It's a happy day

This is my favorite new graphic (from my friend Allison C's blog) - it's so happy! It reminds me of our family's dinnertime conversation the other night when we were discussing the parallels between the 'sun' and the 'Son' of God -- the kids enjoyed coming up with all the similarities... they both provide warmth, we need them both to live... etc. I love watching the kids grow, and listening to the cute things they have to say. It's hard to imagine how people can think there is no God... look at all He created and how amazing life around us is ~ everything down to the smallest living cell (we've been studying the human body in science) out to the huge universe. Stephen had an assignment on evolution, so we took the time to talk with all the kids together about it and discuss all the different theories. Having homeschooling going on provides SO MUCH fodder for conversation. Just the daily current event scans... there's so much to know about and think about and learn about.

Speaking of learning... I LOVE THIS BOOK: 'Captain Blood' by Rafael Sabatini. Total swashbuckling pirate tale by one of the best historical fiction writers ever. So fun to read. Now I'm on James Clavell's "Shogun" (along with "Enchanted Castle" with Kas and "Around the World in 80 Days" with Stephen). Reading is so enjoyable for me - it's like watching a movie - I just get to step into this whole other world. (My siblings have always found that amusing about me - that I can get sucked into a movie so quickly and can't get out) But it also helps keep my mind off that little lump in my throat that comes up everytime someone here asks me if we're going home for the summer.  Not only is it just too expensive to go now and then again this Christmas, but this summer we're going to use the time to travel and see lots of Europe. But it still pulls at my heart to be going on 20 weeks away from my family back home.  Except for when we were newlywed grad students in Utah, this has been the longest separation. Home is of course where your heart is, so home is kind of in 2 places now... Switzerland and Texas. 8-)

And speaking of Texas, my cute friend Toni sent me this darling Texas Girl (in rhinestones) shirt - so fun! I wore it today and the first person I saw commented on how great it was.

Kassie's class has been studying recycling (which is why she sang that Madame Pubel song) and we got to go see a display at the school of her big project - a cobra made from recycled parts ~ she was very proud of it.

Stephen was also proud today of his lego creation... I love how these kids NEVER seem to tire of legos! Indeed, even Elder Wayment told us that his mom sends him lego characters now on his mission. Adorable. I hope Stephen doesn't ever grow out of them either!

Tonight I let Stephen and Kassie stay up late to watch "The Truman Show" with me. Stephen and I came across a passage in one of our books describing the sky as 'having a ceiling on it' - which made me think of this movie. I didn't LOVE it when I saw it the first time, but this time through we pulled out alot of things to talk about - how Ed Harris, the movie producer, says that we all generally accept whatever reality of the world we live in. And that if we want to change or 'get out' of it badly enough, we will fight hard enough to do that. What a great reminder for any of us who can't seem to get past whatever obstacle - those 10 pounds, that bad habit, etc. We really liked the movie.