Author: Angela

I write so my family will always have letters from home.

Summertime blues

I am not prepared to play this on Sunday. I am in big trouble.

My white spray paint is jammed. My birds are not finished.

And then there is the dust. We can’t keep up.

After two years I still haven’t found the courage to add to Care’s masterpiece for my grandma. And the family keeps growing… more names…aaack! I spent an hour in the middle of the night thinking about it.

There are school books to unwrap and lesson plans to make.

And then there is this painting. I can’t do it. I can’t do it. I KNOW Ray is not that color. I KNOW his hand doesn’t look like that. I KNOW the background stinks. And Ray’s smile isn’t right. Sigh.

 

Temperatures are high and I can’t seem to help Mark stop fighting. Summer is not my favorite time. I lack a FUN gene, I think.

The Three Pigs

I think this picture is a whimsical treasure. Instructions here.

I feel a significant change in the dynamics of our life. We don’t read as many picture books and the house is no longer “baby-proof.” I’ve stopped stashing emergency diapers in the van; We don’t end up eating the snacks we take to church. Strollers are unused and no one rides a tricycle or uses training wheels. I threw out the sippy cups.

Sigh. In the place of all the baby gear, I find sports equipment, socks, big shoes, and Legos everywhere. Showers, not baths, independent reading over snuggling together with books, and more bike rides away from home without Mom watching anxiously are the norm now. I live in the van, reading books as I wait for activities to end. I read a lot of books.

It’s good. It’s different. It’s a little sad sometimes. It all happened without my noticing anything had changed. Now everything has changed, but it’s okay… most of the time!

 

 

 

 

Summer mornings

Most mornings this month I awake to find the kids already up and well-entrenched in activities. Daniel has usually read 200 pages, walked the dog, and helped install 50 brick pavers across the street before I emerge. Pretty much. Books and magazines are popular around here before breakfast. I am enjoying the summer ritual of sleeping in, although I know that this must end. Early mornings in Arizona are the only time to get anything done.

This weekend I was just so ineffective.

But I think the upcoming week should hold some adventures. We will go birding; we’ll step foot into Mexico for a special event for a friend. We’ll swim and we’ll read and dance and build things. I will hang our Chinese lanterns out on the patio and sit outside at least one evening. We’ll pray for rain because Arizona is on fire. Join us. We can use the prayers. They canceled Girls Camp and Scout Camp because the mountains are one big tinderbox.

I hope you have a good week.

Saga

We finished our last school publication before the summer break. Here are the covers from the 2010-2011 school year. I think they look nice and they bring back many memories. One thing is certain: we live a documented life.

I started publishing the kids’ writing and art about four years ago. Back then we had friends contributing to the magazine. However, after three years I decided I just didn’t have time to make this a big collaboration. We scaled back the publication to our own family. I miss seeing the work from other kids, but I have learned that the beauty of home education is we can alter things when we need it. I appreciate that freedom.

We publish creative writing, reports, art, our monthly calendar, awards, and photos. I think this is one of the best things we have done to ensure the kids finish their work at a level they are comfortable having other people read. It’s been good for me because I have a record of exactly what we accomplished. Seeing everything compiled in a publication helps me see where we need more work and where we should be congratulated.

For instance, Daniel should be congratulated for reading over 22,000 pages during his 6th grade year. Paige should be congratulated for her thoughtful essays and reading a lot of Greek literature. Timothy should be congratulated for completing his reading goal and becoming quite an authority on Shakespeare.

Math and science are two subjects I don’t include in the publication, but these are more quantitative subjects and I can easily measure progress by looking at the spreadsheets.

I schedule an afternoon at the first of the month and copy and paste the documents from the previous month into a big publication. I add pictures and I update the calendar. My favorite thing to do is select the cover picture. I try to decide who had the biggest event or who showed the most courage. I try to capture our family-oriented lifestyle while celebrating excellence in academics, art, music, and athletics. Okay, okay, I admit it that this is just a scrapbook of our school journey. But it means a lot to me.

Little dolls

Whenever Paige disappears for a while to her room I can expect her to emerge with a drawing or something creative (eventually). Lately, she’s been sewing for the tiny Blythe dolls, a pastime I highly recommend no matter how old you are. Thanks, Care, for the inspiration!

Painting

Last night Richard and the boys went to a minor league baseball game in town. Mark, Paige, and I stayed home. After watching PBS for a while, we pulled out the oil paints. We found these canvases and easels at Walmart. They are tiny, making a painting project less time consuming.

I taught Relief Society today. My topic was “We love life and learning.” All week I have been reflecting about things I have learned which have enriched my life. I will always consider myself a beginner, but painting is good for me because I can make a study of something for a while, savoring small details. Painting has opened my eyes to color, to nature, and to the people I decide to paint.  I didn’t capture little Ruby in the painting, but that’s okay. I learned something, I had fun, and I grew to love her more as I tried to paint her.

Paige has been eying this flower for a long time. I’m glad she decided to do it. I think she did a great job.

Mark’s truck and sun make me happy. He worked very hard on this and mixed his own paints.

Auntie Kathy visits

My Aunt Kate (aka “Auntie Kathy”) stopped by for a visit yesterday. I didn’t take a picture, but this is what she looked like a few years ago. She is holding me. I didn’t crop the picture so you could enjoy that warm seventies feeling. You have to be my age or older to appreciate that warm glow that is associated with cash registers which weren’t computerized, shag carpet, and everything enrobed in earth tones. I’m not mocking. I truly, truly, love that warmth.

Kate and Mike came down for the funeral of her mission president who lived in Gilbert. They took several hours to drive way down to our place. It was a good visit and I was able to get all the news. Kate and Mike are about to become grandparents, which feels a little surreal since it doesn’t seem that long ago that we were neighbors and we’d get together to watch our babies play.

I love my aunt Kate. Someday I will post some crazy pictures of us from the 80’s. We have had some good times. I smile when I think of the adventure of her car overheating in San Francisco as we drove down Lombard Street or when we drove around all summer singing Kokomo at the top of our voices.

She’s still very fun and so nice to take the time to come and see us. Next time you come, Kate: Sonoran Hot Dogs are on the menu!