No July Meeting

There will be no July meeting, because of holidays and summer time.   Meetings will resume on August 13, 2009.  Also mark your calendars for our annual reunion on September 10, 2009. Details of both meetings will be blogged at a later date. Enjoy your summer and have a great and safe July.

Here are a few tips on keeping your family safe during the summer:

1. Most child accidents are preventable with adult supervision.

2. Use sunscreen when outside on a sunny day and a safe bug repellent in evening hours.

3. Follow city restrictions and safety precautions when using fireworks.

See you all in August.

Report of June 11th meeting

Jenny Ahlstrom came and spoke to us about her new website in development. She explained how her website will help mothers with questions based on their circumstances. Then Ingrid Sorensen gave her monthly lesson from “The Power of Positive Parenting” by Glen Latham. The lesson was on how to deal with children who Lie/Steal. Karmel did video of  the discussion by Jenny and Ingrid.  At the end of the meeting, we discussed financial advice. 

I’m Melissa Miller, new to American Mothers Inc. and am excited to help serve in this capacity as secretary.

Members of AMI in attendence

June Meeting

Thursday June 11, 2009 at the Provo Library (top floor)

Meeting Topic: Financial Preparedness

Motherhood Achievement Program: Financial

Value of the Month: Justice and Mercy

Glenn Latham:  Power of Positive Parenting book, Chapter 16, Eliminating Lying and Stealing

Tip Time: sharing our latest discoveries and ‘ahas’ in life

Jennifer Ahlstrom-Legacy Project

Meeting will start at 7:30 PM and end promptly at 8:30 PM.  Come at 7 PM for visiting at the pre-meeting social.  See you there!

Planning Playdate

Summer is here and that means it is time to plan our AMI Chapter Meetings and Events for 2009-2010.  Make plans to attend our Planning Playdate.

Place: Danielle Kennington’s Home,  1143 East 300 South, Provo

Date: Monday June 15, 2009

Time: 9:30 AM

Bring your kids so they can play in the backyard!  See ya there!

Honoring Motherhood 2009

We had a wonderful start to Mother’s Day Weekend at the 2nd Annual Honoring Motherhood Event at the White Willow Reception Center in Provo on May 9, 2009. It was a jam packed event, complete with several speakers, a tribute session to mothers, and a tasty breakfast.
The speakers included:
Karmel Larson, American Mothers of Utah Valley President and Mrs. Utah United States 2009, who launched her platform “Declare Decency”
McKay Hatch, founder of the National No Cussing Club,
Lisa Klompf, Utah American Mothers, Inc. State President, “Honoring Mothers”
Danielle Kennington, Utah Young Mother of the Year 2009, “Dandelion Bouquets”
Dixie Clifford, Utah Mother of the Year 2009, “The History of American Mothers, Inc.”
Deanne Taylor, National American Mothers, Inc. President
The highlight of the morning was the tributes made to our honored mother guests at our tables and in front of the group. Dixie Clifford’s husband Linc gave an impromptu speech at the end that was very sweet.

Honoring Motherhood 2009

Honoring Motherhood

Mother’s Day Weekend 2009

May 9, 2009 * 8:30-11:00am

American Mothers is the official sponsor of Mother’s Day!

In celebration of Mother’s Day, American Mother’s of Utah Valley is hosting our 2nd annual, Honoring Motherhood Event, to pay tribute to mothers everywhere. Husbands, sons, daughters, friends, co-workers, grandchildren, etc. are invited to purchase a ticket as a Mother’s Day gift for a mother whom they would like to honor as well as a ticket for themselves and other family and friends. Their will be time to pay a short public tribute to the guests of honor as well as information on submitting a formal nomination for Mother of the Year of Young Mother of the Year.

Honored Mother Speakers will include:

Lisa Klomp-Utah American Mothers, Inc. State President

Danielle Kennington-Utah Young Mother of the Year 2009

Dixie Clifford-Utah Mother of the Year 2009

There will also be a special tribute made to his mother by McKay, the founder of the National No Cussing Club.

$12.50 per ticket A great Mother’s Day Gift of tribute and memories of time together that will mean much more and last much longer than flowers, chocolates or a sweater.

Ticket price includes a catered breakfast of

Bavarian Filled Crepes with Berry Toppings

Scrambled Eggs Bacon Strips

Orange Juice/Milk

Event will be hosted at the White Willow Reception Center at 342 North 500 West in Provo, UT. To reserve seats for you and your guests, please mail a check to:

Kristin Collins

1042 West 1410 South

Orem, UT  84058

made out to American Mothers of Utah Valley and RSVP to kristinscollins@gmail.com. No tickets will be mailed. Your names will be on the guest list at the White Willow.

Any questions, please call Karmel a801-427-9293.

Here’s the flyer with this information:

Flyer for the Honoring Mother's Breakfast

Report on AMI National Convention

I (Danielle Kennington) just got back from  Portland, OR for the National Conference of American Mothers.  I went representing Utah as the Young Mother of the Year. I had so much fun!! Every mother should have the chance to go on a forced vacation for 4 days. We stayed at a really nice hotel and ate a lot of delicious food. I gave my speech “I am my Mother’s
Garden” . It went well, I think.  I liked listening to all the other speeches. Even though we all had the same topic, it was interesting that each talk was diverse and unique. I attended some amazing workshops that helped me learn better parenting skills. I ate some more. I went to training classes on the different parts of American Mothers. It really is an amazing organization. The more I learn about it, the more I want to be involved in it. I love that it is an interfaith, Christian organization. The motto is “Strengthening the moral and spiritual values of the family”.
The National Young Mother of the Year for 2009 is Kimberly Wright, from Nevada. She will do a great job representing us on the National Board.
My favorite part was getting to know so many amazing women. I arrived there Wednesday night knowing two people there. I left on Saturday with 14 very close friends (the other Young Mothers from the other states) and many close acquaintances. Now I have friends all over the country.

I am looking forward to traveling around the State, helping mothers know that they are valued and appreciated for what they do.  I am also looking forward to serving on the State AMI Board and associating with those wonderful women.  I got to know Lisa Klompf, our new Utah AMI President. She is so enthusiastic about AMI and shares it with everyone she talks to. What a great example!

Lisa Klompf in the Rhodendrun Gardens in Portland, Oregon

Dixie Clifford, Utah Mother of the Year, sits at the table with all the other Mothers of the Year from 2009. On her left is Betty Jean McGregor, of South Carolina, the National Mother of the Year for 2009

State Young Mothers of the Year, 2009. Danielle is on the front row, 3rd from the right. Next to her, 4th from right, is Kimberly Wright of Nevada, 2009 Young Mother of the Year

Danielle poses in front of the AMI banner that was hung in the lobby of the Embassy Suties Hotel where the Convention was held

Mrs. Utah!!!!

Our very own Chapter President, Karmel Larsen, was crowned Mrs Utah on April 26!!! We are do proud of her!!! Her platform was Stand for Decency, an important part of what we support at American Mothers. She will have the great oppurtunity to share this awesome message all over the state and the country.  Congratulations, Karmel!! Check out her blog at http://brighamandkarmel.wordpress.com/

Karmel is Mrs.Utah 2009

AMI Workshop Information

I wanted to share some of the things that I learned at the National Convention. We had many great workshops that helped me think about how to be a better parent.  I will just write some highlights. If you ‘d like to learn more, I’d love to talk to you about what I learned.

1- We learned about the more prevalent, dangerous practice of cyberbullying.  It has become a right of passage for teens who now use technology to bully and pick on their peers. It has led to murders and suicides of teens.  Monitor your children’s computer use.  Teach them to report back to you if they are bullied (name calling, shunned by peers, impersonation on line) online. Go to www.isafe.org for more information on how you can help your children.

2- A great program for communities is available for those who are battling the meth addiction in their communites.  There is a documentary that has been shown on all prime-time stations in cities aroudn the country.  If you get the whole community and media invovled, it is very powerful.  Involve community’s mental health resources afterwards to answer calls from those who need health. Check out www.crystaldarkness.com for more information.

3- We learned about Peer Mediation from Phil Johnson, from the Oklahoma  State Supreme Court. He taught us about a conflict mediation program that he teaches to children in schools across the country. The 5 stages of mediation are 1- Introduction, 2- Telling the Story 3- Put yourself in the other person’s position 4- Problem Solving 5- Writing Agreement.  He calls this program “PROS”- Peaceful Resolutions for Oklahoma Students.

4- I really liked the workshop on teaching children character and values. There is a program called “Character First” that was presented to us.  I have been thinking about what I learned and trying to implement it in my home.  You catch children doing good, and praise them. Instead of praising them for what they are doing, or a general “Good job”, you praise them with a specific character quality. This teaches them important qualities that we want them to learn.  SOme of the qualities are: obedience, initiative, generosity, joyfulness, responsibiltiy, diligence, availability, thouroughness, organization, gentleness, patience.  Their website has a whole list of these.

This week, I have been working on getting my 4 year old to stop sucking her thumb.  When she isn’t sucking her thumb, I say ” Thank you for showing self-control by not sucking your thumb. That means rejecting wrong desires and doing what is right.  This will help you learn to be in control at different times in your life. I am so proud of you”.  Of course, I try to say this in a way my 4-year old can understand. This is an example.

President-Elect Kristin Collins

We are excited to welcome Kristin Collins as our President-Elect of our Utah Valley American Mothers chapter.  She will start her term as President in July.  At this time, we will also form a board for our Utah Valley chapter.  If you are interested in being on the board, contact Kristin.

Kristin and Karmel