Peace

This past Friday, a horrible tragedy happened in our nation.  A gunman killed 20 little kids at an elementary school along with 6 other adults, and then himself.  I just sat there watching the news, crying and trying to explain to my kids what was wrong.  It is sickening.  I have thought about it every day since it happened.  Those precious kids.  Those amazing teachers. My heart aches for those poor parents and families who lost a loved one that day.

Some people have decided to not talk to their kids about this.  "They are too young to carry that burden", "They don't need to know about it" and so on.  I agree it is a horrible thing for a child to hear about, but I decided to talk to mine about it here and there since it happened.  We have had some great conversations about it. 

• We talked about how grateful we are to have the Gospel in our lives and the knowledge of eternal families.
• We talked about how hearts will be softened there and that missionaries and member can share the gospel to those who are aching and hurting.  People all over the world will turn to the Lord and be looking for answers that we can give them, being members of the church.
• There are bad things in this world, but there are far more good things.  Seek for the good things.  They are there.  Don't be afraid.
• Those precious children were no doubt watched over and they were not left alone as they passed from this world. 

I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It gives me peace in time of great heartache and tragedy.  I was born into a family who gave me the gospel.  I am so thankful for that.  I am so grateful I can talk to my kids about things like this and that we can work through it together, with the Savior's help and understanding. 

Let the BREAK begin...

Well, we are began our Christmas Break today!  The children were happy to learn today's workload was pretty minimal.  One thing we did was make "Get Well Soon" cards to Uncle Devin who is having his gallbladder out.  Fun, eh?  The kids did great and their cards were amazing! Stamps!  Stickers!  Sweet words written in colorful markers. I didn't get any pictures since we were using stamps and I need to focus on that....Noah and Audrey get kinda crazy with things of this nature.

Our Plans for the BREAK:

**We will be baking more cookies since we have been eating the ones Grandma and I made.  We can't help it.  Our baking skills are just too much for us to ignore.  Frozen cookies taste really good if you are too lazy to warm them up in the micro.**



**I think Noah wants to play some card games during the break.  Looks like he has them all out and ready to go.**

 **Seth plans on watching videos made by neighborhood kids that have been posted on youtube. (I took this picture of him at the computer.  He drew a mustache on himself, so he must have just starred in his own movie recently. Still in costume, apparently.) The kids have made their own videos and posted them as well and that is all they do now.  Watch "funny" videos.  It kinda reminds me of when I was a kid and my siblings and I used to record our voices on a tape recorder.  We made commericals, sang songs, and just had a lovely time.  We even caught on tape, my mom yelling at us.  Hilarious!

**Audrey plans of watching lots of "Bubble Guppies", jumping on our little indoor trampoline, watching us play "Just Dance" on the Wii, and not letting me do her hair.....OK, she let's me do it but rips it out after a few hours.  Reminds me of Addie.

I think our break will be amazing, and I hope my dumb cold goes away.

HANG on......

Christmas Break is coming!!

Hang on!

Yes, I am talking to myself, mostly.

You'd think by now that I'd realize that I should

never plan to do a boatload of school

during the month of December.

We can't focus.

I can't keep it together.

We want to bake...

and craft...

and decorate...

and eat what we baked...

then bake some more....

and stay up late watching movies...

and then sleep in wayyyy too late....

Yes, we need to snap out of IT!

We still have ONE more week of school!

So, COME ON, Rodgers Family!

HANG ON!

Christmas Break is coming!

P.S.

Have you ever tried the Orange and Milk Chocolate M&M's?

They are goooooooood.

I ate a big bag myself...pretty much.

 

Also, I kinda want a white tree now. I have never like them, but now I am thinking they are so pretty and elegant.  I have room for another tree, right??? Ha!

What CAN I do for them?

I am feeling reflective today.  Maybe because it is Sunday.  Possibly.  Most likely, actually.  I had a sick baby girl all weekend and wasn't able to attend church since Will was teaching Sunday School.  But, I was able to go to choir; gotta do my "Choir President" duties.  (I am loving singing with the choir, btw).  I love how singing hymns lifts your spirits.

I have noticed how our society can be very focused on being productive. "What did you cook\sew\create\organize\ today?".  Post it on your blog.  (Ya, I have done this, many times).  Then pin it on Pinterest.  Then we all can pin and pin and pin and make and do many more "productive" things.  Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE creating things.  Doing things.  I love seeing what other people are doing and then I wanna do it too.  You should see my dining room table.  It is full of stuff I made recently for a RS activity.  :)  But, I can't help but wonder if we can get lost in all of that.  I want to do fun things with my kids, but I don't want it to ever become an obsession.  I don't want to loose sight of what is really important and what I really CAN and should do for them.

I found an old friend from high school on fb.  Nice sweet girl.  She was a student body officer.  The kind that people voted for because she was genuinely nice to everyone.  She had posted a year or so ago a link to video that summed up why she had fallen away from the Church.  It saddened me.  And it caught me by surprise.  She was the last person I expected to fall away.  Her posts since then have been a bit bitter. Some have triggered angry discussions.  Things that go against gospel principles, she supports.  Some of the things she shares, articles and things, show how far away she is from the Gospel, and well, it makes me sad.

As I have thought about this lately, I have thought "What can I do so that this doesn't happen to me?  To my family?". She is no doubt still a good person, but she has lost her way.  Her spouse has lost his, too.  I realized that when parents fall away from the Church, it can affect many generations.  We all have to be careful since Satan's main goal is to tear us, and our families apart. 

So, what CAN do for them? For my kids?  I can make sure I am where I need to be.  Am I praying each day?  Am I reading my scriptures?  Am I reading the words of our Prophet?  Am I making sure my testimony is strong so that when the winds blow, I am ready?  I need to be ready to help my kids spiritually.  This is so important.  It is more important than any project I see that I want to do with them or for them. I need to do better.  I will do better.  It is the most important thing I can do.  For them.