Service - Week 7

“Love is the essence of the gospel and the greatest of all the commandments. The Savior taught that every other commandment and prophetic teaching hangs upon it. We are happiest when our lives are connected to others through unselfish love and service.” ~Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

Sarah: I’ve never really blogged about the service I’ve been putting in at my kid’s school. I am the SMART (Start Making a Reader Today) Coordinator. I supervise 35 community volunteers that come and read with 60 different kids at the school for 15-30 min. each. The kids love the program . . . they eat up the one-on-one reading support and attention. I order all the books for the program (each child receives 1-2 books per month to take home), schedule all the classroom pull-outs, and set up my classroom each day (an afterschool group also uses the room, so I have to take down all my displays and move furniture around each day). I spend about 10-12 hours a week doing this . . . the best part is when I take time to read with kids. I enjoy that the most. I like getting to know all the nice retired folks that want to give their time in the elementary school helping children, too.

Emma: This week I helped Uncle Justin with all of the cousins at the park. After Eliza's Baptism Luncheon he and I took 10 little kids to play basketball and soccer. It was fun. I also helped my friend study on the big test that we had this week!!!

Joshua: Mom made up some chore charts for all the kids this week. I had to do things like, Make Dinner, Fold Laundry and Set the Table. Everyday I had to Practice Piano and Feed the Dog. I like Feeding Buddy the best because I love him. I did learn to make spaghetti this week, so that was cool.

Rachel: We learned a song for Eliza’s baptism called “Book of Mormon Stories.” I already knew the first verse, but I learned the last verse. We practiced a few times and then all the grandkids got up and sang it as the closing song at her baptism.

I also want to say that I had my first basketball game, even though it’s not service. Eliza and I tried to make baskets but they didn’t go in. Charlie made about 20! I had a really fun time and I can’t wait to play next week. I hope I make a basket!

Katrina: This week I helped with all the cousins at Grandma’s when Breanna was babysitting at our house and I played with Noah and Elise. (Unfortunately, I paid a babysitter and all my kids went to Grandma's to play instead! At least they were helpful?)

Benjamin: On Sunday, I went to Sunbeams because Mom put me in the wrong row at Primary. So I helped Marcus in his class. I sat by him. He is so smart in Sunbeams. He answered every question right. Our teacher, Chrystal asked us, “Who was Lemuel’s Brother?” I tried “Jesus” and “Joseph” and the answer was “Nephi” and Marcus got it right. I made Lucy happy during sacrament by making her laugh, too. (These are all cousins of Ben's)