The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Head Stand Lesson with Meleah
Miss Meleah instructing her students.
I am not sure which side is up.
1. Go down to the basement where there is a mat.
2. First you put your head on the floor and your hands out to the side.
(I could manage that.)3. Slowly, put one knee on each elbow. (Seems pretty impossible but I did get to that point okay.)
4. Find your balance. (Looks easy coming from a six year old. At my age, it took a lot more looking for than actually ever finding.)
5. Get your legs in the air. ( I did that too. Not well and definitely not balanced.)
6. Try to keep them that way. (Ha! Good luck.)
The boys did fine. I gave the kids the freedom to try to each teach me something that day. Meleah chose headstands. Travis decided to teach me how to play Lego Star Wars(I prefer headstands, it is hard to play two player games and get those little guys to go where you want them too.) Cody decided he didn't want to try and teach anything but have us read a book. (He was the reason for the whole let-the-kids-teach idea any way. His attitude is fluctuating so much lately. We have hit heads pretty hard with Math and Bob is stepping in to do some tutoring. He is doing the exact same things as I was but because he is Dad, he has no problem. It reminds me, after I got over the frustration that is, of Dr. Dobson's book, Bringing Up Boys. He says there are critical times, usually around 6 and again around 12, in a boys life when he identifies more with males but to do so he has to "kill" the mother or pull away from her to be more like dad. Do you guys find that to be true? Send me an e-mail or something.
I know I went through a rough time when the boys were around six but wow, nothing compared to now. Now they have a vocabulary and intelligence to articulate their thoughts in such a way as to stick the dagger in for the kill. I am thankful that Bob was willing to help on his days off. After his four days of being home and trying to take over for just today, some rough days may be in my future.
More Snow!
We woke up to this the other morning. It had melted by afternoon, leaving mud and wet everywhere.
Sure is pretty.Today, during school, I looked out the window and huge beautiful flakes were falling from the sky. I pointed them out to Cody and his response was, "AWW Great!" He was frowning. I think we have reached the point where we have had enough. I have to think of it as water for the ground and it is a good thing. At least now it isn't sticking to the ground, just melting. My problem might be that I checked out some gardening books at the library and I am looking at all the wonderful warm, garden designs but the picture outside the window just doesn't match. I have to just remind myself that this is winter. Just a few more months of this. Some one told me Feb. and Mar. are the months with the most moisture. Nice.
The other day, Meleah and I went outside and started picking up construction trash that was covered by the snow. It was about 40 and the sun was shining. I was almost hot! The sunshine is deceiving. We get more days of sunshine than Phoenix, according to the local newspaper. Only Yuma(4th) beat Grand Junction(7th). We didn't last long, slipping through the mud and muck.
We will go out and try again in April I guess, maybe May.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
A Trip To Salt Lake City
We went to Salt Lake City on Thursday to have the appointment that would possibly clear Bob for Full Duty. He has been on Full Duty but this had to be done for the Department to say he was officially okay.
We had some nice people offer to keep the kids, Russell and Karen Bell, people they know well and have spent a great deal of time with them. It isn't like it was the first time we have left them with anyone, you would have thought it was by the kid's response. Cody said, "You haven't left us with anyone here. Hailey and Kaitlyn and Laura were different. We spent time with them all the time." Travis has been having a cough that makes him feel bad as well as not wanting to stay with ANYone for the last few months. Meleah just complained that she would miss us. I gave them all permission to miss us and have a good time without us. They had plans to go to the Dinosaur Museum and go sledding and a bunch of other fun activities.
We spent Thursday night with a couple, Jim and Michelle Jowers. He is a member of the church and had moved to Salt Lake City three months ago from South Carolina. We went out to dinner with them and had an enjoyable evening. He had a lot of questions and has studied extensively. His wife just earned her citizenship. She is from China and understands English to some extent, she is a sweet woman. We had a nice visit while Bob and Jim discussed his questions.
The blessing in this is that for the last week I have been diligently praying about homeschooling. It has been rough with attitudes, probably feeling sick too, and then taking some math tests and doing poorly. I was starting to question whether this was the best option or if they would be better off in school. Jim Jowers had, out of the blue, brought up this subject and told us that he had sent his son to high school but he kept getting picked on. He is ex-military and he went and spoke directly to this kid and there weren't any more problems from him or anyone else. He adamantly said not to send your precious child to an environment like that, he likened it to being sent as a Christian to the country of Nepal.(I am not sure of thier religious tolerance but that it would be difficult, in the least, to be a Christian.) There were armed policeman at the school and any type of substance and temptation available. This was all before he knew we home school our children. He pulled his son out and did a program at home. He didn't have any problems, he continued to be his precious son who confided in him instead of withdrawing from him and seeking the love and attention from his peers. He is finishing up his second year at a community college and will start in the fall at the U of Utah in Salt Lake City.
It wasn't just his own experience that reassured me. It renewed my desire to continue on this home school path. The grass doesn't always turn out to be as green as you think it might be. I had picked up a readers digest and they had an article about different professions. Teaching was one of them, this teacher said something like she was a teacher juggling all the aspects of teaching plus looking at the children for signs of problems at home, depression, or lack of getting their basic needs met. That is a lot to expect of a teacher. There are as many frustrations with both options. I have been rethinking how we are doing things with school and I am sure our lack has been due to the move and remodeling. We also have the advantage that we can take the time to go over those areas they are struggling until they get it. Bob has offered to help them with Math when he is home. The boys have enjoyed doing their work with Bob in the past. That may help.
Bob's doctor's visit went just as we expected it to. The doctor went over Bob's history. He did some physical exam. He said that there are some other tests he could do, but in all the patients he has performed them, even the most classic textbook cases, the tests have been inconclusive. He was going to write a letter to the Department that given the profession, he didn't feel that 100 pull-ups was a common duty to Firefighters and he believed that this was a one time event and thought that in no way would this interfere with Bob performance of his duties. The doctor did recommend that Bob stay hydrated and watch for any sign of recurrence. It is a possibility that it could happen again but as long as Bob is aware, early treatment is the best course. Thanks to God for blessing Bob through this whole process.
It is funny how quickly you become used to a small town. Bob kept complaining about all the stop lights. We were in the heart of the city and working our way around through rush hour. We don't miss traffic like that one bit. It is a large city, closely packed together compared to Phoenix.
Oh, and the kids were disappointed we were back already. They didn't have any problems. Sure makes you feel loved, doesn't it.
We had some nice people offer to keep the kids, Russell and Karen Bell, people they know well and have spent a great deal of time with them. It isn't like it was the first time we have left them with anyone, you would have thought it was by the kid's response. Cody said, "You haven't left us with anyone here. Hailey and Kaitlyn and Laura were different. We spent time with them all the time." Travis has been having a cough that makes him feel bad as well as not wanting to stay with ANYone for the last few months. Meleah just complained that she would miss us. I gave them all permission to miss us and have a good time without us. They had plans to go to the Dinosaur Museum and go sledding and a bunch of other fun activities.
We spent Thursday night with a couple, Jim and Michelle Jowers. He is a member of the church and had moved to Salt Lake City three months ago from South Carolina. We went out to dinner with them and had an enjoyable evening. He had a lot of questions and has studied extensively. His wife just earned her citizenship. She is from China and understands English to some extent, she is a sweet woman. We had a nice visit while Bob and Jim discussed his questions.
The blessing in this is that for the last week I have been diligently praying about homeschooling. It has been rough with attitudes, probably feeling sick too, and then taking some math tests and doing poorly. I was starting to question whether this was the best option or if they would be better off in school. Jim Jowers had, out of the blue, brought up this subject and told us that he had sent his son to high school but he kept getting picked on. He is ex-military and he went and spoke directly to this kid and there weren't any more problems from him or anyone else. He adamantly said not to send your precious child to an environment like that, he likened it to being sent as a Christian to the country of Nepal.(I am not sure of thier religious tolerance but that it would be difficult, in the least, to be a Christian.) There were armed policeman at the school and any type of substance and temptation available. This was all before he knew we home school our children. He pulled his son out and did a program at home. He didn't have any problems, he continued to be his precious son who confided in him instead of withdrawing from him and seeking the love and attention from his peers. He is finishing up his second year at a community college and will start in the fall at the U of Utah in Salt Lake City.
It wasn't just his own experience that reassured me. It renewed my desire to continue on this home school path. The grass doesn't always turn out to be as green as you think it might be. I had picked up a readers digest and they had an article about different professions. Teaching was one of them, this teacher said something like she was a teacher juggling all the aspects of teaching plus looking at the children for signs of problems at home, depression, or lack of getting their basic needs met. That is a lot to expect of a teacher. There are as many frustrations with both options. I have been rethinking how we are doing things with school and I am sure our lack has been due to the move and remodeling. We also have the advantage that we can take the time to go over those areas they are struggling until they get it. Bob has offered to help them with Math when he is home. The boys have enjoyed doing their work with Bob in the past. That may help.
Bob's doctor's visit went just as we expected it to. The doctor went over Bob's history. He did some physical exam. He said that there are some other tests he could do, but in all the patients he has performed them, even the most classic textbook cases, the tests have been inconclusive. He was going to write a letter to the Department that given the profession, he didn't feel that 100 pull-ups was a common duty to Firefighters and he believed that this was a one time event and thought that in no way would this interfere with Bob performance of his duties. The doctor did recommend that Bob stay hydrated and watch for any sign of recurrence. It is a possibility that it could happen again but as long as Bob is aware, early treatment is the best course. Thanks to God for blessing Bob through this whole process.
It is funny how quickly you become used to a small town. Bob kept complaining about all the stop lights. We were in the heart of the city and working our way around through rush hour. We don't miss traffic like that one bit. It is a large city, closely packed together compared to Phoenix.
Oh, and the kids were disappointed we were back already. They didn't have any problems. Sure makes you feel loved, doesn't it.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Sewing Projects.
I have missed my sewing machine. Yesterday I made this little tote bag for Meleah. She picked out the material at Wal-mart a long time ago. I didn't know what to do with it but it has become a stuffed animal tote bag.I have never really felt the need to bring my own bags to the grocery store until just recently. I was loading my groceries into the car when the plastic shopping bag broke into pieces on me, dropping a jar of salsa that managed to land on me. I was not pleased. The next time a bag of canned goods broke through the plastic bag and let me just tell you that cans, dropping from about waist height, it is not the most pleasant feeling.
My sister and her sewing group were making these shopping bags and she was kind enough to send me some links to shopping bag patterns. I decided to try it out. I got rid of most of my material when moving so I just used an old twin size sheet. If you want to try it for yourself the directions are found here:
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=177482.0
It uses a plastic shopping bag as a pattern. This one has a pocket, you can fold the bag up and stick it into the pocket, handy for sticking in your purse or in the car somewhere.
It has been nice to actually have time again for things like this. I don't know if these will take the place of all the plastic bags or not. Maybe just the heavy and the breakable things. Our grocery store gives you $0.10 off for every bag you bring in. I guess it will save money and toes.
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