Speaking on Sunday

As many of you know, I have been asked to give a talk on Sunday. I have figured out over the years that the Lord always calls either when i have something completley figured out and I need to share with others.....Or (which is the case MOST of the time) he calls us to do something to stretch us...or help us learn, improve and spiritually grow. This time....it is the latter. My subject is: "Reverence For The Sabbath." Now in the broad sense of the principle, we do keep the sabbath day holy. However....there seems to be more contention in our home on Sundays. It that just the adversary? Do I just notice it more because it seems so oposite of attending church? Is everybody just grumpy because of the early rising and Sunday morning rush to get out the door by a ceratin time? (I hate being late for church). Other than going to church and not shopping, Sundays really don't seem that different to me. I wonder if they feel different to the kids. I will inquire and find out, then share their insights in my talk. I want the sabbath to feel different (better). I want to have peace and harmony in our home so that the spirit can dwell here. I want the children to recognize that the Lord blesses us when we do our part. I want them to understand that Sunday can and should feel different (better) than any other day. I pray that as I write my talk I will discover ways to do this better in our home. You see....I am already looking forward to making some positive changes and am anticipating the Lord speaking to me so that I might do so. I really do not like speaking in church (nerves, sweaty hands, talking too fast, losing my place in my notes, my throat gets dry, I wonder if the people in the back can hear me OK,......on and on). But.....I do appreciate and value the spiritual growth that ALWAYS comes with it. I will press forward with faith. I know the Lord loves me.
KKS

Community Service

It's something I don't do enough of. Yes, I serve my family on a regular bases, but it's not the same. Today I had the opportunity to go to Western Maine Community Action to do volunteer work. It really was a great (and humbling) experience. I often forget how truly blessed we are. I am also grateful to live in a country where so many things are abundant. There is an excess of almost every thing in this country and it was heart warming to contribute to this great force in our community. We did alot of sorting, moving and organizing many items that will be sold at a giant yard sale in August. The money raised from this sale (all items are donations) will be put back into community programs like heat assistance and the food bank.
It was there that I thought to myself...."Wow, we are so very blessed. Poor though we may be, my children always have three meals a day, clothes to wear and a home to live in. I want to recognise these blessings and not take them for granted. I think of the hymn "Because I have been goven much, I too must give. Because of thy great bounty Lord, each day I live."
I know why we as Mothers love our children so very much. It is because we serve them every minute of our lives once they are conceived. The Lord asks us to serve others and I know that it is not only for their benefit. It changes our hearts, it heals our soul. It opens our eyes to peoples lives outside of our friends and family. It affords us the oppertunity to think beyond ourselves.....what a great blessing. I feel blessed to have had this oppertunity. The Lord knew I needed this. I have heard it said...."If you are mad at someone....serve them. Find some way to brighten their day." Granted, it doesn't always (immediatley) fix a situation....but it always fixes you (me). Meaning....you feel better afterward. I have applied this principle many times with my children and husband and it always works.
Alas, the Lord has given us...... yet another...... commandment that will improve all aspects of our lives.
I guess I got off on a tangent there for a minute. I'll wrap this up by saying that I truly enjoyed rendering service this day.
KKS

Eventful Day!!!

Bandit has permanently left the nest. Today, the kids scooped up another bird named "Flitter" when he was running around the yard with his Mommy. I told them they could keep it for a little while (an hour or so....i wanted them all to see it up close) so they brought it in the house and made great friends....the bird got so used to them, it was so cute. Then it started chirping loudly and the Mom and Dad bird appeared on the deck in an attempt to rescue their kidnapped baby. So I told them to put it back in the nest. Well....Lundi wanted to keep it as a pet. We got a cage and some baby food (we read online to feed them baby food) and after many attempts to feed it, it still didn't eat. I tried to convince Lundi to put it back....which was very heart wrenching....she cried and cried because she was totally enchanted by this bird and wanted to raise it as a pet. I told her to pray about what she should do, so she did. She felt like she should put it back, but still didn't want to. So finally I had her think about how the Mommy bird must feel, how are we going to get it to eat and that it wouldn't be cute laying dead at the bottom of the cage. "It will have much better chance of living if we put it back......but it is your decision." I told her. Finally, with a broken heart and tears streaming down her face, she reluctantly handed the bird to me and we put it back in the nest. She was so upset, you would have thought her best friend had died. It took her a long time to calm down. We had dinner, then I suggested we go to the pet store and get her a bird. We got a beautiful parakeet and all is well in Lundi's world tonight!!!
Liam has an ear infection....which explains his crabby mood lately. So he is on an antibiotic and will be better soon.
It poured down rain today. I told the kids to grab some soap and go take a shower....and so they did. They also turned the coolers into bath tubs. Innovative.....don't you think? They said it was "warmer" in the "tub." Maybe one of them peed in there.
You can check out the pictures (and many other great ones of our latest adventures) on the family web site. They will be uploaded tomorrow.
There is never a dull moment Chez Nous.
KKS

My Fabulous Five

I will start with Caleb. Why is he fabulous? Well......because he has a photographic memory and remembers specific details that escape most people. He can also build amazing things with Legos. He pays close attention to details. He is conscious of the younger kids' safety. His love for reading has taken him all the way up to an 8th grade reading level. He loves the Lord and wants to do what is right. It is a beautiful thing to watch his testimony grow. He loves The Book of Mormon. Caleb is unique in many ways, he always "thinks outside the box."
Lately he has caught the Harry Potter bug again and finished book two in two days. He will start the third book tomorrow. We told him that he can watch the movies as long as he reads the books first.
Caleb is loyal, intelligent, kind, brave, honest, inquisitive. He is a friend to everyone he meets. His talents and spiritual gifts will take him far in life and we are here to cheer him on!
We love him dearly.

Catching Up!!!

Well, actually there is no way I can catch up on the last few weeks of our lives, but here is a summary...
I am currently reading "Peter The Great" and wow....what a fascinating and brilliant man he was. I don't know why I picked this one, it just intruiged me. Russia and the Orthodox Church have a fascinating history.
Harrison fell down with a pair of tweezers in his nose and they got stuck there. Why were they in his nose??? Well, you see he was trying to retrieve a bead that he put in there. He was coming quickly outside to ask for my help (I was vacuuming the van) when he stumbled and the tweezers went right up his nose....OUCH! So I pulled them out, stopped the bleeding, called the Ped's office. They instructed me to do the "rescue blow" but it was to no avail....that bead was stuck. So our next stop was to the ER and after alot of waiting, the Doc's came in and encouraged me to try the rescue blow again (to avoid having to stick anything else in there). I blew....nothing. They said "Blow harder, you won't blow his lungs or brains out." So I huffed and I puffed and on the third blow, out comes that blue bead. Isn't Motherhood so exciting?
Liam is getting four molars at once and boy is he crabby! I hope that it is temporary....I want my sweet boy back.
Mike has been doing computer work for a great charity called "Now I Lay Me down To sleep." Our friend Melissa took the pictures. It is an organization that provides support, photos and DVD's for parents who lose babies during pregnancy, childbirth or infancy. He is making a DVD for the parents of baby Curtis right now, he lived only 20 minutes after birth. The DVD is so beautiful and I know it will be cherished by this sweet baby's family.
We have a nest of birds on a low branch out front. We have been watching them. We discovered by accident when Lundi shook the branch their nest was on and three of them fell out. Well, the full story is on Mike's blog but the latest is that "Bandit" left the nest today and we didn't put him back. So long, little friend. Thanks for teaching us so much and letting us have a peek into your family's life.
Caled thouroughly enjoyed technology camp. He made a really neat DVD about the Amazon rain forest and is quite proud of his accomplishment, as are we. There is so much more I could share but it is so very late and slumber awaits me. It is 1:47......i really have to go to bed.
KKS

Congratulations Are in Order

It's true!!! Mike passed the N-CLEX. We found out yesterday and are so very thankful for the Lords hand in our lives. Mike is now a Licensed Practical Nurse, so we are half way to our goal of RN. He took the test on Tuesday and we had to wait two days for the results. I think they do that to torture the students....the wait was so hard. Anyway, now our lives can continue without the stress of wondering.....wondering.....wondering. Now he can get a job and he can continue on next semester. The Lord has truely blessed us.
We have some friends who have a camp (a cabin on the lake) and they invited us there to spend the evening. So yesterday we packed up the life jackets, the cooler, the beach toys, the camera, stroller, camp chairs and kids and headed off to the Collins camp. We had great fun. We made sand castles, went in the canoe, swam in the lake, caught frogs, sat around the campfire and roasted hotdogs and made S'Mores. It was a great day!!! It is so peaceful there and the scenery is gorgeous. We also saw a cute duck with her four baby chicks. They were so adorable. We saw three Loons, too. They are solitary creatures so that was a treat to see them on the lake. Lundi loves Loons. She tried to row the canoe closer to them to get a better look, but they just went under the water.
Last week we spent three days traveling around the state so Mike could fix the computers at all of the church buildings in our stake. That was fun, too. We let the kids bring their bikes and they had the whole church parking lot to ride. No hills or bumpy roads, which is what they are used to. They had fun racing and learning new tricks.
Today we will spend at home. Our house needs attention and I think everyone needs rest. And I need to make a dent in that huge mountain of laundry that is always waiting for me. Did I ever mention that I hate laundry? I think it's because it never actually gets DONE.......unless we all spend the day naked.
A bientot, mes amis.
KKS

Make Enough of Me

I have had so much on my mind lately that I have just been reading instead of writing. Sometimes procrastinating is easier than coming face to face with inadequacy. I know this is a terrible way of thinking, but I am trying to change that about myself so that is why I am here tonight.
It was not a good day. A dear friend hurt me deeply. Perhaps this post should be titled "Vent."
Things I know......
I know that Christ paid the price for my shortcomings and for everyone elses, too.
I know that the Church is perfect, the members are not.
I know that we are all at different points in our spiritual progression.
I know that I am not doing my absolute best in my calling....I need to be better.
I know that some of the things she said are true (hence the pain it caused.)
I know that I should keep a "Look here first" policy when someone expresses to me that I am doing something wrong. In other words, try to be humble.
I know that gossip only hurts people and makes a situation worse.
I know that there are many things that are out of my control.
I know that the Lord loves me and wants me to grow, learn and progress.......Bloom where I am planted.
I know that I don't deal well with confrontation' I either "stonewall" or cry. Today I was trying so hard not to cry.
I know that I fall short in so many areas.
I know that Christ understands my hurt fellings and her frustration.

Alas.....this is my prayer tonight......

Overwhelmed and under paid
Morning comes too soon
Running late and on my plate
A million things to do

Got a baby cryin'
Another trying to find the other shoe
When I open my eyes
The dam will break
Their needs will flood my room

You made wine from water
Raised up Jairus' daughter
From her bed
Filled the empty fishing nets
And with some loaves and fishes fed
A hungry crowd
Make enough of me to go around

My mother's sick
And I'm late to pick up kids at school
I need to clean
Can't fit in my jeans
The fridge gives no comfort food

Multiply and magnify
This tiny little life of mine
Enlarge me
And expand this heart
And fill it with divine

My heart is cold
Nothing grows
But thistles and some thorns
They choke the light
And shrink the vine
I need to be reborn!

You made wine from water
And told a scarlet daughter
Sin no more
Sin no more
Surrendered to the garden
Through thorns and nails you pardoned
The angry crowd
Make enough of me to go around.
----Julie de Azevedo

Again, these are not my words but I certainly appreciate them this night.
I love the scripture that says "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." I don't know that reference. But I know that He lives and and I am grateful that He paid the price even for my sins and shortcomings. Because of Him, I can be better tomorrow.
Slumber awaits me and I need to spend some time on my knees before I go to sleep. I will close for now.
KKS

AMother Myth

Stephanie said....
This is something I've been contending with for a while, now.One of my mother's favorites has always been the above saying, something like "We never had much money, but you were always tidy and had clean faces!", and something akin to (while walking to church when we were kids) "Together! Get up here! We are not a bunch of heathens!"
I remember these experiences. I remember thinking as a child...."What IS a heathen? What is so bad about a heathen? They must be awful people and perhaps I am in danger of becoming one of them!" Maybe I am a heathen. Am I? Am I raising heathens if I don't hold all of my Mothers standards in cleanliness and conformity? Sometimes I find myself thinking...."Man, what a loud, tacky, misbehaved, unruly bunch of kids I have." Then I start to feel guilty about all the things I am doing "wrong" as a Mother and hope that they will all turn out alright, anyway.
Until....... a certain person posted these thoughts on her blog. My thoughts have been given a pathway to expression. Deep down inside, I have always known that these ideas that were planted in my head so long ago are simply......MYTHS.
......................Love and devotion (excellent Mamahood) are judged by certain factors. Cleanliness, manners - quietness in church and sit-still ability in restaurants are all Tell Tale signs of a Good Mother. Tis a hard thing to admit -in vulnerable moments- that (sigh) mine probably don't have it. These words from my dear sister have helped me to discover a liberating truth and I will forever be in her debt.
Since I have read this post, I feel like I have been given "permission" to let my kids have dirty faces, build forts on the front yard for all of the neighbors to see, be seen in public with messy hair, wear jeans with holes in the knees and even go to the store with mismatched clothes. I did these things before, but always had that myth haunting me that I wasn't a good Mom if I allowed these things. Now I feel differently. I am also looking forward to recognizing and dispelling other myths that I consciously or unconsciously believe.
Thank You, Stephanie. From the bottom of my heart. You have taught me so much.
KKS

Friday....A Fun Day

It was a pretty lazy morning. I slept in and Mike got up with the kids. Eventually, after the milkman came and I put the baby down for a nap, I decided to go out and mow some more of the "lond" ( as the kids call it). Mike had worked on it the two previous days, his back was hurting so i wanted to finish it up. So I set out to do it when within five minutes I was interrupted by my charming little Harrison...."Can I help, Mom?" "Sure, son." So I turned over the reigns of the push mower to my little 6 year old. I knew he could do it, Mike had let him help the day before (after giving him a crash course in the dangers of the blade). But can I just tell you.....that boy can work!!! Pushing with all his might, brow sweating and occasionally stopping to seek my approval......he mowed the lawn for a good hour. He is a strong boy with a lot of energy and determination. It was indeed a proud Mom moment as I watched him mow that lawn.
So we finally got it done about 5:00, so it was time to start daking minner. Then, I started to clean out the fire pit in the back yard. I knew we had hot dogs in the freezer just waiting for a roasting. So I asked Mike to defrost them while I built a fire. I sent the kids on a mission around the yard to gather "snappy little sticks", bark and dried leaves for kindling. Away they went. So we started the fire (with a little help from the lighter fluid) and got some big dry logs from the barn. The kids were so happy to have a fire and went and got chairs and wire hangers for our roasting sticks. So we sat around and ate our hot dogs,.....some charred, some raw, some both. They really enjoyed it.
Then I said to the kids...."You wanna set up the tents and sleep outside tonight?" "YES!!" came the gleeful reply. Their next question was, "Can Zach and Abrahm (two brothers that live near by) sleep over?" I said that they could, only no mixing girls and boys in the same tent unless they are your sibs. They were fine with that. So it started out with Lundi and Lauren in one tent. And Caleb, Harrison, Zach and Abrahm in another. (I wonder how long this will last, I said to Mike). Ten minutes later....Lauren starts crying...."I wanna sleep in MY bed." So we brought her in, settled her into bed and that was that. A few minutes later, Tricia (the boys' Mom) came over to check on them and Abrahm says "Can I go home with you, Mom? We keep hearing noises in the woods." So off goes Abrahm, home to his bed. Next comes Harrison, crying because the big boys were keeping him awake because they were telling scary stories. Mike tells him "Maybe you should sleep inside because bigger kids think it is really fun to tell ghost stories in a tent." Harrison readily agreed to spend the rest of the night on the couch. A half hour later...the giggling and talking stops. Mike says "I think they are asleep." So we go to bed.....until 2:30 Caleb comes in the house to announce that Zach wanted to go home because he "felt like he was going to puke" and he didn't want to sleep in the tent alone. Last comes Lundi....she didn't want to sleep out all by herself. And it's a good thing she did....it started pouring at about 3:00 this morning. They had insisted I leave the rain flaps off so they could study the constellations. I agreed, as there were not any clouds when the night began.
So we sent them off to their beds and had a peaceful rest of the night. It was fun for them while it lasted....maybe next year they will make it until 3:30.
Childhood is so............FUN!!!
KKS

Caluhalali

Interesting....I went to Girls Night Out on Thursday evening. It consists of a small group of friends who get together the first Thursday of the month for chatting, relaxing and just socializing with other Moms. This particular meeting, there was a new face there. I won't mention her name...I'll call her Jen.
Somehow we got on the subject of homeschooling (I am the only one in the group who does HS). So Jen asked me if I liked homeschooling. I said yes, gave her a few short reasons why we chose to HS our kids, then told her the MAIN reason......ultimately it was because after making it a matter of prayer, we felt this was right for our family. I don't like to sound preachy or make others think that I think they are wrong for sending their kids to PS. I do know that it is not for everyone.....some people can hardly stand their kids around for three months in the summer. So I try to remain neutral about HS vs. PS because I don't want to offend those who choose PS for their kids. But if someone asks my why I HS, I tell them. Reactions vary. Some people say I am crazy, controling, naive, sheltering my kids too much, out of touch with the real world, wasting my time (why not let the "experts" educate them?). Others commend my efforts, some say "I wish I could do that, but I have to....(FITB)." But really, none of what others say matters. For I have the confirmation from the Holy Ghost that this is what I am supposed to be doing for my children. Nothing anyone else says will change my mind.
I got off on a little tangent, there. Now to continue telling what I set out to record....and that is my conversation with Jen.
She teaches Kindergarten, was telling me the good and bad parts of her job. She mentioned how much they have to assess.....assess..assess, all the time. "So how do you assess your kids?" She asked me. I said "I don't. I homeschool because I like the freedom that it affords me and my kids and I don't believe in conveyor belt education. I don't believe that the government knows what my kids need to learn. I just don't buy into those ideals." I then gave her my testimony of how I trust my kids to let me know what they need to learn and we go from there. "Much of the time I learn right along with them. That is another one of the joys." I said. Jen said..."Ya, I can see your point. We just spend so much time trying to get every child on the same level, that I feel many of the brighter ones (her words) get cheated. I must confess, that when and if I ever have children, I would be tempted to homeschool." I said "It is a good temptation and you would not be the first PS teacher turned homeschooler. There are 3 in my group of twelve Moms who use to teach PS." She was amazed at that and seemed relieved that she is not the only teacher who doesn't have faith in the PS system. Yes, she wants to help other children, but would not choose that for her own. I see and hear of this happening all the time. I was glad to have been able to shed some light on that for her. Now I am not a homeschool advocate who shouts from the roof tops "Get your kids out of that failing institution!!!" But I am happy to enlighten those who care to ask.
Ca-Lu-Ha-La-Li. Doesn't that sound like a Hawiian word? Now say it fast...."caluhalali.". I wonder if it means something in Hawiian. It is the first two letters of each of my kids names. Clever, huh?
Signing off for this post because I want to write about our fun day yesterday.
Au revoir, mes amis.
KKS