Generation Clean

One summer day I was sitting on the back porch with my then toddler son. He was standing next to a large empty hammock and was pushing it back and forth. The momentum was increasing and I was worried that it would eventually come back too fast and knock him over. I said to him, “be careful sweetie.” He continued to push the hammock. I said to him again with more concern, “be careful!” He looked at me with a puzzled face and asked, “What is careful?” I realized that I had not made it clear what I really wanted. I had not talked to him about what was worrying me. My saying, “be careful” meant nothing to him. I think about this a lot when I find myself speaking in generalities and admonishing my kids to “be careful” online, or “be good.” Being specific is an essential part of teaching children how to analyze a situation and make a decision on what they should do about it. We need to teach them what it means to be careful, good, or bad.  The ultimate goal is to teach our c...

They are a blessing and a curse. Screens everywhere: phones, tablets, games, televisions, and computers. Many things we find on them are good, clean, and fun. However, kids are able to find trouble or stumble across things that are not good for them too. As interactions with electronic devices increase, so does the risk of exposure to the trash that is floating around out there as well. There are numerous ways kids can see inappropriate things. Unfortunately, much of it is inappropriate for adults as well. It can seem so overwhelming- like there is no way to have control over what they find. Here are some ways that we deal with it in our family. We have only one computer in the house which is out in our main living area. We also only have one television in our house. I know, it’s shocking. It has always been very important to us that our kids be out where we can see them and not holed up in their rooms watching who-knows-what. But it’s getting harder to keep that up. ...

When I was a little girl I was uncomfortable with the word “woman.” I didn’t want to say it. I would substitute, “lady” or “girl” whenever I could. I felt the same way about the word “purse,” and tried to avoid that word as well. Maybe it was because I didn’t want to grow up. Maybe I wanted to be little and without the responsibilities that all women with purses have. I didn’t have an explanation. I just did not want to be called a woman or carry a purse.   I am over that feeling now. I am in the final year of my thirties and have a son that will be an adult in less than two years, so it’s time. However, when several months ago I started to feel a strong pull toward writing about womanhood, I felt an opposing pull telling me not to. Being the mother of a teenage girl and boy I find myself constantly running into issues related to this topic of womanhood. There has been a lot of discussion about modesty, controlling thoughts, body image, and feminism amo...

Whether you were standing at the proverbial water-cooler with your fellow employees, or at a park play-date watching kids run and scream on the play equipment, you've done it. You have told the story of something awful or terribly hard that happened to you and then sighed, with relief and a smile, when someone else understood how you felt. It's natural for us to want to commiserate about things that are tough. Maybe that is why mommy blogs, and Facebook, and Pinterest all suck us in. We want to have shared experiences. We share on all sorts of subjects. The one I want to address now is parenting . I have noticed an awful lot of articles with lists of things that stink about parenting (for some reason we all love lists). Most talk about the everyday things that are frustrating, and sometimes they throw in that little abstract statement, "...but it's all worth it" at the end. But they don't really convey why it's worth it . Everyone understands tha...

I was at a conference for women a few weeks ago, and a quote by Tolkien was mentioned. I loved it and jotted down in my notes, 'they may have clean earth to till. -Tolkien.' It struck me because it reminded me of this blog that I started years ago and have neglected for a long time. I came home and googled the quote. It was a little different than my notes, and after finding it, I had to read over it several times to feel like I fully understood it. “It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.” ―  J.R.R. Tolkien ,   The Return of the King I have not read the book the quote comes from, so I do not know the context in which it was written, but this is how it translates for me: I don't have to do everything or know everything,...

“We have a  family home evening program once a week [Monday night] across the Church in which parents sit down with their children. They study the scriptures. They talk about family problems. They plan family activities and things of that kind. I don’t hesitate to say if every family in the world practiced that one thing, you’d see a very great difference in the solidarity of the families of the world .” --- Gordon B Hinckley My family meets for FHE every Monday night. We try not to get too elaborate or it feels overwhelming. Here is a quick outline of what we do. We rotate who does what each week: Opening Song. Someone picks a song and we sing it together. It's usually a children's song from church or a hymn. Opening Prayer. Someone says an opening prayer asking Heavenly Father to help us have a nice time and that we will feel His Spirit. Family Business. We talk about what is coming up this week so we all know what's going on and who needs to be where. Lesson. ...

This video is so powerful! Leave it to Elder Holland to say this right. He gets right to the heart of the reason I do this blog. It's the reason my kids are still begging for cell phones of their own, and I have not caved in. It's the reason I have passwords on the computers, Wii channels like Netflix, and my cell phone. It's the reason I worry over which friends my children choose. And it's the reason my husband and I do scripture study and still say individual prayers (yes, even with the 13 year old) with each of our kids at night: I don't want to see my children suffer because of bad choices. Some may see me as paranoid or strict. I know that children need to learn how to be independent and how to take the consequences of their actions. Believe me, there are still plenty of choices they are allowed to make, and still plenty of consequences when they make poor ones. What I want to do is be sure that everyone in the family feels that home is a safe place. I wa...

Image by Castronova Designs I watched Taylor Swift: Journey to Fearless with my daughters. It's a sort of documentary about Taylor's "Fearless" tour in 2010. It was great fun to see her personality and how she put the show together. She seems like a sweet girl who is still genuinely surprised by her success and enjoying sharing her songs and herself with the world. We really liked seeing how she treats her fans so well: walking through the arena and giving out hugs and bracelets, holding a tea (T) party after each show for some big fans they find in the audience... Stuff that's just fun and personal. As a mom I loved seeing the relationship "Mama Swift" (that's how she's known by all on the tour) has with her daughter. They seem to be happy spending time together and it's nice to see a daughter respect and love her mother so much. She even wrote her a beautiful song! (If you want to cry, or just feel warm and fuzzy watch  The Best Da...

This quote comes from an exceptional talk about envy by Jeffrey R Holland . He gave this in April 2012 General Conference. Another one of my favorite quotes from his talk is:  "Envy requires us to suffer all good fortune that befalls everyone we know. What a bright prospect that is! Downing another quart of pickle juice every time anyone around you has a happy moment!" When you put it that way, it sounds so obviously ridiculous to be bitter for others successes. I think "pickle juice" is going to be our family's new catch phrase for identifying jealousy and envy.  Ok, and there's just one more that's really good too.  I wish I could put this one on a banner at the kids' middle school! "Coveting, pouting, or tearing others down does not elevate your standing. Nor does demeaning someon e else improve your self image."

Inspired by this article by Pat Archbold, I created the image above. I agree with the general theme of what he says. It is true that the "pretty" (a calm, innocent beauty) of women has been replaced for the most part by the agitated gaunt look of  "hot." And a hearty "Amen" to the part of the article about how disappointing it was to see Olivia Newton John's character in Grease throw away her prettiness to become hot and attract a guy. I have never understood why that movie was so popular for mothers to show their daughters. Maybe because the music is catchy? I hope that my daughters will understand that when they live a good life it shows in their faces, and that is what makes them pretty. It's not the makeup, outfits, or hairdos that do it, beauty grows from the inside out. That brings me to a favorite quote by my sister Erica: "It's more important to be nice, than pretty." Ooh, I need to make another artsy quote of that ...

image by freeimageslive.co.uk - BrianNorcross Quote by Gordon B Hinckley Design by Generation Clean

What is a Hero? A hero is a person of distinguished   courage   or   ability,   admired   for   his  brave   deeds   and  noble   qualities. A hero is a person   who   is   regarded   as   a model   or  ideal. A hero is someone who helps other people, or helps to make other people's lives better.   A hero is a person who tries to make the world a better place.   A hero is a person who does something that is more than what is expected. A hero is someone that doesn't do something for his or her own problems but for the benefit of others. A hero is a person that doesn't want to be a hero just to be famous.  sources:  dictionary.com  and  thinkquest.org "Hero In You" by KSM Here is a fun song to keep you heroes going: KSM - Hero In You Powered by  mp3skull.com Kids Are Heroes Kids are Heroes is an inspiration...

Zooey Deschanel Some songs I heard recently and have added to my Clean Music List : Oldies: Lets Twist Again  -Chubby Checker Higher and Higher  -Jackie Wilson The Way You Do the Things You Do  -The Temptations My Girl  -The Temptations This doesn't count as an Oldie, does it? Crazy Little Thing Called Love  -Queen A Newbie: So Long - Zooey Deschanel 3 free songs I downloaded from Amazon: Infomercial Ringtone Wild Bear (Yes or No Song) -Mister Doak The Bell Medley

I'm always on the lookout for fashionable, modest clothing. I came across this company Diviine Modestee and they have some really great things. I have not bought or been given any of their clothing, but if the quality is as good as it seems, I would shop here. Below are my favorites from each of their three sites. DiviineModestee : Tees and Camisoles. The Ruched Satin V-neck Tee is my pick on this site. I really like how the ribbon and the ruched high v-neck, dress up the shirt and make it more stylish and figure flattering. It also would help keep you covered without the tugging that can come with some lower cut tops. DivinitaSole.com : Swimwear. You can design your own swimsuit by scrolling through their tops, bottoms, and skirts. The tops are nice and long, the bottoms are flattering with good coverage, and the skirts help hide my flaws. I love being able to mix and match because I rarely find a one piece suit that works well on both the top and bottom. My favor...

-The best advice given from Christopher Robin to Winnie the Pooh.

Having summer fun is great! I love that there is time now for summer field trips and activities. But, I also want my kids to know that there are other aspects to this summer break thing. This is when we can get in some work time . Part of a parent's job is to train their children how to become independent and contribute to the family. This will be a great start. The first project we will take on this summer is having them organize their stuff . There's a really helpful article on Cozi with tips on how to teach organization to your kids. You can look that over for ideas too. This is how organizing usually goes at our house: Turn on some fun music to keep everyone moving and upbeat. Pull out everything in the closet, from under the bed, and from all of those other stashes of stuff. Put it all in a big pile . Then set out three boxes labeled: Keep , Trash , and Give Away . Let your child sort through their things and decide where they belong . If they choose to keep it, the...

My sister-in-law gave me the album Anchor , by Mindy Gledhill, for my birthday. I love it! Each song has great lyrics and the music is fun and upbeat while still feeling sophisticated. There is an airy, happy feeling to her music (the ukulele is super fun!). I especially like the song California. You can listen to a sample of it on her website . Mindy sounds like she's smiling as she sings, and my kids like her too, so I can get a break from the "kiddie" music once in a while we're driving about. Rating: Squeaky