KHOC

            I've heard it said that there are no coincidences, that everything happens for a reason.  I've also heard that we are not alone, that we are constantly surrounded by our spirit relatives and friends who are veiled from our conscious, mortal minds, who are doing all they can to help and guide us.  I believe they are able to speak to our spirit, but they have a hard time getting through to our distracted, hard-headed mortal selves.                            Yesterday, I had an "ah-ha" moment.  I was in Oregon, so that I could pick up 300 lbs of beef from my aunt in Eagle Creek.  In my prayer that morning I had asked Heavenly Father to protect me and help me live by the spirit.             After leaving my aunt's house, when I came to the stop ...

Although Mikaden is ten years old, my cherished Down Syndrome child often acts more like a two year old, but with more strength, height and ingenuity. I'm not sure what put the idea into his head, but for the past several weeks he has shown quite a passion for cooking, or to be more precise, he is aspiring to be a Vitamix Chef. I have attempted to record his adventures, and since I'm accumulating quite a number of them, I decided to put them here in my sorely neglected blog. So here goes: Aug. 23-24, 2014             It was Saturday evening, and I was visiting with my daughter-in-law, Elise, and my cousin, Kathleen (who had stopped here to rest before continuing her journey to California).  Mikaden started fiddling with the DVD player.    He came to me and said, "plgrglmf smoovie."               "Huh? You want to watch a movie?" I asked.    ...

            Saturday, August 10, 2013, after a second failed attempt at flying back to Anchorage on a military flight, the Watkins children were happy to spend more time at grandma's house.   Persephone learned to wash dishes.           In the evening, Shari and I spent some time with the kids outside.             After everyone else decided it was time to go inside, Mikaden and Persephone were still enjoying playing together on the trampoline.  After a while, I decided to change into my pajamas, thinking I would bring the kiddos inside afterward.  As I took off my pants, I could hear Persephone through my open bedroom window, but wasn't sure if it was playing noises or crying.              Just then Mikaden appeared at my bedroom door.  I asked, "Where's Persephone?"      ...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, MOM A Photo Tribute and Trip Down Memory Lane Isn't motherhood great? Love you Mom!

I suppose I am somewhat of an oddity...for several reasons, but the one I want to address is the fact that I homeschool my kids.  Many, okay, MOST people don't understand why I do it.  I understand all too well why they don't understand.  If you want to understand what I understand then you'll need to read this essay and the books mentioned herein, especially "Dumbing Us Down The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling” by John Taylor Gatto.  And if you are a parent of school-agers or younger, you owe it to yourself and your kids to do some research before deciding that homeschooling is not for you. Any thorough homeschooling story must tell what came before homeschooling. Kim and I were raised like most Americans. We attended public school and received all the indoctrination associated with that, not realizing of course, that our childhoods could have been any other way. When our children came along, the idea of homeschooling never entered ou...