No Idea.

I have no idea what to blog about today.  Maybe I will just post some cute pictures of my kids.  I just want to stay consistent on this or it will go by the wayside.

We did take our first week off of homeschool. It was fun and refreshing and we were ready to start up again this week.

I am really excited to share with you Deedee & Mimi's first reports.  I am having them do them in Lapbook form which I think I really like.   The girls are loving their creations and Deedee even asked if she could do her reports that way all of the time.  When they are complete I will post pictures.

So, last night Jussy threw his dinner on the floor because he didn't want it.  We put him to bed, where he didn't want to stay.  Mark and I retired to our room for wind down time.  We had the baby with us.  When she fell asleep I went to take her up stairs and this is what I found.

He was very precariously perched, asleep on the stair.  I sure love that little boy and was grateful he didn't fall down the stairs.

Grateful for any and all help.

We have been so blessed and I am so grateful to those who have already helped with our homeschool in all ways.  You will be receiving some very special gifts within the next couple of weeks.  If you would like to help in a different way you can look at our homeschool wishlist on Amazon.com.  I know that, sometimes, knowing what is needed is an easier way to contribute.

 This is one of the books we are using of which I would like to have a hard copy.
I know that all that contribute do so without expectation.  We however are having wonderful fun making thank you gifts as part of homeschool.  Thank you.  All our Love.

Field Trip Day

We have now completed 6 weeks of homeschool and we have done really well.  We have tweaked, cancelled, remade things and we will probably continue to do so as we discover what needs need to be met. The girls have had fun and I have asked them and they have said they like homeschool.

It  has been nice to be flexible and to change what we need when we need to.  Today was our first homeschool field trip.  We went to Hogle Zoo.  We haven't been for a little while because they were doing a lot of remodeling.  It was fun to see the changes.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.

I have been looking forward to the new African Savannah exhibit because they were moving the Giraffes from where they have been forever to a new exhibit where they will be with other Savannah animals.  The Giraffes aren't used to being with other animals and the zoo is doing training to get them to move into the larger paddock with the zebras and ostriches.

The African Savannah exhibit is beautiful and I think will be a great exhibit once all of the animals get used to it and the trees get bigger.

The baby elephant is getting big.

I was able to get a pretty good shot of this Amur leopard in the Asian Highlands

The cutest little Gorilla's ever.

All the kids around these phenomenal Giraffe statues

The lions are back in the zoo and they have a wonderful exhibit.

Kids on the lion statues

Grandpa came to help me with the littles.  The baby was having fun with Grandpa

She wanted to sit on the elephant and then she didn't so we got a grimace instead of a smile.

Eagle chicks without their feathers

On the Polar Bears

Grandpa gave us all a ride on the Merry Go Round.  My boy was already way tired and wasn't going to smile for anything.

The Older girls did their going to the Zoo Field Trip Report that I got from 123homeschool4me.com.  They had a lot of fun picking animals for each page.  Deanna took pictures and when we got home we printed out the pictures and glued them in.  All in all an extremely fun day for homeschool.

Don't like the blues

As many of you know I take anti-depressants on a regular basis.  I am a believer that sometimes people need a little help to stay balanced.  Every once in a while I run out of my prescription and for some reason I just can't get myself to the pharmacy for my refill.  This has been one of those weeks and because I haven't been on my anti-depressant it has been one of THOSE weeks.

Many people believe that if someone is taking anti-depressants there is something majorly wrong with them. In some cases that is true.  Sometimes it is just that a person needs a little help to stay balanced.  That is true in my case.  My hormones refuse to be balanced.  I have struggled since I was very young but was unaware of what was happening until I was an adult.  I expressed my concern about staying on anti-depressants with my doctor and he explained to me this way.  He asked me if I would consider glasses a crutch or something a person would need to see. Of course they need glasses to see.  He said that is how anti-depressants are for some people.  It is something you need to function just like glasses.  I have found this to be absolutely true in my life.  When I don't take my medication I get frustrated faster,  I get overwhelmed easily and I have no patience for anything.  When I am taking my medication.  I can think clearer, care for my family and myself better and I am basically a much nicer person.

Something that really makes me upset is the news stories that come out about the State of Utah having the highest use of antidepressants and people blaming it on the LDS culture.  They are right but not in the way that they describe in their news stories.  If you were to combine the statistics of anti-depressant use with alcohol use I personally believe you would find a correlation.  Part of the LDS belief system is the choice to not use alcohol.  So, if you drink alcohol because you are depressed it is likely you are not using anti-depressants.

I want to thank my Heavenly Father for the people and companies that develop medications.  I am grateful for their God given talents and abilities.  I am grateful for my anti-depressants.