A Book to D.I. For!

A few weeks ago I posted a quote by Emma McKay that I had found. A couple of people asked me where I had gotten that quote.

It is taken from a talk given by Sis. McKay at BYU on April 12, 1952. I checked on Ebay and you can buy a copy of the pamplet of that speech for about $50. Gulp!

Or, you can do what I did and head to your nearest D.I. (Deseret Industries=Goodwill type thrift store) and pick up a copy of the book titled Motherhood - A Partnership with God.

A few years back I was going through a particularly hard time and wondering why God was picking on me. I was reading and praying alot to understand my role as a wife and mother and while at D.I. one day this book caught my eye so I picked it up. It is a compilation of quotes, articles and speeches from prophets and others notable Church leaders. It was published in 1956, by Harold Lundstrom and Bookcraft Publishers. I skimmed through it and read through the table of contents and it looked interesting so I shelled out my $2 and brought it home. I did not read all of it at that time, just some parts that seemed to pertain to what I felt was my problem. In the past few months I've picked it up again and am going through it and I'm LOVING it. I know, it's old and those people(men) don't understand about being a woman and life is so different now. . . . What I'm finding is that the things in it are speaking to my heart and it is answering with such peaceful feelings about the path I've chosen.

I've learned for myself that the words of the prophets have no expiration date on them and are just as applicable now as they were when they were spoken. I have found much peace in my life as I have tried to align my life with those teachings and counsel. This book has helped me and encouraged me.

The envelope, please!!!

It finally came! J sent in his mission papers on the 2nd of Feb and we've been waiting anxiously for a certain white envelope to be delivered to our door.

It didn't come in the expected way, however.

On the morning of the 14th we got a phone call from our neighbor and home teacher asking us if J had gotten his mission call yet. I told him that we had put the papers in and were just waiting. He said that he had a large white envelope addressed to Elder Welch at his home and was wondering if we would like to come get it. I woke J up and sent him over for it. (we often get our mail mixed up, as their house number is 1156 and ours is 1165.

All the members of the family had picked where they thought J would be going and H had chosen Boise, ID, since she has recently watched The Singles Ward. When J opened the envelope, he started laughing and laughing. We asked him if he was going to Boise, and he said that it was pretty close.

His call is to the Montana, Billings Mission. It covers the entire state of Montana and about half of Wyoming as well. This is quite exciting since most of his family on his father's side is from that part of Wyoming, so it will be like going back to his roots. I admit to wishing that he was going someplace exotic that he will probably never have any other reason to go to, but we're excited about the connections he will have/find in the mission he is called to. He enters the MTC on May 21.

I Miss You Already!

My paternal grandfather died today at 4:30 p.m. It was truly a blessing for him, but as always I'm crying.

My grandmother died nearly 9 years ago and he had missed her so much, so I'm crying as I imagine their reunion.

I'm crying imagining the reunion with his parents and grandparents. What joy!

I'm crying because I remember so many good times we spent together. The times he took me for horse rides, took me to the ranch when he did chores, took me with him on his milk truck runs down to the Navajo Reservation. I thought he was the smartest man because he could speak Navajo. The time he came to see me when I was in college and took my cousin and me out to dinner. Letting me play in the saddle shed and the barn and help with haying. (if I could stop sneezing long enough)

I'm crying because he is no longer trapped in a body that wasn't working with a mind that has been 'gone' for years. What must that be like, to be free of the frailties of a mortal body?

I'm crying mostly because, as sad as I am, and as much as I miss him, I know I'll see him again.

Goodbye, Grandpa! I love you!!!

Progress!

Yesterday we finally got a big enough break in the weather to get the trusses up that will form the roof of our new carport. This house has had a single car, flat-roofed, tacked on carport and it is SOOOOOO ugly. Plus it has started to leak in the last year, so we decided that part of finishing up the addition would be to put up a new carport that would just extend the house's roofline over the driveway and have it look like it is actually part of the house design and not an afterthought. The new carport will be higher, wider and longer and we will also extend the shed roof part at the front of it west to make a new porch roof as well. It will allow us to have a bigger porch and possibly even a fun bench or chairs on it. Next week we will get to strip off all five layers of old shingles and redo the entire roof. A prayer for nice sunny days would be appreciated.

C and I also took time today to step into what will become the girls new room and pin down the location of the closet. I wanted to give them a big walk in closet with plenty of space for their clothing and stuff, so that we won't need dressers and any other type of flat surface in their room to collect junk. Now C can put the can lights in and we can frame the wall between the storage room and the girls room as well as their closet. Each day we get a bit closer to having this space be usable. I'm not sure I'll know what to do when that becomes our reality. On the other hand, I'm sure I'll have no trouble adjusting to having that much more space....

From the Sidelines.....

The basketball season for the boys started 3 weeks ago. This is the first time that AHS has had a basketball team. They belong to a league for charter and private schools. We have had games in both Utah and SL counties, as far north as North Salt Lake.
The school has two teams, A-9th grade and B-7th and 8th grade. However, we didn't have enough 9th graders try out so essentially we have the same boys playing on both teams, with the exception of about 2 players. There are games scheduled on Wed and Fri and each team plays on those days. What that amounts to is that both of my boys are playing 4 games a week. Neither one of them has played much before (except for a stint or two in Jr. Jazz), so this is quite a new thing for them. It has been really good for them! They are doing well and improving with each game.

Ford is often the point guard. He has a pretty good outside shot, sank a 3 pointer tonight.

Montana is a defense specialist. He has quick hands and can read where the ball is going and gets steals quite often. He is good at assisting others by passing off when he could take a shot. He also made a 3 pointer tonight, much to his surprise and that of everyone else.

The teams are struggling to win, I think because they are young teams made up of boys who have never really played before. But they have heart and they work hard for every point they get. I'm sure as the season progresses they will continue to improve and hopefully, some of these same kids will be here next year so the improvement can continue.

GO AHS EAGLES!

My Book List

I have seen a few other people do this on their blogs and I thought it was a good idea. If I post my list of to read/have read books here then I will always know where to look. If I just try to keep track of my scrap of paper. . . .it will be lost in a day or two.

I'm hoping that by keeping this list I will be able to also write in future posts about some of these books as I read them.

*Green indicates that I have read, Red indicates that I have read to the children.

Potok, The Chosen(?)
Bronte, Jane Eyre(?)
Stratton-Porter, Laddie
Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
Austen, Pride and Prejudice
Bastiat, What is Seen and What is Not Seen*
Johnson & Johnson, The One Minute Teacher
Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Dickens, Great Expectations
Frank, Alas Babylon
Gardner, Multiple Intelligences*
Gatto, The 7 Lesson School Teacher*
Harward, A Market-Based Education
Holt, How Children Learn
Kavanaugh, Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers
Lewis, The Abolition of Man
Noebel, Understanding the Times
Hugo, Les Miserables
Shakespeare, five plays
Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin
Strauss and Howe, The Fourth Turning
Thoreau, Walden
Wister, The Virginian(* = articles found in the books Bastiat, Essays on Political Economy & Gatto, Dumbing Us Down)
Ten Boom, The Hiding Place(2007)
Monnett, Awakening to Our Awful Situation
Skousen, The 5000 Year Leap
Campbell, Eve and the Choice Made in Eden(2005)
Wilcox, Fire in the Bones(2006)
Lossing, Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence
Monnett, Revealed Educational Principles and the Public Schools(2007)
Lundstrom, Motherhood, A Partnership with God
DeMille, A Thomas Jefferson Education(2007)
Moody, Shaking the Nickel Bush(2007)
Aldrich, A Lantern in her Hand(2007)
Gaskell, Ruth(2007)
Gaskell, Wives and Daughters
Gaskell, North and South
Marshall, A Man Called Peter(2005?)
Marshall, Christy(2007)
Marshall, Beyond Ourselves(2004?)
Wallace, Ben Hur
L'amour, The Walking Drum(2007-family read aloud)
L'amour, The Lonesome Gods(2007-family read aloud)
L'amour, Bendigo Shafter (2007-family read aloud)
Keller, The Story of My Life(2007)
Van Dyke, The Other Wise Man
Hansen, Running With Angels(2007)
Robinson, Believing Christ(?)
Robinson, Following Christ(?)
Philbrick, Revenge of the Whale(2005)
Mandino, The Christ Commission(?)
Grandma Moses, My Life's History
The American Story
The Romance of North America
Holt, Exiled(2006)
History of the United States

To read with the kids:
Alcott, Little Women(2007)
Alcott, Little Men
Alcott, Jo's Boys
Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare
Rawls, Summer of the Monkeys(2008)
Rawls, Where the Red Fern Grows
Moody,Little Britches(2007)
Moody, Mary Emma and Company(2007)
Rinaldi, The Fifth of March(2008)
Rinaldi, A Break with Charity(2008)
Speare, The Calico Captive(2008)
Hale, The Princess Academy(2008)
Speare, The Witch of Blackbird Pond(2006?)
Wilder, Little House (series)(2007-8)
Wyss, Swiss Family Robinson
Dumas, Count of Monte Cristo
Twain, The Prince and the Pauper
Porter, Pollyanna
Porter, Just David(2008)
Burnett, A Little Princess
Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables(2007)
Speare, The Bronze Bow(2007-8, family read aloud)
Spyri, Heidi
Burnett, The Secret Garden
George, My Side of the Mountain (series)
Stevenson, Treasure Island
Swift, Gulliver's Travels
Forbes, Johnny Tremain
Crane, The Red Badge of Courage
Twain, Tom Sawyer
Twain, Huck Finn
Collodi, Pinnochio
Nordhoff, Mutiny on the Bounty

Books, Books, Books!

How I love books! I have been a reader of books all my life. It has taken me many years however to come to the point where I want to be much more selective of the books that I read.
Since being introduced to TJEd, the types of books I do read and want to read has changed quite a bit. I stopped reading romance-type novels(trashy) over 15 years ago, trying very hard to read historical novels that weren't smut-filled. They were a pleasant way to pass the time or reward myself when the work was done. Now, I long to read for the purpose of learning new things and opening my mind, expanding my understanding. The list of books I want to read has expanded as well. You know the song,"Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend"? For me, please change Diamonds to Books and it will be much more accurate.

I had the great opportunity last year to take home boxes of books that came out of my Grandfather's basement. Some of them had been his father's and grandfather's and some my Grandmother's and her mother's. So I have a large selection of books to peruse. Some of the most interesting ones I have found are:
A Progressive Course in Spelling by J.N. Hunt, copyright 1904(wondering if I should use this in homeschool?)
Treasure Island-given to my dad for Christmas in 1954
The History of the United States(my grandmother's text from high school or college), copyright 1924
Business Law for Business Men and Students,(my great grandfather's book-college in Iowa?), copyright 1901
Agriculture for Beginners(my grandfather's book), copyright 1903
A tiny, suedebound, 3x4 copy of Thanatopsis and Other Poems, by William Cullen Bryant, no date, (My great grandmother's)

I have loved looking through these books and seeing my ancestors annotations. My grandma and her mother were especially fond of writing in the margins of their books. It is neat to see what things caught their attention and to read their notes in their own handwriting. My husband abhors writing in books, but I think these books are a treasure. I'm compiling a list of what I'd like to read and including many of these wonderful old books.

God Be With You Til We Meet Again

I am so full of mixed emotions right now.

So incredibly happy imagining his tender reunion with his sweet little wife. . . .

Sad when I consider that we will not see his cute smile or hear his voice, or smile at his little wisecracks again. Also when I think of his children and grandchildren. . . .

Thankful that he was with us for so long, sharing his wealth of optimism, wisdom and experience. . . .

Hopeful when I think over the men who might possibly be called to be the next prophet. . . .

Blessed to know that Heavenly Father is in charge and these changes will be smoothly made and the work of building His kingdom will go forward without a lurch.

So Blessed.

Feeling Better......

I finally got a notebook out and wrote down all those annoying little thoughts that were buzzing around in my head and making it ache. You know, those little thoughts of things you'd like to do, things you ought to do and things you must do. For me, with all the reading I've been doing and ideas I've been pulling from various sources, all those thoughts were just tumbling around in my empty little skull and the 'noise' was driving me crazy! So I finally put them to paper and no more noise. I don't have to worry about them anymore because I have recorded them somewhere. I read somewhere (haha!) that that was a good thing to do with those little things in your mind that keep taking up too much of your precious thought time. WRITE them down! Amazing!

I was also able to sit down with those various written ideas and see how to implement them into our life and schedule. I made a spreadsheet with our daily/weekly schedule and I can now see how it can all fit. And it does! Instead of worrying each day that I ought to be studying something, I now have a set day for studying a certain area, so on that given day, that's the only area I need to think about studying. It's really very liberating and exciting. For example, today is Wednesday, and instead of worrying about whether to read Shakespeare, or work on some quilting, or a book on education, I know that Wednesday is my day to work on languages. I have chosen to learn Sign Language, so today I pulled out my manual and got in at least an hour's worth of work. I even got N to do it with me. We studied how to do numbers, the manual alphabet and some common conversational signs. Previously, I would have just thought about studying something but never would have made a choice as to what that study would be and nothing would have gotten done. Did I mention how exciting this is to me?

I read a quote recently by Emma McKay regarding planning:
"The successful mother must plan. If she does not, and arise early to carry that plan out, the meals are late, the dishes drag, the husband is cross, and the woman flustered. If she does not plan a week ahead, the meals are of a sameness and unappetizing. If she doesn't plan three months ahead, the sewing is not done in time for school. There is discontent and perhaps whining. If she does not plan a year ahead, the gardening, the housecleaning and the education of the children are neglected."
This pretty accurately describes our home atmosphere in the last few years, with the exception of the cross husband. (Thank goodness my husband is ever supportive and helpful) I have struggled with planning and I can attest that the longer we go on flying by the seat of our pants, the more flustered, or, my more favorite word, flustrated, I get. I feel as if all I am doing is treading water and going nowhere quick. I'm hoping that, with a newly aquired desire to be more organized and plan things out, and actually CARRY them out, and a vision of what we're wanting to accomplish in our lives and with our children, I will be able to be a calm, peaceful, happy woman and mother.

To keep my sometimes obsessive side in check, I loved this continuation of the above quote by Sis. McKay:
" There is danger, however, in overdoing planning, in overdoing housework, if by so doing the mother neglects the child. The study of the child, and the proper control of him, to my mind, comes first."
I have found myself at times growling to my kids to "pick that up!" or "Get up here and take care of the '____' you dropped on the floor!", thinking that if I was truly organized and had a plan that my house being spotless was part of that. Also at times I find I have committed myself and my family in too many places and times and we are overscheduled. I think the second quote fits nicely into my idea of a TJEd home. Order, a plan, organization, but never at the expense of the education/teaching/training(control) of the child/ren. Allowing for some sponteneity when inspiration strikes, allowing learning to take place in all its glorious messiness and then all working together when the 'learning' is done to put things away for the next time. I've finally figured out that kids=mess. And that kids+homeschool=BIG mess. But it's OK! I can let that part of organization go for the moment, enjoy the moment with my kids, share something, and when we're done the plan (us working together at specified times) puts that organization right back into place.

In homeschool this week, we've talked about a few changes in our schedule and cemented some ideas we had about when to learn what. The girls have worked on their Topic of the Month projects which they will share with us at the end of January. We started a unit study on SNOW yesterday and will continue with that through next week as well. Today we had Co-op and they had a Spanish lesson, Science, History and Geography and a Book discussion. No cries of boredom this week!

Time.....

I've been thinking about it alot lately.

How there's never enough of it in a day.

And yet, sometimes there's way too much of it.(waiting for a dr. appt, anyone)

I have always had a problem making the best use of it. I tend to fritter it away and wonder why I never get anything done. Or overschedule myself and wonder why I'm so frazzled.

For the last couple of weeks, I've been trying to revamp my daily schedule. Over the Christmas break we all got in a really BAD habit of staying up really late and sleeping in really late. It's been hard to get back to the normal schedule. Thankfully, the boys who have to be up and out of the house at a certain time are doing well getting themselves up and going and if it's our turn to drive, one of the licensed drivers in this house drags him or herself out of bed and drives. But if there's nowhere we have to be. . . . . .yah, you guessed it, we stagger out to the living room for morning prayer and stagger back to bed for a few more winks. If C or I are feeling particularly energetic we might head down to the treadmill for a rousing walk/run staring into the corner.
This just has thrown off our whole daily home/school schedule.

MUST

CHANGE

IT!!

I've been reading a couple of different books/articles written by some homeschooling mothers, trying to glean from them the things that I think would work in our home and family. It's exhausting! There are so many good ideas out there and I'm willing to try many of them, but is anyone else in this house?????? Not very happily. I think they're happy with the status quo.

Won't it be a surprise to them when I post the new schedule?

It was a good day!

We had such a good day today! Can I please have another? Please!!??

The only problem was all the fighting over who got to play the piano. I should have gotten this book a long time ago! We may have to make a sign up sheet for the piano. Who would have thunk?

I ran for the 2nd day in a row! Can you believe it? I even ran an entire mile today besides the one that I walked, and can I feel it. Why I let myself get 20 lbs overweight I don't know. I hate myself every time I get to this point and wonder why I keep eating. Oh, well, I'll just have to keep plugging along on my trusty, new treadmill. Love that thing. Love that I can read while I'm doing my warm-up walking. I read two chapters in John Bunyan's A Pilgrim's Progress today.

We were supposed to feed the missionaries tonight, but we had a mixup on time and they weren't at home when C went to pick them up. I'm sorry they missed dinner, and hope they got something to eat, although I know it couldn't be nearly as good as the Navajo Tacos we had! YUM!! I hope when J gets out on his mission soon, the people will be good to him and feed him. He's so skinny now, I worry about him not eating enough in the mission field.

Took Soren to the Dr. yesterday. He's growing fine, another boy with a long, skinny body and a big head. Dr. Berry asked me if anyone else in our family had a big head and I just smiled and said yes. Celebrated Soren's 2nd birthday on Sunday. He was mostly interested in blowing out the candles on his cake. We had to keep relighting the candles. After he was done, we weren't sure we wanted any cake, he has a funny way of blowing out the candles and spit was involved. EW!! He is such a joy! So glad we didn't miss out on him.

Well, it's way past my bedtime and I've got a busy day ahead of me. Ta ta!

Help Me! I'm Buried....

Under piles of stuff I'm trying to go through and decide if it's something I need to keep and if I do need it, where in the world do I put it.

What is it about the New Year that makes us start going nutso trying to get organized? I started out with all the stuff that had piled up on and around my night-table and then in the process of trying to find a place to put some of it, I emptied part of my bookcase...so I have books, papers, magazines, homeschool stuff, etc. in piles all over my bedroom floor.

And it feels like I have piles in my brain too, because C and I were (dis)cussing the layout of the new kitchen AGAIN! and trying to figure out what lighting and cabinets we will need and what goes where and so I have thoughts of that, thoughts of the junk in my bedroom and thoughts of "I should be working on my Primary stuff" floating around in there and I'm starting to get a BIG headache from it all.

Oh yeah, buried under the 3-4 inches of heavy, wet, white stuff that came floating down this morning in clumps. Seriously, not lovely individual flakes here, but clumps. It's loverly out there and I've got too much to do to go out in it, thank goodness. Ok, back to the piles.

A Mother's Educational Course

Just thought of another thing I'm doing this year. As you may know I'm interested in gaining a better education for myself. I ran across a link to this website last year and did a half-hearted attempt at following it. This year I'm going to give it a better go! I think it dove-tails nicely into the TJEd Principle of You, not them. And I love the fact that we are reading A Thomas Jefferson Education as one of our education books for the year. If you've been wanting to expand your knowledge and mind a little bit, this is a great way to do that, so join in. Come on, you know you want to!

Here We Go!

Jump in, buckle up and hang on! 2008 is off and running.

As I get older I can't believe how quickly time goes by. There are so many things I want to do/see/read/experience and it feels like there just isn't time to do it all. So I'm really looking forward to 2008 to see what it brings to me and my family. I have a few 'resolutions/goals' that I'd like to work on. Most of them are just continuations of last year, but I feel very strongly that they are still important and that I need to continue to work on them. I'm trying to find ways to incorporate them into our homeschooling venture.

Speaking of homeschooling, I attended a co-op meeting and a parent support meeting last night. There are about 6 families in this co-op and it looks to be fun and interesting if not a bit hectic. I think we may have bigger plans than we have time allotted for, but we will see how it goes. I will be leading two book discussion groups, one with 10 yo and under and one with 11 yo and up. Yikes, I'm a bit nervous about that, but at least I'm not doing the science class and dissecting things.

At the second meeting got to hear some more from Donna Goff about TJEd and her experiences with it. She has been doing it with her children for nearly 14 years and has much to share. I have learned so much from reading her posts on MOO and her newsletter, Epiphanal Living, and from speaking with her personally. She is so willing to share and listen.

The boys went back to school today. I'm not sure they were ready, I know I wasn't. I remember when I used to think the Christmas vacation was way too long and now it's way too short. I find the shift in my thinking so amazing. I used to have that attitude that the world/society pushes on us; that having the kids around was a hassle and a burden and inconvenient. Since I made the decision to homeschool and have been doing it, I LOVE having my kids around and if I had my way they'd all just stay home and we'd just be together. I know they need the interaction with other people, (hence the co-op), but in my mind's eye, that would be my ideal.

J went down to Monticello two days ago to get his dental check up for his mission paperwork. I can't believe we are really at this point in his life. . . . . in my life! Again, time is just going by way too fast. He has a dr. appt on Monday and then we should be able to get it all submitted and wait for the call!

Good News of the Day: We got our Durango back! It's been in the shop for almost 2 months. It had to have a new transmission. That was a hefty bill, but it's nice to have it in working order again.

We Survived!

Whew!!!!!!!!!!!

We made it through another Christmas!

Everyone had a good time and no one complained about what they got or didn't get. It was a little strange for J this year. Not much for him to open since there just wasn't any point to getting him things that he would just have to box up in a couple of months and store for two years. And since he hasn't put in his papers yet and we have no idea where he will be serving, we couldn't even get him things he will need soon. So cash it was. The other kids enjoyed opening their gifts, but I think the best thing was watching S opening his gifts. He still doesn't really understand what Christmas is all about, but he liked tearing the paper and playing with the toys he got. Guess he'll get to go through all that again, next week when he turns two.

We have had a relaxing week, nothing much going on, just hanging out at home together. We did take the kids and go bowling on Wed. J bowled his best game ever, 171. He really had his work cut out for him since his 13 yo girl cousin was breathing down his neck with a 153. Fun to watch them all interact and play.

I've been busy today trying to determine what to do with Singing time tomorrow. My brain hurts from thinking and pondering it and reading a bunch of ideas online.....OUCH! But I think what I have planned will be lots of fun. I hope the kids enjoy it. The learning curve for this calling is pretty steep, especially when a person has very little music experience and/or Primary experience. I haven't taught Primary for 18 years. I've been in Nursery and been an Activity Days leader, but haven't been in Sharing and Singing time for 18 years except for a few times when I've substituted. So much to learn!

Also been busy doing more reading to plan for the resuming of studying and learning at home, more TJEd info study and C and I have also been refining our plans for our addition, which now has a deadline to be finished. Hallelujah! We have about 90 days. Of course, the actual replacement of cabinets and such won't probably be done, but the rooms will be liveable and we can get the kids moved downstairs into their new room. Can't wait to have all that space in the new dining room. I'll post pictures as it comes together.

All Ready!!

Well, the shopping is finally all done and I'm ready for the big day and not a moment too soon. Sometimes it's very difficult to keep straight in my mind what we are doing gift-wise for each child and when I get to the store I simply can't remember what I went there for. So I wander around and hope that my faulty memory kicks in or that sudden inspiration strikes. Or, I just call my DH and pick his brain, which is usually nearly as faulty as my own, considering the fact that it's three years older than mine. But I think we got all that we planned to do done, now it just needs to be packaged appropriately and set under the tree. Whew!!!

We are in the middle of two family gatherings at the moment, so I thought I'd take a minute to post. My aunts and uncles on my mother's side always have a Christmas Eve lunch. They time it that way so that people can come, eat, visit and still get home in plenty of time for immediate family traditions. It used to be held at one uncle's home, but we have gotten so big as a family that we have had to hold it at a church for the last few years. I love going. It's the only time I see most of them, and I like being able to count on seeing them at least once a year. I love that my mom came from such a large family (10 kids). There is never a dull moment when they are all together and the love that they have for each other and for their parents is abundant and spills over to the rest of us. Having the dinner in the gym at the church is great. There is plenty of room for the kids to run and play. This year someone brought gym hockey sticks and balls and nets. It was a hit. H was the only casualty, getting konked on the head with a stick, leaving her with a bump and a small cut. We also played a fun word game where everyone wore a 'penny' with a letter on the front and a letter on the back and there were six teams. A word was called out and it was a race to see which team could spell it first. Fun trying to figure out who had which letters and whether they needed to face forward or backward to make the word correctly. In the final spelldown, the Welch family team won.

We are resting and waiting before heading off to the Welch family Christmas Eve tradition. My DH grew up in a large family as well, eight kids, and they never got to eat out as a family, except once a year. Their dad would take them out to a nice restaurant on Christmas Eve. So when Grandpa W is in town, he takes all Welch relatives in the area out to dinner. This year we are going to Carraba's. Pollo Rosa Maria, here I come. I HEART Carraba's. If you've never eaten there and get a chance to, DO! Yummy food.

When we get back we will do our little traditional Christmas Eve activities. This year the girls and I will be doing a small program we 've worked on in school, reciting and acting out Luke 2 and singing appropriate Christmas hymns. I hope they are not too tired and grumpy from the day's festivities to do it. Then the kids will open their sibling gifts and we will hit the hay, hopefully leaving plenty of time for the jolly old guy to stop by.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

I'm Wondering What I've Done....

I got a new calling on Sunday. Any guesses???


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No, it's not RS president, or YW, or Gospel Doctrine, (thank goodness). I've been called as the Primary Chorister. I have no idea how to do this.

NONE!

I went to primary on Sunday just to observe and I'm wondering how in the world I will ever be creative enough to make it fun and educational and interesting to the kids. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



And it's only 6 days til Christmas.
Am I ready? No.
Am I almost ready? No.
Have I even really started? No.
Am I nervous or bothered by this? Slightly.

I really wanted to make this a fun holiday season for the kids and do fun things, but wow, it's really just flown by and we haven't done the stories and carols each night, we haven't looked at lights, we haven't made a big deal about the Advent Calendar. We did try to make candy and it was a bust. All but the meringues. I even ruined the hard tack/glass candy.
I seriously am ready for January to be here. Or, can I rewind December and start over?????

I'm hoping your Christmas celebrations are going better than ours. Regardless, we are thankful for this time of year and for the reason for the season. After all, without Him, there would be no reason to celebrate.

Have a terrific Christmas!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year..........

And the most tiring, I think. I can't seem to find any energy. Maybe it's just that age thing catching up with me.

We've had a busy week. C and J went to work in Nevada again for 3 days, which meant I had to do all the carpool driving that they usually help with. That really cuts into my homeschool time and everything else time. Thankfully, they were able to complete all they went to do and don't have to go back any time soon. C and I have been doing some Christmas planning and a bit of shopping. We got our present a little early. Last week we went to Costco and got a treadmill. A NordicTrak commercial one. It's really nice and I'm enjoying walking/jogging on it. It gives a good workout.

School has gone well with the girls this week. We started a unit study on the symbols of Christmas, with each girl making her own lapbook. We are also memorizing a passage of scripture to recite on Christmas Eve when we have our Family Home Evening. We will be making puppets to go with it. I asked C to be in charge of putting together some activities and a little lesson about the Dutch St. Nicholas tradition. It traditionally is celebrated on Dec 5/6 so we decided to do it on the 5th. She did a great job, giving them some information about it, copies of word finds, crossword puzzles, coloring pages, having St. Nick leave treats in their shoes in trade for a carrot for his donkey, and the part they enjoyed the most was making St. Nicholas' head out of Perler Beads. She found a pattern for it on the internet. After that, they got really creative and spent the better part of two days just creating and ironing things made from Perler Beads. C even started making her own Nativity set from beads, she currently has the Baby Jesus in the manger and Mary. We will need to get more beads for her to complete them, but I was so happy to see what they came up with. On Friday we had a fun opportunity to go to the TJFA Christmas Roller Skating Party in Orem. There were so many homeschooled kids there. The younger girls had never been roller-skating before, so we had a slow start, but by the time we left, they were doing much better. Mom, on the other hand, was walking out a bit slower and sorer than when she walked in. S and I got tangled up a couple of times, when some of those little kids on scooters would zip in front of us or stop in front of us. She got banged up knees, and I got a sore wrist and ankle. Combine that with the lovely bruise from 'slipping' down the stairs wearing my 'slippers' and I feel like I've been beaten up.

The Court of Honor for J's Eagle Award will be held tomorrow. It's only been about 10 months since he completed his project. It will be good to have an end to it. I have been asked to talk for a few minutes, and I hope I have something to say. As of right now, I don't have a clue.

We got about 4-6 inches of snow today. It's a wintry wonderland out there tonight. I love to watch those big, fat snowflakes drift lazily down. I never saw snow like that when I was growing up. At home, the wind was always howling and the snow was always moving in a horizontal fashion. That lovely white, snow-covered tree look was such an amazing thing to me. To imagine that snow can fall straight down so softly and stay on the branches of a tree.

Wow, has it really been that long???

That's what happens when you leave town for a week. There is so much to catch up on when you get back that simply doing the laundry becomes the most important thing in your day!

We did have a super-fun time at my parent's home(s) for Thanksgiving. The pictures at the top are of my parent's new 'vacation' home. It was built in the 1880's by my Great-great Grandfather, Jens Nielson. He was from Denmark and joined the Church there. He and his wife and son were in the ill-fated Willie Handcart Company which was stranded in an early blizzard in Wyoming in 1856. Their 6 year old son, Jens, died at Rock Creek, as did many other people. Jens's feet froze and his little wife, Elsie, put him in the handcart and pulled him until they got help. He had difficulty walking after that and used canes the rest of his life. In 1879, he was living in the Iron County area with his 3 wives and children and was called to be part of the group that settled in South-eastern Utah. They left in Oct 1879 for what they thought was going to be a six-week trip, but it ended up being a 6 month trip, arriving in the place where the little town of Bluff, UT now stands in April 1880. This wasn't quite the destination they had been aiming for, but they were worn out and decided to make their settlement there. He was called to be the bishop of Bluff that year and served in that calling for 26 years, being released in 1906 just before he passed away. I am descended through Jens' third wife, Ane Katrine, who never came to Bluff, but stayed in Cedar City. She had ill health and couldn't make the trip. Following her death, her three children were brought to Bluff and Jens' first wife Elsie raised them.

This home was the home he built for his 2nd wife, Kirsten. It has been added onto and modified over the years. It has been a home, a restaurant and a bed & breakfast. We feel so incredibly blessed that it has now come into our family. A very interesting series of events has led to it, but it has been a blessing and we can see the Lord's hand in it. My parents are involved with the Hole-In-The-Rock Foundation, which is a restoration group, seeking to restore the old Bluff Fort and some of the homes and keep the incredible story of these pioneers alive. Their having a home in Bluff, kitty-corner to the old Fort, is so convenient for them. They often have guests to show around and they can use this home as a 'home base'. Mom has also taken it upon herself to make sure the windows in the Old Meetinghouse stay clean!

It was such a peaceful feeling to be in this home for the Thanksgiving holiday, to think of the history of the little valley and the amazing people who settled there, who we have the privilege of being related to. I was even more thankful than ever for them this year.

I was also really thankful to have even gotten there at all. I think all of our cars have curses on them at the present time. Two of them are down for the count right now, and we are borrowing C's grandparent's truck. I headed off early because the kids had dental appointments. It's a 250 mile drive and 7 miles outside of Monticello, in the middle of Peter's hill, I had a blowout. It was dark and cold and a very busy highway. I was able to call my brother-in-law and he came to help me out. While we were waiting (30 min) not one single person stopped to see if we needed help. I'm thankful that the blowout didn't make us go off the road and down to the bottom of the hill, to have been that close to home, for a cell phone that only let me call that one number (no other calls would go through and I couldn't answer any), and for a kind brother-in-law and dad who came to our rescue.

This was truly a year to be thankful.

Friday....whew!

Made it through another week. It's amazing to me how quickly they go by anymore. Must be a sign of my advanced age. haha!

The PALMS discussion last night was really good. I enjoyed it very much and was happy to note that the things the leader brought up to talk about were things I had made note of in my copy of the articles/essays. I guess my fear yesterday of not being able to read deeply or thoroughly was not confirmed. I love the reading I've been doing and the feeling of my mind and understanding expanding. It's something I've felt I needed for a long time but was not sure what to do about it. I knew I did not have the time or ability to attend a traditional college, but felt like I needed to be furthering my education. This is a good middle of the road approach for me. It's getting me to think and I'm even thinking of writing my thoughts(scary, I know) without costing me anything but time and there's no testing involved at this point.

Working on finishing up the laundry so that the kids and I have clean clothes to pack for our trip tomorrow. We are headed to Monticello and Bluff for Thanksgiving with my family. I believe that Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE holiday. I think it started because I love the food, but lately I love the fact that it gets skipped over by the marketing/retail world. I love that it's still a simple, faith and family-centered holiday. I pray they never figure out a way to commercialize it. I'm looking forward to spending the time with my parents and sisters and enjoying just being together. I have more gratitude this year for the understanding and light Heavenly Father has allowed me to have.

I feel so blessed.

I am.