Heavenly Hail

God saves His best weather for Sunday, I believe.
That way we all get to enjoy it best and pause to really recognize where it comes from.
This morning I was so happy to awake to the sound of rain falling. We don't get much weather here in the southwest so any change is extremely welcomed. We all rejoiced in using the windshield wipers on the way to Church.
Once home from Church the real wonders fell from the sky - frozen ice! In Arizona we had hail popping up from our grass! We popped of our lunch chairs and ran to the back porch to watch. It was probably the first, if not the first in a long time, that our kids had seen hail! It was exciting. Just seeing ice outdoors warmed my heart.
Now it is gorgeously overcast and damp - what a perfect Sabbath day!

Worth the Membership

Friday morning made one happyboy of our Danny, we went to visit his favorite friend - Frank the giraffe.
Danny has been asking us for a pet giraffe for quite some time now, but we are certain that the zoo takes much better care of Frank and Danny has aqueised to letting Frank stay at the zoo. In order to regularly check in on his best friend we visit the zoo monthly. Getting a membership was not only necessary but an awesome idea! Members get to go into the zoo a full hour before regular patrons. The best part is that you can get to the animal cages you want to see and the zoo keepers are just letting them out into their habitats, which means there is more movement from the critters than you normally see. As we walked into the zoo we were listening to the gibbons sing to the empty zoo. After saying a quick hello to Frank we went back to see the monkeys.

The baboons were bored, but at least interested in eating their fresh breakfast that was just put out. They were also not yet too annoyed with seeing people in the glass so they came over to check out the kids a couple of times.
On our way to the monkeys we passed the cheetah habitat and actually saw them moving about! Usually the cheetahs are hiding up in the farthers corner away from the patrons in the shade. They were just let out of their night house and ran the perimeter of the habitat and then lay in the shade closest to the fence. Oh they are pretty.

We only stayed for an hour and a half but saw more and were so relaxed that we got to learn with the kids and enjoy the animals. Usually the kids are more distracted watching people and when 9:30am hit it was as though the flood gates had truly opened and people flooded in. By then we had walked around the whole park and enjoyed everything we wanted. We got to ask questions quietly with the kids about the animals and learned the basics of what Josh and I knew of each of them. I thought of how fun it would be to 'home school' the kids and come to the zoo to observer animals then learn about them and share in each others' interests in the animals. I suppose we can do that regardless; I have been so enamored with learning with my brilliant kids.

Besides, I realized that there is a lot you could learn from a zoo- like geography and ecology, economics, evolution, natural science as well as a lot of amazing animals. Josh commented on how amazing it was that we could see all these animals from around the world. Agreed! The more I looked at the critters the more I wanted to know. Like, why is a baboon's butt the one area of its body without furr? Doesn't that seem silly to not protect the area that needs it most? And the mandril seems more like a bear than a monkey. Do they actually swing in trees? What exactly does a rhino do with that horn? Is it a bone? How distantly are cheetas and tigers related? Why do gazelles jump like rabbits? Are all thumbs on all monkeys opposable? I guess I wasn't paying attention much in elementary school - too keen on the social aspects of it all I would guess ;).

Boy are we excited for a new zoo and more animals to learn about. I miss seeing penguins regularly and the bobcat at the Boise zoo. I really would like to see the polar bears more like they had in the Portland zoo. But then, the Phoenix zoo had so many more of the African animals than any where else. Really cool stuff.

Surviving Learning

I am so very glad that I have the opportunity to stay home with my kids (most of the time) if for no other reason than to just observe them. It is the attentive third party observation that has revealed more about my children than anything else.

Yet again today, I was glad I was there, just learning about this one:

Viv is a master survivalist. In many ways you may say she is ruthless in her self-preservation. Knowing why, I say bravo! Kiddo you are resiliant and brilliant, if not a huge mystery. Getting to know Viv's personality, the really personality that is masked under so much survival (read manipulative) tactics has been like finding a rare diamond inside a coal mine. Both rocks are valuable. Coal will fire a whole factory with endless power. But the diamond sparkles and takes your breath away.

I have been working with the kiddos with reading flash cards based from the "How to Teach Your Child to Read in Just 10 minutes a Day" method, which I have to say is brilliant. I feel as though I have found a great teaching team in LeapFrog, books, and time. The more time I spend learning with my kids the more I loathe the idea of giving them up top a mass produced education system. Just within the scope of my three kiddos there is such vast difference in learning styles and success rate that I cry inside thinking they could get lost in the coal mines again.

Here's the gem that was unearthed today: Viv is still learning based on context clues and incomplete information. In order to keep pace she has taught herself to quickly jump to the nearest conclusion to fight for the attention that the other kids get when they answer a question. I had noticed her tendency for 'group learn' when we briefly put her in preschool, and promptly took her out noticing she was not learning anything of herself. What I hadn't realized until today was that this survival tactic persists even when I am alone with her, or she is even alone with herself. The brilliance of this girl is that she catches herself against the old habits! Even though her eyes register a word and its parts correctly, her old mode of thought is so anxious to get the attention first she will say a different word. Then, she mentally slaps herself and goes back to the word she knows is right.

We have been working for a long time with Viv's impulse talking. Today I feel as though I have a bit more insight as to why she is so impulsive in speech. Of course, we all new it was a survival/manipulation tactic to always be heard; I had not suspected it was actually the way that her brain has trained itself to jump to conclusions. For a moment while reading with her I wondered if part of the inattention was because she wanted me to give her the correct answer (which was discovered awhile ago as a favored method of learning by both Viv and Danny). Then I thought that maybe she has some sort of ADHD disconnect before she got to the end of the word (three letter words folks, that would be a sad story). Both theories were dispelled by two words: COB and CAB.

Some three letter words, although simple in construction, are not frequently used in our modern vocabulary so I have found it necessary to check and make sure the kids know what they are reading. Just the fact that they are reading words correctly that they don't exactly know is exciting; then it is even more fun to learn new vocabulary with them. Words such as HIP and RIB are fun to learn as we point out body parts. It means a great difference when you are getting to RUB or ROB to know 'to stroke something lightly' from 'to steal' in the nuance of one letter.

COB and CAB have been two words I have explained three days in a row to each of the kids as they have approached them. COB is the thing left after we eat all the yellow of the corn (not exactly Webster but it is relative to the kids) and CAB is a car like a taxi that you pay to take you places (oh country kids who haven't even really seen one in action, except the occasional green cab taking people to the airport). What was interesting was asking Viv today what the words were, after three days of having given her the definition, once she has sounded them correctly. When we got to COB she said "It is the desert that we have sometimes." It took me a minute to understand that she meant COBBLER. I was astonished. It started to dawn on me that she perhaps had never registered the full word 'cobbler' but had merely here the first part 'cob' and seen the desert and had enough information to process what she wanted.

It is common for people learning languages to not hear all parts of a word. Viv and I had had a sit down lesson at the table one evening not a month ago about the difference of LAW and LOCK and I had just assumed it was that she hadn't heard the pronunciation clearly of the CK at the end. That first pronunciation assessment was now being brought into fire. My second evidence came when I asked Viv what CAB was. "The place we go in Idaho to play with cousins." She understood CABIN was CAB. She had given me that same definition the first day we encountered CAB and I thought it was a creative guess. That it happened a second time threw light on the fact that she must really believe that CAB was CABIN. Had I not been observing what Viv was doing jumping to conclusions before the end of a three letter word I might have let it stand that she had never really heard the IN in CABIN. Now I question that.

Pieces of the puzzle started falling together. Viv frequently will start off to do a task before she has listened to the full directions or she will execute only the first half of directions given even if she has repeated the whole sentence back to you. We have been catching her and trying to get her to follow through the whole set of instructions before execution, but there is still a "if I do at least part of it I am good." sort of accomplishment. I really wish I knew how to best work with this new discovery. It may work itself out in time; really I believe it will after sitting with her for 20 minutes watching that she is stopping herself and repeating the correction without any intervention. She has started doing the same (on good days) with her past tense speech, she will catch herself and correct herself before I have to.

I so admire all that this little spit fire has gotten through and how well she has done it. She is miraculously adaptable and super resiliant. As a parent I still worry about her future, even that near future that comes at the end of a three letter word. But Viv is brilliant. She is smart and we are so very very very happy that she will forever be a part of our family, it wouldn't be half exciting around here is she wasn't in the mix. Today at lunch we were all laughing at the crazy way she will eat any hand held sandwich or burger - straight through the middle and with her hands inverted from the regular way people grab their sandwich. In half exasperation I said "You gotta stop being so crazy." and Josh lovingly, and also tiredly tallied "Ah, but if she weren't crazy, she wouldn't be Viv would she?"

Yep, it's Danny

I couldn't help but think of Danny at this moment while smelling the pressure canner slowly loose steam and push out its hissing boiled bean stench. In many ways, Danny has been quite the little pressure canner recently. There isn't a moment that he can't call up a fart to catch a smile. Oh, and I use it to our advantage. If he is being grumpy or moody, all I have to ask is "Danny, did you just fart?" and he a proud smile bursts across his face. Doesn't matter if he did or didn't, her sure doesn't mind being named the 'fellor.' Of course, Danny's natural inclination to smile helps a whole lot. The boy is naturally pleasant and still remains my 'golden boy.' He loves to yell 'Yes Sir!' in response to any request given by a parent and means it too as he promptly does all he can to help. Josh may be helping the response along a bit my offering large spoonfuls of ice cream to him once he has responded so positively. Nevertheless, Danny is just a good boy. Recently when he went into the dentist to get a tooth removed I received one of my favorite reports from the dentist ever. He came to tell me that once they 'took Danny back' to the operation chair and got him settled the put a couple needle-fulls of numbing juice into his gums. As they politely checked at his comfort level and asked "Did that hurt?" the dentist reported that Danny replied 'Nope' without even batting an eye. Danny has an endearing way of saying 'Nope' or 'Yep' so casually genuine that you feel his response carries the experience of a lifetime rancher (insert spit on the ground if needed in the visual ;)). Yesterday he matter of factly told me, "Mom, I am a good boy because I like to do service and help out." I couldn't help but respond, 'Yep."

All the kids are the best of friends. Danny is the particular peacemaker and yet enjoys doing things by himself as neither of the girls do. Recently his position of repose has been standing on his head on the couch. The girls have started mimicking a bit, but really the don't enjoy it. At various times of the day I can walk into the living room and find Danny completely calmly doing his daily meditation(?) in comfy couch pose.

Genesis

Genesis: the origin or mode of formation of something

How's that for a broad definition of something so very essential in aspects of religion, creation, belief, science, and modernity. Supposedly all the above listed are 'something' in the basic sense of the word. However, Webster fails to contribute much to the emotive power of genesis and therefore the reason why it has been stitching a thread of thought in and around my heart, trying to connect it to my soul and mind.

May I begin with the first instance that 'genesis' came to mind. While sitting in an adult only meeting at church with a visiting Priesthood authority, the good brother brought up epistemology and genesis of each individuals personal beliefs in religion and Christ. It was unusual to hear in Church someone to so academically ask each of us to discover the roots of why we believe and treat it as a science, a theology, a fact is proofed within our lives.

The second encounter which related relevance to 'genesis' was a casual meeting at the park. I took the kids to our regular park between gymnastic classes. The small community park is generally vacant and quiet giving me a wide open space for the kids to play and for me to relax my critical eyes. This past week a very nice man arrived accompanying his daughter. He was extremely amiable and conversational. I was struck by the ease of his speech about Christianity. Through the course of our discussion it became clear that his background as a preacher's son and a personal evangelical was directing the conversation. I listened patiently, recognizing that he had no intention to actually discuss religion equally but rather to tell me what he believed. The colloquial lead into a deeper discussion of denominational religions was "You know, I find it interesting that we are each taught, brought up, to believe that our religion is the truth when none of us can really know if it is." The twist was 'really' and I let him digress into what evidences he had of either similarities or differences in biblical discussions. Although I followed his line of thought while admiring his tactics (a year and a half as a proselyting missionary makes one very familiar with common hot points) I was half distracted by his lead. I disagreed full heartedly with the foundation of his argument. Politely, I didn't say anything to directly oppose what he was saying, it was clear he was a trained bible basher and had no intention of being open minded even while being conversational, until the end of our time together. I was irritated to the point of mentioning that although he might feel that there was no significant difference between denominational religion and their approaches to all truth since 'we're all saved in the grace of Christ' there were. I invited him to investigate more so by reading the Book of Mormon. At that moment I really wished I had been more prepared with a copy to give him myself, more so to see his politely shocked response in reception than in conviction that he would actually try and read it. However, I never did fully rebuttal the initial statement; 'we are all taught to believe...." That felt hollow and faulty - a disastrous assumption and an attack upon the genesis of personal testimony in Christ.

Most currently I have been reading Putting Away Childish Things by Marcus J. Borg which has again addressed Genesis. Borg is a contemporary religious non-fiction writer who stepped out to discovery the medium of fiction. With his obvious research background he creates a very thought provoking story line that carry characters who are exploring the genesis of belief in Christ even through the discussion of Genesis, the first book in the bible. In Chapter 14 Kate, a religious theology professor at a small college opens a discussion to her students with the following question "How many of you think Adam and Eve were real people?"

(best family friendly 'Adam and Eve' image available on the internet)

The lively discussion between the students in her class highlight many meanings of belief, truth, fact, and scripture. It is fantastically well written and I can't help but interject my own comments to the class unfolding in my mind. How very invigorating to have a room full of bright students with faithful convictions looking critically and respectfully at two great 'historical' figures as Adam and Eve. Kate, a stellar and passionate teacher, defines the different nuances of the terms fact, truth, and myth. Ah! My favorite thing, to look at a word and really understand what you are saying instead of just hearing. So, is Adam and Eve's story, or existence fact, truth or myth. Maybe none. Maybe some. Possibly all three.

After my fictional class was up I couldn't help but return to the beginning of all these thoughts about genesis. Where does it all begin, or more fittingly, where does it all belong. Epistemology, the theory of knowledge, investigates the validity of a belief. Most of us are scientifically trained in proof to truth. Scientific evidence, that which is visible or measurable, denotes truth in our modern minds. Where science and faith collide in a postmodern ideal is in the proof. Faith is measurable but not visible, so is it provable? Can I convince anyone that what I know in my heart is more correct that what the know in theirs?

Ha. Conversion is a tricky one. A personal testimony is attainable but not transferable. I might propose several valid arguments or methods to my belief and you may not believe me. I can tell you I do know and you can argue that inexhaustibly. You cannot tell me that I don't believe. The origin of what I know is real. The proof I have of my faith is infallible. The genesis of my testimony in Christ are marked and deliberate. I know oh so many things are true in my soul, in my heart, in my mind and my life that may not hold up to the scrutiny of postmodern science, and yet, they can not be shaken by that same skeptical force. My conversion began early and has grown and grown layering evidence upon evidence of the solid foundation upon which it has been laid. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. The Bible is true - factual even to the degree upon which it is translated for our best understanding. The Book of Mormon is true and translated through the power of God. God has power and He manifests it on earth. My life has a direct path and purpose. Every person on this Earth is a Child of God. I know these truths and many others and have proof enough to withstand the staunchest argument. Although, we needn't argue, it is easier to just be believing.

Connection

Nighttime is a lonely time. I have heard it said, I have probably felt it before, but tonight I recognize it for what it is. At the end of a day, whether it be good or bad, you need someone there. It seems as our minds wind down toward the end of day we flash through the day that has past and see it for what is worth. In that flash there may be a million rewards of emotion that boil, steam, pop and fizzle down to what was most important - and once you reach the clarity of that moment, it is nice to send it out to an audience. What for? Perhaps validation. Maybe just to get it off your chest. Hopefully a laugh or a sympathetic hug. Or maybe just enough space in the air to know that someone heard you.

I remember going to bed at night in my first apartment by myself in my freshman year of college. Each night in the soft glow of a lamp I fleshed out that last word to the only listening ear - my journal. That was the first time I felt lonely. Before living at home, or with roommates there after, if I really needed someone to speak during that emotional twilight at the end of the day, I could find a warm body, and when there wasn't my journal played back-up. It kept the cobwebs of the night from gathering too much. Cleanses the soul and lets the day rest.

Being married is a perfect companion to restful evenings. I've recognized it only through the unrest that comes when Josh is not home at night. My last word is bottled inside or trapped on my pillow and I just can't sleep without him there. Right before sleep, I want him. It chases away the lonely feeling of not having connected with anyone before leaving the day behind. The convention of marriage is certainly worth the companionship of the toothpaste filled conversation in various stages of undress that shed the layers of the day. Especially when you do feel lonely. Marriage is a whole lot better than just clearing your mental palette for a good night's sleep. Yes it is good for much more. Yet, right now, on the cusp of bedtime when my body wants to go to bed, I can't quite. Can't leave without the connection of.......something.......that lets the day rest and reminds my soul that there is someone there that cares a bit about the broth of my day. Even if it spoons out only to a stupid story or a random thought, it all needs to be digested.

Thanks tonight, standby cyber journal, for filling in the void while my husband is doing his other job elsewhere.

Classifications of Home Cleanliness

As a full time housekeeper I have recently become aware of three classifications of home cleanliness: Work-in-progress, Tidy, and Too Clean.

I would believe that most housekeepers have an acceptable level of clean for their own comfort. Surely we do consider the comfort of guests and inhabitants BUT (stop putting your big but in everything, I know), whereas the guests are not doing the cleaning nor are the inhabitants contributing to the cleanliness, it comes down to the housekeepers preference. You decide what you can live with from day to day to maintain sanity and sanitation. In which case you may consider a fourth state of cleanliness which is 'unsanitary' but it excludes itself from the classifications by its own definition.

One level (I do not wish to assign a heiarchy here because it is all based on personal preference and as long as it is sanitary there is no level one) is Work-in-Progress. This stage looks very close to insane. Its distinguishing factor is that you are working toward something wonderful but are caught in the stage of 'has to get worse before it gets better.' Sometimes to get something really clean you have to rip it all apart to the roots to re-build it all. Try deep-cleaning your linen closet for example; you will find yourself surrounded by piles and piles of 'stuff' that has been neatly contained in the closet and your hallway will look like someone was hanging the laundry in the main traffic flow. But you can't reasonably get to the bottom of the shelf to clean it out with the linens still on. Some of us contain our Work-in-Progress area to a specific project - de-icing the deep freeze. Work-in-Progress could easily be hung on a sign on a specific door entering into a disasterous looking room - the garage. Or in the middle of a extremely busy lifestyle with a whirlwind of doing and not getting done, our whole house is a work in progress - being a mother to several young children. This state of home is still sanitary because despite the chaos, we still keep the basics clean: floor, toilets, table, beds. Even if the clean may be unseen.

The remodel of our laundry room was a constant state of work-in-progress. That tile took weeks to get to on top of the folding table.
Heavens the backyard seemed to take ages to get to done - we went from weeds to working - to dirty and more all with months of revenue building work-in-progress waiting.

Here my folks were helping us work on stabilizing the shelves in my pantry and the kitchen looked like it had had a pressure-cooker explosion for the full day and a bit more thereafter as I took my time to put everything back in just perfectly.

Tidy is where I have found to feel comfortable in my own housekeeping. I get the basic cleaning done and the feel comfortable with a few things out of place during the course of the day of the week. Usually this translates into a play room being built into an interesting wonderland without sweeping interruptions or a counter strewn with art projects from kids. Things are generally placed where they belong but with the opportunity to be used again without a large amount of effort. The home is obviously lived in, generally displayed by the ever changing nature of elements in the decor, but it is nice and obviously watched after.

Kiddos' rooms are the prime example of tidy locations. There are always toys somewhere to be seen and everything is alive yet nice.
Backyards are also lovely when tidy. No bushes are too out of shape, the grass has not gotten unruly, but there seems to be a smattering of usefulness.
Kitchens tend to be prime for a tidy atmosphere since there is generally some sort of food consumption conspicuously taking place but not so messily to be distracting.
My favorite tidy locations are childrens' art/work centers where there are random colorings or postings that are neat but not hidden.

I have only recently been introduced to the third category, Too Clean. With all the business of showing our home and making it the example of cleanliness I have decided I do not have the personal tolerance for this level. Some housekeepers do an excellent job at it. Personally, it is a bit too much pressure to keep all the dishes out of the sink all the time. Admittedly, it is very nice to see your house at its very best. It is like looking at your spouse on your wedding day, they will never look quite as lovely on any other day and it took considerable effort to get it that way. Can you maintain it? Some can, and I truly tip my hat to you. It is quite the feat to have a home so very clean.

I literally had to take these pictures before the water dried on the newly mopped floors otherwise there was no way to prove they had ever been shined, but it sure looks nice.

Upshot of having worked so hard and added a little more intensity to my housekeeping- we got an offer on our house within two weeks! People sure do like a Too Clean house even if they are just comfortable in a Tidy one or look past the Work-in-Progress. Without the warmth of the people in it, a house has to stand on its on for sale and it better stand ready for its wedding day.