Our house has been busy with little people schooling away to their hearts content. O.K. That is a lie. Most of them are not at all content about it. However, as this is a novel year, in that I have been feeling quite sane, we have been accomplishing alot!
Emilie can read several words and is excited to read her first short story today! Sarah is progressing amazingly in her reading and is suprising herself daily with the realization that she can decipher more words than she thought. Joseph is as always curious about the natural world and not so much about grammar, but he perserveres.
Aliyah is best at sneeking away to build some sort of sculpture instead of doing anything that involves writing. Unless she gets to write her tales of horses and cowboys which are nearing epic length. Jolie is fast approaching the designation of scholar. She is the one I can count on to finish all her work cheerfully even if I have to leave the house on errands. She especially loves the fascinating world of the human body this year, and has proven that she can draw by turning in several diagrams of the brain and skeletal system so far.
Jacob most enjoys hard, sweaty boy work. He has been learning to roof houses and build motorcycles. He would rather chop wood than do any school work but as he is in the 9th grade he must make room for a variety of learning. Right now he is focusing on math, ancient history, and logic. Focusing might be too strong a word.
I have made myself busy with the organization of a homeschool cooperative. That means I have, with the help of my awesome friend Dee, created an association of 16 families who meet monthly to provide academic and enrichment classes to a combined 60 children. This semester we offer three classes plus choir to each of 5 age groups.
I am teaching American Heritage to the middle/high schoolers. I love it! We expect to continue to grow in size over the next year. I feel blessed to be able to help provide this resource to all the families involved. I know Heavenly Father has really blessed us in this project.
I am sure you are wondering about Bryan and his career! So far no job has panned out. He feels that he is being drawn back into the self employment world. I am all for it! Some of our happiest family years were when he worked for himself. We get to see him more often! For now he has had continual work in construction. It is hard work and he comes home exhausted, but it pays the bills! The plan is to work on his ideas for businesses throught the winter and have some grand and wonderful something going in the Spring. Pray for him to be led to the right business for him.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Pairs
My mother always told me to have my children in pairs. For safety reasons.
I think she meant sanity.
Haven't you noticed that two children together aren't exactly safe but they do keep each other busy which leads to a greater level of sanity on the part of the mother?
Jake and Jo have always been a pretty chummy pair.
Liyah is happy to team up with Jo on some occasions and with Sephi on others.
He in turn is equally content being silly with either Liyah or Rose.
Rose will entertain herself with anyone as long as she is in charge.
Emi is her usual victim.
And so our little Gid, who is not so little anymore, has found himself the odd man out.
We have decided to rectify the situation.....
Beginning February 17th, Gideon will have someone special to play with. His very own pair, partner, chum, slave, victim.
Baby #8!
P.S. It is unknown as to whether Gid's new playmate will be a girl or a boy. Gid is very determined to have a brother. Mom is not so sure. We'll keep you updated!
I think she meant sanity.
Haven't you noticed that two children together aren't exactly safe but they do keep each other busy which leads to a greater level of sanity on the part of the mother?
Jake and Jo have always been a pretty chummy pair.
Liyah is happy to team up with Jo on some occasions and with Sephi on others.
He in turn is equally content being silly with either Liyah or Rose.
Rose will entertain herself with anyone as long as she is in charge.
Emi is her usual victim.
And so our little Gid, who is not so little anymore, has found himself the odd man out.
We have decided to rectify the situation.....
Beginning February 17th, Gideon will have someone special to play with. His very own pair, partner, chum, slave, victim.
Baby #8!
P.S. It is unknown as to whether Gid's new playmate will be a girl or a boy. Gid is very determined to have a brother. Mom is not so sure. We'll keep you updated!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
My awesome sister...
is having a baby boy! She is the crocheting queen! Check out her blog. She has the most beautiful creations for babies and adults. Her new adult shrug is gorgeous! Sis, you are soooo talented.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Update (expect one monthly)
Bryan did not get the job in Oregon. Wah. He immediately (after months of urging from his ever attentive, paranoid, grocery budgeting wife)went to LDS Employment Services down in Independence. His reluctance was well founded as they have been thoroughly unhelpful to professionals in the past. However, much has changed and Bryan has been getting excellent assistance from three very well informed and capable businessman missionaries on all aspects of the job search.
He has been very busy since, creating new resumes and job hunting. He has also gotten a couple construction jobs in the area to pay the bills.
The house we own in town is about to be SOLD. That hopefully will be completed by the end of the month.
All in All things are looking up and we are hopeful that he will have a job offer somewhere withing the next couple of months.
I am beginning to go into my annual crazy mode of preparing for the new school year. The feelings of panic are magnified by the fact that we have a HIGH SCHOOLER!!!!
I have had much much help with the planning through HSLDA.org and BYU independent Study. Our grand plan is to prepare our children for admittance into BYU. Even if they don't go, they have to be capable of going or they will be shot!
This year as Jacob begins 9th grade, Jolie will move to 8th, Aliyah is in 6th, Joseph in 4th, Sarah is a very excited 2nd grader, Emilie is in official kindergarten (though she has been doing Kindergarten work since her birthday) and Gideon is excited to be truly starting Pre-school!
So far I have decided to use Five in A Row as a basic curriculum for the three little ones. It is alot of fun. We will be gathering all kinds of things for the older kids but hope to follow the principles found in Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille. EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK!
Have a happy summer!
He has been very busy since, creating new resumes and job hunting. He has also gotten a couple construction jobs in the area to pay the bills.
The house we own in town is about to be SOLD. That hopefully will be completed by the end of the month.
All in All things are looking up and we are hopeful that he will have a job offer somewhere withing the next couple of months.
I am beginning to go into my annual crazy mode of preparing for the new school year. The feelings of panic are magnified by the fact that we have a HIGH SCHOOLER!!!!
I have had much much help with the planning through HSLDA.org and BYU independent Study. Our grand plan is to prepare our children for admittance into BYU. Even if they don't go, they have to be capable of going or they will be shot!
This year as Jacob begins 9th grade, Jolie will move to 8th, Aliyah is in 6th, Joseph in 4th, Sarah is a very excited 2nd grader, Emilie is in official kindergarten (though she has been doing Kindergarten work since her birthday) and Gideon is excited to be truly starting Pre-school!
So far I have decided to use Five in A Row as a basic curriculum for the three little ones. It is alot of fun. We will be gathering all kinds of things for the older kids but hope to follow the principles found in Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille. EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK!
Have a happy summer!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Update
Wilford Woodruff, the great latter day historian, would be quite disappointed that I have failed to chronicle the interesting happenings of the last month and a half. But all I can do is strive to do better.
know I say this every post it seems but we have been working harder than we ever have on any house!
Since March we have completely finished the kitchen, all the tile, a new bathroom, changed a bedroom to a library, created a pantry,installed new interior doors,trim, flooring, caulking, painting. Bryan has spent several days in the roasting hot attic running new wiring and rearranging the old. We now have electricity almost everywhere! He and Jake spent two days drywalling a new bedroom and most of the new basement walls.
During all this the lawn mower broke three or four times. The main sink faucet in the kitchen began leaking at weird unexplainable intervals, and I just had to change the kitchen color from red to a much more lighthearted green.
The motivation for the non-stop painting and fixing and building and fixing and fixing is this, One of three things will happen in our future.
One, Bryan will get an amazing job here and will not be around again to fix my house and I will go crazy and be unable to adequately home school my children or cook good nutritious meals. (Bryan knows that if I don't have a pretty kitchen, he'll have to do the cooking.)
Two,Bryan will get an amazing job elsewhere and we will have to sell our house and it will need to be done for that to happen.
Three,(which is not really an option and we hope Heavenly Father has much more pleasant plans in store for us)There will be no job and we will lose everything we own including the beautiful house and we will all live together in a cardboard box (where Bryan will do the cooking.)
So far, it looks like option two might be the most likely. Bry has been interviewing with MasterBrand Cabinets in Grants Pass, Oregon. He will be flying out to have a final interview this Thursday. I will withhold comments on our opinions of living in that beautiful gorgeous heaven on earth to spare the feelings of our friends and family who might be reading this post in agony over the thought of our leaving them.
We probably will not know about the job until the end of next week.
We are living by faith that God has great things in store for our family. He has never let us down before.
know I say this every post it seems but we have been working harder than we ever have on any house!
Since March we have completely finished the kitchen, all the tile, a new bathroom, changed a bedroom to a library, created a pantry,installed new interior doors,trim, flooring, caulking, painting. Bryan has spent several days in the roasting hot attic running new wiring and rearranging the old. We now have electricity almost everywhere! He and Jake spent two days drywalling a new bedroom and most of the new basement walls.
During all this the lawn mower broke three or four times. The main sink faucet in the kitchen began leaking at weird unexplainable intervals, and I just had to change the kitchen color from red to a much more lighthearted green.
The motivation for the non-stop painting and fixing and building and fixing and fixing is this, One of three things will happen in our future.
One, Bryan will get an amazing job here and will not be around again to fix my house and I will go crazy and be unable to adequately home school my children or cook good nutritious meals. (Bryan knows that if I don't have a pretty kitchen, he'll have to do the cooking.)
Two,Bryan will get an amazing job elsewhere and we will have to sell our house and it will need to be done for that to happen.
Three,(which is not really an option and we hope Heavenly Father has much more pleasant plans in store for us)There will be no job and we will lose everything we own including the beautiful house and we will all live together in a cardboard box (where Bryan will do the cooking.)
So far, it looks like option two might be the most likely. Bry has been interviewing with MasterBrand Cabinets in Grants Pass, Oregon. He will be flying out to have a final interview this Thursday. I will withhold comments on our opinions of living in that beautiful gorgeous heaven on earth to spare the feelings of our friends and family who might be reading this post in agony over the thought of our leaving them.
We probably will not know about the job until the end of next week.
We are living by faith that God has great things in store for our family. He has never let us down before.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Parental Rights Amendment
This is a long post. Please read. Many of you will recieve it in your e-mail. It is of utmost importance.
Recently I had the opportunity to attend a lecture given by Dr. Michael Farris, co-founder of HSLDA and Parentalrights.org. Farris is the principle author of the proposed Parental Rights amendment now being submitted to the Congress.
SECTION 1
The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right.
SECTION 2
Neither the United States nor any State shall infringe upon this right without demonstrating that its governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwise served.
SECTION 3
No treaty may be adopted nor shall any source of international law be employed to supersede, modify, interpret, or apply to the rights guaranteed by this article.
This amendment is a response to the growing support against and encroachment upon our national sovereignty and fundamental rights by international law and our increasingly legislative judiciary. The immediate threat is a treaty called the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child(UNCRC).
This treaty was signed by Janet Reno in 1995 but never ratified by the Senate. Article 6; Clause 2 of the United States Constitution states that any treaty ratified by the Senate would become the supreme law of the land. Therefore if ratified this treaty would supersede all state law on children and parents.
According to Dr. Farris, the UNCRC is based on two principles.
First, Government decides what is best in any matter.
Second, the child’s right to self determination is paramount unless the child’s wishes conflict with the government’s decision.
According to Parentalrights.org, among other freedoms, it would abolish a parent’s right to reasonably discipline their children. Good parents would no longer be entitled to the legal presumption that they act in the best interests of their children. Instead the governments would have the authority to overrule all parents on any decision concerning the child if the government believed it could make a better decision.
Children would have the legal right to choose their own religion. Parents would be permitted only to give advice.
Other freedom killing effects of this law:
America would be under a binding legal obligation to massively increase its federal spending on children’s programs. It has been interpreted to mean that it would be illegal for a nation to spend more on national defense than on children’s welfare.
The best interest of the child principle would give the government the ability to override every decision made by every parent if a government worker disagreed with the parent’s decision.
A child’s “right to be heard” would allow them to seek governmental review of every parental decision with which the child disagreed.
Allowing parents to opt their children out of sex education has been held to be out of compliance with the CRC. (“Why we need the parental rights amendment”, Parentalrights.org, 2009)
The UNCRC affects the very foundations of our liberties, especially religious liberty.
Is the family the fundamental unit of society or is the government the unit that controls the actions of the family? Dr. Farris pointed out in his lecture that we as a nation no longer understand the purpose of government.
There are some who believe that government exists to provide for our needs. This is socialism. There are others who understand that government exists to protect life, liberty, and Property. This is freedom.
It has been long acknowledged by leaders of our nation since the Founders that parental rights are a fundamental right; that directing the upbringing of children is a right only to be abridged in the case of proven abuse. However, since the year 2000 our parental rights have been seriously eroded by the Supreme Court when, according to Parentalrights.org, it held that any person could override a good parent’s decision about visitation rights by simply claiming that it would be best for children to allow the third-party to have visitation rights.
In this case there were six separate opinions and none reached a five-vote majority.
Justice Scalia held that parents have no constitutionally protected rights whatsoever.
Justice Thomas was the only Justice to clearly state that parental rights receive the same high legal standard of protection as other fundamental rights. (parentalrights.org)
Dr Farris explained that virtually all Federal decisions in 2008 ruled against parental rights as fundamental rights because of the decision of the Supreme Court in 2000.
At the same time America is poised to adopt the treaty this year. Our highest government officials support it and Senator Barbara Boxer has “promised’ that this treaty will be ratified during this term of Congress.
Under the UNCRC, you will no longer be allowed to teach your children that Jesus is the way the truth and the life. Only suggest it. You will not be allowed, by force of law, to insist your child accompany you to church. You will not be allowed, by force of law, to choose alternative schooling to the public schools. The treaty will supersede all state law on children and parents.
The UNCRC proposes a form of religious tolerance to religious liberty.
Religious liberty is when each individual has the unimpeded right to believe and practice his belief, unless he infringes on the right of another to do the same.
Religious tolerance, as those proposing the UNCRC understand it, substitutes for liberty a belief that all truth is the same or that there is no real truth at all so it is wrong(and the treaty makes it illegal) for one to believe in any truth or teach that there is truth even to ones own children.
If you believe in American sovereignty, that America should make the rules for America, you are against the UNCRC.
If you believe that all people have the unalienable right to religious liberty you are against the UNCRC.
If you believe that you as the parent are the one to make decisions in the best interest of your own children, you are against the UNCRC.
If you believe that the family is the fundamental unit of society, that government exists to protect the life, liberty and property of FAMILIES, that in fact the family grants powers to the government and has the right to dictate to it and not the other way around, you are against the UNCRC.
Some beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to which I am a member pertain to this subject.
The 11th Article of Faith:
We claim the privilege of worshiping almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience and allow all men this same privilege, let them worship how where or what they may.
According to the words of our First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve in The Family: A Proclamation to the World (1995)
“Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. ‘Children are an heritage of the Lord’ (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.
“The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The final line in the Proclamation on the Family is an admonition to the world from the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve: “We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.”
I am determined to support Parentalrights.org in passing this amendment to the United States Constitution. In the words of Dr. Farris, “The time is short, the need is urgent!”
I recommend you to go to www.parentalrights.org to learn more and see how you can help in this critical fight for our fundamental liberties and the strengthening of families.
Recently I had the opportunity to attend a lecture given by Dr. Michael Farris, co-founder of HSLDA and Parentalrights.org. Farris is the principle author of the proposed Parental Rights amendment now being submitted to the Congress.
SECTION 1
The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right.
SECTION 2
Neither the United States nor any State shall infringe upon this right without demonstrating that its governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwise served.
SECTION 3
No treaty may be adopted nor shall any source of international law be employed to supersede, modify, interpret, or apply to the rights guaranteed by this article.
This amendment is a response to the growing support against and encroachment upon our national sovereignty and fundamental rights by international law and our increasingly legislative judiciary. The immediate threat is a treaty called the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child(UNCRC).
This treaty was signed by Janet Reno in 1995 but never ratified by the Senate. Article 6; Clause 2 of the United States Constitution states that any treaty ratified by the Senate would become the supreme law of the land. Therefore if ratified this treaty would supersede all state law on children and parents.
According to Dr. Farris, the UNCRC is based on two principles.
First, Government decides what is best in any matter.
Second, the child’s right to self determination is paramount unless the child’s wishes conflict with the government’s decision.
According to Parentalrights.org, among other freedoms, it would abolish a parent’s right to reasonably discipline their children. Good parents would no longer be entitled to the legal presumption that they act in the best interests of their children. Instead the governments would have the authority to overrule all parents on any decision concerning the child if the government believed it could make a better decision.
Children would have the legal right to choose their own religion. Parents would be permitted only to give advice.
Other freedom killing effects of this law:
America would be under a binding legal obligation to massively increase its federal spending on children’s programs. It has been interpreted to mean that it would be illegal for a nation to spend more on national defense than on children’s welfare.
The best interest of the child principle would give the government the ability to override every decision made by every parent if a government worker disagreed with the parent’s decision.
A child’s “right to be heard” would allow them to seek governmental review of every parental decision with which the child disagreed.
Allowing parents to opt their children out of sex education has been held to be out of compliance with the CRC. (“Why we need the parental rights amendment”, Parentalrights.org, 2009)
The UNCRC affects the very foundations of our liberties, especially religious liberty.
Is the family the fundamental unit of society or is the government the unit that controls the actions of the family? Dr. Farris pointed out in his lecture that we as a nation no longer understand the purpose of government.
There are some who believe that government exists to provide for our needs. This is socialism. There are others who understand that government exists to protect life, liberty, and Property. This is freedom.
It has been long acknowledged by leaders of our nation since the Founders that parental rights are a fundamental right; that directing the upbringing of children is a right only to be abridged in the case of proven abuse. However, since the year 2000 our parental rights have been seriously eroded by the Supreme Court when, according to Parentalrights.org, it held that any person could override a good parent’s decision about visitation rights by simply claiming that it would be best for children to allow the third-party to have visitation rights.
In this case there were six separate opinions and none reached a five-vote majority.
Justice Scalia held that parents have no constitutionally protected rights whatsoever.
Justice Thomas was the only Justice to clearly state that parental rights receive the same high legal standard of protection as other fundamental rights. (parentalrights.org)
Dr Farris explained that virtually all Federal decisions in 2008 ruled against parental rights as fundamental rights because of the decision of the Supreme Court in 2000.
At the same time America is poised to adopt the treaty this year. Our highest government officials support it and Senator Barbara Boxer has “promised’ that this treaty will be ratified during this term of Congress.
Under the UNCRC, you will no longer be allowed to teach your children that Jesus is the way the truth and the life. Only suggest it. You will not be allowed, by force of law, to insist your child accompany you to church. You will not be allowed, by force of law, to choose alternative schooling to the public schools. The treaty will supersede all state law on children and parents.
The UNCRC proposes a form of religious tolerance to religious liberty.
Religious liberty is when each individual has the unimpeded right to believe and practice his belief, unless he infringes on the right of another to do the same.
Religious tolerance, as those proposing the UNCRC understand it, substitutes for liberty a belief that all truth is the same or that there is no real truth at all so it is wrong(and the treaty makes it illegal) for one to believe in any truth or teach that there is truth even to ones own children.
If you believe in American sovereignty, that America should make the rules for America, you are against the UNCRC.
If you believe that all people have the unalienable right to religious liberty you are against the UNCRC.
If you believe that you as the parent are the one to make decisions in the best interest of your own children, you are against the UNCRC.
If you believe that the family is the fundamental unit of society, that government exists to protect the life, liberty and property of FAMILIES, that in fact the family grants powers to the government and has the right to dictate to it and not the other way around, you are against the UNCRC.
Some beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to which I am a member pertain to this subject.
The 11th Article of Faith:
We claim the privilege of worshiping almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience and allow all men this same privilege, let them worship how where or what they may.
According to the words of our First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve in The Family: A Proclamation to the World (1995)
“Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. ‘Children are an heritage of the Lord’ (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.
“The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The final line in the Proclamation on the Family is an admonition to the world from the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve: “We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.”
I am determined to support Parentalrights.org in passing this amendment to the United States Constitution. In the words of Dr. Farris, “The time is short, the need is urgent!”
I recommend you to go to www.parentalrights.org to learn more and see how you can help in this critical fight for our fundamental liberties and the strengthening of families.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Come Listen To a Prophet's Voice!
This weekend, with several sick children, our family spent the hours of Conference sitting together on our living room couch listening to the audio feed of the meetings.
As each new speaker began my children would ask me who it was so that they could keep thier notes. I was so grateful for my many years of listening to conference, as we have not often had the opportunity to actually go see the Prophets.
I love to recognize the voices of the prophets and apostles. Each one has a different quality in their voice yet each voice is filled with love and compassion. That is the feeling I have taken away from Conference this weekend.
That the Prophets and Apostles love us! That through them our Father is expressing His great love for us, His great desire to guide us, and help us.
As our family is struggling with unemployment the messages of Prophets, Seers and Revelators taught us the path we should take, helped us to reinvigorate our discouraged hearts, and reminded us of the bright future we have because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I thank the Lord for the voices of Living Prophets!
As each new speaker began my children would ask me who it was so that they could keep thier notes. I was so grateful for my many years of listening to conference, as we have not often had the opportunity to actually go see the Prophets.
I love to recognize the voices of the prophets and apostles. Each one has a different quality in their voice yet each voice is filled with love and compassion. That is the feeling I have taken away from Conference this weekend.
That the Prophets and Apostles love us! That through them our Father is expressing His great love for us, His great desire to guide us, and help us.
As our family is struggling with unemployment the messages of Prophets, Seers and Revelators taught us the path we should take, helped us to reinvigorate our discouraged hearts, and reminded us of the bright future we have because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I thank the Lord for the voices of Living Prophets!
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The Gooneybirds
With 10 of us-this is as good as it gets!