Jacob's Talk

Jacob was asked to speak in primary today. For the spiritual edification of all who read this blog, I will post the text to his talk, in its entirety, below:

"One of my favorite songs is “Scripture Power.” Part of the power we get from the scriptures is to learn about important things that happened long ago. In the scriptures we can read and learn about when Baby Jesus was born and what will happen at His Second Coming. (Picture 1) Shepherds were watching their sheep when an angel came and said, “Fear not!... For unto you is born this day...a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:8-9). (Picture 2) After they heard this, they hurried to go see Jesus. When I am told to do things, I also hurry to obey. The wise men also came to see Jesus after he was born. (Picture 3) They knew about prophecies in the scriptures and had seen a sign of His birth. I think the wise men were so wise because they read the scriptures. The scriptures also teach us about what will happen when Jesus comes again. (Picture 4) We can look for signs of the Second Coming and be ready to see Him, like the shepherds and the wise men. I have a testimony of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the scriptures and what I can learn about Jesus when I read them."

He, of course, carried out his speaking task marvelously.

Indoor playground!

Jeff has been busy these last couple months building some fun things for the kids in the basement. See for yourself, and if you need something fun to do in the winter, feel free to drop on by! :)


squarygoround from Jeff Hoopes on Vimeo.



squarygoroundwithdrill from Jeff Hoopes on Vimeo.



slide from Jeff Hoopes on Vimeo.

A new way to travel to Bethlehem...

Jacob has been playing with his phonics train and our Nativity set this afternoon and I had to take a picture once he combined everything into one big playset. The shepherds never made it to Bethlehem faster than they did today:

Joseph apparently made it on the same train as the shepherds, and you'll see Mary above (on the couch) standing in the fields looking for her husband. We're loving this time of year and hope you are, too!

Tithing and something cute to remember!

On Sunday we had tithing settlement with Bishop Harris and I very briefly taught Jacob about tithing before we went. He had some birthday money from a couple months ago that he paid tithing on and last night I realized that maybe he did catch something in the 5 minute lesson I did with him.

I tucked the kids in bed last night around 7:20 or so and then went to use the bathroom. When I came out Jacob was standing in the hallway holding two books:

I asked him why he was out of bed and he said he needed to show me something. He pointed at both pictures above and said, "Mom, they are both just paying their tithing!" :) Now, we have read several chapter books with our kids over the last couple years, but not Dear Mr. Henshaw yet - he just knows the picture on the cover of that one from his occasional pastime of reorganizing the chapter books shelf on our bookcase. He told me how the little girl was writing on the same paper he did the other day but the boy was paying his tithing on a different paper.  Love it!

A year ago this week...

Something I've always been grateful for (or mostly grateful for) is that I can remember things pretty vividly. I have a lot of thoughts as December begins today about the things I did the first week of December last year. Since I most likely didn't blog about any of them, I figured I could reminisce here and process the memories that way.  Without further ado, a list of the things I was doing last year:

1. My sister Erin came home to MI with us after we Thanksgivinged in Virginia. She was here for a week and it was great!  Jeff ate lots of white cheddar popcorn on the drive home from VA, I attempted to sew her a hat  out of an old sweater and then my sewing machine went crazy on us when the bobbin case kind of exploded or something. In true sister fashion I think we both almost wet our pants laughing at how the inside of that hat looked.

2. I was rehearsing for Messiah performances every other night.  Yep, doing that again this year. And it's wonderful. Tomorrow night is our last dress rehearsal before our two Ann Arbor concerts, and then next week we have three  rehearsals before our two performances in the big D.  I am a little excited to sing in Detroit, having never sung in a big city before. PS I love singing Messiah. Not only is Handel kind to altos (we do have the first line in the first chorus of the whole oratorio), it is remarkable how spiritually riveting it is for me to sing beautiful text and beautiful notes (well, they were written to be beautiful, I am making no statements about how they sound when I sing them!). I am a lucky gal.

3. I accidentally went to touch up/finish off the top of Jeff's haircut after he had done most of it and didn't bother to notice he had handed me the clippers with the guard off, ready for me to shave off his fuzzy curls that grow below where he likes them to be in the back. So he had a nice little patch of baldness somewhere in the middle of his head and then we just went all out and shaved him since we were definitely beyond and possibility of fixing things.  You'd better believe I check really closely now as to whether the guard is on or off.  I must also point out that a year ago Jeff was telling no one except 1 person (our neighbor and his office mate at school) about this. I loved him so much for that, and luckily for all of us, his hair grew back.  

4. I was taking Rebecca to the ER because we thought she swallowed a hearing aid battery.  It turns out she didn't swallow it, but I was so proud of how still she laid during her x-ray. And I learned that the UM ER staff in pediatrics is really nice, though I think I'll be alright if we don't make it there again.  

5. The same day as #4 (but of course) I was comforting my three year old Jacob who had fallen out of the cart at Sam's Club after jumping up and down excitedly after seeing a  Charlie Brown Christmas book.  I almost took him to the ER as well since I was afraid he had a concussion, but he was fine. I never want to hear the sound of a little person's body/head/whatever it was hitting the Sam's Club concrete floor again. Shudder!

6. I was remembering, as I always do this week of the year, my sweet Grandma McKoy who passed away on December 9, 2007, when Jacob was a couple months old.  Boy do I miss her.

7. I was enjoy the company of not only my sister but also David + Megan and their family since they drove up from Beavercreek for my Messiah performance and stayed for a day or so.  It was so great to have them close by for that and other occasions these past few years - and now I am missing them since they moved to California over the summer!  

8. I was having a colonoscopy a year ago this week. Everything went fine with that and the only reason I mention it here is that I was so glad Erin was here that day to help me out at the doctor while Shaunae watched my kids. I even made it to rehearsal that same night. 

9. Doing dishes.  :)  I was just thinking I better finish up this post and go do the dishes that are in my kitchen right now, and I imagine I was doing dishes at some point during this week a year ago.  

Happy Decembering and Happy Remembering!!