Peace

Three years ago (could it only be three years?!) December was a challenging month for me.  As much as I love Christmas and the feelings of Christmas and the joy of the season, a lot of what I felt was heartache.  Some joy.  Some peace.  Some happiness.  And a lot of heartache.  One night stands out in my mind as a night of bliss. It was the night of the annual Christmas Devotional.  What started that night as a sweet respite from the cares of the world, has become one of my most anticipated nights of the year.  This year did not disappoint.  We snuggled in together in our living room.  I made cups of yummy hot chocolate.  I brought up toasty blankets warm from the dryer and we turned on the Christmas Devotional to listen to messages of Hope, the Savior and and the Good News of the Gospel.  The Spirit filled our home tonight as we listened together.  The older kids understood more of the messages and made comments after their favorite talks, stories or songs.  The younger kids were a little squirmy at times.  After all, they are still little kids, even for the hour of the Christmas Devotional.  But once again, I felt the warmth of my home, the refuge that it is from the world and the peace of the Spirit as we sat together, as a family, and enjoyed the Spirit of Christ.  Most days the kids are a little rowdy.  Most days I'm a little too impatient.  Most days we are just a regular family.  But for at least one hour every Christmas, I feel like Heaven is in my Home.

Homeschool Part 2

Apparently there are people who enjoy my blog besides me.  So for those (two) of you who have missed me, here is a new post.

One of the questions I get asked most often is, "How is homeschool going?"  I've talked about this to some of you, but since this has been a big part of our lives since August, I figured posting about it here was worthwhile.

I have always loved my kids' time off from school.  I loved their breaks and was always sad when it was time to send them back to school.  I just like being around my kids.  Homeschool really makes that even more possible and I love it.  The transition has been easier than I thought it would be, in large part to my experience with Elise last year.  I honestly don't know if I could have started out having everyone home.  Last year broke me in to the routine, to the loss of free time, and the hard work that went into homeschool.  There have still been growing pains and adjustments.  Just like anything in life, there are certainly days where I feel like a failure.  There are days where things just don't go right.  Thankfully, that is not most days.  Part of that is just a part of life and not specific to homeschool.  Sometimes, no matter what the job or work I'm doing, I feel like I'm not getting it right.  I don't want to focus on the negative, but I don't want to completely gloss over it and make it sound like we live a rainbow and unicorns kind of life. I try really hard to look for the good and positive in my life, but we definitely have our share of times where things are not smooth sailing.  But I would imagine we can all relate to those feelings and experiences, so I'm not going to focus on those things.

Here is what goes really well that makes me love homeschool.

1. I love that I can see my kids individual strengths better than ever.  Elise is a quick and confident learner.  She's also a diligent worker who loves learning just for the sake of learning.  She doesn't cut corners.  She works hard and she works well.  Ian has a contagious enthusiasm for learning about things that interest him.  He has great memorization abilities and frequently impresses me with things he's learned and remembers.  He has great retention.  Merry Grace wants to push forward and exceed what is expected of her.  If you can spark her interest she will spread her wings and fly.  Paige is just learning how to learn in an more structured setting.  She loves feeling like she "got" a new concept and if you will just praise her efforts she will work with vigor and vim.  I love being able to see this side of their learning.  Of course they also have weaknesses, too, which were easily masked in traditional school.  But seeing them learn one-on-one has given me a chance to see those as well and give them a chance to grow in the areas they are strong in, as well as improve in the areas they are not so strong in.

2.  I love the challenge of figuring out ways to help them learn.  I love learning.  I love the opportunity to realize that one learns better in a certain way and giving them the opportunity to study and learn in that particular way which best suits them.  I love figuring out ways to improve their learning and our time in school together.  Sometimes it's as simple as realizing that one child learns better when given a time limit, ones works well independently, one needs guidance in a certain area, one likes learning on the computer and another one in books.  It is really neat to see how individual they are and how we can tailor their learning to them as individuals.

3.  Along that same line, although we really loved their elementary school, I have realized how ingrained the pattern of public school is in how they learn and often how I tend to teach.  I love being able to break away from that.  For example, say they do a math lesson, but get several problems wrong, not just from careless or simple mistakes, but from an obvious lack of understanding.  In the beginning, they would get upset or stressed if they had to spend longer on a certain concept.  In school, you move along at the pace of the class and if you don't, then it indicates that you are "behind".  Not getting something is seen as a bad thing, not just a normal part of learning.  But not in homeschool.  If you don't understand something, then we can spend as long as it takes until you get it.  So we don't have to push ahead just to keep on a schedule.  Our goal is not a test.  We are not trying to get a unit done in X number of days to stay on schedule.  Our goal is learning and comprehension and we will do whatever it takes or spend whatever time it takes to make sure that happens.  I love tailoring school to the individual.

4.  I love having the older kids help the younger kids.  I love seeing the older ones learn patience and learn how to teach concepts as they spend time with the younger ones.  I love seeing the younger ones bask in attention and praise from the older kids.  There is wonderful learning and bonding that takes place when this happens and I love it.

5.  I love the flexibility.  I love taking a blanket out in the yard and doing school work in the warm fall sunshine.  I love being able to choose books to read together, aloud.  I love being able to incorporate morals, values and religion into what we learn.

6.  Mostly I love our time together.  I love how homeschool stretches us as we learn patience, love, encouragement, and happiness as we live together and learn together.  It challenges us in many different ways, but I love it and I love seeing how it is making us better.  And that it gives us time to do a lot more of this...

It has not always been sunshine and roses.  Some days have been hard.  Really hard.  But it has been wonderful.  I am still learning.  I have a long way to go.  But I am so glad we are getting this experience.

Couches

This morning, Paige ate a pack of skittles (thank you, Halloween) and left the wrapper on the ottoman in the living room.  Cory walked in and saw it there and said, "Paige, you need to pick up your wrapper off the bench."  Paige looked up at him and in her sassiest voice replied, "Um, it's an ottoman."  So Cory rephrased  and said, "Ok, well you need to pick up your wrapper off the ottoman."  Paige grabbed it up and walked to the trashcan.  She glanced back at Cory and said, "You need to learn your couches."

Oh, the sassiness is strong with this one.

Home School

You may remember THIS post from a little over a year ago when we made the decision to homeschool Elise.  I don't even know how to summarize what that experience was like.  On one hand, it was wonderful in so many ways.  I felt like my sweet girl got her spark back!  If she didn't learn one single thing, it was worth it, just for that.  (Thankfully, she DID learn as well.)  On top of that, our relationship was strengthened.  Her love for her siblings grew.  (And she was already a pretty awesome big sister!)  Last year was a blessing for her and for me.  On the other hand, it was also incredibly challenging.  Remember your first year as a parent?  Remember the worry, the insecurity, the questions of "Am I doing this right?"  That's a lot of how our year of homeschooling felt.  I was worried, intimidated and constantly doubting my abilities as a mother and a teacher.  Add to that my church responsibilities, my volunteer activities at the other kids' school, our extracurricular activities and a pregnancy, and you have a recipe for TOO MUCH.  Even though both things present an accurate view of what homeschooling looked like in our house, I definitely think back on our year of schooling with happy and positive feelings.  If I had to sum up the year in just one word, I would say it was a BLESSING.

The other kids were very interested in being homeschooled along with Elise.  She was conflicted, but in the end, she decided to be homeschooled again this year.  While I have very positive feelings toward homeschool, I didn't really think I would consider homeschooling the other kids.  We love their elementary school and have had great experiences there.  I had a lot of concerns and doubts about whether we should (or could) do it.  As the summer began to wind down, the idea of homeschooling all our children started as an itch of a thought that wouldn't go away.  At first, I just brushed the thought aside like a pesky mosquito.  "There's no way that would work!"  "There's no way I could do  that!"  The End.  Period.  But at some point, I realized the thought wasn't going to go away and maybe it was time to give it some serious thought.  So I did.  I thought about it.  A lot.  After a while, I told Cory, "I don't know if this is the right thing or not.  But I think I will always regret not considering homeschool for all our kids as a serious option."  Cory had a lot of the same concerns and reservations I did, but we both tried to go into it with an open mind.  It wasn't long before we both felt like this was the course we should take.  We thought a lot about the logical whys and hows, but when all was said and done, we just felt the Lord's hand guiding our path in this direction.  When you feel that, there really is only one choice.  And that's to move forward.  So we did.

The night before our first day of school, Cory gave the children Father's Blessings.  If there was any doubt about our decision before, there was none after that night.  The blessings were beautiful and sweet and the Spirit was present.  Cory and I talked about it afterwards, about what we felt.  I came away so strongly with the feeling that we were doing the right thing for our family.  My eyes are a little watery and my throat a little tight just remembering those feelings.  It is such a great feeling to feel the hand of the Lord in your life.

We are now two weeks in.  It is hard.  I have been stretched emotionally, mentally and physically.  But I feel good.  I feel "anxiously engaged in a good cause."  I feel blessed.  And I am excited!  I can't wait to see what is in store for us and we continue in this new adventure.

Day 1 of our Homeschool Adventure

Mayonnaise

The other day we were working on something and someone remembered a joke Elise heard at school a few years ago.  It goes something like this: Three men named Shut-up, Poop, and Manners were driving down the road. During the trip, Poop fell out of the car window. Manners went to help him. So, Shut-up goes to the nearest police station. He asks for help. The policeman asks his name. He says, "Shut-up." The policeman says "What? Where are your manners?" Shut-up says, "Out on the road picking up poop."  Classy, right? :)  

The funniest part is that when Elise first told us the joke, she hadn't understood the names right and told the joke as, "Three men named Shut-up, Poop and Mayonnaise..."  I still don't know why I find it so funny, but even now, I can't stop giggling about it.  We had a great laugh about it the other night.  Not the joke so much as thinking about mayonnaise.  Instant classic. 

Paigie Thoughts

There is almost nothing I love more than seeing the world through the eyes of a child.  I love their kid-isms where they almost get a word right, but not quite.  Or their enthusiasm over something small.  Or where they have an idea about how the world works, and see it in a unique way from everyone else.

The other day, Elise drew some designs on Paige's and Merry Grace's hand/fingers.  I think Paige ended up  with a Smiley Face and a Heart.  When she saw them she told Elise "Thank You" quite enthusiastically, and followed it up with, "I was just thrilled to see that heart on there."  Thrilled? I'm not really surprised that she knows the word thrilled, but I was a little surprised she used it there.

We had seen some enormous bees flying around our backyard.  When I say enormous, I mean maybe 5 times the size of a honeybee, or maybe more.  We think it's some kind of hornet.  I think it must be some kind of bionic hornet, by the size of it.  Whatever it is, we found the nest this week.  It is also huge.  Not surprising, considering the size of the bee that inhabits it, I guess.  We have someone coming to remove it tonight, which logically explains why Ian got stung today.  Luckily he isn't allergic and he took it bravely.  Paige has a sympathetic heart towards...well...most everything.  (Last night I was commenting on how annoying it is to get flies in the house and I said, "I hate flies.  I wish they would all die."  Paige looked up from her dinner with total sweetness and said in her cute little girl voice, "But I love flies!")  So she was saying, "I love Ian.  I love him even if he got stung by a bee.  He's so sweet to me.  I will hug him even if he got stung by a bee.  I love him even if he gets sweaty.  But I will NOT hug him if he's sweaty.  That's disgusting."

I cannot tell you how much she makes us laugh.  Have I told you about her fierce growl?  She honestly sounds like a wild animal.  Elise made this video that shows the contrast between her cute, little sweet voice and her crazy growl.  We've all tried growling and none of us compare to Paige.

I love that girl so much! :)

Little by Little

Yesterday afternoon, the kids had settled into their own activities.  They were mostly being quiet, so I was checking on where everyone was and what they were doing.  Ian had gone to his room and had the door partially closed.  From the hallway I called out, "Ian!  What are you doing?"  It was really quiet for a minute and I was beginning to wonder if he'd heard me.  Then he said quietly, "I'm reading  my scriptures."  Sure enough, there he sat on his bed, with his Book of Mormon out, reading.  We talked for a few minutes, he read me the scripture he'd been reading and I showed him one that had a similar message.  It was sweet.  A few minutes later, I walked by again and saw this.

 I heard them reading together.  Moroni chapter 10, they said.

A few more minutes, and Elise joined in.

Can I tell you how much this scene warms my heart?  I feel a little like the Grinch.  Not that I was grouchy, but that I think my heart grew three sizes yesterday.  Certainly, there have been other times when one of my children have made a good decision.  There have been times where something we had been trying to teach them sunk in and we saw that they really GOT it.  Some are personal experiences to them, and ones I haven't shared on the blog.  

What really struck me yesterday, as I pondered on the sweet scene in a little boy's bedroom, was this.  I thought about how many Sundays we've gotten up and tried to have 1, 2, or 5 children sit reverently during a church meeting.  I thought about how many family home evenings we've had.  How many morning scripture study sessions we've had.  How many discussions had we had about gospel principles?  How many times had we talked about where to turn when we have a question or to seek answers in the scriptures?  

For almost 10 years, we've been teaching this little boy, who is quickly becoming a young man, about the things of God.  This moment of quiet reflection and self-motivated scripture study has been 10 years in the making.   I was struck by how much of parenting is the polar opposite of "instant gratification."   Sometimes you hear an "I love you" or get a kiss on the cheek in response to something you do or teach.  And those things are beautiful and wonderful and give you the strength and energy to keep at it.  But those bigger moments are the result of years upon years of teaching, praying, loving, encouraging, and working before you see the fruits of your labors.

I'm posting this for my future self as much as anyone.  I know there will be days ahead where I get discouraged and feel like I'm not doing everything right (or anything right), just like the days behind me where I've felt that way.   I know I'll need to remember to just hang in there.  And to remember how worth it that "payday" is.  Because really the "end result" isn't a 9 year old reading his scriptures, as beautiful as that was.  It's much, much bigger than that.  So here's to hanging on through the hard days and basking in the happiness of seeing your children choose the things of God.

The Best Camp EVER

I was nervous about camp this year.  Packing up and spending a week with no a/c, a bath house and cots to sleep on, all while nursing a 7 week old, just didn't sound like my idea of fun.  But how can you tell your 4 older kids that they can't spend a week with their cousins?  

So we just bucked up, packed up our things, and made the best of it.  

  

 

Even though I was worried about Jay, he did great.  He enjoyed lots of snuggles from some of his favorite people.  And he got to wear some of his new, cool camp gear.

One thing that made it memorable was the rain.  We unpacked on Sunday and after setting up camp and visiting a while, we took the kids to the lake at camp.  They had a blast swimming, as usual!  The next day we woke up to pouring rain, which continued throughout the entire day.  Fortunately, the clouds started to clear that evening and we were able to take the kids swimming at the lake again.

The next day was overcast, but turned bright and sunny by noon.  We spend hours upon hours at the lake.  It may be the first year that almost every single person at camp got a little sunburned.

Since Jay was so small, we thought he needed to stay out of the sun on Wednesday.  "Snakey Lake" at camp has a wonderful dock that would keep Jay out of the sun, while still allowing the other kids to get nice and wet.

 Jay was able to spread out on a soft blanket and take a nap.  Is this perfection, or what?

 These cute girls were able to convince some of their siblings to pull them around the lake.  They rested in the boat, while their brothers and sisters pulled them around the dock.  I think they loved it. :)

Another fun activity for the kids that day was having Cory "save" them.  He got out the rescue float and let the kids grab on while he pulled them to shore.  They loved it!

 Jay and I mostly chilled on the dock, although I got in and swam a little.  The water felt wonderful.

 I can't believe how grown up these sweet girls are getting.

We realized this is our seventh year going to camp.  

Our first year, these girls were five.  This year, Paige is turning 5.

Where has the time gone?

 We all think the lake is pretty close to Heaven on Earth.  It is so beautiful sometimes, it's almost breathtaking.


                            

Paige liked the water, but didn't love it.  

She loved relaxing on the dock.  

                           

And playing with Parker.  

These two are peas in a pod.

Have I mentioned how much I love these boys?

They are fun, wild, crazy, sweet as sugar, and the best boys around.

 

There was plenty of time for fun with the cousins.

Time for the grown-ups to talk and hang out.

Time for the kids to be kids.

Time to swim.  Time to rest on the dock.

Time for sunshine.

Nothing but time.

 

 Before Wednesday was over, the kids discovered some water bugs at the edge of the lake.  They spent the next hour or so catching them.  They really looked like a baby roaches that swam in the water.  But the kids thought they were awesome.  Nothing like some good ol' nature to entertain the kids.  It was so fun watching them play together.

We woke up to a rainy, dreary Thursday.  We played around camp that morning.  With so many kids around, there is always something fun to do.

For a while, the kids played clothespin tag in the rain.  

The little kids may or may not have (but definitely did not) understand the concept of this game.

Much to the great frustration of the more competitive kids in the group.

But it was fun and entertaining.

After a while, we decided since it was raining anyway, we'd just take the kids down to the lake.  The grownups could stay dry under the shelter and the kids could swim.  It was lots of fun.  It rained off and on, but we swam for hours and had the best time.  No one was ready to go back to camp.

Usually Friday is our Fun Day, with a visit to the water park.  Once we realized all the rain we were getting was from a Tropical Storm headed our way, it was obvious the water park outing was not going to happen.  Because it was so wet and rainy, with no chance of it letting up, we cleaned up camp, packed up, and headed home that day.  Even though we were sad for camp to end, we made lots of wonderful memories.  

Jay was a trooper, the kids played well, the adults enjoyed our time together to catch up and have fun.  One night we had a family night and had an impromptu talent show.  It was awesome and hilarious to see the kids and grownups strut their stuff.  One of the best nights ever.  We had fun crafts to entertain us.  We had fireworks at night.  

I can't say enough how much fun we had at camp.  It turned out great.  It was one of our favorite camps ever.  There was the most peace and contentment this year that made it one of our most memorable.    

And although we were sad to see it come to an end, we were totally and completely worn out and ready for some R & R.

This is how Friday afternoon looked around our house.  Jay took naps on several of his favorite people and some of the adults even snuck a nap in.

Hooray for Camp! 

Until next year!

More of Summertime

In our quest for Summer Fun, we broke out the water slide from last Summer.  We weren't sure it would still work or what shape it was in.  One thing was certain, it needed washing off.  So we got out some soap and hosed it down.

The next thing we knew, we had a bubble slide. 

 Which pretty much looked like the coolest thing ever.

 Ian was so brave to face down the dirt, bugs and slugs that the girls squealed at, in order to get the slide clean and working well.

 This is pretty much perfection. :)

Not to mention, a bubble slide is basically a slide and a bath all rolled into one.  Now THAT'S what I'm talking about. 

And yes.  It was lots of fun!!!