A New Tradition

I have been inspired by NieNie (but then, who hasn't?), and I particularly like one of her traditions of celebrating the start of a new school year with a feast and introduction of a yearly family theme.

This time of year is a perfect opportunity to regroup, refresh, and recommit. It is a chance for not only the children to progress in learning, but for parents as well. Seeing that I love any excuse to celebrate, I also wanted to demonstrate to Brevin and Spencer my personal love for learning by making their return to school a momentous occasion.

Following on the heels of an excellent talk Jason recently gave in sacrament meeting on the topic of Christianity in the home, I feel that the theme that most portrays the ideals I want to encourage over the next months is: A House of Order. This comes from a favorite scripture, Doctrine and Covenants 88:119.

For this special occasion, I brought out the table cloths, china, and silverware. We had all the fixings for a Thanksgiving feast with turkey and gravy, stuffing, garden green beans, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce. Of course, I had to add Mom's rolls (no formal dinner is complete without them). We finished it all off with chocolate cake. The dinner was followed with a brief family home evening lesson where the theme was discussed, then Jason gave each of the boys a father's blessing. It was a lovely evening, and I look forward to making this a yearly tradition.

Of course, I had some help with all of the preparations.


The Guests of Honor:

The Chocolate Cake (With a Layer of Strawberries in the Center):

The Father's Blessings:

This post authored by Amber