Our Family Project

Picture courtesy of Eliza from the backseat On our way home from the homeschool convention last weekend, we were warned of a major dust storm.  I've seen the dust storms from the windows in our house, but never really walked in them, or drove in them.  When we walked out of the convention center, I was so grateful for my sunglasses ... dust was flying everywhere! But, that was the least of my worries.  We got in my car and started to drive out of the city, hoping to stay a little bit ahead of the storm.  It was traveling west, the same direction we were going.  I kept looking out the window and thinking that we would make it.  That is, until we exited the major highway onto a state highway that was under construction. After driving for about three miles, our visibility was a few yards in front of the car.  We continued to creep along at about 25-30 mph.  Sometimes the dust cloud would dissipate for a short time and I would speed up in the h...

In April we participated in our homeschool group's Geography Fair.  We went the easy route because we were throwing together our project at the last minute, and chose to do our project on Chile!  It was easy because that's where Jon served his mission.  So, we had a bunch of little items that showcased the culture there.  Jon and I traced the map on a long sheet of paper, and, okay, we colored it too.  We are such control freaks.  Oh well.  The children drew little pictures/icons of exports, produce, and other things that symbolized specific things we learned about Chile.  We got to the part and everything was set up trunk-or-treat style ... which was so great!  Although, our friends in the car next to us did their report on Argentina ... the sworn enemy of Chile! Then, came the presentation!  This was the fun part.  Eliza, Kate and I got together the day before the fair and wrote a rap for our presentation.  Then, we broke u...

Okay, so I haven't posted anything about this because I've been told it is silly ... which initially made me think that the person who said that thinks that I am silly for being a part of this program.  However, I've weighed that against how different I feel about myself and I've decided that this program has helped me have so much more confidence.  And, I think that if it helps me, it might be beneficial for any of my other friends. So .... let me tell you about my Dressing Your Truth experience. For years I've struggled with confidence.  Mainly, not feeling like I was presenting myself as well as I would have liked.  There were times when I would say something bold and the people to whom I was talking would take offense or be so surprised they wouldn't now how to respond.  Which left me thinking that I shouldn't have said what I did, and that I needed to change and be more soft spoken.  I never realized that it was actually okay for me to express myse...

My good friend tagged me .... which means that I get to answer questions here and then tag more friends. Here's what I have to do  :) :) :) )  1. Post the rules 2. Share 11 random things about myself 3. Answer the 11 questions from the post in which I was tagged 4. Create 11 new questions for my tagees to answer 5. Tag 11 people  11 Random things about me: 1.  My thumbnails split way, way, way below the skin ... so I have to cut my nails really, really, really short.  It hurts. 2.  My mouth is worth $16,000.   3.  I never wanted to be a mom.  I always planned on having a career ... didn't even imagine being a mom. 4.  Once I get started thinking about something that I can't remember, it drives me crazy until I find the answer.  Example: my friend mentioned a talk she remembered from a general church meeting, but could only remember the message, not the person who gave the talk.  I could not move on in the...

Our Christmas was so much fun.  In the past I've been ready well before Christmas, with present wrapped at the end of October.  Not so for this year.  I was shopping for presents the Saturday before Christmas.  And, after going out there in the masses ... I will not do that again next year!  Traditionally, our children have stocking stuffers and presents from us.  We don't do the Santa thing.  Just haven't ever wanted to.  Also traditionally, all of our children get similar items.  Most of the time it's because they all want what each other wants.  But, sometimes it's not the case.  This year, they all got lapdesks to use for school when we do our science or history in the living room.  (Of course, they each got their assigned color as well.) Traditionally, we all get toothbrushes in our stockings.  This year I got them all battery-powered toothbrushes.  I've never seen so many children get excited over a toothbru...

My little Maryanne loves to talk.  She can talk and talk and talk until the sun goes down.  We just got back from Andrew's reader's theater performance at the school.  Thankfully, his group performed first.  Maryanne talked through the entire thing. "Look, I found a star!" "Pink!" "There's a doggy." "He's looking at me.  He's looking at me!  Look, he's gone!" "Hey, that's mine.  Oh." "Blue!" "I'm the Mommy and you're the baby." On and on, she talked.  I had to leave early because she was so loud we had a hard time hearing the students read their lines.  Of which, Andrew was the best!  I don't say that because I'm biased.  Well, okay, maybe I'm a little biased, but every parent has a right to be biased, right?  Anyway, he was the best because he was so into his character.  The play was "Spiderella."  Andrew was the Cicada Prince.  And, when he read ...

We found the dress up clothes a week or so ago.  I posted these photos on Facebook, so they aren't a surprise to most of you, my friends and family.  The story behind it, is this: Upon opening the box of dress up clothes, I saw many, many items which I made in the past.  This one item stood out to me.  I think it's because I never took a picture of it when Adam wore it for Halloween in 2009.  This cape was originally going to be green on the outside with a black lining.  I cut out all the pieces for the cape when I cut out everyone's costumes last year (I made almost everyone's costumes ... two of four consisted of capes which made it easy), then set the fabric aside.  Adam decided to be "helpful" and cut the green fabric in several places.  So, I improvised.  Instead of a cape with a lining, I rounded off the places he had cut and ironed them under about a 1/2-inch.  Then, I sewed the green and black together so that it looked like ...

Last night for our family home evening lesson, Eliza talked about a children's art exhibit our church will be displaying within the next year.  We talked about the different categories and themes for the art work, and then made our own family art exhibit.  Each of us chose one of those themes and used the medium of our choice.  Then, we taped them all to the wall. Here is Adam's picture of himself in the rain. Andrew painted a missionary in a cave. Eliza painted our family (notice we don't have any limbs???). Kate used pastels to draw a pioneer family. Jon painted a temple, a horn, and the golden plates to symbolize the gospel being preached around the world. Andrew drew Nephi with the sword of Laban and the Liahona. Maryanne ....... Painted. Andrew also painted his Book of Mormon and his small hymnbook. I drew a CTR shield with pastels.  (Sorry, you'll have to see that one in the picture at the top.) Adam also used pastels to depict a rainy day on a flowe...

Tomorrow night the women from church are meeting to go see a display at the Mesa Temple Visitor's Center. I want to see the display. I don't want to go with those women. Not because they are rude. Because I don't have any friends yet, and I kind of don't want to try to make any friends with these women whom I will probably see very, very, very rarely once we move. I already feel a lot of obligation to the people in this congregation, and know it will be hard enough to say good-bye in a few short weeks/months when we end up closing on a house. The only thing that stops me from feeling too badly about my attitude is the fact that very, very few people have tried to reach out to me. Jon and I have talked about this before and we've decided that I am probably one of those people that has a bubble around them stamped with the word: UNAPPROACHABLE. We think this because there have been times when it seems I have intimidated others, completely unbeknownst to me. Why is...