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First Mama.  Then Writer.  Though, of late, the latter has consumed a great deal of time as I work to get things in order to potentially be ...

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Connections and Hope

I've been thinking a lot about how totally connected we are on this planet. Part of that is just a train of thought that circles the track in my mind and comes center-stage (the track runs across the stage of my mind, of course) sometimes. It's coming round again and it feels that Father wants it there, too. I say this because a just read a story I found in one of the blogs I read. You could go to that blog, but I decided to link to it right here because it was really THAT wonderful!


I hope you enjoy it as much as I did (still do as I'm pondering some of the ideas in it even now)! I like the symbol of a woven blanket or tapestry as the "fates" are often illustrated. But the images the author uses work really well for me, too. I think the 6 degrees of separation and the idea of cycles and circles in experience are real and really fascinating. I also feel hopeful and somehow brighter (not as in smart, but as in a way of feeling hope sort of IN me) for reading it! I hope you will, too. Please let me know what you think after you read it!

Focus on My Family
Jessie
Jess is working 2 jobs still. The part-time job is REALLY part-time right now. And the full-time job is pretty much part-time. UGH! But, amazingly, we're doing better financially. I have even greater hope now that we'll be able to make it without food assistance from the Church. It's been around 6 months now. That's not terribly long, in the scheme of things, but I've been feeling the urge to be fully independent once more for a couple months. I hope it will truly happen!

Ria
Ria is still reading wonderfully well. She's definitely a solid second-grade reader. I would wager she's more a 3rd grader in that regard. Her comprehension is amazing, too. So, she's not just decoding! YEAY! Mary Kay says she's doing really well with piano, too. I'm so happy about that. She's been practicing on her own all morning today. While this is a bit unusual, it's definitely a pleasure for me! Her Math is coming along nicely - though slowly. She's having a bit of difficulty with the 'teens', but seems to totally get the higher numbers (at least through the 100s!). I LOVE MATH-U-SEE! We're going to be moving into some addition either today or Monday... AWESOME, right? I'm excited. ^_^ Ria writes pretty well (penmanship). If you haven't received a letter from her and would like one, let me know. Her spelling ability is right at Kindergarten level, but I'm sure that will improve quickly as we focus on it more. She's still loving Dance, too. They are working on the recital pieces now, which is totally exciting. For ballet she will be dancing to "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from Cinderella. Tap will be something different, but the costume is a two-in-one pink number. SO cute! I'm excited to see it and Ria is SUPER excited to be on stage again. What a pleasure to me that she's so happy to be there again!! I hope Kat will have such a proclivity (and Tea for that matter)! ^_^

Kat
Kat is sweet and wonderful, too. She's very compassionate and tries really hard to make people feel better when they don't feel well. She's also protective of her big sister! Funny, right? But she is. It's SO sweet to see and hear. Kat is just barely over 2 and we've started some reading lessons. She's VERY into music and enjoys playing the piano (especially when Ria is supposed to be playing). She enjoys playing with the Math-U-See blocks and counting to 5. She especially loves Dance. I would say Ria enjoys having her hair done more than Kat, but Kat LOVES to have her hair put in a bun for Dance class. Of course, she's still not TAKING a class, but she gets dressed up each Thursday, just the same. I'm so excited to put her in a class this summer. I already have permission (even though she'll only be 2.5 and they normally don't accept girls under 3).

Tea
Tea is still a sweet baby. She's a bit more demanding lately. I've been thinking that maybe she's come out of a sort of newborn coma - sort of. She is 3 months old, after-all. Perhaps, since the first 3 months are sort of like the missing trimester (so some say), she's actually coming alive to the world she's in now. I don't know. I'm trying to understand why my sweet, sleepy, quiet, happy girl is not as much of those things any more. *sigh* She's still sweet as long as she's held and often has a focused amount of attention. I think she's going to be in the Moby a bit more than she has been. Thankfully my back/body are a bit stronger than they were a couple months ago.
sitting
This baby. Please remember that she did just turn 3 months on January 25th. She sat up last night! No, seriously! She was sort of laying back in a basket I have in the bathroom in my room while I used the toilet and she pulled herself up into a sitting position. She swayed there for a moment and I just got so excited I said something to her about it, in an excited and congratulatory manner and she lost her focus and plopped right back into the position I put her in - in the basket. OH, what a pleasure. She just got this self-satisfied joyful smile on her face and started gooing and giggled at me! Even in her greater difficulty, there is the other side of the "coin" that she is even more responsive and interactive - which, of course, is joyous!

rolling
She's rolling over confidently. Her first manouver was about a month ago (when she was 2 months old), but she didn't repeat it much, so I wasn't sure it was on purpose. Well, she's definitely rolling purposefully now. And it's none of this tummy, lean the heavy head and flip... she went for the physical, the REALLY hard work way: lift the legs into some crazy muscle-bound reverse sit up, lean them over to the side (like a Yoga stretch), lift with the obliques and gently swing the free arm while lifting the head, just so... to end up on the tummy. I know... I have to watch out for this one! Yes, she also goes from the position to the head flop right back onto her back. She's not happy with going through both positions once... she keeps going until she almost rolls off my bed. Poor girl isn't allowed on the FREEZING floor as yet (BECAUSE it's freezing!), so she can only roll as far as the edge of the bed. She LOVES it, though! I'll try to get some video. I haven't had my camera back there with me thus far, though.
grabbing
Have I mentioned that she's grabbing things really well. She loves to hold dolls and other things and feel the textures of things with her tongue. Often enough she does simply stuff things in her mouth, but she also thoughtfully feels things with her tongue. It's amazing to watch! It's like I can actually SEE the little gears turning in her head as she tries to categorize and understand what she's experiencing. I've tried to define things for her when I see this very thoughtful experiencing of her surroundings. I feel so attached to words and desire for my children to have a grasp of them, but I think Tea will speak earlier because she seems SO much to want to understand (already!).
pincer
Along with the grabbing... Tea has already done the hand exchange thing! She also uses the pincer grasp periodically. Sometimes she grabs full-fisted. But when she's wants to work (and she gets REALLY fussy if she wants to work and I'm not giving her something to focus on: like grabbing for something!) she often grabs with the pincers (index finger and thumb... this is a big deal because, they say, this is what separates us from the animals because it enables much greater range of motion, dexterity with tools, and so forth). The pincer grasp is usually associated with 6 month olds and Tea has been doing this for a couple of weeks now! I know, right!!!!
comparing my girls
For some comparison... I know they say you shouldn't do that, but I find it helpful to know them as individuals. I can see similarities and differences and better understand how to deal with them. If that makes any sense. Anyway... Kat was much more of an observer. (Believe it or not. If you know her, you might not beleive me because she's such an ACTIVE part of things now.) She didn't care to do "work" the way I've described Tea wanting. However, Kat did start walking 1/2 a month earlier than Ria, at 8.5 months. Tea and Ria could almost be twins (strange how that works out AND they have rhyming names, right?) with regard to their focused desire to work and efforts. I've already observed Tea watching her sisters the same way Kat used to watch Ria... which, I believe, led to walking earlier than Ria's 9 months. So, I think Tea will beat Kat's early walk. And I'm REALLY okay with that. Contrary to many Mothers, my children feel easier in MANY ways once they take to their own two feet! I enjoy their independence... perhaps that's because THEY enjoy it so much. I'm not sure. I am sure I'll let you know how it goes. To that end I should share that Tea already REALLY likes standing up. Her legs are pretty darn strong (especially considering how chubbers they are/she is!). AND she's pretty stead when I hold her loosely under her arms. She's happiest standing when I can let her do it.

MAN, I love my girls!!!

Oh. And then there's me. Hmmm...

Me, Myself, and I: Tori
Did I tell you about the ongoing service progject with Relief Society? We've been asked to quilt, crochet, and/or knit lap blankets and shawls for a nursing home (and we might keep some in the closet at church). I've completed 1 Mobious Shawl. It's REALLY cool. It was neat and SUPER easy to make. If you crochet an can read directions at all, it's really easy and wonderful to have a finished project in a short time...unless, of course, you're a heavy girl like me and then you have to make a larger one, which take a LOT more time. But still cool.

I'm ever-so-slowly working to finish Tea's things (blanket, jacket, hat, and Tigger stuffed animal) that I didn't complete before she was born. I made those things for Ria and Kat except that I made an Eyeore for Ria and a Pooh for Kat. Many excuse me because of already having 2 children, but the reason I didn't complete it was chasing after missing money since Jess quit his part-time job.... ahwell

Homeschooling is still goind pretty well. Ria has seemed, this week, to be entering a critical period with her piano playing... it's like she's clearing the top of the first mountain. When this happened with reading she went from a K level to 2nd in a matter of months. So, I'm excited to see what happens with piano! I'm still busy with keeping that going, but Jess is helping a lot more with implementation. That's SUCH a blessing... I've read about women whose hubbies feel it's none of thier job to keep homeschooling going (even when there's a new baby in the house). I do not even want to imagine the stress of that kind of situation. Thankfully we don't even have to BE schooling either Ria or Kat yet since they haven't yet turned 6. ^_^ I'm stilly researching and reading on the subject, but it's not my main focus right now... I'm more focused on getting the Calling squared up.

And there is, of course, the Calling. We're having our first Activity with me as facilitator on the 13th (Valentine's Dinner), which means that I've had to do all my facilitating this week so that we can get the word out tomorrow. Exhausting. But, I hope, rewarding. I hope to stay in the WAY background during my time in this Calling... I loved my secretary calling for that.... We'll see.

P.S.
I walked away. While thinking about my daughters and the BIG difference I kind of focused on in this post, I realized in a sort of "light bulb" moment that the internal motivation to work OR not is very much like Jess and me. One of us has an almost ceaseless internal push to DO while the other's is almost absent in comparison. Can YOU guess which is which? DO tell me what you think! I'm totally curious.

1 comment:

vicki said...

That story...wow! I need to read it again. There is so much, and the writing is awesome.
About the last item of curiosity...I'll talk with you. don't wanna put it in writing. love, mom

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