Friday, February 26, 2021

New Beginnings

After a family fast and some serious praying, we felt led to pack up our family, sell our Lynnwood, WA home, and move to Post Falls, Idaho this past Autumn. Covid-19 created many changes in our lives this past year, one of which was that David and the kids all ended up fully-remote, working and doing all their school learning at home. This new location-independence opened the door for the move to the place David's late mother had called home for the final 13 years of her life. It's bittersweet to be here without her. Upon arriving in Idaho, we learned that the local schools were opening for in-person learning, with masks and other covid-prevention precautions. The kids each opted to attend the local schools in person rather than continuing online with their WA classes. It has been a real blessing for them to have a return to a sense of normalcy and opportunities to socialize and make friends. The kids are thriving and happy. Our new home has parks and kids nearby, adding to our kids' enjoyment. I don't know if this is where we'll have our forever home, but I know this is where God wants us for now.


Saturday, July 8, 2017

The Math of Injustice

While on our camping trip in Seaside, Oregon last week, there was a night where Liliana and her 2nd cousin, Maddy, were given the opportunity to sleep in a tent together without any grown-ups. They thought this was excellent fun. Emmett (age 7) repeatedly tried to climb into their tent leading up to bedtime, hoping he'd be allowed to join them. I pulled him aside and let him know that we were only going to have the 2 girls sleep in there together (for various reasons). I reminded him that both the girls had had to wait until they were 9 and when he turns 9 we will let him sleep in a tent with cousins without grown-ups as well. Tears ensued, punctuated with some questions and comments between sobs...
"Mom, a year is 365, right?" Emmett tearfully inquired.
"Days? Yes," I replied.
A loud sob preceded his next comment - "But that's over 700-something days!" A brief moment to inhale and cry was followed by, "It's 730 days!"
"Wow, Emmett, that's really good adding, buddy." I told him. " But it's actually less than that, because it's already July and you will be 8 in November. Then you'll be 9 one year after that." 
He sniffled and wiped his cheeks while the wheels turned and then he looked up and said, "485 days."
At first I didn't realize that he had actually done the math, but after a minute it dawned on me that he had calculated the four months between now and his birthday at 30 days each, to be 120 days, and then added that to the 365 days in a year to make 485.
"David, are you hearing what this kid is doing?" I asked my husband who was getting our 4 year old situated in his sleeping bag for the night.
David was about to respond when Emmett said, "Actually it's 487 days because of the two 31 months." 
Now I just need to inform all of Emmett's teachers that if they are ever having trouble getting him to focus on a math problem, they can turn it into a scenario in which he is being treated unfairly and he will solve it with a precision and speed well above grade level expectation

Friday, March 17, 2017

Eager readers


This is a common scene around our house. Kids sitting together, but each immersed in their own literary world. Our four year old doesn't fully read yet, and the almost two year old doesn't even know most of the alphabet. However, they are content to flip through the pages looking at the pictures. Our littlest was excitedly jabbering about and pointing to all the different items he could in each picture. I love our little family of eager readers.

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Liliana's baptism

A couple years ago, Liliana and her 2 cousins (that were all born within a couple months of each other) decided they wanted to be baptized together in what they titled, "A triple baptism." We all liked the idea and even though one of the cousins lives in Utah and the other lives in Connecticut, we decided we wanted to make it happen. Last weekend was the big event. Liliana, Mason, and Daxton all got baptized by their fathers back-to-back in a wonderful "triple baptism." We were blessed to have many wonderful friends (both old and new) and family members come from near and far to show their support for these young folks and their decision to follow the Savior and live Christ-centered lives. It was a spectacular day.

Monday, June 20, 2016

Discussing Marshmallow Cereal

Emmett speaking to his cousin during breakfast: Good?
Elliott nods in response while chewing.
Emmett: Yeah, it's sooooo good! You can't even believe your mouth!

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Liliana's future home

Last week Liliana's class went on a field trip to a park near her school to collect soil samples for science. When she got home I asked her about the field trip. She told me it was good and she liked seeing the park because she might like to live there when she grows up. I asked her for clarification and she told me she wants to live in the wild instead of a house so she won't have to have a job and can do whatever she wants. I asked her how she'll get money for food and she said she'll just hunt. I pointed out that it might be hard for an animal lover to hunt, but she basically said, "I need to eat." So there you have it. If 10 years from now you see a young woman living in the park with stacks of books and hunting squirrels and crows, don't judge her parents too harshly. They tried to raise her to be a successful contributing member of society.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Strange conclusion

On the way to church a couple weeks ago, the kids were getting a bit cantankerous. I decided to try to soften the mood by singing the primary song, "I'm trying to be like Jesus." As I finished that first phrase of the song, Liliana somewhat rudely said, "No thanks!" To which Emmett responded, "You don't love your family?" David and I just laughed.