Quick Report

I have set my timer for five minutes. I am going to type as fast as I can to give you a quick report of our family's lives. Here we go:


1) I have been student teaching for three weeks. It is not at all what I expected it to be. I don't want to bore anyone with the details. I think one word sums it up nicely: Politics! 


I have not dealt with politics in a long time. I kind of forgot they existed. I kind of assumed that everyone was nice and wanted everyone else to succeed. And I'm kind of finding out that my sunny outlook on life is not realistic. Bummer!


2) Dropping my children off at a daycare has been one of the most emotionally challenging things I have ever done. Hearing my baby Jim crying for me and knowing that I have to walk away and go to work was SO hard! By the time I got out the door I was crying too. 


After three weeks he is not crying as I leave him. But he does start crying tears of relief every time I pick him up, which is almost as bad as him crying when I left. I mean, crying tears of relief kind of leads me to believe that he wasn't sure I would BE returning to pick him up. And that is a heart-wrenching thing to think.


3) Hubby started a new job three weeks ago. He says that he is alright, it's just a major learning curve. He also said that maybe I could start using our real names and tell you what his real job is, since he needs clients and all...


Except my timer just went off!!


Sorry!!!

Bravo, Mr. President. Bravo!

As I was reading the news of the day, I came across this article:


http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/7/us-redefines-rape-count-more-people-victims/


President Obama and Vice President Biden are helping our country to take a step forward in the fight against violent crimes! The Associated Press reports:


"The Obama administration says it is expanding the FBI's more than eight-decade-old definition of rape to reflect a better understanding of the crime and to broaden protections."


I have seen the devastating impact that rape can have on an individual. I've worked with women who have been raped, been friends with women who were sexually abused as children. The way that a girl or woman starts to define themselves by that horrific event in their life. And the bitterness and self-loathing that can occur when the responsibility for the crime is pushed back on them or when the crime is not taken seriously.


Throughout history, the punishment for rape has varied greatly.  Some rapists have been viewed simply as playboys, whose charms women just can't refuse. The thought-process here is that the woman wanted it.


Other times, rape is viewed as a proposal. Remember that terrible book I read...Tess of the D'Ubervilles?? Tess was supposed to marry her rapist. What a frightening prospect!!


In many Greek stories, the woman raped was faulted. Think of the story of Zeus and Europa. Their relationship started with a rape. But it's okay because he is a god?? And she went on to have his children??  Because being raped by a god and getting pregnant makes rape a perfectly fine activity??
In another Greek story, a god, Poseidon, comes upon a beautiful mortal woman worshiping in the temple of Athena. The woman is so beautiful that he cannot help himself and immediately ravishes her...In the Temple! Athena, the Virgin Goddess, is furious that her temple has been desecrated with sex. But does she go after her uncle? Does she blame him? Nope. She blames the girl, punishing her by turning her beautiful long hair into writhing snakes. Yep. Poor Medusa was raped and instead of being comforted, her hair was turned into snakes and any guy who looked at her was turned to stone. Serves her right for being so beautiful...GAG!


Dinah's story in the Old Testament follows Tess's pattern of proposal. Dinah's, daughter of Leah and Jacob, sister to the Twelve Tribes of Israel, rapist thought to marry her. Her story is found in Genesis chapters 33 and 34. While her father seemed willing to go along with the marriage idea, her brothers had different plans. You can read the story yourself. The main point here is that the rapist is actually punished in this story...And quite extremely at that! 


(By the way, I thoroughly enjoyed this scripture study's insight into that story. Much food for thought.)


Early America viewed rape similar to Levi and Simeon. It was a crime that ought to be punished. I could honestly go on and on as the examples and variety of consequences are plentiful throughout history. But the topic is quite painful for many people, and I don't want to draw out this terrible thing.


What I want is to state emphatically that rape is not something the victim wanted. It is not, and never should be seen as, a proposal to marriage. And it is not the fault of the victim.


The article gives details of how the definition is being revised and expanded:


"The revised definition covers any gender of victim or attacker and includes instances in which the victim is incapable of giving consent because of the influence of drugs or alcohol or because of age. Physical resistance is not required."


This revision by the FBI is HUGE!!!


Many states have taken great strides in the past decades to broaden their definitions of rape. They have expanded their protection of the girls, women, boys, and men who fall victim to this heinous crime. They have made the punishments more severe for the perpetrators. Their efforts have led to a decrease the incidence of rape.


I am so pleased that President Obama and his administration are updating their definition. It has been a long time coming and is a positive step forward in the fight against this atrocious crime. Bravo, Mr. President! Bravo!!

4-H Fun

We signed up to participate in 4-H again this year.  

Rose and Anne signed up for Cooking, Sewing, Photography, Shooting Sports, Arts & Crafts, and Rabbits. Miss S signed up for Shooting Sports and Rabbits. I informed all three girls that Rabbits were out of the question this year. I will be student teaching in the spring and cannot be their chauffeur to all the rabbit events.

Joe and Prof. X signed up for Cloverbuds. This is the group for 4-H kids who are too young to compete. They have a new leader this year and she is turning out to be FANTASTIC! She wants the Cloverbuds to have a thorough 4-H experience so she has arranged for them to participate in a ton of different events. It is wonderful!

Here's what they've all done so far:

Cloverbuds

Joe & Prof. X toured a seed sprouting facility. We saw acres upon acres of baby plants: lettuce, cabbage, artichokes, celery, broccoli, and more! The place was a dream. The month before the boys (& Rose) painted pottery at a local studio. This was a combined activity with the Arts & Crafts group. The Cloverbud leader is also the Arts & Crafts leader! She has planned for the two groups to do an activity together once every other month. Very fun!

The most recent Cloverbud activity was a tour of a local bakery. I was informed halfway through the activity that is was also an Arts & Crafts activity, so Anne & Rose were invited. Tough luck for them. Fortunately, they were at other activities that Saturday so didn't feel bad about missing the bakery tour.

The boys in their baking aprons

Reading the recipe

Rolling out their dough. Prof. X chose that small pin. Goofy kid!

Joe decorating his cookie

Prof. X showing his decorated cookie.

Can you tell he's been taking bites of the frosting?

Shooting Sports

Miss S., Rose & Anne are working on perfecting their aim every other Saturday using air rifles and bows & arrows. No pictures.

Arts & Crafts

The arts & crafts leader is also the Cloverbud leader. She is lovely. On the Arts & Crafts side, she has arranged for 4-H members to paint pottery at a local studio which was then fired. Anne was sick for this activity. Rose painted a Halloween monster mug.

The other activity they had was to decorate t-shirts. They used iron-on pictures, puff paints, jewels, and more, to jazz up the plain white tees. The end results were crazy! 

Cooking

Rose & Anne have experimented with pancakes. Their leader had them try different kinds of flours and rising agents. They also made some sweet potato pancakes and vegan pancakes. Then they tasted all the varieties to see the differences. 

For their meeting just before Christmas, they baked all sorts of cookies. Their leader told them to pick out any recipe, but no chocolate chips allowed! She wanted them to try new things. Anne made sugar cookies and Rose made toffee bars. Rose's toffee bars were Excellent! She used the recipe that I used growing up and the bars turned out delicious.  Poor Anne's cookies were not so good. In all the excitement of baking, she forgot to add the baking soda, and the baking powder. It is amazing the difference that a teaspoon of each can make!

Sewing

Rose & Anne have done nothing. The youth sewing instructor they had last year did not return. The main sewing instructor, who took all the advanced sewers last year, flat out refused to take any new students. So the girls were left with no instructor. Except, I know a little about sewing and my leader status finally went through...  So I volunteered to be the sewing instructor for my girls and any other potential sewers/quilters. We haven't done anything yet. We will have our first meeting in January.

Photography

Rose & Anne have been meeting once or twice a month with the photography leader. She is helping them become familiar with the cameras, teaching them how to set up shots, and other photography related things. One of the things she has stressed is the need to Practice, Practice, Practice! 

Here is evidence of the girls' practicing:

Photos of Desert Flora at local park 

Photos at Wal-m's Garden Center

 I think they are off to a good start. :)

Say What?

I took Joe and Anne to see the pediatrician for their annual check-up. This is their first Well Child Check with this doctor. Doc wanted to do a TB test on both kids. They were less than thrilled, but bravely held still for the nurse to administer the skin test.


Two days later we returned to the Doc's office to have the tests read. Joe and Anne both tested positive for TB. Hooray! The nurse was quite taken aback. I told her that their dad always tests positive too. The nurse started laughing then. "Lucky them!" she said. "They never have to get that yucky skin test again." I agreed. They are lucky kids! Hahaha!


Anyone who has ever tested positive knows that the next step is a chest x-ray. The x-ray shows if the individual really has TB or if they are a false-positive-reacting-type person.


So we head downstairs to the imaging lab. The gal at the front directs me to sign in on the "Walk-In" side. I ask her how long the wait is. She tells me about thirty minutes. I say alright, we'll go ahead and do this now. And I sign in. Then I have this odd conversation with her...


Gal: "You can sit down." (pause) "I call you right now."


Me: "You'll call me right now? Great!" (and I stand there smiling at her)


Gal: (looking at me weird) "You can go sit down. I call you right now."


Me: (still standing there) "Oh good. Here's my insurance card. Did you want my driver's license too?"


Gal: (slightly exasperated for reasons unknown to me) "No. You go sit down. I call you right now."


Me: "Wait. What? You want me to go sit down?"


Gal: "Yes." (smiling cause she thinks I understand what she is saying now) "You go sit down. I call you right now to get your information."


Me: "What? You'll call me right now. Well, I'm here. Here's my information." (and I try to give her my insurance card again)


Gal: (looking exasperated again) "No. Go sit down. I call you right now."


Me: (really feeling confused because why in the world am I going to sit down when she is calling me right now) "Why would I sit down? You said you are calling me right now."


Gal: "Yes. Right now I call you. Go sit down."


Me: (comprehension slowly dawning on me) "You keep telling me you'll call me 'right now'. 'Right now' means this very instant. Is that what you mean? That you are calling me 'right now'? Or do you mean something else? How long do you mean when you say 'right now'?


Gal: (looks like she is trying to be patient with me cause I obviously don't understand plain English) "Yes. Right now. Like five minutes I call you right now. Go sit down and I call you right now."


Me: (feeling really confused) "Oh. Okay, we'll just go sit down."


Gal: (sighs in relief that I have finally left her counter)




My Dear Friends, Can one of you please explain to me when the meaning of "Right Now" changed from "this very instant" to "In five minutes"?


Hahahaha!!!


Living in the town I live in, I should be used to the idiosyncrasies that exist. But I tell you, this "right now" one is brand new to me. :)

Autumn Catch-Up, Part 3

Grammy and Grand (my mom and dad) came for Joe's baptism. We were all very happy to see them. At one point during the visit, Grammy made a comment about us coming to visit them and spend the night at their house. I didn't think anything of it...until Monday morning. Cakes had his backpack stuffed full of underwear, socks, pajamas, shirts, shorts, and shoes. He even packed his toothbrush! He had interpreted Grammy's comment as a personal invitation to spend the night with her. He was sure that she was coming to pick him up soon. I tried explaining to him that she was not coming to get him today. After thinking it over, he decided to carry the backpack with him so he would be ready when Grammy came.

Cakes checking the mail, Jim right behind 

Autumn-time in our town means the arrival of Hot Air Balloons! Our town has an annual balloon festival. The skies before and after are filled with hot air balloons getting ready for the festival. It is a beautiful sight to behold.

Lone hot air balloon 

I have been teaching preschool in my home for the past few months. My students were Cakes, Miss S, and two neighborhood boys--T & D. I threw a little party for them a few days before Halloween. Unfortunately, D was sick! His mom left a message saying he had been throwing up. I thought he had the flu. His mom told me later that he had been to his brother's Halloween party the night before and got a ton of candy which he promptly sat down and ate...ALL OF IT! That's why he was sick! Hahaha! Poor guy. What a terrible way to learn the valuable lesson of Moderation in All Things.


Here are the kids who weren't sick. They wore costumes, ate cupcakes, played, told spooky stories, and generally had a good time.

 Miss Nita: princess vampire, T: Tigger, Cakes: ninja, Jim waiting

patiently for his cupcake while his mom takes a picture

Rose, Anne, Joe, Prof. X, and Miss S are members of 4-H. This is my kids second year in and Prof. X and Miss S's first year. Members of 4-H are required to do so many hours of service each year in order to qualify for fair. This year we opted to do "Trick-or-Treat-So-Others-Can-Eat". I'm a certified 4-H leader (only took a year to get my paperwork finished.  Grrr.) so I organized the service project around my schedule and my home. It was great! So convenient. :) 

In addition to my kids, about eight other kids showed up. On the last Tuesday of October, we passed out flyers detailing the food drive. On the following Saturday, we went door to door collecting food. We ended up getting a few hundred pounds of dry and canned food donated. Rose and I took all the food the our town's community food bank. 

 4-H members, with Cakes & Miss Nita improperly using their pillowcases.

Part of the haul. The truck bed was filled by the time we were done.

Thanks to everyone in our neighborhood for donating so generously!!

And then it was Officially Halloween!! The kids were allowed to wear their costumes to school. They were so excited! Look at all that red. The kids did not plan that. Just a happy coincidence. 

Anne: Devil girl, Prof. X: Red Ninja, Rose: Red Riding Hood 

Poor Joe threw up the night before. He had to stay home and miss his class party. I thought he would be really bummed. That sicko didn't even mind! The thought of eating candy made him want to die!

Joe chilling out on the couch. Happy to watch cartoons and NOT eat candy. 

That night we had a party. On Sunday the kids and I hand delivered invites to the neighbors on our adjoining streets. We invited them to our house for hot dogs and chili. When we lived in Mesa, our neighborhoods used to have block parties. In the first neighborhood we lived in (remember--we lived in two different houses in Mesa. A small 3-bedroom then we upgraded to a small 4-bedroom.) one neighbor would have a hot dog roast on Halloween. Every one in the neighborhood was invited to come to his front yard and eat. Lots of neighbors stopped by to eat and visit. It was wonderful! In our second Mesa neighborhood our street had a block party once a year. We counted it as our neighborhood watch party. Since our house was in the middle of the street, our driveway became the home of the party for three years. It was wonderful!!! It was a chance for neighbors to get to know one another. I knew every neighbor on that street and they knew me. It makes a difference!! There is a certain bond that develops when neighbors know each other. They start to care for and watch out for each other. Lend helping hands and so on.


Hubby and I were hoping to cultivate a neighborhood bond on our new streets. We have lived here for three years and have yet to see some of the neighbors. Wanting to remedy the situation, we invited the neighbors for dinner Halloween night. We had hot dogs, buns, ketchup, mustard, relish, jalapenos, diced onions, chili with beans, potato salad, lemonade, and water bottles. Basically, we had a ton of yummy Halloween food!!


Joe wanted to see the neighbors. We donned his transformer costume and hung out in the front yard. I managed to get Jim's D.J. Lance costume on, but the boy hated it! Not that he has anything against D.J. Lance. Jim loves that guy! Jim's problem is with changing clothes in general. He does not like the transition from one outfit to the next. It is kind of funny and kind of annoying at the same time. By the end of the evening, Jim did not want to take the costume off. 

Jim and Joe waiting for neighbors to arrive.

Rose, Joe, Anne, neighbor M, Miss Nita, Cakes, & Hubby

waiting for the hot dogs to finish on the grill.

Cakes helping pull the cooler to the drinks table while Hubby grills hot dogs.

Hubby grilling up a ton of hot dogs.

Rose's dear friend Sarah and Prof. X

Miss Nita and Cakes chowing down

Neighbor M showing her empty basket

Neighbor boys coming to chow down.

Considering this was our first attempt at throwing a neighborhood block party, I think we did alright. Some neighbors were vary wary of us. Others could not quite believe that we weren't charging for the hot dogs. There are a few things that we will do differently next year. But overall, it was a good event! We met several neighbors and had a great time eating and visiting, which is exactly what we wanted! :)

Moving on from Halloween...

Cakes has been in that weird transition phase for about a year where he doesn't want naps, but still kind of needs them some days. It has been hectic at times. It has also been hilarious at times. Cakes will insist that he is not tired, but then I will find him conked out in the funkiest positions. One example is him snoozing at Joe's baptism. Here is another zany position. I'm including both shots to give the full effect. I sure love this little boy!

Joe's Baptism!

Joe was baptized on a Saturday in October 2011. He is now an official member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 


It was an exciting day. Many family members traveled for many hours to attend Joe's baptism and show their support. It was lovely seeing all of them. Here are a few pictures from the day.

Joe in his new suit, pre-baptism. Isn't he such a handsome and happy little boy?!

Joe with his parents (me & Hubby!)

Three Generations: Joe, Hubby & Papa

Joe sans jacket

Joe up-close

I tried to use this opportunity to take family photos. I figured it would be easy since my children would be dressed nicely and there would be extra adults around to take the picture and help ensure every kid was smiling and looking in the same direction. The family picture idea was a fail. We did manage to get 1 decent picture, but I don't want to use it because Cakes and Jim aren't facing the camera and Rose is in the middle of licking her lips.

Only decent shot of my darling family

I also tried taking individual head shots. Surely if only one person was involved I could get a picture with that person looking at the camera and smiling. Wrong. The kids either 1) would not hold still or 2) gave me weird half-smiles half-grimaces. On the bright side, I did get some good candid shots. Just nothing I could use for a Title Page in the kids' memory books.

Cakes flying around the front yard.

Jim being held in place by me.

Cakes chilling by Hubby's feet

Our Stake Primary Presidency was in charge of the baptism set-up, so we didn't have to leave our house until twenty-til. It was great not having to worry about showing up early to fill the font, set out chairs, play prelude music. Our only job was to Show Up! Hooray! 


There were four other kids being baptized. The cultural hall was pretty packed with all five children's family members. I have no idea why, but it appears that I did not take any pictures of Joe & Hubby in their pre-baptism whites. 


It was wonderful seeing my dear Joe baptized. I am so happy that he made the decision to accept Jesus and follow his commandment to be baptized. It was also thrilling to then see him confirmed a member of the Church and receive the Holy Ghost. Both ordinances were done by Joe's father (Hubby!).


About twenty minutes in to the baptism service, Cakes fell asleep. All that running around before the baptism and not holding still for pictures tuckered the little guy out. Best part of Cakes falling asleep: the odd position of his body! Check it out...

After the baptism, my parents took loads of pictures of the extended family that showed up. I'm hoping to get copies of those soon. The pictures I took afterwards were of my darling son.


Just looking at this picture is filling me with so many emotions! Astonishment that my son is old enough to be baptized. Nostalgia thinking of the sweet baby boy he was and how much he has grown. Pleasure in knowing that he has a strong testimony. Pride in his striving to always choose the right. Sadness that time seems to be slipping by so fast. And through it all I have an overwhelming love and admiration for this sweet, sweet boy!

I am thrilled that Heavenly Father sent this choice son to me. I am humbled that he would entrust me with the great responsibility of nurturing and guiding such a stalwart soul as Joe. I am so happy to be a part of his life!!!

Autumn Catch-Up, Part 2

Every October our licensing agency throws a party for their families. They don't call it a Halloween party because some foster families don't celebrate holidays. Instead they call it a Fall Party and encourage kids to dress up if they want. The highlight of this party for me is the quilts! A local quilting group donates small quilts to be given to foster families to use with their kids. This year they gave our big family two quilts. The one pictured in the background below and another one that is shades of green. 

Miss Nita, the princess vampire 

Prof. X as a red ninja, Joe as a Cub Scout (he had a scout meeting right after the party)

Anne as a devil, Miss S trying to get out of the shot, Rose as little red riding hood

Miss S  as a party girl, Cakes as a white ninja

I just have to record two little notes about Miss S. 


1) She completely dislikes having her picture taken. As soon as she sees a camera pointed in her direction, she will turn her head or walk away. I have lots of pictures of the back of her head and her rump as a result. This picture is another example. As her foster Mom, I am required to keep a memory book together for her. Do you think if I filled it with all the shots I have of her backside she might finally give in and let me take a shot of her face???


2) Her costume is a dress she wore to her friend's quinceanera. I insisted she have sleeves on the dress. It is a standard in our home (and in the LDS church) that sleeves be worn. It didn't even occur to me to talk about the skirt length. Haha! She had told me that she only liked to wear long dresses, so I thought we were alright with that dress standard and didn't give her the lecture on modest dress length.  Turns out we have different ideas about what constitutes a "long" dress.

Jim loved this game which involves throwing balls to knock things down. He played

for about fifteen minutes straight...until some other kids showed up and wanted a turn.

The little boy pitched a fit! He did not want to give up his turn. 

Cakes manning the water spout. I have no idea what the purpose of this water spout 

(which only sprays downward) is or who thought it was a good idea to put it in the middle 

of a sandy playground, but Cakes (and every other child who comes across it) use it 

in a kind of King-of-the-Mountain way, spraying anyone who dares come close!

Hubby watching Jim knock things down.

In the midst of the October fun, my dear friend moved away. Something about wanting to live in a place that had "four seasons". Pssh! Who needs four seasons? They obviously don't realize that four seasons means snow, sleet, ice, and hail. Yuck. The dear woman was actually looking forward to all that cold. Poor woman, she has obviously lost her mind. ;)

Joe and Cakes adored her children. And my friend was Cakes preschool teacher last year. Cakes loves her! He will do anything she says. Because of her, Cakes began saying "Excuse Me" after his huge, on-purpose burps. 

The night before they moved, we went over to say goodbye and take a few pictures. 

Joe saying goodbye to his buddy.

Cakes playing with the E girls one more time.

The very next day, Joe was baptized!!!  But I think that warrants its very own post. :)