Our New Baby

Our baby is finally here. She was born early on a Sunday morning, so early in fact that if we had been closer to home we could have made it to church that morning. She was 8lb 1 oz and 21 inches long.

I used to think that Sis Sue was my baby and that she was so little, but she seems enormous now!

She looks just like Sis Sue did as a newborn, like her Daddy

Benjamin Franklin's 13 steps to perfection

I have been reading the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. It is very interesting and entertaining. At one point in his life he set out to be morally perfect and he really thought that he could accomplish this. He set up a system where he would perfect one at a time a list of 13 virtues. He, obviously, never became perfect and he wrote that "I was surpris'd to find myself so much fuller of faults than I had imagined;but I had the satisfaction of seeing them diminish." I too have, upon serious examination, found myself "so much fuller of faults than I had imagined" but I have yet to see many of them diminish significantly. I have made progress, but still have a long way to go. I wanted to list his 13 virtues and his explanations as a list that I too would sometime like to perfect, or see improvement in my life.

1. TEMPERANCE: Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
2. SILENCE: Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation (I should probably start here).
3. ORDER: Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
4. RESOLUTION: Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
5. FRUGALITY: Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
6. INDUSTRY: Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
7. SINCERITY: Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
8. JUSTICE: Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
9. MODERATION: Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
10. CLEANLINESS: Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.
11. TRANQUILLITY: Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.(I need to work on this second)
12. CHASTITY: Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation. (ignoring this council every now and then would be ok, right?)
13. HUMILITY: Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

I love what he wrote about humility:

In reality, there is, perhaps not one of our natural passions so hard to subdue
as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as
much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and
show itself; ... even if I could conceive that I had compleatly overcome it, I
should probably be proud of my humility.

I would probably do the same and so I feel it is probably best to just not worry about this virtue, right?

The New Yorker Article

I read an article from the New Yorker that is about how parents and children are portrayed in modern picture books. They are weak and the children are in charge. I have seen this in many of the books we bring home from the library. I always knew that I would have to preview books when my children are older, but never thought that I would be previewing picture books. When I first read the article I laughed, but the more I thought about it the more it disturbs me.

Read it here: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2009/10/19/091019crat_atlarge_zalewski

Why I Home-Educate Part 2

This year my daughter was supposed to register for kindergarten. The thought of this made my heart ache. The main reason I am home schooling is because I am not ready to share my children with strangers. I just got them, why would I want to send them away? We have so much fun together and learn so much here, why would I want to give them to someone else for a while? God sent them to me and has given me charge for their upbringing; I want to make sure that it is done in the way the Lord would have it done. I am able to receive inspiration concerning what they need. Teachers may love them and truly want what is best for them , but only my husband and I can know what that best actually is.

Another reason I have chosen this route is that public school is set up in a way to guarantee failure. The students there are not learning for the sake of learning. They are being prepared to take tests designed to measure how well they can take the test. An education is so much more than test prep. At the beginning of my home school journey I decided prayerfully on eight attributes I wanted my children to have when they left my home, they are, not in order of importance:
1. A strong testimony
2. Budgeting skills
3. Skills necessary to be a good wife/mother or husband/father
4. A love for the United States of America
5. A love of literature, art, and music/ to love learning
6. A love of the outdoors
7. Confidence and worth
8. Know how to work hard
These are not things that can be tested and therefore could not and would not be taught in public schools., these are traits that I feel will make them be responsible and successful adults.

Lately, as I have been interacting with people I realized there are many additional skills the world needs them to learn. I hadn’t been able to put them to paper until I recently read an article by Deborah W. Meier called Undermining Democracy “Compassionate Conservatism” and Democratic Education. In it she lists skills that can not be tested, but are necessary. They are; meeting deadlines, accepting responsibility, speaking clearly, weighing evidence, working with others, and trying stuff out. She implies that these are necessary, but tells us they aren’t being taught anymore because they do not count on tests.

These skills are not only hard to test, but also difficult to teach in a public school setting. They are mostly taught by example, especially by parents’ example. A teacher can only reinforce lessons taught at home or what is called by some the actual “real world”. I feel best equipped to teach my children how to be the best adults they can be by giving them models of these traits and limiting their exposure to the examples of people who demonstrate the opposite qualities.

Deborah Meier gives ways that we can teach these lessons to children, which are situations that naturally happen in a proper home school. “…kids must see that adults care about getting things right for reasons beyond scores… they must live with adults who take responsibility for decisions and stand by them…they need schools that provide safe opportunities to explore their own life-sustaining and joyous powers under the guidance of adults the world respects… they need schools that belong to their communities and families and know them well.” Her and I disagree on at least one point, the world does not need to respect me for me to provide these opportunities to my children, in fact I know that the world doesn’t respect me as a mother, homemaker, and home educator, and I am happy about that. When I look at what gets respect in this world I don’t want to be the kind of person that belongs to that category.

The opportunities listed above are what I have always imagined my home school would become. These are the goals of our home, even if I was unaware of them. She sums it up this way “They must, in short be surrounded by grown-ups whom the young can imagine becoming and would like to become.” This is why I have chosen to follow a classics/living books approach to home schooling. By doing so my children will not only be surround by living examples of what to become, but also examples of people from history and literature as well.

I want more for my children than to be prepared to take tests. I want them to be able to receive three gifts from God mentioned over and over in the scriptures; knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. This will be accomplished as we meet the goals we have outlined for our home school. It is nearly impossible in public school. There children learn some knowledge, but they do not get the skills necessary to understand that knowledge. This is contrary to God’s plan. Giving children knowledge before they have the skills to understand it will never lead to wisdom and is in my opinion dangerous.

Why I Home-Educate.

I wrote an essay to myself about this subject about a year ago and thought that I would share it for the benefit of those who love us and want to undestand why we are keeping our girls in our home instead of sending them to school. It is a little long for a blog post so I will break it up into parts.

America’s children are in trouble. The education system in this great country is creating adults who are ill prepared to live and thrive in this world. In an effort to “keep up” with the rest of the world the power over our children’s education has been handed to a federal government that is so large there isn’t anything to compare it to. Not only is the government large, but it is so far removed from the actual children they have control over that those who have the power can no longer (if they ever could) be considered a judge of what is best for them. They do not think of our children as individuals; there is no John or Mary or Susan, just students, no names just numbers, like in prison.

The state of education in America is not solely the fault of those who are in control of it, it is by and large the fault of those who gave that power away to something that had no right to it in the first place; the same people who have the right and responsibility to take that power back.
I am speaking of the parents. By taking the decision making power away from parents and communities and relying on the Federal Government to decide what is right we have forced our children to get a cookie cutter or assembly line schooling. It may be more efficient, but it is definitely not what is best. Of course it is cheaper this way (if anything about the American School system can be considered cheap). It is standardized. This also makes it easier to measure and hold teachers and administrators and the students themselves accountable. Accountability is necessary because there is no trust within the system; parents don’t trust the teachers, the teachers don’t trust the administrators, and no one trusts the students, including the students themselves.

In my opinion trust is the biggest barrier I as a home educator have to break. I have to get the government to trust me, then the administrators, then the teachers, and then I have to somehow trust myself. Following this I have to gain the trust of my extended family and my friends. My children’s trust is the only one I don’t have to work for. Being taught by their parents, and especially their mother, is natural to children. Attempting this has left me tired even before I begin teaching.
If home schooling is so much extra work and so tiring why am I even doing it. This is a question I have been asking myself lately, not because I am thinking of giving it up, but because soon I will have to start answering the hard questions of my family and friends. I want to be prepared to answer them in a way that will seem non combative, yet informative. I do not plan on trying to talk them into home schooling, but I want to be prepared when they try to convince me that public school is the best for my children.

More of the essay to come soon.

So many emotions......

I read a post on a blog today that touched me to the core of my soul. I sat there eating my bowl of cheerios wondering what to make for dinner and stopped almost dead trying to imagine the suffering of these children. I am sobbing again just thinking about it. You can read it here . My life has had trials that I thought were just the worst, but I truly have suffered nothing. I went to the website of her organization and I am really impressed. I didn't read it all or research it very much, but on the surface it seems really good. You should go and read it too, especially the stories part.

24th of July Canoe Trip

On the 24th of July we went to Muddy River Outfitters to go canoeing. These are the people who rented the canoes to the Varsity Scouts for their week long trip. They let us stay on their beautiful property which is right along the river. Right off of their dock is a nice, not too deep reservoir with very little current. We had such a good time. We are hoping to make it a yearly event. Hopefully next time we can stay for more than one night, but we had to come back for church.

Here are the girls warming up after a swim in the river.
Here we are eating our yummy dinners.
This is daddy and Miss M and Beans in the canoe. They both did very well in the canoe and were great paddlers. Sis S was kicked off the boat more than once for moving too much.

Sis S after having been kicked off the boat one time.

Lagoon

This weekend we went to Lagoon. It could not have been better. The temperature was perfect. It was overcast so no hot sun on us. There was a slight breeze every now and then. The girls were all brave and went on rides I never expected them to, even Sis S liked riding the Puff roller coaster. Tubbs also won a $50 gift certificate to Costco in the drawing for his work party. Now I can't wait until next year when I might even get to go on a few rides.

No parental rights, could this happen in the US?

I read this article and several related to it this morning and I am sick to my stomach. I have already written to my senators in opposition, and I encourage all to do this too.

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=90111

here are a few quotes:

U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child would mean every decision a parent makes can be reviewed by the government to determine whether it is in the child's best interest.

Fox News reported the standing U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, an 18-member panel in Geneva, would review the rights of children in all disputes.

The decisions would not even be made by officials we elect!!!!

The pedicure and mud puddle diet

I have found what I think is the secret to weight loss. Pedicures and mud puddles! I have been reading O Pioneers! during the last month and there is a character in the book that I love. His name is Ivar, he is an old man that every one thinks is crazy. He won't talk to anyone who has been hunting or has killed an animal. He lives in a cave because to build a house, even a sod house, would change the landscape too much. He has fits where he runs around like a crazy man hollering at night because he thinks that the Lord is going to destroy him. He is always worried about the temptations he faces. He also will not wear shoes, even in the middle of winter they would more often than not find him barefoot. Finally at the end of the book one of the maids gets the courage up to ask him why and his response is so wonderful that I thought that I would share it.

It is for the indulgence of the body. From my youth up I have had a strong, rebellious body, and have been subject to every kind of temptation. Even in age my temptations are prolonged. It was necessary to make some allowances; and the feet, as I understand it, are free members. There is no divine prohibition for them in the Ten Commandments. The hands, the tongue, the eyes, the heart, all the bodily desires we are commanded to subdue; but the feet are free members. I indulge them without any harmm to any one, even to trampling in filth when my desires are low. They are quickly cleaned again.

I guess after that I have only one thing to say why don't I get more pedicures or step in more mud puddles, they will help me curb the desire to indulge the rest of my body and I will then start to lose weight?

Here is a beautiful video about creating from Pres. Uchtdorf's talk from the General Relief Society meeting last October. It is very inspiring. Here is a link to it.

Some new toys

I think we have finally resolved ourselves to the fact that the Lord does not want us to move out of our small house. For about a year now I have been looking for an opportunity to move, but the Lord keeps telling me to stay. I am going to do as he wants and make our house work. Our stove has not been working very well, along with our washer and dryer. This weekend we finally did something about it. We bought a new stove, a washer and a dryer. The stove is already in and the washer and dryer will be here in about a week.

I have, also, been wanting a laptop for a long time. I had one for school and loved it. The only problem was that they are all so big and expensive. I finally found a solution, it is a little mini laptop called a netbook. We also bought one of those this weekend. I am so excited about all of my new toys. Now if only the washer and dryer will fold and put away the clothes too life will be close to perfect.

A birthday idea

My birthday is coming up in a few months. I was browsing on the internet for ideas for a present from my hubby and came across a few books I would like. Now Matthew refuses to buy me any more books, so I am putting a link for everyone else to look at just in case you are wondering what to buy for me to celebrate me and my glorious birth.

By the way, I think that birthdays are over rated. Shouldn't we as children be celebrating our parents, with special emphasis our mothers, and bring them presents; didn't they already give us enough by giving us life and allowing us to keep on living, especially during the teenage years? Why do we still expect people to treat us special on that day, we didn't really do anything to deserve such treatment.

A pig, a duck and a half gallon of milk

Last night Miss M and I made sock creatures with my cousins. Usually I don't get to make one because I spend all of the time helping everyone else figure out how to make thier own, but we have done this enough times now that they did most of it themselves. I was so proud of my little sewing students. I was able to make a little pig and Miss M made a little duck. I sewed the button eyes on for her, but she sewed all the rest of hers.

We have started going to a new farm for milk and now it comes in half gallon glass jars instead of gallon plastic jugs. Janet delivered four jars to us yesterday just before Ann called to see if I needed lunch because my power was out. Well our power was on and so I said no thanks. I took two jars into the kitchen to put away and left two on the table. Sis S climbed up,picked up a jar, and smashed on the table at just the perfect angle for it to shatter. I got her out of the mess before she got cut and stripped off her clothes. After she calmed down I went about the task of cleaning up. A half gallon of milk doesn't seem like much, but if you spead it out 1/16 inch all over the table and floor it is huge. It took six bath towels to sop it up and then I had to move everything and mop. By the time I was done it was almost 1:00 and we had not had lunch, so we got in the car to go buy something quick. I drove up and down mains treet and everywhere was closed because the power was out. I then had to come home and cook something anyway. I was not happy.

The last two and a half weeks have been horrible. First all three girls got sick. They took turns throwing up for a day. Then Matthew and I got sick, only we just felt like throwing up and couldn't. It is funny to me how sicknesses can affect adults and children different. Matthew even came home from work early, this never happens. Then they (the girls) all got colds (not at the same time), so of course I get a cold too. Matthew missed this opportunity. We finally got to get everyone back to church this week. It was nice to actually attend like I am an active member of the church. Now I am trying to get caught back up on my house work and laundry. The plus side of all this is that I got to read a ton. I finished two books and now have less than 14 hours left of listening to Les Mis, this audio book is over 50 hours.

THe Outdoor hour

We started our outdoor hour today as a way for us to study nature. We planned on taking 15 minutes to be outside and just explore. I thought that it would be fun to play in the snow. We have been cooped up too much. We spent more than an hour outside and the only reason I came in was because I had to start making lunch. It helped that I was so hot that I was sweating. We played with the snow and made a snowman. We fed our extra carrots to the horses who live behind us. Miss M was very into the horses. She though it was pretty cool that their hair grows long to keep them warm. Here are a few pictures.

A fort night

Tonight is mutual and Tubbs had to leave early to go on splits with the missionaries. So I am left to figure out what to do for fun. It is usually Tubbs' job to come up with ideas to entertain in the evening. I had no ideas (I am tired today, we had an outing to the Salt Lake library today). Luckily he is such a great dad and his suggestion tonight was that we build a fort for the girls to sleep in. This was sneaky, because in order to build the fort we had to clean up the girls' room, which they did willingly so they could get to fort building. Here is our masterpiece.















The girls are planning to sleep in it tonight. I am a little pessimistic about their ability to actually fall asleep right next to each other, we have tried and failed on other occasions. I will add to this tomorrow with an update about the sleep.