Author Archives: Melanie Day

25 Things I Love FREE DOWNLOAD

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We are counting down to the day of love and made this sweet download  that you can make for everyone on your list. Simply print out,  cardstock or a whole sheet of sticker paper works well. Write in the blank circles, the reasons why you love your special someone, cut out all of the circles inside the line, or punch out with a 3/4″ circle punch (easiest). Glue onto bottom of kiss and fill your jar up. A pint jar will hold a little over 50+ kisses (The bag contains more, but who can complain about chocolate leftovers?) Fill your jar and place the cut out label between the lid and the ring, adding a doily of you wish… the perfect treat activity for everyone in the family, grandparents, friends, neighbors, church groups, teachers and co-workers. Share the love!

Happy Weekend! Brenda

Valentine’s Minute to Win It

If there is a game our family enjoys, it is minute to win it.  We’ve played many versions of this game and loved them all.

Stacy Julian has come up with a FUN Valentine-style version of the game.  This would be a great activity for Family Home Evening or as part of a class activity at school (any room mom’s out there?)

What You Need (for each child or family member):

1. One print out
2. 16 Valentine M&Ms
3. One Red Vine
4. One mini box of Nerds candy
5. One Hershey Chocolate Kiss

For instructions and the download, hop on over to Stacy’s blog a grab your copy. ENJOY!!!

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Free ‘Press Forward’ iPhone Wallpaper & Printable

I have three phone-obsessed teenagers so I’m always on the lookout for ways to use their tech to reinforce gospel messages. When I started designing pieces for my 2016 Press Forward line I knew it needed to include some cool phone wallpapers to please my tech-loving kids. After all, what better way to remind them to use their tech wisely than to have this beautiful scripture light up their lock screen every time they grab their phones?

MeckMom Press Forward iPhone Mockup Pic 1-01This phone wallpaper version was the perfect choice for my 14 year-old son (who can’t seem to hold on to a lesson handout for more than 12 seconds). However, my beehive and laurel-age daughter’s still love paper handouts so I made a printed version for them to hang in their rooms as well.

MM Press Forward iPhone Printed Pic 750x750-01You can find both the iPhone screen saver and the 5×7 print below. Mom Tip: the 5×7 print also works well as a computer screen-saver and iPad lock screen so you should grab both files while you’re here. Might as well plaster all their devices with scriptures, right? 😉

Feel free to save them to your phones, print them at Costco or simply text them to all the device-addicted teenagers in your life. Enjoy!

Link to FREE Press Forward iPhone Wallpaper

Link to FREE 5×7 Press Forward Printable

MeckMom Headshot 550x420-01This guest post was submitted by Maria Eckersley. Maria is a stay-at-home mom of six by day and a sleep-deprived graphic designer by night. You can find more of her ideas and printables on her new site MeckMom.com.

 

Scripture Power Reading Chart

Dear Friends-
We live in a world that idolizes fame and fortune…  Football and basketball stars of our favorite teams, movies, musicians and movie stars, even Super Heroes like Superman, Batman, The Hulk and Thor. We all want and need someone to look up to. Oftentimes, the people that live with us and love us throughout our lives are our Hero’s, though many times we overlook them.
I love the Primary 2016 Theme I Know The Scriptures Are True and know there is a power and strength that comes from reading the scriptures each day. Scripture Power.
Who are our hero’s? Our children’s hero’s? The scriptures are filled with wonderful examples of true hero’s for us to look up to and follow. This is a great time to talk around the kitchen table and talk about our favorites and why … Nephi, Ammon, Captain Moroni, Abinadi, 2000 Stripling Warriors, Alma the Younger, The Brother of Jared, Sons of Mosiah and most especially Jesus Christ. We can pick our favorite (s) and make a list of their character traits we want to strive for in our lives.
I have included a link to our FREE Scripture Power Book of Mormon Reading Chart for you to download for each member of your family or church group to keep track of your progress. Happy Reading!
Take care,
Brenda
Brenda 2016 Primary Book of Mormon  Reading Chart

How will you stand tall in 2016?

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Standing Tall in 2016….what does that mean?  The January 2016 Friend Magazine published a song called, “Standing Tall” by Jan Pinborough and Janice Kapp Perry.  I love the lyrics!  It gives examples of people in the scriptures that stood tall and that we, too, can do the same when we are confronted with challenges.

David faced the giant
With only five small stones.
He did not fear.
He knew the Lord was near,
So David stood tall!
Esther prayed for courage
Before she faced the king.
Her faith burned bright.
The Lord was on her side,
So Esther stood tall!
When I face a challenge
That’s either great or small,
I’ll show my faith
And courage every day,
So I can stand tall!
 
CHORUS:

I’ll stand tall! The Savior is beside me.
He’s always there to guide me.
I do not walk alone, I’ll stand tall!
His Spirit will direct me,
His loving arms protect me.
He’s on my side, so I can stand tall!

The Friend Magazine is encouraging children everywhere to send their traced footprint along with their pledge for standing tall in 2016:

(If you’d like to learn the song, here is a music video on LDS.org to help you learn the words.)

Suzanne Wager already started teaching her Primary this song.  She writes, “I created printables for the three verses (except for the chorus). Verse one, I printed on cardstock the color of stones and cut each page out to look like a rock. Verse 2, I drew a crown around each phrase on each page and printed it on yellow paper. The last verse I printed out on green paper:

CLICK HERE to open Verse 1 (pdf)
CLICK HERE to open Verse 2 (pdf)
CLICK HERE to open Verse 3 (pdf)

As they learn each verse, I will put it up on the board and practice it. I will turn around different phrases (so the children can’t see them) and see if they can remember the words. For the chorus, the children stand up taller and taller whenever it says “I”ll stand tall” and I plan to use a few actions through out the chorus. Once they have practiced the first verse enough, I will hand out a pair of rocks to each student. They can hit the rocks together to the beat (goes along with the David and Goliath story). I also put an image of Ester, David and Goliath, and a modern day child next to each verse as they were learning it. When we review the song, I will just hold up the images of the people to remind them what the verse is about.”