Great friends

Yesterday, I was fortunate to see my great friend Tammy for a few hours. She moved away to Ohio a few years ago, and she was in town visiting her husband's family. When we lived in Provo, we were neighbors, and we became really close. We did joy school together with our oldest children, we went on many walks together, and our children played. We both home school our children and she was and is a great influence on how I teach my children. It was so much fun to see her children, and how much they have grown. When she moved she had 3 adorable little girls, and has since added two more girls to their family. She is also expecting again, and is due a few weeks after me in October. It was great to see that we are still so like-minded in many ways. Thanks for keeping in touch Tammy! I sure love you and your family. Of course, I forgot my camera!

Thoughts on The Hiding Place

Last night, we had a book discussion on The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom and I want to record a few thoughts I had on the book. This book is about true christianity. I think too many times we focus on everything we have to "Do" to gain our salvation, instead of on allowing Christ to mold us into "Be"ing an instrument in His hands. One of the characters, Tante Jans, is told by her family that her death is imminent, and that because of all her good works, she will return to her Father with her hands full. Upon hearing this, she makes the following profound statement: Empty, empty! How can we bring anything to God? What does he care for our little tricks and trinkets?" "Dear Jesus, I thank You that we must come with empty hands. You have done all- all- on the cross, and that all we need in life or death is to be sure of this." I love this statement, we can not earn our salvation, we can humble ourselves before God and Be an instrument in His hands for good. He makes us what we are. We are nothing in and of ourselves.

I also loved the example of finding joy in tribulation. We are here to be tested, yes, but to find joy in this life, despite tribulation is what He wants for us. What amazing people! They were able to find and carry out their mission in prison and in a concentration camp. Not only did they find joy in their tribulation, but they spread love, joy, and healing to everyone around them who would choose it. I just love this book for so many reasons. These are the thoughts I had today. I have so much to learn and be.

Random pictures

Here is what happens when my sweet children get ahold of the camera.


I'm guessing Lexie took this one.



definitely McKay's doing.



I really thought I had that paint put away somewhere unreachable. I haven't seen any paint smudges anywhere luckily. I think we're gonna have a discussion about Mom's non washable paint.




These 2 are definitely my favorite. Maybe Lexie will be a photographer some day. What cute poses. Her unmade bed and junk piled underneath are very embarrassing. Oh well. Reality. I'll get over it.



NICE!




I'm guessing Elena for these two. My children all think they own my camera.

Bye bye birdies?

For the last 2 or 3 years, McKay has been interested in birds. He eats, sleeps, and breathes birds. He reads about them, writes about them, and spends countless hours studying and recording their behaviors. He has done hundreds of drawings of birds which are displayed throughout the house. He even knows what most of their calls sound like and their latin names. We spend a lot of money on bird feed and sugar for the hummingbirds. It's great to see him so passionate about something, however I have a very hard time inspiring him to want to learn about anything else.

When we studied Iceland, we studied a little about volcanoes but I didn't really think anything of it. The primary chorister in our ward has been holding a senior primary choir practice every Wednesday morning. Well yesterday, he stayed an hour extra at choir practice, and when he got home he had a book about volcanoes in tow and was just bubbling over with excitement. It turns out that the primary chorister is a geologist and she showed him a bunch of pictures of volcanoes, and books about volcanoes, and totally inspired him to learn more. As soon as he got home, he asked if he could go to the library and I let him go even though he didn't have his chores done because he was so excited. So, he went to the library and came back with loads of books and videos all about volcanoes. Since that time, he has spent every spare moment with his nose in those books and has been spouting facts to me all morning.

I am so ready for him to move on to a different subject. I love birds and they are fascinating but after 2 years I am ready for a change. I have figured out that he is passionate about one subject at a time and that is how he loves to learn. Before birds, it was geography for about two years and even when he was a little boy, he would go through phases where he loved one type of toy and that was all he played with. For instance, he went through a diesel phase, a horse phase, and a tractor phase and they all seemed to last for an eternity. I guess he is a depth learner. When he is finally satisfied with his knowledge of a subject, he moves on to a new one. So, we will see if he changes subjects or if this is just a temporary thing.

Here are a few pictures of the hundreds of birds he has photographed, and one example of a bird drawing poster he made.

Summer Reading Program

Our neighborhood library is having a children's summer reading program and the theme is bugs. McKay and Elena decided to sign up for it, and every time they read a certain amount of minutes they get a prize. There is a possibility of 5 prizes, and Elena got her first prize in two days. She had to read 180 minutes. McKay did the program last year and I guess the novelty of prizes has worn off because although he has read plenty, he has not recorded a single minute.







Alexia is not yet an independent reader so she could not sign up. However, this year they decided to do a family program on the same theme. We read books and do projects together as a family, and then at the end get to put our name in some sort of drawing. This is fitting into our school perfectly. One of our projects was to make and submit a bug poster. It was a lot of fun. Hopefully, this will help keep us busy all summer.

Maria chapter one verse one

Warning! This post is my rantings about a book. It's my thoughts and opinions so feel free to skip.

Last night a few ladies and I discussed Animal Farm by George Orwell. I had read this book before, but didn't really remember it because at the time I probably didn't really care. This book and the discussion inspired me to learn more about Marx, Lenin, Stalin, and the whole history of communism. It was amazing to learn that this story was allegorical to communist Russia. This book is very informative, but revealing of the path we are now headed which invoked a bit of fear in me. Orwell does a great job of revealing the evils of communism, and I believe socialism as well, although I don't know if that was his intent. The book never resolves though and left me in a bit of a vacuum. What do I do next? Maybe someday all of my studying will actually teach me how to think. What a concept. I did come away with the resolve to learn how to think and get a great education so I am not so easily duped into slavery by wicked, intelligent men.

We all decided to read The Hiding place next, which is about the holocaust. It is more of a healing book though because it resolves at the end, and inspires hope, while revealing the evils of fascism simultaneously. What an educational journey I have been on the past few years! I have so much left to learn! I have actually read this book before, but am excited to read it again. It was transformational the first time I read it.

Well that is the end of my rantings for now! I'm grateful for a place to record my thoughts and opinions, because that is another thing I have yet to learn. How to really express my ideas in writing to make an impact. Bear with me while I learn.

The Baptism

Elena's baptism went great, thanks to friends and family who took part in the program. The only problem was that most people were late because it was a hard address to find and I did not include directions in the invitations. So we got started about 15 minutes late. Thank you to everyone who was able to come. It was great to be together for this special occasion.

After the baptism, we had a lovely luncheon/get together. It was a lot of fun. I did not get very many pictures due to the busyness of the day, but here are a few of the kids and Elena. I dare not post any pictures of other family members without their permission.