You can’t visit Tuscon and miss seeing the enormous Saguaro cactus in the National Forest nearby, as well as in nearly every commercial landscaping project. I remember reading to the big boys years ago about these giant plants – how they hydrated desert animals and provided homes for them. It was interesting to see them up close.

As you can see some of us just HAD to see how sharp their needles really are.

The rest of us had spent a considerable amount of time in the van by this point, which may explain my family spilling out into the desert to pose as cacti…

The children have made some notebook pages about what they saw. Alannah’s notebook journaling of late is particularly fun to read. She has been moving into more anecdotal writing. Sometimes the composition leaves a bit to be desired but for now we aren’t bothering her about it. We have turned a corner from seeing notebooking as a necessary part of her academic life to her enjoying it for personal reasons. That is worthy of celebration, especially for this child, so I won’t quibble about paragraph indentation or words that were omitted because her thoughts were coming faster than her hands could keep up. (In fact her mother has that same problem ; ))

There is a bit of lag time when students begin to record their own narration. Narrations shorten again and the pages don’t always look like polished. What is most important for nature notebooks and biographical sketches is that they are owning the content, that they have interacted with the subject and formed some personal opinions about it. The rest will come in time as it is addressed in formal English class.

What else? We wrapped up our time in AZ at an old west recreation site. We had planned only to have dinner but just as we were leaving their wild west show began.

Great timing! Aidan declared his one goal in life (this month ; )) is to be a trick roper.

As we were leaving we passed a gypsy caravan. I couldnt resist rounding them up for a pic to send to my favorite Gypsy Caravan. <g>

Some desert links we have enjoyed:

Desert Giant by Barbara Bash – the one book I’d read them… if I read them only one book. ; )

Sing Down the Rain not to be confused with Sing Down the Moon

Desert Town This is part of the ‘small town’ series. I am going to look for Mountain Town next.

Coyote Raid in Cactus Canyon by Jim Arnosky  This was especially cool because we have some similar wildlife at home for which we had no names til now.

Sonoran Desert Kids Site Way fun! Check out the habitat crafts. The pages to color are stunning for coloring pages and would fill a lovely desert notebook.

Happy Trails to you……..

Pardon me as I turn a phrase on its ear. It is so true for us however. Colin has been gone for the better part of 7 months now.  We no longer forget and set his place at the dinner table. His sister has claimed his seat in the van. We have gotten so accustomed to his change of address, in fact, we were completely unprepared for the tears that flowed freely from Kieran when we dropped Colin at his dorm on our last night in AZ.Kieran couldn’t be persuaded to even say good-bye.  I think tears flowed all around at that point actually. If not then certainly upon pulling away from the curb while Colin sat watching us drive off. : /

Jane Austin wrote that "Children of the same family, the same blood, with the same first associations and habits, have some means of enjoyment in their power, which no subsequent connections can supply." – Mansfield Park 1814. As an only child myself I can only watch them with awe and a bit of envy.

I remember some years ago when we were challenged about our decision to allow our family to grow. One neighbor, who could only be described as aghast, asked,"Don’t want to give GOOD things to your kids???" My response today is the same as it was then: I believe the best things we have given our children have been brothers and sisters. After all, the only things we are taking with us to heaven are each other.

Here are some pics of the kids together at the campground, the zoo, and on campus with Colin. We miss you C!

The trip to AZ afforded me a luxury I have not been able to indulge in for some time – fiction reading. I almost always have several books going at a given time but the usual themes are art, theology, homesteading, and education. Generally they in some way push me a bit further along a path I am traveling down at a given time. While I love a good story the truth is most books written for women are less than edifying today. It was most intriguing then to read the exerpts of Grace Livingston Hill’s novel’s at Pleasant View Schoolhouse. Anna’s blog exudes grace and calm and the lines she would share seemed to promote that same sense of loveliness. I was fascinated!

I tracked down the first two titles recommended, Cloudy Jewel and Recreations. Admittedly the first left me disappointed. The plot was a bit predictable through the first third of the book and the dialogue was a little too precious and gushy. I feared the whole books would be less inspiring than the exerpts. Then Recreations came. I threw it in the van at the last minute and was so glad I had. Within a few pages I was completely absorbed in the story of a young woman with a ‘sense of the beautiful’ who is called home from her study of interior design to labor for her family, down on their luck and relocated to a shabby neighborhood, while their mother was hospitalized. She initially bemoans her fate, pouring out her disappointment to a fellow passenger on the train home. The older woman assures her, "However unpleasant and gloomy that new house may be, it will begin to glow and blossom and give out welcome within a short time…Count the little house as your opportunity, every trial and test in this world really is, you know, and you’ll see what will come."

That advice struck my heart in all sorts of old places and brought back my own miserable attitude crossing the threshold of one government housing unit after another and bemoaning my own fate. I wish I had had this wise counsel earlier on in the journey. The heroine in this story eventually learns it is most admirable to take the design skills she has been gifted with and apply them to these very humble projects, lifting dismal abodes to the heights of beauty and charm, thereby lifting the spirits of those who reside within those walls as well. She also discovers that the social hustle and bustle at college, which once seemed all-important, paled in comparison to the rewards of family life. She found those pastimes shallow when stacked against the very real challenges testing the souls of those dear to her. Meeting those challenges well did more for her character than all the years of study that came before.

It happens that you can be told of certain virtues ad nauseum and while that droning advice eventually plants a seed of guilt within us it rarely inspires us. I found Grace Livingston Hill, like her heroine Cornelia, to be "just dear" and to "seem to find such pretty things to say to make me understand." She doesn’t tell women how to behave, she gives a most inspiring example in story. Showing is generally more effective than telling in my experience. I feel I have found a wonderful resource for sharing with my daughters those ideals I cherish.  She shows the impact a bowl of flowers, a fluffed pillow, and a special dish has on those we love. These endeavors are not ends in themselves but a means to an end. It is about creating a stage on which their lives will play out. She helps the reader see that setting is as important to real life as it is to literature.

If you want to learn more about her there is a website called Gracelivingstonhill.com.   

It has been a full week and we aren’t finished yet. Aidan turned in his Pinewood Derby car for the upcoming race. I have been setting up our new blog and transferring our school templates to that. I also kicked up the aerobics. (aaargh!)  We have been faithful to our Morning Time. (more to come about that)  Many hours have been spent answering neighbor’s calls about the power lines. And, Allen spent a couple days in Denver.  Today was actually pretty slow going compared to the frenzied days that came before. It seems once we hit that pace for a while we need to decompress. That would be my explanation for lax blogging this week. I have some wonderful pictures from Arizona to upload tomorrow however. Stay tuned <g> Meanwhile here is my sky tonight.

"…where all the women are strong, the men are good-looking, and the children are all above average." We went to Arizona by way of Lake Wobegone, a most delightful detour. I first visited there in the late 80’s I suppose it was. We lived in Dayton, Ohio far from our hometown, a ways east of the Minnesota border. Our own little town back home had only one radio station, two if you factor in that they broadcast on AM and FM. The FM station played country favorites.  The AM station had ‘pop music’ and local news, the market reports – that would be the ag market not Wall Street. My favorite thing about moving to the city was finding NPR. We were on a tight budget and the internet wasn’t a household word. Discovering classical music and what struck me as very high-brow talk shows streaming for free was thrilling.

My favorite treat as a young mom was slipping out in the evenings, here and there, to Books and Company. We had no big chain bookstores and Books and Company’s overstuffed chairs and ambient music were intoxicating to me. I read and read and when it was closing time I drove home in the dark listening to Garrison Keillor on NPR. His tales of rural Minnesota were such a comfort to a small town girl so far from home.

Just before our trip to Arizona I picked up several cassettes of A Prairie Home Companion at the thrift store for all of fifty cents. Since our van only has a cassette player I figured it would keep us busy. Allen had somehow never heard the ‘news from Lake Wobegone’ and he drove along chuckling, rewinding,and replaying the parts I missed when I dozed off. The funniest thing was realizing Garrison Keillor had an accent. How did I miss that before? ; )  I think the first time I realized people from the upper midwest had an accent was many many years after leaving the region. I had called Lands’ End to place an order and stalled so I could hear the lady talk a few more minutes. I was so homesick I could cry.

Lake Wobegone did not make me cry this time though. As the host affirms, there is something wonderful about knowing where you belong. I no longer feel like a gypsy and home is with Allen. Still, the world of Wobegone is fading from most of our collective memories and that is so very sad. We can recapture snippets of those wonderyears thanks to the free podcasts on NPR. Years worth of episodes are archived there. I think I must own an IPod after all……

It is a bit belated but here is sending hearty good cheer to you all on this most wonderful day for us Irish! It is our first day home from spending spring break in Tucson with Colin. More to follow on that part. Meantime a few shots of….

Tess at the top o’ the morning:

the St Paddy’s Day 5K Allen ran this morning. As you can see we wear our Irish well:

Aidan and Moira did the fun run:

Overheard…

Aidan: "Mom says I am really smart. If I keep it up I might even congratulate early." ; )

I hate to test your patience dear readers so I try not to discuss unpleasant topics within these pages. I do want to share with you the site we created about our transmission line efforts. I have never been one for political involvement. When ‘politics’ enters your gate however you do take notice! We have been working feverishly with our neighbors to get this monstrous project rerouted to a less developed area. Thus far our elected officials have been largely unresponsive.  It is tempting to fall into despair but as far as we are able we refuse to do that. We know God has a plan… He is just keeping it secret for now. ; ) That is ok too. We don’t need to know what He is doing, we just trust that He has us in His hands at all times.

If you feel so inspired – and particularly if you are a CO resident, please consider writing an email or letter to the Public Utilities Commission whom, we are told, ultimately decides our fate. Either way we welcome your prayers!

I apologize for some erratic blogging and more erratic email replies. We have faced a series of daunting challenges in the past several weeks and at times it has consumed all our time and energy. Still, there has been an undercurrent of peace throughout for me. Fatigue, discouragement, and concern -yes- but also peace.

I always said homeschooling was every bit as much an education for me as for my children. I was reminded of this today. Allen and I were discussing some difficult decisions that had to be made and pulling together our case for the public comment hearing for the utility project. Sometimes when you survey all the crummy things coming at you it is easy to get demoralized. As we were talking, however, I was thinking of a poem I read to the older boys many years ago, Horatius at the Bridge by Thomas Babington Macauley. 

In this story Rome was under attack by the Etruscans who had to cross a narrow footbridge to reach the city. Their number and the speed with which they approached the bridge overwhelmed the resolve of the Roman soldiers. They decided to cut the bridge but would not be able to do so before the arrival of their foes. Horatius rose to the occasion, realizing he did not have to battle the entire Etruscan army, he had only to face them one at a time. That he could do. He called for comrades in arms: 

I, with two more to help me,
    Will hold the foe in play.
In yon strait path a thousand
    May well be stopped by three.
Now who will stand on either hand,
    And keep the bridge with me?’

Two more joined him, proving that a threefold cord is not easily broken, and they held off the onslaught until the bridge was severed.Horatius was the last man standing on the bridge as the bridge collapsed. He then plunged into the Tiber, amid the jeers of the enemy, and appeared to have succumbed:

And heavy with his armour,
    And spent with changing blows:
And oft they thought him sinking,
    But still again he rose.

But his limbs were borne up bravely
    By the brave heart within,
And our good father Tiber
    Bare bravely up his chin.

Somehow rereading this poem buoyed me up as well. We do not have to slay all these dragons at once. We just have to be faithful at the gate, facing one of them at a time. Our ‘Good Father’ will bear us up as well.

Another poem from my own childhood comes to mind. My aunt had a framed copy of Max Ehrmann’s Desiderata on the wall all the years we shared a room while I was growing up. I know the words well:

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952

No doubt the universe, at least my little universe, IS unfolding as God wills it to be. As to the upset, this too shall pass. Meantime, I am exceedingly grateful for the steadfast support of dear friends who help me "nurture that strength of spirit" to get through crumminess with more grace than I could ever muster on my own. Thank you for keeping the bridge with me over so many years. You know who you are. : )

*if you want to explore Horatius futher you might check out Memoria Press’ study guide. A shorter free study is available here. An accompanying art lesson is here.

Valentine’s Day began in the wee hrs this yr with my bum back. We had snow the night before and expected to have our party canceled so my early morning insomnia didn’t seem too intrusive.  Not until the call that is. The roads were better than expected so at 730am the party was declared on again and we decided to make the trek to Denver with friends. I jumped in the shower and try as we may we were running pretty late getting there. At 10:20 with 15 miles to go it was pretty clear we were only going to make the second half of the event but a quick glance at the faces in the rear view mirror assured me it was better to press on than to go back. On we went and they skated with their friends til noon.

We decided that since we rarely get to the north side of town we would stop by some stores we don’t often get to.  For mom that meant talking the children into perusing the aisles of the really good scrapbook store. <g>  Twenty minutes and a stack of vintage style paper later I was a happy camper and they were no worse for wear. We planned a quick run into the school supply store nearby to get Alannah the next Key To books. We got way sidetracked by their new toy wing however! WAY sidetracked! Math, smath. You should have seen those toys!

First stop was the train table. I have been fascinated by Brio-compatible trains since the big boys were little. They never did get a set but boy has the train selection expanded. Kieran was enthralled with the low train table as I worked the shelves. My favorite game was Logico, which has cards with matching and other games for non readers. It is ingenious with no little parts to lose and no electric gadgets to wear out or break. I think Brendan can use this before too long.

Aidan and the girls meanwhile were standing open-mouthed near the resin toys.  Now I have read all the compelling arguments for wooden toys. I love wooden toys. Still, we were all suckers for the perfectly scaled little knights and fair maidens and Moira asked to run back to the van for her purse. She bought a set of the most realistic tiny farm animals you ever saw, complete with a dairy goat. Alannah worked her way through the horses and dollhouse miniatures and decided to go home and compare prices on Amazon. An hr later we left the store with our heads full of ideas. Oh, and some math books lol!

Allen surprised us at home with Valentine gifts for all. The girls got jewelry and the boys all got chocolate. I got the most incredible set of cashmere/silk blend jammies. My word! They are soooo comfortable! Gotta love the man. <g>

This morning we spent a considerable amount of time glued to the machine here learning the differences between 1/12, 1/16, 1/32 and 1/64 scale. Whew! Fwiw 1/12 is the standard dollhouse collectible size and that was the final decision the girls made. Breyer has horses in that size with perfectly formed little hay bales and wheelbarrows. Schleicht has equally impressive little chickens and fox terriers that are in the same size. A plan was launched to build a miniature empire and allowances were pooled to begin. Kieran is using his birthday money to get some trains. We found some very helpful train track layouts online to get us started.

That was our little holiday rabbit trail. I hope you had an equally pleasant week! We are back to our Konos units this week also and I hope to get in a note about that shortly.