Donny Osmond and Friends on the Power of Singing with the Tabernacle Choir

Posted on June 30, 2026 by treeoflifemama

Hey did you hear that Donny Osmond recently sang with the Tabernacle Choir at the Hollywood Bowl? My missionary son told me about it today.

Here are some videos about that. I second the witness to the singers below who say there is something about singing that connects you with God and makes you feel happier. Every Sunday after church I get to practice with my church choir. I just always feel so joyful when I can feel being part of a harmony of many voices. Then when we sing for the congregation it feels doubly good as we help them feel the Holy Spirit because we are sharing sacred music that praises and testifies of God the Father and His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ. It just feels so good! As Mikey of the old Life cereal TV commercials used to say, “Try it, you’ll like it!”

If you want a collection of religious music that is arranged by season and themes to sing with your family, go get my free family devotionals ebook.

Want more about Donny and the other Osmonds? Go here and read the top 3 posts.

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Tree of Life Mama’s Celebrate America 250 Idea #10: Read the LDS Ensign Magazine USA Bicentennial Issue

Posted on June 28, 2026 by treeoflifemama

Idea #10 for celebrating America 250 is to read the June 1976 Ensign magazine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is dedicated to the Bicentennial of the USA. You can find it here in full color with all the illustrations. The text without illustrations is here.

It has many interesting articles including:

–“The False Gods We Worship” by a prophet, President Spencer W. Kimball, a classic!

–“Declaring Dependence: Teaching Patriotism in the Home”

-“Did Joseph Smith say that the Constitution would hang by a thread and that the elders would save it?“

–“Wise Men Raised Up” by Frank Fox (hey I recognize that name, he was a BYU professor who taught American Heritage) and LeGrand Baker

-“A Promised Land” by Jeffrey R. Holland

and so many more patriotic goodies!

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Tree of Life Mama’s Celebrate America 250 Idea #9: Watch this Talk from Elder L. Tom Perry About the Bicentennial 50 Years Ago

Posted on June 28, 2026 by treeoflifemama
Photo Credit: BYU Speeches YouTube Channel

Idea #8 for celebrating America 250 is to watch this BYU devotional speech below by Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Perry was asked to head up a committee for the Church for celebrating the Bicentennial of the USA in 1976.

The video above shows Elder Perry announcing the plans of the Church to celebrate the Bicentennial. I wish I could see the posters the Church distributed that he talks about. I was alive at the time but only 5 so I don’t remember seeing any at my church building. How cool it would be to see them today! And the special FHE supplement he mentions, “God’s Hand in the Founding of America.” Anyway, I invite you to take notes and listen to the Holy Spirit as you watch this video to know what God is wanting you to do today to stand for liberty.

Then over here you can watch his report that he gave in October 1976 about the celebrations.

Want more Celebrate America 250 ideas? Go here. My goal is to share 250 ideas to use throughout the whole year of 2026. So come back and check for upcoming ones here on my blog. It’s so important that we keep the legacy of liberty from 1776 alive today!

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Amazon 2026 Prime Day Deals for Busy Moms

Posted on June 25, 2026 by treeoflifemama

Today and tomorrow are the last days of Amazon Prime Day Deals.

Katie of the Life in the Mundane YouTube Channel shares some deals below, which are specifically for homeschooling moms. The rolling cart above is my favorite of what she shares.

Here are the links to what Katie mentions in the video. (all are affiliate links for her. I don’t mind passing on her links as I enjoy watching her videos so this is a small way to tell her thank you for making them.)

Teacher Rolling Cart- https://amzn.to/4oMHICB (aff link)

Viewfinder- https://amzn.to/3Gkd2qs (aff link)

Pointing Finger- https://amzn.to/44aVGW5 (aff link)

Laminator- https://amzn.to/3IcizQh (aff link)

Laminating Pouches- https://amzn.to/3ZZEDnl (aff link)

Wet Erase Marker- https://amzn.to/3Sro96t (aff link)

Dry Erase Markers- https://amzn.to/3SrodTL (aff link)

Plan Prep Play Planner- https://shop.planpreppray.com/?ref=KA… get 10% off by using code PPPKATIE101

Clear Organizer- https://amzn.to/44GEwQe (aff link)

Clear DVD sleeves- https://amzn.to/3SFBS9O (aff link)

My Favorite Books- https://www.amazon.com/shop/lifeinthe… (aff link)

My Favorite Learning Games- https://www.amazon.com/shop/lifeinthe… (aff link)

Picture Art Storage Frames- https://amzn.to/4fG4eud (aff link)

NFC Cards- https://amzn.to/4b8SLkH (aff links)

NFC Tags- https://amzn.to/49tRCms (aff links)

Then here’s Angela Braniff, a busy mom of 8 who shares deals for moms that aren’t specifically about homeschooling.

I always love finding out about things that make the mom life easier, more joyful and beautiful. I hope you do too and enjoy these deals!

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More Ideas for Summer Learning from a Veteran Homeschooling Mom

Posted on June 24, 2026 by treeoflifemama
Photo Credit: Mikhail Niklov at pexels.com

A few weeks ago, I shared ideas, over here, to make summer with children at home a satisfying, with just the right amount of structure and free time. I just saw this video by Julie Kreke, a veteran homeschooling mom of 10. She has some great ideas so I’m passing them on. She gives the following ideas for summer learning challenges. Watch below to get all the details.

  1. Math Challenge. The app she recommends is here, from the Good and the Beautiful.
  2. Reading Challenge
  3. Journal Writing Challenge
  4. Typing Challenge. also using a resource from the Good and the Beautiful.
  5. Treasure Box

Here are more of Julie’s links, copied and pasted from YouTube:

“Try out our favorite typing program FOR FREE with this link: https://glnk.io/8ypy9/julie-tgtb-typing

Download our Reading Challenge Chart here: https://canva.link/a01cswrvo33mczm

Or for a simpler reading challenge try this one: https://canva.link/lj79dvoafhd4n0n“

Thank you Julie for these fun resources!

If you want some songs to teach multiplication facts without having your child using a screen/app, here are some resources I recommend.

The Mathusee skip counting songs. This is what I used with my children.

Mathusee has two versions.

Here’s the Bible version:

Then here’s the science and literature version:

Then Janeen Brady of Brite Music has the Times to Times songs. They have a depth of musicality the ones above don’t. See the playlist here. I tell the story behind it here. Several years ago, I got to hear Janeen play some of her fun music on the piano in person. What a treat!

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Celebrate America 250 Idea #7: Share this Music with Your Family, Take Your Hat off by Janeen Brady

Posted on June 24, 2026 by treeoflifemama

Today’s idea to celebrate America 250 is to listen to this music with your family, especially if you have children. It’s the Take Your Hat Off album by Janeen Brady of Brite Music fame. When I go on outings with my grandsons, I love to play this in the car on my phone. It teaches you a summary of the Revolutionary War, the basic features of the U.S. Constitution, and the words to the preamble to the Constitution. So delightful and patriotic!

Want more of Janeen? Go here to learn about her song to teach the times tables.

Want more of how to celebrate America 250? Go here.

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Celebrate America 250 Idea #6: Have a Potluck With Your Neighbors

Posted on June 24, 2026 by treeoflifemama

Did you hear about this? Some people are inviting all American citizens to celebrate America’s 250th birthday by having a potluck on Sunday July 5th. Go here to learn more. Sounds fun!

Photo Credit: pexels.com
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God Wants You to Have Wonderful Friends

Posted on June 22, 2026 by treeoflifemama
Photo Credit: Alexsandr Efstafev at pexels.com

I’ve been thinking a lot about friendship lately because of a recent Sunday School lesson on the famous friendship between David and Jonathan in the Old Testament of the Bible. This was in last week’s reading for the Come Follow Christ study guide for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Whenever I start to get too much in my head or depressed, I realize I haven’t been connecting with friends as much as I like. When I connect with my friends, I always come away feeling happier. I’ve been so blessed to have good friends when I was a child and teen. When I became I mom, I met a wonderful group of friends through La Leche League, over 30 years ago. We started having potluck lunches or dinners 3-6 times a year outside of La Leche League meetings. These are my Veggie Gals, and we still get together. Some of us have left the group, and new ones have joined, but the core group of about 6 of us has stayed the same. They provide so much support, laughter, joy and education for me. We pray for each other and cry together. I’m so grateful for them.

I’ve also been blessed to find friends in the homeschooling world, new friends when I moved to Arizona and lived there for 5 years, and then new friends when I moved back to Utah. I have been so blessed by all of them. It’s so comforting to know that I can reach out any time and get help from my friends.

My Sunday School teacher put these questions on the board:

“Who has been a true friend to me?”

“Who needs my friendship?”

“How can I be a better friend?”

All good questions for all of us to ponder and pray about.

Photo Credit: Binti Malu at pexels.com

She, the teacher, gave six principles of friendship:

  1. Trust
  2. Closeness
  3. Vulnerability
  4. Loyalty- the person will stay a friend even if it’s hard
  5. Unity
  6. She didn’t get to the last point because we ran out of time, but I’m thinking maybe this last principle is “Accountability.” Good friends hold each other accountable to truth. They are not afraid of bringing up truth, in a nice, diplomatic way. Not to hurt us but to help us.

Photo Credit: Edmond Dantes of pexels.com

A few people in the class shared stories of finding friends. The teacher and one other member each told a story of desperately wanting a friend, and then within a week, a friend showed up! Then I told my daughter about that and she said a similar thing has happened for her.

God wants us to have friends! Friendship is a principle of living the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you don’t have a close friend, I encourage you to pray and ask God for a friend and He will send one to you. Part of that process might be you following a prompting from the Holy Spirit to reach out to someone, to be the one who initiates the friendship. As my Young Women leader used to say when I was in high school, “To have a friend you must be a friend.”

One of my neighbors is famous in our neighborhood for saying over the pulpit at church “One of the greatest gifts God wants to give to us is each other.” Amen!

Photo Credit: Debendra Das at pexels.com

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Celebrate America 250 Idea #5: Teach Children About Independence In 4 Simple Ways

Posted on June 18, 2026 by treeoflifemama

I love these four simple ways to teach children about what Independence Day is all about. They come from Sheri, homeschooling mom of 10 over at ourlifehomeschooling.com. Watch below and learn, or go to Sheri’s blog here. She’s a kindred spirit for sure, as just like I have, she suggests reading Chapter 8 of Little Town on the Prairie to celebrate the holiday. That’s because it talks about who is the king of America really is as the Ingalls Family celebrates Independence Day.

Want more about celebrating America 250? Go here.

Want a fun way to decorate for Independence Day? Go here.

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Celebrate America 250 Idea #4: Watch this Video With Eric Metaxas and Read His New Book!

Posted on June 16, 2026 by treeoflifemama

I watched this video below by Eric Metaxas yesterday. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m so grateful he is willing to stand for truth and say that there can be no liberty without an acknowledgement of God and maintaining a connection to God. He shares that most of the Founders believed in God and that our liberty comes from God. This truth fits right in with the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Some verses in that book point out that America is a land that is not supposed to have any earthly kings. The only king for America is Jesus Christ. See 2 Nephi 10:7-14.

See specifically verses 10-14, copied below. Note that “this land” means the continent, North America, on which the plates were found that were translated into the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ by the prophet Joseph Smith.

10 But behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land.

11 And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles.

12 And I will fortify this land against all other nations.

13 And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God.

14 For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words.

So, yes no king except God the Son, Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten son of Heavenly Father! Preach it Mr. Metaxas! If we lose our obedience to God we will no longer have liberty, we will be in bondage. Liberty does not come from a president, from an earthly king, from government, or from any other human. That’s what America’s founding was about. That’s what the Revolutionary War was about.

I look forward to reading his new book, shown above. Get it here.

Want more ideas for celebrating America 250?

Go here and read the top three posts for a patriotic readathon going on right now in June 2026, patriotic morning basket ideas, and a list of 250 books to read.

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