young womens christmas advent calendar

while watching general conference last month i suddenly had an idea to make an advent calendar in a jar for our young women, so they could draw closer to christ each day in the lead up to christmas. i knew exactly what i wanted them to look like but needed inspiration for what kinds of things to include in the jars. after doing some googling, i came across this web page, with an advent calendar for small children which had been included in the church's friend magazine many years ago.

from there i compiled my own list of 24 things that our girls could do to bring them closer to christ and got to work. printed on green and red paper they looked very festive once in the jars.

here's my list:

Christmas Advent Calendar

3 Ne. 12:6. Jesus Christ taught that we will be blessed for seeking righteousness. Spend ten minutes reading your scriptures.

3 Ne. 12:16. Jesus asked us to be examples to those around us. Set an example of service by helping with the dishes, cleaning or doing something else helpful at home.

Matt. 6:3–4. Jesus Christ taught that we should quietly help other people. Write a kind note for someone in your family and hide it for him or her to find.

3 Ne. 12:9. Jesus Christ promised to bless peacemakers. Sing Love at Home and help by being a peacemaker to your home.

3 Ne. 17:21–24. Jesus Christ blessed little children because He loved them. Show your love for a brother, sister, or friend by helping them in some way.

3 Ne. 18:6–7. Jesus asked His followers to always remember Him, especially when partaking of the sacrament. Write in your journal how you feel about the Saviour.

3 Ne. 18:21. Jesus Christ taught us to pray with our families. Help your family remember to have family prayer today.

3 Ne. 23:1. Jesus Christ commanded the Nephites to study the words of Isaiah. Read Isaiah 53:3–5 with your family and talk about the Atonement.

3 Ne. 27:7. Jesus told His disciples to call the Church in His name. Read the talk “The Correct Name of the Church” by President Russell M Nelson from October 2018 General Conference, Sunday Morning Session.

3 Ne. 27:29. Jesus Christ promised that Heavenly Father will answer our prayers. Write in your journal about a time when He answered one of your prayers.

D&C 89:10–11, 18–20. Jesus Christ revealed the Word of Wisdom to help us to be healthy. Make a plan to eat foods that will make your body healthy and strong and thank your Heavenly Father for the blessing of a healthy body.

Matt. 22:34–40. Jesus Christ taught us to love our neighbours. Work with your family to do something nice for a neighbour.

 3 Ne. 25:5–6. Jesus said that the hearts of children should turn to their parents. Ask your parents or grandparents to tell you about how they spent Christmas when they were young.

Mark 10:13–14. Jesus showed that the youth are very important to Him. In your personal prayer, tell Heavenly Father about your day and the things that made you happy and brought you closer to Him.

D&C 1:37. Jesus counseled Latter-day Saints to study His commandments. Think of one commandment you have faithfully kept and a blessing that you enjoy.

D&C 19:38–39. Jesus Christ asks us to pray always. Carry a prayer in your heart today, thanking Heavenly Father for your blessings.

John 13:34–35. We show that we want to follow Jesus Christ when we love other people. Show your love to your parents by helping without being asked.

Luke 17:11–19. Jesus Christ praised the leper who returned to thank Him. Write a note to thank someone who has helped you.

D&C 33:11–12. Jesus taught the principles of His gospel. Memorize and recite the fourth Article of Faith.

D&C 21:1, 4–5. Our prophet tells us what Jesus Christ wants us to do. Read and then discuss with a parent the talk “Spiritual Treasures” by President Russell M Nelson from October 2019 General Conference, Womens Session.

D&C 25:12. With your family or friends, sing Christmas songs about Jesus. (See Hymns, numbers 201–214)

D&C 35:26. Jesus Christ wants us to be happy. Make a list of blessings that make you happy and hang it somewhere you can see it often.

D&C 108:7. Jesus asks us to help each other be strong in the gospel. Share your testimony with someone you love.

D&C 76:22–24. Even though Jesus was born two thousand years ago, He has appeared to prophets of this dispensation. Read and discuss “The Living Christ” with your family. 

jars were super easy to make, i always stash the jars of empty pasta sauce and the likes, so all i had to do was some bakyard spraying. matte black for the lids and gold for the jars

with a vinyl sticker on each in place to create a space in the glass to see the contents

peel stickers once dry

fill with papers

and finish with string, a label and tag. i am so excited for our girls to have these when we hand them out at the end of the month. i'm hoping it will bring the spirit of christmas into their lives and homes. 

*************************

labels are below for those wanting to make these for their young women this or another year, feel free to copy and paste the daily tasks and save the files below. top set is for young women, bottom for those wishing to make for friends and family. if the files don't download as high enough quality, please feel free to leave me a comment with your email and i'll happily send them out. 

merry christmas!

kalamunda markets

saturday found us enjoying a family day out at the kalamunda markets with the pinkers. i am fairly certain the last time i went to the markets i was pregnant with madeline, so only 9 years ago... haha. i love wandering in and out of the stalls and looking at all the gorgeous handmade items. there is so much there!

alex amazingly didn't do too badly sitting in the pram for a long time and smiled away as we chatted to him and wheeled him through the crowds.

we ate lunch perched in shopping trolleys, aunty dom is a smart cookie... if they are in a trolley, "it makes it harder from them to run away, plus it puts them at a good height." please note that they are pictured in a "very important" phone conversation on her iphone and his nokia 3310 that doug found while cleaning out a drawer. he loves it and takes it here, there and everywhere, stashed in his shorts pocket. what a crack up. mum! your phone is ringing. i'm calling you! 

i love listening to them laugh and there was a lot of it today!

cause when we hang out with the pinkers (favourite aunty pictured right here... haha) we always have a good time.

thanks for a great day kalamunda! 

halloween 2019

halloween this year was a little mental. it was cold as outside, raining like crazy and blowing up a storm... so i made an executive decision to stay home, much to madeline's disgust.

instead, our friends the newmans came over... we ate pizza and kebabs, had an epic trick or treat adventure and watched casper while we ate the results. it was the best. each of us adults chose a door in the house while the kids stayed in the lounge and counted to 20 and then waited while they went around knocking on every door we have. the best part was doug closing the lid of the toilet, sitting on that and then opening the door a crack and telling them they were interrupting. classic!

no one got wet, the baby stayed warm, they still got to dress up and it was the best fun.

mission accomplished. halloween 2019 was a success. 

peninsula farm

today madeline's class went on an excursion to historic peninsula farm, situated on the maylands peninsula. it was a pretty cool day for all of them considering their focus in society and environment this term had been learning about history - "the olden days".

they arrived at the farm and learned all about the original owners, the hardey family - who had a lot of children... girl after girl after girl until they finally got a son. who was then shipped back to england for a proper education at a young age and didn't see his family again until he was something like twenty years old!! i was horrified by this of course, but have to admit that some days,  the idea has merit. haha.

we then played olden days games (like skipping and horseshoe tossing) out the back of the house, before having a tour of the house, with it's low doorways, attic space and big cellar. it's pretty awesome!

i especially loved their food jars all set up. it looked really cool. seeing how the families lived all those years ago was a really awesome day. my favourite part was at the end of the day when they had all the children seated together and showed them a whole bunch of items from this time period and asked them if they could identify any of them. us mums knew some of them but not all, and the kids only got one i think! funnily enough, i remember a similar experience at my own school with olden day studies. i loved learning about earlier times and still do. antiques and shows with period times are the best.

madeline loved making windmills with her group the most and loved the whole day so much. she insisted that i needed to sit with her on the bus which was the cutest thing ever... i really thought she would have wanted to sit with one of her little friends, but no - she wanted me. i felt very loved.

gidge show

it's our favourite day of the year! we love love love the gidgegannup show and try to get there each year if we can, so yesterday we packed up all our things and set off early for a day of fun.

we love their show because it has all the fun and attractions of the larger shows... sideshow alley, the displays and entries of animals, crafts etc, but the small town country feel. we even watched horses being shod! joseph was apparently very intrigued by the cows

and absolutely loooooved his time on the rides.

he thought he was the coolest person ever when he got to drive the train!

and he and madeline rode this spinning one together (pass!) 

madeline tried her hand at the sideshow alley games

and found herself this magical face painter!

as you can see, she did a great job and madeline was very pleased with the results

what a cutie!

she was definitely living her best life - next thing i knew she had found herself a guinea pig to cuddle

and joseph even wanted to pat it too, which is unusual, he normally shies away from animals.

we had a wonderful family day out. i would 100% recommend country show days. they are the best - never too crowded and just as much fun as the city ones, if not more.

even alex enjoyed himself as he was pushed about in his pram by all of us.

the kids even managed to get a show bag out of us... to be honest, i don't mind buying them when they have things they'll use and keep in them instead of being full of lollies. haha. did i just become my mother?

thanks again for a wonderful day gidgegannup. we very much hope to see you again next year!

temple with kerri

i had the most wonderful blessing today, being able to be the escort for my beautiful friend kerri as she went through the temple for the first time to receive her endowment. for those of you not of my faith, the prophet brigham young explained it as such: "your endowment is to receive all those ordinances in the house of the lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being able to give them the key words, the signs and token, pertaining to the holy priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell."

you have to prepare and be found worthy to enter the temple as it is literally the lords house here on earth. such a feeling of peace and love is found within the walls. rosemary m wixom put it beautifully when she said, "in the temple all feelings of inadequacy and imperfection begin to fade." once inside we are all equal and there to feel closer to our father in heaven, not ever to compete.

seeing kerri so happy and being able to share this experience with her was a wonderful blessing. i am so grateful for the choices she made that led her here today.

♥

above all else, i am so grateful to have a temple so close and to be able to attend regularly. what a wonderful blessing it is in my life and in the life of my family. 

revised young women theme for 2020

with great excitement at the beginning of this month, i read the new and revised young womens theme online in the days following general conference. there are many changes ahead as the new youth program is introduced over the coming months as 2020 begins.

the young womens theme has always been a huge thing to us girls. we recite it at the beginning of each class and it's something we all know and think about. i have grown up reciting one thing, which was changed slightly and confused the heck out of me when i was called to serve in young womens as an adult... (i was in the days before "and virtue" and "be prepared to strengthen home and family" were added to the older one) but that one little change, has now changed completely - and i love it! the words of the the new theme are just gorgeous.

"I am a beloved daughter of heavenly parents, with a divine nature and eternal destiny. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I strive to become like Him. I seek and act upon personal revelation and minister to others in His holy name. I will stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places. As I strive to qualify for exaltation, I cherish the gift of repentance and seek to improve each day. With faith, I will strengthen my home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, and receive the ordinances and blessings of the holy temple. "

i especially love the part that says "i cherish the gift of repentance and seek to improve each day." why? because we are not perfect! no one expects us to be... and we need to try each and every day to be better - so i am glad that's the message we are giving our youth.

thanks to one of the talented women on the young womens leaders facebook page (my apologies, i cannot find her post to credit her by name here), we were able to get this nicely set up page, which we have printed and framed for each of our girls to encourage them to learn the theme quickly. i feel really lucky to be serving in young womens and am glad to have these girls and their lovely families around me. i am excited for the new youth program beginning next year and the possibilities it holds!