* Girls attended a birthday party for their friend (from Dance class)
* Dad went out "scouting" for deer to go hunting
* Ben attended Ashley's 16th Birthday/Halloween Party
* Dad went to Gillette
* Ben had another Counseling Session with Dusty
* The YM/YW Wednesday night activity was here at our house
* Mom attended the Temple
* Update on the house: some drama happened with the buyers loan and so they had to go find another lender who would lend them the money (this made us super worried that if they got turned down once, it would happen again!) so after praying, we felt like we should go back to the Investor who had made an offer on our house and see if he was still interested - thankfully he was! We terminated the contract with the original buyer and are now under contract with the Investor (who made a cash offer) and we close at the end of the month
* Ben worked several days at McDonalds
* The beautiful Fall colors are out in full force!
* Spent MANY hours getting Seth's Christmas package ready (and will ship it in the morning)
In Our Homeschool...
* Enrichments of scriptures, Articles of Faith, Singing, Faith Stories, learning about the Priesthood, Joseph Smith, Enoch, Honoring Parents, Friends/Friendship and daily Seminary class for Ben
* Math: Fractions (adding, finding common factors and Least common multiples), Math books, story problems, timing ourselves at how fast we can add, Monopoly, Logic Games
* Reading everyday! Independent and family read alouds (dad has even started a 2nd family read aloud at bedtime that we've all enjoyed!). Parts of speech and Mad Libs, novel writing and "All About Reading" for Nathan
* People/Things we studied:
- Martin Luther who founded the Lutheran church
- John Wesley who founded the Methodist church
- Benjamin Franklin
- Amelia Earhart
- Abraham Lincoln
- All About Tears (and the 3 different types that we produce!)
- Narwhals and their fancy tusk that sticks out of their mouths!
- Read a true story about 2 Siberian Tigers being rescued in Russia (fascinating story!)
- Alexander Hamilton (and we finished the read aloud book about him)
- Corrie ten Boom and her help of the Jews during the Holocaust
- The countries of Egypt and Turkey (looked up their flags, listened to their National Anthems, watched YouTube videos of their famous Landmarks, talked about their geography, Capitals and populations)
* Of course LOTS of art and crafts! Daily time spent on drawing, painting, crafting things (made crafts for Seth to send in his Christmas package)
* Aubrie has worked on creating her own Blogsite where she hosts a monthly kids art contest! I'm super proud of her and her entrepreneurship tendencies! Here is her site to check out and she creatively called it "Hosted By Aubrie"... http://hostedbyaubrie.blogspot.com we posted in on a couple of my Homeschool groups and got lots of positive feedback - so that was encouraging to her! She has already had her first submissions and are hoping for lots more by the end of the month!
August in Nebraska...
* He heard from the Buckle that they were still interested in him but that they weren't done with the hiring process - so the waiting continues
* Studying for the A+ and plans to take in this coming Saturday
* After thought and prayer, he decided that he would like to try out some medication for his ADHD (now that his depression is getting under control)... needless to say, he has felt that it has been super helpful!! He's been able to focus on his studies and many other things that he's wanted to accomplish. Also, we (as his parents) have noticed a dramatic change in his mood, his demeanor and overall happiness in/with life! He's been calling us almost every day and having incredible conversations and he even told me that he was "having a GREAT day!!" - which has never happened before! It truly is a blessing and miracle to see him emerging as the person Heavenly Father intends for him to be!
* He made a delicious dinner for Grandma and Grandpa (and he sent me these pics of it) - Wowie!
Seth Spotlight...
* He's really enjoying his new area - La Trinidad
* No more hand washing his clothes! yay! They live next to the Branch President who has a washing machine that they can use
* He is also back to members feeding them lunch and dinner (he mentioned he was worried that he might gain some weight in this area with all of the food! haha)
* The Branch President invited him, Soares and another set of missionaries over for a special pasta dinner - sadly, the other companionship wasn't able to come at the last minute so they got to take home all of the extra pasta dish (which made him happy!)
* Got to watch all sessions of Conference at the church. His favorite was hearing President Eyring whom he was gave a "very clear and direct" talk
* Elder Najera stayed with him and Soares for 3 days (while his companions went into Managua) and he really enjoyed that as he really like Najera
* Helped with a double baptism
* Had the Branch President take his shoes into Managua and had them resoled (he said they didn't do a great job but it would suffice for now)
* Had a Zone Conference and his zone was awarded the golden cup since they were the "Best Zone"
Spiritually Speaking...
So many tender mercies from being kept safe and watched over, to finding good deals on things we need - it's always so humbling to see how blessed we truly are! Also, I've been a part of a group that studies different church talks weekly and the talk this week was SUPER INSPIRING!! I think I listened to it 4 different times, sent in via text to several friends, got John to read it, shared my thoughts with August and even printed off a copy to send to Seth - it was THAT amazing!!! The talk was entitled "Why Not Ask" by Larry Lawrence and was given as a BYUI Devotional in June 2017. There were soooo many amazing quotes and parts of his talk and few that stood out to me were:
* Wisdom is a valuable spiritual gift, and the Lord is happy when we seek it. In the epistle of James, we read, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God" (James 1:5). This counsel applies to all the gifts of the Spirit; we are invited to ask God for any that we lack. We can ask for faith, for discernment, for personal revelation--for any spiritual gift.
* Heavenly Father is much more generous than most of His children realize. He is never annoyed at us for asking for divine help. On the contrary, He "giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not". (James 1:5) "Upbraideth not" means God won't scold us for asking.
* ...If I notice a brother or sister who magnifies a gift of the Spirit, I am invited to seek that same gift myself. This is the only place in the scriptures where we are actually instructed to "covet." If you have a roommate, a sibling, a mission companion, or a spouse who really seems to understand the scriptures, you can covet that gift yourself and then ask for it.
* Several years ago, Apostle Marvin J. Ashton spoke about spiritual gifts at general conference. He explained that there were many more gifts available to the Saints than those which are listed in the scriptures. He cited several other gifts for us to consider, including "the gift of asking; the gift of listening; ... the gift of avoiding contention; the gift of being agreeable," the gift to calm others, and the gift to care (Marvin J. Ashton, "There Are Many Gifts," Ensign, Nov. 1987). Brothers and sisters, the list is "endless in number and infinite in variety" (Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, 371).
* Would you like the gift of recall or the gift of courage or the gift of dreams? Why not ask? I testify that the Lord won't scold you for asking. ... Our Heavenly Father is willing to give us what we need to help us progress and become like Him--and to help us build the kingdom. This one particularly spoke to my heart! I know that the gift of recall would help immensely in not only my church callings and teaching the children, but also in my homeschooling efforts! I always have to write down and practice what I'm going to say (even to teach our daily lessons) and I think how much more impactful my teaching could be if I could just recall what I've studied and share it in an engaging way! This is one that I am sincerely going to start praying and asking for :)
* Does a member have to be perfect to ask for spiritual gifts? The Lord answered that question in the scriptures. He explained that gifts are given for the benefit of "those who love me and keep all my commandments," and then he added, "And him that seeketh so to do" (D&C 46:9). That likely includes all of us here today.
* I also especially loved this anaogy! I could relate to it perfectly! Imagine for a moment that you are a child again. It's Christmas morning, and your home is filled with the spirit of the season. Christmas music is playing. Your father passes out a special gift to each member in the family. Each gift was carefully selected; each is something very useful. After the presents are received with thankfulness, your mother disappears into the kitchen to cook up something special.
While you are enjoying this beautiful moment, you notice that there are many unopened gifts left under the Christmas tree. You can tell what's inside, because the gifts are clearly labeled. You realize that you could use some of these valuable gifts yourself.
Reluctantly, you approach your father, not wanting to appear greedy. "Father," you ask, "whom are these other presents for?" He smiles warmly and explains, "For whoever wants one." That sounds way too good to be true. You think to yourself, "There must be a catch." Then your father explains, "Just ask for what you need. I won't scold you for asking." I love that Heavenly Father truly invites us to just ask for what we need! Such a beautiful concept!
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