Playing "March of Empires"

I started playing this game a couple of weeks ago. I got a lot of real bad instructions. Some people take the spying to real life instead of the characters in the game. That's too much for a game. It is poor sporting.

When I first started playing someone told me it was like Risk. Our job was to take over as many capitals as we can and hold them. I do not know if they really did not know or if they were another one of those poor sports who feared a total newbie. We are only allowed 20 capitals. Just enough to make a path to the center. The center is supposed to be your goal.

All the Wikis seem to only copy the little information dots that are in the game. With that being said the information in the game is very vague making the wikis not very good.

The higher the capital the more bonus or better statistic features you get. The game board is set up like a bullseye. The closer to the center you get, the better at the game you are, than everyone else.

1. Give yourself a name already. It is my peeve to see a bunch of castles running around. Respect yourself and the game and go to the upper left-hand corner next to your champion and click on your might. Give yourself a name. Then you do not look like a loser who is going to quit any day now. If you can not find it still, please look in your item bag for a "change name".

2. Fill all your spaces around your castle and your castle grounds. I distributed mine evenly among resources. you will get lots of demolitions so you can change it later if you want more one that the other later. Level them all up to level 5 or more. Then you can focus one building at a time till level 10.

3. champion gear- You get it from farming resources dry or by attacking the rebel camps. The one I am currently playing look like skulls but I am aware they change from watching youtube videos. You can do both of these with shields.

4. Be a team player. It is not about you. It is about your team. Do not start something that is going to weaken your alliance. If your alliance is not keeping up with you, assist them or move out.

5.I came on here to do calculations about how often my castles should be able to portal. We are growing and are making a line but we are going to need to teleport.
I have a really lazy alliance so I am not going to figure in the 500 gold you can get every 2 days because I am pretty sure half of mine are not able to. :(  yes I think many of mine are strays but we are family. So that leaves 100 gold a day doing daily quests and portals are..... 525 gold so we should be able to portal in a week. if people save their quest gold for that. If I have them portal every two weeks this gives them growing opportunities to be prepared to take out the alliances.

6. Do not go attacking castles unless you have a stockpile of soldiers. It is easier and faster to put your soldiers in your capital and tease them to attack you. Your walls will kill their soldiers and you can attack them when they are farming. You should save your soldiers for taking a capital or take turns in your alliance farming the castles of another alliance while the rest invade the capital.

7. Seriously say your prayers those Castle Gods do not find you. you know the ones, that paid money so they are so high leveled they are bored and think making you squeal is their goal in life. They do not even care to play the game anymore because it might ruin their numbers. keep your shields handy. I have a level 21 camping out with me now after he fed on my alliance all evening. We are newbies and very green. I think we will see who is going to play the game and who is going to quit after this.
want to know his secret... my champion is only a little behind his. HAHAHA. I am poor what I got the game gave me.

Thanksgiving! Rejoice! Be glad!

I hear more often than not people say they can not wait for Thanksgiving to be over just to get away from their family members. How can we be thankful when we are so very sour and not doing what the Lord wants us to do while we are with our families?
Have you ever heard of Pollyanna's father's gladness game? Not the movie , but in the book, she is lovable and adorable.

Oh, yes," nodded Pollyanna, emphatically. He [her father] said he felt better right away, that first day he thought to count 'em. He said if God took the trouble to tell us eight hundred times [in the Bible] to be glad and rejoice, He must want us to do it - SOME.

800 times! To be glad and rejoice.

Oh, yes; the game was to just find something about everything to be glad about—no matter what 'twas
... there is something about everything that you can be glad about, if you keep hunting long enough to find it.

We do not wanting to focused on ruined food or the naughty family member but what is turning out right ..maybe not in our eyes but in the eyes of the Lord.
We need to see the good in our lives and rejoice about them before we can be grateful and Thankful for them.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1996/10/rejoice?lang=eng

Now you have things to be Thankful for as you begin to see more of them. Remember to rejoice and then give Thanks.
Sharing how to do this as you do service with others would be Thanks Giving!

And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.” (D&C 78:19; italics added.)

“Verily I say unto you my friends”—that always moves me, to think of the Lord calling you and me his friends—“Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks.” (D&C 98:1; italics added.)

“If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.” (D&C 136:28; italics added.)

The Dead - Memorialized

Remember your fathers.

When a friend found about a gift I had she posted a meme  that honestly quite shocked me. I wondered if she seriously felt that way about me or if she posted it out of care and concern. I decided to accept the latter because I love her and I hope she feels the same way about me. I was and still am concerned she feels like I am being betrayed or tricked, because she does not feel my gift is from God. The scriptures she used for her explanation were totally used out of context.

Ephesians 6: there was some scripture in there she believed that once someone dies the spirit no longer exists. However when I read the scripture making sure to back track to see the whole meaning in the scripture I got a different impression on what it meant.
What I understood is the people where misbehaving, and this made them stop obeying there parents and the trouble makers began to despise them. This also goes for their Heavenly parents too. The scripture says they forgot their fathers to never see their face again.
Kind of like when Moses was told he could only Gaze upon His Heavenly father's back when his people misbehaved because to see his face would cause him to die.
You can see as the people began to grow in their testimonies with Heavenly Father that they remember their fathers more and memorialize them. Keeping records of them in one way or another but the system gets better as more make it an importance.
What are some misunderstandings people have had about family history, the  dead and baptisms with the spirit of Elijah you have experienced?
what can we do to remember our Fathers' fathers?
Share them with your child and do some role play to prepare them for these chance encounters.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/the-joy-of-redeeming-the-dead?lang=eng

http://media.ldscdn.org/pdf/magazines/friend-july-2016/2016-07-09-abraham-abraham-and-me-eng.pdf

Memorializing the dead is not a new thing. It is done in many cultures for many years. We are told we can adopt traditions that do not interfere with getting close to heavenly fathers and his teachings. Many of the customs and traditions of Allhallowstide was saying prayers and requesting blessings for the dead. How do we do that with our religion?

 Here is some you may want to do to show the dead are not scary but special and important.

http://jennyatdapperhouse.com/2015/10/day-of-the-dead-history-and-free-sugar-skulls-coloring-pages/
Skulls are something Heavenly father made to keep our bodies upright. They are natural and can be beautiful to some people because they meant someones lived a life in it. How would you draw love for someone who passed on one?
You may also want to give a lesson on the skeletal system at another time.

We can sometimes remember people by eating there favorite foods and discussing the memories we have of them while we do.

Candle or lamp lighting- It only takes a spark to get a fire going. It only takes a spark to get a fire glowing. And that's how it is with gods love. once you experience it. to everyone , everywhere, I want to pass it on.

The berries are out it means school going to start and fall will begin

 Well, I am thinking about Holiday planning already. If I do not do it now, when the school starts and things get in full gear, they will have flown by, and I will have felt disappointed I did not accomplish what I wanted to do.

I have my holiday planning  calendar on google. I have set it on a cycle. I have three calendar systems I use in case I fail one I have backups.

101daystochristmas.com

http://holidaygrandplan.com/

http://www.flylady.net/d/cruising-through-the-holidays/

I don't change them up enough to claim my system as my own plus there have been years I fell through because of my own health issues.

I want to prep lessons for the holidays for family home evenings

I want to find some freezer cookie recipes. ( they can freeze for three months before baking so you can prep them starting in September) I plan to prep cookie dough on Fridays. This gives a week of recovery.

I bought Christmas cards on sale a couple years back they were such a good sale and designs I loved I bought enough for a couple of years. So I do not need to make them this year but I may do something to make them more personal its undecided yet.

Back to school means useful Stocking Stuffers. Pencils, post it notes, cute erasers, crayons, markers, etc. Some books for under the tree and craft stuff to work on when the snow is blizzarding.
It also means note book or 3 ring binder and paper shields for your planners and all the pretty pens, stickers and etc your going to use to personalize it.

Its also time to pull out the yarn and start crocheting baby hats of all sizes to donate to the hospital.

Long Vowel Sound AIn

This is my daughters homework she made this page for me.

chain

brain

gain

main

drain

pain, strain, and sprain

rain 

train

grain

Sojourner Truth

SOJOURNER TRUTH

(1797- 1883)

by Molly MacGregor

   Do you feel afraid when people yell at you? Do You get angry when people are mean to you? This story is about a woman who was u slave.People were often very mean to her. Because she was a slave no one could help her, not even her parents. She could be bought or sold, just like a farm animal. This story is about how she became a free person.Most importantly, it is about what she did as a free person.

  When she was born she was named Isabella Bomefree. Everybody Called her Belle. When she was a little girl, she had to work taking care of the cows and sheep and carrying a lot of heavy firewood. The winter's where she lived were very cold. Belle had nothing to wear but a thin,shabby dress and a pair of worn out shoes. Her Owner beat her fiercely if she didn't work hard enough or fast enough. Wouldn't that be awful?

  To make her feel better, her mother sang African songs to her.These songs were about the place they had come from and a time when her family had not been slaves. When Belle Was sad or lonely, she sang these to herself. The songs made her feel stronger. They made her feel almost like her mother was there to help her.

    One day, the slave owner died. Belle's family had no rights. They Could all be sold to different people. Everyone was afraid because they did not know what might happen to them. Then the news came. Her Mother and father were to be given their freedom, but Belle was to be sold. She was only 9 years old!

Belle was so afraid. She was afraid she would never get to see her mother and father again. She was sold from the auction block for $100
and a flock of sheep. There wasn't anything her parents could do to protect her. They were powerless and terribly sad.

   When Belle was grown, she married another slave whose name wasTom. She had children of her own. Two of her little girls were sold away from her as slaves. Belle knew just how terrible her own parents had felt when she was sold. With the help of some white friends she was finally able to keep two of her own children with her.

   When Belle was 30 years old, the state she lived in passed a new law. The law said that nobody who lived in the state could own slaves.Nobody! Belle was a free woman at last! She still had to earn a living,but nobody else owned her.

   As Belle grew older, she knew that being free was not enough. She Remembered how powerless her mother and father had felt. She Remembered not being able to protect her own children. She decided that because she was free she could now do the work she wanted to do. Shewould help free the Black people who were still slaves. She would encourage people to take action and not be afraid to speak out for fairness. She would encourage people to feel powerful, not helpless.

      For her new life she chose a new name, SoJourner Truth. She picked
"Sojourner" because it meant traveler, and "Truth" because she wanted always to tell the truth. Now she was going to travel and tell the truth about slavery and about laws that weren't fair.

   Many white people did not know how awful it was to be a slave.Sojourner traveled all over the East telling her story of great sadness and suffering. She stood six feet tall and spoke with a booming voice. She Was an excellent speaker. People traveled many miles to hear what she  had to say. They told her she should write a book about being a slave.
Sojourner decided to do just that. She was sure that once white people knew how terrible it was to be a slave, they would change the laws.

Things did start to change, but some people still wanted to own slaves. Slave owners in the South went to war rather than change the laws. When the war was over, new laws were passed that said nobody in our country could own slaves. At last, Black people in every single state were free! Freedom was very important, but Black people found that they were still not treated fairly. Jobs were not easy to get. They were paid little money for the work they did. They wanted to be treated like free people.

Sojourner continued to speak out to encourage people to work to make all of the laws more Fair. She did this with her actions as well as with her words. Once, when she was riding a streetcar to go across town, the conductor told her to get off the Street car. "I don't allow Black
people to ride When I'm the conductor!" he said. Sojourner refused to get off. "I have a right to ride this street car. It is the law and I am not getting off," she said. The conductor was so angry that he shoved and pushed Sojourner. Her shoulder was hurt badly and she had to go to the hospital. After a doctor had taken care of her, she told the police what had happened. The conductor who had broken the law lost his job.Sojourner wanted the streetcar conductor and everybody else to know that Black people had the right to ride on streetcars, just like other free people in this country.

Sojourner Truth spent many, many years of her life working to make the United States a fairer place for all people to live. She helped people no matter what color their skin was or whether they were women or men. Many people today are still working for fairness, too. I think they would like to know this story about Sojourner Truth, don't you?

SOJOURNER TRUTH

Sojourner Truth (1797 - 1883), a former slave, who courageously worked against slavery. She travelled throughout the country speaking for equal protection under the law for all people.
BIOGRAPHY
Prepare the name plates coloring pages. Before beginning the story, place the nameplate "Belle" on the flannel board. While reading the biography to the children, place the appropriate figures on the board at the underlined points in the story, matching their number in the left margin with the number on the figure.
Recall Questions:
1. What happened when Belle's slave owner died?
2. How did Belle become a free woman?
3. What new name did Belle choose for herself? Why?
Discussion Questions:
1. How did white people learn what it was like to be a slave?
2. Ask students if they think it was hard for Sojourner Truth to change her life, travelling to tell people about slavery and unfair laws? Why?
ACTIVITIES
1. Have the students retell the story in their own words. While the children are talking, point to appropriate coloring pages
2. Reproduce the coloring page figure of Sojourner as an adult for each child to color. The children's completed pictures can be made. into a mural to which vocabulary words can be added later.
3. Write vocabulary v.urds on colored strips of paper. Discuss the meaning of the words: "SLAVE,""OWNER," "AUCTION BLOCK," "FREEDOM," and "SPEAKER." Intersperse the words with the children's colored pictures. If a more diverse mural is desired, have children color copies of other coloring page figures to add. Vocabulary words can be placed near the appropriate figures on the mural.
4. Have students color a copy of the coloring page of Sojourner Truth when she was an older woman. Provide each with a popsicle stick to pare to the back of the picture, to make a puppet using the newly constructed puppets, have the students pretend they are Sojourner Truth. Have them give a very brief speech about the things Sojourner Truth felt were important for people to know.

Copied from:MYSELF AND WOMEN HEROES IN MY WORLD:

Rosa Parks

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/TM/WS_lp297-02.shtml

https://jr.brainpop.com/socialstudies/biographies/rosaparks/

http://www.grassrootsbooks.net/pdf/Rosa-Parks-activities.pdf

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/rosa-parks-how-i-fought-civil-rights-teachers-guide

See police documents to Rosa's arrest and Teaching guide

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/us/aframer/parks/

Just search -Rosas parks activities -to find many more