Genesis: Part 1

Almost two years ago we welcomed our third child and first girl into our family. Since then I have seen a gradual decline of my children's (mostly my boys') behavior. They fight and argue much more often. Everything has become a competition. Lately, they have been hitting, pushing, and kicking. It's not just their behavior that has declined. I've found myself yelling a ton because I felt like they wouldn't listen to me if I didn't. Every night I would review my day and get so depressed about my behavior and theirs during that day. Nothing was changing no matter what I tried and I found myself lacking a lot of the love and enjoyment I used to get from being a stay-at-home-mother. I could feel that the Spirit (Holy Ghost) wasn't present as often in our home as I'd like. We still were attending our Sunday church services, holding Family Home Evening (FHE), and having daily family scripture study and prayer. We all weren't feeling the Spirit as much as we should have been.

About a year ago, my friend Sarcie started something with her family. She started a Hero Hour every week where she taught a simple lesson about a scripture hero or topic, had an activity/craft, and a treat. Every week she posted pictures on Facebook about what she did with her children during their Hero Hour. Every week I'd look at those pictures and feel the Spirit tell me that I needed to start that with my young family. I largely ignored those promptings because I already felt so overwhelmed as a mother and didn't feel like I could add one more thing onto my plate. Now it's been a year and I'm at my wits end. This last week when Sarcie posted about their Hero Hour, I decided to follow those promptings I'd been having.

In the hopes that I'm not alone, I've decided to start this blog to document our Hero Hours and to keep myself accountable to do them every week. I hope you start a hero hour in your family too. Keep it simple but make sure to invite the Spirit and let him guide you to what your family's individual needs are. Tomorrow's the start of our new journey as a happier, healthier, and hopefully more unified and kind family. 

Love, Sue

P.S. Sarcie emailed me her story about how she started her family's Hero Hour and I'll post that soon.