A new year means changes for our kids in church. I think Jonathan is now a Valiant. It is so weird to see him at the back of the room. It just seems like yesterday he became a Sunbeam. He could not sit in his seat for anything. Well, time has gone by, and now we have a new member of our family going through the Sunbeam phase of Primary... Ella!
To prepare her for the change, about a week before the move I would tell her she was going into Primary soon, how fun it would be and she would be with Jonathan and I. Also, the Primary Presidency gave her a scripture bag which she could not wait to fill with scriptures. It is a bit of a change. Going from playing with toys for an hour, snack time and then a short lesson to sitting though a 45 minute lesson, singing time and then another lesson is a big change for a three, almost four, year old. She was fabulous and had a great first day. It was so cute to see her walk into her class with a huge smile on her face, carrying the Bible for her teacher.
For all the little Sunbeams I wanted to do something special and since I am currently the "singing lady" so I was able to. I found some awesome happy face lollipops that a turned into suns. All the newbie Sunbeams came up to the front of the room and then everyone sang Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam. Ella loves this song and frequently picks it for FHE.
Since we live out here in PA, there are no close LDS stores so Ella's scriptures were ordered online and did not arrive for her to bring them to the second week of Primary. I think they came the next day. Ella was thrilled when she saw them and wanted me to read the scriptures cover to cover. Ummm, that would be the Bible, Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price and Doctrine and Covenants. I don't think her attention span, or mine, could last that long. She then discovered the pictures at the back of the book and was overjoyed. "Look there is the temple" ... "That's where Jonathan was baptized"... etc. I must admit it is awesome to see the picture of the Susquehanna river and it looks almost exactly like it did the day Jonathan was baptized.
Ryan and I both thought it would be cool if we could find pink scriptures, Ella's favorite color. I could not find any so I decided to make her a book cover. I added her name to make it a little extra special and showed her the finished piece this morning. She was so excited and could not wait to show her teacher and friends. Today was a little rocky for her but she did well and seems to be adjusting. It is so fun to see her in Primary and the excitement she has about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Lately she has said a few prayers, deciding herself, what she wanted to say. These prayers are so simple, beautiful and heart felt. Tonight she simply said I love you Jesus and a few nights ago she asked Jesus to let Heavenly Father know I love him.
Ella wanted to look like the Statue of Liberty for this picture.To prepare her for the change, about a week before the move I would tell her she was going into Primary soon, how fun it would be and she would be with Jonathan and I. Also, the Primary Presidency gave her a scripture bag which she could not wait to fill with scriptures. It is a bit of a change. Going from playing with toys for an hour, snack time and then a short lesson to sitting though a 45 minute lesson, singing time and then another lesson is a big change for a three, almost four, year old. She was fabulous and had a great first day. It was so cute to see her walk into her class with a huge smile on her face, carrying the Bible for her teacher.
For all the little Sunbeams I wanted to do something special and since I am currently the "singing lady" so I was able to. I found some awesome happy face lollipops that a turned into suns. All the newbie Sunbeams came up to the front of the room and then everyone sang Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam. Ella loves this song and frequently picks it for FHE.
Since we live out here in PA, there are no close LDS stores so Ella's scriptures were ordered online and did not arrive for her to bring them to the second week of Primary. I think they came the next day. Ella was thrilled when she saw them and wanted me to read the scriptures cover to cover. Ummm, that would be the Bible, Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price and Doctrine and Covenants. I don't think her attention span, or mine, could last that long. She then discovered the pictures at the back of the book and was overjoyed. "Look there is the temple" ... "That's where Jonathan was baptized"... etc. I must admit it is awesome to see the picture of the Susquehanna river and it looks almost exactly like it did the day Jonathan was baptized.
Ryan and I both thought it would be cool if we could find pink scriptures, Ella's favorite color. I could not find any so I decided to make her a book cover. I added her name to make it a little extra special and showed her the finished piece this morning. She was so excited and could not wait to show her teacher and friends. Today was a little rocky for her but she did well and seems to be adjusting. It is so fun to see her in Primary and the excitement she has about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Lately she has said a few prayers, deciding herself, what she wanted to say. These prayers are so simple, beautiful and heart felt. Tonight she simply said I love you Jesus and a few nights ago she asked Jesus to let Heavenly Father know I love him.
Her new scriptures case and cover. It's a bit too heavy for her to carry the full set so she decided to bring her triple and keep the Bible at home.
THAT'S NOT ALL FOLKS. The last, and smallest member our family has been making appearances in Nursery. I talked to her leader and she has been gracious enough to let Leia go to Nursery during singing time. Hopefully it will make the transition easier for her. It's been a little hard, she has cried some the last two weeks, but today settled down and when I came to pick her up she looked super cute sitting in her chair eating her little snack. Once she saw me she quickly gave the snack back and came over to greet me. She is so adorable. Time was not yet up so I stayed with her for 10 minutes and she decided to finish up the snack. I can't believe she is almost 18 months old and will soon be in there for the full time. So crazy. The kids just keep growing and time continues to tick by. There's no stopping it. I'm so grateful to celebrate these little milestones with them.
