For the Strength of YOU!

I read this every day. I love it. It is posted on the back of our bathroom door near the kitchen, so I see it often. It confirms some of the decisions that John and I have made for our family. It also leaved no question as to the entertainment we should choose! I started putting different topics on "For the Strength of Youth" on the back of all the bathroom doors a year ago after I went to Women's Conference. The YW General Presidency spoke together and suggested that every adult in the church also have a copy and keep the wallet size one with us always! I wanted to help prepare Allison for Young Women's this year and I am grateful, it is strengthening our whole family! I hope I don't sound like I'm boasting, I am just so grateful for the guidelines that our living prophets have given us! What a different world it would be if everyone followed this counsel!

Entertainment and the Media
“If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things” (Articles of Faith 1:13).
Whatever you read, listen to, or look at has an effect on you. Therefore, choose only entertainment and media that uplift you. Good entertainment will help you to have good thoughts and make righteous choices. It will allow you to enjoy yourself without losing the Spirit of the Lord.
While much entertainment is good, some of it can lead you away from righteous living. Offensive material is often found in web sites, concerts, movies, music, videocassettes, DVDs, books, magazines, pictures, and other media. Satan uses such entertainment to deceive you by making what is wrong and evil look normal and exciting. It can mislead you into thinking that everyone is doing things that are wrong.
Do not attend, view, or participate in entertainment that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way. Do not participate in entertainment that in any way presents immorality or violent behavior as acceptable.
Pornography in all its forms is especially dangerous and addictive. What may begin as a curious indulgence can become a destructive habit that takes control of your life. It can lead you to sexual transgression and even criminal behavior. Pornography is a poison that weakens your self-control, changes the way you see others, causes you to lose the guidance of the Spirit, and can even affect your ability to have a normal relationship with your future spouse. If you encounter pornography, turn away from it immediately.
Depictions of violence often glamorize vicious behavior. They offend the Spirit and make you less able to respond to others in a sensitive, caring way. They contradict the Savior’s message of love for one another.
Have the courage to walk out of a movie or video party, turn off a computer or television, change a radio station, or put down a magazine if what is being presented does not meet Heavenly Father’s standards. Do these things even if others do not. Let your friends and family know that you are committed to keeping God’s standards. You have the gift of the Holy Ghost, which will give you strength and help you make good choices.

Friday night party

Allison had the funnest party I think we've ever had on Friday night! I seriously had a blast. She invited a bunch of friends from school and from our ward... and they were all such cute girls. We made homemade pizzas, they played games, and then we had a rock 'n roll party! John set up a little "theatre" in our basement with our keyboard, his drum set, speakers, and lights! The girls all brought CD's to sing to and they were so fun to watch. Even Tommy got in on the act, singing and dancing! Here are some pics from the night:

Young Woman in the house

Allison is twelve!!! When I was taking these pictures, I got teary-eyed- she looks so grown up! She's sporting her new ipod here that she bought with her birthday money. She attended her Young Women's activity for the first time tonight, so I guess she's officially a young woman now! We are very proud of this sweet and amazing girl of ours!

Her Young Women President made this cake for her! What a welcome, huh?

And.... for your viewing enjoyment, a little trip down memory lane!

Something's missing.....

....it's Tommy's tooth! He discovered it was wiggly at dinner when he was trying to eat. He kept running into the bathroom and said, "My tooth is not feeling good!" I checked it out and we discovered that it was loose. He kept working on it until it came out right before bedtime! Then, we had to make a decision: do we save the tooth for show and tell on Wednesday or trade it in for the dollar and take that to show and tell? He opted for the dollar.

I laugh at some of my other friends when they say the tooth fairy at their house is a little bit forgetful. We have the same problem here! Becca lost a tooth yesterday and that tooth fairy didn't show up until the next morning when the girls were getting ready for school. I think we should petition the tooth fairy and explain that we'd like her to be a little more prompt and efficient!

Sunday Night Fun

No, we don't mind if the kids jump on our $50 couch from ksl.com!

Just another Sunday night at the Ryans..... and, you saw it first here, folks- Allison hid her face from the camera for the first time EVER.... what's up with that? I think she's trying to grow up or something. :(

The gig

One of John's bands "The Momma's Boyz" had a real live 'gig' on Saturday! They played at the Suncrest Mountain Race in Draper. John's Dad organized and also ran in the half marathon, and his sisters ran the 5K. It was a really fun day!

If you look closely here, you can see that one of the members of the ZZ Top group joined their band.


We're very proud of John! He worked hard to make all this come together.
Becca got some shots of the scenery at Suncrest.

This picture cracks me up! Is it the hat, the flower, or his expression- probably all three!

My kids got worn out running from one bouncy toy to the other all morning. SOOO Fun!

Here's a little sample of their music. "When Love comes to Town" by U2.

A little update...

Hi! I've been a little lazy with my blog lately, so if you are a faithful reader, (I know you are if you're reading this!) I apologize.

I just wanted to post a couple of fun things that we've been up to lately. The reason I'm not blogging as much is because I'm consumed with couponing. Yes, it's very addicting. I am going to post soon on how to start coupons for anyone out there that is interested. You have to keep in mind that this may not be your season for doing coupons! :) I've been wanting to get into it for years, and have found a little window of opportunity here with all my kids in school- at least for 1/2 of the day! Anyway, I got 20 boxes of cereal for FREE these last two weeks and I'll tell you how in an upcoming post! (Yes, we will use all 20 boxes- no worries there!)

Our family was asked to take part in a Family Home Evening that takes place each week at the Manor Care facility, which is here in our ward boundaries. It's basically a rest home for the elderly that cannot live at home anymore. We decided to do a lot of music for the program. Allison accompanied Tommy and Rebecca while they sang 'I Am a Child of God' and 'Book of Mormon Stories.' Tommy got right up to the mic and sung his little heart out! It was very cute, even if he's still learning some of the words. :) Becca offered to play some violin solos, having been to a whole 3 lessons now and everything.... she played 'Hot Cross Buns' and 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'! She acted very professional about it, and of course, dressed up for the occasion.

The girls and Tommy also sang 'My Eternal Family' and the girls sang 'Life is O'erflowing with Beautiful Things'- our new favorite! It really is a beautiful song, and can be found in the July 2009 Friend if you are interested. I'll try to post a video of them singing it later. They have sung it several times now for family and friends and once in Sacrament Meeting. The Stake Primary President is in our ward and asked that they sing it at an upcoming stake baptism. I am happy that they aren't afraid to sing in front of others!

Also, I received a new calling last Sunday. I'm the..... Primary Secretary! So, unless they come up with new callings for Primary, I can say I've had every calling in Primary except for 1st and 2nd counselor. I love primary and am happy to have this new calling. We've been living here for almost 3 months and others kept asking if I had a calling. I knew that Heavenly Father knew that I had to get Tommy into school first before I could take on anything else. The Primary President said she knew her secretary was going to be moving soon, so she had prayed about me as the new secretary a couple of months ago. She said it wasn't right at that time. Her secretary's move was on, then off, then on and off again. She did moved a few weeks ago and then the president said she prayed about me again and this time it was right! I told her my side of the story also, just another testament to me of how the Lord is watching over us and blessing our lives even when we don't realize it!

One more bit, I registered for a 'Teachings of Isaiah' course here at the Institute on Weber State's campus. It is awesome! They have a few classes for the 30+ crowd and a friend here in the ward invited me to take it with some other ladies in the ward. I haven't had an Institute class in over 13 years and I'm loving it! I'm also learning more about Isaiah- it's great! :)

Happy Birthday to Lexi!

I couldn't resist putting these cute pictures of Lexi (Melissa and Ryan's miracle baby) on my blog today. Rebecca was photographer again, I think I'm just going to let her take over the photography in our family. Lexi really enjoyed (to say the least) the splash park! Happy 1st Birthday!

Dear Allison

Dear Allison,

You totally crack me up.

Love,

Mom

(Click to enlarge)

If you have room in your freezer....

....and even if you don't do coupons, you may want to check out this sweet deal! First, print up 5 Edy's or Dreyer's coupons from this Target coupon site (under expires 9/12) for $1 off each ice cream. Then, go to Target and buy 5 1.5 quart Dreyer's ice cream packages for $2.50 each. When you buy 5, you get a $5 Target gift card at the checkout (to be used in a separate transaction!)- you spend $7.50, but it ends up costing you 50 cents for each ice cream!