“Imagination rules the world” ― Napoleon Bonaparte

Jefferson's class got to go to the Tech Museum in San Jose, and of course I was by his side on this exciting adventure.  The Tech Museum is a fascinating collaboration between scientific innovations and hands-on exhibits where kids of all ages can let their imagination soar.  The special exhibit for this month featured an outstanding collection of more than 80 authentic costumes, props, and models from all of the 6 Star Wars movies.  Its title "Star Wars: Where Science meets Imagination" served as a creative bridge in the minds of the kids as they went and looked at all the models and costumes used in Star Wars films connecting the imagination of those films with real science.  Interactive exhibits helped the students understand the science behind the ideas used in the movies.  And who knows, perhaps one of them will grow up to actually make those ideas happen in reality.

My favorite part of this experience was the shocked, but admiring look I got from the kids I was chaperoning when I would beat them in being the first in building all of the models or finishing the experiments first.  They would all say "Wow, how did you do that?  Why isn't this working for me?  How did your mom (to Jefferson) get to finish that so quickly?"  I loved the proud look on Jefferson's face that his mom was so awesome, but I could also detect a little bit of jealousy.  Ha ha ha, I loved it.  So parents out there, I made you all proud.  In the eyes of those kids, I wasn't only the artsy mom, but also the smart mom who loves science.  For a parent, it can't get better than that!

(Sorry about the quality of these pictures; we weren't allowed to do any flash photography.)

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The rest of the museum was as exciting or even more.  We played every game, conducted every experiment, tried our hands at every design lab, and built our own robots.  The kids couldn't decide what to do first; they were so excited. There were times I didn't see them for minutes at a time; they were building their own creations, while I was absend-mindedly working with my own imagination.  At one point, I went to look for them, and I saw this big screen of Google Earth and a view of my hometown in it.  My son was using Google's Liquid Galaxy to track my home from the other side of the planet, and using those three big screens made him look as if he were in an FBI movie.  Fun all around! (Sorry, I didn't take too many pictures on this side of the museum; I was too busy being a scientist :) )

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate...

We couldn't let October go without a visit to the pumpkin patch. Charlton was excited to have his best friend accompany him alongside his mother.  The day was beautiful, the colors were enticing, and the fields were wide open ready to be explored.  Charlton and William were such good sports when it came to taking photos, that although they were playing the whole time, I was able to capture some fun moments with my camera.

 

 

After counting every pumpkin in the field, naming the colors of various flowers and vegetables, and running around striking the best pose for me, we proceeded toward the play area with tunnels, pretend cow milking, various games, and jumping on the bean tubs.  The boys played for at least two hours with each other, while I read in the shade.

 

Before we left, Charlton wanted me to go with him in the hay tunnels, so I did.  It was cool and dark, but not dark enough to get lost, because there were beams of light that entered the tunnel and enlightened the path for the little explorers.  As I entered those shafts, I felt overwhelmed by the Spirit as I noticed how little light is needed to shine someone's path, and how beautiful those tiny beams made the experience.  A verse from Shakespeare came to mind: “How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.” (The Merchant of Venice)

And of course, the quintessential verse in the New Testament that encourages us to love, to serve, to share all we have with each other, found in Matthew 5:14-16:
¹⁴ Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
¹⁵ Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

I'm really enjoying taking my little guy out on various field trips.  He is blossoming under the one-on-one attention I'm giving him.  I love his happy smile he gives me as he plays; I laugh out loud at the songs in the radio he tries to sing with me; I adore his simple, but thoughtful questions; and I melt away at his love, hugs, kisses, and sweet words he shares with me. Going through this stage with my first three was such a blast, but so easy because they had each other.  This little fellow is on his own while the other ones go to school and other activities. 

 I had plans to go to school this semester.  I actually started attending a few classes at Berkeley.  I loved being in school again and studying my favorite authors with great teachers and peers.  After a couple of weeks, and through a lot of prayers, it became clear to me that, although going to school was making me so happy and excited about life as an individual, as a mom I was having anxiety and doubts about my boy not having me around all the time.  I know lots of other women out there find time to do both, but try as I might, I couldn't find the strength to keep going with my decision to attend school. 

 That was a good choice, and a necessary one for me and my emotional/intellectual happiness, but it wasn't the best.  It was hard at first to accept that, but as always I did what the Lord wanted me to do, even though I often had tears in my eyes and a hole in my heart.  I don't know what the Lord's plan for me is.  I want so much, and I have so much energy to accomplish them.  But for now, and for a while, as hard as it is, my children are first.  In my prayers each day, I ask the Lord to bless me with faith "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." (Mark 9:24) 

My prayers were answered in an unexpected way.  I started putting a lot of thought and energy in making my Charlton's life an enriched one.  I wanted to use every moment with him educating and teaching him in all aspects of life.  And with that renewed desire and excitement came an sweet and pure happiness.  I still long to go back to school and write papers and listen to lectures on Shakespeare and Milton, but for now the best decision is teaching Junior Shakespeare to Charlton :)

"As mothers in Israel, we are the Lord’s secret weapon. Our influence comes from a divine endowment that has been in place from the beginning. In the premortal world, when our Father described our role, I wonder if we didn’t stand in wide-eyed wonder that He would bless us with a sacred trust so central to His plan and that He would endow us with gifts so vital to the loving and leading of His children. I wonder if we shouted for joy at least in part because of the ennobling stature He gave us in His kingdom. The world won’t tell you that, but the Spirit will." (Sheri Dew)

Memorial Day Week

We had a very ordinary week but it truly was full of love, learning and fun.

On Monday, Gillian had Activity Days right after school. She was glad she could attend once again since swimming was over. She had missed being with her church friends. She also brought a friend from class to introduce her to Activity Days. They did some kind of treasure hunt, and when I told Elijah I just thought it very silly to waste their time doing such things for Activity Days, Gillian exclaimed that not everything had to be educational or spiritual. I'm known for having a lot of fun in my life, bu the thing is I feel that fun should be educational at the same time, especially if it's going to be a church led activity. Elijah helped me out by saying that being with friends who have the same standards is some kind of social education. We'll leave it at that. The boys had fun at the playground, and later on when we picked up Gillian and dropped her friend home, we stopped by the library for some needed "education." :) What is your thought process about combined fun and education?

Tuesday was spent grocery shopping, doing laundry, and tidying up. After school I took Gillian to choir for her semester evaluation. She did very well, and is looking forward to attending their summer institute in July, participating in Carmina Burana at the San Francisco Symphony Hall in August, and starting anew with the chorus in September. For now, we are excited we can use Tuesdays for ourselves, perhaps stay at the beach till sunset and learn fractions while making sandcastles (just kidding!) After choir, we had dinner and then I had the kids watch Matilda so they could feel the importance of learning and the magical power of books. Just joking! Truthfully, I let them watch a movie because I was exhausted, but hey who is complaining about the moral of the story.

On Wednesday, the older kids were excited to show us around their classrooms; it was open house, and they had exhibited all of their work accomplished throughout the year. Having worked with them closely on a daily basis, this wasn't much of a surprise to me, but I tried to show enthusiasm, especially after seeing how proud our kids were. The only downfall of open house is the fact that we come back with loads of stuff, some of which you know will end up in ..."you-know-what." In fact, just today I had to chuck Gillian's mission model out. What can you do with such a thing? My storing system is pretty simple; I keep what I like, which is mostly their art (mainly drawings), and a little of whatever else is interesting such as science reports and stories. Math worksheets unfortunately get thrown out. Big items that can't fit in a filing cabinet get the attention for a few days and then they follow math papers in their way to recycling. Where do you store your kids' school projects? Do you have an easy system of organizing their stuff? What do you like to keep?

Thursday was a sweet day for me; I got to spend it with each of my kids individually. In the morning, I accompanied James to his field trip at the Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley. They started their field trip off by riding in one of the few steam trains still in use. The drive was short, but very refreshing and beautiful. The kids had a blast.

After the ride, the tour guide led us to the round house where the kids saw more steam engines and learned the history of Tilden Park (a WWII military outpost, later planted and converted into a park). I loved it that James seemed so interested and asked several good questions. Later on when we got home, he asked me if I could print some steam engine coloring pages for him, and when I did he explained to me the parts in each steam train. After the tour, we had to stop by the farm and feed the animals. The whole place stunk and I wanted to get away as quickly as possible, but the kids were having fun petting and feeding the animals.


When James and I got back home, we found Charlton and my mom taking a nap, so after reading a couple of books, James and I tried to do the same. It didn't quite work because James was too excited about coloring some steam engine trains. While he colored, I read.
Thursdays is also Gillian's piano day, so after picking the older kids up and dropping Jefferson off, Gillian and I drove to her piano lesson. On the way there, Gillian was in the mood to talk, and I loved every bit of it. She told me about her friends, her favorite classes, and what she had done that day at school. We then proceeded to talk about her goals for the summer which included but not limited: developing her running skills, perfecting her grammar, reviewing math facts, writing more stories, and becoming better in piano practice. We got to discuss the importance of working hard and having faith in yourself. She mentioned that she is loving piano, but hates to practice. I shared with her that I feel sometimes like that about certain things, and because I know it is important for me to do those things however hard they may be, I try to ask the Lord to help me. This notion of asking the Lord to help us with confidence and a desire to accomplish hard things is so simple but I so often forget to apply it in my life. Yes, I ask my Heavenly Father to help me with situations or issues in my life, but it feels differently when I'm asking with a specific quality to help me in overcoming that situation or issue. Just the other day I was telling one of my friends that I was having trouble finding enough confidence in achieving a specific goal of mine; she flatly asked me why I was having such hard time with this when regardless who I was competing against I was already ahead of everyone because the Lord was walking alongside me with each and every step I took. How simple of a testimony but how true. Gillian and I decided to sit down after school was out for summer break, and make a list of her goals, and then ask the Lord to help her. I love one-on-one conversations with my kids.

After finishing with Gillian, I drove Jefferson to Cub Scouts. I had a school board meeting in between, but I left a bit earlier in order for me to be with Jefferson at his cub scout activity. They made a simple bird feeder, and hand-made "squize rocket." That was his favorite part. On the way home, he was enthusiastic about inventing and was telling me that to invent you just need ideas and a determination to not quit. I smiled at my future inventor. I have no doubt that with that pure faith of his he will reach for the starts in all that he does.

I think car rides offer the best opportunity for conversing with your children, spouse, or God. And at times when I'm alone, I love it when I can just pause and not think, allowing my brain to regenerate itself. Relaxing and doing nothing is the hardest thing for me, with the exception of reading, which I don't quite qualify as absolutely relaxing since my mind is really working hard still. While driving I often find myself mentally making lists and assigning tasks. Although that's necessary for me to feel organized, I often long to just ponder about my life and analyze where I stand. This is a necessary step in accomplishing your goals. As Socrates said, an unexamined life is not worth living. I like being in the car by myself because it's the only place where I'm not intruded. As a mother it's hard to find personal time on my own, and so you make it happen with what you have. I've felt lately that I need more pondering time on my own. How do you find time to ponder? What are some places you find it easy to think without being interrupted?

On Friday, Elijah surprised Charlton and me by coming in the morning and bringing us some fresh doughnuts. I was very happy to see my husband in the middle of the day, but Charlton was the one who really got excited being with dad and asked him if he could help him water the garden. Seeing my children interact with Elijah and myself brings joy to my heart; there is so much love, respect and openness between all of us that I truly count myself blessed. Furthermore, as I notice the various things and ways that Elijah and I teach our children, I can't help but truly wish the world understood the need for two parents, a loving father and mother, in raising happy children. Before taking off back to his work, Elijah managed to find a few minutes to indulge Charlton in watering the garden.
Friday afternoon was no different than any other day after school - my kids love being together and play very well with each other. They enjoy having play dates with friends of their own, but I don't feel pressured in setting them up. They have each other and for the most part they have so much fun. Here are a couple of pictures of them playing Colonial period games involving even their youngest brother, who undoubtedly feels in heaven sharing the experience with his older siblings.

On Saturday we slept in, ate good breakfast, and then took the whole family picking fresh fruit at nearby farms. We picked blackberries, cherries, and peaches. Later on we were given some strawberries as well. We had such a good time eating and picking that it didn't feel like work at all. Each of the kids got some kind of fruit they love, and Elijah got a lot of blackberries to make delicious pies. By Sunday he had made five pies - we kept three for ourselves, and gave away two. We couldn't believe how quickly one pie went; one forgets there is seven of us right now and we all love Elijah's pies.

For Memorial Day, we had planned to go down to Monterey Bay for the day and let the kids have fun at the beach. But the weather didn't cooperate, and so we decided to stay home instead. Elijah worked on his projects, I read, mom sewed, and the kids played. I'm not complaining!

For Family Home Evening, Elijah shared his thoughts about the importance of serving our country so we can enjoy the freedoms we have. Afterward, Elijah and I both shared information on our own family members who have been in the service in various capacities. It was neat to see the children connect a national holiday with their own family. Maybe next year I'll try to write some of their stories down and create a book with pictures and life portrayals of their ancestors who served their country. What are some ways you have found that helps your children relate to their ancestors?

And with that, I'll close for tonight. I hope you all had a good and meaningful Memorial Day.