Me Casa, You Casa

Ok, so I don't know Spanish.

I want my home to be for everyone. When I went to my cousin's house yesterday, everyone was there. Robert's parents and sister. My cousin Rachel and her husband. Tons of people. I thought this was a rare occasion, but it ends up that it's not at all. This is the state of their home everyday.

Robert said later that he built this house for that very purpose. I want my home to be a place where everyone feels welcome. I want it to be a refuge for my children and their friends to come.

Invite Elderly to Dinner

When I was at Jenny's house in northern Idaho, Jenny's parents invited an elderly man for Sunday dinner. He was the cutest old man and when he left, Jenny's parents told me that his wife had just died one month before.

While Jenny's mom was at church, she felt the strongest feeling to invite this man, that she barely knew, over for dinner. She paused and then invited him.

This experience reminded me of my own mother. When I was young, she invited an elderly man over for dinner and he came several times. It was fun for us as kids to have a visitor and I'm sure it was fun for the elderly man to be around kids again and some company.

When I have my own family, I am going to invite elderly people in my ward or neighbors over for dinner. This will help my children to not be shy, give them a friend at church, and brighten the elderly persons day and life.

A Heavenly Home

Yesterday, I took my friend Scarlet to my cousin Sonya's house. As soon as you entered the house you could feel the spirit. As Scarlet and I talked to Sonya's house, we were filled with so much spirit and you could feel Heavenly Father's influence in our conversation. Scarlet and I both left feeling so uplifted and edified.

This is what I want my home to be like someday. Somewhere where everyone that comes into my home can feel the spirit of the Lord, where they feel like a better person when they leave.

Record Favorite Sayings

Kids say the cutest things. I once heard of a mother who kept a magnetic notepad on her fridge for each of her kids. She would record anything funny they might say and at the end of the month, she would put each paper in their scrapbooks.

I'll take my children swimming

I'll take them to the city pool. I'll take them to pools with water slides. I'll buy a water slide for them to play on.

oh there's so many things I miss when I was a child.

Picnics & Kites

I will take my kids on picnics. This was one of my favorite things to do as a child.

I will also teach my kids to fly a kite. So simple and so fun.

What Was Your Favorite Part of Today?

There was a family that I adored on my mission named the Lysenkos. Every night before going to bed, they would read a scripture as a family and say family prayers. They would also go around and ask everyone in their family what was their favorite part of the day. It was funny to hear what the little kids said. It allowed the parents to get to know their children better and it helped their children look at the positive things in life and to look for the good in the simple things.

I would like to do this with my family.