Society Full of Experts and Gurus??

A question that has been heavy on my mind recently, "How have we become society full of Experts and Gurus"?

While I feel self help, motivational books and speakers are all well and good (I've read/heard plenty myself). I worry too many people in our society take what they read or hear as fact and have stopped thinking for themselves. Why do we believe that someone else knows how to live OUR life better than OURSELVES? Do we truly believe, someone knows how to raise and educate our children better as well too?

There was a time when we looked to our parents, family and friends as the inspiration behind our ideas. Grant it, I would not like to emulate many of the family and friends I know However, I feel so many have taken the advice of these self proclaimed “experts” as the “absolute truth” and have forgotten how to think for themselves?

Just as any parent with more than one child can tell you, “what works for one child does not necessarily work for the other”. So holds true, “that which works for one family does not necessarily work for another”!

In my experience being flexible and avoid being stagnant in my view works best. Realizing that life is ever changing as is my family. That when something or someone no longer fits into our lives, make us feel good or weigh us down; it is okay to let go and change course. We do not need to stay stuck just because we were told to by “the experts”.

What makes someone an expert anyway?? An educational degree? Working in a field for x number of years? Life experience? (well, if your not living my life, can you really have MY life experience to be an expert in???)

I guess what I’m trying to say here is that we all need to trust ourselves to be the experts in our own life and with our own families. Books and Speakers are wonderful as a starting point but we need not make others' Truth our own! Believe in ourselves. Take the time to explore, try new things and not be too hard on ourselves when we fail. When we do fail, learn from our mistakes and move on.

I wish you Peace and Happiness in finding your Truth Today!

Life Full of Joy

Many years ago while chatting about careers with my children one of my daughters said, "I know I don't want to be a Mom". WOW, those words really stung!! When I asked why? the response? Well,....you don't look very happy being a Mom so I don't think being a Mom would be a very fun job!!

Ever since that day I began to make a conscious effort to live and show my children a "Life Full of Joy". If I begin to fall out of "Joy" I pull myself into the moment, slow down, listen and ask myself, "how can I change this, what is happening to make me feel this way"?

As a parent we shouldn't forget to fill our cups too; have our own interests, live in the moment and have healthy relationships outside our home. Our children learn by example. This in itself has been a HUGE help to keep my "Life Full of Joy". In the early years I was so fixated on the needs of my children that I forgot all about taking care of their main caregiver, ME!!

Quite often we feel almost "selfish" about doing for ourselves. I'm not really sure why? Something that "society" or the "experts" have stated?

I just know and see first hand that to teach my children a Joyful Life I must live by example. I believe and see in my own home that "Mom" truly sets the tone!

So, if you are feeling there is lack of Joy in you and your family start by putting the Joy back in YOU!! Do something, go somewhere that brings YOU JOY and I am sure that Joy will trickle down to your entire family. Then, keep it going. Also don't forget to live in the present moment, don't dwell on the past and don't always worry about the future. By not living in the moment you may miss what truly brings you Joy!!

I wish you and your family a Life Full of Joy!!

Goals and Inspirations

The past few days have gotten cooler and fall is in the air,while shopping we have seen countless aisles of school supplies and while watching television;commercials advertise back to school sales by the multitude! What does this mean to our family as "Unschoolers"???

This is the time of the year that our family reevaluates our goals as individuals and as a family. It is a time that I remind myself what i would like for myself and my family for today, the coming year and perhaps further!

I have pulled out my goals from last year. I write them down each year so I can look them over when I'm feeling off track, when life feels too rushed, too stagnant or just need some reassurance. Here they are,I thought I'd share.....

1* We want our children to grow to be happy individuals, courteous individuals; with a passion for life.

2*Individuals that are happy in their chosen career; that can earn a living to support themselves in a lifestyle they choose.

3*Individuals with life skills that are in correlation to what they themselves need/use on their chosen life course.

4*Individuals that continue to learn and grow through their entire lifetime and do not become stagnant. Each child learning what they find important for themselves;on their personal timetable and not what society dictates or the "professionals" tell us.

5*Individuals that are self motivated, can make decisions for themselves and not follow others blindly.

6*Individuals who will stand up for their personal convictions.

7*Individuals that assume responsibility for their own actions, do not blame others and recognize they have the choice to change things they dislike in their personal situation.

8*Individuals that will make this world better.

9*We realize that no two persons are alike. We do not compare our children to other children or each other. We would like all the above statements for our children by the time they are grown into adults; we do not expect or assume behavior or skills until our children find these to be of a personal use/value in their life. We continue to expose our children to a variety of new things and help them along their chosen life path.

I still like what I wrote last year!! Life is forever changing and our goals as parents and individuals change as well. I am enjoying our family talks recently and discovering the personal goals for this coming year from all. So far,....looks like a fun, inspiring, busy and wonderful year!!

What are the goals/inspiration for you and your family?

Nature and New Foster Babies???

Since the beginning of spring a pair of birds have set up household in the lamp globe of our front porch light. I love hearing those little birdies chirp each day along with all the other sounds of nature as I sip my coffee watching the outdoor activities. The children and I have watched each set of new hatchlings directly through glass of the globe grow and "fly the coup". Recently, another set of eggs have hatched and I believed the novelty of this attraction had worn off slightly(or so I thought). Yesterday, our 4 year old decided to go out on said porch to wait for his friend to arrive. Just seconds after I heard the door opened he stated "the birds are on the FLOOR"!!! I meet him on the porch to discover 2 baby birds had indeed landed on the floor of the porch!! I tried to put them back into their nest with no success since the smaller one (my only attempt) continued to back out of the nest!! Needless to say we are now well educated on the care and release of wild birds. As I write this they have been mainly in the care of Chi Chi (our 11 year old daughter) who is feeding them by hand and tweezor. They have been indoors for about 17 hours and are thriving quite nicely being kept warm by a heating pad and being fed a diet of earth worms dipped in water each hour from daylight til dusk. They slept soundly overnight and seem to be stronger and more energetic than yesterday. Here are a few pictures of our new foster babies.

Softball 2009

My 2 youngest daughters played on the same softball team this season. I'm happy to announce their team won the minitail league championship!! The team had fantastic coaches, players and families. It was a wonderful experience for all.

Photo update

It's been forever since I've last blogged. I've noticed how much my children have grown since I've last posted a photo so thought I'd add a couple new ones to update. These are from my Mother's Day present of surprise photos.

We are enjoying the summer and keeping busy but moving at our own pace. I couldn't ask for more!!

I need to remember....To be GRATEFUL!!!!

I've been feeling like I've been whining and complaining an awful lot lately. I feel like I've been running around like crazy and haven't had "me" time since I can't remember when. SO,..... I decided it's time for me to post to remind myself all I should be grateful for!!!

When I have 15 loads of laundry to do....I should be grateful I have running water, an automatic washer, electricity, a dryer and laundry detergent. I guess I should also be grateful we have clothing to wash!!

When I have sink loads of dishes and no dishwasher and no help....I should be grateful once again for running water and also the fact that I have so many dishes to wash.

When I just can't stand to cook another meal....I should be grateful for easy accessible food, prices the are still affordable (and much less in price than other parts of the world) refridgeration and a stove that I can just heat up without first looking for food or other heat source.

When I complain about cleaning beacuse I feel like it's a never ending, non appreciated chore...I should be grateful for a home to clean in a safe neighborhood and plenty of furnishings, carpets, flooring and indoor plumbing to clean.

When I complain about shopping...I should be grateful I have the money and transportation to do it easily.

When I complain about driving the kids to that last function that just throws me over the edge because I've been in the car and/or driving for what feels like 40 hours this week. I should be thankful I have a vehicle, gas in my tank and children that are here with me and healthy to take to these functions daily!!!

When my husband is working for a week out of state and I just feel I need another adult to help me more today....I should be thankful he has employers that treat him well and a job that pays enough for me to be home daily with our children.

I think we all feel overwhelmed from time to time. It is just part of life. My life!! That I truly enjoy (even though I complain). It's a life that's full of challanges, ups, downs, joys, tears, laughter, love and a whole bunch more emotions that I could go on writing, never ending. I am such a lucky person and for that I am GRATEFUL!!!!