Crazy Hair Day

So yesterday was Crazy Hair Day at Open High School, kicking off Spirit Week.

Here's what I came up with. (I cheated, yes. But hey! I don't have much hairspray or any hair gadgets at home!)




Then I had a nice haircut and it was styled so cute. Too bad I didn't take a picture of it last night; I will never ever take the time to style it that well again!

On My Mind: A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian: A Novel by Marina Lewycka


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
The inside cover writes: "A wise, tender, deeply funny novel about an eccentric elderly Ukrainian widower in England and the struggles of his two feuding daughters to thwart the voluptuous young gold-digger from the old country who sweeps him off his feet."

There are places in which this is uproariously funny. I liked getting glimpses into Ukrainian history as the narrator and younger sister, Nadia, pieces together parts of her family's history. The characters are interesting and funny, and I liked seeing the slow reconciliation between the sisters. I had heard this book compared to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, which I really loved.

But for me there was too much focus on Valentina's voluptuousness and Nadia's father's excitement about that. Ugh. One reason I liked The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society so much was that it was pretty much free of any such details. Valentina's chest size was pretty central to the plot, so I'm not sure how the author could have left it out. Still, that was not my cup of tea, and I would not recommend it to anyone who prefers clean reading.

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Autumn Equinox

Note: We just sent this letter out. If you did not receive it, please let us know. We have had some come back because of bad addresses.

We know you’re probably expecting a Christmas letter, but not in early autumn! We never did get out our Christmas letters last year so we thought to make up for the fact by starting early this year. That way, if any of our friends wanted to show their true colors, they’d have our new address on hand.

In the spring of 2008, David's adoption was finalized (the authorities make you wait six probationary months before you can even apply to finalize) – a joyful day for us. We were then able to take him to the Saint Paul Temple to be sealed to us, with Taylor's dad officiating. We spent that summer in Utah, with Taylor teaching part-time at BYU and telecommuting for his full time job at Cisco. Lisa broke her foot midway through the summer, and with David not yet walking and four levels to our sublet, was a rather inept mommy! Even so, her project for that summer was completing an application to adopt again.

After returning to the Bay Area, we also continued our itinerant lifestyle of house-sitting, being saved more than once by generous friends who put up with putting us up. In the fall of 2008, Taylor continued at Cisco, Lisa taught part-time at Gunn High School, and we saw our opportunity to finally land a home in the Bay Area. In September we placed an offer on a home.

That very same week Brigham Young University’s Center for Teaching and Learning invited Taylor to interview for a job opening. He did, and apparently convinced them to overlook his glaring weaknesses. They made an offer, and thus between mid-October 2008 and January 2009 we hustled to transition our lives from the Bay Area to Utah. That meant that not only did we continue to look for housing in the Bay Area to keep up with our house-sitting addiction until we moved to Utah, we were also searching for a home in Utah. Fortunately, we always had a place to stay, again thanks to the kindness of friends who helped us out in pinch.

Over the Thanksgiving break we visited Utah and found a home in Springville to purchase. Amazingly, the bank accepted the offer and completed the paper work in lightening speed. We had the keys to the home by the time we arrived with the moving truck in mid-January, only seven weeks after we placed the offer. Thus came to an end our house-sitting saga that traversed more than 2½ years and involved nineteen homes.

In addition to Taylor starting his work at BYU as a Teaching & Learning consultant, Lisa found an English teaching position in Orem, Utah. For the 2009-2010 school year, Lisa accepted a position at a new online charter school called the Online High School of Utah. She appreciates having a more flexible schedule that offers her an opportunity to spend more time with David as she works from home. She is trying to learn how to use a Blackberry, hold Skype video conferences, and otherwise keep up with technology!

David continues to delight us with his laughter and budding sense of humor, with his talkative nature and inquisitive mind. We don’t feel we can keep up with his ability to learn. There’s something about a child’s billions of brain cells all seeking for learning and experience that can exhaust parents (and yes, it is thrilling too!). We are actively seeking to adopt again and so we are hopeful to expand our family soon. Please see our adoption blog at http://adoption.taylorandlisa.com and spread the word!

We’re looking forward to this Christmas season when we’ll be leading an 11 day land tour of Israel (Dec. 26 – Jan. 5). If you are interested in joining, check it out at http://bountifultravel.com. We feel blessed in so many ways and especially by the friends and family that bring so much joy to our lives. One of the reasons that we love living in Utah as that we are at the crossroads of many travelers. Already this year we have been able to host most of our family members at one time or another and some of our dear friends. If your travels ever take you through Utah, please know you have a place to stay with us.

Love from the Halversons!

Evening at the Park: Jolley Ranch

Yesterday evening we drove to the Jolley Ranch playground with a picnic dinner in tow. This is a great park, even better constructed for David's abilities than is the one in our neighborhood. David had a ball climbing up all the ladders and stairs, and sliding down the
slides.










It was a beautiful fall evening. The light was very striking.









The leaves are starting to turn colors, the air is becoming crisper. We are eager for Fall!










As we drove home, the sunset was striking, and we could see rain clouds storming in the distance. The world is beautiful!

School's In Session

My mom has hoped I would write a nice juicy post about my new teaching position. I'm a little unsure where to start. Things have been very busy, but good.

I'm teaching for the Open High School of Utah, an online charter school. This is their first year, and we have a class of about 125 ninth graders. A large contingent of the students have been home-schooled prior to their enrollment at OHSU, and I've been impressed with their politeness and diligence, as well as their abilities to write and think well.

I really am enjoying the company of the other teachers and staff -- which is funny seeing that we've only met in person once! But everyone is incredibly supportive, and in touch a lot more than at a traditional brick-and-mortar school. Once or twice I've put off bedtime to finish a Google Talk chat with another teacher. They are great people!

I've had to learn a lot technologies, and I still have a ways to go. I set up a Twitter account today (yikes!), and need to learn better how to use Windows Live Meeting and video conferencing on Skype. I'm now a regular on Google Talk, and even try to post on my teacher Facebook page (this means my personal Facebook page has seen even less and less of me lately!). My school phone is a Blackberry, and I'm still figuring that out, too. One of the downsides of being at the computer so much each day is that I have been getting a lot of headaches. I need to be careful to stretch more, and probably look into whether I need a better chair or something. Any advice?

I am able to work from home, a great blessing to our family. David still goes to Iliana's daycare for about 3 hours each morning, to give me focused office hours time. But the rest of my office hours and grading I try to get done while he's sleeping. We've been to the park and the library a lot lately; I'm wishing we had a cool children's museum around here!

I still miss Gunn tons, but I'm much happier with this set-up than I was with my position last spring. And if you have any thoughts on The Call of the Wild, which is what we're reading right now, let me know!

Little Red Riding Hood

So my mom sent me a box with all sorts of things, some of them once mine, some of them things she just wants out of her house! (One was a book called Clutter's Last Stand. I told her the very first point in it was: Send all your extra junk to your children.)

One thing which she thought I would want to see again was a very old copy of Little Red Riding Hood. Funny thing is, I never wanted to see it when I was a child. The wolf was so scary to me that I made my mom put it on the highest shelf in the closet.

And now the book is full of holes, tears, and even some spider egg bundles. Lovely!

So I took photos of every page, but then tossed it. Sorry to ditch a memento from childhood!

On My Mind: Girl with a Pearl Earring

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It was fun to read this book shortly after taking an art history class (which I did this summer). It purports to tell the story behind Vermeer's painting by that name. Griet, the main character and subject of the painting, is forced to become a maid in the household of the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer after her father is blinded. She has to figure out her position as a maid, but little by little becomes an assistant to the painter himself. She loves preparing his colorful paints, and eventually is painted by him. I liked the characters, because they seemed realistic to me. I felt for Griet in the dilemmas that her social position placed her in.

I didn't like some of the sexuality, though it wasn't graphic. Still, sensuality is a key theme of the book...and some would say to the painting.

Now we just need a good book written about Caravaggio! Wait, that would probably be too R-rated for me!

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Back-Blogging Again

I've been catching up on the past month of blogs tonight, but still haven't touched David's 2nd birthday. I'll work on that in another night or two -- come back to see it! I'll also tell you more about my work with Open High School -- it's been a good but very busy last three weeks.

Miracle of Miracles

Last night my hearing aid battery went out while Taylor and I were in the temple. When we got to the car, I found that I had no batteries stashed in their usual places. So we drove to Springville with it sitting on my lap. Taylor dropped me at a car repair place, where his car had had repairs earlier in the day.

As soon as I settled into the car, I tried to turn on the book-on-CD of Peter and the Star Catchers (very fun book!). That's when I noticed I didn't have the hearing aid. I called Taylor and started searching the ground, which was made of crushed rocks -- all very similar in size and shape to a hearing aid! It was 9:30 at night and there wasn't enough light. I finally gave up and drove home, meaning to return with a flashlight.

Taylor went for me. With a flashlight he searched the area for 10-15 minutes. More than once he picked up...a rock. Finally he was about to head home, when he found it.

I wanted to cry for joy when he called and told me. I have been offering prayers of gratitude ever since!

On My Mind: When Crickets Cry

When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
We read this book in our ward's Enrichment Book Club. I liked it a lot. There are parts of the plot line that are unbelievable, but I was nonetheless moved and, like the other characters in the book, captivated by Annie. The author draws you into the plot by wrapping a lot of mystery around the main character, Reese. And I wanted to believe that someone could be as clear-thinking and content even in tragedy as Charlie, Reese's brother-in-law who is blinded in the prime of his life.

This is Christian fiction, and the author's worldview comes through clearly (though I don't think it's overbearing).

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Obama's Speech

It was really hard to me to stomach the uproar in Happy Valley (and the rest of conservative America) over Obama's speech to America's school kids. As the White House itself said, this was not a policy speech, but a speech meant to encourage kids to stay in school, take responsibility for their education, and aim high. Exactly what our kids need to be hearing these days!

Taylor wrote these words, with which I agree: "The last sentence of the Article of Faith 13 states 'If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.' I find Obama’s speech virtuous, lovely, praiseworthy, and of good report. I encourage you to seek after these things."

It is so disappointing to me that people will allow bipartisanship (and a little insanity) to cloud their ability to see the good and virtuous in this speech. I know that both liberals and conservatives are guilty of this crazed polarization. I wish we would take the time to hear the other side(s) out, rather than plugging our ears and saying, "Na na na. I can't hear you." Some have claimed that a president doesn't have the right to address school kids, which is nonsense. Reagan and Bush Sr. regularly made speeches to school children, as this article discusses.

One of my favorite passages from his speech was this:

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

Amen!

Yale Friends at Salem Lake

We met up last night with some of Taylor's friends from Yale. Michael Call was having a birthday, and his wife arranged a surprise party for him at Salem Lake. Taylor really enjoyed reconnecting with these old friends. Some aspects of his time at Yale were very difficult, so it's always nice for him to be reminded of the positives. I especially enjoyed chatting with Scott Nibley, a BYU undergrad who is doing some really neat work in Israel bringing Palestinians and Israelis together. First time I've talked about contemporary Israel in depth in months and months.

David was excited by the inflatable raft.




And had a definite sugar high from the cake. (He mostly just ate the frosting. Smart kid!)

On My Mind: Still Alice

Still Alice by Lisa Genova


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was really touched by this book. The main character, Alice, is a successful professor of psychology at Harvard University, where her husband also works. Their whole identities are wrapped up with their work, their minds, and their intellect. Then Alice develops early onset Alzheimer's Disease. You see her get lost on her run through Cambridge Square, which she has walked through nearly every day of her life for 25 years. You see her fail to find the right word in lectures, but also manage to give an amazing presentation to a national convention on Alzheimer's. Part of the pain of the book is seeing her waver between lucidity and loss. The book had me in tears more than once.

The author is a neuropsychologist (if I'm remembering right) who herself attended Harvard for her PhD. She creates a work of fiction that feels very true. The book is unusual because it is from the perspective of a person with Alzheimer's, not their caregivers.

I liked the title a lot, because it got to one of the core issues: would Alice still be Alice if she lost the strengths around which she had developed so much of her identity? I appreciated seeing her find the ways in which, even with the loss of her memory, she was still Alice.

I highly recommend it. I read it because it was recommended by a few friends on Goodreads. A great choice!

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