Imparting Religion

I don't remember when Todd first started asking me questions about God and Heaven and other related spiritual topics. I do know that despite my lack of holding regular family home evenings, formal instruction, scripture reading, or other devotion times, we have had numerous discussions about gospel principles-much to my delight. Tonight was no different.

For quite some time Ryan's favorite and most-requested bedtime song has been "Teach Me to Walk in the Light." The past few nights Todd has also requested that I sing this song to him (mostly to copy Ryan, I think). As Todd listened to the lyrics, he wanted to understand what it was saying in the second verse: "Come, little child, and together we'll learn Of his commandments, that we may return Home to his presence, to live in his sight- Always, always to walk in the light." What did it mean by "return"? I tried to explain that just as we lived with Heavenly Father and Jesus before we came to Earth, we hoped to return to live with them again after we died, along with the rest of our family. Todd wanted to know specifics, including "Will we have a house?" I thought it sweet when Todd said that he wanted to come back to Earth after he went to Heaven. I asked him if he liked living on Earth, to which he answered that he did. I tried to explain that God would take care of us, that Heaven would be beautiful (though I don't remember what it looks like), and that once we were there with Heavenly Father, Jesus, and our family members, we wouldn't want to leave.

What has been surprising to me is how difficult it has been to answer most of Todd's gospel-related questions. Nevertheless, I have enjoyed the thought that he puts into his questions and the thoughts that it has sparked in me as I attempt to answer them.

Tonight, as I started winding down for bed I picked up my December/January 2008 Parenting magazine and read an article titled "Mom's-Eye View: Spiritual Lessons" by Dahlia Lithwick, with the heading "Now that I'm a mom, I realize how much my kids can teach me about God." It was a timely essay for me to read, and I particularly enjoyed the following: "Imparting religion, any religion, to small children is a conversation, a negotiation, a way of learning together, if it's going to be incorporated into their sense of themselves. And it's in the quiet spaces between those conversations and negotiations that my own spiritual life has expanded as well."

Todd's First Talk in Church

Today Todd gave his first talk in Primary. Todd was so nervous when he volunteered to say the scripture and prayer a few months ago, that I didn't think they would ask him to do anything until he was five. But he did so well at the Primary program last month (and we have such a small number of children), that they decided to give him a second chance.

A few weeks ago the Primary secretary asked if Todd would be willing to do something. She said he could have his choice of scripture and prayer or the talk. I told her that we would talk it over at home and see what we came up with. It was a Friday morning when I talked to Todd about it, and he said he would like to give the talk (not what I was expecting!), but he did not want to do it "this Sunday but next Sunday". Todd wanted to call the secretary himself and tell her. We tried her at home, but she wasn't there. I told her husband what we were calling for and he gave us her work number, saying that she would be happy to hear from us. We called her at work with Todd on one phone and me on the other. I let Todd do most of the talking, and later she said that Todd's phone call was the highlight of her day. It meant so much for her to hear from one of the Primary children asking to give a talk at Church.

The Primary theme for November is "My faith in Jesus Christ blesses my life. I am thankful for my blessings." I gave Todd a few ideas that we could talk about, and ultimately he said that he wanted to talk about being thankful for his home and family. I gave Todd a few prompts, but for the most part he wrote his own talk. Here it is, with the photos we used as visual aids.

Todd's Primary Talk - Sunday, November 11, 2007

This month is November. We celebrate Thanksgiving in November. There are many things that I am thankful for.
God sent us down to Earth to live with families. I would like to tell you why I am thankful for my home and family.
I am thankful for my dog Copper, because I love him and I like it when he licks me. Licking is how Copper gives kisses and shows love.
I am thankful for my Mom, because I love her and she makes good food.

I am thankful for my bed, because my white covers are so cozy.

I am thankful for my dog Sandy, because I like to pet her.

I am thankful for my house, because it has pretty bricks.

I am thankful for my Dad, because I like to watch movies with him.

I am thankful for my brother Ryan, because he plays with me when I say he can.

Last week our family memorized the scripture John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

I can show Heavenly Father that I love him and that I am thankful for my blessings when I keep the commandments.

I can show him that I am thankful for my family by being nice to Mom and Dad and Ryan.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Todd did a pretty good job delivering his talk. He was a little nervous, but recited it into the microphone relatively clearly. The only thing he didn't do is recite the scripture. He has John 14:15 memorized completely, but felt awkward saying it in front of everyone. He whispered to me (in the middle of his talk), "Listen, Mom, can we go to this next line?" I gave him one more chance to recite the scripture at the end of the talk, but he wouldn't do it. So, that was that. Still, it takes guts to do what he did, and I was very pleased.

This was also the Sunday that the Primary children sang all thirteen Articles of Faith in front of the whole congregation. I mentioned earlier that we have been practicing in the car and around the house. Though Ryan's little class does not usually participate in the Primary performances, Ryan wanted to go up and sing with Todd. I thought, "Well, he probably knows them and will sing them as well as some of the other younger kids up there, so why not?" As it turns out, another little boy from Ryan's class (the Primary president's son) joined the other kids up there. I was glad that I was sitting close to the front. I was able to see the boys, and mouthed the words along with them while they sang. Todd didn't look to me as often for cues, but Ryan watched me rather closely to keep up with the words. Brett said that I looked pretty dumb, but I think it was worth it. I hope that Todd and Ryan continue to participate willingly in things like this. I think it is so good for them to have this practice in performance and public speaking, and I love being a part of the audience watching them. I'm a proud mommy today.

Florida Weather

What is Florida Fall weather like? Well, that's hard to say. Below are four different outings we went on in a two-and-a-half-week time period.


October 24th: Went to the Pumpkin Patch with a playgroup from Church. Evidence of the cold weather - Todd is wearing long pants, a sweatshirt, and tennis shoes (not sandals).

Ryan's outfit, while cozy, is not much evidence for the cold weather. Rather, the fact that he is comfortable without having his ears covered is evidence for the fact the it is not too windy out.
November 3rd: I took the boys to the beach to see if we could catch some of the Church volleyball tournament. Unfortunately, the turnout for the tournament was poor, so they were finished before we arrived. We stayed two hours by ourselves and had a great time. Evidence for the fact that the weather is pleasant and warm - Ryan is happy in shorts and a T-shirt.

(Can you spot the evidence for the fact that a wedding was held at the beach earlier in the day?)
November 7th: I make muffins and pack them up for a picnic breakfast down the street at a neighborhood lake. Todd rides his bike; I wear my rollerblades, pushing Ryan in the stroller while holding on to Copper.

Evidence of the cold weather - again, Todd is wearing long pants, real shoes, and has his hood up on his jacket. Also, though you can't see me, I am wearing my fuzzy red gloves. Evidence of the wind - Ryan is trying to cover up his cold, little ears.

November 10th: Oma suggests that since it's such a beautiful day, why don't we take the kids to the beach. You never know when these perfect beach days may come, so we go for it. Evidence for the beautiful weather - see photo.

Baby Clothes and Recycling

After Todd grew out of his baby clothes, I packed them up and put them away in the attic. When I pulled the clothes out for Ryan, I handled each item one-by-one and remembered how little Todd had been at one time. It was an emotional moment for me going through the box.

After Ryan grew out of his baby clothes, I packed them up and put them away in the attic. Two years later I pulled them out of the attic to share with my friend Anne who had a little boy. I handled the items again (though a little less this time because I was letting Anne do the washing and folding of each little outfit) and remembered how little Ryan and Todd had been at one time. It was an emotional moment for me going through the box again.

Now, Anne's baby boy has grown out these little clothes, and once more I looked over some of those items and remembered how small Todd and Ryan had been at one time. The boys look so different from the little babies they once were that - you guessed it - it was an emotional moment for me. I picked out a few special outfits, and Anne let me have some tiny onesies that were her baby's, and when I got home I dressed the teddy bears.

I can't really say why I did it. It sounds so stupid now. I think I just wanted to handle those little outfits one more time.

The boys thought it was great. Todd asked me to put the overalls on his teddy bear and said that she was the mommy because she was wearing a dress. I explained that they were really pants, but the poor teddy's legs weren't long enough for them. The funny thing is that when the boys wore overalls as babies the snaps would pop open and Brett would tease, "Why is Todd (or Ryan) wearing a dress?!?"

Earlier this month Anne was sorting through her toys and pulled out ones that her children weren't playing with much. She passed up this Weeble-Wobble castle to see if Todd and Ryan would enjoy playing with it at our house for a while. They have had quite a bit of fun with it - though they have also used it as a cool racetrack for some of their cars.

Isn't recycling great?

Food Adventures

As I mentioned in my first post, I am trying to do better at preparing dinners for my family. Not only am I trying to plan meals in advance, I am also trying out new recipes. Most of my new recipes have come from a magazine which I have subscribed to for almost two years now, Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. I like that most of the recipes use good-quality ingredients without requiring things that are not easily found in the grocery stores around here. And the recipes are ones that we can fix and eat "every day." I'm not into trying bizarre-I mean "exotic"- recipes.

As I was unloading my groceries from a recent shopping trip this week I noticed how the food that I keep on hand in my pantry has changed. I am using less of the items I used to keep a large supply of: jarred spaghetti sauce, cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, canned corn, canned green beans, and canned ready-to-eat soups. While I still use those items from time to time, I find that I am more likely to use fresher ingredients for my recipes as well as fresh vegetables for side dishes than before. I have a long way to go before I only use good-for-you ingredients, but I can see the progress I have made.


This evening Brett paid me a nice compliment on our dinner. It wasn't anything special - in fact, it was essentially leftovers. A few weeks ago, I made a new recipe (from Everyday Food) called Eggplant Bolognese. It is a tomato-based sauce served over pasta. The recipe made quite a bit, so I froze half of it for later (tonight's meal). When I originally told Brett that I would be making this recipe he wasn't thrilled - it sounded gross. However, tonight he said that it was probably his favorite spaghetti sauce ever - and it's full of vegetables. He recommended that I make a double batch and freeze it for some good, fast dinners. I know that my mom used to do that, but from the time that I was cooking for myself it was always easier to just grab a jar of Ragu. But now I am inspired. Brett's only suggestion was that I change the name to something like, "Mom's Awesome Spaghetti Sauce" - what a compliment!


Now that I have been doing better at dinners, I decided it was finally time for me to figure out how to make a pie crust from scratch (successfully). I made my second attempt last week (my first attempt was not the greatest), and even made a lemon meringue for the first time. This picture might not look that impressive, but I thought my mini-pies were quite tasty. I may even be ready to contribute a homemade pie for Thanksgiving!