Valentine's Day Party

Can you tell it is nap time?  This is my third post!

I really am not a huge fan of Valentine's Day.  I was when I was younger and in school.  Then I married a man whose birthday is the day before Valentine's Day and it just became another day.  I try to make sure his birthday is special and not covered in hearts and chocolate.  Also, last year when Alex was in school I really got irritated at the push for romance on Valentine's Day.  I mean, he was in kindergarten and was being told to write little love notes to people.  Granted, most of them he wrote to me, but still it seemed excessive.  you should be showing love all year, not just when chocolate and flowers double in price and everyone else is doing it.  With that said I do have a slight Pinterest addiction and I do love kid's valentines.  I like the catchy little phrases that go with treats and, call me cheesy, but I can't get enough of them.  This year I let the boys pick out what they wanted to do off of my Pinterest board.  Eric had a class party on Valentine's Day and I organized a little party with our friends on Friday.  So Eric made 2 different sets of Valentines and Alex made one.  We had a blast putting them together.  I didn't get a picture of the ones Eric made for his class.  They were mini cereal boxes that said "I Cereals-ly Like You".

Eric's--"You Make My Heart Race

Alex's--"You Blow Me Away Valentine"

Friday's party was so much fun.  We had a HUGE turnout and everyone told me they enjoyed it, so I think it was a success.  We had the kids each bring Valentine's to exchange and a snack to share.  The kids decorated their bags first.  Then we had snacks.  Then we had a craft for them to do.  I am so grateful my mom gave me the idea.  I was really struggling to find something for ages 3-13 to do that wouldn't be to messy or involved.  We made "busy bottles".  We had the kids put glitter, confetti and other little things into their bottle.  Then we put about 2 Tbsp of oil in each bottle.  Then we place a few drops of food coloring in and filled them with water.  The kids loved watching them turn colorful when we added the water.  Everyone made one and they all enjoyed playing with them.  The girls thought they were pretty and the boys used them as light sabers.  Then we finished up with exchanging valentines and conversation heart graphing (gotta get a little education in there somewhere).  All in all it was a success and Alex loved having his friends over.  It even spawned off discussion of who was going to host an Easter activity!  I love our community and I have amazing friends.  We all support each other and work together to show our children that they are loved.

Here are a few pictures.  I don't want to post many as I don't think it is right to put pictures of other children all over my blog without their parents permission.

Decorating his bag

Graphing

Graphing

Silly boy

A Trip to the Museum

So if you look at my blog you may wonder if I am even still homeschooling.  Yes, yes I am and it is going well.  Alex is a self-teacher.  He just likes to go and get it done on his own.  Every once in a while I have to review some things with him and then we discuss things.  We are currently struggling with word problems.  I can't blame him, I can remember my own mom ready to pull out her hair because I could never understand them either.  Mixing English and Math is just wrong.

Anyway, I think I have mentioned before that as a family we love museums.  It is funny to people when we tell them we are going to the museum with all of our kids in tow, but really they want to go.  Well, for my husband's birthday he decided to take a day off of work and he wanted to go to the Houston Museum of Natural Science.  I had been DYING to go since I heard that they had gotten some new dinosaur fossils.  We loaded the kids into the car and off we went for the day.  We had planned on just doing the main exhibit hall and the planetarium.  I had told Alex that he didn't have any school work to do that day other than to write in his field guide.

I bought a notebook for Alex that is just for trips to museums and the zoo.  The pages are blank on top and lines to write on half of the page.  He was so excited to get it started.  It is all his, I don't tell him what to write, but I do help him with spelling.  The rule was that he had to take a picture of what he was writing about, title the page, and write at least three facts about that thing.  He was told that he had to make at least 5 entries.  At the end of the day he had ten!

We walked into the main hall and stopped at the first thing you see...a towering Diplodocus.  That dinosaur has been there forever!  I can remember seeing it as a very small child.  Alex immediately started writing down information when a museum employee waled up to us and asked if we had seen the new exhibit.  Of course we hadn't, so he led us to the WAY back of the hall, somewhere I didn't even know existed (hence it being NEW).  AWESOMENESS!  There are no other words to explain this exhibit.  It i set up chronologically and goes all the way up to modern man and mammals   We literally spent hours here!  We took a break for our planetarium show and lunch and then we went right back to where we left off.  I learned so much!  Oh, the kids learned a lot too.  When we were close to the end of the exhibit we were greeted by a paleontologist who answered EVERY question Alex threw his way and even Eric's silly questions too.  He was so patient with us.  I even had a question and he knew exactly what I was asking and he explained it in terms we could understand.  He did tell us that they offer group tours during the week for $30 for a group, or individualized tours...I forgot how much those were.  I really want to go back soon with some friends we homeschool with.  I know I could go endless times and not see everything.

Well, before we knew it, we were out of time and it was time to go home.  We didn't even see anything else in the museum!  We will be going back soon.  Alex and Eric still talk about it and ask when we are going back.  Alex learned a whole lot from the things he saw.  Since Alex likes to teach himself and take his learning into his own hands, I really tried to take a step back and let him make deductions and hypothesis on his own.  Towards the end we saw how the mammals changed and evolved into animals we see today.  We talked about the natural changing, adaptation and evolution of animals.  We also talked about what scientists believe were early man and how they looked different from us today.  He is a bright boy with a good head on his shoulders.  He had some amazing questions and when the answer was "I am not sure" to his questions, he nodded and said that we are still missing pieces to the puzzle.  He is 100% right and I couldn't have said it any better.  I am so grateful for children who want to learn and understand.  They aren't little geniuses and they are still 100% boy, but at the same time they appreciate knowledge and understand that without knowledge, there is nothing.

Eric liked this guy

This picture cracks me up!

Coprolites  Click the link and educate yourself.  The boys LOVED this

I love sloths... especially a GIANT one!

my boys

This is ME-Week 7 (At least it is in the right week, give me a break!)

Week 7: Record Your Testimony of the Book of Mormon

We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. --Article of Faith #8

When I joined the church at the age of 13 I can honestly say that I didn't have a testimony of the book of Mormon other than it was scripture.  I wasn't looking for further instruction from the Lord at that time.  I was looking for guidance and a strong moral compass to follow.  I did as I was told, I read the scriptures assigned to me by the missionaries and my youth leaders.  I continued on in my youth to go to seminary and study my scriptures.  I never felt like I had any doubt whether or not it was true, it just made sense to me.  I had no reason to deny it.  I can remember the day that it all hit me like a ton of bricks and I literally was so overwhelmed by the Spirit that I bawled like a big baby.  I had gone to Salt Lake City with a friend and his family.  They took me to see The Testaments-Of One Fold Of One Shepherd.  Finally it all connected for me.  The light came on and I realized how deep of a love I had for the Book of Mormon and the Bible.  In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon Church) we believe that the Book of Mormon is ANOTHER testament of Jesus Christ.  It never has, nor will it ever replace the Bible.  I am grateful that we have another record of the people who were on the Earth.  Jesus Christ loved them and desired that they too be known.

There have come many opportunities for me to deny my knowledge of the Book of Mormon.  I have been offered jobs and schools for my children, but part of their requirements was that I sign a statement of faith saying that I believe that the Bible is the ONLY written word of God.  I know that this is not true, and I know that I cannot deny something that holds such a place in my heart.  I have loved sharing my knowledge of the Book of Mormon and what I understand.  Every morning (almost) the boys and I sit at the table and study a chapter in the book of Mormon.  The boys are really developing a love for the scriptures and are able to apply their teachings in their lives.  Every time I read the scriptures I learn something new.  Many times the answers I need are right in front of me and I gain new insight when I study.  I am grateful for the power of the scriptures and I believe that if more people took a few minutes each day to read some form of scripture of positive affirmation, then things would be better in the world, and we would be more unified as children of God.  I invite everyone to read the Book of Mormon.  Just because you read it, doesn't mean you have to convert or even believe   However, I do know that it will only do positive things in your life and I know it has taught me about who I am and my individual worth.  If you want to know more, please ask.  You can always go check things out at Mormon.org or LDS.org.  I am an open book and I don't have all the answers  but I will tell you what I can and if I don't have the answer I will find it for you.

The video I spoke of can be seen on youtube here, or if you want a copy I will get one for you.

This is ME Monday (Crap, it's Tuesday again...)-Week 6

Week 6: When did you really have to forgive someone?  What was the process?  What did you learn from it?

Okay, so to protect myself and others I will not use names.  Forgiveness is HARD!  I have struggled with it and wrestled with it and I am still really bad at it.  I have had many things that I have had to deal with and to forgive and I find that if it just involves me, its not so hard, but if it involves people I love....well, that's a whole different story.  I can think of one instance that I really had to work at forgiving and to be forgiven.  It too a long time, over a year to finally get to where I am now.  Even now, the adversary tries to creep in from time to time and stir up contention in my heart and I have to put it in check very quick.

I had been friends with someone for a while.  We liked to get together from time to time and it seemed to be a nice relationship.  Suddenly we were not friends anymore.  This was hard on me, as I wasn't sure why this had happened, but I was really sorry it had.  Then I found out that this friend had started talking about me to other people that I didn't even know and the rumors started flying around.  This broke my heart.  I lost sleep over it and cried regularly   I couldn't figure out what I did wrong.  I agonized over this and even asked the person, to which I received no reply.  I started then feeling ANGRY!  I was mad that this person wouldn't even respect me enough to hear my apologies, let alone let me know what I had done.  I started justifying my anger with "How can I fix something, if I don't even know how I broke it".  This led me down some dark paths with some dark feelings.  Finally one day I decided that I had to let it go!  I had to, because it was tearing me down and keeping me from my personal path of growth and learning.

It started with me saying that I had to let it go.  I had to forgive her.  I had to forgive her for the rumors, the ignoring and the frustration.  I also had to be forgivable   I couldn't be forgivable if I couldn't forgive. That became my goal.  I worked hard to pray for her, myself, and our past relationship.  I worked towards positive thinking and positive association with her, and if ever I thought something unkind, I would cast it out as soon as I could.  This sounds easy as I type it out now, but it really wasn't.  The hardest part was coming to the terms of not knowing if I will ever be forgiven for whatever I had done to cause my friend such pain and heartache.  The scripture that rang through my head constantly was Doctrine and Covenants 64:9-11

9. Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.
10. I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.
11. And ye ought to say in your hearts-let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds.

Finally I decided that as long as I did the best I could and I did all I could, the Lord would take care of the rest.  I will admit that at times it is still hard to think about what happened and what could have been.  However I now look back on our friendship as what a wonderful thing it was and not how it ended.  I continue to only wish wonderful things for her and her family.  I also try to remember to keep her in my prayers as I only want good things for my friends, past, present and future.

There is a song on the radio right now that really is one of my favorites and it really encompasses forgiveness and how hard it is, and how important it is, and how it is essential for our salvation. THe song is FORGIVENESS by Matthew West.  I get teary just reading the lyrics.

You can watch the video here.  WATCH IT!  It is worth the 4 and a half minutes

Here are the lyrics:
It's the hardest thing to give away
And the last thing on your mind today
It always goes to those that don't deserve

It's the opposite of how you feel
When the pain they caused is just to real
It takes everything you have just to say the word...

Forgiveness
Forgiveness

It flies in the face of all your pride
It moves away the mad inside
It's always anger's own worst enemy
Even when the jury and the judge 
Say you gotta right to hold a grudge
It's the whisper in your ear saying 'Set It Free'

Forgiveness, Forgiveness
Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Show me how to love the unlovable
Show me how to reach the unreachable
Help me now to do the impossible

Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Help me now to do the impossible
Forgiveness

It'll clear the bitterness away
It can even set a prisoner free
There is no end to what it's power can do
So, let it go and be amazed
By what you see through eyes of grace
The prisoner that it really frees is you

Forgiveness, Forgiveness
Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Show me how to love the unlovable
Show me how to reach the unreachable
Help me now to do the impossible
Forgiveness

I want to finally set it free
So show me how to see what Your mercy sees
Help me now to give what You gave to me
Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Decisions, Decisions

Whoa!  Two posts in one day!  Can you tell it is nap time at my house?

Okay, so I have been thinking about an issue that is very dear to my heart, as I struggle with it every single stinkin' day!  Mommy Guilt!  Okay, so some days it is worse than others, but on the days it is bad....it's really bad.  I think part of what makes it rough is that overflow of information that is at my fingertips.  I can hop online and get thousands of answers and opinions about ANY given topic.  I no longer have to get together with the other Mommy's in my circle of friends to bounce ideas around, I can go to the entire world!

So, I have a habit of looking for approval in decisions I make.  Stupid decisions and important ones.  From what to cook for dinner to what to teach my child about the birds and the bees.  I either go to my husband, grandma, mom, friends, facebook, groups, doctors, just about anyone (yup, even the cashier at the grocery store).  Why do I do this?  Why do I care what these people think about what I do with my children?  I think the biggest reason is I am totally afraid I am screwing it up.  We hear about terrorists, psychopaths, introverts, extroverts, obese, anorexic, sociopaths...the whole gambit   Do you ever wonder what their childhood was like?  I do.  I think, was there a point in their lives where mom might have noticed the kid was a little bit different?  Did family cram religion down their throat?  Were they abused?  Were they taught at home?  all of these crazy questions and more.

The other day I asked my grandma about my oldest son Alex.  Lately he is eating like crazy!  This kid can EAT!  Now, I am obese and I am working on getting control over myself and improving my habits (Down 20 pounds!).  Well, I started worrying about his portion sizes.  I know he is a growing boy and I shouldn't deny him, but at the same time I try to make sure I instill healthy habits in him so that when he is older he isn't fighting the same battle I am now.  Well, after a whole lot of reading and consulting with my grandma.  We talked about not denying him good foods and limiting unhealthy stuff.  I already do that, so why was I worrying?  So, all I can do in encourage good nutrition and keep him active.  If I see him starting to pack on the pounds, we will discuss it with his doctor, but until then, I will let him gauge how much food he needs.  Finally I quit guessing myself and took ownership of my decision.

My grandma is my sounding board.  I run everything past her, not so much for approval, but for me to say it out loud and hear myself say it.  Well, she has a strange habit of playing what I like to call "devil's advocate".  She will probably deny this when I talk to her tonight  but it is true.  I will say something and she will tell me a whole other side I didn't think of.  I used to second guess myself and kinda get a little panicky that I was rushing into such decisions   Then I would change my mind and do what she said because I was sure that she knew the right thing because she is older and wiser.  Well, then I would tell her I changed my mind, and then she would say that she agreed with my first decision   HEADACHE!  Finally I learned that whether she knows it or not, she taught me to own my decisions.  She is not my child's parent, and even though she is older and wiser, she isn't here being the mommy.  Now, when I tell her something, I wait for the rebuttle and then smile with confidence that I can handle my choice.  Sometimes she does bring up things that didn't cross my mind, but I no longer let it consume me.  These are MY kids, nobody else's and I know them better than anyone else.

The topic of "indoctrinating our children" has become a hot topic lately.  I started to think about that.  I really don't want someone else teaching my child what is right and what is wrong.  I want to teach them that.  I don't want to make them think that my choices and the way I live are the only way, but I also want them to know that I think the way I live is the right way to live for me.  I will no longer hide my political beliefs from my children (I may sugar coat them a bit) and I will let them know when I think something is wrong in the world we live in.  From now on, I will own EVERY single decision I make.  I will take responsibility for it and I will wear it like a badge of courage.

I receive Parenting magazine in the mail.  I have thought about canceling my subscription because lately it feels like mostly a big commercial, and a pretty liberal one at that.  Then I cam across an article that really struck home. I think EVERY SINGLE PARENT SHOULD READ IT!  It made me smile and left me feeling empowered.  The Title of the article is 'Judgment Day" by Erin Zammett Ruddy.  You can find it in the February 2013 issue of Parenting Magazine.  It is worth your 15 minutes to read it.  I can't find it online, so anyone local, I will lend it to you, and anyone else, try and find it.

Like I said many times already, and I will say it one more time.  Take ownership of yourself and your decisions.  It will drastically change your outlook on parenting and life as a whole.  It might even help take away some of that Mommy-Guilt.

This is ME Monday (Yes it is Monday!)-Week 5

Week 5: What are your feelings for "The Family: A Proclamation to the World"?

For those of you who might need a refresher on this sacred document you can find it here.

Well, from my first sentence you know that I find this proclamation to be sacred, and revere it as scripture.  I have read this statement more times that I can even count, but every time I read it, I feel inspired and reminded of my role in our Heavenly Father's Plan and in my home as a wife and mother.  I feel that if the world read and took to heart this document, many of the problems we see in our world would dissipate.  Even if they wouldn't follow it to the letter of the law, but just remembered that the family is central to God's plan and central to our lives then maybe we would see a whole lot less selfishness and a whole lot more teamwork.  

Often times when I struggle with myself (usually who I struggle with the most) on whether or not I am doing the right things for my children and leading them down the right paths I reflect on this part of the proclamation:

"Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations."

This is what I need to remember when I teach my children.  I need to teach them about love, serving one another, keeping the commandments, and to be law abiding citizens.  I will let you take that to whatever level you may like, but for me this is huge.  As a "homeschool mom" I often want to make sure I am teaching all that needs to be taught academically, but at times I forget that the best lessons for my child will come through my teaching him the gospel and that he is a literal child of God.  

If you haven't read the proclamation in a while, I encourage you to do so.  It is a sacred gift from our Heavenly Father that was delivered by men who are endowed from on high.  We will be forever blessed if we heed the teachings in this document, and this I know with all of my heart.

This Is ME Monday (Crap it's Tuesday isn't it!?!)-Week 4

Week 4:  How did you gain your testimony of the temple?

WARNING: THIS POST MAY BE A BIT CONFUSING FOR ANYONE WHO IS NOT A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS (MORMON).  PLEASE FEEL FREE TO MESSAGE ME WITH ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT MY BELIEFS, I AM HAPPY TO SHARE THIS AMAZING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING WITH YOU.

Houston, Texas Temple

This really took me a bit to think about.  I really think my testimony of the temple came naturally.  The temple is our Heavenly Father's home on earth.  This is where he can reside.  This is where we visit to seek guidance and direction from him and we carry forth his works.  We need a place unspotted from the world, especially when it is hard to find any peace at all in the world.  

I often joke around temple experiences I have had because really, a lot of them are laughable.  When I was going through for my own endowment the fire alarms went off while I was changing into my clothes and I had to be ushered down the stairs while being huddled around by sweet ladies who were very concerned that all I had was a robe.  Thankfully the alarms stopped before we had to completely leave the building   It wasn't funny at the time, but now it is pretty hilarious.

I always seem to end up in sessions in really off-the-wall languages...Mandarin, German, French, Sign Language, and Spanish.  Then I get totally tangled in those headsets (I can totally sympathize with those who need them in an English speaking session).

Then of course there was the time I lost my name.  Okay so let me paint this picture for you.  I am in a room filled with wonderful women.  Most of them were my leaders and teachers growing up.  Well, we are getting settled and all and the name COMPLETELY DISAPPEARS!!!!!  No joke!  We had to stop the session, everyone had to check their things and it was pretty chaotic.  Quiet, but chaotic.  Finally they had decided that I would need to leave the session as I didn't have a name and the paper was gone.  Quickly I prayed to know what to do.  I prayed for the woman I was doing the work for.  I asked her where she was and why she was hiding from me.  I asked her if she was ready or if it wasn't her time.  I told her that I knew this was the work the Lord had in store for her.  Suddenly a very clear and distinct thought entered my mind.  I knew her.  I could remember her name, birth year, and even the details of the person who submitted the name!  It was bizarre!  I quickly told the matrons who were helping me and trying to figure out what to do.  After they repeatedly asked if I was sure, I was positive, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind who she was.  The session continued as if nothing had happened.  I kinda felt like Dory from Finding Nemo when she could recite P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney.  Then as I left the doors of the temple, the name was gone from my mind.  No matter how hard I try I cannot remember the name.

I often think back on that experience and I smile.  I know she was there.  I know she was scared.  I know that she heard me and I heard her.  I felt so close to her that I wanted to hug her.  I know that the temple is a sacred place and that the veil is very thin.  I hope one day I will get to meet her face to face.  I will tell her that she embarrassed the crud out of me and that she also taught me more about the temple than I could ever imagine.

Years have passed and even though they have replaced carpets and chairs and such in the temple, they still have NEVER found her name.

Another moment that my husband and I shared was in the Salt Lake City Temple.  We were very excited to go because neither of us had ever been inside and we had been told it was amazing.  It is indeed, amazing!  While we were getting our clothes and walking through the lobby we both felt the same thing...it felt busy.  Yet, when we looked around there were a few patrons walking around and no noise to speak of.  Why did we feel like things were so busy and bustling around?  Again, a testimony to us that the work of the Lord is at hand and the veil is very thin in the temple.

We are so blessed to have a temple close by.  We try and go once a month.  There we renew ourselves and our commitment to the Lord.

My Eternal Family-What the church is all about!