There is no God?

Sitting in Sacrament meeting a couple of weeks ago, Joel turns to me and says, "What he's saying (referring to the speaker) is false." The about-to-enter the MTC speaker had just said, "The Book of Mormon is the word of God." "That's false," said Joel LOUDLY, "Because there is no God."

What the what?

First of all, that Joel was connecting to anything the speaker, up on the podium and behind a microphone, -- way out of Joel world -- was saying was kind of great. But that he was stating very loudly in the middle of church that "There is no God" was kinda not so great.

Truth be told I've never expected Joel to grow up to be a practicing Mormon. Like most people on the autistic spectrum he believes in the tangible and concrete. Seeing is believing. If a speaker up on a podium and behind a microphone, albeit in the same room, is way out of Joel world, a nebulous God in some far reaching heaven might as well be in a galaxy far, far FAR away. For him it's not even plausible.

However I didn't expect a resolution about the non-existence of a supreme being to come so early in his life.

We ended up having a family home evening where I shared personal experiences about when God has been there for me. Joel didn't like it, but I know he was listening. Despite the fact that he had his head embedded in a couch cushion and his fingers crammed in his ears. I want Joel to believe in God because I want him to feel that there is always somebody who has his back even when Mommy and Daddy aren't there.

This past Sunday no declarations were made about God's existence or lack thereof. However our pew was not without shenanigans. Joel was playing with Kelly's blackberry which he often does during Sacrament meeting. Normally that's a okay since he's usually doing something innocuous and it keeps him quiet. But last Sunday I happened to glance down at the blackberry and what was Joel doing? Reading the scriptures? Nope. Looking at all the family pics Daddy's taken? Nah. He was . . . drum roll please . . . playing TEXAS HOLD 'EM POKER. Face cards in Sacrament meeting? I'm sure that's a no no and then some.

More "Mother of the Year" points for me . . . sigh . . .

Tipsy Joel?

We actually had Family Home Evening last Monday and had a lesson about the Word of Wisdom. Of course we discussed the things that are appropriate and healthy for our bodies and the things that are not. We told the kids that one of the reasons we don't drink alcohol is because it effects the clarity of our minds. Eli chose Love One Another as our closing song and Joel chose to sing his own Joel gibberish version of it which gave him the giggles. When we finished the song I said, "Hmmm, someone was singing a very interesting version of Love One Another" to which Eli replied, "I think Joel's been drinking the wine."

Cracked Kelly and me up! And of course Eli wasn't even trying to be funny which makes it even funnier.

Of late . . .

Tuesday at play group Cara picked up a toy piano, turned to one of the moms and said, "Each note makes a different sound. Listen." I don't think I heard any differentiation in notes until I was much older. My mom said I was completely tone deaf until I was 12. I took piano lessons one year in high school, the teacher would play some notes and ask me if they were in a major or minor key. I got it right about 50% of the time. :) I'm pretty sure my kids could all hear that distinction already. All of my children have more natural musical talent than I do. Yea! Of course I want my kids to surpass me in everything and it feels good when they do in any area :o)

Woke up feeling yucky this morning and have gotten almost nothing accomplished. Kelly generously passed on his sinus cold thing to me. Thanks honey! I'm sure I'll return the favor fairly soon. Poor Kelly, he took the kids sledding a week or so ago and he and Cara flipped going down one of the hills. Kelly's coat and body cushioned most of Cara's impact, but Kelly got whiplash and a sore back for his good daddy deeds. He went to the doctor yesterday where he was prescribed muscle relaxants. He tried to take one during his work day, but it completely wiped him out, so he's only using them at night. So far his pain really hasn't abated any, I'm hoping he starts to feel better real soon!

I taught Grace Arts in Joel's class yesterday. Joel really lights up when I'm there which makes it all worth while and then some. We learned about the British sculptor Henry Moore and the kids were really into it. They all wanted to share their ideas about what his abstract sculptures represented. Joel sat up front on his teacher's stool while I was teaching, grinning from ear to ear the whole time.

I help out weekly for art in Eli's kindergarten class. This week I was really struck again by how young Eli seems compared to most of his classmates. Of course he is probably the youngest one in his class. But even accounting for his young age his maturity level seems disproportionately low. When I told Miss Sue (his preschool teacher) that I was debating on whether or not to send him to kindergarten she told me that I could always have him repeat kindergarten if I felt it necessary. Well . . . . I was talking to another mom at Cara's dance class and she told me the school might give me flack about having him repeat if he meets the imposed benchmarks. I really feel like he does need to have another year of kindergarten and I will be so mad if the school gives me any crap about it because several school employees told me I could have him repeat if necessary, leading me to think that the choice was mine alone to make.

It's been so cold! I remember last summer thinking that winter chill is easier to deal with than summer heat because you can always put another layer on. Well, not so much. I layer myself up every day and still feel chilled to the bone and I keep my house at 72! Needless to say I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT WAIT FOR WARMER WEATHER.

My parents close on the selling of their house tomorrow. They'll finish up the semester in Albany and then they're headed to Cedar City. I hope they like it there. Belinda makes it sound like the Mecca for the closed minded, stupid and meth heads of the world. Maybe the chamber of commerce can adopt some o' that for a town slogan. "Cedar City the Meth Mecca of the West." It would attract a certain tourist niche.

We'll miss going out to Grandpa and Grandma's house in Luray. The kids always knew we were almost there when they could see the yellow tube slide. "I see the slide, we're at Grandma and Grandpa's house!" was the frequent and familiar refrain in the car.

I'll miss having my parents fairly nearby too. Family is so important and it seems crazy to live clear across the whole darn country from them. Kelly works from home now, so we could technically live anywhere, but moving to Utah doesn't feel right. My main concern is that poor Utah schools wouldn't have the funding to provide the help Joel needs in his education. Also I really do not want to live in a super Moromony environment. I like the diversity we get here. Who knows what the future holds for us?