The past week and a half in one post...I am warning you I didn't even edit it this one...

Am I the only one that never seems to be caught up on what I call my scrapbook posts?  The reason I started blogging in the first place: to document our lives...Here are a few of the things we did last week-not in any order at all...

Jake and Corey, after what seemed like hours of playing the Wii, decided to take a break and put their imaginations to work (and I didn't even tell them it was time to turn it off.  That makes me happy.).  They made up a super hero they wanted to be and drew it.  Then they explained to each other what they could do and what their powers were.  Boys are pretty cool when they aren't being gross and crazy.  :)

This is Jake smiling after we did math.  That is right he was smiling.  Even though he loves math he doesn't usually smile after it because there are so much better things you can be doing when you are at home.  That is one of the things that makes homeschooling tough-you are home...where all your toys live.  But after this fun math lesson we are hooked on a book I heard about on Latter Day Homeschooling (which is on of the websites you could sit and read for hours).  It is called Family Math and we are doing it on Fridays to take a break from the norm.  We learned about tangrams and made up puzzles for one another to solve.
AND my genius husband found the most amazing website called Khan Academy.  You have got to check it out.  This very cool guy had made awesome videos that explain math in a way that even I may learn to like.  Have you ever heard of lattice multiplication?  You probably have because you aren't as dumb as me in math.  It is pretty cool.  I want whatever this guy is using to make these videos.  I have no need for it, but I want it.

 We had a 3 in 1: play, school, chore the other day and it wasn't planned. Those are some of the best teaching moments. We decided to play with action figures in the sink and pretend they were discovering a sea that no one had ever swam in with creatures that were never seen before (Ben 10 aliens and GI Joe action figures + Jake's imagination is always interesting.).  When we were just about done we made whirl pools to see if it would drag the action figures around.  It did-which was pretty cool.  We also watched as funnels (I can't think what they are called right now so I am just going with funnel....you know when it looks like a tornado in the water?) were made as we drained the water from the sink.  I took pictures of the funnels but uploaded the wrong one so the picture below is Jake making the whirl pool with his action figure in his hand when we dropped it in after it zoomed around the sink with the current.

Then we shined the sink with some comet (I prefer Bar Keepers Friend-have you ever used that?  It is awesome for shining sinks and cleaning glass stove tops. Try it you will love it!)  Jake was surprised how shiny the sink was after.  We were multitasking and we didn't even plan it. :)

 I no longer feel guilty about sitting for long periods of time on Pinterest.  I have done a couple of the ideas I thought were cool so it is worth the time I waste spend on it!  I made these cute little lists of the basic chores we have to do to pick up each room in the house.  I liked the idea even though Aaron said: "Don't you just know what you have to do by now?" Yes dear husband I do, but it is fun to look at these cute little laminated (I love to laminate) lists (I love lists) and check off what I have done.  Not to mention it reminds we to smile while doing it.  See how the little 1950's housewife is smiling while she cleans?  Plus I can give one to Jake and tell him to go forth and clean the living room while I clean the kitchen and he won't have any excuse about not knowing what to do.  It is actually much more fun to guess how long it will take to clean a room and see who was closer after we clean it together. :)

 We also did this cool idea to the left.  You use a ketchup bottle to have pancake mix on hand and ready to use anytime.  Jake has been really into making breakfast for the past couple of weeks and today (yes I these pictures are actually from today) he made a special heart shaped pancake for Nee.  She is going to spend a little over a month with Tina (my sis) and her family in the Ukraine, so Jake wanted her to have a special breakfast.

 This is Jake's pancake.  It was extra large with chocolate and peanut butter chips in it.  Doesn't really sound like breakfast...more like dessert!

 On Tuesday we went to our local library for "Ghosts Galore!"  An author from the Carolina's named Terrrance Zepke was there to share some ghost stories from her lasted book called Ghosts of the Carolinas for Kids that we got.  She autographed it and wrote "Jake read with all the lights on!".  (Later we talked about how when ever someone asked her if ghosts were real she laughed and kind of talked about something else. She did a great job of telling the stories in a way that wasn't scary and let you know that although she thinks ghosts are an interesting idea she may not actually believe in them. :)   She travels the two states and gathers research on "hauntings" that people claim to have happened and shares them with us!  She was really funny and not only does she love ghost stories but she loves PIRATES.  We have been searching for some books about Black Beard (he was a real pirate that I am sure you have heard of that terrorized the Carolina coast and his ship sunk and he was killed in NC) because Jake really wants to do a project about him.  Ms. Zepke also wrote a book called Pirates of the Carolinas  that we got that not only is full of Black Beard facts, but also 3 other pirates of the Carolinas.

 

 Since Nee is going to be gone for Thanksgiving we decided to celebrate it with her before she left.  it was a "quick" Thanksgiving dinner as far as preparations.  We used Stove Top stuffing, potato pearls, and Jiffy corn bread mix.  It wasn't the full blown meal but it worked!  Papa isn't going this time because he is going to go in March when Saku turns 8 and gets baptized.

We couldn't resist letting Sadie have her first Thanksgiving meal with us.  She got the left over potato pearls and the turkey skin and fat.  I have never seen her eat so fast!

We were domestic last week too:  My mom and I canned meat!  Sounds gross and I have to say it looks gross but it tastes great.  Aaron just walked in eating the homemade cookies I promised I would make him 2 weeks ago and finally did.  He looked at the picture to the left and said: "Oh look a picture of a jar of raw meat."  He doesn't understand the hard work that goes into canning, the mess it makes in the kitchen, the danger of exploding canners.  He doesn't understand that I have to document this so that

our posterity will now I am not a complete slacker.  Women in 2011 do can!  Not as much as women of the past did-they had to.  We do it for our family...And so we can brag and feel like we are awesome when it comes to being prepared...even if it is just every now and then.  Mom posed for  a picture.  She was humoring me, isn't that nice of her?

It was still boiling after we took it out of the canner for at least an hour.  We remembered (it has been a LONG time since we have canned meat) that you need to kind of stuff it in a little so it will be more full.  Next time...  I know it looks gross but seriously pour this in a pot with the juices, add a little flour to thicken it, along with potatoes, carrots, and an onion and you have the best beef stew EVER!  Canned red potatoes are amazing too....

On Saturday we went to Spartanburg for the county fair. Nana works at it every year and got us tickets to get in and a wrist bracelet for Jake to go on all the rides as much as he wanted-all for free!  Thanks Nana!!!!  We had a blast.  Jake and Della must have ridden a million rides and I of course have the pictures to prove it.

I just realized I didn't warn you ahead of time this was going to be a long post with lots of pictures...Sorry.  This is your official warning.  Matt (Aaron's little bro), Jeremy (bro-in-law), and Aaron are the guys leaning against fence.  See the empty swing?  Della is right behind it and Jake is behind her.

I also just realized I don't really have to tell you about every picture of the fair...You are on your own from here on out.  Jake, Della, and sometimes Matt are in the picture of the rides somewhere.  You can think of this kind of like a where's waldo.

Except this one on the left!  Matt and Erin are having a baby!!!  They told us while we were eating lunch.  Erin said: "We brought dessert!" and put the cake down on the table.  How cute it that?  Congrats guys.  I am calling a girl and it isn't just because we have the only boy grandson so far either. :)

Papa Harmon's hand carved goat won a second place ribbon.

We finished off the evening at Nana and Papa's with a fire and roasting marsh mellows.

Last Tuesday we went to the Rain-aissance Festival...I mean Renaissance Festival.  We had about 2 hours with misty rain and the rest with full on getting drenched rain...It was still fun and spent the week before studying the Renaissance and even making our costumes to wear.  It was pretty fun and educational.  We even had a girl stop Jake and I to take our picture.  We must have looked pretty authentic.  :)  It is usually only open on the weekends, except a couple of school days during the week.  You could tell who the homeschoolers were because we were in costume.

Random picture upload in the wrong spot!  Jake lost another tooth last week while eating his lunch.  The tooth fairy still has not brought him his money for it yet...He keeps reminding me but I keep forgetting. :)

I have to brag just a little...When the King and Queen went by with their royal court everyone was supposed to bow in the Renaissance fashion.  Those of us who did our research (they had a packet of info. that you could down load to learn all about the Renaissance.   We had fun reading it and learning how they spoke, dressed, and lived.) knew that we needed to bow or curtsy.  Well any way, the Queen saw me curtsy and she said: "Very well done", as she bowed her head back at me.  It is amazing what being in costume and playing the part can do-it makes you feel like you are there living in that time period.  I am sure any Renaissance maiden would have been very excited if the Queen spoke to them personally. :)

The joust was very cool, even though we were sitting in the pouring rain.  Our knight to cheer on was "Sir Max A Million" and though he was not the "good knight" he was much more fun to watch and seemed to be very "knightly".  Is that a word?  The other knight was a skinny guy that didn't really look very tough.  Our knight really looked like a knight.  It didn't hurt that he was very handsome either. :)

That is a rain drop going by Jake's nose-not snot. I promise.  We couldn't resist the cool Jester hat.  It was only $6 and it kept his head dry...kind of...Can you tell the fun was wearing off.

This is the view of the mass exodus at about 1:00 from the safety of my umbrella.  A lot of people gave up and called it quits about the same time we did. 

                                                                   



  As we were leaving I took a shot of the people biding us farewell.  You can really see how bad it was raining in this shot.  The guy was saying to me: "Madam do not point that cannon at us!..." He said something else but I was too busy laughing.  They are in character at all times and do not reference things from our time out right.  He meant cannon as in a weapon...but also a hint to the camera brand Canon.  I know it was too far away for him to see, but my camera really is a Canon. :)                                                                                              

Something I want to remember so I have to write it down....

I am going to try and make this quick (that is hard for me...) because I need to head to bed, but I knew if I didn't write it down now I would forget.  So, here it is:

Jake got in trouble today because he made a bad choice (he stuck up for his best friend when someone hit him on the hand with a broom by kicking the "bully"...longer story than that but that is the gist of it) and I was yelling at him telling him how I felt about that bad choice.  He was upset (and let me add tired...not an excuse just a fact) so he cried and felt horrible.  I wanted him to feel horrible because he shouldn't have done it...Just not that horrible...Okay back to making this short.  When he was getting into bed, we talked and said individual prayers about what happened and cuddled.  While I was praying, I asked Heavenly Father to let Jake know that no matter what he does we (myself and Heavenly Father...lots of other people too-and we talked about that also-but at the moment it was just us) will always be there for him.  That he can always talk to us. I felt the Spirit come into my heart and after we were both done praying I told Jake what I prayed about and how I felt.  He started crying and said that praying about it made him feel a little better and that he felt the Spirit too.  Then he said, while hugging me around my neck and breaking my heart wide open: "I could never live with out you."  I said I felt the same way. Then he said: "But some day I will have to."  (I paused because he is right, he will have to live without me some day...Scary thought, for selfish reasons-I want to be here for everything in his whole life!  Every second.  Wow how does Heavenly Father let us do this whole mortality thing?!)  To which I said: "But we will be together again and no matter how hard life can be you can always talk to Heavenly Father."  I may have said more but my mind was still stuck on not wanting to miss any second of his life...Then he said (*tear*): "You always comfort me."  If I was smart I would have said something like so can the Holy Ghost and used it as a teaching moment.  Instead I just hugged him back and told him I loved him.  All the eye rolling, the "do we have to do ____ (insert whatever topic we are about to move onto next while homeschooling...) now?", and sighing (all of which he gets from me...) went right out the window.  It doesn't matter (it does but not as much) how good I am at teaching him math.  It matters how I teach him to follow the Spirit.  To pray for forgiveness, and turn to the Lord for peace.  To feel remorse when you make a wrong choice and  to know there will always be someone to help make it better.  And that someone won't always be me...even though I really want it to be...Heavenly Father will always be there for Jake, even when I can't be....

Isn't it amazing that when you are taking a moment to teach your child what is really important, you realize you are the one that needed the lesson? 

Want to feel like you have accomplished something when you really haven't?

Go to Pinterest...It is addictive.  I have gathered ideas on how to organize, decorate, homeschool, etc...When I really should have been doing all these things.  And yet I don't feel like I have wasted time because I am "planning" to do these things even better than I was doing them before.  It is like a little vacation for your brain while gathering things you love into one pretty, and somewhat organized place that you don't even have to dust.  Does it get any better than that?  Maybe being the person that came up with all these brilliant ideas...I will have to work on a board for that next...."My Brilliant Ideas!"-it may be blank for a while. :)

2 for 1 Book Review

I just finished reading My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George and The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  I read one for Jake's blog book club and another for a woman's group book club.  Can you guess which is which? :)  They are obviously at 2 ends of the spectrum and one I would suggest everyone should read and the other I would not!

My side of the Mountain is about a boy who decides to run away to his great-great-(I think it was 2 greats) grandfathers land in the Catskills and live off of it.  He manages to make it through a winter, make some wonderful new friends (human and not), and even trained a baby hawk to hunt for him.  It is a great book and there are 2 more in the series that I can't wait to read.  He lives in a large old tree that he finds a rotten spot in and digs and burns it out to make an impressive home.  He makes clothes out of deer skin and rabbit fur and works to get a supply of food and firewood that will last through the winter.  Jake wants to go camping and live off the land for a few days...We will bring back up because the amount of research this boy did to survive would take us months to do!
And I don't love the idea of not using a tent at least.  This book really did make me think about what I truly need to survive and what I think I need.  Could I live without my Kindle? Yes, but I really don't want to.  Could I live in a hollowed out tree?  I would like to say yes if I had to, but that is probably not true.  I have some work to do before I can live off the land...or even without electricity!  Read this book-you will love it!

Have you read the Help or seen the movie?  I wanted to see the movie...but now I am not so sure.  There are some parts in the book I am afraid may be in the movie and I don't really want to see them!

I really did like the book. It is crazy to think that people believed they could catch diseases from using the same toilet that black people used.  What is even crazier is to think it was only 50 years ago!  We have come a long way since that time. 

I loved that different chapters were from the perspective of different characters.  I loved each of the characters and their flaws.  They were all so courageous and inspiring.  I don't really have to get into the plot because unless you live under a rock you have heard about this book/movie. 

This book has great lessons in it.  For that reason I would say it is a good read...But there is some language and one part that is pretty vulgar.  The language, although not something I enjoyed, is understandable (for the time period, culture, and "worldliness"...for lack of a better way to put it...) but the vulgar part (although probably a realistic representation, unfortunately, of things that happen in this crazy world...) could have been left out in my point of view...But at the same time it was important to the story...I won't go into detail but it basically is about Minny (a black lady that is "the Help" for a rich white lady named Miss Celia. Celia married "up" and is from the country so she doesn't have the walls between the races built up that all the other characters do) defending the white lady that she works for.  Then Miss Celia ends up defending Minny and saving her life.  Let me put it this way-not many people would have defended their "help" against an attack.  I am torn.  I don't want to tell you to read it because there are definitely parts that are offensive.  But it is a wonderful reminder of where we were as a country and how far we have come. Use you own judgment on this one.  I almost hate to admit I liked it...but I did.  It is our history.  Will I read it again? No. Once was enough for me so that means it doesn't make it to my list of classics (books you want to read over and over).  Have you seen the movie?  If you have let me know if you think I should see it.  I have heard it was wonderful and a must see.  I am just wondering if the one scene is in the movie-though I don't know they could have done it without giving it an R-rating.

One classic and one good read.  Not a bad week for reading!  My problem now is what to read next.  I am reading to study (Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis...I came back to this one.  I had to give my brain a rest because the guy who wrote this is way smarter than I am and The Book of Mormon)-I just need a reading for pleasure book.  I think I will be reading the next Anne Shirley book...I need a little bit of innocence and joy after reading the Help. :)

Our first official field trip: The Schiele Museum

 Our first field trip was supposed to be to the Latta Plantation for their Fall Homeschool Day.  But because I bumped my head a month earlier (that is going to be my excuse for every idiotic things I do for a while...) I put it on the calendar as being on Sep. 30th, when it was actually on Sep. 28th...I am an idiot.  But we saved the day by going to The Schiele Museum of Natural History and had an awesome day. 

Jake's best friend Corey is getting ready to move (not too far away luckily) and was home from school for a couple of weeks before the move and got to come with us.  We had a great time and yes I took a ton of pictures.  168 to be exact...I am only (yes I said only) putting up 35 of them...

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I know that is a lot but I just couldn't stop myself from picking them.  There was so much to see at the museum that I had to cover as much of it as possible.We started with the outside display that was very cool.  It had a nature trail, a Catawba Indian Village, a Wildlife Memorial Garden,  Stone Age Heritage Site, and an 18th Century Backcountry Farm.  The farm was complete with pigs (BIG pigs) and chickens. 

 If you go on the weekends or for school field trips (a school of one doesn't really qualify especially when you decide to go the day before...) they have people in costume. Blacksmiths, farmers, ladies that cook...All sorts of fun stuff! 

The Gristmill was very cool but we couldn't get an up close look at it because they were doing some repairs on it. We all agreed it would be worth going back to see the little town in full swing.

 The Indian Village was pretty interesting. Jake liked the tee-pee. :)

They even showed a burial mounds.  There was fire pit that they must have going on the weekends. There was a building (only open on the weekends-I guess since school is back in) that was a mini museum for the Indian village information that we want to go back and check out.

 As soon as you walk in the door of the museum you are greeted by a dinosaur.  The guys were pretending to run away from it in this shot.  :)

The man who founded the museum was big time into Scouting and there was a room that displayed all sorts of cool scouting badges, pictures, video of a Jamboree in DC in the 60's (maybe...I can't remember for sure), etc.  If it has to do with Scouting it was in that room!

The exhibit that is on display there now is Caves and it was very cool.  The first room had places to crawl through with helmets and head lamps, which is right up 10 and 11 year old boys alleys!

There were live bats, and other cave dwelling creatures that were really fun to see.  There were also stalactites  and stalagmites, along with information on how they are formed.  It was all set up so you felt like you were winding through a cave.  It got darker as you got deeper in to the cave.

It was a very cool museum for being in the little city of Gastonia.  The hall ways that lead you to other parts of the building were just as exciting to explore as the actual exhibits.  The boys loved looking at all the different animal skulls of different shapes and sizes.

We all agreed that one of the best parts was a room in which the different areas of North Carolina were represented.  They made it feel like you were looking out the window in to nature.  In the Sandhills display they had bubbles coming out of the stuffed beavers and river otters mouths and even had a duck dunking it's head under the water with it's tail feather on the top and the rest of it under the water.  It was amazing.

Every where you looked you would see a different animal from the region.  We were pretty impressed to say the least.  We were wondering how much money it cost just to create that room.  Our guess was... A LOT! :)

I like the one from the Mountains the best.  It made me miss our last home outside of Asheville. Corey was surprised to find out that the animals were in fact stuffed real animals.   They look like they are going to turn their head and look at you at any moment-but he didn't realized they actually used real animals.

In another room they had animals of all sizes.  From this huge moose all the way down to an Arctic weasel that is probably 4 inches long.  The little weasel seemed teeny next to the polar bear it was displayed with.

The rocks and crystals were so beautiful too.  The boys wanted to keep moving so I didn't get to read to much about...well anything, but we got to see it all!  The next trip we will take notes and do a report.  This time was just for fun.  I asked a question about something (I don't even remember what it was now.  I didn't get to read the sign) and the boys started telling me all about it.  Apparently after I gave up trying to make them read an occasional sign; they ended up reading the ones that interested them on their own.
 I knew they would but 
the way they zig-zagged from this to that I didn't think they were going to remember any of it! :)


I had to take this picture for Aaron since he loves bacon or as he calls it "meat candy" so much.  Ever heard of Cave Bacon?

Jake and Corey were checking out the snakes, when all of the sudden it started checking them out.  They jumped back like it was going to come through the glass at them!  This is as close as I got, so I can't pick on them too much about it.  Nee didn't even go in that room.

There were even alligators!  I can't even remember what this exhibit was...They are permanent residents though so I will find out next time.

We took a break for an impromptu  puppet show.  It was very little kiddo friendly too.  There was a whole bucket of puppets you could choose from.  The boys decided on an eagle and a hawk.

This is how big kid puppet shows turn out.... :)

This brown bear was huge!  It was bigger than the grizzly bear!  We read about that because we were surprised to see it was bigger.  It all depends on where you are for the size of your brown bear it turns out.  Brown bears around here are not anywhere near that big.  They had a display of  NC's sweet little brown bears too.

What museum of Natural History would be complete without a place you can dip your hands in and touch the fish?  Jake is actually reading the sign in this shot! Learning is fun!

It was very cool that had so much stuff you could actually touch.  This alligator was a favorite of ours.

One of my favorite things was the little models they had of different Native American's in different areas of North America.  They were so detailed.  We all agreed it would be an awesome place to play with action figures.  It also reminded us of the Movie Night at the Museum.  You could almost see them waking up at night and coming to life...

At different places you could pick up telephone head sets and hear a story from an Indians point of view.  That was pretty cool too.  Unfortunately we couldn't get a couple of them to work.

There was even and under the sea style room.  The boys ended up pretending to be swimming around it.  They would come out the door and pretend to get a brig breath of air.  Going on field trips when you are homeschooling is awesome-you get the whole place to yourself!

There was so much to see from so many different times.  I didn't know what to expect, but I have to say I was pretty impressed.

You name it they had it.  From Mammoths to the different layers of the earth!

You can tell we are getting at the end of the trip-they actually sat down and took a break!

After a visit to the gift shop and a show in the Planetarium  (which we thought would be the high light but turned out to be a little bit of a let down...), we made a final stop at the dinosaur for one last shot inside.  You can't really tell but I am making a face and giving them bunny years and they didn't even know it. :)

This one is out of order but I am ready to be done with this because I need to finish sewing part of a costume for our next field trip on Tuesday to the Renaissance  Festival!  So this is where it will stay.  We all commented how when we were looking at the scene of the mountains we felt cold because it was so realistic.



We decided to walk the nature trail one more time when we got back outside to see if we missed anything.  We came out on the front side of the building which is not where we meant to be-but we got to see the big b-day cake for the museum so it was worth it!

Nee got Jake a crystal making kit from the gift shop and Aaron helped him get it started the next day.  The crystals have grown a ton already and are very cool!
So, even though I botched up the dates on what was supposed to be out first field trip; the one we ended up going on was well worth!  Next time I will try to cut down on the pictures... :)

 (I am sure there were several typos but this took me way too long to do so I am going to move on with the rest of my To Do list and you will just have to ignore them!)

General Conference Meme...What exactly is that?

  Did you LOVE General Conference as much as I did?  Stephanie over at Diapers and Divinity is having a General Conference Meme and I just had to do it!  (No I don't really know what "Meme" means or stands for...Does that make me sound really ignorant?  Is this one of those things that when I find out what it means I go "duh...I did know that." ?  It may not always be a good thing to be honest...JK) Basically I am answering questions about what my personal highlights from General Conference are.  

I took tons of notes and was ready to hear what I needed to hear and guess what? I did.  It is so nice to know that Heavenly Father is mindful of my endless needs. :)

General Conference Highlights, October 2011:

1.  Who were your three favorite speakers?

President Packer, Elder Matthew O. Richardson, and Elder Carl B. Cook….AND Elder Ian Arden said so many things I needed to hear…AND to  be fair I missed one of my all time favorite speakers L. Tom Perry because  I was stretching out  the pizza dough…I am going to give him an honorary #4, because I am sure I am going to love it when I have a chance (very soon) to watch it…President Eyring was so wonderful too...This question is too hard.

2.  Which talk spoke to you the most?

It was a tie between my 3 favorites because they all addressed things I was praying to receive an answer about.  President Packer reaffirmed that we made the right decision to homeschool Jake.  Elder Richardson taught/reminded me how to homeschool the right way-with the help of the Holy Ghost.  He reminded me that “the Holy Ghost teaches individuals in a personal way. Teaches what we need to know, so we can be what we need to be.” I put the quotations so you would know I didn’t say this, Elder Richardson did-but maybe not in exactly those words…I took it out of my notes as I was writing feverishly because he was speaking directly to me. Sorry if you were feeling left out wondering why he was giving this talk.  :)  Elder Cook taught me to not be overwhelmed and to look up so I can be filled with peace and joy...while homeschooling…Are you seeing a pattern here?  I am struggling with this right now.  I can’t fail at this-it is way to important and self doubt (Satan really knows my weaknesses…) is a real bummer when you are doing something you have never done, (and is REALLY important) and wonder if you can do….

3.  What was your favorite Hymn and why did it move you?

NO QUESTION:   Praise to the Man by the Primary.  I love     hearing the Primary children sing out their sweet testimonies.  They looked and sounded like angels.

4.  Which speaker was the best dressed?  (Come on, we can have a little fun.)

 It is always President Uchtdorf.  The striped ties he wears are always perfect-trendy, yet classic.

5.  Were there any topics that you felt like were repeated often?  Any conference "themes"?

Last Conference it seemed like it was missionary work, but that could be because my parents were on a mission.  This time for me it was Being an example of Christ, using the Spirit, and  teaching/ preparing the youth/our children…Okay maybe I am just noticing all the things that I am working on or that pertain to my life…

6.  Share a few of your favorite quotes from any of the talks (paraphrasing is fine).

-The one by Elder Richardson that I already wrote in question #2.

-Young people today are being raised in enemy territory.  (President Packer-he said it twice to make sure we were listening.  Am I the only one that would love to just give him a big hug and say thanks for being so awesome?)

-Time flies on wings of lightening and we can not get it back.

(Elder Ian Arden)

-It is better to look up.

(President Monson via Elder Carl B. Cook.  Elder Cook seemed so nervous when he first walked up to the podium.  Maybe humble is a better word.  I beat he never would imagined what an impact his personal story would have on everyone)

-We cannot feel for, think for, or learn for those who we are teaching.

(Elder Matthew G. Richardson. His talk was meant for me!  I loved every thing he said!!!!)

7.  Name something(s) that made you smile or laugh during conference.

When President Monson walked up to the podium and said enthusiastically: “Hello!...” I was expecting something profound and it was just so…President Monson!   I loved his stories (always do) and the facial expressions he makes.

8.  Was there any evidence that your children paid attention?

Jake always pays attention when President Monson speaks. You can’t help but listen he is such a great story teller.  I have to admit I was so wrapped up in waiting to hear the answers to my questions/concerns I didn’t notice his reactions…I know he made comments and repeated stories, but I can’t think of what they were about.  Wow…I think we need to talk about it tomorrow so I won’t feel like such a slacker mom….

9.  What doctrine did you learn as you listened to the choir(s) sing?

This is a tough one-there are so many things!…I especially felt the Spirit when the Primary sang Praise to the Man.  I already knew Joseph Smith was a Prophet but it just reminded me of our ward Primary as they were learning that song this year.  They all loved it, begged to sing it, and sang their little hearts out when they did.  Primary children sing their testimonies-you can just feel that they know it is true.  It reminded me that we all need to be as little children.

I was also very touched as President Eyring talked about his struggle to “fulfill his duty” when he spoke at a College graduation.  His talk really reminded me how we must stand as an example of Christ always. 

10.  Did the music enhance your General Conference experience? How?

Absolutely!  I always think of music as the part that makes us realize all the spoken words we have heard are true.  You can hear it spoken and know it is true, and then when you sing it or hear  it sung you feel it’s truth again even more strongly.

11.  What are some of your post-conference goals?

I have a ton of goals.  This is the 3^rd quarter comeback after all!  I want to use my time more wisely, I want to teach by example, I want to remember it is better to look up…etc.

If you would like to (and I know you do) share what you learned and loved about Conference than head over to Diapers and Divinity and share it with others!  Think of how much we can learn from each other!!!! 

Update: I looked up Meme.  Aren't I so smart?  A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.

Brain Declutter: Of Massive Proportions and Photo Drop

*I finally broke down and went to the doctor because I have had "a little head cold" (that settled in my chest since I have asthma) and it feels like someone has been kicking me in the back of my lungs, which makes it hard to breath.  Turns out I have "Walking Pneumonia", which I figured because I have had it before.  Now I don't feel guilty for not having any energy the past two weeks...

*I started this post the middle of last week and still haven't posted it yet so I figured I better before it is so old I change my mind....

*Do you remember this post?  I posted about how Sadie, then a little puppy, chewed up my favorite (and only) big black purse.  Well, it is months later and I still haven't been able to find a cheap replacement...If you happen to know of a place that I could find a great (for less than $30...way less) black bag (purse isn't really the right word because it was a BAG) than let me know.  Target has been letting me down all year long and they are usually my go to place for cheap cute bags...

*Two weeks ago on a Friday we did our homeschooling outside because it felt like Fall!  I LOVE THE FALL! It is my favorite season and I can't wait until it is really here to stay.  It was in the high 50's low 60's and with the wind it was even a bit chilly-or as I like to call it PERFECT!  I had to capture the moment as we played 5 State Rummy with Jake and his hood up.  I got that awesome sweatshirt at a church consignment sale for $3 and it was pretty much brand new!  I love a good deal...

*We have realized that Papa G. is a BGPP (board game party pooper). I am now on a mission to find a game that is educational and fun for  Papa G. Got any ideas?

*Notice I am putting pictures up again? (I used up all my storage space for photos on my blog and couldn't for a while...) I found some pictures hidden in a couple albums that were taking up a HUGE amount of space and fixed the problem...but not before I erased a few from way back in 2008 to make room...But at least I can put pic's on now and I am not so computer illiterate. Thanks Jaime and Cocoa for your help with my photo storage problem.
 
*Jake lost his 9th tooth some time last week...or maybe the week before that...What a difference from when you get your first tooth or lose your first tooth and you carefully document the moment to cherish it forever.  It was still momentous because it was his first moeler big tooth...Spell check didn't help so much on that one....

*I am too excited to not say anything about this so I hope Aaron doesn't mind...He went to a job far at school today (UNC-C-he graduates in Dec.!!!!!) and spoke to the CMS (Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools-we live in the Charlotte area) representative.  She told him that she couldn't put it in writing (yet) but that she can almost guarantee him a teaching position starting January!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Though it isn't our first choice on places to live, it is awesome to know that we have that option.  Aaron you rock.

*We made some muffins for Aaron to eat when he got home from working 3rd shift on his b-day morning before going to sleep. (I am sure that sentence should have a comma or be broken up into a couple but I am just going to go with it today...)  They are just a box mix because it was 6am and that is the best I can do that early, but don't you just love the wrapper thing-a-ma-bobbers?  They were on sale and I had a coupon.

*Speaking of birthdays!  Happy late 35th b-day Aaron!  He caught up to me on 9/19/11 and I am finally getting around to posting it.  Yes this is the best shot of the day since Aaron is a PTPP (picture taking party pooper) and yes we did wrap his gifts in newspaper.  Jake wouldn't even let me use the comics because he hadn't read them yet. :)

*Jake is a Webelo now that he is 10.  How cute is he?  How come he already has to be 10?

*This is the first omelet Jake made completely on his own.  It was some time in the past couple of weeks...

*Jake picked me this pretty flower to wear in my hear.  I am glad I decided to take a picture of it before I put it in my hair...You see those black spots in the middle?  Those were a bunch of ants...

*Jake and Nee making some yummy cinnamon friendship bread.

*General Conference was AMAZING!  I needed a spiritual uplift-and I got it.  I needed some questions answered-some of the talks were specifically for me (sorry if you felt left out :) ).  I needed to relax and ponder-I did.  More on this later....

*Our 1st Science experiment a few weeks ago.  I don't really remember the details but it all boils down to it is easier to float in salt water than regular water.  We already knew that but it was still fun. :) Jake with our floating eggs in salt water, in need of a hair cut around the ears.

*Sadie cruising by at top speed with her 2 big sticks. 

*Practicing spelling and vocabulary with some letters I made with construction paper, a sharpie, and packing tape.  I really wanted to make these but haven't had made the time yet. 

*This isn't as much as a brain declutter as I thought it would be....It is more of a catch up.  It is random-don't get me wrong-but my brain doesn't feel very decluttered.

*Expect to see pictures from Vermont any day now since I have space on my blog again. :)