provide leadership
and guidance in our modern age.
We trust our leaders, especially our Prophet, and we know
he is the direct mouthpiece of God.
As a family, we believe that we will be blessed and prosper
by doing our best to be obedient and hold fast to the commandments of God.
During the feast, we talked around the table about how
we each wish and hope to "prosper."
we each wish and hope to "prosper."
Claire said she wanted to be able to get up in the morning and
be on time for school, she knows she will prosper in her schoolwork
if she is obedient to the commandments of God.
Jane mentioned she wanted to make new friends since
Claire won't be in Middle School with her this year.
She also understands that by keeping the commandments,
she will prosper by making new friends.
Oliver said he wanted to do well at sports,
and knows by keeping the commandments,
and knows by keeping the commandments,
he will prosper by having a strong and healthy body to play the sports he loves.
Nicholas was pretty quiet throughout the night
(I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that Lottie
spilled bubbly on his white shirt before dinner even started),
(I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that Lottie
spilled bubbly on his white shirt before dinner even started),
but he mentioned he wanted to up his reading level.
We agreed that keeping the commandments would help
him achieve that goal, and then he would prosper at reading.
him achieve that goal, and then he would prosper at reading.
while Claire starts her Freshman year in High School!
and Nicholas will be in 4th grade this year.
I made a big batch of homemade macaroni and cheese.
The Little Nies LOVE this dish.
Also on the menu:
Arugula and Orzo salad
Peach and Strawberries in coconut glaze
and fresh rolls.
(Which I burned. So then I called them
"blackened" rolls, which sounds exciting).
I had our new family theme made into a darling quilt.
Lottie had so much fun matching them throughout our dinner.
The night was complete after indulging in the triple chocolate lava cake
Of course, what would our night be without our colorful glass stars?
In the center is etched each child's name, grade, and year.
My children have quite a beautiful collection.
This year, Piggy and Dirt created the coolest star I have ever seen for me.
It is HUGE!!!
It is HUGE!!!
I love it so much! It is hanging directly over our dining room table.
What a fun addition to my gorgeous stars!
You can request just about any size of star you want them to make.
They are so much fun!
I decorated the tables with photos of our
favorite memories of the previous year.
favorite memories of the previous year.
Dinners, swimming, parties, the ranch, family members, hiking,
skiing, laughing, eating, etc.
I had the photos made into a fun memory game from Pinhole Press.
Pinhole Press also framed our family theme
in a nice frame so we can add it to our
in a nice frame so we can add it to our
Thank you to Mr. Justin Hackworth for
perfectly capturing our evening.
Justin comes with his beautiful assistant, Tia,
and take photos for us so I don't have to.
It's really lovely.
Then, we usually end up eating our dinner
in front of Justin and Tia, which I always feel bad about.
I made it in the crockpot. YES, and YUM!
