Mother's Day and More

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. A couple weeks ago Cecilie phoned and let me know she would be coming to church with me as her Mother's Day gift. Years ago I read the book The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman (view his website here), and I recognized immediately that Cecilie's love language is gifts. And boy does she show it when it comes to something like Mother's Day!

She, Rhiannon, and Silas came with me to Sacrament Meeting, and heard great talks by Marie Huskinson and her recently returned missionary son, Byron White. And the rest of the day proceeded so well, with relaxation, presents (including flowers, plants, and photos), cards, a small homemade cake from Chloe, a special overseas phone call, and a great chicken dinner made by Rhiannon. Thank you everyone for your well-wishes.

Our homeschool continues to amaze me--amaze me because it's hard and amaze me because it's fun, too. I read a wonderful and inspiring article called Schooling at Home by Sally Thomas (which you may read here) that helped reinforce how much flexibility and individuality there is in each family's way of learning.

Now, don't get me wrong; we don't start with prayer (although I definitely do every single day), or have devotionals (although I have my own personal one). It needs to be different when you are schooling a 16-year-old in the midst of deciding what is important to him, and if he wants to continue the choices of his parent. Mutual respect is the name of the game here. The article did, however, identify some great advantages and purposes of having children educated in the home. It validated my choice to try this type of education for a season, as well as illustrated how Ms. Thomas's family has set up their homeschool.

We enjoyed the Tacoma Museum of Glass this past week (thanks, Krista), on a pouring Wednesday. And Silas even drove there!