Our New American Flag

When we first saw this home we thought it was awesome that it had a cool flag pole and even greater that the base of the flag pole was one of the original from the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic Games.  I'm not sure how the previous owners acquired it, but we think it's a pretty cool feature.  This past summer while I was driving home, I noticed that our flag looked terrible.  It was embarrassing to say the least.  I was ashamed at how awful it looked.  We were able to get a really nice new flag and retire the old one.  We enjoyed a Family Home Evening Lesson on flag etiquette and then we raised the flag as a family.  It was a great night and the perfect time of year to do it. 

Alpine Living Nativity

We had an amazing experience for Family Home Evening this past week.  Driving around town I've noticed a banner advertising the Alpine Living Nativity.  I took note, thinking, "We should go to that." We are always trying to look for opportunities to reflect on the reason we celebrate Christmas.  This happened to be a perfect opportunity.  I didn't get any pictures that are a true reflection of how amazing this experience was, but those moments that meant the most were almost too special to pull out the camera.

Luckily I had heard that we needed to dress warm.  We all wore snow clothes, complete with hats, boots and gloves.  I even wore my wool long johns under my jeans.  We were so grateful that we were prepared for the cold.


You start out parking in a church parking lot and then standing in a line to wait to ride on hay in a horse trailer up to where the nativity was.  Once we got there, we sort of expected to just sit and watch someone read the story from Luke Chapter 2, while some people acted out the nativity, but it was much more than that.


When we arrived, we were greeted by some shepherds who talked to us briefly about the story of the Savior's birth. There were barrels of fire for people to stand around to keep warm as we made our way to see the baby Jesus.  I became choked up and touched from this point on.  One of the shepherds explained to all of us what we would do.  They then told us that the culminating event was to see the baby Jesus in the stable.  They explained that the baby Jesus was a real baby, not a doll.  He asked all of us why we thought it was important that baby Jesus was real.  He looked at Aaron and in the sweetest voice Aaron said to him, "Because Jesus is weal."  We made our way up the hill.  On our way up we saw goats, sheep, shepherds, camels, a donkey, a Mary (with child in womb) and Joseph.  We also saw a Roman Soldier on a horse.  Each told their part of the Christmas story. 


Inside the barn, they had set it up like a Bethlehem market street. We were greeted at the city gates by wise men.  A carpenter and blacksmith were working on their trade, there were pottery makers, weavers, bakers, shepherds with their sheep, live camels for the kids to feed, and many sights and sounds from the time thousands of years ago when Jesus was born.  


As we left the market place we followed the star to where the baby Jesus lay in the manger.  I expected to hear music playing as we culminated the experience.  There were carolers singing outside of the barn where the baby Jesus was, but as we entered the barn there was a silence and stillness.  It was a stark contrast from what we heard inside the market with people bustling about.  As we entered the barn, Aaron held my hand, looked up and said, "Mom do I get to see Jesus?"  The way he said it was filled with such a great desire to be able to see the Savior.   It was so tender.  I explained to him and reminded him that Jesus is real, that he is living, and that he is an adult now, but that this was a baby that they were pretending was Jesus.  There was such a powerful spirit as we entered the barn to find Mary and Joseph looking down and adoring their newborn babe.  They baby was sweet and pure and happy.  We kneeled around and peeked at the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in the manger.  I couldn't believe the silence.  Even my two very rowdy and lively boys were still.  We were all very touched.  At first when we left, I thought that would have been nice to have music playing at the manger scene.  Then I thought about that night so long ago and the silence, stillness and peace there must have been that night and I realized that the silence was most appropriate. 


We felt such a powerful spirit that night.  We hope to carry on this tradition with our family.  It was a great way to learn about and reflect on the birth of our Savior.  

Family Home Evening with the Vests

Every 2nd Sunday of each month we get together with my family for a Family Home Evening Lesson. (*See below to find out what Family Home Evening is all about.) We switch off meeting at different family member's homes, taking turns with the lesson and the refreshments. We all really look forward to these nights. Our kids love being with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. This past month we met at Stephen and Emily's. Chad and Jenn gave a great lesson on tithing, complete with a fun fishing activity to reinforce the principles they taught.

The highlight of our last FHE was when Stephen brought Shadow, the dog, to come in and play.

What did “family unity” mean to the pioneer family who made their way by ox cart across the plains? Or to the hardy people who settled your country? For many of these people, family unity was both a necessity and a natural result of their way of life. Their families lived and worked together. They relied heavily on each other for companionship, safety, and survival.

But in our fast-paced world, many of us change jobs and homes several times in a lifetime. As a result, we have learned to depend less on family. In many of our homes, where television and outside activities compete for our attention, family members may actually feel isolated from one another.

Today, like families in the past, your family has a strong need for unity. Your family came to this earth from a loving home with our Father in Heaven. We lived in a family with Heavenly Father. We live in a family now, and we may live with our family eternally if we are worthy. ("Lesson Twenty-one: Family Unity," Family Home Evening Resource Book (1997), 92)

*Family Home Evening, also known as FHE, is an activity that we have in our church that is carried out in the home. It's time set aside each week (typcially Monday nights, but can be any night) where we consciously take time out of our busy schedules to strenghten relationships within our immediate (and sometimes extended) family. FHE might look like a lesson about a principle of the Gospel and making correct choices, it might look like a service project, or attending a play or concert or museum, or pulling weeds in our backyard. The sky's the limit. It's basically just spending time to become more unified as a family.