Seems like just yesterday he was squirming in my arms for the first time. Slightly purple, covered in the typical afterbirth goo, yet breathtakingly beautiful. The Spirit filled that room as his body & spirit made an earthly debut. 15 people all focused on one delightful baby boy…

I’m still in awe today, seeing his physical, intellectual, spiritual and emotional growth thus far and knowing so much more is to come.

Happy Birthday Duncan!

I love that children love to learn. I know so many children who are eager to go to school, to embrace knowledge and have fun at the same time. It warms my heart.

 I’m particularly grateful to have four children who delight in learning (at home & out and about) with me as their principal guide.

We’ve jumped back into the more structured lessons, the group field trips and solo ones as well. Coming up in the next two weeks we’re going to participate in Biography day with the LDS homeschool group and a museum field trip with the West Valley group.

The children shared some of their thoughts about school and life at home. 

Elena says “I like going to the park. I like making and eating snacks. Coloring and playing Xs and 0s. I like trying the homework and telling my stories to my teacher at Church school.”

Emma Catharine: “I write homework and go to school, to learn how to make lunch. I like going to the park with Emma T. sometimes and give a flower to her. I like going to Girl Scouts. I like to color a flower, like a rose.”

Duncan says “The school year is going good, and I enjoy homeschool for a good number of reasons. For one thing, I think that it’s nice that unlike public schools I’ve heard of (at least for people my age) that I don’t have to do like 50 pages a day. I really like homeschool because I like playing with the homeschool group, and if I hadn’t gone there I wouldn’t have one of my best friends. It’s nice. By the end of the year I want to write cursive better, I want to be able to read and understand certain things better in Geography, like how Arkansas isn’t pronounced ark-kansas but ark-kansaw. My Biography Day pick is George Lucas.”

Cheanna “By the end of the year I would finish my schoolbook. I really like math. The best part of all is that I can do it here at home. I like going on the field trips to explore and have adventures. We even do fun things like going bowling with our homeschool group. I chose George Washington for my Biography Day project. I first thought of doing Nephi’s wife but there wasn’t enough information on her to make the report.”

I know school at home is not the best educational choice for every family–I’m not one of those “public school is tantamount to abuse” fanatics–I’m just glad it’s an option and that it works for us right now.

Despite much effort, I am unsuccessful in weaving a wonderful transitional thread through the thoughts I’ve composed and so rather than delay them further I present them in their disjointed state.

  (more…)

I like how she uses personal experiences in her talks, like the one she did in July using the recent rafting accident to talk about the the story of the Good Samaritan. I did help her with the paragraph about the cities where we attended Church.

(more…)

…and that’s just what they do!

From his first step documented in the Utah Colorado Home gallery to his graduation today to toddling up to ten steps at a time, his progress has been a joy to behold.

I think Ephraim’s shirt says it all, “How cute am I?”

(Ephraim’s birthday part one will be posted later today on the next computer break–thank you for your patience!)

5pm Update: Click to see Ephraim’s birthday pics online

August 2006 was ending, but it’s Christmas 2003 in my head. 

A loving husband with time to spend at home, having already arranged extra time off from work around the holiday. Happy children busy enough not to need active engagement on my part. Physical pain building, intensifying then gradually diminishing as healing begins. The dull ache remaining, small but powerful,  emphasizing the fragility of life. The priesthood blessing echoing in my ears & heart, filled of promises, reassurances, love and hope appearing somewhat beyond my reach. The mixed feelings–sorrow, joy, guilt, gratitude, fear, uncertainty–tumbling together, rumbling so very near the surface. Days of daze & fatigue, later and later nights, blending into one.

Basic understanding came less than two months later, the plan praised with greater fervency as time rolled on and brought with it greater wisdom. My broken heart healed, my desire realized last summer.

My heart aches now in a way I didn’t know then, but I’m willing to concede that it hurts less overall because I’ve walked this path before, though not with such a lurching detour. Not anticipating the kind of life upheaval experienced previously, I don’t expect similar, sudden enlightenment.

But I welcome it with open heart and open arms.