The Christ-Centered Home

With the celebration of Mother's Day yesterday, it's natural for mothers to enter this new week wondering where to go next. With cards and flowers, breakfasts in bed and little homemade gifts, our hearts are renewed to continue strong in our mothering journeys. And yet, we desire to be just a little bit better; we long to make a greater difference in our children's lives. We fully realize our role as homemakers is to be the heart of the home and create an atmosphere of love, peace, and refuge for our families. And yet, does it ever feel a bit daunting when we consider just how to accomplish this?

May I suggest a little book that might help?

"The Christ-Centered Home" by Emily Belle Freeman


I have dearly loved every book by Emily Freeman, but this one is my new favorite. With her gift of weaving stories and ideas into practical life lessons, Emily invites us on a 12-month journey to center our homes on our Savior, Jesus Christ.

In addition to inspirational stories and scriptures, each chapter includes journal questions for introspection and a lesson to teach our families (complete with a conversation, a connection activity, and a celebration treat to make together).

This book came at just the right time for me - in this transition phase of renting a little home while building our farmhouse. I've been searching for a way to unite my family and provide some sort of stability for them in this bit of upheaval. My answer is clear - I must create a Christ-centered home. Because it is only through Him that we will find the peace and stability we all seek in this ever-changing world with its continual trials. As I've taken the time to read, my cup has been filled with joy and resolve to reclaim my position as homemaker and home-changer. I hope that throughout this year, my family will feel a noticeable shift in the atmosphere of our home and by next Mother's Day, our hearts will be knit together in Christ.

Perhaps one of my favorite quotes from the book is this:


This is how I feel every. single. day. I feel to rejoice with all my heart for all of the ordinary and spectacular miracles He grants me each day. The tender mercies never stop raining down upon me, and the more I notice them, the more I find. Heaven has not forgotten me and heaven has not forgotten you. I hope that with the start of this new week you will feel how very much your Heavenly Father loves you and your family. He wants you to succeed and receive all the glorious blessings He has prepared for you. And if you seek for His grace, you will surely find it.

With love for all of you,

Your friend,
Jamie

The Farmhouse Dream.

This is a story of a dream come true.

I suppose it began a long time ago when I was just a little girl. You see, I grew up in a little red brick house that sat on an acre of land. It wasn't the house or the land that made it particularly special - it was the way my parents created a home out of love for our family and faith in God. And yet even though a sacred home can be created in any location, this little spot was heaven to me. The sloping hill with shady maple trees, the springtime blossoms, the summertime apples and sweet cherries, the old red barn, the pasture that stretched on for what seemed like miles...these are the things I treasured.  This was home to me.

So I guess it shouldn't have surprised me that when I grew up and moved away, all I ever really wanted to do was move back home. Maybe not literally, but figuratively I had this dream to create for my own family what my parents created for me.

Since Patrick and I have been married, we have lived in eight different abodes and have brought our "home" with us wherever we've gone. And yet, even so, there's been this yearning in my heart to find a spot of land in this great big world where the location, the surroundings, and the area feel similar to the home I had as a child.

When we built our house where we now live, it was so close to perfection. We built our cozy cottage perched on a hill with splendid valley views. It has a large yard and sits in a quiet neighborhood. And to everyone else's standards, it's perfection indeed. But even before we started building, Patrick and I had been looking for land. It was our shared dream to build a home on a few acres somewhere in the countryside, but that dream was not yet to be. We did not have sufficient funds for acres of land, so we decided to purchase our 1/3 acre lot and make an untamed rocky hillside into a haven of sunshine for our children. But we promised each other that one day the farmland would come. And I always knew in my heart that it would.

For three years we settled into this bright little cottage, creating a home and taming the wilderness. With generous help from family, friends, and neighbors, and through our blood, sweat, and tears, we hauled boulders, raked rocks, spread ten dump trucks of fill dirt, bordered gardens, brought in truckloads of compost, built a sandbox, laid pallets of sod, planted six fruit trees, and dozens of flowers and bushes. It was truly a labor of love and our yard seems to smile at me every time I look at it.

During this time, I kept my "Farmhouse Dream" alive in my heart. I told only a few close friends and family members because most people just didn't understand why I would ever want to move. So I prayed for contentment with what the Lord had given me and I worked for it every day. With time, I fell so in love with this "Sunhaven Cottage" and it's outdoor eden that I thought maybe my childhood dream was not meant to come true. I tucked this dream on a shelf in my heart and decided to come alive in the home I was in. So we lived and laughed and cried and played and made so many memories that I will cherish forever. But every so often, I would take out my little Farmhouse Dream and feel this twinge of "what if?" What if this dream could still come true? But was it selfish? Should I just give it up and stay here forever?

I took my questions to the Lord and He answered with a host of feelings and assurances that now take up pages in my journal. And through it all, He whispered so gently that there would be a farmhouse someday and my Farmland Dream would indeed come true. His whispers reassured me that my dream was not selfish but intrinsically connected to who I am and my purpose in life. The answers from on high calmed my fears and gave me the courage to live joyfully in the present while at the same time nurturing a hope for the future.

So last summer I began land searching. Not in any desperate, need-to-escape kind of way, but just so I could get a feel for the county we live in and where I would someday like to be. Many summer days after swimming lessons the children and I would go for a drive through the countryside and find plots of land for sale. It was a lovely pastime, but I never found anything I loved. I knew that when I saw it, I would know. It would be right and it would feel like home.

After a year of driving and dreaming, I decided that when our family outgrew the current bedroom situation in our cottage, it would be time to either move or finish the basement and settle in for the long haul. When I found I was expecting our fourth child at Christmas, we made plans to turn our daughter's room into a shared bedroom for her and the new baby. With four children, we would still easily fit in our house, so I told the Lord that maybe in a year or two I would consider moving.

Then one day as I was vacuuming I noticed several damaged areas of the carpet and thought we would definitely need to redo the floors if we ever moved. I filed the idea in my long-term to-do list, but no more than a few days later, our son accidentally flooded the toilet with too much toilet paper and we had a small-scale flood on our hands. Two minutes of damage turned into two miserable months of repair and insurance calls and workers in and out of our home every waking minute while I was extremely morning sick. All the carpet was torn out and replaced with wood flooring that I had always wanted. I was grateful that this trial brought about such a fortuitous blessing. Because little did I know, that in the midst of the flood repairs, we would find our farmland...

It was a cold and snowy Sunday evening, just before dusk. We were on our way home from my parent's Sunday dinner and I was feeling morning sick as usual. As we neared closer to home, I thought maybe a drive through the snowy countryside would do me good. So I asked Patrick if we could take the long way home, but I didn't tell him where to go. I was hoping he would make a certain turn into a little town I love. It's not on our way home--it's a bit out of the way. But to my surprise, without a word, Patrick turned at the exact spot I had hoped. Just a little coincidence, but it didn't stop there.

As we drove down the quiet country road, I remarked to my husband, "Why can't there ever be any land for sale out here? I love this countryside! I wish there was just a little spot of land for sale!" I grew silent for a moment and reminisced on the evening a few years back when we had come out here to a sweet man's homemade ice skating rink. We skated for hours and I had wished I could stay there forever.

Suddenly, pulling me out of my reverie, I noticed a little sign up ahead. "Is that a for sale sign?!" I exclaimed. We slowed down and pulled over to the side. Sure enough, the sign read "FOR SALE" and I got this overpowering feeling of warmth in my heart. This was it. I could feel it.

The next few days offered hope and momentary disappointment as we found out the land was already sold. But then we found out that there was another plot of land for sale in the very same field, but it was already under contract. But maybe, possibly, if the buyer fell through, the farmland could be ours. I felt so much peace throughout the whole process. When I prayed about it, I felt peace, like everything would work out exactly as it should. And work out it did. After a month of waiting, we were offered a piece of the farmland and we made an offer.

We still didn't know how it would all work out. Now we'd have to sell our house right after we made it so beautiful. And how could I leave our friends and neighbors? We had grown so close to our church family here. I was still sick and we weren't sure this was the right time to be moving and building - with a baby on the way. But each day, we put our trust in Heavenly Father and He guided us step by step - lighting the path in front of us.

The timing was definitely not my own. But the Lord knows best. He knows when we need to settle and when we need to move. And for some reason, this is our season to move. The house sold in less than a week. I didn't even have time to put a for sale sign in the yard. And we have to be out now in just nine days.

There is still so much uncertainty that lies ahead. We hope to have our Farmhouse built by Autumn, but we will see how it goes. The Lord keeps opening doors and windows and little crawl spaces. So we follow where His Spirit leads and put our faith and trust in Him forever. He cradles our lives in His hands and is ever so involved in every detail. This is my faith.

So as we embark on this journey, I hope to share with you the adventure that lies in nurturing and growing a dream. I hope that deep in your heart you have special tucked-away dreams that are intrinsically connected to who you are and why you came to earth. As we follow the nudges of the Holy Ghost, we can sort out which dreams are God-given and when to plant and nurture them. May you have the courage to examine your seed-like dreams and surrender them to the Gardener. He will help them grow and bloom in His own due time. Of this you can be sure.

French Toast Easter Scavenger Hunt

We are on the countdown - just 4 more days until Easter! For me, I want Easter to be meaningful for my family, and yet not too complicated or busy. We always decorate eggs and have Easter egg hunts but this year I was looking for just a little bit more.

So when I was asked to participate in the #Hallelujah Easter campaign, I was thrilled. SugarDoodle.net provided all the traditions I would need. Our Easter Family Home Evening was a success with all of the activities and printables I shared yesterday, and now all my focus can be on this weekend. If you are looking for a simple, meaningful tradition for your family's Easter, perhaps you can join me and my family as we use the beautiful resources below:

In an effort to use a basket full of fresh backyard eggs, Colette from My Computer is My Canvas started experimenting with a French Toast Bake Recipe that has quickly become a family favorite.  Plus, with Easter just around the corner and the #HALLELUJAH Initiative gaining steam, she recently related each of the ingredients to the Savior; making this recipe not only a great Easter-Eve Lesson, but also a delicious Easter Morning Breakfast Tradition!

To get started, print off the Scripture Scavenger Hunt PDF and let your kids dive into the New Testament to learn more about the Savior as they fill in the blanks to complete the recipe!  A couple of the scripture clues are a tiny bit tricky, so be sure to use Page 2 to find extra clues.

Next, it’s time to get baking!! After many attempts with this recipe (and fails) – Colette finally identified the perfect bread for her French Toast Bake... bagels! They are soft AND dense which allows them to effectively soak up the egg mixture and maintain their shape for soggy-free baking. A fun twist to this might be Cinnamon Swirl bagels or even gluten-free ones for those intolerant.

From there... just follow the recipe! Cut bagels into 1⁄2” cubes, make and beat the egg mixture, then pour over the bread.

Be sure to recruit your kids to help you, they’ll have fun making the recipe with the clues they found! Colette likes to mix the cubes and egg mixture in separate bowl to make sure the bread gets well coated – in fact, for that step, she relates how the tempest was raging and the Savior calmed the storm... so get those cubes tossing and turning like a ship at sea!  As noted in the image above, this is a “make ahead” recipe and it should be refrigerated overnight.  This allows extra time for the bread to adequately soak up the egg mixture. Then, before baking, prepare a brown sugar crumble and “spread” it across the top, just like the Palm Branches were spread for the Savior as he entered Jerusalem! (Crumble recipe included on the cards.)

Colette has provided lots of printables for us...just click on the following links:
Recipe cards + an easy toprint PDF to do the Scripture Scavenger Hunt with our families!

The final step? Take a picture of your family making it, baking it or eating it and share it on Social Media with the #HALLELUJAH!

Lastly, as the final highlight, I knew I wanted to include this new, spectacular video in our family's Easter festivities.

May your Easter be festive and focused on the Savior of the World, is my hope for you my dear friends!

XOXO,

Jamie

A Simple Easter FHE #hallelujah

Easter is fast-approaching and we've started our annual family traditions for this glorious holiday.

Last night for our family home evening lesson, we opened the glorious gifts that our Savior has given us with these gorgeous nesting envelopes created by Heidi Swapp. As we reflected on the gifts of Easter, the Spirit filled our home.





{You can download these free printables for the nesting envelopes here}

Then, for our Family Home Evening activity, we made these adorable Easter baskets courtesy of Melissa Esplin. Our children chose the recipients of these Easter goodies and we plan on delivering them in the next few days. Not only are these little baskets absolutely darling, but they are decorated with symbols. {You can find the free printables here.}

{As a little side note: we've made a goal this year to do one service project per month as a family. Last month on Valentine's Day we visited the local care center to sing songs and this month for Easter we will be delivering these Easter baskets.}

UPCOMING TRADITIONS:

This weekend we have plans to decorate Easter eggs, go on plenty of Easter egg hunts, and do a few new traditions that I will post about tomorrow.

What Easter traditions does your family celebrate? Please take a moment to share below - I love to read your ideas!

XOXO,
Jamie

Secrets to a Heartfelt Valentine's Day

Is there a way to elevate Valentine's Day from one of high expectations and disappointment to one of meaningful, heartfelt memories?

I've experimented over the last nine years to find the secret formula for the perfect Valentine's Day. These 5 simple tips below are the essence of what I have found.

1. Give Love. First and foremost, change your focus from "getting love" on Valentine's Day to "giving love." This tip is the single most important thing I can offer you.

It will change your world.

Dream up all the ways you can make this day magical for your family, friends, and loved ones, and watch your heart expand and open. This one simple shift in thinking will allow you to receive more love than you can possibly imagine.

2. Celebrate YOUR Family. I could easily call this tip, "Don't compare," but I don't like the negative statement. Instead of allowing yourself to get caught up in all the ways your friends, neighbors, and social media photos celebrate Valentine's Day, be unique. Be authentic and create your Valentine's Day in a way that brings you and your family joy. It doesn't matter how anyone else is celebrating. Honestly take stock of what is important and meaningful to you and cut out the rest guilt-free. This tip is vitally important as you read the rest of my tips. I offer our family's celebrations as mere ideas. Please don't feel like you have to do or be like me. Just be YOU.

3.  Simplify Traditions & Decor. Not all the loving plans and gifts we dream up will be realistic or even feasible. Hone your list of dreams to the very most meaningful ways you can make Valentine's Day special.

{Our simple Valentine's Day celebrations include gifting the children a bowl of candy and chocolates when they wake up, along with a new book or two that I have recorded reading to them so they can listen anytime they would like. My husband and I take turns planning our evening date for after the children go to sleep.

My Valentine's decor is very simple, yet lovely. I fill my red glass basket that belonged to my grandmother with Valentine's chocolates, and place an empty chocolates box on the table. This empty box is sometimes filled with love notes that we write to each other. This year I am on the lookout for when my children are kind and serve one another. I write it on a little heart and place it in the box. On Valentine's Day I will assign one of the children to be Cupid, and they will get to pass out the hearts to those who did the service. I hang on my shelves a simple banner of 5 vintage Valentine's cards on red & white striped twine. And the final touch for me is a big bouquet of fresh flowers. This is the icing on the cake for me...my flowers have yet to arrive this year, but I will be posting a photo on Instagram when they come if you follow me there.}




4. Create a Heartwarming Meal. Now, this meal doesn't have to be fancy or glamorous or even homemade. Plan a meal that will bring you joy (and not much stress). If our holidays are so consumed with busyness, they lose their sparkle and cease to be a joy and delight. Make your menu, then don't second-guess yourself. If a night out at a special restaurant would be more joyful to your family than hours in the kitchen, don't hesitate. But if you prefer a gourmet feast with all the trimmings, follow your heart. There is no right way to create a heartwarming meal. The key is to make sure whatever you do is heartwarming to you and those you love.

{For breakfast we are trying out a new tradition of a special Valentine's cereal bar where the children get to create their own bowl of "cereal love" (Rice Crispies topped with heart-shaped marshmallows, tiny dehydrated marshmallows, and sprinkles). Dinnertime always involves hearts of some kind. Some years we make a heart-shaped pizza, but usually, we have heart pancakes.

This year the menu will be: heart-shaped pancakes topped with strawberry or raspberry jam & a dollop of whipping cream, along with cherry pomegranate juice, bacon, eggs, raspberry pretzel salad, and chocolate-dipped strawberries for dessert.}

5. Let this holiday be a pattern for your life...

Day 29: Life Moments

We visited my Gram and Pop this past weekend and so I brought along my hand-lettering supplies to create prints. As I was drawing, Pop brought out his notebooks where he has recorded hundreds of quotes, poems, and thoughts. He read me a few and I fell in love with this one instantly (along with others that I will be hand-lettering in the future).

Thank you for teaching me this, sweet Pop. And thank you for sharing thousands of moments with me and my family. We will treasure them always.

Day 27: I'll Love You Forever

Do you know this book? It was one of my very favorites growing up. I'll never forget the sound of my mother's voice as she read it to us.

And now I read it to my own children and feel so blessed. These children we have been given are truly the greatest treasures.

Traditions bind the generations together.

Do you have a sweet and simple memory you are making a tradition with your own children?

Day 23: Never Grow Up

Fridays=family time and so on this Friday, I can't help but think of my sweet family and all that they mean to me. I have three children ages 8, almost 7, and almost 4. Truly, they are a bundle of delight. I don't know how I got so lucky to receive these three special gifts from my Father in Heaven. Their personalities amaze me and their valiance leaves me in awe.

But I have a problem. You see, no matter how hard I try, they keep growing up.

The change is almost imperceptible in the days, but when you look back at a picture or video from even just a year ago, the change is drastic. I hardly notice it happening, but it happens in the blink of an eye.

My mother used to give me "stay-little pills" and I just recently heard from my Grandfather that he used to give my mother "stay-little pills." Apparently, they don't work, because I keep trying them on my own children to no avail.

In my mind, I know they need to grow up and experience all the beauty that life has to offer. I want them to have all the joy I have. But still my heart cries out, "Please, just never grow up!"

With each passing day, they bring me more and more joy. Their personalities are emerging and blossoming in such delightful ways. Every year brings me blessings unimaginable. So naturally, I love to see them grow up and learn new things and become this wonderfully unique and capable little human being. But at the very same time, I want to cradle their faces in my hands and freeze time just exactly as it is now. {Don't even get me started on the heart-wrenching feelings that emerge when I look at their little toddler pictures...}

Oh this growing up business is not for the faint of heart. It's ever so bittersweet as a mother.

Maybe tomorrow, sweet children, you can grow older...but not today.

Stay little...just for today...



{To view this print in my shop click here.}

Day 22: Moments

Do you have a collection? I collected many things growing up--stamps, teddy bears, dalmatians, bookmarks, and tea pots to name a few. I was a collector.

I still am. But my main collection now is that of memories. I love the moments that make up my cherished memories. I collect moments through photos, journaling, writing, and video recording. And my favorite moments to collect are family memories.

I kept a family blog from 2008-2015 and now I have a special print instagram account for family memories. These I print into books so I can always treasure the words and photos from our family's memories.

My other favorite thing to do is record my children on video. I record the big moments and the small moments and those in-between. Then in the fall time I pull out all the recordings and make one short movie for every month that recaps our memories through video and music. On New Year's I give them to my family and we curl up together to watch them.

Material things get old, break, become outdated. But moments? They are priceless. They're worth more than all the money in the world.

Truly, memories, and the moments from which they are made, will live on forever.

How do you collect moments? Please comment below...

{And to view this print in my shop click here.}

Day 20: Speak Love

One of the most beautiful hymns from the Children's Songbook is "Love is Spoken Here." The lyrics are so timeless and empowering. They have become a motto for me--a vision of what I want our home to look and feel like:

I see my other kneeling with our family each day.
I hear the words she whispers as she bows her head to pray.
Her plea to the Father quiets all my fears,
And I am thankful love is spoken here.

Mine is a home where every hour is blessed by the strength of priesthood power,
With father and mother leading the way
Teaching me how to trust and obey;
And the things they teach our crystal clear,
For love is spoken here.

I can often feel the Savior near
When love is spoken here.

(words and music by Janice Kapp Perry)


We all make mistakes and there are times when the words in our homes are not very loving or kind. But I believe with all my heart that one person can make a difference. One mother, one father, or one child can change the very atmosphere of the home by committing to this practice of speaking love. How would your home feel if you were the one who made that difference? How would your love ripple outwards, lifting the attitude and actions of all present in your home?

Might you commit to try for just one day to only speak love?

Our homes can become the heavens on earth as we embrace this practice with all our hearts.


{To view this print in my shop, click here}

Day 13: Beautiful Destination

What is your destination? If you have a great vision of where you want to be in life, then hold fast to that dream even if your road today feels rough. Keep your dreams ever before your eyes and savor the little moments along the way. It will all be worth it in the end. 

Sometimes dreams are easily chosen, but other times they're more elusive. If life finds you traversing a difficult road without a specific "dream," take heart. Keep walking the path. Stay close the Lord and He will guide you just where you need to be. You see, sometimes dreams come true that we never even knew would be possible. Your next destination may be a beautiful surprise.

My dreams right now are many: to raise a happy, righteous family, make wonderful memories, write and publish a book, live in a little farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, return to Portugal, go on missions with my husband, and maybe even change the world through words...What are your goals and dreams?

{To view this print in my shop, click here}

The Secret of the Sacred Morning

Imagine the radiance of a sunrise, when all the gray turns to dawn and the whole world breathes in freshness. Have you ever woken before the rest of your house--when all is quiet and perfectly still? Have you ever walked through the rooms of your home as Moses approached the burning bush--in reverent awe as you tread softly on sacred ground? The peace feels almost other-worldly in a home that is usually filled with the laughter and lively voices of little children.

Anyone who is acquainted with the early hours knows that mornings hold a well-kept secret:

Mornings are powerful. And intrinsically, they set the tone for the rest of the day.

Harness the tranquility of the morning and you have captured a spirituality that will uphold and surround you for the rest of the day. The Spirit you find in the morning will fill you up and radiate outward to those in your sphere of influence.

And summer is especially conducive to this sacred kind of morning.

I have learned a few lessons this summer through experimentation and trial and error:

1. I can feel the difference. On the days that I bask in the stillness, scuba-dive into the treasure chest of God's holy word, and record Heaven's answers, I am a holier person. I mother more like the Savior ministers. And the days when I sleep in too long, missing out on a morning renewal, and instead rush through the chaos of the morning, I feel the lack.
2. Summer is the perfect time to spend the morning stillness with our children. When my boys were toddlers I used to dread the thought of them waking up during "my study time" because it would interrupt the stillness. I tiptoed around hoping not to wake them and inwardly cringed if they awoke. How I wish I would have realized as a brand new mother that my children were not stillness breakers as I assumed, but stillness seekers just like myself. As mothers, we hold the power to take them in our arms, snuggle them, and model for our children just how we soak in the stillness. This summer I rejoice if my children join me in my morning sacred hour. They sit with me in the comfort of my bed or the beauty of our white sofa and together we enjoy the peace.
3. There are many resources for children to savor. Find children's scripture readers here, here, here, and here, scripture videos here, more inspiring children's videos here, online games and activities here, a family history coloring book for only $.85 here, a beautiful and inexpensive children's magazine here, or the online version here.
4. The early morning can become a laboratory of learning how to live like our Savior. This new idea was just given to me on Friday night as I sat in the temple, and I am anxious to try it out today. This website here has countless Bible videos that demonstrate the moments of our Savior's life from recorded scripture. I want to watch one small video a day and then seek to let the power of Christ change me into a mother who ministers to my children just as He would minister to them if He were here.
5. The still morning doesn't last forever. Much too soon the house wakes up, the stillness dissipates, and the home becomes a little hive of busyness. We kneel in family prayer, eat breakfast, and send Daddy off to work. And if I'm not careful, I can let the last few seconds of stillness slip through my fingers untapped. In those last few moments before the hustle ensues, it is good for us to share what we learned from our spiritual feast. It is a precious time I can use to shape their little spirits as well as my own. Sharing insights can produce a special kind of spiritual synergy.

Will you join me in the hushed holiness of the early morn? Will you use this time to cloak your home in the robes of reverence so that you and your home become shelters of security, safe havens of holiness, and sanctuaries of stillness?

Be still and know that he is God. 

Read in the reverence.

Put on the protection of peace.

Write in the stillness.

The miracle of the morning is the best-kept secret around.

Finding Your Sacred Center

When I think of creating a sacred summer, dozens of ideas come to mind—all wonderfully amazing things I could do with my children to bring a sense of the sacred into our summer.

But then it occurred to me one day.

Sacred isn’t something we do.

Sacred is something we are.

 Sacredness begins within the secret chambers of the heart, reaches out to the world around us, and then circles back to envelop our hearts in peace.

In the sweet words of Marjorie Pay Hinckley:

“True spirituality makes you loving and grateful, and forgiving, and patient, and gentle, and long-suffering. True spirituality breathes reverence into every act and deed. It compels you to get in touch with your Heavenly Father every single day of your life.”

Don’t you love that? “True spirituality breathes reverence into every act and deed.” That is the essence of a sacred heart.

Imagine if just one person embraced the subject of sacredness with such passion, such zeal and devotion, that it literally became part of them. Can you imagine the result? Christlike light and holiness would naturally radiate outward and encircle everyone in that one person’s sphere of influence.

You can be this person—no matter your station, stature, or calling in life. You can create a sacred chamber within. You can embody sacredness.

My call right now is to be a mother. And oh how I need sacredness in this daunting stewardship. I want to have the light of sacredness emanating from me like the beacon of a lighthouse. I want my children to feel safe and loved and peaceful in our home. I want them to feel that when they are with me they are in the presence of a true disciple of Christ. Nothing I endeavor to give my children can surpass the gift of who I am and how I mother them.

I think I have focused too intently on how to be a good mother with all of the accompanying shoulds and to-do’s. I’ve lingered too long in the valley of “I need to do this, that, and the other in order for my children to be happy.” I’ve stressed too much about implementing programs and lessons and activities. I’ve worried too often about how to make their childhood “perfect,” and not enough on how to perfect myself for them.

I may be a slow learner, but Heavenly Father is ever patient with me. And He is teaching me now that what I do for them will never satisfy that deep longing I have to be a good mother. The only lasting legacy I can give them is myself.

So this summer, I will endeavor to become sacred for them.

• I will dive daily into God’s word searching for answers and strength and peace.
• I will call upon Father and pray for my children with all of the fervor I can muster.
• I will model for them the virtues and practices I want them to embody someday.
• I will speak with the tongue of angels.
• I will take time to be still as often as necessary, to calm my anger, hurt, or the sense of overwhelming responsibility I feel. And in those moments I will just breathe. And pray.
• I will center myself through daily pondering and meditation in order to create a calm pillar of strength within me so that stress, emotion, and opposition have no power over me. 
• And most importantly, I will seek to obtain the Holy Spirit as my guide, because when He is with me, I am able minister to my children as if the Savior Himself stood beside me. 

This could be the summer of sacred becoming.

The Queen Bee Challenge

Hello Friends!

It's Friday and I'm so happy.

This week has been filled with Science experiments, Art projects, baseball games, reading "The Chronicles of Narnia," a trip to the library, and swimming.

Summer is so incredibly sweet....and busy. It hums along like a bumblebee, and if we're awake and aware, our homes can become a hive of happily humming bees busily engaged in making honey and other sweet summer things.

Or they can become a hornet's nest of squabbling contention and noisy discord.

I challenge myself this weekend to make my home a hive of happiness, a haven of holiness {even if summer tends to have a higher volume than other seasons}.

When the buzz of my children would usually cause me to quiet them down and hush their play, I will choose to smile instead and love them for their exuberant childlike wonder.

And when the buzz threatens to turn to angry cacophony, I will choose to be a loving queen bee, and bring sweetness back to my hive.

Care to join me?

P.S. I'm doing a GIVEAWAY on Instagram right now for an original hand-lettered 8x10. It ends tomorrow--so go follow me @writinginthestillness to enter!

General Conference is a Treasure Map!

I am always overcome with a feeling of sadness when General Conference is over. It's such a special family time and a time of increased spiritual nourishment. My heart is always so full, that I have a hard time letting it go and moving on to regular life again. Do you ever feel this way?

I remember back in 2013 when President Monson gave his closing remarks and said, "Conference is now over." My sister heard these words and thought he'd said, "Conference is not over." She was so happy until she realized what he'd really said. Since that day, I've often reflected on the statement, "Conference is not over." And it's true--Conference is never really over as we take the inspiring words that touched us and implement them into our days. It's never really over as we re-read the talks and ponder on them again and again. It's never really over if we have the Spirit of Conference, much like the Spirit of Christmas, before our eyes continually.

But even with knowing all of this, my days get busy, life moves on, and the strong Spirit which accompanies Conference is sometimes overlaid with other priorities. So Sunday evening I took the matter to the Lord and asked Him--"How can I make General Conference last for me? How can I soak up the words continually and really truly change and become better in the coming six months?"

He answered in the most brilliant way--bringing to my mind these words:

"General Conference is a treasure map."

So the next morning, I devised a plan of how I will personally study the Conference messages and then a simplified family plan to do with my children so they can catch the vision as well. I made my family each a treasure map out of brown Kraft paper and I spent the day creating a Family Home Evening lesson around this theme.

That night, we gathered around our half-finished living room and learned how we could each create a treasure map and obtain the "treasure" of peace, joy, and becoming a true disciple of Jesus Christ as we follow the teachings of Conference.

We watched a segment on the most amazing YouTube channel I was miraculously led to called "Learning from General Conference." We read quotes and promises from President Monson and Elder Hales and then we devised a family plan of how we will create our treasure maps. I handed out the maps and they each colored themselves on one corner and the treasure on another. Then we watched the first "highlights" segment from the YouTube channel from the very first talk (which was about one minute long) and drew a picture of what we are going to do as a result of the talk. We plan to watch a highlights video every few days and add things to our treasure map until we've watched every single highlights video.

I ended with a quote I had written to hang on our fridge:

"Conference is now over...BUT--your Conference Treasure Map has just begun!"

Then I bore my testimony and witnessed a peaceful, unique feeling distill upon our home.
It was a memorable evening--and one I will never forget.

Simple Pleasures.

Fog enshrouded the frosty morning.

But inside, the world was cozy as my little girl and I enjoyed a January tea party.

We used her tiny tea set and dined on animal cookies and milk.

Quaint, small, and simple.

I want these days to last forever...

Do you have little rituals that are unique to you and your child? Special little pastimes shared just between the two of you?

For my daughter, there are tea parties and painting fingernails and trying new hairstyles.

For my oldest son, there are art projects and writing books.

For my second son, there are cuddles and puzzles.

For all three of them, there are dance parties and story time.

Being a mother (or a grandmother or an aunt....) is so joyous. 

Because as nurturers, we get to fill up our days {and our hearts} with these simple little pleasures enjoyed with pure, innocent, radiant children.

It doesn't get any better than that.

LOVE: Create a Masterpiece

I am so thrilled and honored to be guest posting on the amazing Multiply Goodness blog today!

Each precious child born into this world is a masterpiece.

I remember so clearly—so vividly—those first few perfect moments when my own babies were placed in my arms. I remember looking into their angel-blue eyes. All of heaven seemed to be encompassed in and emanating from this soft perfect bundle.

Whether it’s in those first few minutes of life, or more gradually as they grow, we witness in each child a unique masterpiece coming to life.

I recognized a brilliant sun shining from the countenance of my first son and a tranquil ocean of peace in my second son.

My daughter came to me as a star lighting up the world around her.

And they’re not alone....

Click here to read the rest of this post on Multiply Goodness. 

Snow Angel.

When I woke up yesterday, the day loomed like an Everest.

And as it progressed through the typical routine of school volunteering, mounds of laundry, toys strewn in land mine piles, stacks of dishes and a crumb-sprinkled floor, I wondered how I would squeeze in what was most important to me:

Connection with my Children.

Connection is one of the over-arching themes that guide my life, and when I am not connected, I'm not happy. Connection plays out in so much that I choose to do as a mother--choosing to be a stay-at-home mom, family meals together, Monday night family home evenings, family MTC's on Sundays, special holiday traditions, weekend activities, daily afternoon story times...

But the one part of connection that doesn't yet come easily to me is the daily one-on-one playtime with my children. This time of sitting down together and asking my children, "What is something you would like to do with me? What should we do together today?" I do it occasionally, but not nearly enough. And yet, even though it feels difficult, I crave this playtime so much. It's just that the cares of the day press in so harshly, that I too often connect with my to-do list instead of my children.

But through much prayer and fasting, the Lord has given me some new ideas to try--ideas that will hopefully help playtime become a little more consistent in our home...Like a little hand-sewn bag with activities I know they would enjoy doing with me written on popsicle sticks. I'm hoping to give them their "gift of time" on Thanksgiving to express my gratitude for each one of them.

But until I get the bags finished, I've been trying to connect daily so I can get in the habit before Thanksgiving arrives. And this is why yesterday tugged at me so much.

There was just so much to do and so little time. An internal battle waged within when I put my daughter down for a nap. My eyelids were drooping and I felt more than ready to curl up on the couch for a quick power nap. But then I glanced at the computer and knew how many tasks were waiting for me there. Then I noticed my son standing a ways off and was presented with yet another choice. Good, better, and best. It's what I face constantly. I hesitated for a moment and then pulled my son in close for a hug. "What would you like to do with me today?" I whispered in his ear. Today would be a "best" choice.

Before long I was knee-deep in the midst of a mountain of legos building cars for a "competition." The time flew so swiftly and I found myself enjoying every second.

After a while, my oldest son walked in from school and this time I didn't even let myself hesitate. We bundled everyone in coats, hats, scarves, gloves, and snow pants, and armed with my phone as a video camera, we stepped out into the magical winter wonderland of the first snowfall.

We slipped and slid and laughed and made snow angels till we were all sopping wet and cold.

Back inside, I taught my children how to lay out their wet clothes to dry, and then we all gathered in the warm kitchen for hot chocolate with sprinkles. It was one of the happiest times of my life...that is, until I noticed the microwave clock blaring the time: 4:50.

I had only a few short minutes before Patrick would be home and I hadn't even started on dinner yet. I threw the bread in the oven, started trying to cook the semi-frozen chicken breasts. The dinner mess was added onto the already large hot chocolate mess and chaos ensued inside me.

The rest of the evening was kind of a blur as we ate a hurried dinner so Patrick could go shovel snow at the church. The rest of us tried to clean up the kitchen and get ready for bed simultaneously. Then when Patrick returned, he helped the boys with their homework while I tried to organize my piano lesson things so we can begin lessons in the next few days. Family scripture study and prayers and then off to bed. I was nearly ready to collapse. The day had made a full circle--going from daunting to magical to stressful to spent.

I wasn't too bright or energetic as I tucked in the little ones. But as I knelt by my middle son's bed and gave him a hug, I whispered, "Thank you for building lego cars with me today."

Then as I was about to stand up, he held onto me and said, "I want to tell you a secret."

So I leaned in close and he whispered angelically in my ear, "You're the best mommy in the whole world!"

I melted inside. The chaos, the unchecked to-do list, the messes, the stresses...they were all worth it. Because at the end of the day, I was "the best mommy in the whole world" in the eyes of my son.

And these connecting memories we choose to make?

They will be the glue that fastens and holds our family together.