Painting and Painting and Painting and...

One year ago, around the first weekend of October, Mark and I drove for three days... arriving on Sunday night.  We drove his truck and hauled a small trailer with just enough possessions to give him a semblance of comfort in our new home... and painting supplies!

Monday morning in our new home - Mark donned a tie to begin his work at his new office, and I donned my lovely painting clothes.  I knew I had just one day in town and no form of transportation, so I began to make our new house into our new home.


Replacing the built-in bookshelves would be fun, but rather a silly expenditure when they are sturdy and functional.. but what is the deal with that dead space at the top?  Anyway - I had one day to work, and it was a day well spent!  These were now bookshelves that I could live with.

Everything in our house was brown and for many people it would be beautiful.  I appreciate the style, but it is not my own.  Note: Even the ceilings were brown!!  It was very much like living in a brown grocery bag!  Made me crazy...

My sweet husband lived alone for two months.  Whenever he was in town, he was painting.  He painted the walls and the ceilings in the three main living areas.  What a transformation!!

Most of our ceilings are still brown, though very few of our walls.  This is a huge project, but we are plugging away, little by little.  It didn't help that I was gone for eight weeks this summer!

When we bought our house we thought that the trim was a nice cream color.  When we painted the walls we discovered that it was more of a tan/almond.  Yuck.  So... we have begun that process as well.

We also thought that the kitchen cabinets were a creamy, antiqued color.  Painted walls turned them a sickly yellowish antiqued color.  I will post before/after kitchen photos soon.  I love it!

My entire upstairs is covered in drop cloths and masking tape.  Raising six kids has taught me to live in chaos and to me, it is worth the chaos!  I love the transformation.  I often stop whatever I am doing to go into our latest "project room" and just breathe deeply.  It is energizing!

This bathroom is still
 a work progress...

A coat of paint on the
mantle is a quick fix
until I come up with
another idea...

Spray paint and new globes
transformed our bathroom lights.

Elephant Cookies Curing Childhood Cancer

    Elephant Cookies - we made a couple dozen last week.  They were cute, they were tasty, we shared them with friends... they will not help to cure cancer.

    Kneaders Bakery and Cafe, however, is offering an Elephant Cookie that will.  Because September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness month, these cute cookies are being sold for $2.99 and 100% of the proceeds raised will go directly to childhood cancer research at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. 

Here is more information:   Kneaders Bakery

   Elephants have always been my favorite animal at the zoo, but what do they have to do with all of this?  Apparently elephants have 100 times more cells than humans, so it would seem that they should be 100 times as likely to get cancer.  Not so!  Cancer in elephants is very rare.

   Our doctor at Huntsman Cancer Institute, Joshua Schiffman, has been conducting some very interesting research.  People have two copies of the gene we call P53 - elephants have FORTY copies of this gene!  When Dr. Schiffman taught my children about P53, he called it the superhero gene.  It rushes in when a cell is misbehaving - it either corrects the problem or gets rid of the troublesome cell.  If this misbehaving cell were to continue, it has the potential to become cancerous.  Forty Super-Heroes would be cool, something like that last Avenger movie, but all on the same side.

    Because of Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, four of my six children have only one operating superhero gene - thus the high tendency to develop cancer.  They have been behind the scenes at Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City to have their blood drawn simultaneously with the elephants.  Dr. Schiffman has shared with us some exciting possibilities for the future of cancer care - perhaps my grandchildren will have an entirely different experience with cancer than my children have, or perhaps no experience at all.

    Apparently the National Cancer Institute spent 96% of its research funding on adult cancer research.  Childhood cancer could use a little help.  

    Dr. Schiffman had cancer as a child.  His research is helping other children.  The founder of Kneaders had a grandson diagnosed with childhood cancer at age 13. Their fundraising will help other children.   Three of my children have had cancer, (more than once) and we want to help other children.  I have neither the expertise nor the money to do what Kneaders and Dr. Schiffman are doing, but I can do my part by spreading the word.  

    There are 52 Kneaders locations in the United States, but sadly, none in Dallas, TX.  So, we made our own cookies.  We did not sell them, but we did share them with friends.  Hoping someone will share this information with a few of their own friends....  

    Again, here is the Kneaders website which discusses the cookies, the research and how to donate if you cannot buy a cookie...

Nathan found a Kneaders Elephant
in San Antonio... not quite as cute
as the picture.  The stores keep
running out (which is a good thing)

Drawing blood in the elephant cage.

We couldn't take pics of the
elephants, but later that day
we found this one at a museum.

Elephants are very happy to get their
blood drawn because they are fed
through the entire process.
They tried it on my kids too.

.

GIFT - Part 2

My poor, neglected blog...
I have not written for several months - or so it would appear.  Actually, I wrote a draft to follow up on my last entry on the topic:"Gift,"  This draft seems to have disappeared into cyberspace and somehow I don't feel like I can move on without addressing this topic one more time... yet my head is full of experiences and thoughts regarding Loving and Laughing and Learning while I live my Life.  I want to get them recorded, so here are a few more thoughts on "Gift" so that I can move on...

It was mid-June and we were only days away from closing escrow on our home in Washington.  A Gift came our way in the form of a disaster... a man who owns the 18 acres adjoining our 5 acres delivered this gift to our title company who then informed us.  It was a spurious lawsuit contesting a 5-10 foot section of property as well as several lies and false accusations.  We were stunned.  We agreed to a quick settlement - feeling rather sick because the lawsuit was so ridiculous... yet we wanted to complete the sale.  Unfortunately, the buyers freaked out and went looking elsewhere.  Fortunately we had only agreed to settle if the sale went through.  With a multitude of damages, we reluctantly filed a countersuit.  Ugh.

We were back at square one - the house back on the market, plenty of debt, and up to our eyeballs in legal issues.  Not where we wanted to be... and yet....

Experience has taught me that trials can help us to grow.  Trials can make us better people.  Trials can be a GIFT.  I took a breath and began to try to be grateful for this Gift and find the good.

I didn't have to look very far.  Within a week I felt that my marriage was stronger than ever.  My relationship with the Lord was more dear.  We had a fresh perspective on a number of things including our future and LIFE in general.
 Almost immediately I was able to use this "Gift" and this Washington property to bless the lives of family, friends and neighbors in completely different but very tangible ways.  All of these things brought me such joy - I see that I would not have wanted to miss these opportunities.
My gratitude for our Gift situation has become more sincere.  To be honest, it is indeed a trial and certainly weighs me down - yet I believe that it is a blessing.  We have already learned so much.  I believe that we are on this Earth to learn, grow and become better people.  It is not for us to dictate what a blessing actually is - would a life of ease and comfort cause us to grow or become better?  We may desire it, but if we truly desire to improve and be more than we now are... I have to think it will come primarily through trials.  Therefore I say, trials can be blessings, especially if you make the effort to express gratitude.  Even more difficult, don't wait until years down the road to see the good and find the gratitude.  Finding it while in the midst of the trial can lift that burden even while it is weighing you down.

Here is a video of our property in Washington.  I'm sure I've posted it before... but since I still own it... I am thinking I will always own it... and what a great vacation home!  You may also notice that there is plenty of forest around - and that the man who owns almost 200 acres of property in the county could stop worrying about .2 acres of mine!

ps - I just watched the video.  I must say I really miss my front porch and the bubbler in my front yard. Also my many amazing blueberry bushes, but mostly the porch and bubbler.  Wow - it is really pretty there!  My Texas friends will like to see that even before we moved here we were flying our Texas flag!

GIFT

Summertime always brings an abundance of time on our hands and a search for quality ways in which to spend that time.  I have quite a collection of charts and books from past summers.  This summer we are reading, memorizing, doing service, working on manners, chores, eating right... etc.  The usual.

My family scripture journal

One thing that we really wanted to change was our approach to our family scripture study.  Different methods in the past have been both effective and not effective - sometimes burning us out for months at a time.  Now, with just two children at home -- two half-grown children -- we thought it was time for our study to grow up a little as well.  Our new approach is intended to last for six months before we re-evaluate.  One day we sat down and made a list of topics to study.  Kimberly typed these up and put them into a jar.  Every couple of days we draw out a new topic and each find a couple of verses in regard to the chosen topic.  A few minutes of personal reflection is followed by each of us sharing what we learned and thought about the subject.  We each have a little journal in which we record whatever we want - maybe our own thoughts, maybe what everyone else shares... it doesn't matter.
Quite frankly, I am learning so much!  Mark and I are both in awe over not only what we are personally taking away, but at what our children have to contribute!  This takes only a few minutes each day, but we are growing in many ways.  ...and no one is bored.

GIFT - this was our first topic.  I wondered where we would go with it and was so pleased with the result.
My first page of writing is shown in the photo.  If I had ever dreamed I would put it out for the public to view I would have worked on my penmanship... Oh well.  These are thoughts in general and read:  When a gift is given, it isn't always what the receiver wanted, or may be something they have never even thought of - but when given by someone who loves you it has been thought out and is something that will benefit you, perhaps far in the future.  Perfect gifts from our perfect Father may be unanticipated, misunderstood or even unwanted, but will always be for our good.

•  We learned to be wary of some gifts which are given in the form of bribes and must be avoided. 
•  If we wish to present a gift to the Lord (at his altar) - this could be our time, talents or any sort of service, etc... we must do so without contention in our hearts.  Harboring ill feelings toward anyone else our gift will render our gift unacceptable.
• Everyone is given at least one gift from God.  These gifts are intended to be used to benefit others, thus all of God's children will be blessed through one another's gifts.
• Christ is the greatest gift and his gives his life for us.  This is much more than just dying for us - He LIVED for us, there was never any selfishness.  He took his time on Earth and dedicated it to us, our greatest gift.

Another journal entry:  Gifts are talents and strengths.  They are also opportunities that come to us.  They may be in the form of certain interactions.  I think some of our greatest gifts come in the form of trials - if we grow and improve through the lessons of a trial - we become who we need to be... then these are gifts indeed.

That was just two days of reading and discussing.  Just a few days later we were presented with a Gift, an unexpected and rather unwelcome gift which we were prepared to embrace because of these two days' study.  I will have to write about it later... but I am so grateful that the scriptures prepared us to see our new situation as an opportunity to learn, grow and be blessed!

Working On My Quality

How was your day?......... Better!

What did you do? ............. I worked on my quality!

A few weeks ago I heard a woman speak of her 30-something son who has Downs Syndrome.  For 16 years he has worked at a steakhouse clearing tables and doing dishes.  Each day she goes to pick him up from work and each day they have the same conversation.  She asks how was his day and he replies, "Better!"  An inquiry into how he spent his day brings the same reply every time, "I worked on my quality!"

These responses stole my heart and have been in my thoughts ever since.  How often has my day been better than the day before?  Often enough... but what if it were consistently Better?  What if every day was better than the day before?  Granted, there are many things outside of my control which affect my day - but for the most part I am in control of what I do and how I react to situations.  In almost every way I am better than I was ten years ago... but if I could learn to work on this day by day - where will I be ten years from now?

I could work on being better in my family relationships, how I spend my free time, cooking & cleaning, coupon clipping, writing thank-you notes, smiling, keeping contact with friends,  exercising, reading, memorizing, sharing... blah, blah, blah.  Well, I could be overwhelmed and drive myself crazy and get discouraged trying to get better in everything.  Or I could not even try and just stagnate and feel even worse... 

This is where I really like the second response.  Working on my quality!  I can do this!  Instead of making a list of everything that needs to be better about my life (and feeling crazy and discouraged), I could just think about improving my quality of whatever it is I am doing when the thought comes to my mind.  If I could manage to think about it even once a day - improving my quality in that one instance ... well, I should be able to report that my day had gone "better" - and ten years from now I will have learned to seek for "quality" and find that every aspect of my life is "better". 

Good plan... 

Cancer checkup - Natalie had her MRIs and received a clean bill of health.  Jacqueline also had her MRIs and though there is some suspicious activity we are hopeful that nothing is cancerous.  Of course she is a missionary and so I was unable to be with her, but the doctors are not concerned at present.  Greg is happy to have a summer without chemotherapy and is recovering from over 30 stitches he received a couple weeks ago when they removed a few moles.  Only one mole proved to be undesirable, but they cleared all margins and he's doing great.  David and Mark will have their tests in July.  My one photo today is Kimberly - she doesn't have Li Fraumeni but we were still relieved when her pathology report came back clean.  About a month ago she had a painful cyst removed from her ear canal.  Aside from eardrops and a no-swim order, we were relatively unaffected.  Nevertheless, sending her into the operating room brought back many memories.  Fortunately I am well skilled at diverting myself - Nevertheless, it would seem that my children cannot go into surgery without some sort of excitement.  In Kimberly's case, after about 20 minutes, the electricity went off!  The generator kicked right on, but I was immediately aware that she was laying there under anesthesia and beyond my reach.  I was glad to get her home again.  As for Kimberly, she was thrilled to be able to report to her siblings that she had joined their "surgery" club.  They were not too sure that 30 minutes or so working on her ear "counts" - her lesion was "unremarkable" and her scar doesn't exactly give her bragging rights around here, but as the mom,  I'll take it any day!

Texas - Update from March??

March 26 was my last blog post - It is almost June 26 and I have been very neglectful.  I opened up blogger tonight and found this draft - no typing, only photos.    What was my intent?  This will remain a mystery, but since it's here I will discuss my photos for posterity....

Here is Kimberly eating lunch in Palestine, TX.  We had a Friday off of  school and decided that we should explore.  A friend told us there was a Dogwood Festival - and I jumped at the chance to see dogwood trees.  The warm winter had brought the blooms too early, but we saw a few.  The great treat was to find a beautiful part of the state where rhodendrons and azaleas were blooming like crazy.  There were tall evergreen trees and we felt that we had taken a quick trip to our beloved ol' northwest springtime.  Beautiful!  

Kimberly and Natalie are sitting in the Texas Bluebonnets.  These flowers have a reputation for being spectacular - and they were!  Wow!  Intense color through the fields and along the roadways.  Apparently the tradition is to plop your little ones among the blooms and capture the moment.  So - here are my little ones and the moment forever captured.  The wildflowers haven't stopped either - my mind is completely blank to the name of the flowers that captivated me when I drove home from Utah in April... hmmmm.  Well, anyway - for quite some time the fields have been yellow with black-eyed Susans.  Love it!!

  All decked out in her Texas finery, Natalie has made the most of our move!  Though Texas offers a form of concurrent enrollment, it does not compare to the Washington option and would not have helped Natalie with her future plans.  Going back to high school wasn't really an option, so - though officially a Junior in high school, Natalie opted to take the GED which she passed with honors.  She was accepted to BYU and left us in April to begin Spring term classes.  To celebrate, she chose a beautiful pair of cowboy boots so she can "put her cowgirl on" - even in Utah.  

Speaking of putting on her Texas, we all enjoyed those last months with Natalie as she worked at a hamburger restaurant in a part of Texas where patrons tended to have very heavy accents.  After trying to take an order or two and not being understood - she developed an accent of her own.  Suddenly she fit right in and became very popular with the customers.

Our neighbor has the beautiful pond which attracts birds all year.  Late winter found us enjoying turkey vultures.  They are huge and graceful.  There were several of them and they would swoop through our yard as they came in for a landing.  Blue herons do this often as well.  We took this photo one sunny morning as this bird was sunning himself.  Spectacular!

My muddy kids decided to go kayaking on our own little pond with friends.  Silly kids - cold, wet and muddy.  Just like when they were little, I made them spray off with the hose before coming near the house.  Brrr.  

First Monday Market Day in Canton, TX.  This was fun, but, with the crowds and heat, I wouldn't want to come during the summer.  I think we went in March - this is a huge flea market which has been around for over 100 years.  We gave each child $25 so that they could all find their own sort of treasure.  Great memory, worth the money!

So - that's the last photo... we are enjoying Texas.  The people are certainly the best part!  I have met many fine women which have improved my life for the better. 

New friends, new experiences, new perspectives....

 Once again, an experience I would not have chosen for myself has blessed my life immensely.   

Melancholy in Texas

Melancholy.
  I want to call my sister, but then I would cry.  Or she would cry.  I know my mom would cry. Sadness, no - not sadness.  I am not sad, I am actually feeling quite peaceful and content.
I just came home from a worldwide broadcast.  I am a member of the oldest and largest women's organization on the planet.  The Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  It is a marvelous organization - supporting women in all of our many roles, promoting literacy and education, providing all levels of service around the world and next door...
Twice a year we have a worldwide broadcast.   Tonight was my first in Texas.  I know that my sisters, mothers, daughters and friends... scattered as we are... we all hearing the same inspiring instruction.

Sister Farewell 2015

I was reflecting on my first broadcast in Washington.  It was the end of September 2001, Jackie had just turned five years old and I brought her along because I had lived there just under three months and didn't really know anyone.  I remember spotting a few women I knew, but they were busy with one another.   Instead I spoke to complete strangers and knew it would get better.
September 2015 ... I was out of town and listened to the broadcast with my daughters.  I was relieved because I knew I would have been sad to join in with my many friends for the last time.  When my sister moved to Washington we used to take turns attending one another's buildings.   There was always a friend to invite - and then go out to eat with later.  Always, I could look around and find a room full of women that I love.

Farewell to Oregon Nov 2015

I have been here just over three months.  I am new and I find myself older and quite content to watch the women interacting - all without feeling lonely.  I am happy to see friends greeting each other.  Tonight I had friends as well.    I have met some of the most amazing women, it is a privilege to know them.  I know that it is just a matter of time before I can look around and find a room full of friends again.

Nov 2015 -  Farewell to Washington

Yesterday there was no school and I needed an adventure.  David, Kimberly and I headed out to explore and ended up in Palestine, TX.  There is Dogwood festival and we saw some of the most beautiful country!  We saw rhododendrons in bloom - evergreen trees - hills - I loved it.  I also loved the flat open country as we drew closer to Dallas.  So much sky - and Sunshine!  As I drove I contemplated how I could love this country so soon, especially when it is so different from my beloved northwest.
Why would I question it?  I have a deep love for many areas of this country.  Who would have thought I would ever be grateful for moving around as a child?
1991 - Nathan was born and I didn't know that I could ever love another human being as much as I loved him... then the children kept coming and the love kept growing.  I guess it is the same with places that we live.  They are all different, but we can love them all.
And friends.  I love so many friends... from high school, college, California, Oregon, Washington, and now it begins in Texas.
This must be one of Life's greatest (and sweetest) lessons.

Feb 2016 -
Welcome to Texas

Ok - as I speak of Texas... this is all in spite of the fact that, although it is a clear, warm night--- it sounds like a hailstorm outside.  This is because these rather repulsive flying beetles of some sort of bombarding it trying to get to my light.  I hope they hit it so hard that they die... there must be thousands of them and I find it more than a little nauseating... I think I saw their larvae in the ground while digging in my yard the other day.  They fell off my car when we  parked in the garage tonight.  Ummmmm, this is going to take some getting used to...

Melancholy.....

Musical Surgery

In my opinion, a chemotherapy port is a sizable piece of equipment to have implanted... so to remove it under a local anesthetic seems like something I wouldn't want to do.  When he was 17, they put him to sleep - at 22, Greg was awake and able to give us a play by play.  He sent an email today with this report:

So probably the most interesting thing this week was my port removal surgery. If you're not a pediatric patient then you don't get put out for it. And if the doctor has some strange reason to not show up (I don't know what happened) she sends her PA to do it. ( I am really bummed that Dr Scaife did't get to do it. I really like her.) Nathan came up with me and got to watch. Everyone got to watch except for me. I was just numbed with lidocaine and then they sliced, pulled, snipped and all kinds of stuff while I tried to keep a conversation going that would keep me distracted from what was happening. So the port is out, I survived, and it really is purple. Now I just have a huge bruise from all the messing around.  

 A fun note about the surgery. They asked what kind of music I wanted. I didn't care so I said classical because that's the best kind to go along with a surgery, keep everyone calm. But the music kept keeping time to what was happening. As the doctors got ready the music was sad and tense, as if it was a dramatic TV show. Then as they operated it was sad as if I was dying and my family waited outside in the waiting room anxious to hear about me. The music came to a triumphant end right as they pulled the port out! kind of fun. Then there was a commercial break on the radio, just like TV. As the doctor sat and held pressure on my neck to make sure I didn't bleed out, the music was slow and thoughtful. Perfect for an end of episode montage. Me in the room, good news to the family, the guy who hit me in a car accident being led out of the court room. The lawyer being thoughtful, back to me and the music ended again right as the doctor was done sewing me up. That was kind of funny and we kept laughing about that. 

Blee & the Eagles

Someone recently reminded me that the stress of moving is equivalent to having a death in the family.  This helps explain why I am living in slow motion - I think I am still recovering from those last crazy weeks.  Most of this was my own fault - I wanted to see and spend time with everyone that I loved... and I couldn't leave town without painting my friend's kitchen cabinets, or any number of other projects which I felt driven to accomplish.

One of my all-time favorite photos!

  One big one - David's Court of Honor.  He had earned his Eagle Scout Award several months before, and he was just waiting for his best friend to complete his paperwork so that they could celebrate together.   Looking at the calendar one day we realized it would probably not be possible --- but never say that to my friend Heidi, she pulled out all the stops and her son began making phone calls.  Thanks to many helpful people, he completed his paperwork.
  Time was up - we were moving - but... Heidi and I both don't like to be told we cannot do something that we really want to do - and so... on the first day of moving we asked our movers to leave early so that we could all go down to the church and celebrate the hard work of these two Eagle Scouts.

New Years Day hike along
Columbia River

  That evening was even sweeter than we had anticipated because Kimberly had also been working hard.  She had earned her Young Woman's Medallion and so we were able to add her to the program.  Having spent so many childhood years together, it was fitting that we celebrate together as well, especially on our last night in town.
  For anyone who knows these kids - take a minute (or 6) and watch the cute video that Natalie put together (quickly before we packed the computer).  You can watch them grow up before your eyes.  My favorite part is watching David and Kimberly together - they have such a sweet brother/sister relationship.  See how his arm is always around her, protecting her like a big brother should.  Also notice how they are usually playing outdoors - it's not secret that this is where I like to see my kids.  (Blee is what David called Kimberly when they were babies and he couldn't pronounce her name.  Almost 14 years later it seems to have stuck.)  click here: Eagle/Medallion Slide Show

There were Three Musketeers, why
can't I find the photo with Sheadan?

Serving Mom and Dad
an anniversary dinner

  Kimberly's Young Woman Medallion, or Young Woman Recognition Award, is something to be proud of.  It is something that the girls at church begin to work on when they are 12.  In the past they had to finish it by the time they were 18, but it is now open to all women.  I earned one when Jackie earned hers, and again with Kimberly.  I thought I would try to get three with my three girls, but I managed two with an Honor Bee - so I am aware of how much work these can take.  I want to briefly explain what this award entails.
There are 8 "Values" that the girls learn about and incorporate into their lives.  These are:

• Faith ~ learning to trust in our Savior, Jesus Christ
• Divine Nature ~ we are all daughters of God
• Individual Worth ~ each of us is very important to our Lord
• Knowledge ~ we must participate in learning at every level
• Choice & Accountability ~ we are free to make choices but must accept consequences
• Good Works ~ service to others brings joy to everyone
• Integrity ~ we must be as good as our word
• Virtue ~ our thoughts/behavior must be based on high moral standards

Another road trip

With each of these values, the girls must complete six "experiences" and a 10 hour project.  Experiences include a wide range of activities, studying, service, learning/teaching, etc.  Completing eight 10-hour projects is very impressive.   The entire program is called Personal Progress and it is aptly named.  My sister told me that she is never a better person than when she is actively working on her Personal Progress.    Just like a grown man who has earned his Eagle Scout award will almost always stand out, so will a woman who has taken the time to develop her mind, her talents, her spirit and learned to care for others through Personal Progress.  The Honor Bee I mentioned is an additional award that is available to girls and women who have completed Personal Progress - it has several requirements which include 40 hours of service.

Holding hands along the way

So today I am just celebrating Young Women and Scouts and my children and brothers who put their arms around their sisters and playing outdoors and friends who help you pull off big events on the day you move away and that I managed to bake 90+ rolls for a dinner tonight and none of them burned and my husband's trip next week just got shortened by a day and that I can see my trash can blew over but didn't spill and... that there is always something to smile about!

Nathan and Greg are both Eagle Scouts
(They set this goal at a young age)

AND everyone celebrate that at this very moment - 1,000+ miles away, Greg is having his chemotherapy port removed!  That means that he is over 6 months post chemo and cancer-free!  Let's keep it that way!  He's happy because it has added another port to his collection.  I am thinking that two is a large enough collection!

The Book Whisperer - Part Two

   Here in Texas we have a very early Spring Break - it is next week!  We've decided to go exploring a bit and are going to see what we can find in Arkansas.  What I am really looking forward to is shutting off the kids' phones for a few days.  I figure that this is a family vacation and their friends do not need to come along.
   I began this blog post in 2014!  I found it while searching for my original Book Whisperer... It only contained these two photos which are straight out of my old Family Home Evening scrapbook.  They are from 1999 and contain a list of some of the books that we had been reading aloud... OH!  How I wish I had kept that list going!  Anyway, reading the original Book Whisperer post was fun.
  My sister, Lori,  just asked me what we are doing for Book Whisperer now... I am glad she didn't ask me much sooner since I finally got my act together just a couple weeks ago.  I'll explain our new program right after I report on our first one.
  We began in September of 2014 and officially ended last summer.  Kimberly wanted to be done by the end of the school year and she did it.  Mark and I completed ours soon afterward with David and Natalie following up this past fall - mostly finishing up I think.  IT WAS GREAT!  The fact that we were required to read was wonderful!  It meant that there was always a book nearby and I reawakened my old habit of reading before I fall asleep.   In fact, everyone was going to bed sooner so that they would have time to read when possible.  We had a lot of quiet evenings as we sat together reading - when does that happen if you aren't Book Whisperers?

When Lori texted me her question
I looked up and there was Kimberly
reading "Standing Next to History"
A fun book we have all shared about
the Secret Service during the
Reagan years.  How we miss
Ronald Reagan!

  The other really positive aspect of our program was that we were required to read so many different genres.  They included Realistic Fiction (5 books), Fantasy/Science Fiction (5), Biography (5), Historical Fiction (5), Mystery/Western (4), Informational (4), Poetry (2) and My Choice (10).  This really worked to broaden the scope of my reading.  It also gave me permission to read some really fun books - before this I felt that I should be reading all "informational" books - and they can get rather boring.  Another aspect I loved... we shared books.  Someone would read and recommend a book and we could all pass it around over the next month or two.
  I had intended to report on some of the books that I read, but I cannot find my list - when I find it I will write about it.  For now, I will share our new plan:
  This time around we aren't counting books, we are counting pages.  We can read a lot of small books, one large one.and anything in-between   (Natalie just pulled out the unabridged Les Miserables which should fill her Historical Fiction requirement by itself... ) We will each read a minimum of 1,500 pages in the following genre:  Realistic Fiction, Fantasy, Biography, Information and Historical Fiction.  We will also have 3,000 pages in My Choice.
  A new twist... This time we have to write.  Yes, write... and I heard more than a few grumbles about this.  I bought the set of Moleskine notebooks from Costco - a little nicer to write in than composition books.  Inside of each book is the record sheet (since I kept losing my last one... seriously, once I found it outside in my backyard?!?) and the new rules.  We just have to write a short report on each book and what we learned.  I know... this kind of defeats the purpose of the Book Whisperer -reading-for-the-joy-of-reading... but last time there wasn't a prize.  This time we have prizes... and it isn't hard writing - more of a record that I wished I had from before.  What if I had written down a few notes on every book I have ever read? What a treasure (for myself)!  So... we will be writing.
  Kimberly has a big head start since she finished our last program in June 2015 and hasn't quit reading.  I explained this new program to her at the time... but (this will make everyone feel better) - I didn't get around to making these books and explaining it to everyone else until last weekend (Feb 2016).    Oh well, that's the way it goes...
  So - next week is Spring Break (without  friends texting).  The sunshine which has been so beautiful and present each day is going to be hiding behind some clouds/rain. We will be in Arkansas... and just in case rainy Arkansas doesn't keep us busy... we all have instructions to pack a couple books!  Let the games begin!

For more information search for my first Book Whisperer post - or Google "Book Whisperer" and learn about this incredible teacher.  It is inspiring!