Richardson Report

Birthdays - yes we had them.  They were sort of lame this year due to illness.  One thing that I did that was both really smart and really yummy - I made Josh a birthday dessert a day early.  I had every intention of making something else ON his birthday, but it worked out well because I was too sick to actually cook anything super yummy when the day arrived.   But what I had made earlier were German Chocolate Cake cookies - found HERE .  They were DIVINE.  Divine, I say!  Not too tricky and totally worth the effort. So since October has been filled with colds and such, school has been fritzy and scattered.  It's happened, though.  Several habits have eased my life. 1. I printed and laminated a morning job list and a start-the-school-day list for the younger girls.  Now instead of reminding Natalie half a dozen times to do various things, I just refer her to the list and check up on her periodically.  Kudos for kids who get the list done without reminders (as I like to say, &qu

Previous post has been edited to include thematic elements in movies.

When the kids were really young (early Oregon days) our Stake President gave a Fifth Sunday lesson in which he went over some of their family rules and why they chose them.  I missed the lesson because I was in the Primary presidency at that time, but Josh was able to attend and he took some notes.  I remember I was really interested to hear what they did as a family, but years later I only remember one specific rule that we took and made our own.  However, I know that talk and many others have influenced rules that we've set down for our family.  Some things have changed a little over time as we've adapted to circumstances, while others have held firm for a decade or more. To have successful homes, values must be taught, and there must be rules, there must be standards, and there must be absolutes.   James E. Faust The purpose of a family rule is to create a certain atmosphere in our home, as well as to allow for the best spiritual development that we can achieve.   In a