Reading the Book of Mormon

Aside from the obvious benefit of learning the lessons contained within the scriptures, I want to attest to the peace that comes into a home where scripture study is a part of daily (or every-other-day, as is sometimes the case) life.  When we read together we have the Spirit in our home.  When we don't, the kids argue more and I have less patience.  Definitely worth half an hour! 

New Year's Resolutions

I am a believer that one should accept the opportunity that a new year presents to set personal goals.  This is such a good way for me to "try a little harder to be a little better".  This year I have set a goal to work on family history for a minimum of 4 hours every week.  So far it's been easy to pass the 4-hour mark because once I get started I can hardly make myself stop.  I LOVE it.  I've set aside Thursday mornings for this.  I did very little family history last year and simply must make time for it now.

"Loathing" doesn't quite describe Alex's feelings about school

Alex cracked me up the other day when I was trying to get him to get ready for school.  As part of his stalling tactics, he tried this one:

"I'm saving all my cooperation for tomorrow."

Nice try, kid, but you're going to school and you're going to get ready NOW.

Alex doesn't like school.  He thinks we have no regard for his happiness because we insist he continue second grade.  We negotiated in the first term when he was refusing to go to school all the time and told him he could have two days off school every term without us hassling him about it if he promised to go to school the other days.  Needless to say he never makes it past the first week of each term before his two days are "spent".  He stayed home today.

We've tried incentives (aka bribing), giving restrictions (losing his DS for a month won't even get him to go when he's made up his mind), giving him a "day of work" (6.5 hours of hard labor), lecturing (does that ever work?), yelling (which only hurts his feelings), reminding him it's short day (still 4 and a half hours of torture!), telling him what exciting things are going on at school that day (that one never works) and teaching about how important it is that he be there (he's not buying that one, either).  He simply doesn't care what the consequence, it is not as bad as going to school.  He has even offered to be our personal slave all day long rather than go to school.

In second term he had 13 tardies, which would seem like a real problem to most parents, but not to me.  To me that means that 13 times he begged not to go but ultimately relented!  He was only absent 4 days this term, one of which was because he was sick.  BUT, nearly every school day we have to work really hard to get him there. 

I feel sorry for him.  I can't imagine hating school, knowing I have at least 10 more years of it ahead of me.  So if you see my little Alex at the school, flash him a smile and give him an encouraging word because he'd rather be anywhere but there.

P.S.  We love his school teacher and don't feel that his not wanting to go to school has anything directly to do with her.

Do Something

I love this quote that I found on a postcard at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. a few years ago.  It is a good reminder that each one of us can (and should) find a way to do something to end the suffering of another human being.  It doesn't need to be elaborate to make a significant difference.

In case it's difficult to read, this is what it says: "Always hold firmly to the thought that each one of us can do something to bring some portion of misery to an end."