Have you ever sat to sing songs with your (grand)kids and only remember a handful of those songs. I know just about all the Primary songs (Primary Chorister, favorite calling in the world!) but I still couldn't manage more than a few in the moment. Being a problem solver (ie: creative) I came up with this idea and designed it. A Primary Song Sing • Along Quilt. It's a quilt I can pull out that has over 50 songs listed on it. There'll never be a lull again. I can't make you all quilts but I can sell the fabric panel so you can make your own. 

So that's what I've put in our Etsy Shop - Primary Song Sing•Along Fabric Panel.

Singing the songs are so important for teaching the gospel. I think this is what I'm going to be giving to each of my grandkids when they're born. But I could see it being used as a babysitter blanket, wall hanging, singing time bean bags (cut down smaller), or pillowcase. 

What would you make out of the Primary Song Sing • Along Quilt Fabric Panel?

It's been camp, camp, camp on my brain. And I have a few things to share with you about that. But, for today, I've got a print in our Esty shop that I did before the camp rush.

The Boyfriend and my anniversary is next month (we're celebrating 32 years) so marriage has been on my mind. I kept seeing "all you need is love" or "love is all you need" everywhere on Pinterest when I was doing a little research. Anyone who's been married any length of time (or even for shorter periods) knows it takes more than love. Sure it's the basis, but if it were all up to love we wouldn't have any broken relationships. Married or otherwise.

"Love is all you need" is such an over simplification. Love is the start and the driver but it better get some other passengers on board (forgiveness, patience, fidelity, kindness, etc.) if it wants the fuel to go anywhere for any length of time. Can you tell I have strong opinions about this? Do you?

Well I didn't want anyone in this house thinking that all they had to do was have a little love for a strong relationship so I put my thoughts to paper. And tried to make it handsome. You can find it here.

What are 3 qualities besides love that you think a relationship, any relationship, needs?

PS • You might want to give it as a wedding gift. Just a thought.

I like to do stuff. Caeden (our 2 year old) likes to do stuff. We are both happier when we are doing SOMETHING! I've been looking into "homeschool preschool" and discovered two things: you can be one of those moms who has a curriculum or you can be one of those moms who says "life is learning!" 

I'm a little bit of both because I'm inherently lazy. I know if I say something like, "Letters from 10:00-10:15" it won't happen...but I still want to have some sort of activity schedule for this Spring and Summer. Enter: the homeschool preschool bucket list! (You can download a weekly activity planner at the end of this post!)

Munchie Monday: Where we make a yummy food! Probably a breakfast food or other food (like rolls! or freezer meals--which I might do since I'm expecting in May) that can be used throughout the week. Specifically these: 

• Blueberry Oatmeal Bread
• Baked Oatmeal Casserole
• Lemon Raspberry Muffins
• Vegan Banana Pancakes
• Utah Scones
• Honey-nut Granola
• Rainbow Bread
• Homemade Poptarts 
• Biscuits
• Whole Wheat Honey Oatmeal Bread
• Homemade Flour Tortillas (I slightly changed this recipe to my own liking, but once you make these you'll never be able to eat store bought tortillas again. Seriously. I just...I can't.)
• Easy White Bread. Let me just reiterate that this is EASY.

Tactile Tuesday: Where we do or make some sort of touch-sensory thing.

• Paint with Watercolors and glue
• Button Sorting
• Finger Painting
• Homemade bubbles
• Ball pit
• Felt activities
• Homemade moon dough
• Dye eggs with shaving cream and food coloring

Work-out Wednesday: Exercise day! Go for walk, do some pilates or yoga, ride a bike, run, whatever! This can obviously be done on other days of the week too, but just in case it doesn't we have a specific day for it. 

• Swimming/run in sprinklers
• Go for a walk
• Go to the park
• Run outside
• Ride bikes
• Fly a kite
• Do Yoga stretches together
• Kick a ball around

Thinking Thursday: Choose a learning activity; numbers, letters, reading, puzzles. Something that makes him think. 

• Alphabet Matching
• Homemade Volcano
• Pom-pom activities
• Just read
• Learn sight words. I've been using DVDs, flashcards, and books from the Preschool Prep Co. They are awesome! Caeden knew all of the words after a month. He's still learning that the words he learned on the DVD/flashcards are in his books.
• Alphabet flashcards. Preschool Prep Co also has these, but I haven't used them yet.
• Learn numbers. You can download a DIY numbers quiet book here. 
• Puzzles

Free-for-all Friday: The day where you do whatever you want! Things we want to do this spring and summer as a family:

• Stargazing
• Fishing
• Backyard camping
• Have a bon fuego (bonfire)
• Get a chicken or two
• Go to the zoo
• Go on a mini weekend get-away

I've made a weekly activity planner that you can fill out weekly. Download it here, or click on the image below and save as. What would you add to the list?

Baby Joseph's Dad, Sky, called me today to share something Leila wrote. He found it on her iPad and it touched him. It was her mother wishes she wanted for Joseph. I don't know if she was finished with her list but it was enough.

The reality is that Joseph will never know Leila in this life and will have another mother to raise him. He'll be caught up in life and won't have a need to know her. But I suspect many years from now, likely when he's an adult, he'll wonder. He might be drawn to a few of the mementos that connect directly to her. They might give a glimpse of who she was and how she thought. Maybe he'll see a little of himself in her.

So today I spent some of my time putting her words into design for him.

This is a post no mother (father, sister, brother, spouse...) wants to write. Writing it makes it even more real. And the realness of it hurts my heart. 

My daughter Leila died this month. 

I'd like it to all go away - the middle of the night phone call; the realization that something was very wrong; the birth of her child a month early; a devastated spouse; her father far away in the middle of the ocean; doctors, nurses and tests; understanding a blood hemorrhage on the brain stem; the week in intensive care; the baby in newborn intensive care; organ matching and donating; a grieving family; and a funeral. And that is just the beginning.

Obviously it's effected our family deeply. My emotions are raw and I'm at a loss on several levels. Leila's my daughter and my friend. The phrase 'a heart breaking to pieces' is no longer a metaphor for me. It was and is very real. 

As LDS members, we know of the Plan of Salvation, have an understanding of Eternal Life, and that our family can be together again. But for now, it hurts. 

Leila was a part of LDS NEST and her being gone effects what happens here. I've changed. Alisha's changed. We need time to figure out what that feels like and what it looks like for LDS NEST. The one decision we could make is that we will stop with our monthly Newsletter and Notes for a time. I'd like to be able to give more detail about what that means for the subscription but I don't know. I just know we need time. 

We're likely to still post on this blog. It will help us. Maybe it'll help you too. 

Lastly, know that the Lord has worked through so many good, good people with a remarkable outpouring of love for our family. We've not been left alone. There's more on my mind and heart that I want to share but for now this is all I can do. 

Our July Issue is ready today for our LDS Nesties. Fun celebrate summer ideas. Not a member yet? Join up here. Here's a peek at some of the sections of the Newsletter & Notes.

Some people really get fasting. I don't think I'm one of them. I do it, just not to the depth that the principle can go. I'm working in the right direction though and I'm happy with that. 

Teaching kids about fasting is even harder than teaching yourself. We usually start to prep our kids at 7 and give them the option to fast. They start with us but have difficulty keeping at it all day but the pressure is off so they don't feel guilty when they don't make it. They're practicing. Then by 8 they've gotten a feel for fasting and know it's time to go all day. 

One of my daughters was complaining of headaches every fast Sunday until I reminded her to hydrate herself on Saturday in preparation for fasting. Some of the others I've told to go say a prayer when they get especially hungry. 

So, what do you say to kids to help them with fasting? What tips work for you? We like ideas. Please share. 

On a previous post I shared some ideas on how to put JOY in Motherhood. It was awesome to hear how you wonderful moms put joy in motherhood, so thank you for sharing! First idea on my list was "take pictures." 

If you're like most moms, you're usually the one taking the pictures and rarely in them. This past week I tried to change that and I think you should too! 

All I did to get these pictures was put my camera on the ground facing us, set the self-timer to a 10-second release, pressed the button, and played with my boy until the camera took a picture. They aren't posed or perfect, and my feet are totally dirty, but I love them. That way when your children look back on your photos and they ask, "Mom, where are you?" you can say, "Look, I'm right there."

Try it out! Make a conscious effort to be in the pictures, not just taking the pictures. Post one to our Facebook page!

Just over two years ago I held a newborn niece and said excitedly, “This is the first time I've wanted to hold a baby since my little brother, Reece, was born!” That was 18 years prior to that moment. Considering the fact that I was due with our first child in three months, I was relieved that I actually wanted to hold a baby again. 

I never understood the importance of motherhood, thinking that women were made just to have babies and raise them. I never wanted to be a mom.

Slowly I’ve learned that motherhood is more than having babies, changing diapers, and gaining weight.

“Motherhood is more than bearing children....It is the essence of who we are as women. It defines our very identity, our divine stature and nature, and the unique traits our Father gave us.” –Sheri L. Dew

There is more to motherhood than simply having children. It does not matter if you are single, childless, young, or old; every woman can have the refining power of motherhood. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day! Please share what you've learned about motherhood in the comments!

PS. I hope you read last weeks post about how to put JOY in Motherhood. If you didn't you can here!

When I heard this while listening to General Conference I knew I'd share it with you Nesties. I'm sure alot of you remember this. 

Before conference was over (in all honesty probably before her talk was over) I had written my 25 words. Quick. Raw. From the gut. Doing something like that, spontaneously, gets to the instinctual, real thing. Here's what I felt I would say to my family if I were in that circumstance -  

At that moment, if I had 25 words that would be it. 

Sometimes it's just good to hear what others say. One of our blog commenters Pebbles & Pigtails had the same idea about 25 words too. It would also be good to here your words. 

Share your 25 words below if you've already done it. If not...... do it now!!!!

Don't worry about how it flows. Don't worry about how it sounds. Don't worry what others think. 
Be spontaneous. Be raw. Be vulnerable. Be real. 

A week before LDS NEST's first Newsletter was due out our harddrive died. Which led to the loss of the whole issue without any backed up files. We did well to put the issue together in a week but there were a few things that didn't make it in. So, lucky for our LDS NEST non subscribers we're posting it to show what will go in next time. Kind of like another sample of what the Newsletter & Notes is like. 

This section is FHE for younger ones, called Short & Sweet. It's just a song, scripture, picture, and treat. Short & Sweet. Just for that age group. But, we can see it being used for kids older too. It can give them an outline they can use to give the lesson. Or maybe your family is just short on time and you need something that's not going to last too long. The SAY part can be a discussion of any length. You get the idea, it can be used in a variety of ways. 

Oh, and the great part is that there are hyperlinks when you download the PDF. If you click on the SING, it will take you to that song on LDS.org. There is an audio that has a child singing (you don't even need to know the songs) and plays the music too. If you click on the SAY, it goes to that scripture. Click on the SHOW and it goes to the picture listed. (No SWEETS links. Yet.) Nice, huh? We think so.