Family Home Evening a.k.a. the Emi & Annie Show

We enjoy having Family Home Evening. Especially when Emi is in charge! That girl is full of enthusiasm, creativity and energy. And when Emi focuses those wonderful traits of hers on Family Home Evening, we know we are in for something spectacular. And maybe a little bit time-consuming, which is not a problem if we start FHE 3 hours before bedtime.... (She takes Evening quite literally. I think that when she heads of to college, a perfect calling for her in a student ward would be FHE chairperson. If history is any indication, there'd never be a dull Monday night, that's for sure.) Really, when Emi announces she has something planned for us, we wait eagerly with baited breath to see how the evening will unfold. And I guess that may explain how dinosaurs and the North Pole became a part of the the story of Noah and the Ark.

Emi's great with using visual aides. Especially when they are composed of toys, like the Little People Noah and the Ark set. Annie's attention was captured right off the bat, I tell you! I am going to give you the condensed version of the dialogue between the girls from last Monday evening in the hopes that you may get a taste of our fun family time.

Noah's Ark adapted from Genesis 6-9

Emi: "What did the animals float in?"

Annie: "A fish tank!" After some correction from Emi, Annie added that "Noah built the ark because he thought it would be fun for the animals to go and play."

Emi explained about 40 days and nights of rain and the boat floating for a long time, and then she asked Annie to tell us about what happened after the flood waters receded.

Annie: "The ark ended up at the North Pole! Then the animals got out and the dinosaurs ate them!"

Apparently, some of the animals escaped the dinosaurs' hungry jaws because Emi then explained that the "animals became the very first zoo there ever was."

I guess after the zoo was established and Noah and his family got their feet back on the ground (pun intended!) they were able to reminisce fondly about the whole experience. Emi must have been reading between the lines in the Old Testament because she told us that Noah and his family said, "This was the best trip ever! Especially going in a home-made boat!"

This is the night we've waited for;
Always a treat we have in store!
We love each other more and more;
Every Family Night!

“Family Night,” Children’s Songbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 195

We can't wait until tonight!