I would have posted more lately, but I keep thinking I'm going to find the USB thing that transfers my pictures from my camera to my computer. I'm still going to find it -- hopefully soon. Then I can post pictures of Hannah's birthday, Nikki's gymnastics meet, and whatever else I have on my camera.
Since we put in new cabinets in the kitchen last fall, I have taken a break from house projects. But the home-improvement itch has returned. I REALLY want new wood floors, but since that isn't happening right now I decided to get started on something I can do. I got some paint today and rolled the first coat in the girls' room. They are excited about it. I'm a little nervous that it's going to be too bright, but I guess they would love it that way anyway. Oh, the wonders a coat of paint can do!
I'm not good at finishing long-term projects, so I'm really going to push myself to just finish decorating their room as quickly as I can before I lose my interest in it. My kitchen is a great example of that -- we put the cabinets in months ago and just last week I finally got the drawer knobs put on, and I should have tiled my backsplash next but I'm tired of working on the kitchen. Hopefully, I'll last long enough in the girls' room to at least get their beds put back in place!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Scripture memorization post that turned into something else
One of the things I love about homeschooling is that we have a devotional in the mornings. I am actually in the process of figuring out what we need to do to revitalize it a bit, but that's kind of a process I'm going through with just about everything we're doing! One part that is working is that we have been memorizing scriptures, and I have been so impressed with how well they are doing. We have been using this method, and it has really worked well. I'm sure it would work even better if I was on top of things enough to remember to review them more than once a day. I also want to get a white board to hang somewhere that we can write the current verse we are learning to have it in sight more often. Anyway, here are a couple of my favorite verses that we have memorized this year.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger." -- Proverbs 15:1
"For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another." -- 3 Nephi 11:29
"Thou shall not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer." -- Doctrine and Covenants 42:42
(yes, there may be a correlation between some issues in our family and the verses I have chosen to memorize)
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." -- Phillipians 4:13
"Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage." -- Joshua 10:25
"And inasmuch as ye are humble and faithful and call upon my name, behold, I will give you the victory." Doctrine and Covenants 104:82
And I think the next one we need to memorize is D&C 88:119, "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;"
It's the "organize yourselves" part, and the "house of order" part that we are struggling with quite a bit. Well, maybe it's because I'm struggling with it that the kids end up having a hard time, too. This is what our family night lesson was on tonight -- creating order with the stuff in our home and also in how we operate together as a family. We can be more on the same page. I'm clearly doing a poor job keeping it all together while Nate has extra work and school assignments, and our girls are old enough that I shouldn't be doing as much as I do on my own (or letting things fall through the cracks on my own), and I shouldn't have to direct them through every step of their day. And I get it that a lot of the problem is my fault for creating such a situation where I depend on Nate so much, and where I don't require enough from the girls. Actually, it's the following through with them that I struggle with so much.
Tonight we took all of the jobs that are needed to be done to clean the house on a weekly basis and broke them out into small tasks, like cleaning the downstairs bathroom mirror or sweep the front porch. We wrote each one on a small square of paper, and we ended up with 40 tasks. We'll put them in a bowl, and they will draw out their jobs each day. If only Hannah and Nikki participate (because honestly, I'm the CEO of this operation and I hope I don't have to actually do the work, ha ha) they only have 4 small tasks to do each day from Monday through Friday. If they go quickly, they can do more and have more days off. I also told them that if they make this a daily habit with a good attitude, they will easily be able to rope Ryan into helping them do their jobs. Then, after a while, he'll be good enough at the work that he will get his own assignments and they'll have less work to do!
The trick is consistency, right?! Keeping them going once the novelty wears off as they pick their jobs tomorrow.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger." -- Proverbs 15:1
"For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another." -- 3 Nephi 11:29
"Thou shall not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer." -- Doctrine and Covenants 42:42
(yes, there may be a correlation between some issues in our family and the verses I have chosen to memorize)
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." -- Phillipians 4:13
"Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage." -- Joshua 10:25
"And inasmuch as ye are humble and faithful and call upon my name, behold, I will give you the victory." Doctrine and Covenants 104:82
And I think the next one we need to memorize is D&C 88:119, "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;"
It's the "organize yourselves" part, and the "house of order" part that we are struggling with quite a bit. Well, maybe it's because I'm struggling with it that the kids end up having a hard time, too. This is what our family night lesson was on tonight -- creating order with the stuff in our home and also in how we operate together as a family. We can be more on the same page. I'm clearly doing a poor job keeping it all together while Nate has extra work and school assignments, and our girls are old enough that I shouldn't be doing as much as I do on my own (or letting things fall through the cracks on my own), and I shouldn't have to direct them through every step of their day. And I get it that a lot of the problem is my fault for creating such a situation where I depend on Nate so much, and where I don't require enough from the girls. Actually, it's the following through with them that I struggle with so much.
Tonight we took all of the jobs that are needed to be done to clean the house on a weekly basis and broke them out into small tasks, like cleaning the downstairs bathroom mirror or sweep the front porch. We wrote each one on a small square of paper, and we ended up with 40 tasks. We'll put them in a bowl, and they will draw out their jobs each day. If only Hannah and Nikki participate (because honestly, I'm the CEO of this operation and I hope I don't have to actually do the work, ha ha) they only have 4 small tasks to do each day from Monday through Friday. If they go quickly, they can do more and have more days off. I also told them that if they make this a daily habit with a good attitude, they will easily be able to rope Ryan into helping them do their jobs. Then, after a while, he'll be good enough at the work that he will get his own assignments and they'll have less work to do!
The trick is consistency, right?! Keeping them going once the novelty wears off as they pick their jobs tomorrow.
Friday, February 03, 2012
Dishes and more
Some women are dripping with diamonds
Some women are dripping with pearls
Lucky me! Lucky me!
Look at what I'm dripping with
Dirty Dishes
That's my new tune. I really do have more going on in my life than just thinking about food and nutrition, but I just have to say how thankful I am that Nate did the dishes tonight. My children do not each lunch or snacks at school. We are home for every meal of the day, and without processed snack foods in the house, I end up cooking three meals a day and peeling or chopping or something for snacktime as well. Okay, I got that out and now I can move on.
Although, just one more thought on food. AGHH!! Do you know how many different ideas there are about what is healthy to eat?! No wonder we are fat and sick as a society. Where can you turn to find reliable information? Who is right when you can find an authority pushing just about whatever philosophy you can imagine? I will say, though, that the most common thread I have seen in all of my reading so far is to just eat whole, unprocessed foods. We don't eat enough fruits and vegetables as a rule. What kind of a mix of whole grains, lean meats, and dairy you add in are quite debatable. So there, I've learned a whole lot haven't I?!
I feel like I should move on to another topic, so ..... Happy birthday, Kellee! I watched all of Nikki's gymnastics practice tonight (yep, that's three hours in the gym for me tonight), and I really enjoyed it. It's no wonder she is so hungry all the time. They get quite the workout and she is focused the whole time. I love that I never see her laying down or complaining about what they ask her to do. She works so hard. On the way home tonight, she said she can't wait for Tuesday when she gets to go back to the gym! Hannah gets to register for softball tomorrow morning. I've never done this before, so I don't know if she'll actually do any kind of activity or if it's just signing her up. We'll see. She told me this week she is a little nervous because she doesn't know if she'll be any good at softball. After a little conversation she promised she would just go and have fun meeting new girls and getting some fresh air and exercise, and if she ends up being any good at softball then that will just be an extra bonus. She also decided today that she wants to learn to play the violin. I think that will be an excellent choice for her because I know nothing about playing a string instrument. I just can't seem to keep my mouth shut when she's practicing piano. I'm really just trying to help her make her practice time valuable, but I probably shouldn't. Ryan's new interest is in the days of the week. "Mom, what day is it? What can I do on Friday? What day comes after Friday?" etc., etc., etc. every day. Another homeschooling mom had a great idea that I'm going to steal. She said she is going to get plastic bins and label them with the days of the week, and she will put in different activities that her 3-year-old son can pull out each day to work on during school time. Brilliant! I just have to come up with enough good ideas: playdough, watercolors, puzzles, coloring, lace-up cards, Legos. What else should I include?
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