Personal Progress & Honor Bee tracking

The young women in our ward are tracking their personal progress on an XL decorated board (besides in their PP booklets or online).  Each Sunday and/or Wednesday, the YW come to us leaders and pass off or show what they've passed off in their PP booklets.  They get a treat for each accomplishment, and they mark off their tracking chart on the PP board.  We have lots of YW who have finished PP and are repeating the program and/or are earning their Honor Bee.  They have a chart for Honor Bee on this board as well.
The board is from Staples and the cork board was covered in burlap and painted with turquoise stripes.  Fun "atta girl!" decorations were added.  I serve with some very ladies!

Brand New Personal Progress board
with blank cards for each YW

Zooming out, this is the YW wall where we have our calendar, who is conducting, flyers, and just like the New Era, we've got a section for "Instant Messages" or inspirational thoughts.

Do You Love Your Neighbor?- the game

Directions:  Set up chairs in a circle or oval.  There should be one chair less than the # of people playing.  "It" is in the middle of the circle.  Everyone else starts the game sitting on a chair in the circle.  "It" starts the game by standing in front of someone in the circle and asking, "Do you love your neighbor?"  If the person says, "Yes!" then the people on either side of him/her try to trade seats before "It" sits in one of their seats.  If the person says, "No!" then "It" asks, "Then who do you love?"  The person then makes something up like, "I love everyone with blue eyes."  Everyone with blue eyes in the circle must find a new chair to sit on at least 2 chairs away from where they were sitting.  "It" tries to find a seat as well.  Whoever is left without a chair is "It."  Repeat until you're worn out.

This game was a Family Home Evening idea from our stake president.  It's a huge hit with the youth at church, and recently we played it with friends at the Balmforths while some mutual friends were in town visiting.

WARNING:  This is not a game for the faint of heart.  I had bruises the next day & I'm sure I pulled a muscle during the game.

Cannot wait to play again!

First chair casualty of the night

No mercy, not even for Cutie 

Forever Friends

Cutie & her friends playing on the hill

The big kids ended with a game of Knock Out

Thank you, Balmforths for a grand 'ol time!
You sure know how to throw a party!

Postitive Thoughts To Go!

In Pages on the Mac, there are some templates under "flyers" that have the tear away tabs at the bottom.  I used one of those templates to make this poster for the YW room at church.  The positive thoughts to tear away at the bottom read:

• Walk with the Lord and your path will be brighter
• Gratitude unlocks the fulness of life
• You have been blessed with a beautiful soul
• Forgiveness is good medicine for your heart
• Kindness begins with you!
• Be a Beacon of Light in the darkness
• Smile!  Everyone is carrying their own private burdens.
• Count your many blessings, starting with LIFE!
• Make the choice to let go of negative thoughts
• You are beautiful inside & out

Young Women Christmas gift

We gave UNO cards and this note to the Young Women at church for Christmas.  The UNO cards were found at the $1 store, so this was budget friendly and the girls LOVED it.

Happy Birthday to Christina!!!

Our Nina is fourteen!  

Bring on High School,

stake dances,

early morning seminary,

and because she's finished her personal progress already,

she's chosen to earn her

Honor Bee 

and start the personal progress program all over again,

and she has invited me  & Ama to earn
the YW medallion again with her.... fun!

Nina, we are so very proud of you!
You are a star- a beautiful example to all of us.

We wish you a very happy birthday and an exciting year again full of
more great things to come!

Lots of love,

mom, dad, Thomas, Grace, Caroline & Wesley

TrekStrong

Wayne and I were parents to a family of 8 teenagers at our stake's recent youth Trek. Christina and cousin Michael went as well....we all had an amazing journey that will stay with us forever.

Christina and Michael started off with the rest of the youth at the Boston temple where our stake President reminded the youth how the saints were driven from Nauvoo and directed by the prophet, Brigham Young to go west to the Salt Lake valley. The tree-lined path down the center of the temple parking lot was lined with pioneer quotes about the journey west much like you find on Parley Street in Nauvoo. The youth walked silently down "Parley St.," read the quotes, and boarded the buses heading for the trek trail.

Meanwhile Wayne and I were up at the trail head. We worked with the other Ma's & Pa's to get our wagons, coolers, and food bins prepared for our families.

We were directed months prior to pray for our trek kids, and we were anxious to learn who they were! People were at the park where the trail began and we did a little missionary work there too. One girl from the Ukraine wanted to join us on trek....maybe someday!

The youth arrived, and Trail Boss McQuivy divided the families.

We immediately bonded with our kids...Christina, Moises, Brian, Bryn, Jessica, Jeffrey, Talia, and Conor. We were the Allred family.

We spent some time getting to know the kids who came from all sorts of families and environments. We had lunch and a mini devotional. Wayne talked about why we chose the Allred surname. He shared the story of his ancestor, Reddick Allred who was one of the few who heeded the prophet's call to rescue the Martin Handcart Company and brought saving supplies to the destitute, suffering saints at the Sweetwater River. We knew we'd be doing a river crossing and wanted the kids to be invested. We felt like we got off to a good start as a family.
Christina was in our friends', the Lund's family. She really clicked with her big sis, Carmela, and with her whole Trek family. They walked behind our handcart for the first leg of Trek and it was so great to hear Carmela honest kindness toward Christina. Christina was glad that I was there to document her Trek ...not!

Some highlights from our Trek:

• The scenery. We were on shaded trails much of Trek. Both campsites were beautiful, esp. the second night where we camped on private property with a manmade, trout-filled lake, and beautiful waterfall.
• Inspired leaders. There were so many prayers and much fasting for this Trek to be meaningful for the kids. To hear leaders tell the kids how they spent hours on their knees on their behalf, you couldn't help but feel of their genuine love and concern for the youth. I was so impressed and learned much about leadership on Trek.
• The food! We were far more pampered than the original pioneers in an effort for the kids to focus on the spiritual lessons Trek has to offer. We marveled at the time, thought & effort that went into the menu and feeding 120 youth + dozens of adults.
• Families. One of the great lessons of Trek is the importance of families. We had to work together, we had several family devotionals, and as we talked along the trail, we all tried to mentor one another as it became clear that there were some among us who came from difficult environments. It's been days since Trek ended and I'm still thinking of my Trek kids and I'm sure I'll always love them and pray for their welfare.
• Fun! We talked and talked, played tag (Michael started it), played Pioneer games like the stick pull and leg wrestling, started Team Michael, braided hair, and told funny stories for much of trek. We square danced Friday evening. It was such a long day on the trail and I could have easily gone to bed, but we had a blast dancing with the youth. By the time we were done, we were really ready to sleep on the ground. again.

• The Women's Pull. This is the part of Trek where the men are called to serve in the Mormon Batallion. The boys double timed it along an off shoot of the trail and we women gathered around our wagons and said a prayer of gratitude for the men in our lives who sacrifice and teach us mercy and faith, for US to have the strength to pull through this leg of Trek, and for our Savior who is our perfect Example of mercy and strength. We worked hard, and as we began hearing the cheers of the men, our girls started RUNNING! Sis. Rollins and I thought the handcart was getting away from us, so we pulled on the break rope. When the girls yelled, "Don't break!!!" we realized they were running and we dug in and ran along with them. It felt great to pull together as women & honor the courageous and strong pioneer women who led their families for thousands of miles while their husbands and sons were part of the Mormon Battalion.
• Continue The Rescue. "CTR" has another meaning now for our Trek group. We did a symbolic reenactment of the Sweetwater River crossing. We focused on the meaningfulness of the rescue, on many levels... obedience, mercy, courage, trust, faith. Everyone was silent or spoke in whispers as family by family crossed the little creek helped along by a few young men. Wayne carried me across on his back. One of the women was helped across with her newborn baby in her arms. It was a beautiful experience. One YW said of the experience, her CTR ring reminds her to "continue the rescue."
• Coming HOME. I felt such anxiety as we approached "the Valley" and could hear the cheers of family and friends. I was dying to see my kids! We all ran that last leg of Trek and it felt so good! We were supposed to stay with our handcart, but I saw my sweet Caroline and had to run to her and squeeze her tight. I found all of my kids and our friend, Neal brought Wesley to me. Wes didn't know what to think, poor thing, but I was overjoyed. Like others I couldn't help but relate this to our reunion in heaven. I spoke with one of the ward members later and she shared her special perspective on the welcoming side. She said, "It was a privilege to be there early and help prepare for your arrival. Helping with the food tables- cutting up watermelon for you was a joy! We couldn't help but cheer you on as you arrived. It felt like a heavenly homecoming."

Tug of War at the Stake "Welcome to the Valley" reunion.... Grace isn't one to shy away from a challenge. She marched right over to anchor position and dug in. Wesley looked at me like I was crazy while I kept yelling at him to "PULL!!!" Gosh, it was great to see him!

As hard as trek was, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. We worked hard, loved our families, got to know lots of youth and leaders in our stake, strengthened testimonies, and came away grateful for the experience.

We were SO thankful to my brother, Adam, his wife Mari & "baby Des" for taking care of our crew so we could do Trek. It was nice knowing our kids were spoiled with fun & love while we were away.

We love our crazy bunch!

Mommy notes

*Christina had a really nice YW mtg. last week. They introduced the Virtue value. One of the achievements within the virtue value is prayerfully reading the Book of Mormon. Christina's leaders showed the girls a necklace made of sterling silver chain & "ruby" crystals (see Proverbs 3:10...). The girls will earn a ruby for each book in the Book of Mormon they read, & in December when they complete the Book of Mormon reading chart, each girl will make one of these necklaces for herself. The YW leaders invited the moms to participate in the BoM reading challenge, but only the girls will make these necklaces. I'm taking this on...I'd have loved to do something like this with my own mom. I also want Christina to know that reading the B of M is truly a lifelong worthwhile study. No matter how many times you read it, you'll always find something applicable, learn something new, and be reminded of true doctrine. I'm thankful that Christina is taking this challenge on & has such great support from her YW friends & leaders.

* Thomas gave a kid the bird on Tuesday at recess. He doesn't even know what it means, although he does know it represents a bad word. We talked about reacting to situations and recognizing triggers that push his self-control to the breaking point. He deeply regretted what he did. I'm glad someone called him out on it right away. I told Thomas that kids are going to be cruel. Kids are going to be mean. You can count on someone not liking you, quite possibly all of your life. You can't control that, however, you can and have to control how you behave and react to every word and action that comes your way. You are accountable for your behavior. You can't control who loves you and treats you with respect, but you can and should find a way to think kind thoughts about everyone, even those who offend you. They don't need to be your best friends, especially if they constantly bring others down, but harboring ill will isn't just not nice, it hurts you; it's never a good thing. I told Thomas that behavior like giving the bird is completely out of character for him, and that was obvious by how upset he was at HIS own behavior, not just at the boy who offended him. On Wednesday there were a couple things that took place at school that were hard for Thomas to deal with. This time he didn't let the situations get the best of him. He had no regrets, and I helped him recognize the difference in how he felt Wed. as opposed to Tues. I told him how proud I was that he was true to himself today. We stopped by Barnes & Noble on the way home and Thomas used his birthday money from Grandma Ann to buy The Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-it-Yourself Book. Good day.

* Grace is reading The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs. To hear her talk about it is hilarious. She finds a way to insert "sassafras springs" into each sentence. She took her book to school to read aloud to her class. Spring has sprung and Grace is back on her bike. She loves belting out HER song, "Amazing Grace." She loves to sport her striped sunglasses to school (thanks, Aunt Sara!). Grace went on a field trip to the zoo and rather than track down a brown bag for lunch, she found a blue & yellow polka dot gift bag. She's fun as ever.

* Caroline: "Mom, if carrots are good for your eyes, what's good for your ears?" Do YOU have an answer for that? I don't. I told Caroline that I just couldn't let her go to Kindergarten next year. I want to spend another year at home with her. She said, "OK." "Really?!!!," I asked, although I knew her reply was too good to be true. Just to be sure, I asked, "You really want to stay home with me?" Caroline didn't miss a beat and said, "For ten days." She gave a start date of sometime in the end of August, which quite possibly could be 10 days before school starts. I can't win! :)

* Stunt man, Wesley: He does a stop, drop and roll stunt...don't know where that came from, but it keeps us laughing! He's so easy to adore. Last night after putting the kids to bed (Thomas & Nina were at church with Wayne), I heard Wesley laughing hysterically from the gut, just like he does during tickle torture. I went in his room fully expecting to send the girls back to bed. No one was there, and Wesley, while awake, seemed to snap out of a day dream. I felt terrible for interrupting. I asked him if grandma was playing cars with him, and I helped him snuggle back in his blankets and put his head on his pillow. Happy Dreams:)