A Gift from a friend

Look what someone gave to me last night!! Christmas Ornaments!  I LOVE THESE!!

Another Step Forward

Patrick and Buddy are now both working at Domino’s Pizza in Conway.

   I had been praying mightily for…… …….something… for my family… guidance for the ganglings……we need to move forward.  I worry them growing up without a father to show them the way.  Then Fred, a family friend and owner of Domino’s in Conway,  approached Patrick with a job offer, then offered Buddy a job 10 days later.

I am seeing how the good men in my sons’ lives—the mentors, the scout masters, the Young Men’s presidents, the home teachers, those who serve, give rides, church leaders, family friends-- are being used by the Lord to shape them, teach them things, guide them in ways I don’t know how. 

College Entrance Essay

I have always loved this.

This is supposedly an actual essay written by an extremely creative college applicant to NYU. The author was accepted and is reportedly now attending NYU.

QUESTION 3A: ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD, OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT HAVE HELPED DEFINE YOU AS A PERSON?

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently.

Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row. I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing. I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook 30-minute brownies in 20 minutes.

I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello. I was scouted by the Mets. I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I'm bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don't perspire.

I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal force demonstration. I bat .400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.

I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life, but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven.

I breed prize-winning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But, I have not yet gone to college.

*********************************************

Viking Helmet with Horns

Katie made her first Viking helmet with wings on the side and now she makes the one with horns, just like Ruffnut and Tuffnut’s helmets on “How to Train Your Dragon.”

She started with the basic directions (found here,) but added horns instead.  She made horns with newspaper, then taped them in shape with masking tape.   They were then hot glued in place.

She primed with white craft paint to cover the newspaper print.

She selected different colors for this helmet..

..and made her horns two-toned.

nearly finished

The completed project with jewels!!

Our House, Saturday, March 26

The YSAs in our house invited a couple of YSA friends over for an afternoon of fun and food.  Momma baked bread and made soup.

Mary is teaching Chelcy to knit.

Thomas found the “Pirates of the Caribbean” chess set and the boys started to play.

Thomas won, despite Patrick taking most of the pieces that Thomas likes to play with the most.  “Don’t you hate it when your favorite toys get taken away?”,  I asked.

Katie had been working on another Viking helmet and started painting today.

Buddy plays piano for us while all this is going on.  He challenges the winner of the chess game.

Chelcy is so proud of herself, as she IS learning to knit.

It is getting easier!!

Katie is almost done.

Thomas says, “One wrong move and you have my queen!!”

“Really?  How is that?”, asks Buddy.

After a while, Buddy and Chelcy play together the medley of “The Army of Helaman” and  “As Sisters in Zion.”  We filmed it on our camera, but our computer doesn’t like the file.  We’ll keep trying to put it up.

Chelcy is really getting somewhere with her knitting.  Mary is thrilled with her progress. Who’s got happy girls?

Katie’s finished Viking helmet!

Çlassics

 I found something in today's post at the Latter-Day Homeschool blog. "A 'Classic' is anything that changes, molds and influences one for righteousness."--from A Thomas Jefferson Education

I really don't care to limit myself to the "classics" to be reading a good book.  I believe there are many authors out there creating great works of good influence outside of "classics."  If I had to leave, taking only the best things with me what books, other than scriptures, would I take with me?
My list of classics are
Fire of the Covenant by Gerald Lund
The Kingdom and the Crown series by Gerald Lund
Before the Dawn by Dean Hughs
The Peacegiver by James Ferrell
Anything by Sheri Dew
Bad Girl Creek series
Harry Potter series
The Enoch Letters-Neal A. Maxwell
The Great and Terrible series by Chris Stewart
The Millennial Glory series by Wendi L Edwards

What would my children take?  something to consider for FHE
 

Zebra Duck Tape

Katie fashioned my Potty Mouth tool in Zebra Style this morning.  (when you use potty mouth--idiot, stupid, dumb--you have to clean the toilet)  I'm reaching the point when I can come out of the bathroom for a few hours. 

Per week.

There is a God and He loves Duck tape. And Me.

 

3-3-11

It is a nice day out. Today I planted some flowers and will probably plant some sugar snap peas

Purple stocks

Light purple pansies

The little old man on the corner was out in his garden, today, taking stock of how things are.  When he is out and about he always graces you with a Peace Sign as you drive by.  It’s been a long winter without him.  Life is good.

Buddy’s Lego Transformer

One of Buddy’s favorite pastimes is to build transformers out of his collection of Legos.

Here we have his creation, which always must have a face.

And now the transformation begins….

• swivel the hands in

 

• flip the arms up and snap together

 

• swivel armor plate up to hide face

 

 

• snap legs together

 

• “push thighs down into legs”

 

• push “hip bones down into legs” and we have our ship.

I really like the handlebars.

 

Great job, Buddy!

And, yes, that is a tie-dye damask tablecloth underneath it all.