Scripture Sidewalk Chalk Art

Since we have been focusing on the value VIRTUE this month we decided to review the Personal Progress requirement that asks every girl to finish the Book of Mormon from start to finish. 

We reviewed study tips and brainstormed ideas on how to make studying our scriptures more meaningful and fun. We then handed out a small scripture reading chart, so they can track their progress as they read. 

We concluded the activity by drawing scenes from our favorite scripture stories with sidewalk chalk. Some of the pictures a bit faint, but they were definitely more vibrant in person. Here's our gallery of scripture art:

Baby Blanket

I saw a picture of a baby blanket (sometimes called a "minky blanket") and decided that it didn't look too hard and that I was going to try it. The truth is that it wasn't really hard, just very time consuming. Basically you take the two cuts of fabric (one the soft, "minky" fabric, that reminds me of egg crates- and one just a patterned cut of regular fabric) and you stitch them together, diagonally, using the raised bumps as your reference. No batting needed! In theory, this is not hard, but I will say the "minky" fabric stretches and I found myself pinning every row of diagonal stitching I made, trying not to stretch in too much as I went along. Like I said, not hard- but time consuming. 

I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. I'm not sure if I'll keep this one for my own little girl that's arriving soon, or if I'll make another one for us and give this one away, but I love it!

Temple Marriage Lesson

Today I was lucky enough to give the lesson on Temple Marriage in YW's. (Lesson 18, YW Manual 1)

I am not always huge on elaborate handouts- but this is such an important lesson that I wanted to do something. 

The lesson talks about the difference between a wedding and a marriage, specifically a temple marriage. A wedding is a celebration, a temple marriage is a covenant between the bride, groom and the Lord and is performed by one with the Priesthood authority to seal you for eternity.

We discussed that it is probably too soon to start planning your wedding. Although it is fun to daydream, your time would be more productively spent planning your temple marriage by becoming the kind of person you want and need to be to be sealed in the temple.

I gave them this cute "ring box" (inside is a ring pop) and gave them the following message:

Preparing for Temple Marriage does not start when you "get the ring". It starts much, much earlier. Right NOW, in fact. This ring is to help you remember to be worthy of the day when you accept the real thing. The next time you are given a ring I hope it is from a worthy Priesthood holder who wants to take you to the temple to become an eternal family.