FHE Check In

Boy, I haven't done one of these in a while.  Family Home Evening continues to be a highlight of our week.  Every Monday night we gather together and sing songs and pray and read scriptures and talk about  upcoming events.  We have a lesson and treats and an activity and mostly just love being together.

We are focusing on scripture stories this year.  (This month?  This week?  For now.)  We've talked about Noah and the Ark, Samuel the Lamanite, and more.  

Emma taught the lesson this week- she did a great job telling everyone about Moses and the 10 Commandments.  Leah and I had a discussion about them the night before and we used the pictures she drew to remind us what each of the commandments are.  Emma and I gathered a pillowcase full of items and she gave everyone a turn to draw something out of the bag and guess which commandment it represents.  Then we made commandment cookies.

Separate from Family Home Evening, we recently held our first official Morales Family Council (by the kids recollection anyway).  Jason led the meeting with a speaking stick.  Whoever had 'the tickler' (a bright blue basting brush from the kitchen drawer) could speak while the rest of us tried to listen.  We discussed possibilities for a family motto and a family song- I quickly came up with this one, sung to the tune of "Camptown Horses"

M-O-R-A-L-E-S (doo dah, doo dah)
Morales family is the best!  (oh the doo dah day) 
We know how to WORK! 
We know how to PLAY!
M-O-R-A-L-E-S
Morales all the way- HEY!

The kids love it and have been singing it around the house ever since.

We had a few matters of business to discuss, including plans for our upcoming trip to Utah and Colorado (the kids are all so excited about going to Goblin Valley, and Jason and I can't wait to remind them what real mountains look like) and whether or not we should replace our Chrysler Pacifica.  We talked about the importance of counseling together as a family and making decisions together.  I told the kids about the Kid Councils my siblings and I held when I was a little girl and suggested they could do the same.  I'm guessing it won't be long before they start meeting together to discuss things like how to avoid eating vegetables or how to convince Mommy to stop buying yucky toothpaste.