Truman Family Blog

January 30, 2011

The sun was shining today. We spent a few hours this afternoon out in the front yard just soaking in the warmth. No hats, coats, or mittens to be seen. An occasional wispy cirrus cloud would wander between us and the sun causing us to wrap our bare toes with the blanket corner. The kids made fairy houses with sticks and leaves. The older girls worked on their personal progress books or sat on the swing. Braden crawled on the sidewalk for the first time, discovering the delights of a crunchy leaf.

Christmas of 2009, we spent the month of December reading selected passages from Jesus the Christ by Talmage. This Christmas we decided to read the whole book cover to cover. We began December 1 on page 1 and read each night as many pages as we could before our eyes got to heavy to go on. Some nights were more productive than others. I also like to stop and discuss interesting ideas and events. We discovered several instances where the younger children had incorrect understandings of the scriptures. Minor flaws due to their lack of experience in the gospel. Sometimes we feel like we have taught everything there is to teach in Family Home Evening over the last 16 years. So while the older children have vast amounts of knowledge the younger ones are still just beginning. At first the reading was a challenge to understand for most of us. But now that we are entering the final pages I believe even the six year old comprehends most of what is read and the three year old gets the main idea. Reading about Christ made the Christmas season more enjoyable for me. I had a purpose for my celebrating beyond the lights and the fudge. We will finish the last few pages this week. I find myself sad that it is coming to a close. Chad has suggested that we begin Articles of Faith.

When our oldest was three, I began reading scriptures to her every night because she wouldn't go to sleep. I joked that I didn't read to her I read at her. I didn't know how to keep her in her bed so I sat in her doorway and opened the scriptures and read until she quieted down. After a while I began asking her questions about what I had read. Soon she was reading the verses to us. As our family grew scripture study has just been part of the day. Now the children don't know how to go to bed without scriptures and prayer.