My Week In Review
This is a quick run down of my past week (as if you really give a care...but here it is anyway) because I have been slacking on my blogging and am running out of clever ideas. So this will have to do, Dear Reader.
This week Levi was here on Friday night and then gone by Monday morning.
Like these animals...
HOSTILITY WARNING: No, I don't know where he is or when he will be home again. Let's just pretend he works for the FBI or somethings so maybe people will STOP asking. If you want to know where he is- friend him on Facebook. Because people he literally TRAVELS for a living... as in he is driving all day and can be in 3 states or more in one day and does not stay anywhere except for sleeping then he wakes up and TRAVELS some more. So you should ask something like...Where did Levi wake-up this morning? Every time I speak to him he is somewhere new, so it is really hard to remember where he is at any given time. All I really care about is if he is on his way home anyway. So there!
Saturday we spent a fun day with Levi's parents eating and playing games. It was so much fun!!
On Sunday, I survived teaching the 4 Year old in Sunday School,with my husband looking on in amusement. Then we went to Uncle Bills in Ontario for a Father's day dinner.
Monday I worked on Levi's parents yard and it is looking AMAZING! The rest of the day was an allergy filled haze. Well, really this whole week. I mostly just hate the foggy head feeling. It's like my sinuses are blocking my brain power.
Tuesday I could really feel how we have slipped into full blown lazy summer mode. I slept in and read a whole book in one setting. Two rare luxuries in my life..but I paid for my moment of peace with some financial stress for the rest of the week. I also got my Visiting Teaching done. Did I meantion how much I love this website for VTing helps?
Wednesday is a bit of a blur, but I think I cleaned the house, did a mountain of laundry, and took Josef to Scouts. I also adopted two Freecycled house plants. They were not it too bad shape, just needed re-potted and a little TLC. They will go a long way to cleaner air in our home and a lovely peaceful natural environment.
Thursday I took the boys to the Reptile Day at the Nampa library. They love reptiles and wanted to have one of everything to take home as a pet. I don't not love them, I just don't see why you would want one as a pet. It was fun but really packed, I felt a bit claustrophobic in that basement. Nampa library I am sorry but you are in desperate need of a remodel. Even if you just moved things around a bit, it would be so much nicer- some Fung Shui or something. I would be happy to be a volunteer consultant...just saying. I could even donate my two new plants.
We had our cousin Chris and Kylie over to swim, which the boys never grow tired of. They are getting to be talented swimmers. It's strange how long they are entertained by throwing things on the bottom of the pool and diving for them. I sure enjoy my pool side time to read though, so it is a win-win situation.
Then I ran off to our church book group, which I am growing to love. It's kind of tough sometimes because I am youngish and the ladies are all 'not old' but much more mature than I. I made the mistake of saying the author of the book we were reading was an 'older lady'. Boy, did those heads turn and I had some explaining to do about exactly what I meant by 'older'.
Friday I worked on some projects around the house, wrote a little, and did some online things...like working on this post.
On Saturday we headed back over to work on the garden at Levi's parents house. I had the boys help pull some grass out of the flower beds. They found this large jumping spider on a tree. He was a big one at about an inch in diameter. He got pretty agitated about us observing him. He was plain comical as he kept running up and down the trunk, trying to figure out what he should do about us.
This week Levi was here on Friday night and then gone by Monday morning.
Like these animals...
HOSTILITY WARNING: No, I don't know where he is or when he will be home again. Let's just pretend he works for the FBI or somethings so maybe people will STOP asking. If you want to know where he is- friend him on Facebook. Because people he literally TRAVELS for a living... as in he is driving all day and can be in 3 states or more in one day and does not stay anywhere except for sleeping then he wakes up and TRAVELS some more. So you should ask something like...Where did Levi wake-up this morning? Every time I speak to him he is somewhere new, so it is really hard to remember where he is at any given time. All I really care about is if he is on his way home anyway. So there!
Saturday we spent a fun day with Levi's parents eating and playing games. It was so much fun!!
“It is in games that many men discover their paradise.”
Robert Lynd
On Sunday, I survived teaching the 4 Year old in Sunday School,with my husband looking on in amusement. Then we went to Uncle Bills in Ontario for a Father's day dinner.
Monday I worked on Levi's parents yard and it is looking AMAZING! The rest of the day was an allergy filled haze. Well, really this whole week. I mostly just hate the foggy head feeling. It's like my sinuses are blocking my brain power.
Unfortunately the fog in my head is not this pretty.
Tuesday I could really feel how we have slipped into full blown lazy summer mode. I slept in and read a whole book in one setting. Two rare luxuries in my life..but I paid for my moment of peace with some financial stress for the rest of the week. I also got my Visiting Teaching done. Did I meantion how much I love this website for VTing helps?
Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Girl Reading
Wednesday is a bit of a blur, but I think I cleaned the house, did a mountain of laundry, and took Josef to Scouts. I also adopted two Freecycled house plants. They were not it too bad shape, just needed re-potted and a little TLC. They will go a long way to cleaner air in our home and a lovely peaceful natural environment.
Thursday I took the boys to the Reptile Day at the Nampa library. They love reptiles and wanted to have one of everything to take home as a pet. I don't not love them, I just don't see why you would want one as a pet. It was fun but really packed, I felt a bit claustrophobic in that basement. Nampa library I am sorry but you are in desperate need of a remodel. Even if you just moved things around a bit, it would be so much nicer- some Fung Shui or something. I would be happy to be a volunteer consultant...just saying. I could even donate my two new plants.
We had our cousin Chris and Kylie over to swim, which the boys never grow tired of. They are getting to be talented swimmers. It's strange how long they are entertained by throwing things on the bottom of the pool and diving for them. I sure enjoy my pool side time to read though, so it is a win-win situation.
Then I ran off to our church book group, which I am growing to love. It's kind of tough sometimes because I am youngish and the ladies are all 'not old' but much more mature than I. I made the mistake of saying the author of the book we were reading was an 'older lady'. Boy, did those heads turn and I had some explaining to do about exactly what I meant by 'older'.
First you are young; then you are middle-aged; then you are old; then you are wonderful.
- Lady Diana Cooper
Friday I worked on some projects around the house, wrote a little, and did some online things...like working on this post.
On Saturday we headed back over to work on the garden at Levi's parents house. I had the boys help pull some grass out of the flower beds. They found this large jumping spider on a tree. He was a big one at about an inch in diameter. He got pretty agitated about us observing him. He was plain comical as he kept running up and down the trunk, trying to figure out what he should do about us.
Phidippus audax
Then I worked on cleaning Levi's parent house. They have hired me to clean their house once or twice a month and it works out nice for us all. They get a sparkly home without any of the hard work and I get a little extra cash. Which we can always use.
All this brings us back to Sunday...today!
We went to church, napped, ate, and read. I managed to get Josef to work on his Duty to God. I need to be better at getting him motivated to work on these sorts of things and get them scheduled in. Just one more thing on the ever growing To Do list. The other boys just played, mostly quietly. Oliver built a lovely Playmobile village today. Kaleb and Ian built unique Lego creations and a huge mess, which we all know is essential to the creative process.
Now I am off to get a few things organized for our first trip to Roaring Springs tomorrow. The boys earned some free passes through the Roaring Readers program, otherwise it would cost me almost $200 to take us all there for the day. It's as much as going to Disney land for the day. Crazy! Free is nicer though and I just have to pay the $27 dollars for me. The boys are excited and have been talking about all the rides they will go on. I am sure I'll post all about it.
Hope you, Dear Reader, also had a great week and are looking forward to July, because June is almost gone.
Idaho - How Social Workers Will Investigate You Now
This is from the HSLDA website
June 10, 2010
*How Social Workers Will Investigate You Now *
The Idaho Department Of Health and Welfare (DHW) has issued a new checklist
that tells social workers how they should investigate homeschool families
accused of educational neglect.
After discovering early this year that DHW had used the opportunity of the
passage of a good homeschool bill, Senate Bill 1017, as an excuse to change
its guidelines for investigating homeschoolers, Idaho Coalition of Home
Educators’ board of legal advisors, CHOIS’ Linda Patchin, and HSLDA Senior
Counsel Scott Woodruff spent several months working to make changes.
DHW listened carefully to their concerns. As a result, the new checklist
provides meaningful protection against frivolous accusations. Here are a few
highlights.
If a caller reports that a family is homeschooling, the DHW representative
will tell him that homeschooling is legal and does not constitute
educational neglect. If the caller gives detailed, credible evidence that
the child is not receiving instruction as required under law, a social
worker will open an investigation. But if the caller does not provide such
evidence, no investigation will be opened.
If an investigation is opened, the family will be given the opportunity to
show that the report is not credible, or show evidence that refutes the
report (such as their curriculum, or test scores, or lesson plans, or a
description of educational efforts, etc.). This will result in the case
being closed.
The checklist also provides social workers a list of examples of what is *
not* evidence of educational neglect, including:
- A child who is learning at a slower rate than others of the same age
- Use of an unconventional curriculum, schedule, or teaching methods.
The “Guidelines for the Assessment of Claims of Educational Neglect,” the
document’s formal name, changes the landscape in Idaho. Any guidance you
previously received may therefore no longer be helpful. If a report against
your family gets through the initial screening process and a social worker
shows up at your door, an excellent strategy would be to seek individualized
guidance promptly before responding.
*HSLDA Social Services Contact Policy*
We desire to advise our members in every contact with a social worker and/or
police officer in investigations resulting from allegations of abuse or
neglect. If homeschooling is an issue, we will represent our member families
until the issue is resolved. On Fourth Amendment unreasonable search and
seizure issues, HSLDA will advise our members whenever the privacy of their
home is violated by forced or coerced entry for the purpose of an
unsubstantiated investigation. HSLDA membership benefits do not extend to
court actions resulting from non-homeschooling matters. However, in
circumstances where there is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment,
HSLDA may, as we have done in the past, choose to take the case in an effort
to establish legal precedent.
June 10, 2010
*How Social Workers Will Investigate You Now *
The Idaho Department Of Health and Welfare (DHW) has issued a new checklist
that tells social workers how they should investigate homeschool families
accused of educational neglect.
After discovering early this year that DHW had used the opportunity of the
passage of a good homeschool bill, Senate Bill 1017, as an excuse to change
its guidelines for investigating homeschoolers, Idaho Coalition of Home
Educators’ board of legal advisors, CHOIS’ Linda Patchin, and HSLDA Senior
Counsel Scott Woodruff spent several months working to make changes.
DHW listened carefully to their concerns. As a result, the new checklist
provides meaningful protection against frivolous accusations. Here are a few
highlights.
If a caller reports that a family is homeschooling, the DHW representative
will tell him that homeschooling is legal and does not constitute
educational neglect. If the caller gives detailed, credible evidence that
the child is not receiving instruction as required under law, a social
worker will open an investigation. But if the caller does not provide such
evidence, no investigation will be opened.
If an investigation is opened, the family will be given the opportunity to
show that the report is not credible, or show evidence that refutes the
report (such as their curriculum, or test scores, or lesson plans, or a
description of educational efforts, etc.). This will result in the case
being closed.
The checklist also provides social workers a list of examples of what is *
not* evidence of educational neglect, including:
- A child who is learning at a slower rate than others of the same age
- Use of an unconventional curriculum, schedule, or teaching methods.
The “Guidelines for the Assessment of Claims of Educational Neglect,” the
document’s formal name, changes the landscape in Idaho. Any guidance you
previously received may therefore no longer be helpful. If a report against
your family gets through the initial screening process and a social worker
shows up at your door, an excellent strategy would be to seek individualized
guidance promptly before responding.
*HSLDA Social Services Contact Policy*
We desire to advise our members in every contact with a social worker and/or
police officer in investigations resulting from allegations of abuse or
neglect. If homeschooling is an issue, we will represent our member families
until the issue is resolved. On Fourth Amendment unreasonable search and
seizure issues, HSLDA will advise our members whenever the privacy of their
home is violated by forced or coerced entry for the purpose of an
unsubstantiated investigation. HSLDA membership benefits do not extend to
court actions resulting from non-homeschooling matters. However, in
circumstances where there is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment,
HSLDA may, as we have done in the past, choose to take the case in an effort
to establish legal precedent.
Minding your own beeswax....
image from Diary of a County Wife
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons.
Deuteronomy 4: 9
How do people make it through life without a sister? ~Sara Corpening
I found this poem years ago on Of Worth .com it is very representative of the change of attitude and affection you can feel for others when you let go of your preconceived notions and judgments and just love them. It is often easier said then done. Impressions and judgment can be very powerful-we often think we know people, when all we really know is the surface. We are quick to cast our judgments and often condemn others in our minds for their choices, it is so much easier than actually learning to loving them and get to know them, and understand them.
In a previous ward we did an activity where 10 sisters were chosen to interview and get to know 10 other sisters. We were asked to prepare posters on our sisters including photographs. I was asked to visit an older(60 yrs or so) sister in our ward. Someone who I wouldn't otherwise know or even befriend. On the surface she seemed like she had had a nice cushy life-she looked happy, she had a lovely home with photos of family, and she looked healthy- I wondered what I could possible learn from someone who had probably lived a perfect life. I had no idea who she really was. After chatting with her and asking her story, I gained a new perspective of her. I learned she had left the church several times, struggled with her testimony, survived a bad abusive marriage, a husbands suicide and raised 2 sons all alone. Her testimony of the gospel was amazing and her faith grew stronger as she aged. I felt so privileged to know her story and to listen to her, and from then on we were friends.
In a previous ward we did an activity where 10 sisters were chosen to interview and get to know 10 other sisters. We were asked to prepare posters on our sisters including photographs. I was asked to visit an older(60 yrs or so) sister in our ward. Someone who I wouldn't otherwise know or even befriend. On the surface she seemed like she had had a nice cushy life-she looked happy, she had a lovely home with photos of family, and she looked healthy- I wondered what I could possible learn from someone who had probably lived a perfect life. I had no idea who she really was. After chatting with her and asking her story, I gained a new perspective of her. I learned she had left the church several times, struggled with her testimony, survived a bad abusive marriage, a husbands suicide and raised 2 sons all alone. Her testimony of the gospel was amazing and her faith grew stronger as she aged. I felt so privileged to know her story and to listen to her, and from then on we were friends.
by Claire Helmers (c)1997 all rights reserved
I wonder, sometimes, if you know how much I need your love.How much I crave a compliment, how much I want a hug.
I wonder if you share my fear of always falling short
Of thinking I'm the only one with faults and sins and warts.
Do you like me, put on a face that says your life is swell,
But shake and tremble deep inside that fragile outer shell?
Please don't be fooled by my facade, I've worn it now for years
But often, just below my smile, my throat is full of tears.
Are you convinced that others here are worthier than you?
They know the gospel, pay their tithes, and shine in Sunday School
Their kids don't fight, their house is clean, they never raise their voice.
You'd gladly trade your life for theirs, if you just had a choice.
Well, please remember, sisters dear, that life's not all it seems.
The lives that other women live are only in your dreams
They worry, struggle, cry and pray, and never have enough
Of love from women like yourself, of gentle female stuff.
I need your love like you need mine; I need forgiveness too
For falling short of my ideals, and wishing I was you
So if you like me, tell me so, just tell me to my face
I need to hear that , oh so much: I need your warm embrace.
Do you like my dress, my hair, my smile, the lesson I just gave?
Well, tell me every Sunday, please; I'd love it if you rave.
You see, I'm not as smart or strong or good as you may think;
Life gets me down; you'd be surprised how low my moods can sink.
Well, who am I? I'm everyone--I'm every woman here
Who needs a friend, a confidante, a non-judgmental ear,
Who wants to feel important and to know somebody cares,
Who needs to feel she's up to all the burdens that she bears.
So please don't be afraid of me; draw near to me instead,
Pour out your heart and soul to me and get inside my head.
Let's be a whole fraternity of inter linking hearts.
That's how the Savior planned it, if we each just do our part.
Real Men
photo from this blog: http://ajnrileysmommy.blogspot.com
" Kaleb! You need to clip your toe nails!" Ian protested.
" No, men are supposed to keep their toe nails long. " Kaleb reasoned.
" No, everyone is supposed to clip their toe nails." Ian argued.
" Well Dad has long toe nails." Kaleb declared and the argument was ended.
Father and Son
"Sherman made the terrible discovery that men make about their fathers sooner or later... that the man before him was not an aging father but a boy, a boy much like himself, a boy who grew up and had a child of his own and, as best he could, out of a sense of duty and, perhaps love, adopted a role called Being a Father so that his child would have something mythical and infinitely important: a Protector, who would keep a lid on all the chaotic and catastrophic possibilities of life."
~Tom Wolfe, The Bonfire of the Vanities
