Me and My hubby were Flyn Rider and Rapunzel!
Halloween
Double Rainbow All the way across the sky!!!
So do you all remember that video of that guy freaking out about the double rainbow. Ok I just have to say something in his defense. That is a cool thing to see a rainbow all the way across the sky…at least picture worthy but a double rainbow is even cooler. So I have to share that I saw a rainbow the other day and almost a double rainbow all the way across the sky.
I am so happy that god has given us so many beautiful creations. This world is truly a beautiful place!!!
My Husband is the Best!
I just love this man so much. He really does so much. We had the best day together yesterday. He got home from school and after expressing great appreciation for what I had done during the day we went on a nice bike ride. Then had a great evening carving pumpkins and just talking.
Abortion
This is done by a preacher of another religion. Not LDS but he has a lot of good points. This is about Abortion, God, the Haulocaust and in general just doing what is right.
If we really think about what we are doing…just take some time to figure out why we have the opinions that we do maybe we would change our minds. Do we believe what we do because we were told to or do we believe because we have thought about it and came to that conclusion.
I believe in God. I know that he sent his son to die and suffer for us in the garden of Gethsemane. He gave us the ability to think and reason and make choices. He gave us the spirit to guide us.The choices we make and support in this life are important and of eternal significance.
One More Thing to Consider.
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This is an interesting Article I found. Again i have thought about some things and how I want to raise my children. She puts forth some interesting points here.
We don’t believe in Socialization!
by Lisa Russell
I can’t believe I am writing an article about socialization. The word makes my skin crawl. As homeschoolers, we are often accosted by people who assume that since we’re homeschooling, our kids won’t be “socialized.” The word has become such a catch phrase that it has entirely lost any meaning.
The first time I heard the word, I was attending a Catholic day school as a first grader. Having been a “reader” for almost 2 years, I found the phonics and reading lessons to be incredibly boring. Luckily the girl behind me felt the same way, and when we were done with our silly little worksheets, we would chat back and forth. I’ve never known two 6 yr. olds who could maintain a quiet conversation, so naturally a ruler-carrying nun interrupted us with a few strong raps on our desk. We were both asked to stay in at recess, and sit quietly in our desks for the entire 25 minutes, because “We are not here to socialize, young ladies.”
Those words were repeated over and over throughout my education, by just about every teacher I’ve ever had. If we’re not there to socialize, then why were we there? I learned to read at home. If I finished my work early (which I always did), could I have gone home? If I were already familiar with the subject matter, would I have been excused from class that day? If schools weren’t made for socializing, then why on earth would anyone assume that homeschoolers were missing out?
As a society full of people whose childhood’s were spent waiting anxiously for recess time, and trying desperately to “socialize” with the kids in class; It is often difficult for people to have an image of a child whose social life is NOT based on school buddies. Do you ever remember sitting in class, and wanting desperately to speak to your friend? It’s kind of hard to concentrate on the lessons when you’re bouncing around trying not to talk. Have you ever had a teacher who rearranged the seats every now and then, to prevent talking, splitting up friends and “talking corners.” Were you ever caught passing notes in class?
Now- flash forward to “real life.” Imagine the following scenes:
Your Employer is auditing the Inter-Office Email system and comes across a personal note between you and a coworker. You are required to stand at the podium in the next sales meeting to read it aloud to your coworkers. The Police knock on your door, and announce that because you and your neighbor have gotten so close, they’re separating you. You must move your home and your belongings to the other side of town, and you may only meet at public places on weekends.
You’re sitting at a booth waiting for a coworker to arrive for a scheduled lunch date. Suddenly a member of upper management sits down across from you and demands your credit cards. When your friend arrives, you just order water and claim you’re not hungry, since he stole your lunch money.
You’re applying for a job and in an unconventional hiring practice, you are made to line up with other applicants, and wait patiently while representatives from two competing companies take their pick from the lineup.
You’re taking your parents out for an anniversary dinner. After you find a table, a waiter tells you that seniors have a separate dining room, lest they “corrupt” the younger members of society.
You go to the grocery store only to find that since you are 32 years old you must shop at the store for 32 year olds. It’s 8 miles away and they don’t sell meat because the manager is a vegetarian, but your birthday is coming up and soon you’ll be able to shop at the store for 33 yr. olds.
You’d like to learn about Aviation History. You go to the library and check out a book on the subject only to be given a list of “other subjects” that you must read about before you are permitted to check out the aviation book.
You’re having a hard time finding what you need in the local department store. The saleslady explains that each item is arranged alphabetically in the store, so instead of having a section for shoes, you will find the men’s shoes in between the maternity clothes and the mirrors.
Your Cable Company announces that anyone wishing to watch the Superbowl this year must log on a certain number of hours watching the Discovery Channel before they can be permitted to watch the game.
You apply for a job only to be told that this job is for 29 year olds. Since you’re 32, you’ll have to stay with your level.
In a group project, your boss decides to pair you up with the person you don’t “click” with. His hope is that you’ll get learn to get along with each other, regardless of how the project turns out.
These absurd examples were created to point out how absolutely ridiculous the idea of “socializing” in schools is. Many people had a friend who they stayed friends with all through grammar school. WHY? Because their names were alphabetically similar, and they always ended up in line with each other. As an adult, have you ever made friends with someone simply because your names were similar? How long would such a friendship last and how meaningful would it be, providing you had nothing else in common?
People often use the bully as an example of why it’s so important to let kids “socialize” at school. If that’s so important, then the bully needs to go to JAIL after a few months, because self-respecting society simply doesn’t put up with that, nor should my 6 yr. old. Sure, there are crappy people in the world, but the world does a much better job of taking care of these things. A bullying brat in the first grade will still be a bullying brat in the 6th grade. He will still be picking on the same kids year after year after year, unless he moves to a new town. How long would the average adult put up with a bully?
Personally, as an adult, I have only come across one grown up bully. I choose not to be around this miserable woman. So do many other people. THAT is real life. If she were a coworker, I would find a different job. If she worked at a business I patronized–not only would I refrain from doing business with that company, I would write a letter to the bully, her manager, the owner and the main office. A kid in a classroom has no way to emotionally protect themselves against such a person. I would never expect my kids to put up with bad treatment from a bully in the name of “toughening them up.” For what? So they can be submissive wimps when they grow up too? So they can “ignore” their miserable bosses and abusive spouses? In real life, if an employer discovered that an employee was harassing the other staff members, that employee could be fired (pending the 90 day evaluation) or relocated. In real life, if you are so dreadfully harassed by a coworker you can seek legal recourse independently. In a classroom, the teacher and other children are often powerless.
The idea of learning acceptable social skills in a school is as absurd to me as learning nutrition from a grocery store. As Homeschoolers, the world is our classroom. We interact with people of all ages, sexes and backgrounds. We talk to and learn from everyone who strikes our interest. We use good manners in our home and I’m always pleased when others comment on the manners my children have picked up. I believe good manners to be an important social skill.
Respecting common areas is also of value to us. We often carry a grocery bag with us on walks, in case we find trash that needs to be discarded. When we’re waiting at a bus stop, if there is trash on the ground, we make a point to carry it onto the bus and discard of it properly. Once, while waiting at a bus stop- we saw a grown man drop his popsicle wrapper on the ground. He was 2 feet from a trash can. My daughter looked up at me with eyes as big as saucers. I told her (out loud): “It must have blown out of his hand from that little wind, because no-one would throw trash on the ground on purpose. I’m sure when he’s done with his popsicle, he will pick it up and throw it away correctly– otherwise, we can take care of it so we don’t have an ugly world.” He did pick it up, rather sheepishly. I can’t imagine expecting my children to have a respect for the cleanliness of common areas in an environment where bathroom walls are covered in graffiti and trees are scratched with symbols of “love” of all things.
Another social skill we strive to teach our children is that all people are created equal. I can’t imagine doing that in an environment where physically disadvantaged children are segregated into a “special” classroom. Or even children who speak a different language at home. They are segregated and forced to learn English, while never acknowledging the unique culture they were raised in, and not enabling the other students to learn FROM them. Learning, in school, comes from the books and teachers: “We will learn Spanish from a BOOK, not from a Spanish-speaking student; and not until 7th grade.”
I have never felt it would be beneficial to stick my 6-yr. old in a room full of other 6-yr. olds. I believe God created a world full of people of all ages and sexes to insure that the younger ones and older ones learn from each other. A few years ago, we were living thousands of miles from any older family members, so I brought my kids (then 5 and 2) to an assisted living facility, so they could interact with the elderly. Staff members told us that many of the older people would wake up every day and ask if we would be visiting soon. We always went on Wednesdays. My daughters learned some old show tunes while one of the men played piano, and the others would sing along. If I didn’t have to chase my 2-yr. old around, I would have had plenty of women ready to share the art of crocheting with me (something I’ve always wanted to learn.) If a friend was too sick to come out of their room during our visit, we would often spend a few minutes in their room. I always let them give the kids whatever cookies they had baked for them, and I ended up cleaning a few of the apartments while we visited, simply because I would have done the same for my own Grandmother. Every room had pictures from my kids posted on their refrigerators. We called this “Visiting the Grandmas and Grandpas” and my daughters both (almost 2 years later) have fond memories of our visits. I’m sure that if we were still visiting there, my unborn child would have a thousand handmade blankets and booties to keep him warm all winter.
I don’t remember any such experiences in my entire School life, although I do remember being a bit afraid of old people if they were too wrinkly or weak looking. I never really knew anyone over 60. I never sped down the hall on someone’s wheelchair lap, squealing as we popped wheelies and screeched around corners. I never got to hear stories about what life was like before indoor plumbing and electricity, from the point of view of a woman with Alzheimer’s, who might believe she was still 5 years old, talking with my daughter as if she were a friend. I never got to help a 90 yr. old woman keep her arm steady while she painted a picture. And I never watched a room full of “grandma’s” waiting for me by the window, because we were 15 minutes late.
On a recent visit to an Art Gallery, we noticed a man walking back and forth, carrying framed artwork from his old pickup truck. I asked my 6 yr. old if she thought he might be the artist. We both agreed that was a possibility, and after a little pep-talk to overcome her stage fright, she approached him and asked. He was the artist, and he was bringing in his work to be evaluated by the curator. We all sat down and he explained some of his techniques and listened to her opinions about which piece she liked best. He told about how he enjoyed art when he was 6 and would “sell” pictures to family and friends. He recounted how he felt while creating a few of the pieces, and how each one has special meaning to him. He even let her know how nervous he was to show them to the curator and how he hoped she found them as interesting as we did. As he was called into the office, a group of thirty-four 3rd graders filed past, ever so quietly, while their teacher explained each piece on the walls. The children were so quiet and well behaved. They didn’t seem to mind moving on from one picture to the next. (The problem with homeschoolers is they tend to linger on things they enjoy). They didn’t seem to have any questions or comments (Maybe they’ll discuss that later in class). And they never got a chance to meet the gentleman in the pickup truck.
I hope my kids aren’t missing out on any “socialization.”
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I Love Conference!
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| The Conference center in Salt Lake City, Utah |
President Deiter F. Uchdorf gave a wonderful talk about forgetting me not. There are so many things in life that we need to put in the right priority. I love the prophets and the spirit they bring in my life. General Conference is such a good way to learn and receive direction in life.
Following the Crowd…or not.
I have decided there are millions of things everyday that we just simply don’t consider. We simply go about our life living how we live because that is the way we’ve always done it, or because it is normal, or socially acceptable, or perhaps it is because we are following the traditions of our fathers and anything out of the ordinary or different scares us like crazy. It’s true. I’m terrified of doing things blindly…going out on a limb without seeing someone else go first. I love learning from others but when it comes to being creative and ingenuitive it is difficult especially if the terrain is unfamiliar. However I have also come to realize that those things that I have done that are different or scary are usually the most rewarding.
That is why when I first saw a documentary about using a midwife instead of going to a regular hospital I started considering the idea. The documentary is called “Pregnant in America”. Although it sounds super scary because I’ve always imagined that the hospital is the way to go because that is what my parents did and what is on all the tv shows. However the more I have researched it the more I realize that there are people around me that have children naturally in their homes, there are people that home school, and there are people that don’t vote republican or democrat because that is their party but research the best candidate and vote for who they think will do the best job despite whether that person will win or not.
I guess what I’m saying is just because everyone else may think I’m being stupid. I really don’t care. I want to live my life knowing that I researched my choices and made the right ones. That I didn’t just follow the crowd to be accepted but that I knew what I was doing and made the best choice I could. Because then and only then in the end I can say that I did my best and not just followed what everyone else said.
The Love of my Life
On May 6th my boyfriend proposed to me. You could say this is quite exciting. We had been dating since the beginning of February. I met him in January when I moving home from BYU-Idaho. He just happened to live across the hall from me. After meeting him, there didn’t seem to be a day that I didn’t see him. (of course he was my neighbor) but he kept coming over to visit. I loved it. If he didn’t come over he would throw a raquetball against our door…and of course I would go see who it was… or at night him and his roommate would knock loudly on the wall. You would be amazed at the conversations you can have through a wall. I even got him to go country dancing. amazing since he had never gone before. I was anxiously waiting for him to ask me out and after about three weeks he did. Shortly after that we started dating. We would play basketball together or go running or just chill at the apartment. We started cooking some meals together. He even came to Gaucho Grill to see me while I was working. We would also go swimming or play games. Later he invited me to go to conference with him. I was going down for my mission reunion. So we went and I got to meet a lot of his family. I even got to go shopping with some of his sisters and his mom. I had a lot of fun. I was beginning to wonder when he was going to propose… we were even tricked into going ring shopping with Nate and Lori. Which was good. I decided then that I didn’t want to choose my ring. Anyway… that next weekend my roommate Jessica asked if I wanted her to take pictures with her. She had found a new spot and wanted to practice. After we were headed up to the spot she had chosen… I noticed that it looked quite familiar. My boy and I had gone running here before. As we neared the trail head i noticed a balloon at the entrance. There was also a biker and I remember thinking. ” Is there a bike race going on?” As I neared the balloon i saw that it had a note that had my name on it. With my favorite candy bar. So CUTE!!! I saw up ahead another balloon. As I neared it there was another favorite candy bar. As I continued each stop had a balloon with a note and something. the next one was a little book on eternal marriage…the next was a coupon for a date to pizza pie cafe that night with “My Boy”. The next one was a rubix cube. On each square he had placed a letter. I solved the rubix cube and it spelt out various things: megan’s pretty, she loves her boy, taco bell okay. I kept going up the trail. With each station I got such sweat and creative notes with something. I got a new journal to write about me and my boyfriend. then lastly there was a rose and a collage of us….and more balloons. He came walking out of the trees with a laptop. He set it down and put some music on with it. then he got down on one knee and explaining that he doesn’t kneel in front of many people… he asked if I would be his forever. I can’t even explain what I was feeling then…but i knew that I wanted to be his forever. Of course the answer was yes. He gave me a beautiful diamond ring…then waited. He skipped to the next song on the computer. are you gonna kiss me or not. We danced. Then he dipped me and kissed me. 🙂 That song was followed by another off of tanged I see the light, Then from enchanted so close, then lastly I will be calling you by blue october. It was so great. I have never been so happy in my life.
I am so excited to be married to him. He is a wonderful man and I know we are going to make each other very happy.
Favorite Disney Movie Ever!!!
So I must admit…I do love disney movies but there is one that has become my favorite. I could watch it again and again and not get sick of it. Good Job Disney. I love Rapunzels excitement and bravery, Eugene’s pompous attitude. But the best of all is the horse that acts like a dog. LOVE IT!!!
Good Quotes
Doctor Zhivago
I don’t like people who have never fallen or stumbled. Their virtue is lifeless and it isn’t of much value. Life hasn’t revealed its beauty to them.
Smith Logan Pearsall 1865-1946
Afterthoughts
There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second.
Trudell Dennis
Sloppy, raggedy-assed old life. I love it. I never want to die.
Twain Mark 1835-1910
Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen.
Twain Mark 1835-1910
When we remember that we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.
Hesburgh Rev. Theodore
The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.
Johnston Jennifer 1930-
We are constantly at risk from the people we love most. They are, after all, the only people who can do us serious damage.
Creighton Bishop
Never laugh feebly at what you know is wrong.
Nietzsche Friedrich 1844-1900
One is healthy when one can laugh at the earnestness and zeal with which one has been hypnotized by any single detail of one’s life.
Dobie J. Frank
Luck is being ready for the chance.
Leacock Stephen 1869-1944
I’m a great believer in luck. I find the
harder I work, the more I have of it.
