Visiting Teaching handout for September

Here is the Visiting Teaching message for this month. This message can be tricky if you have sisters that are divorced or widowed or single, etc. But it is an important message. It is definitely one to be prayerful about what to share with your sisters!
VISITING TEACHING MESSAGE

Parenthood Is a Sacred Duty

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Prayerfully study this material and seek for inspiration to know what to share. How will understanding “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” increase your faith in God and bless those you watch over through visiting teaching? For more information, go to reliefsociety.lds.org.

Faith, Family, Relief

Our Heavenly Father established families to help us teach correct principles in a loving atmosphere. President Thomas S. Monson said: “Give your child a compliment and a hug; say, ‘I love you’ more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.”1

Susan W. Tanner, former Young Women general president, taught: “Our Father in Heaven exemplifies the pattern we should follow. He loves us, teaches us, is patient with us, and entrusts us with our agency. … Sometimes discipline, which means ‘to teach,’ is confused with criticism. Children—as well as people of all ages—improve behavior from love and encouragement more than from fault-finding.”2

“If we faithfully have family prayer, scripture study, family home evening, priesthood blessings, and Sabbath day observance,” said Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “our children will … be prepared for an eternal home in heaven, regardless of what befalls them in a difficult world.”3

Additional Scriptures

1 Nephi 8:37; 3 Nephi 22:13; Doctrine and Covenants 93:40; 121:41

Living Stories

“I was reading the newspaper when one of my young grandsons snuggled up to me,” said Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “As I read, I was delighted to hear his sweet voice chattering on in the background. Imagine my surprise when, a few moments later, he pushed himself between me and the paper. Taking my face in his hands and pressing his nose up to mine, he asked, ‘Grandpa! Are you in there?’

“… Being there means understanding the hearts of our youth and connecting with them. And connecting with them means not just conversing with them but doing things with them too. …

“We must plan and take advantage of teaching moments. …

“… The more I live, the more I recognize that the teaching moments in my youth, especially those provided by my parents, have shaped my life and made me who I am.”4

Consider This

Why is the gospel best taught by the language and example of love?

Show References

Here is the handout we used with our sisters:

Email me and I will send you the pdf of 4 to a page and my Visiting Teaching lesson handout as well. :) Enjoy!

Make it a great one!

 Daughter, Sister, Friend, Wife - in our 18th year of wedded bliss, Stepmother to 2 adult children, Mother - (G16, G15, B13, G10, B9, B6, G4, & B2), StepMother-In-Law to 2, StepGrandmother to 4 precociously precious little boys! Blessed, Happy & Satisfied!

See Yourself in the Temple

See yourself in the Temple is the topic of Quentin L. Cook's 2016 April Conference talk. This talk is the subject of my 4th Sunday Relief Society Lesson this month. This is a long talk - I will more than likely have to pick and choose the best parts of this talk because it is about 5 pages long in a normal 14 pt font.

This talk isn't just for people that haven't gone to the Temple yet. This talk is for EVERYONE! If you have a recommend - this talk is for you! If you have a recommend but you have and/or haven't gone in a while, this talk is for you. If you are less active and need to renew your recommend and return to Church this talk is for you. If you have recently joined the Church, this talk is for you. If you are investigating the Church, this talk is for you!! Seriously!!

This talk is for each of us to See Ourselves in the Temple, A little history of the Temple and then a Challenge to See Myself in the Temple. He talks about promises and blessings given to the Saints and discusses how blessed we are to live at this time. He also discusses How Do We Prepare for the Temple and how the Atonement of Christ makes it possible for us to be forgiven of the sins that might keep us from thinking we are worthy to attend the Temple. He reminds us that our ability to go in the Temple is based on our Self Certification when answering the Temple Recommend Questions with our Bishopric and Stake Presidency Member. We have to fully forgive ourselves. This is key. One of my favorite quotes is "The Lord Organizes Eternal Families in the Temple" - What a great reminder. No where else is this remotely possible!!

I add my testimony of Temple work to his and again use his Challenge of See Yourself in the Temple for all of us to grow closer to Heavenly Father.

This is the handout that I am going to use for my lesson. I will print it in color in a 4x6 size for each member of our Relief Society. I am going to use Sams Club :) They are pretty economical!

    

Email me and I will send you the pdf of this handout. Usually I do it in a full size and a 4x6 or 3x5 size that is 4 to a page.  I am going to print out one in a poster size for our loft area. This is a great visual for my children to see everyday!


Make it a great one!

 Daughter, Sister, Friend, Wife - in our 18th year of wedded bliss, Stepmother to 2 adult children, Mother - (G16, G15, B12, G10, B9, B6, G4, & B2), StepMother-In-Law to 2, StepGrandmother to 4 precociously precious little boys! Blessed, Happy & Satisfied!

Tip Tuesday: Cleaning Schedules - Daily, Weekly, Bi-Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly and Yearly

Ever wondered how you could break up the chores that NEED to be done in and around your home but you weren't quite sure how to do it? This article is going to do just that. We will approach it in this way: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Bi-Yearly, and Yearly. Easy Peasy!


DAILY:

These are things that should or could be done daily - depending on your life situation. Make your bed; start a load (or 2) of laundry; clear your dishwasher; fix meals; Tidy living room, bedrooms, bathrooms and empty trash.

WEEKLY JOBS:

These are things that you can designate to a certain day of the week EACH week. Wash Sunday Clothes; pay bills; do paperwork; catch up on emails; catch up on blog posts; balance weekly budget; vacuum carpeted areas and sweep non carpeted areas (maybe 2x's a week or more - depending on your household. We have a large family and really our family room gets vacuumed at the least ONE time a day but usually twice; Wash bath and kitchen towels; deep clean bathrooms; deep clean kitchen; plan weekly menu's; prepare your grocery list; Wash sheets - you designate who's sheets on which day of the week - so there is never a question; grocery shopping (we get paid on Fridays so we do our grocery shopping on Fridays); Banking errands; Driving around errands - if you can designate one day that you are going to fulfill all errands it will save you time and energy in the long run; Dust - have different rooms get dusted on different days; mending/fixing day; Washing sleep wear; wash cars; mow lawns; sweep/clean outside  living spaces and walkways; clean children's rooms; write letters.

MONTHLY JOBS:

These can include thing like washing interior windows; organizing living spaces (designate which space gets the 'treatment' each month; dusting ceiling fans; wiping down minds and cleaning window treatments; clearing off the Office Desk; Filing papers into your permanent file; Setting up dr's appointments etc.; Clean vehicles inside and out; dust kitchen cupboard doors; file papers, articles and clippigns; write in baby books; write letters/emails; balance bank statements; take a day off :); Prepare next months budget; add your cleaning jobs to your calendar for next month.

QUARTERLY JOBS:

Organize children's toys; clean mirrors; clean shower door/curtain; check vehicles oil/tire pressure/battery; clean piano keys; check and or change furnace filters; & you may find that you have others that fit your family needs.

Make it a great one!

*** Some of the information is from Marie Ricks - Housecleaning Plan - She just lays it out so logically. While some of the strategies are mine alone - the bulk of the 'plan' is hers. I changed it around to fit my family's needs - as you can do for your family! *** 

BellaOnline Cleaning

Make it a great one!

Daughter, Sister, Friend, Wife - in our 18th year of wedded bliss, Stepmother to 2 adult children, Mother - (G16, G15, B12, G10, B9, B5, G4, & B1), StepMother-In-Law to 2, StepGrandmother to 4 precociously precious little boys! Blessed, Happy & Satisfied!

Tip Tuesday: Cleaning the Bathroom

Have you been trying to figure out what the most important things to do in your bathroom would be? Well, look no further. There are simple tasks that you can do following your morning routine in your bathroom that will keep your bathroom clean, sparkly and more importantly GERM FREE!

Bathtub - 

If you take a bath you really should wipe out any excess water and have the exhaust vent on to wick away any excess moisture lingering in the air. A quick wipe down with your towel (or handy drying towel specifically for this purpose) will keep your bathtub looking the way it should!

Shower - 

If you are a shower girl, you need to make sure you wipe down your shower when you are finished as well. The doors/curtains can be particularly good at breeding germs and getting shower scum. The germ factor is more important here! You will definitely want to dry it - this will foil the attempts of the germs to build up. A weekly cleaning is easy when everyday you are wiping it dry!

Sink/Faucet - 

If at the end of your morning routine you quickly dried out the sink and wiped down the faucets (getting the tricky tight spaces, as well) your sink will never build up scum and germs. Once a week you can quickly clean it with your favorite cleaner, but you will have said good bye to the hard, scrubbing, yucky job!

Mirrors - 

Your mirror just needs a quick wipe down to get rid of any water spots that might have accumulated. This will keep your mirror looking crystal clear and you looking beautiful in it!

Toilet - 

The dreaded toilet should be swished through DAILY. If you clean it, using cleaner, then you need only swish it on the surfaces. It will have enough cleaner on the bristles to see you through your morning swishing. ***One thing to remember, you should train everyone in your house to close the lid when they flush***. Open lids when flushing can allow germs and bacteria to get on things that you really don't want them on. (like toothbrushes, hair brushes, makeup, etc.)

As you practice healthy cleaning rituals in the mornings you will find that it only takes seconds - once you make the habit! Don't forget, by doing this every morning, your bathroom will stay COMPANY READY!! (The tricky part is trying to teach our children to do it in THEIR bathrooms!!)

BellaOnline Cleaning

Make it a great one!

Daughter, Sister, Friend, Wife - in our 18th year of wedded bliss, Stepmother to 2 adult children, Mother - (G16, G15, B12, G10, B9, B5, G4, & B1), StepMother-In-Law to 2, StepGrandmother to 4 precociously precious little boys! Blessed, Happy & Satisfied!

September Odd Holidays

SEPTEMBER

Honey Month

2nd Sunday - National Pet Memorial Day

3rd Sunday - POW/MIA Recognition Day

5th - Cheese Pizza Day

9th - Teddy Bear Day

12th - Chocolate Milkshake Day

18th - National Cheeseburger Day

19th - International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Make it a great one!

 Daughter, Sister, Friend, Wife - in our 18th year of wedded bliss, Stepmother to 2 adult children, Mother - (G16, G15, B12, G10, B9, B5, G4, & B1), StepMother-In-Law to 2, StepGrandmother to 4 precociously precious little boys! Blessed, Happy & Satisfied!

Tip Tuesday: My Daily Cleaning Habit

If you start at one ‘end’ of your house you can have a tidy home in less than an hour. The biggest issue is finding a way to organize the things that tend to pile up: mail, shoes, toys, paper. This is how our family does it: we have buckets (one for the parents and one for the kiddies) for all shoes; mail stays on the computer desk and we go through it daily; toys are picked up by children about 10x’s daily (seriously); papers have to find a home asap (trash, filed, etc).

If you have lots of items as you are cleaning that are gathered up, then I would suggest giving everyone a time limit of, say 10 minutes to get the things out of the hamper and put away. Whatever is leftover is thrown out/given away. You can also do a ‘earn’ back – but that required space to store the stuff and with 9 people in my family I don’t have room to store things indefinitely.

I don’t believe Mom should have to do all the Housework. I believe the children need to be responsible and learn more responsibility for themselves. My goal is to have intelligent, self-starting, motivated adults and they will only become so as they learn to do and be responsible. Which also means I have to let go and let them. :)

I have sweeping and vacuuming assigned to a child DAILY. In fact, every time the kitchen is used it is swept - okay, I wish! It is my goal that this will be so. It would be unmanageable if we did it one time a day!! Vacuuming: we vacuum the family at least once a day, however, there are days that it is vacuumed about 3-5 times. This is the room we use the most, attached to the kitchen (although we don’t allow eating in the family room) and gets the most wear and tear throughout the day.  Other rooms/stairs are vacuumed once a week (more often, as needed). I mop at least once a week and spot mop daily, as needed.

Once a week we glass clean the entire house – but on different days. The bathroom is tidied daily and deep cleaned once a week (more if needed). Every morning the toilets are scrubbed (rim, toilet, seat, inside).  Wipe down the counters and faucet. Anything that needs to be put away is put away.It is a good idea to keep a bottle of your daily shower/tub cleaner next to the shower/tub so that every time it is used it can be sprayed down. This will greatly diminish the Deep Clean time that you have to spend on the bathroom. Make sure there is toilet paper and hand towels out for guests, at all times. Using the counter rag, wipe down the outside of the toilet and the floor around it. Then you only need to mop once a week. Make sure floor boards are wiped down and you are good to go!

My children are responsible for their own rooms. They are SUPPOSED to pick it up in the morning and once before bed.  One time a week they are supposed to DEEP CLEAN it. Does it always look clean – heck no! Are we trying to get them to be more responsible in that area? YES!

Here are some tips for having Tidying be quick and only a 5-10 minute job – daily. Make the bed – if the bed is made, the room looks cleaner and feels cleaner. Pick up and put away any clothes that are not where they are supposed to be and put dirty clothes in the hamper. Use a dusting tool (damp cloth, duster, etc) to dust all of the surfaces (including headboard and foot board and side rails if they can be seen). That’s it! DONE!

Our kitchen is cleaned after every meal. Once a week we move all the things on the counter and clean behind them. We run probably 3-5 loads of dishes daily. Stove is wiped down after every meal. I use a knife and clean between the stove and the counter at least once a week. If you keep your sink empty and shiny and your counters clutter free then your kitchen will look and feel clean.


BellaOnline Cleaning

Make it a great one!

Daughter, Sister, Friend, Wife - in our 18th year of wedded bliss, Stepmother to 2 adult children, Mother - (G16, G15, B12, G10, B9, B5, G4, & B1), StepMother-In-Law to 2, StepGrandmother to 4 precociously precious little boys! Blessed, Happy & Satisfied!

Tip Tuesday: Daily Chore Schedule

Here is a fun Daily Cleaning Schedule for the whole week. You can easily adapt it for the whole family and for different rooms in your home. I like having assigned daily tasks to accomplish. I like to add them to my phone and then be flexible on busy, filled-up days.

Mondays:

Make our beds
Wipe down bathroom, swish the toilet (I have the bathrooms assigned to children - I do the Master)
Clean one room, including vacuuming and dusting - (loft, library, family room, living room, craft room, entertainment room, stairs, etc.)
Do at least one load of laundry - including folding and putting away(We have 9 people in our family - we do 2 loads a day - more on the weekend)
Clean kitchen after every meal - (counters, floor, table, chairs)

Tuesdays:

Make our beds
Wipe down bathrooms, swish the toilet.
Clean one room - including vacuuming (see list above)
Do at least one load of laundry - fold and put away
Clean kitchen after every meal/snack - clean microwave - inside and out

Wednesday:

Make our beds
Wipe down bathroom, swish toilet
Clean one room - including vacuuming (see list above)
Do at least one load of laundry - fold and put away
Clean kitchen after every meal/snack - wash down fronts of appliances

Thursday:

Make our beds
Wipe down bathrooms, swish the toilet.
Clean one room - including vacuuming (see list above)
Do at least one load of laundry - fold and put away
Clean kitchen after every meal/snack - mop the floor

Friday:

Make our beds  - straighten rooms - vacuum
Wipe down bathrooms, swish the toilet.
Clean one room - including vacuuming (see list above)
Do at least one load of laundry - fold and put away
Clean kitchen after every meal/snack -
Vacuum living room/family room

Saturday:

Wash Sheets - then make our beds - Dust bedroom
Wipe down bathrooms, swish the toilet.
Clean one room - including vacuuming (see list above)
Do at least one load of laundry until completely finished - fold and put away
Clean kitchen after every meal/snack - Clean out refrigerator/freezer.
Organize Meal Plan for the following Week

This schedule works for us - most days. Like I have said before - schedules are only good if you don't have any plans. So be flexible and work things in around the things that you have planned. Time the children and yourself or put on some music and dance through it! However you choose to train your children - make it fun for them and you will have fun as well!

BellaOnline Cleaning

Make it a great one!

Daughter, Sister, Friend, Wife - in our 18th year of wedded bliss, Stepmother to 2 adult children, Mother - (G16, G15, B12, G10, B9, B5, G4, & B1), StepMother-In-Law to 2, StepGrandmother to 4 precociously precious little boys! Blessed, Happy & Satisfied!