Showing posts with label Josef. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Josef. Show all posts
Proud Mama
An Adventure
“Life is either a great adventure or nothing.”-Helen Keller
I've sent Josef on his first huge adventure. A 5 day, 50 mile Scout canoe trip on Lake Lowell, then the Snake river and onto the Payette River. They will travel 50 miles by canoe all together. I sent him off well informed and prepared, full of the spirit of adventure. I packed soap, toothbrush, and clean underwear that I am sure will not be used, but I did my duty as a mother by including them. I also told him to keep his life jacket on at all times, if could even see the water, he should have it on!
Josef's First Talk
Josef has his first talk in Sacrament tomorrow. He was able to choose any topic from the Strength of Youth pamphlet. He chose 'Choosing Good Entertainment and Media'. First I had him brainstorm what he already knew about the topic. Then I had him read the articles and resources on the church website under Media and pick out some quotes and thoughts he liked best. Then I sat by him and typed as we made his notes into a talk. I think he did a great job. I hope that it will be a positive experience for him and he will enjoy giving talks as much as I do. ; )
(He did great and was not nervous at all!)
Here is his talk:
Choosing Good Entertainment and Media
by Josef age 12
In the thirteenth Article of Faith it says “If there is anything virtuous, lovely,or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things”.
It is sometimes hard for me to find good video games, books, music and movies because most of the popular things are not good for me. It is hard to avoid them, they look fun and interesting and everyone else seems to be playing, reading, listening or watching them.
Elder M. Russell Ballard tells us that whatever media we read, watch, or listen to has an effect on us. Church members are counseled to choose only entertainment and media that are uplifting. Wholesome entertainment promotes good thoughts and righteous choices and allows us to enjoy ourselves without losing the Spirit of the Lord. He said the choices we make in media can be symbolic of the choices we make in life. Choosing the trendy, the titillating, the tawdry in the TV programs or movies we watch can cause us to end up, if we're not careful, choosing the same things in the lives we live.”
When I was at a friend’s house we were playing video games. They asked me about playing a bad game. ;I knew it was rated M for mature and that it had violence and bad language. I was worried about seeing things I shouldn’t see. I told them I won’t play because it had bad things. I was worried that my friends would be mad at me for rejecting their offer to play. They were ok with it though, and we just played a different game that was good. Now they don’t even offer that game to me to play when I come over or play it when I am there.
I try to be careful about what I watch, read, listen to or play. The media rating systems are usually pretty helpful. Usually movies marked G or PG are pretty safe and playing games marked E or E-10 and up. But sometimes even the ratings aren’t accurate and if it has things that aren’t good in it-I turn it off and do something else. If I’m not sure if something is good or not, I ask my parents and they review it and tell me if it is something I should be using.
The spirit can also tell me if things are bad or good, if I get a prompting or a bad feeling I leave or ask it to be turned off. In Moroni Chapter 7 is tells us “For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man that he may know good from evil;” If I am not sure about something I can always use the gift of the Holy Ghost to protect me.
I know that if I choose good media, I will feel uplifted, have good thoughts, and make righteous choices. I can have fun without bad media, I can enjoy myself without losing the Spirit.
First Pokemon Tournament
Today was Josef's first Pokemon Tournament. Ian signed up too with a borrowed deck.
Josef won 2 games and lost 2 games. Ian won one game and lost 3. They both were 8th place in their divisions. there were 10-15 kids in each division.
Josef won 2 games and lost 2 games. Ian won one game and lost 3. They both were 8th place in their divisions. there were 10-15 kids in each division.
Pokemon-for The Young......and the Old
An Essay by Josef Age 11
The Formation of the United States Government
By Josef Mitchell age 11
After America fought Britain for its independence, they needed a new government. Many people wanted different things for the new country. Planning a government that would make everyone happy in all thirteen states was very hard. The result of all the planning, talks and meetings was a government that still works today.
The country’s most important leaders met in Philadelphia in 1787, to plan the new United States government. Two plans were proposed, The Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. The Virginia plan said that the states would have representatives according to their population, larger states having more and smaller states having less. The New Jersey plan said no matter what the population, all the states would have the same number of representatives. They picked the Virginia Plan, so that each state is represented based on its population.
The leaders in the Constitutional Convention planned the new government and wrote the Constitution. A constitution is a written set of principles by which a nation is governed. The Preamble is the introduction to the Constitution and tells us its main goals. One of the goals was to form a more perfect Union for the states, so they could be united as one country. Another goal was to establish justice for the people so they could be safe.
The writers of the Constitution set up three branches of government. They are the Executive Branch, the Judicial Branch and the Legislative Branch. The Executive branch makes sure laws are carried out and commands the armed forces. The Judicial Branch interprets, or decides what the laws mean and decides if the laws follow the Constitution. The Legislative Branch makes laws and establishes taxes. They made the Government branches separate so no one branch is more powerful than another.
The Bill of Rights was made in 1790; it is an addition to the Constitution. They added these so that people would have more rights. The First amendment protects freedom of religion, speech, press, the right to assemble and the right to voice complaints about the government. Adding these to the Constitution was good, because it protects people’s rights and gives them more freedom.
It wasn’t easy for our founding fathers to plan our government. They might have argued a lot. They came up with the threes branches of government, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Their plan was successful and still works today.
The Big 11!
Josef turned 11 on October 6. We had just moved into the new house in Weiser, so we were so busy and didn't get a party planned. We finally had a little party for him when Levi was home this weekend. It was just a family thing though, we usually plan bigger parties with friends and extended family, but this mom was pooped out. We let him pick his favorite restaurant to eat lunch at-which was Carl's Jr. We got some Indiana Jones Cupcakes...with Crystal skull toppers-a big hit with the boys and it was fun trying to put the two 1 candles into one cupcake. Then we took him to Walmart for the gifts he really wanted,an Action Replay for his Nintendo DS and some special Pokemon card pack. He was a happy camper.
Can you believe my baby is 11?? I can't
Can you believe my baby is 11?? I can't
