YELLOWSTONE!

Yellowstone was amazing! Our family was joined by My Love's parents, his sister and her daughter, his brother and wife with their 5 grown children, a son-in-law, 3 granddaughters and a soon-to-be daughter-in-law. It was a great group and we had tons of fun. We saw lots of wildlife including 10 different bears. We also saw elk, buffalo, deer, mountain goats, osprey, eagle, coyote and wolf. I would recommend to anyone planning a trip to Yellowstone to go during this time of year. We saw many babies, the waterfalls and other water features were full, it wasn't too hot but still plenty of daylight and the sheer number of animals we saw all made so wonderful. I'm sharing only a fraction of the pictures (they're posted at the bottom)--it was truly amazing.

Beat L.A.!!!!!!!!!!!!

You have done good, Daniel-Son!



Danny Ainge is channeling the spirit of Red Auerbach, I just know it. Okay, so maybe he's not quite as cranky and certainly no cigars for Danny but he's got that crazy-tradin', build a big three, passionate coach, work as a team thang going on.



For me, personally, it's gratifying to see one of my all time favorite players (the other being Reggie Lewis) back with the Celtics. Danny Ainge is the player who got me interested in watching basketball 21 years ago, and is the same man who got me watching this playoff series, after an 11 year hiatus. I just got sick of over-paid athletes with big heads and bigger egos who felt they were all that with chips on the side--even if they'd never won! I got tired of the "the world owes me, I'm a superstar, gimme, gimme, gimme" mentality. What happened to the players who play because they love the game. The ones who bring passion and excitement and good ole fashioned team basketball to each and every game. What happened to diving for the ball, energizer legs playing the passing lanes, and fierce rebound grabbing "this is OUR ball" play? I dropped out of the NBA fanship. I quit watching. Then Danny Ainge took over as GM and I really still wasn't interested. Then my Mom, the consumate hang-in-there through thick and thin fan said, "Danny's making some trades." and "The Celts got Kevin Garnett" and "I love their little point guard" and "This team is GOOD" and "They're leading the East" and "They swept their west coast swing" and "They're leading the league." So I finally started watching and what's this...? Team Basketball? Steals, blocks, rebounds? WHAT'S THIS? Flying into the stands? Diving for loose balls? Keving Garnett, snarling face, mouth wide open, AAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!! Oh yeah, I'm down with that!! Chest bumping, fist pumping? Uh huh! I'm there! And dang it all if they didn't win! Whoops, hollering, trophy raising, champagne bursting kind of win. Number 17 is....in....the.........house! I just can't believe it.

You have done good, Daniel-Son.

Search, ponder, pray

I'm trying to teach my 3 yr old to be more self sufficient. She's always wanted to be independent, wanting to do things for herself. In fact, her nickname is 'little miss independent.' But she's going through a phase all 3 yr olds go through where they want everything done for them. For instance, the other day she couldn't find her 'Dora' shoes. There's a plastic tote under the bunkbed for each of my girls to keep their shoes so I said, "Did you look in your tote?"

"No. You do it."

"Bean, you can go look in your tote." She goes running off then comes back crying, "Mommy, they're not in my tote."

"Well, did you look on the floor in your room?"

"No. You do it."

"Bean, you need to look around the house. You need to put forth the effort first and then if you cannot find them, Mommy will help you."

"Mommy, will you help me now?"

"Bean, I need you to go look first."

In a very whiny, dramatic voice she says, "But it's too hard!"

Now, we were standing about 2 feet from her shoes. I was looking right at them. But, had I gone and gotten them, she wouldn't be learning anything other than that she doesn't have to do anything for herself. I had had her go to her tote first because that is where they are supposed to be and I want to help her establish a habit of checking there first (we're also working on the habit of putting them there!). But then, when they aren't there, she needs to look elsewhere. The important thing is the effort.

So I got down to her level and said calmly, "Bean, please go around the house and look for your shoes. If you look carefully, I'm sure you'll find them." "Okay Mommy," she said in a sad little voice.

I took her by the shoulders and gently turned her around in the direction of where her shoes lay. She took a few sad steps then her face lit up and she exclaimed, "Mommy I found them!" Oh what joy! No one felt such joy as that 3 yr old when she found her shoes.

Now to the moral of the story. I often see parallels between my interaction with my kids and how our Father in Heaven interacts with us. I firmly believe this Earth and our earthly experience has a purpose. That purpose is for us to learn, grow and become stronger. Each of my children is born unique with their own set of talents and abilities, as well as their own weaknesses and shortcomings, yet they are all my children. So too, are we all children of a Heavenly Father and Mother. My husband and I love our children but sometimes we chasten or reprove them. We desire to help them in every way possible and sometimes that means that we don't help them, as in the interaction above with my little bean.

I see so many people that want to know their Father in Heaven but they either don't want to put forth the effort or don't know how. Sometimes it's both. Sometimes, it's easier to not know because knowing would require constant effort. But, just as my little bean had to do the work herself, so do we all. Our 'tote', the place where the answers should be, are the Scriptures. But if we are unable to find our answer there (perhaps because we aren't familiar with the scriptures and they can be hard to read at first) it doesn't mean we stop. We keep looking. We keep putting forth the effort. Because only when we put forth an honest effort, can our Father in Heaven show us the way. We are learning to be self sufficient and while He can and will help us, we must put forth the effort.

SEARCH, PONDER, PRAY. He IS there, He WILL help you, He DOES love you.

Yuck, yuck, yuck!

Rotten illnesses spreading through my family. We've all been down in one way or another since Easter and we're just now getting over it (ssshhhh don't let Mr Murphy know). My poor girls only got to wear their Easter dresses for a few hours as we went to church then left early because I was feeling awful. Of course, they had to change so the dresses didn't get dirty. But, we're planning a trip to Utah to see family this weekend and I'll take their dresses down for church there.
I have to say, I'm so thankful that throughout our illnesses, the kids and I were able to stay home and veg out, watching tv and movies. I'm really greatful I'm able to stay home with my kids. I'm thankful I homeschool. We didn't do any school at all the week after Easter but were able to get caught up afterwards. It's nice. Peanut is reading better and better. She is adding and subtracting small numbers. We are learning about sentence structure right now. She is so creative and laidback, I wish I was more like her in some ways. She has her Dad's onery streak though. She's taken to hiding around corners and has scared both her Dad and me this way. The two of them are going to put a serious dent in my stuffy character.
My Bubby......has freckles on his nose. Real freckles! It's the cutest thing I've ever seen. He's a little boy now, not a baby. He's so handsome and he's such a sensitive boy. If you punish one of his sister's, he'll start crying if he thinks it's too harsh. He's usually willing to share with them so they don't go without. Now, he's onery too, pure boy. He'll drive the cats nuts and he'll go zipping for his toolbox whenever his Dad has a project to do. He loves to hang with his Dad. I love watching the two of them out working in the garden.
Bean. Well, she's my helpful, bossy little pixie. She's got the cutest smile that lets her get away with way too much. Often, when I am scolding one of her siblings, she'll parrot my exact words to them. It is so wrong and yet so funny. Like when we're saying prayers and she'll be whisper-yelling at Peanut or Bubby, "Close your eyes! Stay still!" Of course, it's lost on her that while she's scolding them, she's being irreverent. She has a great memory though and learns things incredibly fast. She's so torn between doing the girly things with her sister and the boy stuff with her brother.
Being home with them is so much fun. I love listening to their little conversations between each other. Especially when Bubby talks about marrying his sisters when he gets grown. He wants to marry Peanut, but, sensitive boy that he is, when Bean says, "what about me?" Bubby tells her, "I'll marry you after I marry Peanut!" Oiy, those Mormons!!

Telling time and counting money

My 6 yr old is learning to count money and to tell time. She is enrolled with Idaho Virtual Academy which uses a curriculum called K12. It is technically a public school. They sent us all of the workbooks and teacher guides, math manipulatives, a blow up globe and cd of songs for history, and tons of books. I have access to a teacher when I have problems. She sets up phone meetings or email meetings every other week and is always available to talk when I need. My kids have access to plenty of social activities with other homeschooled kids (which I don't take a lot of advantage of yet because my kids are so young.)

I feel so blessed to have this available to me. There are a lot of talented Moms out there who choose their curriculum from many different sources and I admire them tremendously for their knowledge. But for me, at this time, I love this. I absolutely know that homeschooling my kids is the thing I am supposed to be doing right now. And I'm so glad for the many, many resources out there for homeschooling families. It is a privilege to be among them, it is a joy to be with my kids, teaching them and it is a blessing that I can be home and take advantage of that by homeschooling. It is an amazing thing to watch them learn. I look forward to the times when I can let them explore their interests and learn with them. I pray the Lord will guide us as we endeavor to do what is right and we strive to fill our home with love, laughter and learning.

A lot of the links at the bottom of this page belong to Moms of other homeschooling families. I have learned so very much from these ladies and have been so impressed with their knowledge as well as their love for their families and for the Lord. I am so grateful for their influence in my life. They give me strength, guidance and confidence. They have answered many questions for me and never once have they made me feel inferior for my ignorance. They have taught me how to use the scriptures and Gospel teachings in my everyday life so that my children are given a strong, firm foundation on which to build their lives. They have shown me their flaws so that I might more easily forgive my own.

Most importantly, they have helped me to understand that I need to follow the quiet whisperings of the Spirit and shut out the noise of the world. When the world wants me to view my children as nuisances, intolerable to be around, the Spirit whispers that they are jewels, each second spent with them is to be treasured. When the world wants me to 'wean' my little ones from my influence, the Spirit whispers that my influence on my children is more important now than ever. When the world shouts that I am more than just a Mom, the Spirit whispers there is nothing better than being a Mom. And when the world says, you aren't qualified to teach your children and must let others do it, the Spirit gently whispers, With God You Can Do ANYTHING.

Can Storage, here we come

Woo-Hoo, we have one unit of our can racks built. We purchased plans from canracks.com-the s-stackable series-and have put together 1 unit. It is great!! This one holds most common size cans like veggies, soups, beans, even tuna on the end! We also have plans for #10 cans and another for other assorted cans. The wood and hardware cost quite a bit, I would estimate $40.00 per unit. But for us, it was something I felt very prompted to do. We can now very efficiently rotate our can storage!! This may not be for everyone due to the cost but for us, we felt it was the right thing and I really am glad we are started on this.

Whining

As I'm getting out of the shower, I hear Peanut whining in frustration and saying (in that whiny sing-song voice only a little kid can achieve) "I can't get it open!" I hear this and the accompanying whining over and over as I dry off and start to get dressed. She realizes I'm out of the shower and comes to me, still whining about not being able to get this little plastic purse open. Then, she stops whining and shows it to me to indicate she can't get it open and right then, it opens. And she says, "Oh, it opened."

So I tell her, "Well, you were whining so much you couldn't concentrate on actually accomplishing what you were trying to do." Of course she shrugs and goes on her merry way with a purse she can now stuff full of treasures (crayons, magnets, little scraps of paper). Meanwhile, I'm standing there with wet hair dripping onto my shirt and water sloshing in my ears being hit with the full impact of what I just said.

You see, I belong to the LDS church and we believe that God is literally our Father. The Father of our spirits. I didn't grow up in the church or as part of any church and I never really put much thought into who God was. When I was looking for something spiritual in my life, hearing this concept made automatic sense to me. I believe so strongly in this concept that I can see the parallel of God's relationship to me and my relationship with my kids. So very often when I tell them something (usually some great words of wisdom I'm proud of sharing) I will hear it echoed back to myself like my Father is whispering it to me too.

"Well, you were whining so much you couldn't concentrate on actually accomplishing what you were trying to do." I immediately thought of so many good tasks I set out to do but when the going got rough I began to whine rather than see the task to the end. You know, those silly things in life...food storage, exercise, learning skills...I have wonderful intentions but I have a bad habit of expecting things to work out nicely. And really, how often do things in life work out nicely? Sometimes I think I want to put in a 25-30% effort and have the Lord fill in the rest. What I forget is that because I am mortal, I can never do enough and the Lord will always have to help. But first he expects MY 100% effort, then He'll step in.

I should always seek the Lord's will through prayer, scripture study and pondering. But then, I should be throwing myself into a task with a 100% effort. I don't think I do that a lot of times now. I throw myself into it but usually at the first obstacle, I fall over and play dead. Then the whining begins, "I can't do this. It's too hard."

I don't mind it when my 6 year old needs my help with something and she comes to ask for help. But it really irritates me when she spends more energy whining and bemoaning than actually trying to do the thing she wants done. Especially something I know is within her power to do. Don't we often find ourselves as parents saying, "Come on, you can do it. I know you can." But they don't trust you, they don't think they can do it so rather than trying......they whine.

Thank you Father for yet another lesson learned through the blessing of parenting. I don't know how much it will sink in but I will be pondering this for awhile and trying to not whine so much. I will try to trust You and know that You know what I can accomplish, so much more than I do.