My Girl is Graduating!!!

Look how beautiful she is. 

Check out her announcements

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0KZNGzli5bugg&cid=SFLYOCWIDGET

"R Fam Is Gr8"

When I was a little girl I thought my family was the best!!

My dad was the strongest and could beat up anybody. 

My mom was the nicest and most beautiful person around. 

They are both still quite fantastic, but somewhere along the road our understanding changes.

 I think however, that I will never forget that 

"R Fam Is Gr8"

I spoke to my children recently at one of our Family Home Evenings. 

I told them that I knew God wanted them all here in this family. I explained that I prayed about every single one of them and when they should come to our family. These were very heart wrenching prayers at times, because I didn't feel I was very capable. The point I was hoping to make was that they needed to learn to get along and love each other because He was in charge and sent them to our family because we would be GR8 together.

Recently I spoke to both my younger brother and sister at different times and they asked me about my blog.  They had noticed that I hadn't posted in a while. I could tell it was a little awkward for them as they didn't want to step on my toes. I'll admit, it was like chewing on dirt for me, cause it sort of caused a self deprecating agitation inside.  I want them to know that I am very grateful that they are my brother and sister. I need each of my family members and appreciate their love and concern and acknowledge that

"R Fam Is still Gr8" .

this picture of my two youngest reminds me of my younger bro. and sis.

We keep moving forward, opening new 

doors, and doing new things, because we're 

curious and curiosity keeps leading us down 

new paths.

                                                                           Walt Disney

House of Order

When I was a teenager my friend and I decided we wanted to share a favorite scripture...she suggested     D&C 88: 119

Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; 

and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, 

a house of faith, a house of learning, 

a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;

I loved it from the moment she shared it with me and I have focused my life around organizing and preparing myself in these areas. I personally need more help in the house of order department.  I have not given up yet, though, and am hoping to share my "house of order" quest with you.

There are a few things I do that help my house almost run on automatic. I'm not perfect, but I can do these things almost without thinking in the morning.

1. Spiritual study time

2. Put shoes on and get dressed, take meds.

3. Exercise, shower, and get ready for the day

4. Take out the trash

5. Start a load of laundry

6. Swish and swipe the toilets

7. Spend 5 minutes in each room cleaning

For the past two months I have worked on a habit that I've struggled with. I can now include it in the list above...

8. Clean my sink

Here's my video clip that explains my efforts...enjoy!

 What habit can you create in order to have a House of Order?

The Fun Theory

Have you heard of the fun theory?

I have...and I also know it works on my children and myself.

Check out thefuntheory.com for more videos but here is one that could save a life.

What do you do for fun?

We do a variety of things for fun around here.  The squiggle game is one of them.

My husband plays squiggle games with the kids.  The dark line is his squiggle and then our daughter had to make a picture out of it.  This is what she made.  Pretty good, huh?

Fun

Fun Farts

This is dedicated to my children

Love Ya

Fun in the Sun

Fun in the Sun

A message from the Mayo Clinic that may save your life

Beautiful Life

Life is Great

I love this song and the message it shares 

Enjoy

Beautiful Life by Mercy River

How to develop happiness muscles.

Last year when I took my children to visit with a college roommate, my roommate spoke of how much fun we had in college.  After listening to her, I expressed that my kids probably had no idea that I knew how to have fun. This was frustrating to me and I wanted fun back in my life, but it seemed  impossible at that time to  get it back.

My only explanation is that life has been hard and I've been out of practice.
Lately, that has changed.  Life is still hard, but I am handling it differently.
I no longer have so many little ones demanding my attention in which I feel the need to provide all at the same time. I still have the same amount of children, thank goodness, but they are growing up and I'm allowing me to take care of me more. My older children are realizing that this is a win win situation.
My children have caught me bursting out in laughter which they get a kick out of and love. So do I.
I have been playing with them and teaching them more.
I have been dancing more.
My happiness muscles are increasing and it's been wonderful.

Here are three things to consider when you are trying to relearn how to have fun and strengthen your happiness muscles.

1. Be healthy: physically(not just on the outside.), spiritually, and emotionally.
2. Have fun: by living in the moment.  (See video below)
3. Celebrate: Even if you can only do a very basic goal everyday, celebrate it. Eventually your capacity to do more will increase. When it does, celebrate the accomplishment of the very basic goal again and then anything that is beyond that very basic goal will be seen as going the extra mile.  Do this everyday. Celebrating is vital to developing your happiness muscles. Say, "Yeah Me!"

Learning; an ongoing event.

Learning; an ongoing event

While the kids are out from school we will be continuing the habit of reading.  

My husband and I believe that if our kids know how to read then they can learn to do anything.

I love to learn.

I continue to seek for things that I am in need of improving.

This summer I plan on becoming more familiar with punctuation marks and improving memory skills.

I also plan on staining cupboards that will take some learning on my part first.

This is my son learning to dance.  

How about you?  What are you learning?

Take Chances

Graduation Day

This day is filled with many emotions ranging from excitement to bewilderment to sadness.

I wish all my graduating friends a wonderful new beginning.  

This song is dedicated to you

Take Chances

Perpetual Education Fund-a wonderful education program

Perpetual Education Fund-a wonderful education program.

The Perpetual Education Fund is an amazing program that has helped many people in the world gain an education.  I thought you might be interested in hearing about the program and how it works.  It's amazing and established after an amazing pattern.

The Perpetual Education Fund of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

 “Today’s world is competitive, more than it’s ever been. I believe men and women need to get a type of education which will enable them to meet the exigencies [urgent needs] of life. … Men and women need to be prepared for a vastly broader scope than we’ve ever had before. ... [The Perpetual Education Fund] is a fund that will go far into the future.”Thomas S. Monson, in news conference, February 4, 2008; see Church News, Feb. 9, 2008

Love It!

To send or not to send? That was my question.

To send or not to send? 

 I wasn't sure if I should send my son to kindergarten or not. This is an explanation from my son on why I didn't send him to school.

  

This is an explanation from me on how I came to the conclusion on whether or not to send my son to kindergarten.

 

Phonetic punctuation by Victor Borge

May 2013 zestquest has been on education.  I hope you enjoy this.

Victor Borge-Phonetic punctuation

Learning Tools

During the summer I like to help my kids stay on top of their skills.  These are a few of my Favorite Teaching Tools

A fun way to learn multiplications is to go to YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/user/learningplayground?feature=watch

Pre/kindergarten learning the sounds.  My kids loved this.

http://www.zoo-phonics.com/

Grammar and Writing Skills App for FREE
Noredink

I know there are parents and teachers out there looking for ways to help their students.  Check out this free app and see if it makes a difference. (I just took a tour.  I'm going to use this for my children) 

http://mashable.com/2012/03/21/noredink-grammar/ 

Learning Math as a middle age student (book)

Danica McKeller from The Wonder Years-Winnie

http://youtu.be/VlCr-ZDko6A


Grammar Girl (podcast)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/grammar-girl-quick-dirty-tips/id173429229


Happy Learning!

Education Quotes

These quotes on education are dedicated to my husband.  Love ya!

http://www.hollis.center.lib.me.us/books.jpg

I spent three days a week for 10 years 

educating myself in the public library, and it's 

better than college. People should educate 

themselves - you can get a complete 

education for no money. At the end of 10 

years, I had read every book in the library and 

I'd written a thousand stories.

Ray Bradbury

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/raybradbur412203.html#mFBpuc2ty4GZhrpZ.99 

http://0.tqn.com/d/webclipart/1/0/A/7/5/Kids-sitting-on-books.png

No one has yet realized the wealth of 

sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden 

in the soul of a child. The effort of every true 

education should be to unlock that treasure.

Emma Goldman

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/e/emmagoldma101425.html#eIXidqM70Y005RQ4.99 

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqAmebtjr_q3q3ahQZPOmvGbTH3mTr25MmhJVwpN16p0-bMCQ2qkBD7sVupp76-TOEgi9H5Hofj2q4NKl8waOk9A6C_A11V3ZgWZ9iRfYXS68C9tRGnrYtuveGFDzgHBwSRc-L2f66yO4/s1600/stack+of+books.gif

In the first place, God made idiots. That was 

for practice. Then he made school boards.

Mark Twain

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marktwain131252.html#KvKHjayTlTWJxfuo.99 

Get Understanding

"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding."

Proverbs 4:7

I fear that to many of us take for granted the privilege of education that we have available to us.  I listened to this panel of 4 teenage girls and enjoyed how they are applying education in their life and how it benefits them.  I recommend this to all parents, but especially for those of girls.  I hope you take 30 minutes and share this with your children. 

http://www.mormonchannel.org/we-will-stand/5

I hope my children will grow up knowing how important education is.  

 Find something you are passionate about and learn all you can. 

I love learning!! 

Grad Overcoming Obstacles- Go for your aim. God is able.

Go For Your Aim God Is Able

School is almost out for this school year.  I can't believe it.  In honor of my young friends graduating from high school and all my other friends who are continuing their education. This is a great story about Sasha Gay-Cunningham who came from Jamaica.

"Impossible is just not a word. Keep your head high.  Go for your aim.  God is able."
---Sasha Gay-Cunningham

JCSU Grad overcoming odds

The Secret about Work and Play

When I was in college I knew the value of taking time away from work to play.  Play was as simple as throwing a frisbee around or watching an old favorite movie, going to a dance, calling complete strangers with my roommates and having conversations with them, etc.  It was replenishing to me and it helped me focus when it was time to get to work.  I had more energy, stamina and enjoyment as I worked when I allowed enough downtime to my rigorous schedule.  

I never noticed that I did this naturally  until "umpteen" years later, as a mom, I had forgotten how to play.  

It actually sometimes feels painful to "let loose" and enjoy my '"play" time.

Why? You ask.  

 It is like my mommy muscles and spirit wouldn't allow me to do it.  I feel guilt for not having everything else in tip top shape.  

I had too much laundry.  Or the kids still hadn't bathed and it was 9:30 at night.  Or...Or...Or...You get the idea.  Everyone else had needs that needed to be taken care of by me; mommy.  

I'm not sure when I realized this secret.  However, I will not be shy about sharing it.

I believe it's a true principle that will make life joyful; even a midst the difficult minutes, hours, and days of life.

Every wonderful thing in your life will be enhanced and more beautiful if you take time to enjoy it.

Work when it's time to work.  Play when it's time to play.  

Don't feel guilty when you are playing that the dishes aren't done.  And don't think about what fun things you aren't doing when you're working. 

(This makes you feel like a martyr.)

 

Take time to smell the roses.
Sharpen the saw.
Work and Play with Zest



My husband understands this principle.

This is a picture of him dancing with our daughter after promising that he would when she finished her homework.  It was late and we were tired but he kept his promise.
Look at her smile.
What a wonderful father.
My son followed my husbands example and when asked by his baby sister to dance, 

 

     he danced with zest.
                                               

"Mom, I'm flying!"

Swing baby swing

This is actually our little 3 year old giving our 12 year old instructions.
It was hilarious.

  I allowed myself time to enjoy this wonderful moment.
I laughed and took many pictures.
It was late and dishes still needed to be done but I exercised my "play" muscles and I finished the dishes without feeling like a martyr.

That's the secret about work and play
and a
zestful life.
Here's a song by Alabama that inspires us to slow down and enjoy our life.  It's one of my favorites.

Wheel of Time Fans-Could an Orange Ajah exist?

Wheel of Time Fans- Could an Orange Ajah exist?

I enjoyed listening to this reading and q&a session from the Wheel of Time Series.  Harriet shared a story where Robert Jordan looked at her scarf with many colors and told her that his favorite ajah was orange. 

If there really was an orange ajah I would choose to believe that they were on a zest quest.  These are people who have pushed and are currently pushing through the struggles and not giving up.  These are people who are finding happiness and fulfillment in their life.

I've always loved learning how people push through the struggles and make their dreams a reality. Some of these are shared during this session.  

I think these lessons are great to hear and apply in our own life.  

Branden Sanderson continued his education to a high level but his heart was always in writing.  He wrote two books a year for several years before he really became noticed. He worked graveyard at a Hotel writing his way through it. He shared that he uses wiki's in order to help him be organized, something he admits to struggling with.

Robert Jordan had an offer for his first book ever and when he requested more than 5% for the movie rights his offer was taken away from him.  He didn't give up at that point.  He then received an offer from Tor.  I loved hearing how he was practically begged by the editor and future wife, Harriet to write a Conan book.  Can you imagine the frustration Robert (or Jim those close to him called him) must have felt as he knew he was dying.  He created ample notes and directions in order for the series to be completed.  

Harriet has worked hard to make sure that Robert Jordan would be pleased with the outcome of the series he started years ago.

I believe that an Orange Ajah could exist.  I believe that it would be a very popular choice for when you are on a zest quest you are filled with happiness and fulfillment.