My Schooling

One of my daily emails from LDS Gems had some wise counsel:

"We do live in turbulent times. Often the future is unknown;
therefore, it behooves us to prepare for uncertainties. Statistics reveal
that at some time, for a variety of reasons, you may find yourself in the
role of financial provider. I urge you to pursue your education and learn
marketable skills so that, should such a situation arise, you are prepared
to provide."

(President Thomas S. Monson, "If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear," Ensign, November 2004, 116

I think this is why I am so driven to finish my education; I want to be able to provide for my children in a career that I enjoy should the need arise, and money is so easy to come by for those who know a trade and how to conserve.

In any case, I also hear there is a push to require a teaching certificate for homeschooling in California, and I hope to be prepared should the requirement be made of me for my children. I bristle at the thought of my children being taught the 'new math' - which, for those who have not seen it, entails no logic whatsoever! I would like to teach my children about the Creation rather than the ridiculous theory that earth and everything on it just evolved to be this way. If that is the case, why didn't everything just follow the Chaos theory, and fall apart? I would like to start our school-day with prayer, and with the whole Pledge of Allegiance in a setting where it is not mocked by youngsters because an idle teacher has not the gumption or concern to see that it is reverenced. I wish to cut busy work out of my children's repertoire, and, most of all, to have my children see that learning is and ought to be a lifelong process, something to be cherished rather than cut off upon receiving a diploma or a letter from an accredited university.

Fun Times

Xac has been going out with Jim to his parents' house to work on the Porsche, which he helps with a great deal. He also rides around on a little pedal car, the plastic Hummer we bought at Wal-Mart two summers ago, and a motorized contraption that goes so fast he has to have PaPa, aka Jim's dad, ride with him. He has a blast.




Meanwhile Xhaiden has been a lot of fun, one of his favorite things to do is to try to dress himself. All clothes and blankets, he thinks, are meant to go over his head. Yesterday his pants were still attached to one leg and he was sitting on the floor bent over trying to get them over his head. It was so funny to see him bent over like that, but he had his pants off his leg before I could snap a picture.



Our last bit of news is that Xac is learning his letters. He still has trouble talking, but this helps me to ascertain which letters he is having trouble pronouncing. Someone recommended the Letter Factory DVDs, which are great. Xac sits and watches cartoons and learns his letters all at once. He can't recite the alphabet, but he can point to a letter on my shirt and say the appropriate sound. The video is really clever, as they teach each letter how to say their sound. For example, a big monster comes in and scares all the A's so they scream Aaaa! So cute.

Meanwhile it's got Xac practicing since he gets lots of positive attention for saying the names of the letters and/or their sounds. So far here are the sounds he has down:

ABCDEF H K MNOP RSTUVW

He definitely recognizes these letters:

ABCDEF H MMNOPRSTU

Blonde Hair

4.5 years of marriage, staying indoors most of the time and carrying two children has changed my life - and my hair color. Jim was so kind as to go to Wal-Mart last night and pick up a hair dye kit. I put it on immediately when he got home, and after some work I asked him how he picked the color. He said "I just picked up a blonde box". The girl on the box is blonder than I have been in a long time, and I do not look like her. Jim says he likes it, I still am not sure. It's a little more yellow than I hoped for. I may try again to get it a little lighter, but for now my scalp is a little tender, so this is my look for church tomorrow.

Hanging out with the McIntosh's

We had a barbecue last Saturday night. It was cold out so I told Jim I was nervous to go, but he assured me his mom would let us stay in the house. It turned out to be a lot of fun. Here I am holding Xhaiden like I usually do when we're not at home.



Jim's mom has been getting really good at taking pictures. She got a 12 megapixel camera for Christmas and has been taking raw pictures. She is in an online photography class and has watched all the Photoshop training videos that Jim has sent her way. Did all that expertise come in handy when she went to take pictures of eight squirmy children? Well, you be the judge; here are Xac and Xhaiden with most of their McIntosh cousins.