Modern-Day Miracles

I have, for all intents and purposes, been a member of the church all of my life. I have done all of the standard activities including, but not limited to: church meetings, temple trips, youth conference, general conference, meetings with General Authorities, and more. I saw something today, however, that I have never seen personally before.

My daughter and I have been practicing for over a month to sing a duet in Sacrament Meeting at church. The song we chose to sing is the primary song, "A Child's Prayer". Sung as a duet, it is a conversation between a Child and her parent. The child asks if Heavenly Father actually hears and answers prayer, and the parent, reassures the child that they are indeed heard and that children are so precious to Him.

We got up to sing. We were prepared, we had practiced, and if I might say so without sounding too proud, we sounded pretty good. The song started, and as my daughter sang her part, her breath gave out to nervousness and her voice failed. She was so embarrassed. The song stopped. I held her. She ran off the stand in embarrassment. My wife and I followed her out.

What happened next was the most amazing thing I believe I have ever witnessed personally. A group of 6 young women, got up, essentially as one, and went out after her to comfort their sister who was hurting. These young women then proceeded to convince her to get back up and sing and so that she wouldn't feel alone, they would sing with her (even though they had not practiced and were not prepared). At this point, I was also in tears and was concerned that I would not be able to sing my part of the duet. My wife came and sang my part of the duet with me (so I wouldn't be alone - thank you, honey). I am no professional singer, and neither are these girls (though, I must say that my daughter has talents that lie in that direction). There are not words to describe the sound that came from the pulpit this morning, but I can authoritatively say that it was the single most beautiful piece of music I have ever heard in my life.

I am reminded of a scripture in the Book of Mormon. We covenant with God at the time of our baptism to "bear one another's burdens", "mourn with those who mourn" and "comfort those that stand in need of comfort" (Mosiah 18:8-9). I saw that in action today. I have never seen such a beautiful group of young women in all my life. Today, they were an example of the boundless mercy of the Savior. They taught a young woman that she was valuable and loved. They taught me that even with all the evil influences arrayed against those who wish to follow the Savior in today's world, that there are still some who are willing to raise youth that are powerful pillars of good.

I am blessed beyond measure to associate with these young women and their families. I am grateful for the opportunity that my daughter has to associate with them, to learn from them, to be strengthened by them, and to share HER strength with them.

I am grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord that remind me as a father that the efforts that we make to teach our children do NOT fall on deaf ears, but that there are miracles that happen even today.

- Josh                             

Halloween 2014

This year, Halloween is a little different.  It's our first in our own house.  This year will also be Meagan's last going trick-or-treating.  It also happens to be our first with a dog, and that's where we'll start...

I was not actually there for the taking of this picture, but I can just hear Sarah's mom, Janet in the background saying in her "witchy" voice, "I'll GET you, my pretty, and your little girl too!!!!"

Meagan, in wanting to do something a bit different this year, was completely absorbed by a question that took over her imagination.  She simply couldn't understand why the rum is always gone...

Jacob, on the other hand, decided to go as a Ninja.  No, that is apparently not pronounced Nin-jah, it's Nin-yah (just ask him).

I feel so blessed, however, to have kids that get along so well all the time.  They don't fight, they CERTAINLY don't hurt each other... What's that?  The pictures tell a different story?  Well...

It was an interesting night.  Sarah, at home, only saw about 10 trick-or-treating groups.  We went out and the proportion of houses that were actually accepting trick-or-treaters was not much better.  I don't know if it's the advent of trunk-or-treating at local churches or groups, or something else, but even 10 years ago, there were more people that got into the festive spirit.  I'm thinking that we're going to have to step up our efforts more at our ward's trunk-of-treat to compensate because I'm not sure it's going to be worth it anymore to take Jacob out walking neighborhoods with no one participating.  It's almost like a piece of my childhood is gone.  Kind of a weird feeling...

- Josh                

Meagan's First Clogging Recital

This fall, Meagan decided that she wanted to take clogging as part of her home schooling experience.  It MAY have helped that she already had two friends clogging as well.  Her class has four girls in it.  All four are members of our stake, and two were in our ward before we moved across town.

Here's a shot of Meagan's class and their teacher, McCall.

But HERE'S what you really came to see.  This is the dance that Meagan's class did.  It's actually only half the dance.  They will be learning the second half next semester (after their teacher takes some much needed R&R from making her family bigger by one).

Meagan is, apparently, a natural at this.  One of the many things that I did not know about her as she grew up was that she would have an ability to put together rhythm and coordination to produce stuff like this.  We're extremely pleased with her and happy that she is having such fun with her friends while developing one of her talents.  Oh, and lest you think that this is the result of extended periods of training, think again.  Two months.  This is only two months for her.  Yeah.  Our daughter got game.

- Josh              

Apple Orchard

The Walles' have been in Lubbock, TX now, for 5 years.  We love it here.  However, there ARE things we miss about other places that we've lived that are not (in general) to be found here.  One of these, for me, is going to the orchards in the fall to pick fresh apples.  In my humble opinion, nothing beats an apple straight off the tree.  Imagine my surprise, when we found out through one of the home schooling networks that we frequent, that there was an apple orchard here in town (well, just outside) that agreed to do a day for home schooling families.  For $5, each of the kids and adults got a bag that they could fill up with apples off the tree, and to taste-test apple cider and fresh local honey.  Early in the afternoon, we trekked out with our friends, Nicole, Cheyenne, & Aushania to check this place out.

Once in the orchard, we stopped for some pictures.  Jacob, Meagan, and one of Meagan's bestest buddies, Cheyenne loved spending time together.

Meagan, Jacob, and their schoolteacher (that's me, if you couldn't guess).

Nicole, Cheyenne, and Aushania finding some shade.

Waiting in line for hay rides can be so exhausting, so Jacob, Meagan, Cheyenne, and Aushania are taking a break.  Life is so tough...

The hay ride was really crowded, so I gave the camera to Meagan to take some pictures of her, Jacob, and Cheyenne.  Trust Meagan to make them fit in to the internet "selfie" craze that seems to be so contagious lately...

I thought this was too good of a shot to pass up.

Also had to get some shots with this pond.  It is such a COOL decoration.

The cider tasting came in the form of tiny paper cups.  Enough for a sip, but not nearly enough to satisfy.  And Jacob, was DEFINITELY not satisfied.  He kept going back for more.  Meagan...not so much.  Both of them however, enjoyed the honey, which was apparently, "cotton honey".  Prior to moving here, we had no idea that this was even a "thing".

All in all, it was an OK day.  I don't think we'll do it again because they didn't really talk much about anything on the tour of the orchard (and we were looking forward to the learning as much as the tasting).  But it was still a great opportunity to get out of the house as a family, and experience something new that this area has to offer.  Looking forward to our next adventure!

- Sarah              

Corn Maze Fun

This year we had the opportunity to go to a corn maze on home-school day at the local corn maze. We invited some friends to join us and had a blast walking the maze.

The weather that day was crazy. It was the coldest day this fall and the wind went wild. That didn't stop us one bit.

At the beginning you had some options to choose from in the forms of quizzes to help lead you through the maze. Meagan and her good friend Emma decided to go out on their own and the rest of us went a different route. For our clues, to help us through, we chose movie trivia. Every time you came to a corn cob with a number on it you would go to that question and it would tell you which way to go. So either you chose wisely or you were lead astray.

For example: Finish the lyrics from The Wizard of Oz's "Somewhere over the rainbow": Where trouble melts like.......?

A. lemon drops (turn left)

B. snow (turn right)

C. rain (walk backwards to the beginning)

Since Meagan and Emma went off together Jacob came with us and the little ones. Here he is holding Cheyenne's hand walking with her. The two of them were talking (well mostly Jacob) but Cheyenne was agreeing like she knew exactly what he was saying. It really was the cutest thing ever and he did it all on his own.

I really do love this boy. He can make anyone feel like they are the greatest thing in the world. He has such compassion in him.

Here is the half way point bridge. You can go up and look around and see all of the maze.

We also got to go on a hay ride to the pumpkin patch.

They had a ton of pumpkins to choose from. You went out and picked the one you wanted and brought it to the driver and he would write how much it was on the bottom of it. Well, he was so smitten by Cheyenne, he gave her one for free.

All in all we really had a blast. I know Meagan was so happy to have a friend come along. I was too. 

-Sarah          

Jacob's Spectacle(s)

So it was finally time.  Jacob has been having trouble seeing things that are across the room for a while now.  We keep having to pull him back from the TV when we watch a movie.  We went to get his eyes checked and, sure enough, he needed glasses.  So we got him some (2 pairs deal at a local glasses shop).  We let him pick out the frames and here is what he got.

The first pair was chosen because, apparently, they look like the glasses Stephen Hawking wears.

The second set was chosen because of their resemblance to Harry Potter's glasses (sans tape).  Not quite a perfect match, but he liked them, so they made the cut.

After he got them, all he said for about a day was: "I can see!"  He was SO happy.  It reminded me of the story of the Savior healing the blind man, how excited and happy he must have been.  I love how such a simple thing can lead us to be grateful and to view life with a bigger perspective.  Here's to seeing!

- Josh                                 

Construction Unit Project

And off we go!  For the first unit study of the school year, we are looking at organization.  In the first segment, we are discussing construction.  Topics include:

• Construction Materials and Style
• Units of Measurement and Unit Conversions
• The construction of the Temples (specifically the temple of Zerubbabel in Israel discussed in the book of Ezra and the Temple of Solomon from 1 Kings 6)
• Many more...

At the end of the unit, we had the kids do a few things to bring together all the things that they had learned.  First, we had them build bridges using nothing but paper.   We wanted them to see if they could design a bridge that actually held things up (in this case, Matchbox cars), and how much it could hold.  Here are Meagan and Jacob getting to work on the project.

Meagan's finished bridge...

Jacob's finished bridge...

Now, to see how many cars it will hold...

All told, Meagan's bridge was able to hold about 27 Matchbox cars.  Quite an impressive feat!

Jacob managed to hold up about 6.

So when it was all said and done, we had a practical discussion (led by the engineer in the house) about the differences between Meagan's and Jacob's design and why Meagan's was able to hold up so much more.  We discussed different problems based on the same theme.  For instance, we had them try to work out how to hold up a book using a single piece of paper and then, to see how many that same paper could hold simultaneously (an illustration I saw for the first time in my Seminary days).

Next, we had them each build houses out of Legos, with the goal to make them as sturdy as possible.  When they were done, we tested them, using a homemade "wrecking ball".  The kids...well...they're kids and we told them to break stuff.  Of course they had fun with it.  We got Meagan doing hers on video.

Finally, we had them build a replica of Solomon's Temple in Minecraft (because we just had to use it SOMEHOW for educational purposes).  We used it both to discuss layout as well as to see what they remembered from their study of the Old Testament. Both kids being in to Minecraft at the moment, it was an instant success.

All in all, the unit was a success.  Our next unit is Astronomy (Jacob's current favorite subject) and the organization of the universe.   It's sure to be fun.

- Josh