Alysia Gonzalez’s Blog

Do you remember how fun it was when you were a kid to dig in the dirt, to feel the cool earth in your hands and get all dirty being a part of nature? It is funny how easy it is to forget how good that feels! I have been working for the past several days with my mom and my kids to plant a garden, and just getting the grass out of the area where we wanted to plant and getting the soil prepared has been quite a chore. But, it is amazing how good it has felt to reconnect with the earth and think about what the earth produces and how miraculous it is! I feel so blessed to be able to spend time outdoors, digging in the dirt, being a part of the natural process of life and creation. It is amazing how a little soil, water and sunshine can produce such a great variety of plants–flowers, veggies, fruits, trees, grass, even weeds! I have so much hope for what will become of my little patch of earth. I wonder if the Lord holds that kind of hope for each of us? I know that I have been very aware of my changing and becoming recently, and the hope for what the future holds is very real for me. More than anything else, I hope for happiness with my family and a solid, unshakable faith in my Savior and his plan for me. I guess that as I feel a closer connection with the earth and with nature, it naturally elevates my thoughts to the Creator of all Things. Who would have thought that digging in the dirt would strengthen my faith in those things that I know can last forever–my family and my relationship with the Lord?

I can’t believe that we did it. I have been reading and thinking and going back and forth about whether or not to do it, and about a month ago, when push finally came to shove, we did it. We unplugged. I have twin daughters in the 7th grade, and they have been in regular school their entire life, so it was a hard transition to make. I am still not sure how long I am going to do this. The day we went to the school to withdraw the girls was very sad, for all of us. We knew it would be hard to say goodbye to good friends and good teachers, but we made it through the tears, the hugs and the keep in touches, and we pulled the plug on the system.
It feels very liberating in so many ways. Of course, people always ask about how they will make friends and “What about their social life?” but they never seem to question the level of education that they will be getting at home vs. school. I think that is ironic. My major concern for homeschooling was that they would not be involved in choir at school, no competitions, no concerts, no choir trips, etc. I decided that if that was my major hang-up, then coming home was the right thing to do. The girls sing in our church choir, and we have a fabulous director. In fact, we just performed yesterday for Easter Sunday and it sounded beautiful.
So, after a month of this homeschool business, I am finding myself starting to settle into it a bit more, but still questioning whether we are going to keep this up for the long haul. I am encouraged by how well they seem to be adjusting to the daily routine and how voraciously they read. The oldest of the twins in reading at least a book a day right now. They have both read all the Harry Potter books, all the Chronicles of Narnia and a slew of Dear America books and Royal Diaries books. I had them write journal entries for a cowboy unit that we did and their writing was quite creative. I am really pleased with the quality of their work.
Well, I guess we will keep working and reading and praying to know whether we continue homeschooling for next year or not. In the mean time, hats off to all you homeschool moms! It’s a full time job, but so rewarding.

Last week I went on a whirlwind vacation to Florida with my three youngest children, my sister and her three children, and my mom and dad. My sister and I have children that are all born within a few months of each other, so it was like having 3 sets of twins with us wherever we went. It was lots of fun for the cousins to play and experience Disney World and the Kennedy Space Center together, but it was by no means restful or relaxing. We packed two strollers, two diaper bags, a backpack, six car seats, and a Snuggli everywhere we went! The most exhausting part of the whole trip was trying to get the whole entourage through airport security (twice). It is so ironic that when we have time to take a break from the daily grind, we pack it so full of activity that we are worn out from our vacation and in desperate need of some rest and relaxation!

I am in the last trimester of my 5th pregnancy, and the doctor says it looks like this little girl is trying to come a bit too early. My options are bed rest or medication to stop the contractions. I have chosen bed rest and am finding that I have time to do some things that I never could make time for before now, like posting to my blog. The experience of blogging is quite new to me, so bear with me as I figure this out.
As a young girl and a teenager, I was an avid journal writer, but as husbands and children came and life got hectic, it seems that journaling took a back seat to spending time with family and keeping up with little ones, and exhaustion often prevailed over spending time journaling once the kids went to sleep. Now, with the help of my mother while I am on bed rest, I have been able to touch base with my extended family via a family website, clean out my overly cluttered purse, work on a baby afgahn that I have been cross-stitching since I was pregnant with my 12-year-old twin daughters, and read my email. I also plan to finally get my new Palm Treo 650 synchronized with my new iBook G4, and finish reading some of the books that have been piling up on my nightstand for the past year. I am 35 weeks pregnant and the doctor wants me to hold off on having this baby for at least another week and a half if possible. So, here I am, in bed, doing my part to help this baby be born strong and healthy, and finding that it is not such a bad experience so far. Of course, this is just the first full day. I started my bed rest yesterday around 4:45 p.m. after I got home from my doctor appointment. But, so far, so good!