Thanks for the Christmas Wishes, Slade Family

Meet the Slade Family.  They are my new Christmas friends.  For the past 3 years they have made funny Christmas videos to share with the world on youtube.  I learned about their gift to the world when their story was featured on the Deseret News website.
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Dec. 26, 2015 update:

This family is awesome.  This video is about their 2015 giveaway from the video they made this year.

You can also see the video by clicking here  

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I enjoyed watching their videos and I wanted to share them on this blog.  

2011 Blue Christmas video. 2011

 

Click here to see it on youtube

2012 Food Fight video:

Click here to see it on youtube.  

2013 Santa Claus Comes Tonight video: 

 Click here to see it on youtube. 

2014 Here Comes Santa Claus video!

Click here to see it on Youtube

2015 There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays

You can also see the video by clicking here

Merry Christmas Slade Family!  Thanks for the laugh.

Btw, on each of the Slade Christmas videos, Micah Slade included a link to charitywater.org, which is a nonprofit organization that provides clean drinking water to people in need.

Thoughts on the Prodigal Son

Yesterday I had a conversation with some friends about how the Book of Mormon and the Bible go hand in hand in teaching the doctrines of Jesus Christ.   As I was preparing my lesson for seminary tomorrow, I found an example of this with the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32.  Our church produced a modern day version to the story of the Prodigal Son.  In the movie clip below the young man quotes a verse from the Book of Mormon which teaches us what we, just like the prodigal son, must do to return to our Heavenly Home.

You can also see this clip by clicking here

You can see the whole 30 minute movie by clicking here

Below is another clip of the Bible and a modern day story of the Prodigal Son

You can also see this clip by clicking here

Arcadia Stake Missionary for a Day

"My soul delighteth in the words of Isaiah" 2 Nephi 25:5

Seminary!  You've gotta love it.

First of all, I'm greeted every morning by wonderful smiling students.  Take Logan for example.  I couldn't help but snap this picture of him when he walked into class yesterday.  What a great t-shirt.  What a great smile so early in the morning.  What a great kid, as all my seminary students are! 

Second- When you are in seminary, you can study and learn more about the great prophet, Isaiah. 

The coming up week in seminary we are going to learn that "great are the words of Isaiah."  3 Nephi 23:1 

*Did you know that:

• Isaiah is the most quoted of all the Old Testament prophets.

• The writings of Isaiah deal with events of his day as well as events beyond his time. 

• The bulk of Isaiah's prophecies deal with the coming of the Redeemer.

• A major difficulty in understanding the book of Isaiah is his extensive use of symbolism, as well has his prophetic foresight and literary style. (I guess I'll brush up on my understanding of symbolism, prophecies, and his literary style)

*these tidbits about Isaiah are found in the Bible Dictionary

Below is a video telling of Isaiah's writings of the Savior

 

You can also see the video by clicking here. 

Is There Really a God?

Today one of my seminary students shared a question he had recently been pondering.  He said that after a discussion he had in one of his school's science class he began thinking, Is there really a God? 

Robert D. Hales said, "Gaining a testimony and becoming converted begins with study and prayer, then living the gospel with patience and persistence and inviting and waiting upon the Spirit." 

Elder Hales' quote makes me appreciate the effort my seminary students make each day to come to class so they can gain their own personal testimony that, yes, there is a God.  We are His children.  He sent Jesus Christ to show us the way to live and to also to atone for our sins so we can return to live with Him again.   

To answer my students' question, Russell M. Nelson reminds us that, YES, we know there is a God as we ponder the miracle of the human body.

You can also view the video by clicking here.  

This year in seminary we are studying the Book of Mormon.   In this video a young bishop in England describes how the Book of Mormon came to life for him and changed his perspective forever.

 You can also view this video by clicking here.  

SO......this will be a SEWING post....for an apron and child's bib

Thanks to my mother-in-law, aprons have always been part of the Magnusson family.

I ran across this idea for an apron on facebook.  It was posted by Terry Quinn, some random lady on facebook, with 2,929 followers.  I guess you will have that many followers when you post good ideas like this one. 

Sewing idea #1:   Old shirt apron

Need an apron? ... make one  from an old shirt!

Start with a man's shirt. Cut off the sleeves and the back.

Cut around the collar but leave it intact. I cut very close to the seam so that I wouldn't have to hem anything or have any raw edges.

Use your rotary cutter and ruler to make a diagonal cut from the armpit to the top of the shoulder.

Make sure both sides are even.

On the raw edge that you just cut, turn a hem under, concealing all raw edges, and sew it down. Do this on both sides.

The final step is to make the apron ties. You could use ribbon if you wanted, but I chose to cut strips of fabric on the bias to make the apron interesting.

Close all raw edges in and sew your straps on to the bottom of your diagonal cut. Be sure to backstitch several times for reinforcement.

And you're done!

A couple of final tips-

Flip the collar up until you are completely done with the apron. This keeps you from accidentally stitching it down and it just puts it out of the way!

Second, button the shirt all the way down at the very beginning. This will help your fabric stay straighter.

If you have a plaid shirt, that is a good starter since you can use the stripes as your guide for keeping it straight.

Sewing idea #2:    Kitchen towel bib.

My Sister-in-law, Karen, is a whiz at these bibs and kept me supplied when my children were little and now makes them for my grand kids.  This is just another reason why I have the best sister-in-laws!  

 

Happy sewing!

5 Days and Counting

Kristine is busy packing and getting ready to leave for the Missionary Training Center.  Not only has she been packing and preparing the last few weeks for this experience, she has been preparing her whole life.

Click on picture to read what is says

 We  also enjoyed visits from family members as Kristine has spoken in two different congregations the past two Sundays. 

Sam, Kristine, and cousins Andrew, Michelle, and Camille

Sam, Rachel, Scott, Kathleen, Kristine, Craig, Lynn, Cula, Aliece, David

Great Aunt Cula

Uncle Craig and Aunt Lynn

Rachel, Kristine, and Sam

Something to Think About.....

What do I think? ......I think I need to be wise with how I use this wonderful tool called the Internet.

Monrovia/Duarte Seminary 2013

There is no better way to start the day
than with this great group of kids. 

This year in seminary we'll be studying the Book of Mormon.

You don't know what seminary is?  Check it out here  

Mormon.org explains what seminary is:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints organizes religious classes, called "seminary," during the week so that secondary school-age students of all faiths from around the world can grow spiritually at the same time they grow in secular knowledge.

Students today have to work hard to meet high scholastic standards, but many find that taking a #seminary or institute class actually helps them deal with the stress of their other school work. Mormons believe that when we apply the spiritual dimension of faith to our study— even of worldly things— we can amplify our intellectual capacity.

Humanitarian Efforts Around the World

I appreciate my church's humanitarian efforts along with other churches such as the Catholics and other charitable organizations, such as the Red Cross working together to help our borthers and sisters around the world.

You can also see the above video by clicking here

You can watch many more videos that show a brief overview of the history, doctrine, organization and practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told through unscripted interviews with members and others familiar with the Church by clicking here.