Rachel Loves Pink

After church Rachel came up to me in tears. "My teacher didn't let me choose the pink star. She usually lets me choose the pink star sticker, but she gave me a gold star. She gave everyone a gold star."
"You know," I said, "Some people think the gold star is best."
"But I don't. I wanted the pink star! Pink is my favorite color!"

NO!

YES!

My kids usually like going to the dentist. They like getting stickers, toys, their own mini toothpaste, and even a new toothbrush. As always when we arrived home, I told them to change toothbrushes and throw away the old ones. Four of my children obeyed without any complaints. Rachel came downstairs in tears, holding her old pink toothbrush in her hands. "I don't want to throw it away," she sobbed.

"But at the dentist's office you were excited about your new toothbrush," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but I forgot that I had to throw away my pink one. Can I please keep it?" she begged.

"No, Honey, you need to use the new toothbrush. You can have a pink one the next time we change toothbrushes." Not helpful. She went back upstairs, weeping and wailing. Awhile later Rachel came back downstairs and found solace from Dad. They agreed that she will use her new toothbrush every night, and her pink toothbrush will be kept for camping trips. Dad even made her laugh.

Benjamin's Imagination

You've heard of Medusa, who turned people to stone? Benjamin kept running away from his sisters, who he called "Me-goose-a's" because, he said, they turned people into stone statues of geese. Makayla really got into the game. She chased him around with lots of giggles.

Oh no! Someone looked into the eyes of Megoosa!

Tonight was Benjamin's turn to teach the lesson for Family Home Evening. He said beforehand that he had it all figured out and didn't need any help. I was very curious to see what he would present to us.

Benjamin started by asking Samuel to read a scripture about salt, specifically D&C 101:39-40: "When men are called unto mine everlasting gospel, and covenant with an everlasting covenant, they are accounted as the salt of the earth and the savor of men." He talked a little about how we are the salt of the earth. Then he segued by saying salt is a crystal, like diamonds. Before baptism we are like an uncut diamond. After we get baptized we start getting refined until we look like a beautifully cut diamond.

Microscopic view of salt crystals

An uncut diamond next to a cut diamond

Wow. He is very creative. Plus, he came up with the analogy all by himself.