F.H.E.

Tonight I am grateful for my kids who reminded me that it was Family Home Evening and asked if they could plan the lesson! I will be the first to admit that we haven't been in the habit of having F.H.E. every Mon. night. Zach has had football since August and last week was the first Monday we had all been home together in many months! I actually made a yummy dinner and told everyone that we were celebrating football being over!!! I've never felt that way before when Zach was done playing a sport, but I think Morgan coaching full time this year made a big difference! I was so excited to have my family together again! Every General Conference I always feel so bad and guilty when they talk about how important it is to have your family together for dinner, but during football there really is just nothing we can do about it! I used to beat myself up over it, but now I have learned that for 3 months that is just how it is going to be! I really have to make it a priority the other months though. I can attest to you even in the last week, what a difference it makes!!! I love making a nice meal for my family, but it is something I can't do every night! But I have also learned that it doesn't matter what we are eating, it is the fact that we are sitting around the table together TALKING, SHARING STORIES WITH ONE ANOTHER, LAUGHING, TEACHING, AND JUST BEING A FAMILY TOGETHER! We had one of the most memorable sunday dinners yesterday, one we hadn't had in a long time. Even after we were done eating we all sat there for like an hour, just talking, Halle hadn't slept all day, so she fell asleep around 5, which was while I was making dinner, and we were eating. I'm sure we wouldn't have been able to do that if she would have been awake. It was so nice to sit with the older kids, and TALK with them!

Anyway, back to the subject here, I think I was talking about F.H.E. not family dinners... Ha ha!

When Brinley came up to me this afternoon and was asking what we were doing tonight, if we were going anywhere etc. I told her that we were going to be home, she got so excited and asked if she could plan F.H.E by herself! I told her sure, and was thinking that I would surely have to help her with something. But no, she did it all on her own! She called us all into the living room and was ready to start! She started us on a scavenger hunt and had prepared 4 different envelopes with things in them. After we had found them all, that is how she started her lesson with #1

(I'm going to write down here what she had written, so I don't forget, she was so cute!)

1- Why do you think we have Articles of Faith?

We believe in God the Eternal Father and in his son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost.

2-What do you think the 2nd Article of Faith means?

We Believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.

And then we talked about the Atonement and why we have it, and how we can repent.

3-Do we have to believe in Jesus Christ?

No, (this is Brinley talking) But it is better if we do, cuz at church you learn about him, and I Love Jesus Christ!

We Believe that men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgressions.

Then she shared a story with us in the Old Testament that she had learned in class on Sunday (she just loves her primary teachers!)

She had songs picked out, and everything! It was so cute, when we started singing, Halle started leading her arms like she does at church! Brinley and Boston had a fun time leading us too!

This is Boston leading us in Book of Mormon stories. When Zach was little we had to sing this song EVERY time!!! It was his favorite!

Follow the Prophet "He knows the Way"!

We had a little bit of fun too!

My sweet Brinley

The boys looking at something on Zach's iPod afterwards.

We had Oreo ice cream after, and Morgan even took Brinley to the store to pick out a treat. They came home with Cinnamon Rolls!

We ended the night with my 2 littles actually going to bed at a decent time! I love it when they go to sleep at the same time, with me laying by them of course!

Sometimes I feel like I learn more from my kids, than they learn from me. Tonight was definitely one of those times! Thank you Brinley for gathering us together and remembering what is important in life! Hopefully this can be the start to many more Monday nights together!

We love you!