Busy Week and Sunday Thoughts

This has been a busy week. We took Arvil to Salt Lake on Friday for Craniosacral Therapy with Sid Napper, a fairly highly regarded practitioner and instructor, he has a good reputation for working with infants. He had also been in town teaching a class at a local herbalist shop, and had asked us to bring Arvil down to see him so that he could provide better care than he could after teaching for a day or two. We felt very good about the treatment. Arvil has better movement and seems more comfortable. He was really cranky today, and most of yesterday, but most of that has to be chalked up to the new teeth he is growing. His control over his legs and right arm are improving, and we definitely noticed a change after the therapy.

While in Salt Lake we stopped in at the corporate headquarters of Madsen Cycles and met with Jared Madsen, the creator of the Madsen KG271. I had a great time, I even played ping-pong with Jared and his partner Sean while Callie tested out the bike. The bikes are usually sold in bike shops, and increasingly, on line, but we bought one right out of the warehouse. Cool.

I have thought for some time that cargo bikes are the wave of the future, and now I have one that was created right next door in Utah. We decided on the Madsen because it was more Idaho/Utah friendly than a Bakfiets (as well as wallet-friendly) and was more of a massive kid hauler than an Xtracycle. Again, happy so far.

Yesterday we hosted the homeschool group book discussion, Howard J. Ruff's "How to Prosper in the Coming Bad Times." An interesting read. I think I'll review it here in the future. The get together went well, the first large hosting in the new house. The big front room performed perfectly, and the dining room table accommodates quite a crowd.

Today we all spoke in church. It went well considering a wild week before and a lack of great preparation. Dawsey did espescially well. A member of the bishopric commented that she will be ready to become relief society president about two weeks after being baptised. The statement fits her do everything personality to a T. Better than he realized, I am sure.

I spoke about the importance of reading and understanding the Doctrine and Covenants. I realized that I should read it this year.

I love my family, and I hope that I can be what they need me to be as we continue to get busier and experience more trials. I believe that God takes an interest in that aspect of my life, and so I discuss it with Him in prayer. I do have a firm testimony of the power of prayer and of the love and interest of God.

New Bike

We have a new bike. I say "we" because it is a family bike. Yes, you read that right. A family bike. I would like to introduce the Madsen Cycles KG271. I'll post pics of us in the Madsen soon. We rode around on it a bit today. The kids had a blast. So did mom and dad. I like it much better than lugging a trailer, although that is not completely in the past either as it will always serve a purpose. This bike has a rear bucket with four (yes, four) seat belts. It is very stable and we are quite happy to have this new family "car" in our garage. A more in-depth article and review of the Madsen will follow later.

First

This Blog is the internet record of the White Family. We will write here of our family, our doings, our beliefs and our interests. We are a family of two parents, five children, (one sister and four rambunctious boys) and no pets at the moment although we have had goats, chickens, and a dog.

We teach our children at home and have many closely held beliefs. We believe in God, we believe in liberty and the American way. We teach the Constitution to our children and focus on the intent of the founders and the purpose of the Constitution to limit government and expand freedom. It could be said that we cling to our guns and religion, although I wouldn't call us bitter.

We believe in making our own way in life and in dealing honestly. We teach these values to our children. We believe in self sufficiency and in improving ourselves and our surroundings.

We have many things that we enjoy doing as individuals and as a family. We like to read and write, we enjoy the outdoors and we like to sing. We really like bicycles. Bicycles are the transportation of the future. Perhaps that makes me rather "Green" for a conservative, but I like bikes, and I like them for general transportation. I think that we would all be healthier and that the world would be cleaner if more people pedaled more often.

Expect this blog to be full of articles about kids, homeschooling, bicycles and bicycling, camping, playing, politics, and religion. It will also have anything else that I can think of to throw at you.
Enjoy!