I am a 25 year old single Mormon Woman.  I love watching and playing soccer, BYU football, reading, playing piano and being with family.

I feel that God knows and loves me every time I am with my family. I see all the little things that come together to make up our family and I can’t help but believe that I was supposed to be a particular member of that group. I have 11 older brothers, and I am the only girl. All my brothers are married. All of them have children. As such—our family grows larger and louder every year. Gatherings are hectic and overwhelming. But more than that, they’re wonderful. My testimony is strengthened at every reunion, big or small, because I can’t think of anything more wonderful than being with that large, crazy, loud group for forever. And I know that it was a loving Father in Heaven who has made that a possibility in my life. Knowing that one day I will have a husband and children to add to that mix and to keep with me forever because of our Father’s love and our Savior’s sacrifice and example is the most wonderful part of the gospel to me. I feel like I belong, I feel like I’m important and I feel like I’m loved, not just by my earthly family, but by my Father in Heaven.

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My husband and I have been married for four years and while dating we learned that we both loved being in the outdoors. I grew up fishing and camping with my family. My husband pretty much taught himself to fish and went camping occasionally with his family. The first year or two of marriage we went camping a few times. After we had our little girl we apparently decided we needed to camp more often because she was born in February and we were camping in June. We went camping at least once a month that summer. Even though it was a lot of work with a little baby it was so nice to get out of our house and spend time with one another. There is nothing better than being in the mountains away from cars, houses, and noise. When we go camping and fishing we are able to reconnect as a family.  It is a lot easier to talk to one another if the TV isn’t on and the computer isn’t running.

This past summer we once again spent lots of time camping. It was more difficult this year because we were chasing our little girl around and trying to keep her away from the fire but somehow camping was still more relaxing than staying at home with all of our distractions. It was so nice after our little girl had gone to bed.  We would sit by the fire and just talk about anything that came to our minds about our life and where we want to go.

Peace is what I feel when I am in the outdoors- camping, hiking, or fishing. It is where I love to be. I am able to feel God’s love enfold me as I see the trees, flowers, and animals. I feel so blessed that I can share that time with my family. I am so blessed to have them in my life. I know that we will always go through trials as a family and that we can be made stronger because of them. We are so blessed as parents to have our little girl in our life, she is our joy and our happiness. We love her and the time spent with her. She is one of our many blessings.

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“Harmonious Homes, Family Memories & Flowing Laughter”

Jane Worthington

You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before–colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.  -President Dieter F. Uchtdor, “Happiness, Your Heritage“

Some of the things I do with my family:

Back to School Parties

I have a circle with numbers written on the sidewalk like a cake walk. Children walk around the circle while the music is playing when the music stops they must be on a number that is called out to get a prize. The prizes are pencils, paper crayons and other school supplies. We play musical chairs with the same supplies given out. Everyone gets the same gifts–no one is left out, the games are just to facilitate the giving out of the prizes

Halloween Parties

We Decorate pumpkins, no cutting, just drawing and pasting. We have apple dunking, pizza and Jell-o to eat.

Easter Parties

Easter egg hunt giving out a basket for each child to gather their own eggs for candy and money

Other Family Parties

There are birthdays, baby blessings, baptisms, weddings, [baby or wedding] showers. We also just get together because we like to get together. You don’t need matching plates, silverware, or cups to have fun and laughter. You come to enjoy family not all the decorations.

Sleep-over Parties

Every Thursday grandchildren would call and I would pick up the phone and they would say, “Grandma…” and I would say, “Yes you may sleep over.” They would say, “How do you know what we’re going to ask?”

Every Friday night was sleep-over night. This is a wonderful time for cousins to get together and enjoy each other. Grandsons and granddaughters that have grown up together, have stayed close because of this early associations. Grandsons as adults even play together on the same ball teams because they still enjoy each other. Sleep-over morning I served scrambled eggs, toast and jam. Grandpa would serve colored French toast. Grandpa would let the grandchildren put curlers in his hair and style it. [Jane explained how he was always the ‘softy’ of the family.] There is always lots of fun and laughter.

Worthington Summer Ideas

Picnics: When my children were young I would gather them and the neighborhood kids. Tell them we were going on a picnic, make peanut butter and jam sandwich, pile in the car (this was before seat belts) I would drive until I would see a park and that is where we would stop and eat and play. I found many parks that way. You can even have a picnic in your own backyard.

Drive-in-Shows: I’d have my kids go out and get the kids in the neighborhood who would like to go to the show. We would load them in the car (this was before seat belts) and head off to the show, it was $3 a car.

Spending evenings alone with my older children: While my husband was doing his bishop [congregation leader] duties, I would talk with my older children. I found out how things were going in school and in their social life.

Go on family trips and brings others with you: When I was down to two children at home I told them they needed to go out and invite someone to go with us, we’re not used to going with so few children.

One summer I had fourteen children staying at my home. I thought my fridge was broken. I made sure it was plugged in and called the repair man. After checking he asked how many children were at the home and when I told him. He said, “Lady there isn’t anything wrong with the fridge, just make sure when the children open the fridge they know what they want. The door isn’t closed long enough to keep things cold.”

Dinners

Every three months, I get together with my children and their spouses to have dinner. They rotate homes where the dinner is served. Every three months I have a pot-luck dinner with everyone at my home, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I have door prizes and other surprises for them to enjoy. I have the young-adult aged grandchildren over for dinner and give out door prizes and play games. I have individual families over for Sunday dinner. We love Thanksgiving dinners. Our Christmas parties rotated yearly to a different child’s home. My husband always would sing “White Christmas,” even though he has passed away we will still sing it as a tradition. [I think she said they have a recording of him singing this, also.] The yearly General Relief Society Meeting is a special time for me to take all the girls 18 and older to dinner after we listen to the conference. We’ve been out to dinner and we have had others stop by and wonder what we were laughing about but we were just enjoying each other.

Family Reunion

This reunion has been going on for 47 years in the same place. This is my extended family reunion. My immediate family are the only members of the Mormon Church. I started having family home evening one night during the week and even now when I get there the kids will ask “Aunt Jane,” which is me, “when are we having family night?”  Even though we have boats and all the water gear the first thing they want to know is when we are going to have family home evening.

Some of the games we play are:

-Money in the sand: We take a small pool and put sand in it and bury money (don’t use pennies they’re hard to see). Children put one hand behind their backs and with the other reach in and grab for the money. It helps to have someone standing behind them with a sandwich bag to collect the money for them.
-Sling shot game: Flexible surgical tubing with a pouch in the center filled with candy or water balloons is shot out over the sand for the children to pick up and gather. When playing other games the children are given tickets for participating. 
– Then they use the tickets as money to pick gifts from things I have bought at the dollar store. You should see how big their eyes get when selecting what they want with their tickets.

Conclusions

What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. Have fun with your family. Have love and laughter. My family is kind of like the show “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” My one son-in-law when first married into the family couldn’t believe all the conversations going on at the same time. We told him if he didn’t like one conversation he could go to another.

My grandchildren and great-grandchildren call me “the party grandma.” You can have a party for anything anytime! Just enjoy your family.

My children always ask me, “How are you feeling?”

I tell them, “I’m great.”

“No really, Mom, how are you?”

I tell them, “I’m great.”

I feel if you say this long enough, in time, you will be great!

Life is great so enjoy your family!

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What things do you like to do to create memories and opportunities for fun and laughter with your family?

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This past week I celebrated my 15th wedding anniversary. Fifteen years ago, I made my husband the happiest man on earth. With us both being devoted members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we decided to marry in a Mormon temple; the House of the Lord. With it came the promise that our continued devotion to each other and to living the gospel of Jesus Christ would bring the blessing of eternal companionship—a partnership, a marriage, a family– not just for the here and now and ‘til death do us part, but for, well, forever. I won’t say that I love him even more today than I did 15 years ago. I don’t even know what that means. I mean for me, if I love someone enough to commit to forever, how much more love can there be? But I will say I’ve never stopped.

Here are 15 things I love about my husband.

1.  Early on in our marriage he volunteered to be the designated fridge-cleaner-outer, and he’s still doing it.
2.  I can always count on him to make a corny joke.  And he loves it when I roll my eyes.
3.  He often can’t remember things I’ve told him 5 minutes before, but he recalls our courtship in vivid details even I had forgotten.
4.  He takes care of all the maintenance on my car and sometimes even makes a special trip to make sure the tank is full, not because he thinks I’m incapable or that it’s his manly/husbandly duty, but just so I won’t have to bother with it.
5.  I always know when I’ve “caught” him doing something because he has a guilty smile/chuckle that gives him away every time. He knows that I know, and he still smiles.
6.  He always compliments me and tells me I’m beautiful, even when I feel (and, let’s be honest, look) worked over.
7.  He’s very loyal. When I’m upset, he always takes my side—sometimes even when I’m upset with him.
8.  He still writes me love notes and makes me mix CDs, often pointing out the lyrics of special significance.
9.  He is careful with money (our finances are great), but he is not a tightwad, and if he’s ever been worried about my spending habits, he’s never let on to me. We have never had an argument over money.
10.  Whenever he needs to go out of town, our kids are very upset and make a BIG deal over his homecoming.  That says a lot about him as a father.
11.  He always asks my opinion.
12.  He sends me links and things that he thinks will make good blogging material.
13.  He would rather spend time with me than hang out with the guys, but doesn’t mind giving me a girl’s night out.  (Or at least he’s very good at pretending.)
14.  He is quick to reassure me when I doubt myself, quick to recognize my accomplishments (even if it’s just that I’ve managed to get the dishes done that day), and always without my feeling patronized our doubting his sincerity.
15.  He has a special appreciation for my particular flavor of crazy. He must, after all, he’s still here!
Happy anniversary, sweetheart!  I still love you!
One of our readers, L.B.S, has submitted the following in celebration of her 15th wedding anniversary:
This past week I celebrated my 15th wedding anniversary. Fifteen years ago, I made my husband the happiest man on earth. With us both being devoted members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we decided to marry in a Mormon temple; the House of the Lord. With it came the promise that our continued devotion to each other and to living the gospel of Jesus Christ would bring the blessing of eternal companionship—a partnership, a marriage, a family– not just for the here and now and ‘til death do us part, but for, well, forever. I won’t say that I love him even more today than I did 15 years ago. I don’t even know what that means. I mean for me, if I love someone enough to commit to forever, how much more love can there be? But I will say I’ve never stopped.
Here are 15 things I love about my husband.
1.   Early on in our marriage he volunteered to be the designated fridge-cleaner-outer, and he’s still doing it.
2.  I can always count on him to make a corny joke.  And he loves it when I roll my eyes.
3.  He often can’t remember things I’ve told him 5 minutes before, but he recalls our courtship in vivid details even I had forgotten.
4.  He takes care of all the maintenance on my car and sometimes even makes a special trip to make sure the tank is full, not because he thinks I’m incapable or that it’s his manly/husbandly duty, but just so I won’t have to bother with it.
5.  I always know when I’ve “caught” him doing something because he has a guilty smile/chuckle that gives him away every time. He knows that I know, and he still smiles.
6.  He always compliments me and tells me I’m beautiful, even when I feel (and, let’s be honest, look) worked over.
7.  He’s very loyal. When I’m upset, he always takes my side—sometimes even when I’m upset with him.
8.  He still writes me love notes and makes me mix CDs, often pointing out the lyrics of special significance.
9.  He is careful with money (our finances are great), but he is not a tightwad, and if he’s ever been worried about my spending habits, he’s never let on to me. We have never had an argument over money.
10.  Whenever he needs to go out of town, our kids are very upset and make a BIG deal over his homecoming.  That says a lot about him as a father.
11.  He always asks my opinion.
12.  He sends me links and things that he thinks will make good blogging material.
13.  He would rather spend time with me than hang out with the guys, but doesn’t mind giving me a girl’s night out.  (Or at least he’s very good at pretending.)
14.  He is quick to reassure me when I doubt myself, quick to recognize my accomplishments (even if it’s just that I’ve managed to get the dishes done that day), and always without my feeling patronized our doubting his sincerity.
15.  He has a special appreciation for my particular flavor of crazy. He must, after all, he’s still here!

Happy anniversary, sweetheart!  I still love you!

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