In Which We Are Sick

"Breakfast in Bed" by Mary Cassatt

I've been sick for a week now, a few of the sick kids in our family have recovered, my tiny girls have fevers, and HALF of my cast-- including our Tevye, Golde, my Lliam, and Lazar Wolf-- are not able to talk or sing at present.

Did I mention the show opens on THIS Friday?

I was able to speak at the Forum this past weekend, but only just. I think at least one of my recordings will be unusable. :-p (Darn coughing fit!)

I sit here hardly able to breathe, my throat feeling like I've swallowed shards of glass.

We need a miracle.

And since I know the power of prayer and have experienced first hand the awesome effect that faithful friends can have, I humbly ask any who can to please send up a little prayer or two...

THE SHOW MUST GO ON!!!

Love,
Rachel

March 2011 Memories

Life has been so hectic lately! We're in our last month of rehearsals, costume-making, finding a location and general STRESS of putting on a Shakespeare play. (We'll be performing "A Comedy of Errors" on May 6th and 7th, location TBA. Anyone got a great location suggestion???)

Anyway, I realize it's been forever since I posted last, so I just thought I'd share some pictures of all the recent goings-on in our family. We love and miss all our friends and family-- I promise we'll be back in touch AFTER May 7th.

*grin*

Avalon "driving" her big brother, Lliam

March has been filled with family fun! We had fun places to go, and wonderful people to see.

Dad Russell and Cub Scout Gavin

One of the first events of the month was Gavin's final Pine Wood Derby of his Cub Scouting career.

 

We took the whole gang, and everybody had a fun time...

... EXCEPT Gavin, poor guy. He was really sad that his car didn't do better. But his car was probably the coolest-looking one there! It was silver with gold trim, and it had its name "The Ride of Sauron" painted down the sides. Lliam helped him paint the eye of Sauron on the top, and we decorated the rest of it with elvish and dwarvish runes. :-D

Yes, we are one of "those" families!

 

Brennan keeps practicing his music like crazy, and composes new pieces all the time. I've decided it's about time he has a different piano mentor other than me, so I'm on the hunt for a good one that doesn't charge too much. (Is there such a thing?) If you know of any in my area, please let me know.

Bonny and Morganne showing off their new creations: chocolate cookies with green mint icing.

We had a fun St. Paddy's Day at our house-- for some reason, we just love to do that holiday up big. We watched "Darby O'Gill and the Little People", and during that week also managed to watch "The Quiet Man" and "The Secret of Roan Inish". We also had our traditional (though not really Irish) feast of corned beef with cabbage, red potatoes, and green beans. I didn't cook the corned beef long enough, so it was not very good.

Russell attended "Drupal Con" in Chicago this year, and had a great time in the windy city. (I, however, did not envy him ONE bit! I was happy to stay here in my lovely Arizona!) For pictures of his trip, check out his Facebook picture album.

And THEN...

Aunt Abby knows how to have fun at our house!

AUNT ABBY CAME!!!!!!

Every March, Russell and I, and sometimes the big kids, travel up to Salt Lake City for the biggest TJEd (Thomas Jefferson Education) event in all the world! I've been blessed to teach a class at the TJEd Forum for a few years now, so we get to go to classes, drool over books to buy, and socialize with all our TJEd friends from all over the US and Canada. It's so wonderful!!!

And each year, our sweet Abby has come to babysit the younger kids. They ALL look forward to it!

Three Adorable Girls!

Abby is the funnest aunt! She brings them fun things to do, and plays with them all day. She is so amazing to be willing to spend her Spring Break with eleven kids, but they all love her. She's a rock star at our house!

Happy Birthday, Gavin!

This year and last, the TJEd Forum fell on the same weekend as Gavin's birthday. I worried about it until he informed me that having Aunt Abby here is the best present he can have! This year, Abby brought him a bunch of squirt guns and they had a full day of playing outside in the water. Abby also gave Gavin a supply of chocolate for a present. As you can see, he LOVED it!

Always busy Dierdre and Ronan

For most of the month, life was pretty slow-paced. The weather has been gorgeous, so I've been encouraging the kids to be outside as much as possible before the heat sets in. We do most of our heavy studying in the summer here, because the kids can't be outside much by the time May rolls around, and then things don't cool off again until Halloween. (I feel sorry for the kids in public school classes who have to be sitting inside during all the gorgeous winter and spring days. They really should fix that down here!)

Is this a cute face, or what?!

Eryn is growing all too fast for me. In fact, she finally, after a month of pure crankiness, sprouted her fourth tooth; now she's got two on top, and two on bottom! She has finally earned the official title of "Snaggletooth."

Our  Miss Millie (as I often call her) is standing up to things, crawling like a pro, and the kids take her by the hands to walk her all over the house. She's even starting to get into really fun things like the toilet water and the garbage can. *sigh*

Cruel and unusual punishment

Recently, I've been trying much harder to get more vegetables in our family's diet. I've been reading the book "The Green Smoothie Diet", and it has given me some great ideas about getting my kids to eat greens. I or Russell make a green smoothie each morning, and the kids all beg me for what's left. (Begging for spinach?! Yes! It works!!!) I also instituted a green salad requirement each night for dinner. Most of the kids are fine with it, even Brennan-the-picky-eater. But as you can see in the picture above, Grayse is not yet a fan. We'll get her there!

Caught in the act!

Ronan has been mastering the art of teasing his sisters, and I must say, he is really excelling in that area. In the picture above, he is showing off his skill at dropping ice down his sister's shirt. (Access to evidence is the real reason I let the kids use the digital camera!)

Baby!

Eryn, on the other hand, is a champion at finger-sucking. She really practiced a lot while she was teething.

Sleeping Beauties

While Russell was away in Chicago, I was busy for a while, sitting at his laptop, and found three little girls zonked out on my bed. Aren't they so cute?

I hope this post finds you all well and happy, and on the right path. Best wishes for a Happy April!!!

Love,
Rachel

A Fire Re-lit

Plato (I couldn't find a picture of Socrates!)

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend a wonderful event that exercised my brain in a way it hasn't been worked in a LONG time. It felt just like the days when Russell and I would trek up to Cedar City for another TJEd event, and come home, filled to the brim with excitement, enthusiasm, and inspiration to keep going another few months.

You see, these last couple of years I have not worked hard on my own education. We moved to another state, our Five Pillar group broke up, I've been swamped with mentoring Shakespeare, we moved back again, and I had a baby.

You could say I've been a bit busy.

 But then, I attended the Southwest TJEd Forum yesterday, and I feel like my veins have directly been given the shot of inspiration and excitement I haven't been able to find for a very, VERY long time. My four biggest kids also attended, and it was a LIFE-CHANGING experience for them. They're rejuvenated and ready to focus more on their missions, as well as already pining away for their Forum friends. *grin* We're all walking around with new eyes and minds today!

I wish I could share everything I learned, thought, and felt, but that would take me hours! Here are some of the things that inspired me and the random list of the books that were mentioned throughout the day:

• How can we lead unless we KNOW what is true, right, and good?
• Nietzsche was the first one to use the word " values", rather than teaching about good and evil or wrong and right. It's interesting that he substituted the age-old terms of enlightened instruction with a purely economic term. How telling.
• Charlotte Corday and the French Revolution: I have read several books on the French Revolution and I had never heard of Charlotte. I also did not know that the French Revolution started out as something good, and then turned into a blood bath once evil, ignorant people started taking over. (Marat) Charlotte's story reminded me that tyrants cannot be overthrown on passion alone-- the MORAL people in America, who were also EDUCATED in the LIBERAL ARTS, made the American Revolution successful. And because the French did not have the same kinds of people at the time of their revolution in France, it did NOT work. (Is it JUST to kill a tyrant? Is it EFFECTIVE to kill a tyrant?)

Charlotte Corday and Marat

• I  need to read Plato's Republic. (I think I'm finally ready!)
• I need to research Plutarch's Parallel Lives
• Justice is its OWN reward. (Thank you, Socrates!)
• I am astounded-- yet not surprised-- at how wonderfully Socrates' philosophies on education mesh with the Learning Phases taught by TJEd. Truth is truth is truth. :-)
• "Ethics of Elfland" by G.K. Chesterton 
• I need to sit down and listen to different types of music with my kids, and then discuss them together. We do this with books, but I haven't done that with music since my biggest ones were small. How could I forget there are "classics" of every kind? We need to do the same with great artwork.
• Tell stories. It's from STORIES that we learn and become inspired to change and be better. There's a reason Christ taught in parables.
• The BEGINNING is the most important part of any work. (Character Building is the MOST essential of ALL learning!)
• Who knew that "The Headgate" would be in Plato's Republic? (There's that TRUTH stuff, again!)
• I need to read and discuss Shakespeare's Henry V with my kids.
• "History of the American People" by Paul Johnson
• The Math taught in today's society is based on TRUST and FAITH (not PROOF!) that those who came before us actually PROVED their theorems. If  I want to understand math, I need to go through the steps and the hard work MYSELF. Am I ready for Euclid? We shall see...
• Leadership Education is all about ENVIRONMENT. That's it! ("The Headgate" again!)
• Pray and ponder. Pray and ponder.
• "Skills" do NOT equal EDUCATION.
• I need to create an internal change in me (inspiration), so that I can create an inspiring external environment, so that our children can experience their own internal changes. (Everything is cycles.)
• JUMP IN with both feet. I need to get back to the deep end. I've spent enough time taking a break in the shallow waters.
• Getting MY education right now is not "ideal." I need to both accept and embrace that, and move forward, so that my CHILDREN can have the IDEAL education.
• Never forget: IT'S ALL ABOUT MISSION.
• "Teach the ideal, but then you DO what's RIGHT." Thank you, Oliver. (I could hear you saying it through Angie Baker.)
• Go to the Eight Keys (And remember the Ninth: God, not men.)
• "The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle

  

  "Study creates a more powerful motherhood."

• Leadership Education is about PEOPLE, not about curricula or test scores. It's RESPONSIVE to what my family needs.
• The Power of parental EXAMPLE is enormous! It can be used for good OR for bad.
• We are ALWAYS teaching, whether by design or accident-- whether we homeschool or not.
• As parents, are we cheerleaders, or coaches? (I choose to be a COACH!)
• "The Spyglass" by Richard Paul Evans ("You've seen what might be. Now, go and make it so.")
• WE, the parents, are the key.
• "Work without vision is drudgery. Vision without work is just dreaming. Work PLUS vision is a dream come TRUE."
• Pioneering: We'll learn and succeed by DOING!
• I LOVED learning about Mentoring in ALL its forms: Peer Mentoring, Mentoring from the Classics, Classroom Mentoring, PARENT Mentoring, and Personal Mentoring
• I am so excited to simplify my mentoring sessions with my kids!
• Mentoring is RESPONDING.
• "Eight Cousins" by Louisa May Alcott
• "A parent's subtlest power is in Parent Mentoring."
• Mentoring MULTIPLIES our efforts! 
• It's more important to prepare what my students NEED, than to prepare what I WANT to present to them. (Powerful mentoring follows.)
• Madison was ONE little man who changed the WORLD. (If not us, then WHO?)
• Genius is not a level of intellect-- it is a CALL. It has the same root word as "genie." A GENIUS is a guide, a path, a direction. We ALL have genius.
• "Let us not be weary in well-doing..."
• Find out more about the movie, "Secretariat"
• TRUTH IS TRUTH
• And much, much more...

Lessons Learned from Slowing Down...

These last few weeks, I have had a houseful of sick children. It all started with our little Grayse, who is not quite 2 years old. She had the croup, and we had to watch her every second. Sleep was lost, and multiple hot showers were run to help her breathing. There were a couple of instances when she went completely limp and scared her parents to death!

Unfortunately, through all of Grayse's episodes, we had a couple of important events that had been planned months and months ago. As background, I am president of a statewide homeschool organization, and we have two big events every year-- a Family Ball held in October, and an all-day seminar in February. For the seminar, we hire speakers from out of state, and have separate Youth and adults sessions. The night before the seminar, we hold a casual dinner for all the speakers, seminar committee members, and members of our organization's board of directors. In other words, it's one of my favorite weekends of the year!

This same weekend, Grayse was at her worst. We wondered what we should do! She received a couple of blessings, and she improved for while, but she just wasn't getting well enough to leave with a baby sitter. I had to accept that, since Russell had done more work on the seminar this year, that he should be the one to attend the dinner and the seminar. He really could take my place as emcee. I tried not to be disappointed, but I was. I wondered why Heavenly Father had not miraculously healed my little girl, so that I could participate in the event I had been planning for months. Whenever I started feeling too martyr-like, I focused on my little one, and did my best to get her well and keep her comfortable.

The following week, while Russell left town for a business conference on the East Coast, the sickness in our home exploded. All ten of my children, as well as Russell and I, took turns being ill. Fevers, aches, coughs, sneezes, runny noses, sore throats. The week went by in a contagious blur, and I again wondered why we were being hit so hard. Didn't the Lord know that I had lots of things to do? By the weekend, Russell was in SLC, attending another big event I was missing out on. Was the Master trying to teach me a lesson or two?

As I've ruminated on the events of the last few weeks, I've come to the conclusion that Heavenly Father was, indeed, trying to give me some insights into His plans for my life. In recent months, I have been going, going, and going so much that I have not been able to slow down and appreciate my family. I have not listened, cuddled, or read to the ones I love most. These few weeks of illness have forced me to sit down and hold my sick children, and administer relief and smiles to them. We have played together inside, and I have read good books to them. I have had lots of quiet moments to communicate with God. I've also put more effort into eating better foods-- more fruits and vegetables. My appreciation for the the friends I have in the homeschooling community has grown, and I want to do better about staying in touch.

Really, being homebound with sickness has helped me count my blessings and grow in gratitude. I am so thankful to a loving Father in Heaven who gave me this time to ponder and put things back in perspective. Maybe we all could use a little "slowing down."

Back in the Swing of Things!

I spent this past weekend at the Thomas Jefferson Education Convention in Cedar City, and had my cup filled to overflowing! There was very little I hadn't heard the GWC folks say before-- however, the Spirit gave me lots of answers and insights I needed to hear!

I have known for the past two years, in my heart of hearts, that I need to apply for Distance Learning from GWC. While at the Convention, I committed to Dan Ralphs that I will send in my application before the magic date of JULY5th, this year!

Are we nervous?

YES!

Is it the correct thing for me to do right now?

YES.

Oh, My!

Other things that happened at the Convention:

• Reporting to my mentor, Diann Jeppson, as to my progress on the recent assignments she has given me with regards to my TJEd group here in my home state. She liked my Vision!
• Taking suggestions from Diann for new material to put on our TJEd.org website, which included getting a document signed by Dr. DeMille, giving us permission to use his material on the site, as well as receiving an assignment from Diann for Russell and I to read "The Tipping Point" together.
• Dr. Julie Earley mentioned our website over the podium at the Convention! I about fell down with surprise! Unfortunately, Russell missed it, and I had to fill him in!
• I got to meet and visit with some wonderful friends I've known for years online at the Pastry Pub. Very cool! Babies and pictures everywhere!
• Visiting, talking, networking-- did I mention talking? Of sleeping, there was very little, but the trip, though rushed, was so worth it!

My only regret is that I did not take more pictures!!!