Rise Up and Stand : Back to School Dinner 2013

We have a family tradition of a special Back to School Dinner to celebrate the start of a new school year.

See here and here

I like to make it a special night, we set the table with our best dishes, pour bubbly for a toast and serve up some delicious food:)

On the Menu this year:

Grilled Garlic Balsamic encrusted Pork Tenderloin

Roasted Sweet Potatos with butter and brown sugar (recipe coming--yum)

Green salad with Buttermilk Dressing

Garlic Bread

Dessert:  Warm Peach Cobbler and vanilla bean  Ice cream

We usually have a theme for the year--a phrase to inspire us.

This year I was very prayerful --I had so many ideas running through my head, there is so much I want to instill in my boys, but after some discussion as a family we decided on Rise Up and Stand.

We talked about rising up to become all that God wants them to be-- setting goals, working hard, being faithful and taking  a stand!  Be immovable.

We talked about what it means to Stand--this years youth theme is Stand in Holy Places taken from this scripture:

“Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come, for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen” (D&C 87:8).

We watched a couple of videos from the interenet projected on our big screen using our Apple TV box--(man I love that thing!)

First this one that I can not get to load on the blog! 

and then this one:

After that Brad gave each of my boys a Fathers Blessing  full of love and wise counsel, just like he does every year.

It is a very sweet experience.

I am planning a follow up family night for this coming Monday evening that I am so excited about.  I feel  like this week as I thought about our theme and how to make it more meaningful and unforgettable for our boys....I have stumbled upon some great stuff!  A blessing, I am sure!

First I was reminded of a BYU football song a couple of years ago.  So after doing a little research, I found this video, which the boys will of course LOVE:) and I love some of the lyrics that go so perfectly with our theme!

"Nothing Can stop us when we stand our ground..."

and

"Every player...fully invested, so rise up and Stand!"

  

 My boys are going to love watching this one...I can't wait from Monday's family night:)

And then an incredible Mother I am blessed to know shared this quote that she is putting up on her boys mirrors to remind them "who they are and who they can be:"  and I am doing the same!

It was a blessing to find this--it was exactly what I was looking for!!

Rise Up, O Men of God!

Have done with lesser things,

give heart and soul and mind and strength

to serve the King of kings.

taken from this hymn

Thank you Heather--I got chills when I read that! 

I hope those words sink down deep in their souls.
 That is exactly what I hope for my sons this year and always!

So here is to a new school year...

Rise Up and Stand!

Back to School Dinner

I had such fun decorating for this years annual 'Back to School Dinner' and it was a lot cuter than usual too:) ...thanks to the free printables at eighteen25.  Thank you ladies!

On the menu:

Chicken & Vegtable Terriyaki Fried Rice

Whole Wheat Rolls

Fresh Watermelon

Pink Lemonade

And a very gourmet  Rice Krispy Cake...

Every year we have a theme and this year it was Spencer W. Kimball's famous words "Lengthen Your Stride"  During dinner I shared with the boys some life history and interesting stories from the life of President Kimball.  Ending with what a hard worker he was and what it means to 'Lengthen Your Stride'  The boys all committed to push themselves and try harder in every aspect of their lives this school year--not only with grades, and sports, but in serving and striving to live the gospel of Jesus Christ more fully. 

After dinner all the boys recieved a Fathers Blessing.

This is the sweetest part of the night.

Watching my boys take their turn and hearing the beautiful words of counsel and blessings from my husband to our sons.

There is always a happy feeling that fills our home and I am so thankful.

We ended the night with this super gourmet, ridiculously easy Rice Krispy Cake, while we discussed the upcoming year.

It was decided (mostly by Mom and Dad--with some grumbling) that we should all go to bed earlier because this year we have an early morning seminary boy!  Connor will attend a scripture study class every morning before school at 6am!  That means getting up at 5am, yikes that is early! 

Here is to a Happy New School Year--hurrah!
(If you want to make this rice krispy delight--simply make a double batch of rice krispy treats and find two containers that will work for stacking.  Be sure to spray the chosen containers with non stick cooking spray and let the treats set  up in the molds for 20 minutes.  Then stack and decorate with some 'Capt Crunch Berries')

Back to School Dinner

At the end of summer we have a traditional special dinner to celebrate the beginning of a new school year. Some years we go all out and other years it is pulled together at the last minute, but the boys love it no matter. We introduce a theme for our family to focus on that year, have a wonderful meal with dessert (our boys' favorite part) and the crowning event is that each boy receives a Fathers Blessing.

This year our theme was 'REMEMBER'.

Brad introduced it and read Heleman 5:12

There is so many truths we want our boys to always remember ... to name a few...

REMEMBER: who they are as sons of God, to build their foundations on Jesus Christ, how good it feels to do what is right, and that they are treasured and loved beyone measure.

Each month we will focus our Monday night Family Home Evenings (FHE) on remembering... to pray, give service, be honest, read the scriptures, follow the prophet, work hard, lead clean lives etc. That should keep our FHEs full!

This years Back to School dinner was a success! Now if we can just REMEMBER:)