Periodically I come back to my blog and notice that it hasn't been updated in a while. And that makes me sad. I have been taking pictures and trying to make memories, but I'm not writing those memories down. I don't know if blogging is even popular anymore, but I like that it can combine my words and pictures in one place - and that hopefully someday I will get it made into a book and it will be my history.
I am going on my 4th year of homeschool and it is always a process it seems - we are still trying to find our footing and each year I have more confidence and feel like I know what my kids need even more. I still struggle with trusting that I am choosing the right things for them and guiding them in the right ways. But I keep putting one foot in front of the other. We follow the TJed philosophy of education, which is not a curriculum, but a way of looking at how to educate ourselves and our children. Someday when I have more time, I will write my understanding of it in more detail and share it here. It suggests that there are 7 keys to have great teaching and education. One of them is "you, not them" - meaning that if I work on my education and things that bring me joy, my children will catch the "bug" so to speak and will want to follow along. This has not been an easy task for me. I struggle with taking time for myself, as I suspect many moms do. I worry that if I focus on myself, they will get forgotten or not learn what they need to. Yet, when I take care of myself, I am better able to lead them - I know that - and so I continue to remind myself to continue forward on the path and breathe.
As part of the "you, not them" I have been taking a leadership class for adults called the 7 Keys of Great Teaching certification. It has 4 levels of training and audios, and includes reading many, many great classics and discussion - along with writing. This is my second time starting it and I have made it to the second level. The difference this time, is that I am not trying to do this alone and have some great women to discuss each reading and audio with. That has been a tremendous support. I have also decided to make a stronger effort this time to try and understand the 7 keys and work to fully embrace them (something I must admit has been hard for me in the past - leading to more stress and doubt). It has made a difference for me to say, "I am all in". Has it been easy? NO! I sometimes want to turn and run from the work, but I can honestly say that I am learning and growing and have more confidence this year and want to keep building my confidence.
The more and more I get into the 7 keys training, I have been working on what I really want to do for "you, not them". I have realized that I like to write. Do I want to write a book? No - but there is something cathartic about writing. So I have worked in the last few weeks to write more. I make my to do lists on paper now, instead of my phone. I try to journal what we have been doing - on paper. I have taken notes from conferences in a separate notebook. I am trying to write my feelings and thoughts on the books I read (not easy for me). And then today I found myself clicking on my blog. If it was a physical thing - I would have had to dust it off. And without even realizing it, I was making changes and editing things and suddenly I was writing this. I was a paragraph into this before I realized what I was doing. I should be doing other things now - and I look at the clock - yikes, time for dinner prep. But this has felt so good to write. And if no one reads this - thats ok too. I need this for me. So here is to a new chapter in my writing journey. Here is to memories made and kept. And here is to building a character that my kids can follow.
RICHARDS REGISTER - All about life, love and family
Monday, September 26, 2016
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Never a dull moment
I have not posted much here about our job struggles, but I feel the need to share now. Maybe to help someone else, maybe just as a record of this time, but I hope maybe to be able to come back and see what we went through and see Heavenly Father's blessings in all things and how we learned and how he allowed us to grow. At least I hope that happens.
The last almost 2 1/2 years have been a struggle, with what started with a job loss for Steve and has now led him to 3 other jobs that have not lasted as long as we would have liked, two moves and several months in-between of unemployment. To say that this has stretched us would be an understatement.
Most recently, several things have occurred together to lead us to where we are. About 6 months ago, Steve was working for a construction company as the Safety Coordinator in a part time position that we were told would ultimately turn into full time work. Then one day he was told that his time there was over and that his temporary assignment was finished. This came as a shock to both of us and while we struggled with multiple emotions, Steve picked himself up and took the first job that came his way - car sales for Honda. Now he had never sold anything in his life so this too was a culture shock for him and for us as it required long, long hours. None of us really liked this job, but he was so amazing as he worked hard to learn the business and do his best to make this job a success. He struggled at it for over 3 months.
During this time, I kept feeling like I needed to get a part time job, but he worked so many hours that I would not be feasible for me to work outside the home - much of my income would go to pay for babysitting. It wasn't feeling right, yet the feeling would not go away. I was teaching piano lessons, but only had a couple of students and it wasn't helping enough. As the months trying to sell cars continued, but the income was just not there, we had many discussion about what to do. Many times we both asked the question - Should Steve quit and figure something else out?
In December it seemed the answer was for him to quit and me to find work, yet again, we both struggled with it and weren't sure how to make it happen. So I decided to just start updating my resume and look to see what was out there and to let people know that I was looking. It was overwhelming me very much - mostly because I had not been in the workforce (admin related) since before Sean was born.
I was taking a 5 Pillar's class and during one of the classes I mentioned that I was looking for work. One of my friends in the class mentioned that her husband may have work for me, but she wasn't sure if he was already interviewing someone else for the position. At this point we had decided that I would look for full time work and Steve would quit selling cars (as he was really not selling enough) and he would continue to look for a better job. My friend told me that the position with her husband would only be part time. So I told her I was interested, but deep down I really wasn't and I kind of forgot it.
We got busy with Christmas preparations and celebrations and I stopped looking for work until after Christmas and Steve continue to sell cars. After Christmas I received an email from my friend saying that her husband did want to talk to me and to give him a call. Again, I was not sure that this plan was what we wanted to do and I honestly didn't know what I would be calling him for, but I felt the impression that I should call him anyway and just see what he had to say.
I called him a few days later and we had a good conversation, which ended up with me being offered the job - part time up to 30 hours a week, but all of them could be from home, except a couple times a month going into the office. Steve and I talked, but funny enough we both felt like there wasn't much to talk about - there was no downside. I could work around the kids and homeschool (he understood that very well as he and his wife homeschool their kids). Steve could continue to work and look for better work as well. So we took the plunge.
I should mention that after Christmas, but before I got the email from my friend, I felt like I should advertise piano again. Nothing readily came, but ironically, even with taking this job, I have increased my piano students as well.
Then just two days after I accepted this job, Steve received a paycheck with such a low pay (and questionable issues on his check) that we decided and felt that it was not longer in his/and our families best interest to continue (one issue being that he was paying more in time and gasoline than he was being paid). The struggle he felt whether to quit or not, was suddenly no longer hard. He felt such relief quitting - and so did the rest of us.
So now, in a strange reversal of things - Steve is taking care of the kids and the house and job hunting, and I am working 30 hours a week as an administrative assistant from the house as well as teaching piano and loving it, and then occasionally doing energy sessions too! It is crazy here. There has been a struggle to adjust mostly for me and Steve. The boys seem to do pretty well. They love seeing their dad more. And Sean has told me that he doesn't mind my job because he can see me during the day too.
I am learning to accept that Steve is a better housekeep than I am (I think I knew that already, but I a having to accept that now!). Steve is learning how to balance the house, the kids and his need to job search. It is not easy for him, but I am so grateful for all he is doing. He also gets to rethink about his value (which has for so many years been wrapped up in his job and his earning potential) - this has not been easy for him.
I am learning how to get efficient quickly again and to fit it all in. I admit this is hard for me. But within the first week I was able to schedule work and school and piano and it all seemed to work. Sadly, it has been harder to maintain in the following weeks, but we did have a welcome visitor for over a week - my mom came while she was trying to help my grandma with some health issues. That did make all of this a bit more challenging. And of course, there are unexpected things and appointments that have come up that we are trying to figure out as well, but it is getting easier. I am learning how to get through the tired times. I was also very blessed to receive a blessing from Steve. This helped my outlook so much.
Things are not where they need to be for us yet, and we may even need to move again, but we have seen the blessing from Heavenly Father that a job and more piano students were provide just when we needed it. It did not come in the way we expected or even hoped (as we of course wish it was for Steve), yet we know that the Lord has a plan for us and he knows what we need. We may not yet understand what we need from this change, but we see that we are not alone and we are not forgotten. Steve even pointed out that despite our 16 year old car's many leaks, we never get a check engine light on and it just keeps running! We are truly blessed.
We do hope that this trial ends very soon, but we are doing our best to keep the faith, to keep close to the Lord, to have faith and to teach our children to stay close to the Lord. It is not perfect, but we keep trying and moving forward and somehow it all works out.
The last almost 2 1/2 years have been a struggle, with what started with a job loss for Steve and has now led him to 3 other jobs that have not lasted as long as we would have liked, two moves and several months in-between of unemployment. To say that this has stretched us would be an understatement.
Most recently, several things have occurred together to lead us to where we are. About 6 months ago, Steve was working for a construction company as the Safety Coordinator in a part time position that we were told would ultimately turn into full time work. Then one day he was told that his time there was over and that his temporary assignment was finished. This came as a shock to both of us and while we struggled with multiple emotions, Steve picked himself up and took the first job that came his way - car sales for Honda. Now he had never sold anything in his life so this too was a culture shock for him and for us as it required long, long hours. None of us really liked this job, but he was so amazing as he worked hard to learn the business and do his best to make this job a success. He struggled at it for over 3 months.
During this time, I kept feeling like I needed to get a part time job, but he worked so many hours that I would not be feasible for me to work outside the home - much of my income would go to pay for babysitting. It wasn't feeling right, yet the feeling would not go away. I was teaching piano lessons, but only had a couple of students and it wasn't helping enough. As the months trying to sell cars continued, but the income was just not there, we had many discussion about what to do. Many times we both asked the question - Should Steve quit and figure something else out?
In December it seemed the answer was for him to quit and me to find work, yet again, we both struggled with it and weren't sure how to make it happen. So I decided to just start updating my resume and look to see what was out there and to let people know that I was looking. It was overwhelming me very much - mostly because I had not been in the workforce (admin related) since before Sean was born.
I was taking a 5 Pillar's class and during one of the classes I mentioned that I was looking for work. One of my friends in the class mentioned that her husband may have work for me, but she wasn't sure if he was already interviewing someone else for the position. At this point we had decided that I would look for full time work and Steve would quit selling cars (as he was really not selling enough) and he would continue to look for a better job. My friend told me that the position with her husband would only be part time. So I told her I was interested, but deep down I really wasn't and I kind of forgot it.
We got busy with Christmas preparations and celebrations and I stopped looking for work until after Christmas and Steve continue to sell cars. After Christmas I received an email from my friend saying that her husband did want to talk to me and to give him a call. Again, I was not sure that this plan was what we wanted to do and I honestly didn't know what I would be calling him for, but I felt the impression that I should call him anyway and just see what he had to say.
I called him a few days later and we had a good conversation, which ended up with me being offered the job - part time up to 30 hours a week, but all of them could be from home, except a couple times a month going into the office. Steve and I talked, but funny enough we both felt like there wasn't much to talk about - there was no downside. I could work around the kids and homeschool (he understood that very well as he and his wife homeschool their kids). Steve could continue to work and look for better work as well. So we took the plunge.
I should mention that after Christmas, but before I got the email from my friend, I felt like I should advertise piano again. Nothing readily came, but ironically, even with taking this job, I have increased my piano students as well.
Then just two days after I accepted this job, Steve received a paycheck with such a low pay (and questionable issues on his check) that we decided and felt that it was not longer in his/and our families best interest to continue (one issue being that he was paying more in time and gasoline than he was being paid). The struggle he felt whether to quit or not, was suddenly no longer hard. He felt such relief quitting - and so did the rest of us.
So now, in a strange reversal of things - Steve is taking care of the kids and the house and job hunting, and I am working 30 hours a week as an administrative assistant from the house as well as teaching piano and loving it, and then occasionally doing energy sessions too! It is crazy here. There has been a struggle to adjust mostly for me and Steve. The boys seem to do pretty well. They love seeing their dad more. And Sean has told me that he doesn't mind my job because he can see me during the day too.
I am learning to accept that Steve is a better housekeep than I am (I think I knew that already, but I a having to accept that now!). Steve is learning how to balance the house, the kids and his need to job search. It is not easy for him, but I am so grateful for all he is doing. He also gets to rethink about his value (which has for so many years been wrapped up in his job and his earning potential) - this has not been easy for him.
I am learning how to get efficient quickly again and to fit it all in. I admit this is hard for me. But within the first week I was able to schedule work and school and piano and it all seemed to work. Sadly, it has been harder to maintain in the following weeks, but we did have a welcome visitor for over a week - my mom came while she was trying to help my grandma with some health issues. That did make all of this a bit more challenging. And of course, there are unexpected things and appointments that have come up that we are trying to figure out as well, but it is getting easier. I am learning how to get through the tired times. I was also very blessed to receive a blessing from Steve. This helped my outlook so much.
Things are not where they need to be for us yet, and we may even need to move again, but we have seen the blessing from Heavenly Father that a job and more piano students were provide just when we needed it. It did not come in the way we expected or even hoped (as we of course wish it was for Steve), yet we know that the Lord has a plan for us and he knows what we need. We may not yet understand what we need from this change, but we see that we are not alone and we are not forgotten. Steve even pointed out that despite our 16 year old car's many leaks, we never get a check engine light on and it just keeps running! We are truly blessed.
We do hope that this trial ends very soon, but we are doing our best to keep the faith, to keep close to the Lord, to have faith and to teach our children to stay close to the Lord. It is not perfect, but we keep trying and moving forward and somehow it all works out.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Out With the Old, In With the New
I can hardly believe that another year has come and gone. So much, and so little has happened in 2014. As I just started updating my blog again and I didn't get around to mailing out Christmas cards, I wanted to take a moment and write down some of the happenings of 2014 and my thoughts for a new year.
While it seems like we just stumbled along this year many things did happen.
Sean
- turned 7 this year - started counting down to his 8th birthday - just a few days after he turned 7!
- started loosing teeth and growing new teeth - often he grew a new one before the old fell out!
- became a huge lego lover this year! Especially Star Wars legos
- He is so aware of his surroundings and will try to control all of it if we let him! Trying to keep him focused on being a kid this year. He wants so much to be helpful. He is quick to say sorry when he has done something wrong.
- Worked on Speech therapy this year. Reached a couple of milestones - finally able to say k and g sounds. Now working on S/SH/TH sounds.
- Took swimming lessons and though it was a slow start for him and he was afraid to go underwater or even swim without holding his nose. Then suddenly one day he just went under and is now swimming like a fish!
- Made a new friend, Carter, in the ward who loves legos just as much as he does. Continuing to make friends from homeschool park days.
- Learned many new board games and card games including family favorites - Monopoly, Phase 10, Skipbo, 10 dice.
- One highlight of his year was spending a week with his cousin Adam at a family reunion in Colorado. He discovered Minecraft during that week and is now a big fan. He still talks about his time with Adam over 6 months later!
Ryan
- turned 4 this year!
- He continues to want to do everything himself. We are getting better at finding a balance between what he can do and what we still need to help with.
- He loves to make messes and is getting better at cleaning them up.
- He loves to play with his brother Sean!
- He doesn't seem to have any toys he can't live without, but his favorites seem to be Hot Wheels and any toy figure he can carry around.
- He took swim lessons. He loves the water and while he still is a little shy about swimming by himself, he loves to jump into the water from the side of the pool!
- He is starting to love reading with Mom or Dad. His words after a good book - "again, again!"
- He loves to sing and does so every day. He loves to take a familiar tune (either a primary song or a Christmas song) and put in his own words. Lately the song of choice is follow the prophet. One funny variation was "Daddy's a goof ball" to the tune of "Follow the Prophet".
- He is growing leaps and bounds. He is so tall that most people think is 6 yrs old. In just the last 6 months he gained about 3-4 inches and about 10 pounds. His feet are now bigger than Sean's.
- He loves to cuddle! We have figured out that as long as his "hugger" is full, he is pretty happy and satisfied. Some days we need more hugs "I need 40,000 hugs" to fill him up.
- He finally potty trained! We had been trying a while and it just wasn't working - so I gave up and finally decided we didn't want to spend the money on pull-ups any more so we told him they were gone. I gave him heads up and within a couple of days he was mostly potty training and in two weeks was fully potty trained. He loves being a big boy!
Valarie
- I started teaching piano lessons. It was strange to start again, but I am finally getting my bearings again.
- I continued to take my 5 pillar class. I have one semester left and while it has been very challenging at times to even get there, I am glad I am associating with great women and learning so much.
- I am continuing to do energy session for family and for clients. I love seeing the healing that takes place!
- Have a lot of stops and start with the schooling process, but slowly finding a balance. Not easy to balance school, piano, energy work, household and all the other things I want to throw in there.
- Experimented with baking this year. Family favorites included cheese crackers, wheat thin crackers and english muffins.
- I had a couple of callings this year - Visiting Teaching Coordinator and Ward Organist.
- I got to participate in two Christmas programs this year - one for the Stake and one for the ward. I got to sing, play the piano and organ for both. I also have been active in the ward choir and am one of the few accompanists in the ward so I play a lot. I have enjoyed using my talents this year.
Steve
- Staying strong through continued job challenges this year. Started out the year unemployed and was able to get a part time job with a construction company doing safety, which was new to him (he had received his masters in safety the year before and this was the first opportunity to use it). That was not an easy job, but he learned daily how to apply his education to the construction world.
- When that job came to an end, he quickly took the first job that became available - Selling cars at Honda. Not his first choice, but he has learned so much!
- He is learning that he can do many things he never thought he could through these challenges this past year.
- He is the favorite with the boys and they are always requesting daddy time and wrestle time!
- He has had a couple of callings in the ward this year also - He was Gospel Doctrine teacher for most of the year, then was called to be the Scout Committee Chair. Unfortunately shortly after that he took the job with Honda and is unable to make it to church - so he currently doesn't have a calling.
- He has been wonderful this year supporting me in all the crazy things I have been doing!
- He is looking forward to the new year and in securing a better job - one more interesting and more directly related to his education and experience.
2015 - I am looking forward to this new year and all that we can accomplish. My goals are to improve our home and schedule and schooling so it is not so stop and go. Steve and I are looking forward to improved outlook for jobs and income and a hope that these financial struggles we have had over the past two years can be at an end. We learned so much last year about enduring and also accepting service and love from others. Also how we can continue to give despite having so little. I also learned that we can live off of so little and we don't need "things". My goal for the new year is to purge our household of things we no longer use or need. Sean is looking forward to his birthday and we are already starting to prepare him for baptism. Ryan is looking forward to days of fun and play! Here's to a great new year!
While it seems like we just stumbled along this year many things did happen.
Sean
- turned 7 this year - started counting down to his 8th birthday - just a few days after he turned 7!
- started loosing teeth and growing new teeth - often he grew a new one before the old fell out!
- became a huge lego lover this year! Especially Star Wars legos
- He is so aware of his surroundings and will try to control all of it if we let him! Trying to keep him focused on being a kid this year. He wants so much to be helpful. He is quick to say sorry when he has done something wrong.
- Worked on Speech therapy this year. Reached a couple of milestones - finally able to say k and g sounds. Now working on S/SH/TH sounds.
- Took swimming lessons and though it was a slow start for him and he was afraid to go underwater or even swim without holding his nose. Then suddenly one day he just went under and is now swimming like a fish!
- Made a new friend, Carter, in the ward who loves legos just as much as he does. Continuing to make friends from homeschool park days.
- Learned many new board games and card games including family favorites - Monopoly, Phase 10, Skipbo, 10 dice.
- One highlight of his year was spending a week with his cousin Adam at a family reunion in Colorado. He discovered Minecraft during that week and is now a big fan. He still talks about his time with Adam over 6 months later!
Ryan
- turned 4 this year!
- He continues to want to do everything himself. We are getting better at finding a balance between what he can do and what we still need to help with.
- He loves to make messes and is getting better at cleaning them up.
- He loves to play with his brother Sean!
- He doesn't seem to have any toys he can't live without, but his favorites seem to be Hot Wheels and any toy figure he can carry around.
- He took swim lessons. He loves the water and while he still is a little shy about swimming by himself, he loves to jump into the water from the side of the pool!
- He is starting to love reading with Mom or Dad. His words after a good book - "again, again!"
- He loves to sing and does so every day. He loves to take a familiar tune (either a primary song or a Christmas song) and put in his own words. Lately the song of choice is follow the prophet. One funny variation was "Daddy's a goof ball" to the tune of "Follow the Prophet".
- He is growing leaps and bounds. He is so tall that most people think is 6 yrs old. In just the last 6 months he gained about 3-4 inches and about 10 pounds. His feet are now bigger than Sean's.
- He loves to cuddle! We have figured out that as long as his "hugger" is full, he is pretty happy and satisfied. Some days we need more hugs "I need 40,000 hugs" to fill him up.
- He finally potty trained! We had been trying a while and it just wasn't working - so I gave up and finally decided we didn't want to spend the money on pull-ups any more so we told him they were gone. I gave him heads up and within a couple of days he was mostly potty training and in two weeks was fully potty trained. He loves being a big boy!
Valarie
- I started teaching piano lessons. It was strange to start again, but I am finally getting my bearings again.
- I continued to take my 5 pillar class. I have one semester left and while it has been very challenging at times to even get there, I am glad I am associating with great women and learning so much.
- I am continuing to do energy session for family and for clients. I love seeing the healing that takes place!
- Have a lot of stops and start with the schooling process, but slowly finding a balance. Not easy to balance school, piano, energy work, household and all the other things I want to throw in there.
- Experimented with baking this year. Family favorites included cheese crackers, wheat thin crackers and english muffins.
- I had a couple of callings this year - Visiting Teaching Coordinator and Ward Organist.
- I got to participate in two Christmas programs this year - one for the Stake and one for the ward. I got to sing, play the piano and organ for both. I also have been active in the ward choir and am one of the few accompanists in the ward so I play a lot. I have enjoyed using my talents this year.
Steve
- Staying strong through continued job challenges this year. Started out the year unemployed and was able to get a part time job with a construction company doing safety, which was new to him (he had received his masters in safety the year before and this was the first opportunity to use it). That was not an easy job, but he learned daily how to apply his education to the construction world.
- When that job came to an end, he quickly took the first job that became available - Selling cars at Honda. Not his first choice, but he has learned so much!
- He is learning that he can do many things he never thought he could through these challenges this past year.
- He is the favorite with the boys and they are always requesting daddy time and wrestle time!
- He has had a couple of callings in the ward this year also - He was Gospel Doctrine teacher for most of the year, then was called to be the Scout Committee Chair. Unfortunately shortly after that he took the job with Honda and is unable to make it to church - so he currently doesn't have a calling.
- He has been wonderful this year supporting me in all the crazy things I have been doing!
- He is looking forward to the new year and in securing a better job - one more interesting and more directly related to his education and experience.
2015 - I am looking forward to this new year and all that we can accomplish. My goals are to improve our home and schedule and schooling so it is not so stop and go. Steve and I are looking forward to improved outlook for jobs and income and a hope that these financial struggles we have had over the past two years can be at an end. We learned so much last year about enduring and also accepting service and love from others. Also how we can continue to give despite having so little. I also learned that we can live off of so little and we don't need "things". My goal for the new year is to purge our household of things we no longer use or need. Sean is looking forward to his birthday and we are already starting to prepare him for baptism. Ryan is looking forward to days of fun and play! Here's to a great new year!
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Homeschool Stops and Starts
I will have to be honest that the year 2014 homeschooling was full of stops and starts. It felt like more stops than starts, but maybe that's just how it feels to me. We try to take a relaxed approach to homeschooling - following the Thomas Jefferson Leadership Education (Tjed) model. In this model children up to about 8 years old are in a phase called "Core". The primary goal of a child in core is to learn and grow through natural rhythms, play and family time. Natural learning occurs during this time and there is less focus on academic learning, though that certainly can and does occur.
I struggled most this year with keeping a consistent rhythm to our days - to include household and learning time along with days we had to run errands, or I taught piano. I will be honest that this still is being tweaked and I hope to find the balance that fits us this coming year. Even though I could probably do an entire post on what went wrong, I know a lot did go right. If we truly are focusing on a core education for our kids right now, that would include play based learning, life learning, good and bad, true and false, and right and wrong. I think we are slowly achieving that. So I wanted to focus this post on all the times we did it right. Some of the things that worked and some of the fun things we did in a learning environment.
One of the things that we did well, most of the time, was reading. The boys and I love our reading time and while there were times we watched more tv than read, we still have a good love of reading. I am also getting braver at taking the boys with me to library and they are starting to understand what is expected there.
We have introduced lots of games and I can see how their learning is climbing just from a simple game. Sean especially has learn so much math by keeping score, playing number games. It is remarkable what he can do in his head. He is also learning how to share and even lose graciously. Ryan is still working on that, but he is learning to take turns while playing a game and that there are rules to a game. He is learning that if he follows the rules we all can play and have a good time.
One day I was frustrated with the boys behavior so I whipped out some worksheets and made the boys sit down and do them before they could do anything else (we prefer hands on learning and manipulative to worksheet). But I did learn that Ryan is loving the chance to color and follow directions and may even like doing worksheets once in a while. I don't worry too much about him because of his age, but he is showing me how excited he is to learn!
So here in pictures are some of the things we did educationally though out the year. Someday I hope to learn how to collage so I can condense my pictures on the blog.
Earlier in the year Ryan was learning his colors and I pulled out colored construction paper to match up with his cars. It was so much fun that Sean decided to join in.
We joined a homeschool group called Ensign Educators, and had not had much chance to join in their activities. Then they had a field trip to Falcon Field Airport in Mesa. It is a smaller airport. There were people who talked about airplanes and then the boys got to climb in a small airplane. They thought it was great. Even Steve got to go on this field trip with us.
Three random pictures (l to r): Sean overcame his fear of climbing! Ryan loves sensory bin of beans! During our study of some of the US States, Sean built this lego lighthouse during our study of Maine.
We have done a few body study units. One was bones. The boys helped put together their bone man, which was about the size of Ryan. They loved that.
Another body unit study was cells and DNA. We made licorice and marshmallow DNA strands. So yummy!
Sean has been saying for a while that he wants to be an inventor. So we have tried to learn and read about inventors. Recently he has shown interest in all things electronic. So we asked around for people who might have appliances or old DVD players and such that were broken so we could help Sean take them apart and learn about them. He loved taking apart this old Xbox gaming system. We found a video on YouTube and he followed the directions to get it apart without breaking it more. We have several others things to take apart too.
We tried a couple of growing experiments. We started sprouting a sweet potato for a plant and we tried to grow more celery from the base of an old celery stalk. The sweet potato took a while to sprout but is still growing strong (I will try to get a picture of it soon). The celery did not grow more than what you see in the picture above. Maybe another one would do better. But it was fun to try.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
My son the director
Sean loves to invent new things, from Legos to Minecraft worlds, he is always thinking of what to create next. Then I found a Lego movie app and Sean immediately began to create movies. He has several short movies using his Legos (of course!). After his latest movie which was only about 45 seconds or so he said, "It took me longer to film it than it does to watch it." Welcome to the movies Sean!
"Bank Attack" (partial - I had trouble transferring all of the movie over to attach it here - it is missing the title sequence and maybe one or two frames at the beginning)
"Building" - he was building with legos and he filmed the process here.
"My Play"
Here area some of his movie creations.
"My Movie"
"My Play"
Sunday, November 16, 2014
I love to see the temple
Today I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the dedication of the Phoenix, Arizona temple, for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (see why we build temples here). I can't believe I almost talked myself out of going (Satan's efforts I am sure). It was an amazing experience and I will always go to any dedication I can go to in the future. I was able to hear from one of my favorite church leaders, President Dieter F. Uchdorf and Elder Dallin H. Oaks. Hearing from our church leaders was a humbling and wonderful experience. There were so many wonderful things shared, but there were a few things that have stuck with me. First, share my experiences in my journal and with family and children. Second, share my testimony. And third, gain a love of the temple and share that love with family, friends and especially my children - by doing things such as drive by the temple as often as you can, taking our children to the temple grounds, have pictures of the temple in our home, talk about the temple, let my kids see my temple service.
Last week, on Steve's day off, we attempted to take the boys to the Gilbert Arizona temple for Family Home Evening. We actually forgot for a while that it was Monday, but even then we thought, we are just walking around the grounds - it won't matter that it is closed. What we didn't realize was that the Gilbert Arizona temples grounds are locked when the temple is closed. So we couldn't even walk around the temple. The disappointment was palpable in our car. While I am sad that we could not walk the temple grounds, I was excited for the disappointment. I am seeing such a joy in our children when we are near the temple and they want to be there. They recognize at their young ages the different feeling that is there.
It has been such a great experience to be here in the valley this year to take my kids through two temple open houses and to see the excitement they have for the temple. Sean, who is 7 1/2 has been disappointed that he is too young to attend the dedications (both Gilbert and Phoenix). It is wonderful to see his budding testimony and excitement for the temple and baptism.
I will admit that my testimony of temples has come slowly. Many times I have lived near a temple and not taken advantage of going more often (especially when I didn't have to worry about babysitting). When I lived in Colorado, my testimony grew as I realized I had to travel to a temple (a full day trip there and back), thus it had to be a deliberately conscious decision to attend. Each time I gave up a Saturday, I gained a stronger testimony of temple attendance. Then as I have had the opportunity to have each of our children sealed to us in the temple as they became a part of our family, I have gained a testimony of eternal families and the blessing it is to have temples on earth to give my family that blessing. I have a testimony of the important work that is done in temples. And I especially have a testimony of all the amazing things that I learn about myself, where I come from and where I am going, and about my Heavenly Father.
Last week, on Steve's day off, we attempted to take the boys to the Gilbert Arizona temple for Family Home Evening. We actually forgot for a while that it was Monday, but even then we thought, we are just walking around the grounds - it won't matter that it is closed. What we didn't realize was that the Gilbert Arizona temples grounds are locked when the temple is closed. So we couldn't even walk around the temple. The disappointment was palpable in our car. While I am sad that we could not walk the temple grounds, I was excited for the disappointment. I am seeing such a joy in our children when we are near the temple and they want to be there. They recognize at their young ages the different feeling that is there.
It has been such a great experience to be here in the valley this year to take my kids through two temple open houses and to see the excitement they have for the temple. Sean, who is 7 1/2 has been disappointed that he is too young to attend the dedications (both Gilbert and Phoenix). It is wonderful to see his budding testimony and excitement for the temple and baptism.
I will admit that my testimony of temples has come slowly. Many times I have lived near a temple and not taken advantage of going more often (especially when I didn't have to worry about babysitting). When I lived in Colorado, my testimony grew as I realized I had to travel to a temple (a full day trip there and back), thus it had to be a deliberately conscious decision to attend. Each time I gave up a Saturday, I gained a stronger testimony of temple attendance. Then as I have had the opportunity to have each of our children sealed to us in the temple as they became a part of our family, I have gained a testimony of eternal families and the blessing it is to have temples on earth to give my family that blessing. I have a testimony of the important work that is done in temples. And I especially have a testimony of all the amazing things that I learn about myself, where I come from and where I am going, and about my Heavenly Father.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
My Cute Boys
It has been a while since we have gotten pictures, but we recently had the opportunity to get pictures of the boys (and a couple with me in them). As usual, Sean didn't want to pose or smile for the camera, but Rachel, who took our pictures, did such a great job and was able to get some amazing pictures of the boys. I can't wait to call her again for family pictures. I love these amazing boys.
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Monday, November 3, 2014
Live after the manner of happiness
I'm cranky. I know that's not a good way to start a blog post. But there it is.
Why am I cranky? Could it be because I am tired and not sleeping well? Could it be that I am already burned out by homeschool and what we should do next? Could it be that despite my ability to live on less, I am tired of living on less, especially when it means that I can't get something I want (even something small)? Could it be that I am tired of my child's whininess? Could it be that I am making a change and getting off of some prescription medicine in order to stop having side effects and the getting off is physically tough, even though in the long run I will be better off? Could it be all these allergies I am having and the frustration that everything is blooming in November when we should have falling leaves and cooler temperatures? Probably all of these.
The other day, during the midst of my crankiness, when I had just yelled at my son for the umpteenth time that day for being whiny, I was in my room trying to get away from it all, trying to calm down and trying to find a positive thought to make it through the rest of the day. I was just trying to breath. I am sure that I was saying a prayer in my mind asking forgiveness for being cranky and yelley (yes that is a word at our house), praying for help and then a thought came into my mind very simply and very clearly, "Live after the manner of happiness".
Hmmm. Live after the manner of happiness? So simple, yet so powerful. That made me stop and think. What does that mean? Where did I hear that? This thought was so powerful to me in that moment, that I immediately went to my white board in my room and erased everything on it and wrote down "Live after the manner of happiness". Then I got out my laptop and went to LDS.com and searched out that statement. And I found it:
It is interesting that Nephi said this, because for many many years he had very large trials and challenges. Living in the wilderness for years, breaking his bow and struggling to find food, building a boat without directions, sailing on tempestuous seas, dealing with rebellious brothers, eventually having to separate his family from the brothers who wanted to murder him. Yet, here he said that they had lived after the manner of happiness.
I wanted to delve into this more and I knew I had heard it recently in a talk, but couldn't remember where I had heard it. A quick internet reminded me it was from a recent devotional given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles at BYU-Idaho in September. You can find the devotional here.
He began by mentioning the Prophet Joseph Smith and something he was known to say (not sure if it is an exact quote) - Happiness is the object and design of our existence and will be the end thereof if we pursue the path that leads to it. Elder Holland also mentioned that in the Declaration of Independence our founding fathers list the "the pursuit of happiness" as one of the "rights" of any individual. Interesting. The "pursuit" or "path" to happiness is our right, not happiness itself. I will be honest that this has been a struggle of mine for many years as I have been struggling with depression and challenges in life. If I have the right to pursue happiness, don't I have the right to be happy?
This devotional was just what I needed to hear, again and again. There were so many great things he said, but here are a couple of quotes that I love from Elder Holland's talk:
Ok, so maybe I have been cranky for all the reasons I listed above. But in the midst of all of that, I am grateful for a quiet moment, when my Heavenly Father looked down and saw his struggling daughter and answered her prayer for help with the comfort of a small thought. A small ray of hope that I won't always feel cranky; the desire to be happy and to find happiness despite my trials and challenges; and the knowledge to find the way which leads to the path that will bring happiness, along with the tools necessary to achieve it and make it to my end result. I think I will make it!
Why am I cranky? Could it be because I am tired and not sleeping well? Could it be that I am already burned out by homeschool and what we should do next? Could it be that despite my ability to live on less, I am tired of living on less, especially when it means that I can't get something I want (even something small)? Could it be that I am tired of my child's whininess? Could it be that I am making a change and getting off of some prescription medicine in order to stop having side effects and the getting off is physically tough, even though in the long run I will be better off? Could it be all these allergies I am having and the frustration that everything is blooming in November when we should have falling leaves and cooler temperatures? Probably all of these.
The other day, during the midst of my crankiness, when I had just yelled at my son for the umpteenth time that day for being whiny, I was in my room trying to get away from it all, trying to calm down and trying to find a positive thought to make it through the rest of the day. I was just trying to breath. I am sure that I was saying a prayer in my mind asking forgiveness for being cranky and yelley (yes that is a word at our house), praying for help and then a thought came into my mind very simply and very clearly, "Live after the manner of happiness".
Hmmm. Live after the manner of happiness? So simple, yet so powerful. That made me stop and think. What does that mean? Where did I hear that? This thought was so powerful to me in that moment, that I immediately went to my white board in my room and erased everything on it and wrote down "Live after the manner of happiness". Then I got out my laptop and went to LDS.com and searched out that statement. And I found it:
It is interesting that Nephi said this, because for many many years he had very large trials and challenges. Living in the wilderness for years, breaking his bow and struggling to find food, building a boat without directions, sailing on tempestuous seas, dealing with rebellious brothers, eventually having to separate his family from the brothers who wanted to murder him. Yet, here he said that they had lived after the manner of happiness.
I wanted to delve into this more and I knew I had heard it recently in a talk, but couldn't remember where I had heard it. A quick internet reminded me it was from a recent devotional given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles at BYU-Idaho in September. You can find the devotional here.
He began by mentioning the Prophet Joseph Smith and something he was known to say (not sure if it is an exact quote) - Happiness is the object and design of our existence and will be the end thereof if we pursue the path that leads to it. Elder Holland also mentioned that in the Declaration of Independence our founding fathers list the "the pursuit of happiness" as one of the "rights" of any individual. Interesting. The "pursuit" or "path" to happiness is our right, not happiness itself. I will be honest that this has been a struggle of mine for many years as I have been struggling with depression and challenges in life. If I have the right to pursue happiness, don't I have the right to be happy?
This devotional was just what I needed to hear, again and again. There were so many great things he said, but here are a couple of quotes that I love from Elder Holland's talk:
“We know one thing for sure. Happiness is not easy to find running straight for it. It is usually too elusive, too ephemeral, too subtle. If you haven’t learned it already, you will learn in the years ahead that most times happiness comes to us when we least expect it, when we are busy doing something else. Happiness is almost always a by-product of some other endeavor.”
“Your best chance for happiness is to do the things that happy people do. Live the way happy people live. Walk the path that happy people walk. And your chances to find joy in unexpected moments, to find peace in unexpected places, to find the help of angels when you didn’t even know they ... existed improves exponentially."
"Learn as quickly as you can that so much of your happiness is in your hands. It is not in events or circumstances or fortunes or misfortunes. We can choose, if not happiness per se, we can choose after the matter of it."
“God expects a willing mind in the quest for happiness and peace as well. Put your head into this. All of this takes effort. It’s a battle, but a battle for happiness is worth waging.”
"Kindness and pleasantness and faith based optimism are characteristics of happy people."
"Anger and other vices such as violence, rage, bitterness, and hate have nothing to do with living the gospel or the pursuit of happiness."
"If you want to be happy, work at it.”
I love all of these and more that he discussed in this devotional! This thought - live after the manner of happiness - gives me permission to let go of the need to "be" happy all the time. I had thought that if I was going to stop being depressed, I had to be happy all the time. That is too much pressure! I am so grateful for this devotional too, that encourages and shows the way to get on the path of happiness or how to live AFTER THE MANNER or HAPPINESS.
Attempting to find snatches of happiness in the midst of the challenges of life can still bless me and my family. It can give me that ability to start over in the middle of a particularly cranky day - to still find happiness at 3 p.m. after a rough morning. Or to find a piece of happiness first thing in the morning when my boys give me a hug after a rough night of sleep. If I strive to live after the manner of happiness, I will find happiness. Maybe not all the time, but as often as I search for it.
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