FHE Lesson {Pacific Area Goals 2016}

We are encourage by the Pacific Area Presidency to Hold a Family Home Evening on the 1st of February to discuss how each family can come up with a 'tailored to them' list to complement the Pacific Area Goals.

2016 Goals are:
Honour the Sabbath day at Home and Church
Increase Spiritual and Temporal Self Reliance
Hasten the Work of Salvation
Seek the Blessings of the Temple


Find four pictures to match the Goals.
{We will probably draw ours on our whiteboard}
eg Draw a house/church, praying arms, a picture of scriptures and a temple.


Think of ONE or Several goals your family could make under each heading.

Some examples:

ONE thing we will do different on a Sunday. One new activity you will do.

Make an educational goal for individuals
learn spell words, improve maths, set alarm to make it to school on time every day,

Make a spiritual goal.
Read the Book of Mormon.
Assist seminary aged kids in learning scripture mastery
Ponderise a scripture each week/month
Hold family prayer at a set time daily

Think of someone who you can help/befriend at church this year

Hold FHE about the temple. Take small children to visit the outside of the Temple
Complete 15 in 15 Family History. Show pictures of relatives. Teach children about their ancestors.



Copy and make this Sabbath Day Plan  from lds.org




To keep kids busy if need use old church magazines, print things online have them cut out pictures that will match your goals, even draw to make a collage of all your ideas.

Find pictures that represent a goal in each category. Stick these pictures on a chart with the four headings. Use it to play a matching game with kids.


Set achievable and measurable goals for your family. Pray that the outcome will be the area of vision To strengthen families and individuals by increasing faith and trust in Heavenly Father and in Jesus Christ and in the Atonement.

Closing Song:

Closing Prayer:

Melbourne

I would never thought that I would have two holidays within a month of each other.

Never happened ever!

I was super excited when all the stars aligned
{no work commitments, babysitting sorted, OUR birthdays, flights on points, work hotel}
Like ALL the stars aligned.
Unheard of ;) and I was able to go to Melbourne for my birthday!
I talk {beg} of joining The Mr on work trips ALL THE TIME {poor guy} so its nice to really happen

 ^^ Novotel was great! Large rooms, good breakfast. Pillows and sheets are amazing.
I googled to see if you could buy them - MyBed (Yikes!) 

 ^^Hosier Lane

 ^^ Late sunsets are so weird to me. Kept thinking it was early. Was shocked when Lindt wasn't almost going to let us sit and eat cake for The Mr's birthday on a friday night as it was almost 'closing time' pfftt. Then we felt we had to rush.

 ^^ Cause I love Advent Calendars. The city horses are adorable but I hope they are treated nice I feel a bit sorry for them always around exhaust fumes and cars - but gave a magical touch to the city.

 ^^ Birthday. I bought the candles all the way from home. I arrived after a long week at work.

 ^^ My birthday breakfast The Hardware Societe trendy little cafe.

 ^^ Duck and Hollandaise eggs on brioche bun.
Yoghurt, musli, croissant,  the vanilla peaches and raspberry were yum

 ^^ Hopetoun Tea Rooms. SO MUCH FOOD in Melbourne. It's a shame there isn't time to eat it all.

 ^^ NGV National Gallery of Victoria.

 ^^ Interactive installment at NGV. Running in the mist was fun. It kept disappearing while we were trying to get photo's of us  though :(  There was a model doing a shoot in the mist by the trees.

 ^^ Ai Weiwei and Andy Warhol installments on at the moment.

^^ Trying to capture the rainbow. NGV has waterfall glass.

 ^^ My Birthday 'Cake'(s)

 ^^ Luna Park Just because.

 ^^ Botanic Gardens

 ^^ War Memorial. Shrine of Remembrance. It was really moving on a Sunday morning.

 ^^ The view of Melbourne from on top the War Memorial is the Best!

^^ Hard to see but the tiny white building middle of photo has a 'face on it' someone pointed it out while we were up the top.   See Here for close up - pretty neat if you ask me!

 ^^ Love the trees in Melbourne.

 ^^ Bye Bye. Hard to see but there were beautiful air balloons and sunrise view from the taxi as we left. It was gorgeous. I felt like I was in a movie. Very sad to leave. I didn't get to eat all things yet!

 ^^ Home again Home again.

^^ My darlings met me with the amazing cake for my belated birthday. Miss them but the weekend away was sooo good!


See my last Trip to Melbourne here.

This time:
Eat Eat Eat - Italian and Greek food this time.
We walked every street of the city.
National Gallery of Victoria
Botanic Gardens
St Kilda - Beach, Bakery Row, Luna Park
Church
Train out to 'almost' Geelong :)

Sadly I had the same problem again. Didn't buy anything! Nothing! {other than food of course}
Why am I so fail at buying something to remember a trip by/ or splurging a gift????

I dream of a jet setting life with plenty of money to spend on hotel rooms and food and entertainment! oh well.  Where to next?

Back To School Dinner

Pretty low key but we held our annual Back To School Dinner. 

Raided the house for decorations.

I chose these succulents the older girls bought home from high school.

Plants and growing and knowledge... you know...

We moved the ever changing chalkboard.

Add the crystal goblets

Add our theme

And done

We had White Chili Chicken and sparkling drink and Homemade Cheesecake.

We spoke of education and its importance and that we are blessed to have access to it  

We spoke of their favourite moments from the last school year.

We spoke of goals for the coming year.

Each Child received a Fathers Blessing for the coming year.

Then we sent them to bed early. Getting prepared for the new routine ;)

I find everyone so much more engaged when dinners are special and we have questions and discussion ideas. It certainly makes me think of the special time we are squandering on most days. 

Past Back to School Dinners.

2015
2013
2012
2011
2010

TASMANIA TRIP {Hobart}

We were suitably cold when we arrived in Tasmania.
It felt nice and fresh from where we'd come.
I mean it felt freezing.

Hobart is very beautiful and we were very surprised by the harbour and all the hills.
Views from everywhere you look! The houses looked old, felt foreign and yards small.

We drove straight into the city, couldn't find anywhere to park the massive rental van.

Got lost driving through gorgeous original houses probably hundreds of years old.

Decided to drive straight up the mountain while promising very hungry children that we would stop at the first food place we find { we didnt find - hmmm an on going problem we encounted!}

Half way up Mt Wellington it started to rain. It was freezing cold.

We see a cute revamped caravan turned into a food van and make a stop.

In the freezing wind and cold and not yet wearing socks we dashed out and got pies and hot chocolate.

Near by was a picnic hut. I turned a corner to see it filled with people it seemed were having a private function. I apologised an went to turn back into the rain and they said 'no, no come on in...'

Inside was a roaring FIRE! I couldn't believe it. It was so cozy and comforting.

Inside were a group of disabled people out with their carers for the day.
They offered us marshmallows to toast and ushered us to the fire and we had a nice chat.

I asked who lit the fire? Did you? No they answered - the department of forestry {or whomever} often light the fires for those that may be cold.

I thought it was the cutest thing ever!
No roaring fires or people lighting them for the general public incase they are stuck up the mountain or cold, where I am from.

A roaring fire within an hour or so of arriving was exactly what we needed!

^^The view from on top Mt Wellington

The clouds were going in and out. A slight rain started to fall. Immediately I knew it felt different.
I wasn't getting wet and it just had a different feeling.
I looked and looked and put my hand out. My dark jacket was getting white flakes on it.
I started screaming ITS SNOWING! ITS SNOWING!
The girls were so excited. They have never seen snow, and here on the first days of summer on the first day of our holidays it was snowing on us! It is such a treasured memory.

^^ Her favourite food in the world. Freddo Frogs.


Our next stop was the cadbury factory. As a child I went to visit the Cadbury Factory in Tasmania only to discover when we got there, that it closes down for the WHOLE of January. We were devastated and its been a funny family story ever since. However since that time they sadly had to stop the real tours of the factory due to work place health and safety {makes it even more sad that we never got to see it!} Even more sad is that the week we were in Tasmania was the LAST week ever of the small informational video  and chocolate shop tour. Even though it wasn't the real thing like when I was a kid, we still got to go in and see the end of an era. The lady doing the tour seemed a little sad about it.

Also did you know that Kraft owns Cadbury? And that it was an aggressive takeover.
Never let your shares in your own company slip below 51%!! or you could LOSE it!


Then finally on to our Motel. Finding affordable accomodation for 6 was tricky in Tasmania.
Many Hotels wanted us to book two suites pushing the price to crazy $500-700night.  No Way.

So functional but dated Motel it was for us. We were so spoilt to have friends in Hobart feed us dinner the first night which was so wonderful and such a relief, and I was so hungry!
Such a tender blessing and so nice to catch up with them.

^^View from the Tower Motel.


Sadly we didn't really get to see much of Hobart. The next day we had to be up early.
A big drive ahead of us. We needed to get to Strahan. We had 5 days to circumnavigate Tassie.

Next stop Russel Falls.

Stay tuned for next installment :)

This was our childrens first time in a plane. It was pretty exciting to be with people who veiwed all aspects of flying as special. The airport, the security, pulling your luggage, the flight attendants, looking out the window, taking off and landing {two felt woosy}. They were good travellers.


Whole Trip Here:


Hobart to Strahan
Strahan, Gordon River, Henty Dunes
Strahan to Launceston
Launceston to Port Arthur


This was basically the route we took for reference.