Inside the Orchestra

I haven't posted too much about our school year this year. It really has just become such a part of who we are and our everyday life, so it doesn't feel "blog worthy"- it's just our daily routine and lifestyle.

But, there are some fun things happening.

We went to "Inside the orchestra." This is where the orchestra came together for an interactive performance for the kids where they explained the different instruments and how each played differently, they had a dancer dance to one of the songs, and an opera singer sing- it was really neat. The kids really enjoyed it.

Then, something kind of sad happened. When I first started homeschooling 6 1/2 years ago, I researched and researched before settling on Sonlight. I bought two years worth of Sonlight curriculum. Since we now get our curriculum for free through Cloverleaf, I sold our two years of Sonlight. As I was going through the books making sure we had everything, my heart wept a little bit. There are so many wonderful memories from The Isle of Capri, Ginger Pye, Homer Price, Mr. Popper's Penguins, The Little Princess, and dozens and dozens of other books that we have read together. Of course, I can get these books from the library and like I said- I can get them from Cloverleaf to borrow. But, there is something about all those books and all those memories and seeing them move on for another family to enjoy that broke my heart a bit.

The last thing is that I got into a bit of a scuffle with some of my neighbors on Word of Mouth. For the zillionth time, a frantic and worried mom posted about which private pre-school to send her child. Annoyed that this topic gets discussed ad nauseum, I posted: It's preschool. It. Does. Not. Matter.

Well, the heat I got for that one stupid comment was enough that I had to unfollow the group for awhile. People are so psycho about things that simply do not matter! I just want to scream, "Make a choice, and just move forward. Do the things that actually really do matter- read to your kids, eat dinner with them every night, have a large library of books in your home. That's what they need! They do NOT need rigor, homework, private tutors at age 6. Stop wasting your precious time with them fretting and getting ulcers of things that have no bearing on their future success. Instead, go play Candyland and build blanket forts and snuggle on the couch with Charlotte's Web- those are the things that research shows truly help kids in the long run!"

Needless to say, nobody liked my advice. But, it made me so profoundly grateful that we are not involved in that chaotic world. We aren't caught in the hype or the buzz word of the day in education. We just get to live and learn and grow at our own pace doing our own things. And, honestly, as I compare what my kids are learning vs what schooled kids are learning, my kids are doing awesome. I am not one bit worried about their academic success.

One woman who commented on my comment is a "friend" of mine. She did all the things- expensive tutors, private preschool, driving all over town for a charter school because the neighborhood school wasn't good enough. And, guess what? Her kids ended up at BYU-Idaho- a school with a 99.4% acceptance rate. Not exactly reaching for the stars for all of that work to get them to college. My kids will also get into BYU-I, without all of the stress that comes with so many expectations and mountains of homework.

It's heartbreaking to see so many moms fretting so much. It really is a blessing to not have to be involved in that world. My kids are so much happier (and so am I!), and quite frankly better educated, without having to do homework every night or hiring tutors or driving them all over town for the popular school of the hour.

I'm truly grateful for this homeschool life. We fell into it kicking and screaming, but it has been the greatest blessing in our family.

Come, Follow Me

I will never say that we are perfect at CFM, but we are trying to be obedient, and I believe there are blessings that come from being obedient.

Every Sunday after church, we gather the children together for our "third hour" of church. There's often whining and murmuring, but like I said- we are trying to at least be obedient.

I LOVED studying the New Testament last year. I learned so much about our Savior and His relationship with me and all of us.

But, doing the Book of Mormon this year has been wonderful! These our stories that I know well, that the children know well. It is a very visual read, with a ton of great stories. It's just a much easier read than any other scripture (and, can I just admit- I'm not really looking forward to the Old Testament. I'm glad we are a couple of years away from it!).

Anyway, we did have a sweet lesson a couple of weeks ago from 1 Nephi 11. I had the kids draw out what Nephi saw every time the angel said, "LOOK!"

They added Baby Yoda in several of the pictures. I told you- we aren't perfect at this.

For the first time in my dozens of times reading the Book of Mormon I saw the Tree of Life for what it truly is- the Savior. Not just the love of God, but truly the Savior himself. Everything about the vision is the Savior. We had a great discussion about it.

And this week for FHE Claire had fun making Liahona Brownies for everyone to find using a makeshift  Liahona as our guide.

I'm so grateful for the Savior, and for CFM!!!!

15 Years, and We're Just Getting Started

How does 15 years go so quickly?!?! I guess time really does fly when you're having fun, married to the perfect man, with three wonderful daughters!

To celebrate we went up to the mountains for a quick romantic getaway. It's a castle like bed and breakfast, and we loved it. I definitely want to go back!

The girls got to go spend the night at grandma and grandpas. They were so incredibly excited- they started packing on Wednesday, and pretty much brought their entire bedrooms even though it was only one night. They were thrilled to have grandma and grandpa to themselves and get to spend some quality time with them. It was really precious- we are lucky to have them so close and so willing to watch our girls. It is a great blessing!

I have said it a million times, and I'll say it a million more. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the life that Ben and I have built. I love raising our sweet girls and seeing them grow and develop. I love sharing this life with Ben- he is my match. It isn't always pretty, but it's always wonderful. Never in a million years could I have dreamed life could be this good. On to the next 15 (and, weird to think that in 15 more years, the kids will all be gone living their own lives with their own families. Yikes- I need to savor this time- which I totally am. I just want time to stop! But, it will also be great when they are on their own and it's back to just Ben and me. Oh, man- I love all the stages! 15 years ago our three perfect daughters didn't exist. Whew- it's mind boggling to think how the world just keeps turning and life just keeps going, and we get to enjoy each day with each other. Family really is what life is all about. I love it!!!!)

Bursting With Cuteness

Camille lost a tooth today, and her smile is pretty much the cutest thing I have ever seen. I just want to see her smile all day long.

Then, she left the cutest and sweetest note for the Tooth Fairy.

 Dear Tooth Fairy,
I have another tooth that is really wiggly so it will fall out quick so be here for another tooth and have a good day and night. Good day to all and a merry night. I hope you are not that busy this night and I hope this letter is wonderful to you and to all a good night. I just had to say that I might be crazy this night. I am excited for next week. This is a secret, well kind-of, but my whole family knows and my grandma and grandpa so not that secret. But here it goes. My mom and dad have a date badly but that's not the point so we get to stay at grandpa and grandma's and we're going to sleep there. So yay it's exciting and in February we go on a cruise so yay it's going to be so much fun. There is a pool and slides. There's a normal yellow one and a green one but the green one is scary. It has this platform you stand on it and they push a button and then you fall down.

Sincerely,
Camille

My heart is just bursting with cuteness overload!!!

The last few weeks I have been thinking about how much I LOVE this family of mine! Of course, I have always loved them, but I just can't believe how lucky I am to get to spend everyday with them- to teach them how to cook, to sit and snuggle on the couch and read for hours, to listen to their corny jokes, to BE with them day in and day out! I feel so incredibly blessed. I tell them every day I want to freeze time. Can they just stay these perfect ages forever????

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Party School

After a wonderful Christmas break, we are getting back into the swing of things and into our "normal" routine- this semester consisting of Audra taking jazz band, band and drama at the middle school, and participating in the middle school musical. She is loving all of it so far! I am doing a lot of driving back and forth to the middle school. Thankfully, it is close to our house.

Today, in honor of finishing "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" we had a party school.

The girls made fudge, made their own Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and watched the movie (which was a horrible movie, by the away. Bizarre and totally unrelated to the book- we were all very disappointed).

It was a lot of fun! I absolutely LOVE and ADORE these kids and the time I get to spend with them!

2020 Predictions

I'm trying to be more bold in my predictions so it isn't so obvious. So, here's my 10 predictions for 2020:

1. A snowstorm will scare us and we will fear we won't get to Tampa for our cruise, but it will all work out despite a lot of stress, and once we are there we will have a fabulous time.

2. San Francisco 49ers will win the Super Bowl. Sorry, Seahawks!

3. Broncos will finally get over .500 and go 9-7 next season.

4. We will be planning a trip to DisneyWorld. This is Ben's dream- but I'm not quite on board yet! DW is so much more work than DL!

5. We will have paid off our mortgage. We are so close!

6. One of us would have gotten a new car. That might negate #5, but we are having some car problems, so it may be time to upgrade at least one of our cars.

7. I will be released from Relief Society. I haven't even been there a year, and while I love serving the sisters, there are A LOT more meetings than any person should reasonably need to attend, so I'm tired. I was called into the presidency late- the rest have been there for two years in January, and two years is the usual length of a presidency in our ward. I actually think it would be awesome to be on a committee planning the For the Strength of the Youth program for 2021, so maybe I'll get lucky to be able to do that.

8. I will be asked to somehow help with Teacher Appreciation. Luckily, I don't have to worry about whether it is successful or not, but I think I will be asked to help.

9. The April 2020 General Conference that is being hyped up beyond measure won't be all that exciting. Great, for sure, just not great enough to match the build up.

10. Russia will elect Trump again. Hey, at least I'm realistic!

Happy New Year!!! 2020 promises to be another one for the books!!!!