If every man were like unto...

Jacob: "Mom, I want to be like Helaman.  Except....well, can I be an army guy?" 

"You can be an army guy, but you don't have to be an army guy to be like Helaman.  To be like Helaman you can be strong - he was strong physically but he was also strong because he was courageous, faithful and true.  Helaman was a great man because he followed Christ and wanted to be like him.  If you want to be like Helaman, you'll be following Jesus and becoming like him." 

Jacob: "Oh.  Then I want to be like Helaman....and like Moroni."  

I love, love my conversations with Jacob.  From the instant he was born I knew we had a wise spirit in our family.  He is a lot of fun, but he has this inner sense of who he is, what he is striving for, and I pray that he will continue to desire to be like these mighty heroes.  He has become even more interested in them and their lives with his scripture reading - what a blessing!  

Alma 48 

11 And Moroni was a ^astrong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect ^bunderstanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;

 12 Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the ^awelfare and safety of his people.

 13 Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had ^asworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.

17 Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto ^aMoroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the ^bdevilwould never have power over the hearts of the children of men.

 18 Behold, he was a man like unto ^aAmmon, the son of Mosiah, yea, and even the other sons of Mosiah, yea, and also Alma and his sons, for they were all men of God.

 19 Now behold, Helaman and his brethren were no less^aserviceable unto the people than was Moroni; for they did preach the word of God, and they did baptize unto repentance all men whosoever would hearken unto their words.

checkmate

Bryson Jr. was in the early morning Chess Club at school for the past few months & he loved it!  Getting up to make it to school early was a struggle on some of those Friday mornings, but he usually was excited to go and play a few matches and improve his game.  He even received 3rd place in the 3rd grade category when they had awards mid-March at the end of the Chess Club season.  He was so excited about receiving a trophy for this!      

Jacob wanted to play as well - so I signed him up, but his attendance was very sporadic.  He still learned and had a great time, and there has been a renewed interest in playing the game in the past month in our home!  The only downside, is that these kiddos often feel the need to get a little too involved in someone else's game (see below - Miss M is moving one of Jacob's pieces).  Trust me - it never turns out well when there are 3 people involved in a two-person game!    

The boys in particular are drawn to the chess board at all hours of the day.  They can't wait to try their hand at getting their opponent in Checkmate & usually start playing in the morning and have a game going until bedtime.  They are a pretty good match for one another - Jacob has really had to up his game in the last month to be a competitive opponent for Bryson.  They both love to rise to the challenge of giving the other a hard game to play - and sometimes their tempers rise as well, especially when they feel that injustice has been dealt and perhaps they have received a Checkmate call much earlier than they had wanted!

Last week I was trying to think of a good movie that the kiddos could enjoy on their weekend movie night, and when I was talking to my dad (who is a champion chess player in our family!) - it was remembered that the boys might like the movie 'Searching for Bobby Fisher'.  I looked on Netflix and it was there for a limited time, and so I put it into the Instant Que to watch and excitedly told the kiddos about the show...or what I could remember.  I don't know if I remember Washington Square so much from the movie, or if seeing it in real life when we were living in NYC brought back the memory from the movie.  Either way, the first few months we lived in the city we went down by Washington Square every Tuesday afternoon to take Madeleine to a Children's Choir she was in at NYU.  I loved walking by the park and looking in at all the folks that were seated on the tables in front of their chess boards deep in thought over the games of chess.

The children were sufficiently stoked to watch the movie after I had talked it up and up for days.  As we were getting ready to watch the movie, Bryson Jr. excitedly called out, "Who is ready to watch Searching for Fishy Bobber?!"

We all looked at each other, then started to laugh and couldn't stop.  I love when words get all mixed up - it makes for such a great laugh!

Now, unfortunately it was too bad we couldn't laugh as hard when we found out that 'Searching for Bobby Fisher' was no longer on Netflix.  We had missed the deadline!  I am definitely hunting that movie down to show to the kiddos - and hopefully by then the kiddos will be even better at their game and they'll still call it 'Searching for Fishy Bobber'....that just sounds so much better anyway! :)

oh, my!

...what  BIG eyes  you have!

Emilia Monet ~ 4.14.13

Just because

I love taking pictures (not really a surprise for those that know me!) - and today I wanted to try getting better Easter pictures at a little location down the road from us & I'm working to take pictures on the Manual setting on my camera, not just Auto...which requires a lot of practice to figure out what I'm doing...not that I complain with taking pictures!  I'll take pictures any time & any day - just because I can!

We were driving down to Nana & Grandpa's house to enjoy games and visiting cousins and family, so everyone was anxious to get the show on the road, so much that Jacob got out of the car for about a minute and then climbed back in and absolutely refused to get in a picture.  Well, 3 of 4 were very cooperative & I am happy with the results - especially getting some individual shots of little B, since I got Maddie's singles last week.

The green is so green in the field and I am in love with the white farmland fence.  If anyone wants photos in this location let me know, I'd like to go again!

 Mr. Blue Eyes himself...the girls are going to love those baby blues!  

(but not now - years & years down the road!)

 B has the best laugh - totally contagious!  

I wish Emilia were looking up in this one - it's so cute of M & B...

I've got to learn more tricks on how to get babies to look at the camera & smile :) 

 My girls --- I love saying that I have GIRLS, 

it's always been the boys and Madeleine, but now I get to say GIRLS!  Yes!   

Scripture Power!

A few weeks ago I went through the church bag that we take for the children to use during Sacrament Meeting.  We work to fill it with quiet activities that the children can read or do, while listening to the speakers - with having Sacrament Meeting last it's usually by this time that children can get antsy. 

Our bag looks very different than when the children were younger - now it's filled mostly with reading material and a few notebooks for taking notes, or drawing a picture during a talk.  One of the favorite items of the bag are 'The Friend' magazines --- the children love this magazine and read it cover to cover each month, and usually read it more than once!  

While trying to find something new to put into the bag, and still maintaining the activities that are quiet and reinforce gospel teaching, my mind went to a bookshelf in our living room where I had stowed the scripture readers.  These are books for each of the scriptures where the stories are depicted in small squares with pictures and a brief overview of the main stories in each book of scripture.  We used these with the children when they were younger for our scripture time, but we haven't read from them in almost 3 or so years...since Bryson Jr. started to read and once Jacob could repeat at least the basic sight words.  

Putting these books into our church bag, I believe was not a coincidence, but a prompting speaking to my mind.  I have been amazed at how both of the boys love to read the books, but how it has been particularly captivating to Jacob.  He will sit there through almost all of Sacrament Meeting reading through this book.  We've had a few people around us comment on how amazed they are with how he stays immersed in reading through this book during church - for a 6 yr. old that still has a lot of energy I have been pleasantly surprised myself!  It's been a blessing, as for whatever reason this same 6 yr. old has been putting up a bit of a fuss when we do our nightly family scripture study.  He wants to get up and walk around, he buries his head into the couch when it comes to his turn to read, and he gets rather whiny during our family reading time.  However, his reading of the illustrated version is something that he loves, and the stories are staying in his mind.  The other day we were talking about making good choices, and he told me that Alma was someone who made good choices, but that Zeezrom was wicked...right Mom?  I'm absolutely thrilled that  these stories are the ones he is choosing to read, and that he is remembering them! 

Not only has Jacob chosen to read these through at church, but he reads them at home.  I have had them sitting out on our glass table in the living room, moving some of them from the bookshelf now knowing that he is so interested in them.  I'll find him sitting on the couch plowing through the stories, and when I ask him to join us for something he'll beg to be able to finish the chapter he is on.  Really?!  He has really picked up on reading this past year and loves it, but now he is begging to stay reading the scriptures?!  Pinch me.  I hope that we can keep this as a habit always - especially during his teenage years!

Jacob has finished the Book of Mormon reader, the Old Testament Reader and is currently reading the New Testament...now I need to find our Doctrine & Covenants reader or go buy one at the Distribution Center.  I'm so thankful for children who love to read good and uplifting books in our home...I can not take credit for planning this, again it's a blessing to realize the promptings that can come that will bless our children and home.  I'm always amazed by SCRIPTURE POWER!

out sick or playing hookey?

Jacob was home sick this entire week - a nasty cold with cough, weepy eyes and hardly any energy at the beginning of the week.  Yesterday (Thursday) he was starting to feel better, so I was going to have him go to school today, but he was still so tired this morning when I went to wake him up, that I figured we'd just go for one straight week of no school, which then made 2 weeks off of school since last week was Spring Break.

The sun came out around lunch time, and Jacob wanted to eat outside, so I set him up on the lounge chair with his Nutella and strawberry sandwich.  I went in to get something and saw him leaning back on the chair, with his Nutella mustache.  I grabbed my camera and started to take pictures between the blinds, and then Jacob realized he was being photographed by Mom/his Paparazzi.

 

 Realizing mom was photographing - so he pulled his hat down really quick!   

  

 

 

 

 

before & after

During the kid's spring break we took a day to clean the basement room which combines the boy's bedroom/play room/family room.  Emilia was asleep for most of it, but she woke up as we were trying to finish and so I set her on the couch to observe the activity.

I looked over when Madeleine exclaimed, "Hey, this is how Emilia will look with hair!"

She looks thrilled to finally have hair, right?!

So, here are the before & after pictures of Emilia....

Before

After 

I might joke that I wish my babies were born with more hair...okay, just hair in general.  The boys are always bald, bald....and the girls have a very small amount of "fuzz".  However, when I see pictures like this, it makes me laugh and realize that this little gal will grow hair when she's ready, and that will give us plenty of time to adjust to the thought of hair on her cute little (almost) bald head!  

fire boy

Along the lines of learning through projects and experiments - I have another post about Bryson.

The Saturday before Easter (3/30) we woke up late morning and had our crepe breakfast with lots of fruit...and lots of Nutella and whipped cream!  After breakfast we divvyed up the Saturday jobs and everyone scattered to their part of the house to work on their list.  However, around mid-day we all sort of started to trickle outside.  The sun was shining so brightly and the weather was absolutely gorgeous for being the end of March.  Work around the yard was taking place in different ways - the boys were helping Bryson Sr. pull out a stump from a juniper bush that I wacked away at last fall...I detest juniper bushes!  I was so thankful that he finally hooked the stump up to a chain on the Explorer and yanked out the eyesore of the last part of that bush.  Good riddance....why juniper bushes were created I know not, but it must be in there along with why we have snakes.  

I started to rake up the backyard and pile up the dry leaves, while Madeleine helped a bit and then started to clean out the little playhouse.  The boys were sweeping out the carport and piling up the dead leaves, when I think it hit Bryson hard --- dead, FLAMMABLE leaves, bright sun & finally time to try his magnifying glass again!  He tried this last fall a few times, and never was able to get a flame ignited.  This time - he was patient and lucked out that the leaves were very dry and the sun perfectly hot to bore through that magnifying glass and make an 8 year old boy's heart leap with joy that he started a fire!  

As a mom - especially a mom of boys - I'm learning to not freak out with experiments.  At least not freak out in a major way.  I did tell him he needed to move his original experiment as it was leaving a burn mark on the cement (I hope we don't have to pay for that one when we move out!), and that there were two rules:  he had to tell a parent when he was going to try to make a fire with his magnifying glass & that he always have a pitcher of water close by...for a 'just in case' moment.  Therefore, I give you Fire Boy & the water brigade :) 

Bryson took his fire making experiment to a new level in creating this trail to the Big Kahuna of a fire pit, which never did ignite, but he burned up most of the trail leading to it!  It just didn't start and then run along the trail as he hoped --- the flame would start up and burn what was right around it and then die out, and Bryson would need to start again.  I don't think he minded that he had to start over...it was all part of the learning experience and enjoyment of this activity!

Bryson was fully engaged with creating a fire for all of the afternoon.  After the shade moved in on this area, he moved his fire to an old fireplace or barbeque that is made out of big rocks and has a big box opening where Bryson set up trying to make more fire.

This past General Conference, I thought of little Bryson out there making his fire during President Monson's talk on obedience.  He told the story that as a young boy of 8 years old, he learned a very important lesson on obedience, when he and a friend set fire to some weeds in a field they wanted to clear in Vivien Park (up Provo Canyon).  He told how he knew he was forbidden to play with matches, but that he knew where his family kept them, and he took them without asking or anyone knowing.  He set fire to the weeds, which took the fire like they were drenched in gasoline and instead of only burning as many weeds as the boys wanted (they had wanted to clear a big circle so they could make a campfire that evening) - the fire kept burning, and finally they needed to call for help otherwise the fire would have spread to the pine trees and then cabins nearby.  After hours of men & women running around with drenched burlap bags, the fire was put out and the boys learned a valuable lesson on being truly obedient and following the rules set in place.

As long as Bryson is obedient when he does his experiments, or projects and that he can learn quickly from any mistakes....I think we'll have a great time as he continues to try out new projects and ideas that he wants to see how they work.  

When he has a drive and a goal - there is no stopping this boy!  He was so focused on getting his fires started all afternoon....now if only his fire of learning could be lit all the time, but I have a feeling we are getting closer to figuring out how to make that happen for him.

I love our Fire Boy!

Rainy Day {Un}Schooling

It was pouring rain today.  All day long.  Jacob was home sick - he got a nasty cold virus at the end of spring break & today he woke up with weepy eyes, as if the rain outside had somehow snuck inside of him and started to rain there as well.  Bryson Jr. has been having a hard time sleeping at night, for oh what is now weeks, and last night he came into our room somewhere in the middle of the night and said he'd had a nightmare.  He camped out on the floor.  Again.  When I tried to wake him up for school, he was so groggy and cranky and when he said he was tired I believed him.  I was too - Emilia had been up and down all night, and I think my total hours of sleep was 5 - but that wasn't consecutive.  I decided to just keep the boys home and have an easy day.  I'm so glad I did.  

                                             

I started to think about school.  Especially for Bryson Jr.  We haven't seemed to struck on the right chord for his schooling as of yet.  Although we were excited to find this gifted program at Morningside, the class does not do as many projects as we had thought they would.  We love project based learning for all our children, and Bryson particularly needs to be fully engaged in the entire learning project, or he becomes bored.  Fast.  He tells me almost every day that he doesn't want to go to school because he is bored.  He's not making excuses - he truly is bored.  He is witty and smart and catches on to things so quickly, so unless there is something that peaks his interest and immerses him in the learning project with as many of his senses as possible...he is bored.  I was talking about school options with Brooke last night during our family dinner, and I am still pondering where & when we'll find the right niche for Bryson.  I started to search online today at different charter and private schools, and asked the Facebook world if anyone know of some great project based learning schools in the area.  In the back of my mind is that thought that perhaps home schooling is in the answer somehow, I'm just now sure how.    

 I've started to learn that when Bryson wants to experiment and try something out, he has usually got his mind engaged full-throttle and he is going to learn something out of the experience.  I haven't taken initiative as I should and might do with these moments to talk about what he is learning and turn it into some lesson...I just want him to experience being a boy, having fun, and connecting some kind of dots somewhere in his head to come to his own 'aha' moment.

 Today, I did suggest that we put out a tupperware to catch the rain fall so that we could see how much it rained.  He wasn't overly impressed with the rainfall in the tupperware by the afternoon, but something else clicked in his brain, and he quickly donned his rain coat, put on his winter boats (because as he said they are more waterproof than his rain boots - "because snow is more wet than rain, Mom!") and put on his gloves to go out and experiment with the rain falling.

 He was so happy to be out there in the rain....I love this smile he flashed once he realized I was taking pictures through the glass door.  Not only was he having fun with whatever experiment he was conducting - I was having a good time trying a new setting on my camera and loving the fact that I switched the basic lens for my zoom lens so I could capture his facial expressions better!

 I'm not sure what the point was of his "study" this day - it had something to do with trying to transport the extra water that builds up in this little flood zone that accumulates in the backyard and then take the water and dump it in the plants at the back of the yard.  He was outside for a good 15-20 minutes just enjoying his little project - so happy to be outside, even though he was sopping wet!

I'm so hopeful that we'll find the right experience for this boy that will take his bright and inquisitive mind and open it up to new and amazing ways of discovery!  Having boys I have noticed how much more they need the physical exertion when they are learning - it truly is a whole-istic experience for them, especially for this boy!  When he has the opportunity to get his whole body into what he is wanting to do, than he is ready to learn.

How lucky we are that we have this life to experiment, learn and grow.