Lazy Wednesday

The entertainment of the past month had left my body exhausted. Tuesday was so busy that I can't actually remember all the things I did. As a result, I made the executive decision to keep my children home today from school, and all of us sleep in. We woke up around 9:00 (I was awake by 8:00, but I stayed in bed reading. I love this kind of mornings). We took it very slowly for a while eating breakfast and talking. Then, I felt guilty for not sending the kids to school, so we had three hours of school, mostly math. After a late lunch, we cozied up in the couch reading for hours. Around 5:00 I told the kids it was time for them to play on their own, so I could read on my own. Elijah came home around 6:00 and seeing that I was engulfed in my reading, took care of the kids' dinner and the evening's entertainment. He played chess with them. I had a blast observing the kids'personalities while they played. James surprised us with his strategies (being the younger of the three, sometimes I don't give him enough credit), Jefferson would loose his calm because of his competitive nature, and Gillian would recite the rules of the game if someone was "forgetting" them. Jefferson was the one who took it very seriously and at the same time enjoyed it the most. I stayed in my chair till I finished the book, which was very late, regardless of my promise to Elijah that I wouldn't stay too late and that I wouldn't try to finish it tonight. What can I say, books and I have a very strong connection that surpasses rest, sleep, and even promises.

Speaking about books, it's the end of the month, so here is what I read this month (just for fun I went through the books we checked out this month with the kids, and believe it or not I had possibly read to them around 400 books; that motivated me to teach them how to read better, so I can use half of that time for reading my own books):

1.The Magician's Nephew by C.S.Lewis
2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Gillian and I are reading these books separately, and then we take time to discuss them. We do this every month. I choose one or two books that each of us can enjoy reading, and then discuss them. It helps Gillian to know how to discuss a book, formulate opinions, learn lessons and discuss them with me. This particular series is very easy read and very good for all age groups. I have actually started to read them to James and Jefferson.)
3. Seven Miracles that saved America by Chris Stewart and Ted Stewart (I love reading books that show love and gratitude for this great country of ours, as well as strengthen the belief that God had a hand in the making of it. This book is one of them. I really enjoyed it.)
4. Wind, Sand and the Stars by Antoine de Saint Exupery (The author of 'Little Prince" caught me off guard with this book. In the beginning it was kind of slow for me, and it kept being slow till the end, but my attitude changed as I delved into the soul of the author through his amazing words and thoughts. In it, Mr. Exupery retells stories of his piloting years, and that's all it is on the surface just stories of a pilot. However, as you get the meaning of his stories, you understand that are all a metaphor for our lives. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone. Keep in mind, however, that this is not a quick read and you need to take your time to truly enjoy it. Here are some really good teasers from the book:

"He is among those beings of great scope who spread their leafy branches willingly over broad horizons. To be a man is, precisely, to be responsible. It is to know shame at the sight of poverty which is not of our making. It is to be proud of a victory won by our comrades. It is to feel, as we place our stone, that we are contributing to the building of the world."

This one is my favorite:"I looked about me. Luminous points glowed in the darkness. Cigarettes punctuated the humble meditations of worn old clerks. I heard them talking to one another in murmurs and whispers. They talked about illness, money, shabby domestic cares. And suddenly I had a vision of the face of destiny. Old bureaucrat, my comrade, it is not you who are to blame. No one ever helped you to escape. You, like a termite, built your peace by blocking up with cement every chink and cranny through which the light might pierce. You rolled yourself up into a ball in your genteel security, in routine, in the stifling conventions of provincial life, raising a modest rampart against the winds and the tides and the stars. You have chosen not to be perturbed by great problems, having trouble enough to forget your own fate as a man. You are not the dweller upon an errant planet and do not ask yourself questions to which there are no answers. Nobody grasped you by the shoulder while there was still time. Now the clay of which you were shaped has dried and hardened, and naught in you will ever awaken the sleeping musician, the poet, the astronomer that possibly inhabited you in the beginning."

I have to share this one, because it absolutely echoes my very own thoughts on friendships:
"Nothing, in truth, can ever replace a lost companion. Old comrades cannot be manufactured. There is nothing that can equal the treasure of so many shared memories, so many bad times endured together, so many quarrels, reconciliations, heartfelt impulses. Friendships like that cannot be reconstructed. If you plant an oak, you will hope in vain to sit soon under its shade.
For such is life. We grow rich as we plant through the early years, but then come the years when time undoes our work and cuts down our trees. One by one our comrades deprive us of their shade, and within our mourning we always feel now the secret grief of growing old.
If I search among my memories for those whose taste is lasting, if I write the balance sheet of the moments that truly counted, I surely find those that no fortune could have bought me. You cannot buy the friendship of a companion bound to you forever by ordeals endured together."

5.Around the world...in 1800 by Ruth Ashby (Part of the series "Around the world". Simple and to the point, but very informative. If you are reading a novel of a specific time period and you want to be prepared historically, this series will help you greatly.)
6. Bridget Jones -The edge of Reason by Helen Fielding (I had to read the sequel; I actually thought it was better than the first one. Does it happen to you that when you read a book by a British author you read the book in your mind in a British accent? Don't read the book; it's beyond hilarious and romantic, but it has some bad language.)
7. "A" is for Alibi by Sue Griffin (Mystery; Very predictable, good style)

And just to redeem myself for reading Bridget Jones, here is a poem by Kipling (which I happen to find in the Bridget Jones book):

IF
IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Congratulations, Gillian!

Today I went to Gillian's school to attend an award ceremony. Every month the school gives awards to students who are doing great in certain areas of study. When we moved here, school was a concern to me having heard that California schools had had their budgets cut and they weren't doing well. I had prayed about this specific issue and my prayers were answered with blessings. My children's teachers are great and want them to succeed. When Gillian started school here, she would bring home that day's school work as well as homework. I knew exactly what she was doing in class and where she needed help. After a little while I realized that Gillian needed some help in math and after discussing it with her teacher, we set to work. Between Gillian's hard work, her teacher's care and my attention, Gillian is reaching our expectations. Today, she was recognized for excellency in reading and great growth in math. We are so proud of her. I know that each of us has specific strengths and talents as well as specific weaknesses, but I also know that with hard work anything can be achieved. Reading and writing, science and history are fun and easy for Gillian. Math was her stumbling block and she hated it, mostly because she had to work at it. However, now that she is doing so much better, she doens't complain any more about extra work; she knows she can succeed only through hard work and she desires her success after tasting it. I'm glad Gillian is learning the hard lesson of hard work and true enjoyment now at this early stage of her life. Good job, Gillian, for your hard work, determination and desire to succeed.

"A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

This weekend my very good friend, Katherine, and her family came to visit us. They are a foreign service family and at the moment are living in Mongolia. Every year they come to United States to visit family and have a vacation. Their family lives in Southern California, and this year we just happen to live in the San Francisco Bay Area, so they made a detour in order to see us. What a pleasure it was to see all of them, but especially my sweet friend, Katherine. We knew each other in Virginia. As soon as we moved there, over six years ago, Katherine and Charles became our friends. We just clicked. Since then, we've had lunches and dinners together, we've been in outings and book clubs, and we've been there for each other. Katherine is one of those friends that I can share all my thoughts, complaints, ideas, without being judged. And because both of them, Katherine and Charles, had traveled and seen the world and met people of different cultures, I felt quite comfortable and I knew my thoughts and actions wouldn't be misunderstood, but actually appreciated for their sincerity. My fondest memories with Katherine have to do with our lunches and book clubs. We would eat lunch together very often. We usually would eat at my house with her bringing yummy food for both of us. Our younger children, who weren't at school at that time, would play together very well, and Katherine and I would talk and share everything that was in our minds for hours. Time went so fast that honestly every time we would be surprised how fast the time had past. The book club story is a funny one. We would go to book club together taking turns driving. When the book club was over, we would stay for another or two hours in the car having our own mini book club. Of course, the conversation would digress on various other subjects. What fun to have a good friend like Katherine.
They ate and visited with us on Friday, and then came today with us to church and spent the rest of the day with us. We all had a great time talking and reminiscing and making plans for future visits. Meanwhile, the children had a blast visiting with each other and playing nonstop, except when it was time for cake. Wonderful weekend with wonderful people. I love you Katherine. Thank you for coming and visiting us. We can't wait till next time.


"What is a friend? A single soul in two bodies."
- Aristotle

Cars and Girls

Another beautiful day here in sunny California. Elijah wanted to go and see this car show down in Pleasanton today, so we followed him. We met up with Gary and Alice and their two kids, and enjoyed the beauty and the uniqueness of hundreds of sports cars, muscle cars, trucks, and many other kinds of cars whose name I don't either know how to spell or I don't know at all. I was disappointed that I didn't see any mini vans, but than again this was a car show about cool cars, not functional ones. Now Elijah knows a lot about cars, and his father actually owned a lot of cars with the same model and year of many cars we saw at this car show. However,I don't know much about cars, so when I go to car shows I make do with what I've got: a love for color and design. Naturally,my favorite thing about car shows is looking at the paint job done in each car. I don't care much about flames or other crazy designs, rather I like to see how they have matched their outside colors with the inside. We did see some cars whose paint job I would call artistic, and some others which were categorized in my mind as "needing- some- lessons- on color- combination." The highlight was when each of us would find our personality car, meaning a car that would match our style and personality. Fortunately for me, there were a lot of cars that were just right for me; it was hard to choose, but here are two pictures of two cars that were created just for me, a Thunderbird 1955 and a Corvette 1958 (Elijah mentioned the years of the cars; that's how I know) :

We also found one that Gillian liked and several that Elijah and the boys enjoyed:
With the exception of the older children complaining about being either hungry or thirsty or hot, the car show was very enjoyable. Charlton did fine, James was mesmerized by the many awesome cars, Elijah had his car fix, and I found what I really liked in a car - great reasons to call the outing a success.

GIRLS NIGHT OUT
Tonight, my friends and I went out to celebrate Sarajane's birthday. We all packed in my car and drove to downtown Walnut Creek. First, we had some delicious dinner, and then headed for the movie theater to watch "Alice in Wonderland." Monica bought everyone a bunch of popcorn and we each shared the treats we had brought for celebration. We were laughing and giggling like little girls. We sure needed a night out! What a night, and the night hadn't even started yet. Imagine that! Here is a picture of us girls partying at the movie theater (well, not quite partying, but at least having a lot of fun):
The movie was absolutely amazing. Tim Burton is sure a genius, weird, but then again what genius isn't. I thought it was one of the best movies I have watched in a long time. The plot was
utterly interesting. Mr. Burton had transformed a simple children's story into an adult, all-empowering, thought provoking, costume mesmerizing, makeup enchanting, beautifully developed story. Every character was developed in such a way that you were aware without much explanations why they were who they were. I loved the costumes and the make up. Each costume and makeup was designed to match the emotional state as well as the personality of each character. Furthermore, you couldn't help but love the movie where all the main protagonists were women with a woman knight leading them. What more can you want in a movie!
Thank you ladies for a great evening, and Sarajane I wish you a great year.

Jacuzzi and Jazz

This afternoon, Jefferson approached me with a list in his hands. "Since my birthday is approaching, I made a list of presents I would like to have. You don't have to give me all of them. I'm asking six, since I'll be turning six soon." -said Jefferson matter-of-factly. He had made a picture for each present. This is his list: 1. A (Nerf) gun with lots of bullets that rotate 2. two walkie talkies 3. A gun with rubber band/a bow and arrow 4. A card to send to Jacob 5. Books 6. A jacuzzi. I can understand the first five, but the jacuzzi made me burst into laughter. This is all being explained to me in a very matter-of -fact manner. He didn't understand the reason for my laughter, so he asked me why I was laughing. I just plainly told him that a jacuzzi is kind of a big purchase and you buy it as a family after you've saved a lot of money. He said "That's why I'm giving you my list now, so you can start saving." In my mind I was saying: "Just in time for your 16th birthday."

Thursdays is our board game night. The boys love to play any board games I choose, although Monopoly Junior is their favorite. However, I had to punish the boys tonight by taking away their game time. Their room was a mess, and they had to clean it before they could play. Bed time was approaching and they hadn't finished cleaning yet (I actually heard them playing with their soldiers instead of putting them up). So, I called them from downstairs saying that I was coming to sing song and say prayer before turning lights out. I heard both boys crying while they were cleaning. And then I hear Gillian say: "Oh, don't cry. Just clean up quickly. You know she won't put us to bed without at least reading to us. Let me finish this and you go and find your books." I couldn't help smiling. Reading in my house isn't a privilege; it's a right, and my children know that. When I did read to my children, Gillian had chosen a book of fairy tales by Hans Christian Anderson. I read his tales when I was very young, way before I watched the happy ending versions of Disney (I prefer the happy endings myself). One of the tales Gillian chose to read was "The little match girl." That is the saddest story ever, and I remember crying when I read it. I love the rich language and the beautiful style Anderson writes. Tonight, as I was reading it I felt my voice quiver. I told Gillian and the boys that this story makes me very sad, and then I asked them what they thought. The boys were sad too and felt sorry for the little girl. Gillian, however, said that it made her be grateful for a loving mother and father, and for having the gospel. I asked her to expand the bit about the gospel. She said that knowing that the little girl will be with Heavenly Father and Jesus made her happy; the little girl will for sure be loved and warm with Them in Heaven." That's my girl, bringing joy where there is sadness.

During my one on one time with Gillian tonight, I asked her what was one interesting thing she had learned today (I try to vary my questions every night). She told me she had read a book about a musician called Louis Armstrong, nicknamed Dipper. Then, she proceeded to tell me what she had learned about him. What she told me next made me proud of myself for having taught my children right. She said that after learning about him, it just made sense to find some music by him, but the library in their school didn't have any. My children are so used to the idea that if we want to know more about something we either find more books in the library or look it up on the Internet. I used the Internet a lot when I homeschooled. For music, we would always go and find any music we wanted to hear on Youtube. Fortunately for Gillian, she didn't have to wait till tomorrow to listen to Louis Armstrong on line; her mother provided her with an amazing CD of the great musician. She was lulled to sleep by Louis Armstrong's "What a wonderful world."

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Prov.22:6

Jelly Belly Factory

Wednesday is our designated field trip day (not that we need one). Gillian finishes school early, so I try to take the children to see something fun and educational. Today, we decided to go to the Jelly Belly Factory and take one of their free tours. We picked up Emily, Gillian's friend, and headed toward the factory. It took us around 25 minutes, and the trip there was pretty. I know you are tired of hearing how beautiful California is in spring, so I won't say how beautiful California is in spring. When we got there we waited on line for the next available tour. Meanwhile, the children were able to taste some of the jelly beans at the tasting station. I was so proud of the children. They asked to go and taste some only twice. They were very polite. I saw some children who went to ask more than ten times and each time they would have their hands full.
Our tour started shortly and we were able to watch the jelly beans in all the four stages of their creation. We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside, but I promise it was a sight to see all the many colors of the jelly beans. There are around 50 flavors, and I asked the children what was their favorite. Gillian liked mango, Jefferson liked green apple, and James liked juicy pear
(coincidentally Gillian loves mango fruit, Jefferson eats only apples, and James devours two to three pears a day). Here is some information I got out of Jelly Belly Factory's official site:

The Journey

Back in 1976, a Los Angeles candy distributor had an idea for a jelly bean made with natural flavorings. So he called up the candymakers at Jelly Belly (formerly known as Herman Goelitz Candy Co.) who had a reputation for making the very best candies. Creating "true-to-life" flavors was, well, a natural evolution. The candymakers cooked up a recipe for a new kind of jelly bean -- intensely flavored throughout, with natural ingredients for flavoring whenever possible. In 1976 the first eight Jelly Belly flavors were born: Very Cherry, Lemon, Cream Soda, Tangerine, Green Apple, Root Beer, Grape and Licorice. Funny enough they are still some of the most popular flavors made.
A furor arose when people tasted Jelly Belly beans for the first time. Wow, what flavor! Soon Jelly Belly became the favorite candy of Ronald Reagan, who eventually made the beans a staple in the Oval Office and on Air Force One after he was elected president. President Reagan's passion for jelly beans inspired Blueberry flavor, which was cooked up so he could serve red, white, and blue beans at his inaugural parties. Diplomats and world leaders clamored to have Jelly Belly beans. And guess what? Jelly Belly was also the first jelly bean in outer space. Free floating, weightless Jelly Belly beans were sent on the space shuttle Challenger in 1983 as a presidential surprise for the astronauts. Coincidentally, it was the same mission that boasted another bit of history -- the first American female astronaut, Sally Ride. Today, Jelly Belly is the world's #1 gourmet jelly bean, the bean of choice for all those with the most discerning taste, and made in 50 amazing and tasty flavors.

The tour was very educational and the children, Gillian especially, liked learning about how the jelly beans were made. Their favorite part was when they learned that there were some jelly belly beans that were called flops because they were either too big or too small, and as such not suitable for carrying their name. The children decided they were going to purchase the Jelly Belly Flops. Seeing them being made and learning how much sugar went in them, kind of took my desire to eat them away. The Jelly Belly Beans are some of my favorite candy. However, I had promised the children I would buy some for them and their dad, so we went to the store after the tour and purchased some. The Jelly Belly Flops were a hit.

Mom, the best entertainer in town

Tonight, when I went to say good night to the children, Gillian was playing with the leap frog touch pad books. I don't know if you know what these books are. My friend, Katherine, gave those to us for Jefferson some time ago. They come accompanied by books and cartridges for each book. Anyways, these are for James' age, but Gillian and Jefferson love to listen and play with them as well. One of the books talks about classical music, starting with different kinds of instruments and voices, and then speaking about specific composers. When I entered the room, Jefferson and James had joined Gillian in her bed and all of them were listening to the different characters of Mozart' Magic Flute. I started to imitate all of the different voices making faces in the process. The children started laughing. Then, they moved on to Tschaikovsky and his Nutcracker ballet. They would point the pointer to each dancer and I would dance it to the best of my abilities. I would do the shy Chinese dancer, the fast Russian dancer (Jefferson's favorite), the pretty flower dancer, the Spanish flamingo dancer (Gillian's favorite), and the exotic Arabian dancer (James' favorite). After they had enough of all of the dances, they started playing with me. They would point to one dancer for few seconds and then move the pointer to another. This went on for a little while. They kept laughing at their mom who one second would be the demure Chinese dancer and in another she would try to be the fast Russian dancer. James kept laughing and laughing as I would do the Arabian dancer moving my hips and arms. Elijah was not able to enjoy my entertainment; he was trying to take care of our taxes. By the time I was done entertaining my children, I was done for, totally our of breath. Just because I don't want you to visualize me dancing the Arabian dance, here is a professional ballet dancer for you:

California is for parks

Tuesday is a long day for Gillian, since she has an after school class. So, I thought we could do something fun and relaxing after we picked her up. Elijah went skiing with his buddies today and he wouldn't be home till late tonight. So, I packed sandwiches, carrots, apples, rice krispie treats, and water bottles into my back pack, and after picking up Gillian, headed toward Gardens at Heather Park. If there is something I love about California, it is its parks. I know what you are thinking. Who gets excited about parks? Well, I do, and if you went to this park you would too. My intentions were to eat our picnic, look at some of the gardens, and then let the kids play at the playground located near the gardens. I didn't think we would spend more than two hours, but in all seriousness we were there from 4:15 to 8:00. We had so much fun being together, playing and enjoying the flowers and the weather, that we didn't even notice the time.

The children wanted to stroll through the gardens first, so that's what we did, and as we were strolling, they wanted to take some pictures, many pictures. Here are some of the pictures we took as we were walking:

After we enjoyed all the flowers, the gazebos, the lake, the ducks, and whatever else we saw on our way, we headed toward the playground. The children weren't hungry yet; they just wanted to play. I felt bad I hadn't brought Gillian some changing clothes and shoes to play in, but she didn't care. As you can see from the pictures below, even high heels didn't prevent her from enjoying herself.They stayed and played for a while. I personally don't enjoy taking them to the playground, unless I'm with some friends. I couldn't read or talk in the phone, since I needed to be watching for them. As a result, I would play with Charlton or walk around the playground. Not very exciting, but you do what you can to make your kids happy. After tiring themselves and trying everything that there was, they were ready to eat. As we laid our blanket on the grass, I saw the pretty contrast between the blanket and the grass. I decided after we finished eating we could get some fun pictures with all the kids together. I hadn't planed on it, but sometimes the pictures you don't plan on are the best.My picture taking started a trend with the children. As we were walking back to the car, they all started to pose for me, especially Gillian. Of course.We all had a wonderful time. When we got home, the boys took a bath. Gillian finished her homework first, and then took a shower. Reading time followed, scripture and prayer, and then the one on one time with each of them. This time the questions asked to me were limited to one. I was exhausted, so I just sat on my comfy chair and read. Elijah came soon after that. What a good day. And I just told you only the second half!

Our happy boy Charlton

Charlton's 7 month mark was on Saturday, and I had all intentions to write something about him. However, I forced myself to stay in the laundry room till I was done with it. I hadn't done laundry in over a week, and the laundry room was overflowing. Last week was a "bit" busy. Between the children and me, the past week included two field trips , three play dates, one luncheon, one temple attendance, one visiting teaching, one party, one book (Melita), at least 60 books read to the kids, homework, blog, clean up, grocery shopping and food, food, food preparation, and don't forget those moments when you sense your child needs to talk to you one on one. We have a lot of those in our house. Gillian wants to talk about books, Jefferson needs to know more about Heavenly Father's mysteries, and James tries to find out our next day's schedule. But this blog was supposed to be about Charlton, and not us.


Charlton brings so much happiness into our lives. He is always happy (except when he wants to eat; then again do you know of any man who is happy while hungry?), loves to smile, laugh, play with all of us, very friendly, chills by himself for hours (he is mostly awake when I teach my children or do homework with them, but he isn't a nuisance), is very ticklish, eats well, takes two to three long naps a day, and wakes up once in the night. Right now, he's got four teeth, two up and two down right in the middle, doesn't like to lay on his tummy, but loves to sit or stand. He is sitting on his bottom and loves it, and we put him on the jumper and he enjoys that as well. He isn't crawling, but rolling from one end of the room to the other. He likes to put his toes in his mouth, or suck on paper. He loves to touch everything, especially cool textures. He enjoys my voice when I read to the other children. As for himself, he prefers chewing on his books rather than reading them. I'm O.K. with that, for now. He is eating rice cereal and vegetables, in addition to milk. Everybody's favorite part of Charlton no doubt are his beautiful, chunky, single dimpled cheeks. All of us want to bite his cheeks all day. You can't help but wanting to love Charlton, because he generates so much happiness and cheerfulness.

Just thoughts...

I just learned on the Drudge report that health care bill past late last night. I'm very upset and shocked that my favorite country in the world is running toward socialism. I simply don't understand why Obama and Pelosi would use their power to bring this country down. I understand that politicians want power and try to do anything to get it, but I can't understand why, when they get that power they don't use it for the bettering of this country. I don't believe it for a second that Obama or Pelosi really care for the American people. I've heard them speak and looked at their smirks when they talk about the poor class. Friends, I lived in a socialist country and socialism doesn't work. Having the government pull the cords in all we do takes away freedom to choose, a right that we are born with and our founding fathers saw it sacred to keep. Furthermore, taking it from the rich and giving it to the poor will destroy the desire to work and make people lazy. It is simply an immoral act to take away money from those who have worked hard to get there. And there is no incentive for the poor people to work if the government will provide for them. Wow, talk about reaching our potential. What are we teaching our children about work ethic and achieving the American dream? What is the American dream? Oh, yes, you can work hard and make money, so then the government can take it away and give it to those who don't believe in hard work, or loose it in the many bureaucratic channels till it gets to maybe few who really need it. I know I'm really simplifying it, but socialism doesn't equal compassion, or consecration. The government isn't our God, even though it thinks it is. I better stop. I can't think straight when I'm fuming. Here are some quotes from a smart man:

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. -- Thomas Jefferson

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. -- Thomas Jefferson

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government. -- Thomas Jefferson

To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical. -- Thomas Jefferson

Moving on to something else. Today I taught in Relief Society. The lesson was about the fall of Adam and Eve, and we had a good discussion. During the lesson, I shared one of my favorite quotes from President Faust taken out of his talk titled "What it means to be a daughter of God." If you have a chance to read it all, it's a really uplifting talk, and here is some of it:

"As daughters of God, you cannot imagine the divine potential within each of you. Surely the secret citadel of women’s inner strength is spirituality. In this you equal and even surpass men, as you do in faith, morality, and commitment when truly converted to the gospel. You have “more trust in the Lord [and] more hope in his word.” 15 This inner spiritual sense seems to give you a certain resilience to cope with sorrow, trouble, and uncertainty.

You cannot imagine the gifts and talents each of you has. All women have appealing features. I do not refer to model-type appeal, but rather that which comes from your personality, your attitude, and your expressions. I urge you to enhance the natural, God-given, feminine gifts with which you have been so richly blessed. None of you should be so content that you cease to care about how you look or act. In his day, President Brigham Young encouraged women to get an education. This is still good counsel, but I hasten to add: in all your getting, do not lose your sweet femininity.

You sisters do not know the full extent of your influence. You sisters enrich all of humanity. All human life begins with you. Each woman brings her own separate, unique strengths to the family and the Church. Being a daughter of God means that if you seek it, you can find your true identity. You will know who you are. This will make you free—not free from restraints, but free from doubts, anxieties, or peer pressure. You will not need to worry, “Do I look all right?” “Do I sound OK?” “What do people think of me?” A conviction that you are a daughter of God gives you a feeling of comfort in your self-worth. It means that you can find strength in the balm of Christ. It will help you meet the heartaches and challenges with faith and serenity."

So, after church I'm feeling very uplifted and encouraged to start a new week with renewed strength. Later tonight, I tried to catch up with few of my friends through their blogs, and I happened to read this very interesting post in my friend Janet's blog. She was sharing few of her favorite blogs she follows and I hit on one of them, thepioneerwoman.com. I was amazed! This woman cannot be much older than me, and we had so many things in common, with the exception that she had achieved so much. She homeschools her children, loves photography, writing, cooking, interior design and being with her family. She has a fantastic blog, very organized with a lot of fun categories. She wrote a book and is trying to publish it, she taught herself photography and is an amazing photographer, and is publishing a cook book. Talk about reaching your potential. After I read some of her blog, I felt a little bit discouraged about my life. I want to achieve all those things, but life is already very busy. Oh, did I mention that she was a city girl and married a cowboy, and now lives in a ranch? Take that for busy. When I usually get discouraged because of things like this (comparing myself with others for one), I try to talk to Heavenly Father. It's not easy to humble myself, but I do it, and I'm grateful for that. After freedom to choose, personal revelation is the best gift God has given us. After my prayer, I felt His love and confidence in me. I also felt gratitude for this lady. This was new to me. I felt happy and encouraged by this woman. She seems truly a good example of what we talked today about reaching our potential. So, the moral of the story: learn from others, but love your uniqueness.

One last thought. Every night I go to say goodnight to the children, and I spend few minutes talking with each of them before I turn the lights out. It's a great opportunity to be one on one with each child and talk about their day. It's actually fun, because I ask a question about their day or whatever I can think of, and then they ask me a question about whatever they can think of, and this goes on for a little while. This post is already very long, so I'm only going to mention something Gillian said tonight. I asked her what was the favorite part of the her day. She thought for a while, and then quickly said "now." Just that word and her loving eyes made me forget all the hardships of parenthood, and be grateful I'm a mother.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Last year in Virginia we had a lot of fun celebrating St. Patrick's Day. However, this year I didn't prepare on time, so instead of a party, I pulled the kids out of school (it's their half day today) and headed out for a fun field trip to the California Academy of Sciences. It's not as serious as it sounds, but it was heaps of fun. The Academy was brand new, just opened last year, and the exhibits were marvelous and educational. My friend Elisabeth joined us with her three children. Emily, her daughter, is the same age as Gillian and a sweet girl. Gillian and Emily were inseparable today. I was so glad to see Gillian so happy and finally finding "a bosom friend" as she called Emily today.
This building is enormous. Among other exhibits, it houses a 4-flour rainforest display, a full aquarium, a planetarium, a natural history museum, and naturalist center. We all enjoyed looking and learning about anacondas, giant octopus, fruit bats, leaf-tailed geckos, butterflies, penguins, poisonous frogs, catfish and jellyfish, albino alligator and parrots, chameleons and more!

We started with the rainforest exhibit all encased in a glass dome. We followed a spiraling path through the living rainforest with temperature reaching 85 degrees Fahrenheit, and very high humidity. It was so well structured and thought through that you really experienced what it would be like in a rainforest. Each level represented a different rainforest around the world as well as a different area of the rainforest with its corresponding animal and plant life. The exhibition culminated with a beautiful display of hundreds of butterflies and birds. The children loved trying to get butterflies come to their flowers.

The humidity was so high that I could hardly breath, and we had to take the elevator down to the aquarium. Another beautiful and mysterious world awaited us. The aquarium started with the flooded Amazon and the many animals found there. Jefferson was delighted when we found a giant anaconda. He even tried the arm-squeezing experiment displayed next to the anaconda tank, and was telling me all about it (how I should never come close to an anaconda, because there was not a chance I would come alive; he would squeeze me to death).
The Coral Reef took us into a beautiful world of corals, sting rays, sharks, and colorful reef fish.
The Northern California Sea tank enchanted us with the many beautiful star fish, octopus, eels, anemones, rockfish, herring, sardines, and urchins. Here, Gillian found the best part of the aquarium, the Tidepool. She loved learning and especially touching star fish, urchins, and different kinds of ocean creatures. We stayed there for a long time; she asked a lot of questions and wanted to touch everything.
The Water Planet exhibit offered me an amazing chance to photograph some really good looking sea creatures. Here are some of my favorite picks:
We moved on toward the swamp with its unique albino alligator and snapping turtles, after which we had fun playing with the African penguins. There were twenty of them and they loved diving into the water and playing with the people on the other side of the tank. After that, it was time for us to journey through the stars by watching a show in one great planetarium. I got dizzy by the motion, but the kids had a fantastic time. The show was very educational in explaining the formation of stars, nebula, planets, universes, and so forth. This subject was discussed extensively in the car on our way back. The kids were getting hungry so we ended our trip by having them sit outside, eat and enjoy the glorious weather.