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FHE Lesson • GENERAL CONFERENCE RECAP

4/6/2014

2 Comments

 
This FHE lesson might come in handy this Monday. Or for several FHEs this month. You can download the whole file here. Enjoy the rest of Conference today.
LDS NEST FHE Lesson • General Conference Recap
Click Image Above for Download Link
LDS NEST FHE General Conference Recap
Click Image Above for Download Link
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2 Comments

Homeschool Preschool Bucket List for Spring and Summer

2/21/2014

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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
Photo from Spring 2013
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?
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MATE • Valentine's Day Download - Love & Kisses

1/29/2014

4 Comments

 
Love & kisses and Valentine's day all go together so well! 
Valentine's Day Download - Love & Kisses • Shannon Christensen for LDSNEST.com
Here's my gift to the Boyfriend. This was so easy to do - red lipstick, pucker up, put it to paper, sign. Bam! Done. Well, except the framing part. But still pretty easy. So I thought I'd share.

Then I thought to myself, self, how easy it would be to make it into a downloadable. If you aren't inclined to do your own, then just - print, sign, frame. Wham Bam!
Valentines Love & Kisses Download • Shannon Christensen for LDSNEST.com
Click the image for the Download page • 8.5" x 11"
Valentine's day Love & Kisses Download • Shannon Christensen for LDSNEST.com
Prints to fit a 8" x 10" frame (Pink lips)
Valentine's day Love & Kisses Download • Shannon Christensen for LDSNEST.com
Click the above image for the Download page • 5" x 7"
Valentine's day Love & Kisses Download • Shannon Christensen for LDSNEST.com
Prints to fit a 5" x 7" frame (Red lips)
So what do you think? If you like it, share the Valentine love. 
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4 Comments

Party Tabletop Toasting • Strawberry Fluff

12/24/2013

0 Comments

 
More Tabletop Toasting.
Party Tabletop Roasting - Strawberry Fluff © Shannon Christensen for LDSNEST.com
Click Image Above to Download
Bucket. Pea Gravel. Sterno Can. Skewers.

Party Tabletop Roasting - Strawberry Fluff © Shannon Christensen for LDSNEST.com
Light Flame. Skewer Strawberry. Add Marshmallow. Toast.
Party Tabletop Roasting - Strawberry Fluff © Shannon Christensen for LDSNEST.com
Party Tabletop Roasting - Strawberry Fluff © Shannon Christensen for LDSNEST.com
Here's a nestible, Ring Thing for you.
Party Tabletop Roasting - Strawberry Fluff © Shannon Christensen for LDSNEST.com
Click on Image Above for Download
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Party Tabletop Toasting • Apple Caramel Crunch

12/23/2013

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Parties are everywhere right now. This might be something that works for you. Tabletop toasting.
Party Idea Toasted Apple Caramel Crunch © Shannon Christensen for LDSNEST.com
Click Image Above for Download
Bucket. Pea Gravel. Sterno Can. Skewers.
Party Idea Toasted Apple Caramel Crunch © Shannon Christensen for LDSNEST.com
Light Flame. Skewer Apple. Toast Apple.
Party Idea Toasted Apple Caramel Crunch © Shannon Christensen for LDSNEST.com
Add Toppings. 
Mini Chocolate Chips. Caramel Sundae Sauce. Chocolate Covered Toffee Bits. Chocolate Sundae Sauce. Chopped Nuts.
Party Treat • Toasted Apple Caramel Crunch © Shannon Christensen for LDSNEST.com
Here's a nestible, Ring Thing for you.
Party Idea • Toasted Apple Caramel Crunch © Shannon Christensen for LDSNEST.com
Click Image Above for Download
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Hello Nestie Friends! We are on Vacay!

11/6/2013

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Alisha's ridiculous selfie
Alisha's awesome selfie.
Hello lovely people! We've been kind of quiet...and that's because we are on vacay!! (aka vacation). We are meeting up with some of my aunties (mom's sisters--a few of them are over at Creative Mommas) this week in San Diego. We're currently in Oceanside to see our little Marine (can I even call him that? he'd be so embarrassed), and missing Leila. By the way, have you ever been to Camp Pendleton?? The place is HUGE. 

Not the point. The point of this post is to tell you that we are just being slow to respond to things because we're playing. and to share some ridiculous selfies of Alisha...because, why not?

We didn't want our new nestie subscribers to be sad :( because, we really do like you. Don't worry, we'll be back!
Oceanside beach at Sunset in California. Look at the little surfers!
Oceanside Beach. I feared that those surfers would become shark bait.
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more awesome selfies
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Jessie and her little girl
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Oceanside pier at sunset
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ME • I Choose to Be Happy Pillow

10/28/2013

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Look what I got today. I talked about it here. Just wanted to share that I love it. Choose to be happy!
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Short and Sweet Family Home Evening Idea: Obedience

10/14/2013

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Short and Sweet; quick and easy FHE ideas from LDS Nest #lds #ldsnest #fhe
Did any of you use last week's Short and Sweet FHE idea? Here is one for this week! 

SING: Nephi's Courage
SAY: 1 Nephi 3:7
SHOW: Tools needed to build a boat (like a hammer). You can liken the boat to testimony.
SWEET: Swedish fish (or gold fish!)
Short and Sweet; quick and easy FHE ideas from LDS Nest #lds #ldsnest #fhe
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ME • I Choose the Pillow

9/15/2013

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Alisha did a graphic design "Kind Words" here and put it to a t-shirt. It made me think that I wanted to have Leila's words, "I Choose to be Happy" and Alisha's design on a t-shirt so I could order it. Alisha did it for me. (Thanks Alisha) When I went to look at it I saw these other things. 
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But then I saw this pillow and decided that I wanted this instead. 
I choose to be happy pillow society6 LDS NEST
Click on the photo to take you to the pillows.
Not that you have to buy anything. I just thought I'd share because it made me happy.
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A Mother's Wish • What She Wanted for Joseph

9/3/2013

10 Comments

 
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.
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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.
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10 Comments

The Post I Don't Want to Write - The Death of My Daughter Leila

8/27/2013

12 Comments

 
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. 
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Alisha, here sister and LDS Nestie, wrote about it here.
Alisha Galbraith Photography • I Choose to be Happy
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. 
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Leila's Obituary here
12 Comments

ME • Don't Worry, 3 Ways to Be Happy

7/26/2013

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This research into the 3 different lives that lead to happiness answers a few questions that some of us have. Namely, how can people who do contrary to the Lord's gospel be happy? And how can people who do and sacrifice so much for the gospel still be happy? The principles and practices our LDS lifestyle matched up to the happy life ideas Seligman talks about might give a little insight. (MY thoughts are  listed below in pink.) 
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Click on the title and it will take you to the talk
I believe there are three different... happy lives.  - Martin Seligman
1 • THE PLEASANT LIFE
The first happy life is the pleasant life. This is a life in which you have as much positive emotion as you possibly can, and the skills to amplify it.... they're extremely social.... They don't spend time alone. Each of them is in a romantic relationship and each has a rich repertoire of friends.... when we teach people about the pleasant life, how to have more pleasure in your life, one of your assignments is to... design a beautiful day. Next Saturday, set a day aside, design yourself a beautiful day, and use savoring and mindfulness [Skills] to enhance those pleasures. And we can show in that way that the pleasant life is enhanced.  - Martin Seligman
THE PLEASANT 
LDS LIFE...
WARD SOCIALS
PARTIES & DANCES
MEETINGS
REUNIONS
CELEBRATIONS
COMMEMORATIONS

YOUTH PROGRAMS
PRIMARY

RELIEF SOCIETY

FRIENDS
RECREATION
2 • THE ENGAGED LIFE
The second is a life of engagement -- a life in your work, your parenting, your love, your leisure, time stops for you. That's what Aristotle was talking about. The second path is eudaimonian [happiness that's from an active life governed by reason] flow....during flow, you can't feel anything. You're one with the music. Time stops. You have intense concentration. And this is indeed the characteristic of what we think of as the good life....  Your assignment, [a Gratitude Visit] is to write a 300-word testimonial to that person... [someone who did something enormously important that changed your life in a good direction, and who you never properly thanked] show up at their door, you read the testimonial.... And what happens is when we test people one week later, a month later, three months later, they're both happier and less depressed.  - Martin Seligman
THE ENGAGED 
LDS LIFE...
EDUCATION
INTELLIGENCE
LIGHT & TRUTH
SCRIPTURES
PRAYER

CREATING
INDIVIDUALITY
HOLY GHOST
PROCREATION
TESTIMONY
REPENTANCE
FAITH
WORK
LOVE
3 • THE MEANINGFUL LIFE
And third, the meaningful life. So I want to say a little bit about each of those lives and what we know about them. And the third path is meaning. This is the most venerable of the happinesses, traditionally. And meaning, in this view, consists of -- very parallel to eudaimonia -- it consists of knowing what your highest strengths are, and using them to belong to and in the service of something larger than you are.... Another [assignment] is a strength date, in which we get couples to identify their highest strengths on the strengths test, and then to design an evening in which they both use their strengths, and we find this is a strengthener of relationships.... [Another idea]When you do something philanthropic to help another person, it lasts and it lasts.  - Martin Seligman
THE MEANINGFUL 
LDS LIFE...
CALLINGS
LEADERSHIP
TITHES
OFFERINGS
DONATIONS
PRIESTHOOD
TEMPLES
DATE NIGHTS

SEALINGS
PLAN OF SALVATION
CHILDREN
FORGIVENESS
RESULTS
"... we ask the question as a function of the three different lives, 
how much life satisfaction do you get?" 
It turns out the pursuit of pleasure has almost no contribution to life satisfaction.... Where pleasure matters is if you have both engagement and you have meaning, then pleasure's the whipped cream and the cherry.

The pursuit of engagement is also very strong. 

The pursuit of meaning is the strongest.  - Martin Seligman


It was interesting to see which areas I spend my time doing and my relative happiness. So, really I shouldn't be weary in well-doing. So should the phrase be, 'don't weary, be happy'? Okay, I'll say it, "uhh No!" Looking at this, lives 2 & 3 are where I want to be most. But I do like a little whipped cream pleasure in my life. 


What would you add to these lists?
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MESSENGER • Bumper Stickers

7/6/2013

2 Comments

 
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Bumper Stickers. I've never put one on a car of mine. I never wanted anything on my cars. Ever.

I've thought a number of stickers were funny. Or clever. Or thoughtful. But, nothing motivated me enough to actually break that no-bumper-sticker-on-my-car barrier. Until my son became a Marine. 

That's what changed the idea for me. I didn't even hesitate at the thought. It was too important a message for me. It was going to go on my car. No question. 

So, what's inspired you enough to put a bumper sticker on your car? Something comical? Political? Sentimental? What? Tell us.
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2 Comments

MEMBER • July Newsletter & Notes

7/1/2013

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LDS NEST Newsletter & Notes Cover July 2013
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.
LDS NEST Short & Sweet FHE Ideas
FHE • SHORT & SWEET
4 Ideas with links to song, scripture, and image.
See an example here
LDS NEST Visiting Teaching Mailer & Handout
VISITING TEACHING
1 Mailer & 1 Handout 
for your visiting teachees
LDS NEST Take a Break Bucket
GIFT GIVING
Gift ideas for anytime and a section to make ahead 
Christmas gifts
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Father's Day Gift Idea: Profile Poster

6/10/2013

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Father's Day gift idea: Profile poster from LDSNEST.COM
Do you still need an idea for a unique Father's Day gift? Here's an easy one: make a profile poster like the one above! All you need is a picture and some facts about the father in your life. I created this on the computer, but you can use an actual poster or paper and hand write everything. It's a great idea for kids to write down all the things they love about their dad! 
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This post is part of a promotion with FamilySearch.
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