new beginnings

tuesday night we had new beginnings (a night where the parents are invited to come and we talk about the young women program, recognize girls, etc.), i was in charge and we had the girls help plan it which was great. we picked the theme to be this year's theme for the youth, "arise and shine forth" (which was actually the theme from when i was a senior) and lighthouses. as it always goes, i was a little worried since i was in charge, but everything really came together! each class did a little skit to introduce the young women's theme, motto, and logo. we divided up the values and each class explained them. we had a talk by our personal progress leader, a special musical number by the girls, recognition of new girls and girls who finished values, and a talk by our yw president. we divided up refreshments by class: something salty, something sweet, and something healthy. lori made some really cute candy light bulbs for the girls to take home as little sweet reminders.

 

word clip art + picnik = the invites. what am i going to do with myself when picnik closes?!

i used acrylic paint to make some posters to hang up.

i took these pennants from lauren's shower and added left over paper from karley's shower to make quick and easy red, yellow, and blue nautical wall decor. feels good to reduce, reuse, recycle. (p.s. sorry for the poor quality pics. of course i forgot to bring my camera in the commotion to remember everything else!)

close up shot of the chalk board.

another week or so and i'll have been in young women for a year! where does the time go? i love my girls and i'm so thankful i get to be in there with them! i love getting to know them, teaching them/learning from them, and the fun activities we do together. being a leader in young women has given me a whole new perspective. through teaching the girls, i've been able to look back at different decisions and times in my life and see the blessings or lessons i got out of them. i think i took things for granted as a teenager, like the young women theme for example:

we are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us and we love Him. 

we will stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places as we strive to live the young women values, which are: 

faith 

divine nature 

individual worth 

knowledge 

choice and accountability 

good works 

integrity 

and virtue

we believe as we come to accept and act upon these values we will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.

now i really hope that, that's the type of woman i am; continually developing those qualities and always standing as a witness of God. the biggest principle that's been on my mind lately has been the fact that these girls truly are daughters of God. He knows them and loves them. they have so much potential and can grow to be such strong women. i hope i can help them to have a testimony of that too.