Change

Big changes are happening in our house this week! I'm not one that deals with change well, but this week has gone exceptionally well, which is a reminder to me that my Heavenly Father has a hand in my life and is helping me through this change. So lets get on with it, right?

Since I'm a story teller, you get the whole back story. When I was deciding about home schooling my kids a mom in my colloquia I was attending at the time told me about the Kimber Academy, and LDS private school, her kids had just started attending. I loved what she had to say and it sounded like the best of both worlds the kids go 3 days a week for 4 hours, they get the benefit of being in school and being home, it sounded perfect. I looked into it more and it just came down to we couldn't afford it. Fast forward to the Kimber Academy opening a school in Lehi. I was so excited, maybe some day my kids could go there. My brother in law, Mike, knew of the Kimber family from his home school days, and enrolled Carter in the school in Lehi. I received an email through the Eagle Mountain homeschoolers message board about elective class being taught at the Kimber Academy. I had had my eye out for a good art class for my kids, and art was one of the classes that they were offering, so my kids started going to art once a week, and loved it. Every month Tiffanie tells me about the great parent meeting and how awesome the school is. Then, a little while ago Tiffanie told me that Carter's teacher was quitting to have a baby. I started bouncing the idea of teaching there around in my head. One day I asked Tiff what she thought of me applying for the job. She was very encouraging and got some information for me. My main thought was, would my kids be able to go there if I taught. After a lot of prayer Darren and I decided I should go ahead and apply. I interviewed last week and was offered the job as the teacher of the reading class on Monday. I started teaching on Tuesday. My kids also started going to class on Tuesday. What an amazing week.

My kids, especially Shelby, love the school. I have been praying a lot about what it is that Shelby needs right now, and I don't think its a coincidence that this is happening right now. A light has come on with her that is so exciting to see. Sarah is also happy to be there, and its great for me to be there too, so she can come and see me whenever she needs to. I love my class, I'm so excited about the curriculum that I get to teach and my kids get to learn.

It has been a crazy week, figuring out our new schedule. Mike and Tiff have been such a big help and things could not have gone so well if weren't for Mike taking the kids to school. I am so excited about this opportunity for our family.

I'm coming around

I've got some things on my mind that I want to take a minute to write down. I've been on a kind of journey lately. For the last year, plus I've been trying to get control over our finances. Little tricks I used to use stopped working, and I needed to reevaluate and make some changes. I asked a good friend for some tips and have saved and used them, it really helped get me pointed in the right direction. I stopped being afraid of those lessons in church and conference talks about living providently, and opened up to what I could learn and use. I have read books, talks, anything that could give me inspiration and renew my commitment to this. I decided to read the Book of Mormon looking for more inspiration and guidance. It has been a long journey, but we have had our best month (financially) in years, at least since we moved into our house-and we have lived here for 9 years. I have found joy in living simply. I can be creative in finding solutions. I think the economy has made it easier for me to just flat out say "I can't afford it", people are being more honest, we're all trying to do better. I still have a long way to go, this requires constant diligence. One of the things I keep telling myself is that; if I can figure out how to manage my weight (something I once thought impossible) I can figure this out, and with a lot of prayer and faith I think I am.

Another thing. I love homeschooling my kids. Every once in a while feelings of insecurity creep in and I wonder if I'm doing enough, if my kids would be better off back in school. I feel like I am turning a corner. I am starting to have more faith in the process, and the method I have chosen. I think part of what is helping me is seeing the results in my kids. They are doing great and really love to learn, especially when I get out of the way, and try to follow their lead. Shelby is working on a model of the Solar System, how cool is that? I think we'll tackle trig. tomorrow, or maybe build a jet engine or a windmill that will power our house. But seriously, I am also seeing a need for me to study more. I have been reading a lot of mindless stuff lately and its time to put that aside and get back to stretching my mind so that I can better inspire my kids in their studies.

I have a school room and a coat closet!

I am soooooooo excited! We turned the room that Mike and Tiff were using into our school room, and turned my upstairs hall closet into a coat closet. Not having a coat closet is one of the things that has frustrated me about this house, (along with a small kitchen) and it was fairly easy to take out three of the shelves and add a closet rod.

A few years ago Darren and I listened to some cds about love language. My love language is time. That means the best way to show love to me is to spend time with me, or doing things for me. Darren and I agreed that I could make him a "honey do" list so he would know what projects I wanted done. Now, along with this comes another agreement, defining what is "enough", because honestly once he starts working I could work him to death on projects and it would never be enough because there is no end to the projects I can think of that need to be done. This also hold true for the way he recieves love, there has to be a definition of what is enough. So, back to my school room and closet. Yesterday we met my brother at the storage unit he shares with my parents to get McKay's old twin bed. We brought that home. Then Darren installed four more shelves in the closet of the school room. Then, he took Shelby's day bed apart, we hauled it to the school room (needed for a comfy place to read, and for the ocasional cousin sleepover), and put it back together. I set to work emptying the upstairs closet and moving the school stuff downstairs while Darren put the twin bed from the storage unit together in Shelby's room. When that was done he knocked out the shelves in the hall closet and installed a closet rod! I would say all of that work was more than "enough" I'm certain that he loves me! I love the new space, not only the school room, but in my closet now that coats are not hanging in there. It is also nice to have all the school stuff in one place, and not poking out from every available corner.

What's Up

So, on Monday I had this whole list of things I wanted to blog about. Basically it was stuff that's been going on and stuff that's been on my mind. Well Monday we went to the Capital and by that night I couldn't remember any of it, except that we went to the Capital.

The tour of the Capital was really neat. We visited the Capital in August when a copy of the Declaration of Independence was on display. It was cool to go back and learn more about the art and the different rooms. Then, since it was the opening day of the legislative session we got to go watch that for a minute. This is turning in to the year of U.S. History studies for school. We watched the inauguration, studied a little about the presidency, and I read some past inaugural addresses.

Shelby is looking at the seagulls painted on the rotunda.

Sarah in the old Supreme Court room

Carter thought it was awesome that he could walk on glass and not get in trouble.

Garrett and Hayley got married on the 17th, and it was awesome! I am so happy for them. I talked to Garrett tonight and they are just enjoying wedded bliss. Lucky!

Also going on right now. I am selling some of my rubber stamps on KSL.com, I wasn't really sure if they would be something that people would be interested in,but I have sold 5 sets, 2 background stamps, and all my wheels. I had invested too much money in them to just donate them, and who can't use extra cash? I keep looking around my house wondering what else I can sell.

I am so so so glad this is the last week of January. It is the hardest month for me, I'm sure lots of people can relate. I hate the gray days. This year I've tried to be grateful for every day I see blue sky. I am looking forward to February, I have some fun Valentine things planned for my kids. My inlaws are going to Hawaii on Valentines Day, how unfair is that? Actually they totally deserve it. Darren and I have plans for a weekend getaway for our anniversary, and looking forward to that has helped me get through this long gray month.

Keno needs a new sweater. His "Freddy Kruger" sweater is wearing out. It got washed and then put in the dryer so now it doesn't fit right. But, if we act like we are going to take it off he growls. He likes his sweater, it keeps him warm.

I need to go watch "Lost" now. I am so glad that it is back, it is one of my favorite shows (maybe my favorite). I have a friend that sends me emails each week with his insights and how things are all connected and that makes it even more fun. Like this:

Its interesting how each season is about as long as the numbers in reverse

Season 1= covers 42 days
Season 2=covers 23 days
season 3=covers 16 days
season 4=covers 15 days
season 5= 70 hours or 8 days?
season 6=4 days?

I know it doesn't make sense unless you watch the show, and to try to explain it is too much, and I end up sounding like an idiot. But then so did Hurley when he explained it to his mom in last week's episode. Ok I have to go watch it now. I just wanted to let my little blogging circle know that I wasn't giving up on my blog yet.

Walking Dogs

About a year ago, after reading Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion. I was trying to come up with a way that Shelby could earn money. Something that was real (not just me making up work) and meaningful to her. My brother in law, Mike, has a nephew that likes snakes. Tiffanie was telling me that he started selling mice to people with snakes. As creepy as that is, it got me thinking. What does Shelby love? Dogs. She has to walk Keno everyday, maybe she could get a couple of other dogs to walk too, since she has to go anyway, she could make money while she's at it. Darren and I also thought she could start paying for dance, not all of it, just $5 for every day of the week that she has a class. So if class was 2 days a week, she would pay $10 a month. She would also have money to pay tithing on. When I presented the plan to her, she cried. How could I be so mean. Mike talked to her about his money making endeavors when he was a kid, and she started to warm up to the idea. We decided we would make fliers and give them to people with little dogs. It has been wonderful! She has 4 dogs she walks each week plus Keno. She loves the dogs, and has hired Sarah to help her on days that she has more than 2 dogs to walk. She pays Sarah a dollar a week. I love what this has taught my girls. They have to be responsible to show up on time, they have to manage their money. Shelby has since opened a savings account that she pays 10% to each month. Plus, I have not bought her a single webkinz, she uses her own money.

I was so glad they stopped by the house last week with the dogs so I could get pictures of them with the dogs! Thank you to those that have been kind enough to let my girls walk their dogs. Their relationship with the dogs and the owners has blessed their lives and it touches my hear too.

Fairy homes

My girls, especially Sarah, love fairies. When we saw an article in Family Fun Magazine this morning on building a fairy house, they were totally excited. They quickly got dressed, ate breakfast, and cleaned up their rooms, so that they could get outside and work on their fairy houses. They used flowers from the funeral yesterday to make beds, and other fairy household items. Sarah covered the floor of her house with petals. I did feel bad that they didn't dry them to save, but this is what they wanted to do, and now they are preserved in pictures. To make the houses totally magical, they sprinkled them with glitter, and then spent the rest of the morning going in and out of the house to check to see if the fairies had been there. Some things had magically moved, so we know that they did come and visit.

I quit the daily schedule!

If you know me well, you know I live for a schedule, and routine. It is what helped me during those postpartum months, and saves me when things are in limbo. I love a schedule so much that I have gone so far as to map out my day hour by hour, sometimes even by the half hour. I sat down yesterday to type up the new schedule for this school year, and I felt the frustration coming. I don't like having my days mapped out to be that ridged. The problem is, if I get off the schedule somewhere, or just don't feel like doing something, my day is ruined and I feel like a failure. There are plenty of other things that are worth getting your day ruined over like when you buy a 32oz. Diet Coke and your sweet 6 year old spills it right after you get it home, but that's another issue. I think I'm hard enough on myself without some piece of paper making me feel worse.
So, here is my solution. Our mornings are pretty structured, we start with Scriptures at 7:15, then instead of being driven by the clock its more of an order of things that come next. We have Job meeting, breakfast, devotional, and I make the daily school list. I am going to have certain benchmarks, that keep us going throughout the day, or help get us back on task if we stray a little (I'm all for being open to where a new thought will take us, who know what we might learn along the way, and I don't want to stifle any learning). So, we have jobs and school in the morning, then I start Lunch at 12:00, followed by finishing up school. I start Dinner at 5:00, bedtime is 8:00. I have our big calendar in kitchen that has the times of lessons and appointments, and I can glance at that throughout the day so I don't forget anything important.
I feel a weight has been lifted. I don't need every hour of my day planned in order to be productive! I have my school log that I fill in each day, so that I make sure all the really important stuff happens. Its more important that it happens, then what time it happens. I'm still finding my way down this home-school path, and it has only taken me a year to figure this part out. If I am stressed about a schedule all day, I'm not creating the learning environment for my children that I want. This is huge for me!

Lord of the Rings

What has Shelby so engrossed? Well she is a kid parked in front of the TV so it could be any thing.



Its Lord of the Rings. When we came home from our Topaz trip I wanted to just relax and watch Fellowship of the Ring. So, that's what we did. I had to take a short break to speak at a fireside, but we finished the first movie later (much later) that night. We spent the next two evenings watching the other two movies. Shelby decided that she wanted to read the books. I thought "Sure, go ahead and give them a try". I read Fellowship of the Ring a couple of summers ago, and it took me the whole summer, and I had to watch the movie a couple of times, while I was reading, to figure out what was going on. I thought it was great that she wanted to give the books a try. Much to my surprise she has read all three books in three weeks! My question the whole time was "Does she understand what she is reading?", but she and Darren would discuss the books every night. I guess she knew what she was reading. She has now decided to memorize some of the poems that are in the books. I am floored! Who's kid is this? Oh yeah she's Darren's. I'm just excited about all the ways we can use this as part of school, its so awesome!

Its Monday!?

I have sort of a love/hate relationship with Mondays. I love putting my house back in order after a great weekend, and this weekend was great! I had a great Mother's day, I hope everyone did, it was for me just what I wanted it to be. Darren and I put the chair rail up in my bedroom on Wednesday, Darren bought petunias that we planted on Saturday, and Sacrament Meeting was awesome-the Priesthood singing made me cry, what a great surprise! But, I hate that Darren has to go to work, and getting back to the daily routine is sometimes hard. Today, though Monday is inspiring me. We went to Wellington yesterday, and we didn't get home until late, so we got up late. I didn't get to the gym until 8:30 and then did the grocery shopping. I called to check on the kids and Sarah wasn't even up yet at 10:00-kids were tired too. I listened to an awesome Conference talk (Knowing that you Know) on the way home about testimony, that is my favorite part of going to the gym listening to Conference on the way home. I got my kitchen cleaned (my floor hadn't been cleaned in two weeks-as my mom would say "There was so much dirt you could plant radishes"), while the girls walked dogs. When they got home we read Anne of Green Gables. Shelby made me lunch while I showered. Then practiced the piano. We still have math to do, maybe making Apple Crisp for FHE will be math (science and home ec. too) for today. I love a productive Monday.

I have also decided that I need some new motivation in my piano practicing. So, I have made a practicing calendar. I am going to use it to make sure that I practice 5 days a week from now until the recital-Yes, Jeannette makes me play. I don't like to play in front of people, but that's kind of the point of why I started taking lessons again, so that I could play in Church.

I am also having some great thoughts about what I want my blog to be. To really be a piece of me and everything that I love. To share more of what is important to me and what motivates me. So, look for some new links and me to talk about somethings that I don't always talk about. I have a vision of what I hope this blog can be, and I am really excited about it!