You are a Soul.

I love this quote. love. love. love it! I know it's been dormant around here, but I think of you often. I am trying to decide where to go with Pearls as we're not receiving enough personal stories to share even weekly. We have had some great q & a's over on Facebook, though! If you have a suggestion for Pearls please feel free to share it! Thank you!

Go ahead and ponder on the following thought... and have a wonderful day.

Summer Activity for Kids, part 2

Pretty much anything that squirts water is a huge hit around here, but these water blasters (I don’t know what they’re really called) top them all! I particularly like that they are simple enough that I don’t have to do more than fill their buckets with water. These pictures of my 3 year old pretty much sum up how much my boys love them! (I couldn’t get a decent picture of my 4 year old, but know he’s the one squirting his brother!) First thing each morning since we got them from the dollar store, my 4 year old wakes up and asks for a bucket of water to play with. It’s been great motivation to get him to change out of his pajamas, help with a few chores and at least brush his teeth! Sometimes, they will just go through bucket after bucket of just shooting the grass and not even each other! They aren’t very durable, however… if they hit the cement hard enough – they’ll shatter. But for $1, it’s worth getting backups! These would go great with a wading pool and a fun hose attachment/sprinkler, but we’re waiting until it gets just a little warmer (and by “we”, I mean “I”… I despise the cool air after swimming or playing with water!) I also have to dig their pool out of storage… (and by “I” I mean “my husband”).

-Alicia

What are your favorite things to do in the summer?

Summer Activity for Kids

Easy Homemade Sidewalk Paint

I found the recipe at Petit Elephant. My boys, ages 3 and 4, loved it and we didn’t even have paintbrushes, so they just used their hands (and feet)! I wanted to do a test run to see how it worked, but I’m going to get paintbrushes for this summer. This adds variety to our at-home outdoor activities, and would be fun with friends and neighborhood kids. It really did dry up like chalk and rinsed right off their hands and feet! I noticed that my 3 year old’s hands had a bit of green tint to them though… I’m wondering if I didn’t mix it well enough, and if there was a pocket of food coloring…?! That’s the only con to it… but paintbrushes would solve that, and to be completely honest, I don’t care about the greenish tint because he was obviously having a great time outside! Be sure to visit Petit Elephant for the recipe and further instruction!

-Alicia

Our Bodies are Temples

While attending BYU-Hawaii, I changed my major 3 times! When I first arrived on campus as a young 18 year old girl, fresh out of high school, I thought I wanted to be a Psychologist, that lasted about a semester. Then, I wanted to be a Special Ed teacher...which lasted 2 years!! However, it wasn't until after I had my first 2 sons that I realized what my true passion in life was. I loved living a healthy lifestyle! I have always been very active whether it was playing sports, running, or lifting weights. I have also been very concerned with how and what I fed my body.

I knew I wanted a career in which I could make a difference but still be with my growing family. I finally graduated with a degree in Exercise Physiology and have been so blessed by the lives I've been able to help change. My goal as a Personal Trainer and a Clinical Exercise Specialist has never been to get my clients "skinny" or to reach a certain weight in a short amount of time. It was to help them realize the importance of BEING healthy and LIVING healthy lives. I had to change their way of thinking. It was no longer about counting calories but understanding that our bodies are machines and it was up to us to fuel them properly. When my clients understood this, they began to look at food and exercise in a whole new light. And guess what? THAT'S when the weight came off! In 18 years I have never had a client NOT reach their goals or MY goals for them!

I have also been able to use my career as a sort of missionary tool if you will. I would often share with them that our bodies are like temples. We would never walk up to the Pantheon in Rome and spray paint it. Or do the same to the Salt Lake City Temple. These are beautiful buildings and to desecrate them in any way is disrespectful to all the people who built them. Heavenly Father has GIVEN us OUR bodies while we're here on earth.

One reason we came to earth was to gain physical bodies. President Brigham Young declared, “Our mortal bodies are all important to us; without them we never can be glorified in the eternities that will be” (Discourses of Brigham Young [1954], 56).

Although our bodies will be glorified in eternity, in this life they suffer from sickness, disease, pain, and injury. Some are temporarily handicapped. Others are crippled for life. But whatever their condition, our bodies are important to us because they help us progress toward perfection.

Man is both a spiritual and physical being; the physical and spiritual cannot be separated. Our spirits cannot reach their full potential without the support and strength of the body. We should develop ourselves spiritually and intellectually, but also remember to develop ourselves physically.

President David O. McKay stated: “The healthy man, who takes care of his physical being, has strength and vitality; his temple is a fit place for his spirit to reside. … It is necessary, therefore, to care for our physical bodies, and to observe the laws of physical health and happiness” (“The ‘Whole’ Man,” Improvement Era, Apr. 1952, 221).

Below are a few of the benefits we'll gain through living healthy lives:

We are able to serve better

The healthier we are, the more capable we are of serving others and bringing happiness to them and ourselves.

We Are Better Leaders

Because leaders need strength and energy to fulfill their callings, they need to be as healthy as possible.

We Feel Better about Ourselves and Others

When we keep our bodies healthy, we feel good about ourselves and have enthusiasm for our work. We also have more patience, love, and kindness for others.

We Are Able to Provide for Ourselves and Our Families

The healthier our bodies are, the better able we are to work and thus provide for ourselves and our families.

Remember too, that our children pick up on our habits, whether they're healthy or unhealthy. As women and mothers, Heavenly Father has blessed us with the opportunity of watching over His children while they're here on earth. We should make it our first priority in making sure they are healthy: spiritually, mentally AND physically!

Kris is a wife to a handsome Kiwi and mother to 4 amazing boys. She loves being at home with her family, and working as a Clinical Exercise Specialist and Chiropractic Assistant. Kris is living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and dreams of someday returning home to Hawaii.

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Welcome, New Life

Well, do you want to meet the precious little man who has been keeping me away from Pearls?

Luke Ho’oikaika, born May 7th

He’s doing well, and has been a good baby. His brothers adore him, and it feels like he’s always been a part of our family! I think I am finally regaining enough brain cells to resume Pearls! =)

Roxie also had her beautiful baby boy! Meet her little man…

Tayson Owen, born May 11th

Please be patient as I try to re-find balance in my life!

-Alicia

What tips and pointers do you have for three children (all boys!)?

Small and Simple Things - LinkUp!

Take a moment to find and capture a little something that made your heart smile! We all need to be reminded that life is good, and I'm sure we can all do a little better to find the positive in our lives. Were you able to find a moment of gratitude during a crazy day? Share a thought you had this week, or a visual moment you were able to capture in a photo!

Create a Small and Simple Things post on your own blog, and share it via the Linky Tool or share your thoughts in the comments! We may feature your photo or thought here on Pearls!


We love being outdoors! We don't necessarily have to be in the mountains, per say, but when it's warm and the sun is shining, it feels great to be in it! Even though the entire gallon jug of bubble "juice" was spilled, we still enjoyed ourselves! -Alicia



<br /> <a href="http://ldspearls.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="PEARLS for Latter-day Saint Women" src="http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j455/LDSPearls/SSTTbutton-2.jpg"/></a><br />

Create.

Create.lds.org

“Do you have talents in taking photographs, making videos, or creating other types of media? This site will help you share your media with the Church and other members… The Church needs your help to meet its worldwide media needs. Create.lds.org is where you can learn how to share your media talents with the Church and other members.” (Image is the current Photo of the Week)

Personally, I am very excited about this new branch of the Church website! I am going through the photos on my external hard-drive to see what I can find, and see who I can get to sign a simple model release. =) I feel good about helping out in this capacity, and think the whole thing is just brilliant! And I’m not gonna lie, it’s fun to see the faces of friends and family in a church magazine or website (speaking of, you can find my sweet grandparents on page 92 of the May Ensign… top left-hand corner – yep, that’s them!).

I know at least a handful of you are incredible photographers, and I think this is a great way to share your talents to “help build the kingdom”! This will also be a great tool for Family Home Evenings, Sunday School Lessons, Blogs *ahem* and other such things… so if you feel so inclined to participate – just do it! (Insert Nike Check Here…)

-Alicia