Flecks of Gold = Great Wealth

This is a wonderful story about a young merchant who was caught up in the Gold Rush in the 1850's. He was discouraged when he didn't find large nuggets of gold as he panned and searched.  He overlooked the small flecks of gold that didn't seem worth his time.  He envied a nearby old prospector and his full pouch of gold.  Imagine the young man's surprise when the prospector showed him that his bag was full of small flecks, not nuggets.  He said, "The patient accumulation of these little flecks has brought me great wealth."

I love this analogy and  I agree that by small and simple things great blessings are brought to pass.

Elder M. Russell Ballard shares:
"The Gospel of Jesus Christ is simple. Like the small flecks of gold that accumulate over time into a large treasure, our small and simple acts of kindness and service will accumulate into a life filled with love for Heavenly Father, devotion to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and a sense of peace and joy."

Movie - Mirror Mirror

I had the chance to preview the movie Mirror Mirror on Saturday, 3/24.  I'd seen the commercials and wasn't quite sure what to expect from the movie because the commercials seemed sort of mindless.  I don't think the commercials did the movie justice.  The movie starts at theaters everywhere on 3/30/12.

This movie was delightful and fun.  The casting was perfect - Julie Roberts was a perfect wicked queen and Lily Collins was a lovely Snow White with her flawless skin, dark hair and kind but strong attitude.  And since I am a big fan of the movie "Elf," I was pleased to see that one of the dwarfs was played by the "angry elf" in that movie (you'd need to see "Elf" to understand that reference).  Nathan Lane is always fun to watch.  The prince was handsome too but his acting skills were overshadowed by the stronger figures in the film.

The costumes were simply amazing.  Some of the make-up and costumes almost reminded me of those in The Hunger Games (at the capitol).  The dialogue was witty overall and only a few times was it a bit cheesy (like when a dwarf says, "Snow Way!").  At one point the queen gives the prince what she thinks is love potion. Of course the love potion is actually puppy love potion so the prince starts acting like a puppy.  It was slightly disturbing to watch him try to lick Julia Roberts but the kids in the audience just thought it was funny.

As the movie ended, the audience broke into an applause of praise and approval.  True, this movie may not win any Oscars, but it is worth seeing for sure.  During the movie credits there was a little "after-show" musical dance number that was fun to watch.  Reminded me of Bali-wood.  Be sure to stay for that.

Cub Scouts - Movie Links for Achievement 4 - Tall Tales

These video links below can be used for Bear Achievement 4 - Tall Tales.  I happen to own an original video which is called "Disney's American Legends" that I used with my Cub Scouts, but I listed the YouTube links below for those who may not have access to the DVD.  I can remember watching many of these when I was little.  Classic!  I wish Disney would make more quality short educational videos like these.

The movies can also be used for other educational purposes.  They do a good job explaining what tall tales are at the beginning of the video.

Paul Bunyan Part 1 of 2
Paul Bunyan Part 2 of 2
John Henry Part 1 of 2
John Henry Part 2 of 2
Johnny Appleseed Part 1 of 2
Johnny Appleseed Part 2 of 2
Casey Jones
Legend of Sleepy Hollow Part 1 of 4
Legend of Sleepy Hollow Part 2 of 4
Legend of Sleepy Hollow Part 3 of 4
Legend of Sleepy Hollow Part 4 of 4

Potty Training Video

Click HERE for an awesome video to help with potty training.

I sang this song to my kids when they were potty training and we laughed and laughed.  So enjoy!

Family Home Evening Lesson - Combatting Pornography

Click HERE for a great Family Home Evening lesson Combatting Pornography and Making Safe Media Choices

Mario Kart Mixup

This video was created by my husband and two of our sons. Pretty creative! I love it when they do creative projects together.

Helpful People

Click here to see a video that shows their are still some helpful people in the world.

This Flight's Gonna Be a Good Good Flight

Here's a fun video my son and husband created. Some people may have been irritated sitting behind this crazy passenger, but luckily my hubby chose to see the humor in it and make lemonade out of lemons!

Click HERE to see the movie or click below.

Mormon Messages on YouTube

If you are looking for a simple way to watch and share brief, gospel-centered videos, visit Mormon Messages, a Church-sponsored YouTube channel that is updated each week with teachings of our basic beliefs, stories of hope and inspiration, and more.

http://www.youtube.com/MormonMessages

Two Great Movies to Support

Gotta love the movie theatres that are always willing to play the wholesome, less known movies just because it is the right thing to do.

There are two non-Hollywood type movies playing this weekend and I want to see both of them!

I always like to send the message to Hollywood that wholesome movies ARE popular and that they should make more. So I encourage DATE NIGHTS for everyone this weekend....

FOREVER STRONG: My friend was able to see this last week and said it is a "must see." It is about a former LDS seminary teacher turned sports coach who has helped shape the lives of hundreds of young men. It was originally given a rated-R rating by the MPAA, but they edited it to be PG-13 so that more people could see it (first in Utah, now in lots of other locations too).

FIREPROOF: This is a movie about a firefighter and his wife whose marriage is failing. The firefighter's father challenges his son to commit to a 40-day experiment: "The Love Dare." The movie deals with tough issues like divorce and pornography addiction but contains no profanity, drug use, nudity, or gratuitous violence. I applaud any movie that shows the importance of strong marriages and the dangers of porn addiction.
http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/

Movie - The Last Sin Eater

I would highly recommend this movie. I rented it at Blockbuster. It is a must-see.

Here's a summary about it that I got on-line:

The Last Sin Eater is a story that takes place in the 1850’s Appalachia. Ten year-old Cadi Forbes feels responsible for her little sister’s death, so she searches out the one man she feels can take away her sin — The Sin Eater. But in her quest for redemption, Cadi Forbes (Liana Liberato) uncovers a dark secret that threatens to divide her family and community. Ultimately, Cadi shows them the truth in Jesus, reminding us that the human condition is beyond human remedy; only Christ provides for the absolution of sin.

Directed by Michael Landon Jr., the film is based on the best-selling novel by Francine Rivers that was awarded the ECPA Gold Medallion.

"Special" Brownie Recipe

SPECIAL BROWNIE RECIPE

A father of some teenage children had the family rule that they could not attend PG-13, R or X rated movies. His three teens wanted to see a particular popular movie that was playing at local theaters. It was rated PG-13. The teens interviewed friends and even some members of their family's church to find out what was offensive in the movie. The teens made a list of pros and cons about the movie to use to convince their dad that they should be allowed to see it.

The cons were:
-It contained ONLY 3 swear words!
-The ONLY violence was a building exploding (and you see that on TV all the time they said),
-You actually did not 'see' the couple in the movie having sex, it was just implied sex, off camera.

The pros were:
-It was a popular movie, (a blockbuster).
-Everyone was seeing it.
-If the teens saw the movie then they would not feel left out when their friends discussed it.
-The movie contained a good story and plot.
-It had some great adventure and suspense in it.
-There were some fantastic special effects in this movie.
-The movie's stars were some of the most talented actors in Hollywood
-It probably would be nominated for several awards.
-Many members of their Christian church, including the pastor, had even seen the movie and said it wasn't really 'that bad'.

Therefore, since there were more pros than cons the teens asked their father to reconsider his position on just this ONE movie and let them have permission to go see it. The father looked at the list and thought for a few minutes. He said he could tell his children had spent some time and thought on this request. He asked if he could have a day to think about it before making his decisionThe teens were thrilled, thinking, 'Now we've got him! Our argument is too good! Dad can't turn us down!' So, they happily agreed to let him have a day to think about their request.
The next evening the Father called his three teenagers, who were smiling smugly, into the living room. There on the coffee table he had a plate of brownies. The teens were puzzled. The father told his children he had thought about their request and had decided that if they would eat the brownies, then he would let them go to the movie. But, he explained, just like the movie, the brownies had pros and cons.

The pros were:
-They were made with the finest chocolate and other good ingredients.
-They had the added special effect of yummy walnuts in them.
-The brownies were moist and fresh with wonderful chocolate frosting on top.
-He had made these fantastic brownies using an award-winning recipe.
-And best of all, the brownies had been made lovingly by the hand of their own father.

The cons were: He had included a little bit of a special ingredient: The brownies contained just a small amount of dog poop. But he had mixed the dough well and they probably would not even be able to taste the dog poop and he had baked it at 350 degrees so hopefully any bacteria or germs from the dog poop had probably been destroyed. Therefore, if any of his children could stand to eat the brownies which included just a 'little bit of crap' and not be affected by it, then he knew they would also be able to see the movie with 'just a little bit of smut' and not be affected. Of course, none of the teens would eat the brownies and the smug smiles had left their faces.Now when his teenagers ask permission to do something he KNOWS THEY SHOULDN'T BE DOING the father just asks, 'Would you like me to whip up a batch of my special brownies?