Sports Photography

I am by no means a great or even good photographer, but with 5 hours of practice last weekend I got a few good shots.  I would love to know how you get better close-up pictures of moving children!

 These couple were a little easier to take since he wasn't moving.  I just thought it would be fun to remember what Joshua does when he is goalie and his defense does their job!

I was glad to see he didn't get stuck!  

It was a great day at the soccer fields.  We all managed to come out of it a little pink, some more so than others.  I had people ask me at church if I went skiing (I was wearing sunglasses all day giving me some nice raccoon eyes).  The question made me laugh considering the weather and other circumstances that would make skiing an unwise option.  ;) 

How would my children do in public school?

I am not sure that I could really determine how my children would do in public school without actually putting them in public school but something happened this morning that made me wonder.

The boys love to do spelling bees, so we had been doing them for awhile and having some fun. Spelling is not something they struggle with, so it was never a challenge but just for fun. So, I decided last week to doing spelling tests with them. You may ask why I would do that if they can spell just fine. Well, as with most boys, they HATE writing, and in particular writing neatly. So, I thought I would use something fun to help them practice their writing. So, I gave them a list on Monday and asked the to copy it. Michael and Joshua have the same list because I figured they could handle it. Jacob and I worked on writing his letters correctly (I love it when I get what I want out of things).

Then, today we had a 'pretest' with the promise that any words they got correct would not be on the 'test' on Thursday. So, I read out words and they wrote them. I warned them that if they didn't write neatly the words would be marked wrong. And well, it worked, they wrote neater than I have ever seen them write! But then something interesting happened. Joshua missed one word. I don't know if anyone has ever tried to tell Joshua he was wrong but it never goes well. He usually yells at you and tells you that you are wrong. I finally let him redo the word and guess what, it was still wrong. He was so mad at me. So, to you and me this is no big deal, you just learn the word and do it right on Thursday, but it took about 5 minutes to convince him that it would be ok. I just have to wonder what public school would look like for this child. I am pretty sure I would be called every other day because Joshua was yelling at the teacher for telling him/her that they were wrong. Or get in trouble for correcting his teacher. It would not be a pretty sight.

Then, Jacob was on his last word: 'caught.' He got 'cau' and then was stuck. He was frustrated and didn't know what to do. Apparently I have never asked him to do something he was unable to do. Just getting it wrong or leaving it blank isn't an option (if only everyone felt this way.) I finally convinced him to give me his paper and told him that every other word was correct but the last one (which he didn't finish and he knew was wrong). He then collapsed into tears. Seriously sobbing in my lap. I was dumbfounded. Can you imagine if every child broke down into tears because they got one problem wrong? I'm pretty sure we would have much higher test scores in our nation. ;) So, I had to imagine what kind of phone call I would have gotten that day from a teacher.

It is interesting to ponder what life would be like with public school but for now I would rather my kids sob in my lap and that I work with them on their anger management instead of someone else!

Doing Too Much at the Same Time

I am sure that I am not the only mother/wife who has been accused of doing too many things at the same time, but this morning I pushed the boundaries and James wasn't here to give me the look, so I thought I would share it with everyone!

So, last night I made my mental list of what needed to be done: laundry (soccer clothes needed to be washed before the first game at 11), make bread, feed boys, get boys ready for soccer games, and if time take them over to the YMCA for 'Healthy Kids Day.' I set an alarm for 7:30 AM (yes, I am a diehard). But then at 7:30 I heard rain and thought that the games would be canceled, so I rolled over and went back to sleep and didn't get out of bed until 8. I still wanted to stay on top of stuff, so I had the boys start collecting laundry while I showered. Michael started the laundry while I started grinding wheat and making breakfast. Then, the phone rang and I learned that the games were on. Oops! So, did I change my plans? Of course not! But I knew I couldn't waste anytime, so I got the bread going while I ate my breakfast and set a timer for the laundry, so I wouldn't miss one second. Then, we read scriptures, moved the laundry and got ready to go to the YMCA. Yes, I still thought it would be fun to go. This is where James should be giving me the look. As soon as I started the bread cooking we headed out (it is a good thing that the Y is only 3 minutes away).

I took the boys around to the different booths (watching the clock carefully). The first booth had them join a burpee competition. Michael did 16 burpees in 30 seconds. If you think that doesn't sound impressive I challenge you to try it! Joshua did 15, he wouldn't want me to forget to mention that. Another booth had you label different fruits and vegetables. It was fun to watch the boys work and properly label foods like Jicama, kale, star fruit, asian pear, artichoke and more. Together they got them all right and pretty quickly. It is amazing what these kids remember. We got to the end of the booths and the last one was a man making balloon stuff for the kids. But it was time for me to go, so I left them in line and ran home. I moved the laundry, grabbed Michael's soccer socks and headed up to check on the bread. It was PERFECT!!!! YES, I pulled it off! I then headed back, got the boys ready for their games and we headed over to the fields. We did it!!!! It was a great moment of victory! I love it when it all works out. So, it is moments like those that keep me going and lead me to do too much over and over again. :)

Oh, and here are some pics from their soccer games. I think I need to take photography lessons, but these will have to do for now.

Bowling

I recently learned that we have never taken our children bowling. While I do not think this is a great tragedy I did think they would love it and thus make a great family activity. Well, this week the cub scouts planned a family bowling night, and while Friday night is usually date night James is out of town, so I thought the boys and I would go bowling!

We showed up and got all of our shoes on and picked out balls. Bowling alleys really should have balls for children . . . just my opinion. Then, Jacob threw the first ball and I realized we didn't have the bumpers up and that he would never score a single point without them. So, I asked to have them put up to learn that they are only for children 8 and under, so I could not bowl with them and the bumper. Ugh!! She was kind enough to let Michael bowl with them for which I was grateful. We could never pass him off as an 8 year old, so it is a good thing that no one asked. :) The boys were pretty bummed that I couldn't bowl with them but it was better that they score than that I bowl.

So, we played and after a few pictures my battery died. So, I don't have many great pictures but use your imagination. :)

After a few frames Joshua decided he wanted to beat Michael. With the bumpers in everyone's scores were about the same, but that wasn't good enough. Then, I taught Joshua the power of the Spare/Strike and he was determined to get one. He did finally get one and was pretty excited. Then, they learned that in the last frame that if they get a spare or a strike they get an extra throw. As you can imagine that became the desired treasure. I must admit that the last frame was my favorite.

Jacob bowled first and got a strike. Yes, the only strike and it was in the last frame. There was excitement everywhere! Then, Joshua was up. No strike for him but then, on his second throw he went flying, fell and got the spare he desired. It was awesome! That spare did exactly what he wanted as it put him ahead of Michael to win by 1 point. They were all within about 5 points of each other which I thought was good. In the end we had a great time, we will definitely have to do it again!

This is Michael-he got to learn how to roll the ball instead of throwing it halfway down the lane. :)

This is Joshua. It is fun to watch children try to bowl with balls WAY too heavy for them!

And Jacob. That poor ball barely made it to the pins each time but he sure gave it his all!

The Secret Garden

This weekend our family spent most of our time at the theatre watching the Secret Garden. It was James' first production that he directed on his own and he did an amazing job! He had some great help and a great cast! I loved every moment of the production all three times I watched it! We laughed, we cried and we just enjoyed every minute of it!

What made this production even more fun was that Joshua was in it! I am pretty sure that Jacob never would have stayed awake if it wasn't for that. Joshua learned that he loves to act, memorize lines and perform. I can't say that I am surprised by this but it was definitely a fun learning experience for all.

Everyone did an amazing job and it was a show worth seeing over and over again. Way to go everyone! I must admit, though, that by Sunday I had to personally wake everyone up for church because we were all exhausted by the end, especially James. But it was worth it!

Here are some fun pictures from the show of Joshua and others!

I am sure that throwing a fit was the easiest thing for Joshua to learn to do!

I am sure that laying still for an entire song was the hardest thing he had to do. :)

And here are some photos from after the last showing. As you can see there are some very tired boys, though, Joshua would never admit it or let the fatigue show. :)

Easter

I've never been a big Easter person. I find the rampant dramatizations and ridiculous charades uncomfortable and disheartening. I think there is a tendency to celebrate the religious, but it is limited to morning church services, while the rest of the day/weekend/week is dedicated to unrelated and, quite frankly, downright pagan pageantry. Perhaps this cartoon adequately sums up my feelings:

When you combine the ideas, you feel a little ridiculous, don't you? You're a little ashamed, both because you laughed, and because we're all guilty of that sort of strange mixing of religion and systematic, commercialized consumption. What saddens me most is that I feel like Easter has suffered more than any other religious holiday from the distracting things that our society offers up. Easter is one of the first sacrifices the early, apostate Christian church made in order to win converts from clans and tribes, particularly in Northern Europe. Even the name "Easter" is derived from their non-Christian celebrations. There are, then, the celebrations of fertility seen in eggs and rabbits, and the mandatory consumption of large amounts of food that are, in most instances, not seasonally appropriate. Don't get me wrong—I love the artistry of dyed eggs, the associations of family, and seeing ugly children in beautiful clothing. It makes the world seem fresh, new, and beautiful. But I don't really care about it that much.

I often compare Easter to Christmas when pondering on these types of silly ideas. Christmas has, in great measure, retained a great deal of its origin and importance, at least among Christians. Christ's name still appears in the name of the holiday, and although scheduled in the year to coincide with the winter solstice, rather than the birth of Christ, there are still regular, even commercial reminders of the meaning of the season. Christmas has not suffered Easter's fate because Christmas has no importance to compare with that of Easter. I think the reason Easter's message has been so obscured, so early, so truly, and so thoroughly, is because it is so very important.

When I think of Easter, I never think of Jesus. When I think of Easter, I think of pastels, fake grass, and eggs. I think of egg hunts, large white hats, and children wearing new clothes for the first time. At first I was a little ashamed to realize that I don't associate Easter with the Saviour, but as I continued through my thoughts, I came to a conclusion. Easter has no meaning to me because the Atonement is not an event. The death and resurrection of the Son of God, while central to the eternal progression of humanity, are not events to be celebrated. The birth of Jesus, is, in itself not of any consequence, and therefore, a birthday party seems appropriate, but this spring celebration is different.

The atonement of Jesus Christ, his suffering, death, and resurrection, are the the central elements of humanity's existence. They are eternal in consequence, all-encompassing in scope, and leave no man without hope for this life and the next. They are not, however, events. Graduation is an event. Birth is an event. Death is an event. The atonement is not like those events.

The atonement is a living concept, an eternal, applicable, ever effectual doctrine that moves in and out of our lives as we allow it. A single celebration is of no consequence, because seeing it as an event provides no impact in our lives. Seeing it as an event leaves us in a wanting, weak position, because it gives us no power. The birth of Christ cannot give us power, so party up your Christmas, and enjoy every minute. The Atonement of Christ, however, gives us all power over life, death, sin, and error. It is the crowning glory of mankind's existence, and will, if implemented properly, lead to eternal exaltation, the bonding of families forever, and joy beyond earthly capacity to measure. It cannot lead to those things, though, in a single day, weekend, or even an entire Holy Week.

I've often wondered why, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we don't give much thought to Holy Week, Lent, or Advent. Well, besides that they are simply codified celebrations of the Catholic Church, that is. It's because we believe in a living atonement, an eternal opportunity that, when properly understood, enriches, affects, and blesses our lives every single day. A holiday celebration, no matter how appropriate, how spiritual, or how doctrinally correct, cannot lead people to Christ. Only living Christ's teachings, taking to Him your weaknesses, and allowing His Atonement to change you can bring you to Christ, to rest with Him, and to enjoy the greatest blessings of the Father. Only knowing Him, understanding His will, and following it can change a man or woman from what they are to what they can become. Only seeking for it day after day after day can yield the fruit of the tree of life that brings the rest and peace of God.

Now that is cause for celebration.