I get it!

Morgan is a kinesthetic (hands-on) learner. Fortunately, I realized this at an early age. She never wanted to sit and color. She wanted to be outside exploring – collecting rocks, leaves, bugs, and sticks. When we would go to the store she would handle and touch everything as she asked,
“What’s this? What's it for?”

Unfortunately, public schools are not always designed to be supportive of this learning style. Maybe that’s why her favorite subjects have always been science and recess. And I know that’s why she memorizes her spelling words best while climbing under and over the bench at our dining table.

Multiplication has been a HUGE challenge for her this year. Her teacher would send home extra worksheets for extra practice and have her stay in from recess to review flash cards. Neither method was working. (Although she was starting to memorize the answer pattern on the worksheet.)

One night, she was struggling with staying focused long enough to finish her worksheet. Then she blurted out, “I just don’t get it!” That’s when I got out a bucket of beans. Using paper circles to represent groups she counted out the number of beans in each group for 4 x 6, then 2 x 3, then 8 x 9. We did the rest of the worksheet creating groups and counting beans. Her face lit up as
she wrote the last answer and she exclaimed,
“I get it!”

She is not the fastest in her class but she can at least tackle the worksheet without so much anxiety. And now, instead of memorizing the answers she actually understands what she is doing. More importantly, she can apply her knowledge to calculate the answers on other worksheets.

Having a learning experience with my child brings me the greatest JOY!

Finding JOY in the Green

St. Patrick's Day was never a big deal. We would try to wear green and I would make something green for dinner. (A few years ago I was asked not to make the mashed potatoes green anymore.) But I never heard about catching leprechauns and all the tricks these little guys play until we moved here.

Morgan came home from school on Friday determined to catch a leprechaun! We discussed real and fantasy. We talked about myths. We chatted about pretend. She smiled and nodded and then asked for a jar to make a trap. Catching a leprechaun was REAL to her.

Not getting much support from me, she asked Dad for help. He helped her set up a trap in her room before bed. She was up at 6:30 Saturday morning, concerned that the leprechaun had nibbled on her bread but had not been caught in the trap.

After lunch she set the trap again and we hurried off to soccer practice. When we returned she found her bread gone and her jar dusted with green sparkles. The pennies she had added to the trap were also gone (except for one he must have dropped by the door on his way out.) Morgan was over-joyed and about to cry as she exclaimed, "See! They are real! He was here!"

Zane freaked out and ran for cover. "What if he's still in here!" he yelled as he jumped onto the couch. I convinced them leprechauns don't like Christmas music. We turned the music up real loud to make sure we scared that naughty little dude away.

I tried to make shamrock pancakes. (Use your imagination!) And the great thing about green butter is it turns your pancakes green as it melts. Yummy!

Happy Leprechaun Day!

Does the Journey Seem Long

After 3 weeks of severe wind, scattered snow flakes, and cold temps we had a week of nice weather foretasted. It happened to be a week that Morgan had 2 days off from school so we took off an extra day and set out across Wyoming.

That morning was grey with icy fog hanging in the air but it was warming up so we were not discouraged. After a late start, and far too many pit stops, I wondered if we would make it all the way to Utah in one day.

This was actually our lunch stop on the way home. By the time we got to Rock Springs, WY we were all crying and Zane was mad. He thought I forgot to drive through the tunnel. How did he miss that tunnel?! I'm sure the McDonald's workers thought I was a terrible mother. It didn't help that there was no playland there.

We made it to Little America and I let the kids run off some energy before we headed through more mountains. It was the shortest 10 minutes of their lives! But they were anxious to see Brittany's new home so the complaining was brief.

We made it just in time for dinner! And we loved Brittany and Levi's new place, especially the stairs. Morgan asked me when we were going to get a house with stairs. They had fun running up and down and playing catch and rolling their stuffed animals. (Hopefully the neighbors are forgiving.)

My blessings!

As we were driving in to Logan the moon was big and resting on the mountain. I tried to take a picture through my window, while driving. (Totally safe!) The kids wondered where the 2nd moon came from when they looked at the picture. Made me smile.

We had a great time! Brittany cooked us dinner every night and took us shopping. Levi found the nail in my tire and replaced all of my wheels and tires for me. Our prayers were answered - we had safe travels.

We cried a river coming home but are looking forward to seeing Brittany and Levi again soon!

Our theme song for the drive home:
"I'm gonna miss you! I'm gonna miss you! Looks like I'm gonna miss you after all!"

Loving the Journey

Living across the road from the feedlot means there are always things happening. And yes, it means an occasional cow will show up in your front yard. This always gets the kids excited.

The last few months, we have watched this one calf (Scott says it's the same one) get out of his pen and wander around on a regular basis. Sometimes he brings a friend with him . . .

But must of the time it's just him. Maybe he gets tired of the crowd. Maybe he gets tired of getting pushed around and fighting for his food. Maybe he just likes being alone. Maybe . . .

He usually stays close but he doesn't realize that the pen provides safety. While he is out enjoying his apparent "freedom" he is in danger. Sometimes the very thing we think is holding us back is actually the thing we need to keep us safe.

Part of the "test" we are here to take is learning to get along with others. That can be a challenge, even when it's friends and family members. It takes a lot of patience, a lot of forgiveness, and a lot of love! We may need some alone time occasionally but it's those friends and family members who will provide safety. Go home little calf!

"Life is perfect for none of us. Rather than being judgmental and critical of each other, may we have the pure love of Christ for our fellow travelers in this journey through life."--Thomas S. Monson

A Few Snowflakes Fell

This has been a crazy winter. It's either sunny and warm with no snow or a light dusting of snow but too cold to be outside. We finally had some snow and some wind which made some fun snow drifts around the house. The kids were anxious to play before those flakes melted away.

The snow didn't stick together very well so the snowball fight didn't last long.

Even Tucker was loving the snow. He rolled around in it with the kids. Zane thought Tucker was making snow angels. Maybe.

No Zane! Don't eat that snow!

The drift in the garden was big enough to dig in. It wouldn't stick together for a snowman though.

Then it was time to come in and warm up by the fire and drink peppermint hot cocoa. Scott recently found some cedar wood. It was almost too pretty to burn. (When Scott told Morgan that cedar keeps moths away, she quickly found a sliver to put in her room. She is still afraid of moths. Hopefully we won't have the infestation that we had last year.) We do enJOY the wood heat!

"Joy is a sustained sense of well-being and internal peace - a connection to what matters."
Oprah

Valentines Day

We kept our celebrations simple this year and enJOYed sharing a little LOVE.

My husband surprised me with some beautiful roses!

I was informed that spaghetti is NOT a festive dinner. But when it's served with heart-shaped rolls how can it not be?! I even baked them with a piece of cheese in the center. It was like a party inside of every roll! Maybe next year I'll try heart-shaped meatballs.



We started the day off with heart-shaped pancakes.

Pink and very festive!

Morgan took her teacher a bottle of honey. I thought she would like something besides candy. Cute and oh so simple!

I saw TONS of super cute Valentine card ideas but when it came down to putting them together, we kept it ultra simple.

Zane was excited to write his name on each card. He got confused since I printed the message on one side of the card, folded it to fit over the top of the candy, and had him write his name on the other side. Seeing the printed part upside down made him want to write his name upside down.

Morgan had no problem and wrote each of her friends names too.

This year Morgan had to design her own card collection box for school. All right, I admit I kinda took over the project. I ran all ideas by her first though. We ended up with an adorable diva-style-purse box. The front says "PAWS and show love" to coordinate with the paw print ribbon. I think Morgan and I stared at it for 3 days before we sent it to school. It was SO cute!

Zane has been asking for a party for a LONG time. Having preschool at our house was the perfect opportunity for a PARTY. We made silly party hats and played BINGO. The kids loved sharing Valentines with each other.

Love is in the air!

Going Some Where!

Sometimes, after a few years of marriage, it's easy to take love for granted. It's like we start to think, "He is committed to love me no matter what!" Do you remember what it was like when you were dating? You always dressed to impress and would never let him see you with your hair not combed. If you were going on a date, you always shaved your legs.

A few years ago, as we were getting ready for church, my husband noticed my freshly shaved legs and commented, "Sure, you shave for everyone at church but not for me." Hummm...

I started thinking about this today. When I am going somewhere "important" and will be seen in public, I get dressed and comb my hair and put on at least a little makeup. When I am staying home I often stay in my pajamas, skip the comb, and just wipe the smeared eyeliner from under my eyes so I don't look too scary. My husband says, "Another pajama day?"

Why isn't my home important enough to get dressed up for? Why doesn't my husband deserve to see me with combed hair and at least a little makeup? Why do I think he will love me no matter what so I don't have to try to impress him? (Not that he's gonna leave me 'cause I'm ugly.) Why don't I shave my legs just for him?

I'm going to try to at least get dressed every day. I'm going to do things to impress the one I love the most. (People in public really don't even care and probably don't even notice.) My home is an "important" place too. I'm going to live every day like I am going some where!