Photo by Wendy Santiano

Are you ready to Light the World? On December 1st, Mormon.org will be kicking off the Christmas season with a worldwide day of service. My friend Wendy and I got a jump start on serving with our families and I am so excited to share our experience with you!

Why participate? Because you have so much to give! This year I discovered that even in difficult times, I have something to offer.  Every year I prayerfully choose a few words to live by. For 2016 I was strongly impressed to “give more.” When these words first came to my mind, I laughed and then I cried. My husband had been laid off and I was working around the clock. I was tired, mentally and physically. I felt I was already giving all that I had to keep our family afloat.

So I humbled myself and accepted the challenge to give more. It forced me to be creative. Waking in the early morning hours, I began indexing more. We donated clothes and shoes to Deseret Industries and Tabitha’s Way Local Food Pantry South County. We collected toys and supplies for an orphanage in Italy. We prayed for daily opportunities to serve.

As we increased our service efforts, it was humbling to see our blessings multiply as well. Blessings appeared when we needed them most. Mentors, jobs, and opportunities came at just the right moments. It has been an amazing year and I have much to be grateful for.

For example, late one night there was a knock on our doorstep. Opening the door, I discovered grocery bags filling our small doorstep and spilling out onto the sidewalk. Bags overflowed with pasta, baking supplies, and more. Alongside them sat cases of soup and vegetables followed by large bags of flour and rice.

As we brought the groceries into our home, our 9 year old daughter danced circles around us singing, “We are so blessed. Somebody loves us. We are so blessed.”  This made me cry even more. This is what I wanted my daughter to remember during this tough time – that we were so blessed. That God loves us and will answer our prayers.

My heart bursts when I think of the many ways others have served us this year. Equally just as wonderful are the feelings that have come about as we have served others. Even tiny hands can make a big difference. My children know that they can work hard and do good things.

Photo by Wendy Santiano

One of my favorite service opportunities is working with Tabitha’s Way in Spanish Fork. Last week, we helped sort out cans for their Thanksgiving baskets. Earlier this year, we were able to go in for a family night to stock shelves. They do so much good for the community, it is fun to work alongside them! If you are in Utah County email them at info.tabithas@gmail.com to see how your family can help!

Photo by Wendy Santiano

There are so many ways to serve during this Christmas season! Check out the Light the World homepage to discover inspiration for 25 days of service with your family.

The post Light the World – Blessings from Giving and Receiving appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

As a counselor for my ward’s Primary (read more about the LDS church and the Primary program for children at these links), I’ve been pondering how to help our children prepare and get the most out of General Conference. General Conference is a twice a year event when we get to hear from our church leaders. I grew up loving to listen to General Conference and I want to pass that on to my own children and the children I teach.

The answer came to me as I was reading The Friend magazine for this month. This beautiful girl and her mother had the best idea. Read about it below:

Photo from LDS.org

My seven year old will love drawing her own hearts during sessions, but I know my three year old will do better if I print out hearts for him to color in. I decided to make a printable for the little ones like my son. You can click on the picture to print or click on this link. I think this will be a great way to keep them engaged while also learning to recognize their feelings during General Conference.

Need more ideas on helping your children during General Conference? Many of our General Conference traditions revolve around food as you can see from this instagram picture from last year. (PS Follow me on Instagram for more fun ideas!) My kids loved the GoGo Squeez, Crispy Chocolate Rice Bars, and strawberries!

For this activity/treat. we matched the picture of the apostle on the TV to the prophet on their snack. We watched the youtube video on this post to help us get to know more about the apostles beforehand so we would recognize them better.

This year, I wanted my children to focus more on the words, but I’m not quite ready for the mantel of candy jars for all the different key words. Instead, I am going to have a tray with Easter eggs filled with treats. There will be an Easter egg for each apostle. Each time that apostle testifies of Jesus Christ, they can have a treat from their Easter egg. Pretty sure the kids will sneak extra treats, but I hope it encourages them to listen closely for mentions of the Savior. You can cut out the apostle pictures from the friend or print them from lds.org. I laminated mine so that I can use them every year.

This web-site has more beautiful videos that I can’t wait to share with my family as well. It’s a lovely reminder of why we celebrate Easter presented in a way that is easy for my children to understand.

For more General Conference Activities and ideas. Check out these posts.

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What are your families favorite General Conference traditions?

This post contains affiliate links.

The post General Conference Activities and Printables for Children appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

It’s spring time which means General Conference will be here before we know it. Seventeen LDS Bloggers are joining me to share a few of our favorite things.  We are so excited to be giving away over $400 in prizes. It’s been a treat to work with so many talented women to spoil our readers with products that strengthen the family and make our lives a little easier, too.

We as bloggers are so thankful for you – our readers! Thank you for your encouragement, comments, and time that you take out of your busy day to check in with us. We appreciate how you #sharethegood with us and hopefully we can share some with you as well!

Meet the bloggers who are taking part in this giveaway:

Now for the giveaway! If you are anything like me, your wish list for Deseret Book is a mile long! We are excited to send two of you some fun money to spend there. We hope you love the recipes from the Six Sisters as much as we do and that Nicole Carpenter’s 5-minute messages will make family devotional more manageable! From bulking up your food storage with Thrive to the cutest projects by Fizzy Pops – there are so many wonderful prizes. Check them out and ENTER TO WIN below! There are TWO rafflecopters so be sure to enter each one!

Prize Package #2

$85 Gift Card to Deseret Book

$75 value Food Storage Package from Thrive – We update our 72 hour kits/Food Storage every conference. I love having products like this on hand that last a long time!

             Six Sisters Stuff Cookbook

$50 Gift Card to Sego Lily Soap – I’ve replaced all my body washes with these soaps. Absolutely love them. Their Plain Jane soap is one of the only soaps that has worked with my daughter’s eczema.

Doodle Journal for General Conference by A Lively Hope. – These are darling! Be sure to check them out.

Pink Star CTR Necklace and I am a Child of God Pin from Ringmasters. – All three of my children adore their jewelry from Ringmasters. As a mom, I love that the jewelry is a sweet little reminder they can always have with them.

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Prize Package #1

$85 Gift Card to Deseret Book

$50 Gift Card to Sweet Salt Clothing – I get compliments on my skirts from Sweet Salt every time I wear them and I love their under tees. Check out my two favorite skirts here and here.

Fizzy Pops Young Women Zipper Pull Kit ($50 value) with

YW Value Bottle Cap Printables from My Computer is My Canvas – I used the zipper pull kit for our Primary birthday gifts last year. They were super easy to make and darling!

Six Sisters Stuff Cookbook – I am visiting the Six Sisters site for their delicious recipes several times a week. This would make a perfect Mother’s Day gift or keep it and enjoy the yumminess for yourself.

52 Weeks to Fortify Your Family from MOMentity.com – See more about why I absolutely love this book and how it has made our morning easier in my book review here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The winner will be announced and e-mailed April 2. Facebook and Instagram are not liable for this giveaway.

We’ve compiled a few of our favorite General Conference Activities, Recipes, and Ideas. Comment with your favorite traditions or add a link below!

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The post LDS General Conference Spring Blogger Giveaway – $400+ in prizes! appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

There are few things better than seeing your children in the temple! I am so grateful for the chance to take my children through the temple open houses in Utah before they are dedicated. Lily has been able to visit the Draper Temple, the Brigham City Temple, and now the Ogden Temple. What wonderful experiences for a little girl! Each time she remembers a little more and asks questions about the previous visits. My boys have been to two of the temple open houses. Each time Cort asks questions about what he is feeling and it practically makes my mother heart burst!

The Ogden Temple Open House continues through September 6th and there are still tickets left! Tickets for the Ogden Temple Open House are available at this link. It is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about what goes on in the temple and why they are so important.The beautiful artistry inside is so incredible. I think Lily whispered, “this is so beautiful! It is so sparkly,” at least a dozen times during our tour.

Lily will be turning 8 years old next year and will be baptized. During our move, I found my baptism dress that I have been saving for her. My girl has the Parker genes and is growing so tall so fast that I decided I better try the dress on her now. And I am so glad I did because she has practically outgrown it! After Lily tried it on, she came out with these adorable Taylor Joelle pants underneath – always the little fashionista. She asked if she could wear my wedding pearls and I couldn’t think of anything more perfect. I have to admit that I teared up a little bit seeing my girl in my baptism dress and wedding pearls in the brides room at the temple!

It’s days like this that remind me that my little family is growing up so fast! It definitely tugs at my heart strings and makes me want to hold them a little longer. I am grateful for my membership in the LDS Church and the knowledge that my little family can be together forever!

I love these boys of mine! Even if they are too busy exploring to take a picture!

I had to sneak in a picture, too! I’m more comfortable behind the camera, but know that it is important to get in the picture, too.

P.S. I love my new skirt from Sweet Salt Clothing. Darling style and incredibly comfortable!

“As we go to the holy house, as we remember the covenants we make therein, we will be able to bear every trial and overcome each temptation. The temple provides purpose for our lives. It brings peace to our souls—not the peace provided by men but the peace promised by the Son of God when He said, ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’” President Thomas S. Monson

So glad that we were able to spend a beautiful day at the remodeled temple! I am excited for the cultural celebration and dedication next month. Get tickets here if you want to attend! The next temple open house will be in Arizona. Kind of tempted to do a road trip!

The post I Love to See the Temple – Ogden Temple Open House appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

Design by AshLee Winterrose of Mama Bear Designery

General Conference and Easter will both be here before we know it and I couldn’t think of a better time to team up with thirteen of my favorite bloggers to host a fantastic multiple gift giveaway! Who is excited about $100 to Deseret Book and over $250 worth of amazing products?!?!

For this giveaway, we each chose some of our favorite General Conference and Easter-themed items to give back to our readers, just to say thanks for all of the encouragement, comments, and time that you take out of your busy day to check in with us. We really appreciate it!

Plus, we hope this will give everyone some great ideas when it comes to entertaining your little ones during Conference or filling those Easter baskets.

Take a minute to meet the lovely ladies who put together this giveaway!

Tara – Keep Moving Forward With Me
Becky – Love to be in the Kitchen
Jonie – Just Between Friends
Michelle – A Little Tipsy
Allison – Cupcake Diaries
Katie – Clarks Condensed
Audra – Reality to Dreams
Jennifer – My Daylights
Alexis – We Like to Learn As We Go
Debra – Housewife Eclectic
Dani – Love Me Dani Marie
Cambria – Live to be Inspired
Melea – Freebies 2 Deals
Aleisha – She Calls Me Mama Leisha

And now on to the fun! Here are the goodies!

One grand prize winner will be spoiled with:

1. $100 Gift Card to Deseret Book courtesy of our blogger team!
2. $75 Thrive Favorites Package from Krisi Lee, Thrive Life Independent Consultant. This prize package will put you on the right track for preparedness and it includes:
   THRIVE 10 grain pancake mix #10 can
   THRIVE Freeze dried Corn – Pantry Can
   THRIVE Freeze dried Mangos – Pantry Can
   THRIVE Freeze dried Meat or Cheese (your choice of Ground Beef, Chopped Chicken or Monterey Jack Shredded Cheese) – Pantry Can
   THRIVE Honey Crystals – Pantry Can
   THRIVE Macaroons – Pantry Can
   5 in 1 Survival Whistle
   5 Emergency Drinking Water Pouches
3. Scentsy warmer with plate ($50 value) from Scentsy by Tracy Lynn to keep your home smelling spring-time fresh!
4. $30 credit to La & Ca Ties to perfectly accessorize your little ones with ties for Easter!
5. $40 credit to Daylight Digital Designs. Choose from customized invitations and announcements or get custom jewelry for your daughter’s Easter basket!
6. 2 Missionary Tool Kit card packs ($20 value) from Missionary Tool Kit. These scripture reference cards are designed to work with Preach My Gospel. More than 50 gospel topics in an easy, quick to find format!
7. Gift Basket ($30 value) from Sego Lily Soaps because Mom needs something in the Easter basket, too! The beautiful gift basket contains:
   3 popular luxury soaps – Lavender, Love Spell, and Lemongrass.
   24 ounces of all natural Lavender mineral bath salts in a decorative jar.
   1 Strawberry Lip Balm, full of good oils and butters, with NO Petroleum or Mineral oil.
   1 Mesh Scrubby, to maximize lather and exfoliate your skin
8. LDS Piano Music Pack from Day Murray Music for the music lover in your family!
9. Faith in God Study Guide ($8.50 value) from A Lively Hope. It includes:                             journaling questions for all of the required activities
   places to draw and doodle
   questions and activities to help you internalize the scriptures and strengthen your testimony
   prompts to assist in setting goals
   copywork to aid in memorization
   exercises to help you memorize the Articles of Faith
   pages for additional handouts and photos
10. Your choice of this dapper bow tie or this bow in coral and white wonderful ($16 value) from The Posh Society.
11. A Mormon Mom Planner ($29.95 value) from In the Leafy Tree Tops to keep you organized!
12. A Clicker Kit and special gift from Hilary Weeks. The power of positive thinking is amazing and the clicker kit will help get you on the right track!

Our lucky runner up will also get:

1. $40 Gift Card to Deseret Book
2. 2 Missionary Tool Kit card packs ($20 value) from Missionary Tool Kit.
3. Faith in God Study Guide ($8.50 value) from A Lively Hope

Enter in the rafflecopter below and show some love to our gracious sponsors who have provided the prizes! The giveaway runs until March 30, 2014 at midnight. It is full of easy click entries so get to clickin’.

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Be sure to check out our HUGE collection of General Conference Activities and Ideas, too! We’ve got you covered with recipes for conference breakfast and reverent ways to involve your children in General Conference!

Design by AshLee Winterrose of Bear Mama Designery

The post LDS General Conference/Easter Giveaway – $100 Deseret Book Gift Card and $250 worth of prizes! appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.