St. Patrick's Day

Taking a note from my friend rabidrunner I decided yesterday that I really like holidays that have no strings attached. I like the idea of celebrating (and I use that word loosely) for celebrating's sake. There is no obligation to buy gifts, there is no need to run around getting "things" done, there is no need to do anything but make an otherwise boring day a bit more fun. Yeah, I like that! We didn't really do anything too out of the ordinary but everyone wore green shirts. After school I took the kids to buy all the green food they would like to try (and even some they didn't) for green dinner. And while I didn't take any pictures of the "feast" let's just say it was enjoyed by all. Especially me, because to break out of the humdrum of the daily routine was just a breath of fresh air; and not just because I got to keep my window's open all afternoon but because it was having fun for the sake of fun. Of course the highlight of the holiday was when grandma's St. Patty's card's came the day before with a little bit of "green" for each of the kids--now that was definitely out of the ordinary and definitely fun! Now I just have to wait until April Fool's day to enjoy the change of pace again--unless any of you can think of a holiday between now and then.....

*Oh yeah, the comment section reminded me that there was also green breakfast and green hair with the leftover Halloween hair spray.

**And since we're talking about green breakfast, when I was making Madeline's milk green, she said "Mom, I think Andrew and I are getting a little old for this." I told her I wasn't and then when I handed her her cup, she looked at it and asked if I could put in a few more drops to make it darker. How's that for contradicting herself?

Book of Mormon Stories

Our stake leaders have given us a challenge this year to read daily from the Book of Mormon. It wasn't to finish the book or read a designated amount, but simply to read daily. Thankfully this challenge tipped the scales at our house to finally start to read the scriptures with our kids. It has been such a great experience for me to share with them and while we haven't quite hit every day, we are doing it and we are making progress. When we first started we weren't sure how it would work out with Ben and Sarah who are a bit young to just sit and listen to scriptures, but I have been so impressed with them and their ability to be still and be in the moment. There are so many things about this experience that I am grateful for and I just want to list a few I never want to forget:

* Sarah laying totally still while I tickle her tummy as we read

*Madeline being beyond frustrated by us always giving her the shortest column to read and then rising to the challenge when we explained that she needs to be a stronger out loud reader to have the privilege of reading more

*The look in Andrew's eyes as we discuss the scripture stories and their practical and gospel application

*Sarah mangling the words as she "reads" her verse each night

*Ben gaining confidence in his own reading and taking the initiative to read 2 or 3 verses a night without help (OK, without very much help)

*Struggling through the Isaiah chapters. We have laughed together at the silly words and phrasing in there, but I was most impressed when we gave the kids the option last night of skipping over the rest of these chapters and they all decided that they wanted to keep pushing through. I was very touched that they care so much about reading the whole Book of Mormon that they found the idea of skipping the hard parts insulting.

*But most of all, I am so grateful for the peace this whole experience has brought into our home. I love it when we all sit down in the evenings in our front room and end the day by reading our scriptures together. Nothing beats sharing that spirit with Craig and my kids and that is enough to keep me strong on this endeavor. I am so grateful for the wisdom and insight of our stake leaders in issuing this challenge and I am even more grateful for our desire to take it to heart. It has truly made a difference in our lives and I look forward to reading together for many years to come.