Liber Tea Luncheon

This is the name of the luncheon that we have as part of Princess Academy. Today was our second meeting for princess academy, but our first official luncheon. It was quite a success. We had so much fun. One of the other families in the group hosted, and they did an incredible job. All of us had lunch together, which we all contributed to and helped clean up, we discussed the book Little Women, and learned to embroider and paint on fabric. We have been dreaming and scheming ever since about embroidering projects that we want to start. (Possibly Christmas gifts for grandmas and grandpas.) What a great skill to know. I feel that I am growing leaps and bounds right along with my daughters. Thank you Kennisons for such a wonderful afternoon.

While driving to Fairview this evening, I was pondering many things. One of those things, is how grateful I am for the amazing friendships I have been blessed with throughout my life. I was thinking about my life and the things I have been able to accomplish, and the thought came to me that I could not be the person I am without the people who have strategically been placed in my life. I am indebted to each one of them. So if you are reading this, chances are you are one of those such people. I thank you for the impact you have had on my life, and I hope that in some small way I have been able to impact yours. A quote from Joseph Smith illustrates some of my feelings:
"How good and glorious it has seemed unto me, to find pure and holy friends, who are faithful, just, and true, and whose hearts fail not..."

Random Pictures

The new toy

so for months now I have been having trouble uploading pictures, but McKay finally got it worked out. A few months ago Clarence bought a new toy and he and McKay have been gone fishing as frequently as possible. I don't go much because I get motion sickness so easily, but Clarence has taken all of us tubing on the back of the boat a few times. It has been lots of fun, and a great relationship builder for he and McKay. These pictures are from 2 fishing trips, one at Strawberry Reservoir and one at Utah Lake. McKay wants me to point out that the huge catfish in the picture was caught by him and not his dad.

Castles in the Sky

This month for Princess Academy, Elena and Alexia and I are reading Little Women. We just finished the chapter entitled Castles in the Air. It was very inspiring and we decided to make our own "castles" by writing down some of our dreams and the things we would like to accomplish into our princess diaries. This was a great opportunity for me to see what is in my girls' hearts and will help me better plan my educational goals for them. I have been thinking a lot lately about creation, and what a beautiful process it is. When God created the Earth, he created it spiritually first. What a beautiful concept. I have been feeling the need lately to "spiritually create" my realities. This also agrees with The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey wherein he states the first habit as Begin with the end in mind. If we have a plan, we can create. I am so excited to create beauty in my life and teach my children the principles to do the same. What an amazing world we live in. The opportunities are there. We just have to imagine them and they will be ours, with a little work and a little faith.

Our Hope Chest Journey

In times not so long ago, little girls created hope chests. These chests were filled with things that would help them to be wives and mothers. Maybe an heirloom family bible, christening suit, wedding dress, hand made items, etc. would be included in the chest. What you could not see in the chest was the education and training that went into each item placed therein. Often a girl would begin at around 8 years old to fill her hope chest assisted by generations of women in her life. This is the vision of Donna Goff, the woman who created Princess Academy: daughter of a king and the Hope Chest Journey. I am so grateful for her vision and for sharing it with others. I desire to begin documenting our hope chest journey, or the things that we are learning to prepare us to be queens. Some of the things we are working on are:

Pillows: The girls decided they wanted to learn to sew little pillows to put on their beds. They are each making two, one to keep and one to give away. Elena wants to hand sew her pillows and Alexia wants to use a sewing machine. So far we have gotten the fabric and have cut it out.

Princess Diaries: At our last meeting for Princess academy, (which consists of a group of mothers and daughters) we each made princess diaries to record things that we are learning on our hope chest journey.

bedroom designing: The girls cut out pictures of bedroom sets that they want for their bedrooms, and glued them in collage format into their princess diary. (I am doing the same thing for my house) We are going to work on finding older but sturdy furniture so that we can learn to refinish and reuse.

Baking: Elena has been doing a lot of baking. At least once a week she helps me bake bread or she makes snacks for everyone with me loosely supervising. She is getting quite skilled in the kitchen. This is a picture of some cookies she made completely on her own. I just answered questions.

We are having a wonderful journey thus far.

Princess Academy

McKay will be attending Liberty Academy this year. He has grown to a point where he needs mentors to guide his education, because I can no longer keep up with the things he is doing and learning. I have spent many years focusing on creating an environment that would allow McKay to foster a love for learning and a sense of mission, and I believe he has started on the right track. I erroneously believed that if I could create this environment for McKay, the girls would magically follow. That has not happened. My girls have largely been ignored in their education and they are bored. They have learned things along the way. They are both doing really well with reading and a few other interests, but they need direction and more one on one time with me.

The last few months, I have been pondering and praying what to do with my girls this year. I think I have found my answer. Last week, we were at the library looking for books to check out when the title of a book jumped out at both me and Elena. The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. Then as we were walking through the children's section another title begged to be checked out. It is called Daughter of a King. I can't recall the author. We checked out all of our books then went home to enjoy our spoils. A few hours later, my good friend called. She told me about a training meeting she was attending that evening for an educational program that someone in the homeschool community had created for girls and mothers. The title? The Princess Academy: Daughter of a King and The Hope Chest Journey. Coincidence? I don't think so. I attended the meeting and was very inspired to start a princess Academy circle in my community. I can not wait to learn with my girls about who we are as daughters and study other women and girls that are emulatable. We will be striving to gain an education of the mind, heart, and hands. I am so excited to start this year.

Birthday boy

I remember as a child thinking that people who are the parents of youth are really old. Well I am now that parent. McKay turned 12 last Saturday and his dad took him on a great fishing trip at Yuba Lake with some buddies from work. As you can tell from the pictures, he thought it was the greatest time. In June, we went on a family vacation to Minnesota and South Dakota, and McKay fell in love with fishing. He has since borrowed a field guide from the library and has studied every fish in our lakes. He has become quite the fish expert now to add to his extensive knowledge of birds and other wildlife. He also gets to go on a 3 day backpacking trip next week with his scout group, and is so excited to do some more fishing, and try fly fishing.

McKay has recently started drum lessons and is doing really well with it. We picked up a drum set for him for his birthday and he practices every day, much to the annoyance of his sisters. He is able to keep the beat on some songs, and he is learning to add his own flare to the drum beats he is learning. It is really fun to hear him practice.

McKay is a great example to me every day. He is so excited to receive the priesthood. He is a leader in his peer group. He makes decisions based on what is right and not on what every one else is doing. He has an amazing thirst for knowledge that inspires me every day. When he makes mistakes that he recognizes, he apologizes and tries to do better. He is responsible and helpful to me, and if the truth be told, I rely on him for many things in our family. He truly is growing up to be a young man. Happy birthday, McKay! I love you very much.