Naomi is 6!

I cannot believe that it has been six years since Naomi came into our family. November 13, 2005, really doesn't seem like that long ago. (I must be getting older because time is starting to move faster.) Anyway, we are all so glad that she did come to our family. The last six years have been an adventure and I am sure there are many more adventure-filled years yet to come. Naomi has gone from being the baby of the family to being a little girl. Although she likes to dress up, when the occassion demands, she has traded in her baby dolls for running around outside with her brothers and playing soccer. That said, I am starting see hints of a regular fashionista emerging.

She woke up bright and early on her birthday to a pancake breakfast and presents. We went to church and she got to be with her favorite primary teacher in the world, Sister Stewart. Back at home we had stroganoff and ice cream sandwiches for dinner. Her day was complete and she said it was the best birthday ever!

With her two best friends!

She didn't want a cake with frosting for her birthday. Instead, she wanted a stack of pan-cakes to hold her candles.

Her DS, Finally!!! She had been waiting for this present "for-E-V-E-R". I don't know who is more excited, Naomi or her brothers (who can have their DS's all to themselves, again, at long last!)

Go Fish!

Each week, after scouts, the boys disappear into one of the classrooms at the church to play Go Fish! This only lasts about 10 minutes before all the parents inevitably break up the fun because it is time to go home. After weeks of hearing, "Mom, we need longer to just play and be kids!" I decided it was time to grant this request. We chose Saturday, November 12th, because all the older brothers would be going camping with the Boy Scout Troop and be out of the way. It was perfect. We bought Goldfish crackers and Swedish Fish. We set up a table just for the girls and one just for the boys, put some card out and let them have fun. Ironically, they played Go Fish for about 20 minutes and then headed outside to play football. That lasted about a half an hour before they came in and asked if they could challenge each other to a Mario Kart battle on the Wii. It was interesting to watch this normally unruly group of boys who like to argue and fight during cub scouts, work out a system of making sure that everyone got a turn to race. I sat back and watched the whole time and didn't have to say anything to anyone. They played so well together and it was all because I just let them be themselves. I was there to make sure that no one got hurt, I didn't direct what or how they did anything. When given the chance to show responsibility and maturity kids will not disappoint you. I am learning that a little bit of leeway in decision making pays big dividends. By the time everyone went home they were all fast friends. It was awesome to see them learn to work as a group.

I think there is a theme developing in the last two posts - Parents, back off on the schedule thing and let the kids have a say. They might just amaze and surprise you!

The Awesome Girls - Serena, Naomi and Rachel. I hardly saw them the whole time. They were buried in Naomi's room making creative crafts and playing girly things.

The Rowdy Boys - Isaac, Hunter, Nicholas, Joshua, Grover and Scott.

Critical Thinking and Friends

In September I started teaching a Critical Thinking Class aimed at 12 to 16 year olds. The idea behind the class was to get the kids thinking outside the box in the area of things that are going on in their community, nation and world. Also, this is the stage in their development when they really like to get down to the nitty-gritty of a subject and discuss it (aka argue). A pre-teen/teen is hardwired to argue and we, as their parents, are trying to present a situation where they can learn to productively and rationally argue a point.

I use short video clips from John Stossel in the Classroom which we watch and then I turn them loose to discuss. I am there to make sure everyone gets a chance to express their opinion, but other than that, I sit back and listen in amazement. Some topic examples are food irradiation, rescues for stupidity, endangered species, universal pre-k and border patrol. The kids have far surpassed the initial expectation of the class. These normally sulky and argumentative (for the sake of arguement) kids are amazing when given the chance to say something intelligent and to come up with an opinion backed with facts. They simply needed a common topic and permission to express themselves. I am not saying that they don't argue about cleaning their rooms or eating their dinner, but they are at least undertanding the mechanics of a good discussion and how to get their point across. I have been learning so much about the way their minds work and I am impressed with what they can come up with when given a challenge. They are deep thinkers just waiting for someone to ask them their opinion. I will say that their ability to discuss the pros and cons are improving as we get further into the class. They are learning that arguing with a purpose is far more fun than arguing just to argue. In addition, they are learning to respect differing points of view. My faith in the future generation as the leaders of this country and the world is renewed.

After class we give them a chance to just hang out together. This is a great group of kids! America, your future is in good hands.

Just Another Day at the Office

Lately the kids have really been missing Steve when he goes into the office. I have tried to keep them busy, but they have come up with something that eases the pain better than anything I could think up.

They get dressed in the "work" clothes and go "into their office" to work. I can't complain because they are happy and they are practicing their communication and scheduling skills along with some math and writing. This is definitely an example of a win-win situation.

Nicholas recreated his own "computer" with type paper and card stock. Naomi and Jeremy liked it so much that Nicholas made them one as well. It even has a cool USB port that they can take from one computer to the another when they need to share information.

I Put Myself in Time Out

I didn't realize how much fun time out could be, nor did I realize how much I needed to be put in time out until October 21st and 22nd, when I went to Richmond, Virginia, with some friends from church for the 2011 Time Out for Women, sponsored by Deseret Book. I had heard a lot about this yearly conference, but had not been able to go. This year I am really glad that I did. It was completely worth the price of the ticket and the long drive.

Friday night we were treated to a wonderful message from Jason Wright. He talked to us about walking through life with our eyes wide open to the opportunities to serve others. His message had us laughing and crying. He reminded us that we are here to serve each other and that it doesn't have to be something big and momentous in order to matter. Every act of service is great in the eyes of our Heavenly Father.

Jenny Oakes Baker treated us to several songs from her new Disney album. She is an amazing violinist. I had heard of her, but never really appreciated just how talented she is until watching her perform live. In between songs she would tell stories about each song she was about to play and this made the music even more real. She is currently living in Virginia and so she brought her family along with her to this performance. Her three daughters are all learning to play instruments and she had them do a "little piece" they had been working on. I will tell you now that if I hadn't been in that room witnessing this performance first-hand I would not have believed that there was a 1o-year-old on the violin, an 8-year-old on the piano and a 6-year-old on the cello. They were absolutely amazing and inspiring.

Here we are eagerly awaiting the first speaker.

Back at our hotel that night it didn't take us long to fall asleep. The next morning we were up bright and early so we could get back to the convention center and have good seats for the day.

I am glad we got there when we did because our seats were about a quarter of the way back and it was perfect. Our first speaker was Virginia Hinckley Pearce. She told us three important things her father (President Hinckley) taught her.

1. Be your best self, but be yourself! It is a gift.

2. The sisters of the church should know the history of the Relief Society as this will help us withstand adversity. Eliza R. Snow's life is inspiring even today. Her motto was "Be useful in the cause of Zion."

3. There are three things in life that you should know/do and in this order. 1. What is essential? Personal revelation. 2. What is necessary? Creating a home as a place the Spirit can be available. 3. The rest is really nice to have and do.

She has such a sense of humor about life and I loved learning how to put things in perspective. She said that adversity is an opportunity to use faith and trust God.

Mariama Kallon is a war refugee from Sierra Leon and she was both heart-breaking and heart-healing at the same time. She told us some of the horrific things she had to endure while in Sierra Leon and how her faith in God kept her strong through all of it. Her story was truly inspiring. Here are some of my favorite quotes from her talk.

"When we ask the Lord for help we can't just wait. We need to go out and search."

"She who is too busy to pray is busier than the Lord wants her to be."

"Service is the way to happiness. If you are sad, look outside yourself. LDS really stands for Let's Do Something."

I LOVED THIS ONE!!! "We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become." Isn't that one good!?

Linda Eyre and Shawni Eyre Porthier talked about finding holiness in all the chaos. You have to decide to be more holy. Have faith during tribulations. Glory in your tribulations. Look for the good and/or lesson in the tribulation.

They also reminded us that remember is a very important word.

1. Remember who your children really are.

2. Remember who you really are.

3. Remember who the Savior is. Show him how much you love Him and remember how much he loves you. Let you kids see your love of Christ.

4. Remember Helaman 5:12. Have your kids memorize it.

5. Remember to ask yourself "How can I take the Savior with me in my daily routine?"

Brad Wilcox talked about the importance of the atonement in our lives. Through the atonement we can be transformed. This life is about learning to become better. Could Christ see his countenance in us? The love of God plus His enabling power = motivation.

Merilee Boyack - Blaze your own trail.

She started off by telling us a heart-wrenching story about one of her friends who should not have happened. She shouldn't exist and yet she thrives. By the time she showed us a picture of her friend we were almost in tears for this poor person and all the adversity that was in their life. It turns out that her friend was a tomato plant that was growing out of a water main valve in the middle of the sidewalk. Her humorous story proved the point that we can blaze our own trail.

B - bold

E - eternally-minded

C - creative

O - outward-focused

M - meek

E - enlightened

U - unique

Don't conform or compare because you are unique.

Follow the Spirit - "What would You have me do today?"

Laurel Christensen was the concluding speaker of the day. She talked about letting faith work in our lives.

Pray with faith. Know what is "right" and then pray with with.

Think with faith. She told a story of going to a fitness boot camp and every time she wanted to give up her coach would get right up in her face and say, "Don't you dare be the one thing to stand in your way." It kept her going during the camp and keeps her going even now.

Live with faith - when you have a vision of what you can become, your power to act increases exponentially.

Hope - wanting what I want

Faith - wanting what He wants

Beware of the tempation to give up. (This came right at the time when I was seriously considering sending the kids back to school. I needed to hear this.)

Interwoven throughout the speakers were performances by Jericho road, a group of four guys who sing in perfect harmony. They did some spiritual songs that had us crying and thinking and also some fun songs, like a medley of songs through the years. It was a great time. None of us wanted to leave when it was all over.

Somewhere in the middle of all this excitement we had a lunch break. There were no definite plans for a certain restaurant or anything. We just went where the mood took us and we ended up at a quaint little restaurant off the beaten path. Karilee said it reminded her of the restaurants in New York City. We sat on the balcony and sunned ourselves while eating wonderful food.

Tracy and Tabitha

Amy looking all stylish in her shades.

Karilee

Jericho Road performing their boy-band medley.

I am so glad that I took the time out to come to this event. It was wonderful to be reminded that we are daughters of a loving Heavenly Father and he wants us to succeed. He not only wants us to succeed, but He will help us if we will let Him. The theme of the conference was "Choose to Become" and we were challenged, individually, to come up with one thing we were going to work on to become the person we need to be. Some of the speakers had physical goals and some had spiritual goals. I love this challenge and will take it to heart as I prayerfully think about what the Lord needs me to become.

A Kaleidoscopic Journey

Every time Naomi saw the ad in the Charlotte Magazine for the Niki de St Phalle art exhibit at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in downtown Charlotte, she would ask when we could go. This went on for months until we finally scheduled a day to head downtown to check it out. I am glad that we did. The title of the exhibit was "Creation of a New Mythology". It was billed as "a kaledoscopic journey where things don't always appear as they seem." That is exactly what we found waiting for us. It was fantastic!

"La Cabeza"

The picture in the magazine did not show the scale of this exhibit and Naomi was blown away by the size. She would have loved it as a smaller piece of art, but the fact that a person could sit in the nose and you could walk inside made this better than she ever imagined.

While we were appreciating this exhibit we met a family from Australia. They took this picture for us. They had been in the U.S. for over a month and were just going where the mood took them. They decided to make Charlotte their last stop before returning home because they had repeatedly heard what a great city it was. So far, they agreed with everything everyone had said. Charlotte was worth the stop on their tour. We told them that we really enjoyed living in Charlotte and they told us how lucky we were to have so many interesting and fun things to do so close to home. I realized, at that moment, just how little we had seen of what Charlotte has to offer. The kids are now old enough to start more exploration and they are excited to get started. It only took a family from across the world to make our "home" look more exciting to us. Isn't that ironic!!?

We don't know the name of this exhibit, but it was all covered with shiney siler and gold mosaic pieces and Noami loved it.

The kids were excited to find "Utah" on one of the street signs. All the signs in the plaza are authors names that are also cities.

Jeremy is conducting a session with Nicholas as Naomi looks on.

This was just another example of the fun things to be found in downtown Charlotte.

"The Cat"

Niki de St Phalle's art is so much fun because the colors are bright and shiney, the size is fun and the theme caught the kids attention immediately. The icing on the cake was that they not only got to touch it, but they were encouraged to fully explore it as well.

Jeremy demonstrating how art realistically depicts life. This is exactly how the boys feel on golf days. WAHOO!!!

Nicholas on the stack-of-books sculpture. This is just a part of the authors theme that was all over the plaza.

Anything he can do she can do better. A little bit of sibling rivalry or simply imitating a much-loved brother? It all depends on who you ask.

Running to the next sculpture.

This makes you want to play the trumpet while wearing a bright-colored jacket and gold pants.

"The Firebird"

This sculpture was even better in person.

Although we were exhausted after such a fun-filled day, we didn't want the day to end. The kids and I loved this outing and are planning more in the future. Stay tuned to see what we will do next.

Fishing with Dad

October is the perfect time to go fishing. We got up bright and early on the 1st to go fishing as a family. There are several small ponds in Highland Creek so we didn't have to go far. Our favorite "lake" is the one by the golf course club house. The kids like to watch the ducks, turtles and silly squirrels while they fish.

Naomi caught a fish!

Nicholas started to get restless after about an hour and a half so we left Jeremy and Naomi with Steve and walked home. He is so much fun to talk to when it is just the two of us and he doesn't have to compete with his siblings. We talked about every topic under the sun and then some. Nine-year-old boys are fascinating. He revelled in the fact that he had me all to himself and I completely enjoyed listening to him tell me what was on his mind. It was a great day!