TEACHERS ROCK!

Today was Carly's last day of Kindergarten. This year has gone by so fast and she has learned so much. It's amazing the difference a year makes. She is so confidant and able. She makes friends easily and loves being involved in games and fun her friends are having. I am so grateful to the teacher she had this year who had such a positive, uplifting attitude with the students. She worked so hard with each of them. Carly came home today with a 30-40 full page booklet full of pictures of her with her friends, teachers, parents, grandparents--all the things that had happened this school year and several of the special projects she'd made or been involved in. Some of the pictures had been taken in the last day or two. She has 25 kids in her class so this teacher has been working hard to put together these wonderful memory books for all these kids. I am simply amazed and grateful for such a wonderful teacher. She made all the difference in Carly's experience this year. Thank you Mrs. Gray!

CART WHAT, WHERE?!

So, this evening after at least twelve years--maybe 15 of not having done a cartwheel or round-off I decided to try my hand at them again. I had a good reason for trying. Carly needs help advancing in her gymnastics class. In order to advance you have to be able to do both a cartwheel and a round off.

Jono is built like a gymnast and that makes it easy for him to learn and do nearly everything they teach him. He was able to advance to the next class without problem. Carly did well at most things but hasn't quite gotten her cartwheels to the stage where they want them to be. And she is still struggling to perfect her round-offs, as well.

I decided that since I used to be really good at both I could help her. So, after dinner tonight we went out back and started cart-wheeling. I quickly found out my arm strength wasn't what it used to be and landed unceremoniously (and uncomfortably) on my bottom a few times. I got to the point after several times that I was afraid to try again. I mean, really afraid to try. I would hold my arms up and try to go forward and couldn't make myself move. Literally!

Jono would come over and tell me my arms weren't quite straight enough or Carly would tell me to adjust my body differently -- obviously, they've been listening to their teachers. Still, I couldn't make myself move. Then, I'm not sure if I saw one of the kids do a cartwheel the opposite direction or if it just occurred to me to try but all of the sudden I wondered if I was trying to do with my right arm when I should be using my left. I am right handed but I wondered if maybe on cartwheels I had always started off left-footed and left-handed for some reason. I figured it was worth a try.

BINGO! That was the problem. I can't make sense of it because I'm not left-handed/sided for anything else I can think of. It seems like being right-handed that my right side would be the strongest but when I came down on my right side in a cartwheel tonight it would give way like I had never used it that way before. When I did the cartwheel left handed it felt natural and I could do the cartwheel and the round off. Now, I wasn't perfect after that many years not doing them, and I did have to practice a few times to get it right, but I was able to do well enough to help Carly start doing hers better. There will definitely be more practicing for both of us!

Not too shabby for a chick in her 50's eh? :p

CARLY'S GYMNASTIC'S SHOW

Carly had her first gymnastics show today. She's been doing gymnastics for a few months now and is doing quite well. I was surprised how many things they have them doing at such a young age. I guess that's why you see so many young gymnasts at the Olympics ~ DUH! Lol!

Here is Carly's performance on the balance beam. I was a nervous mommy but she managed to stay up there and did really well. Yay Carly!

WHAT A GUY!

I have the best husband. Today we were all hurrying to get ready for church when I got a migraine. I laid down for awhile to try to get it under control. I thought for a bit I had it managed and finished getting Carly ready while Rob got Jono and himself ready. I got nauseous again and really struggling but was still determined to make it as the final few minutes hit before we were supposed to be there. I threw on my dress and was trying to do something with my hair when Rob must have noticed the pain on my face.

He had already suggested I stay home once but I really wanted to get there. I was supposed to help teach and I didn't want to let the other teacher down. When he saw my face and realized how sick I was he put a stop to it and told me he would get someone to stand in for me. He told me to go back to bed and get some rest so I could feel better and off he went with the kids. I absolutely LOVE that man! It still took me the rest of the day to knock the worst of my migraine but I would have been in much worse shape if I'd left the house. I'm so blessed to have such a compassionate, loving husband! Thank you honey, I love and adore you!

THE GREAT LUCKY CHARMS CAPER

Jonathon is a good little boy whom I'm afraid has his Mama's number. He is a very active four and half year old who can be either the sweetest boy on the planet or the King of Disagree and Disobey -- of course, depending on the moment. He tends to act out with me more than anyone else and it is very frustrating as I spend more time with him than anyone else. Lately I've been searching the parenting books and blogs for ideas on how to curtail his "Kingly" behavior and bring out more of his sweetness.

Because Carly has been in Kindergarten this year, I've spent a lot of one on one time with Jono but I ran into this thought the other day that made sense. It suggested spending a very focused 15 minutes of bonding with each child every day and said if you did you would find yourself having less problems with them. I decided to try it out yesterday.

When Jono woke up he came in to cuddle with me like he usually does but he wasn't there long when he said he wanted some cereal. He wanted to get it himself and since he's becoming very independent about such things I let him. He ended up bringing it in the bedroom--just the container -- not a bowl of cereal and milk. It was Lucky Charms. He came back and cuddled by me with his Lucky Charms in bed. I noticed he was pretty much just eating the marshmallows, a real no-no at our house. I started to tell him he had to eat all of the cereal he took when something happened to me. I reverted to a four and half year old. I joined him. We both ate the Lucky Charms. Just the Lucky Charms. Until they were gone. We bonded - big time! It worked! We had a much better day together.

The dilemma. Well, there are a couple. What do I do with the rest of the cereal. It's Rob's favorite, too. I have to get rid of the evidence. I don't want to just waste it and throw it out. That would be bad, right? Worse than eating all of the charms, right? Yah, that's what I thought. I mean, no one wants to eat just the . . . what are THOSE things anyway? I guess I will go with plan B and give them to the dogs. They won't tell on us and will just be happy to have a treat!

My next dilemma is how do I top that Mama/Son bonding experience? I mean, I can't be eating a box of Lucky Charms with him every day just to get him to behave better! I will say, it did help a ton to get down in his world and see things from his four year old perspective. He was in his sweet mode most of the day! Guess, I just need to try to remember what it was like to be four . . . more. Although, if any of you have suggestions on how to get boys to listen to their Mama's better, I'm all ears! :) Now, off to get rid of the evidence before there's a Saturday morning cereal incident! Lol!

HERE'S YOUR SIGN

Today was a busy day. It started early with Carly going on her first school bus ride. The Kindergarten took a trip to the Zoo today. She had a great time. Then this afternoon sister Julie surprised the kids by coming up on the train. She wanted to be here for Jono's pre-school graduation. After she arrived we headed off to his graduation ceremony. It was much bigger than I expected. He only has 12 kids in his class but there were 58 kids on the stage so his teacher has several classes. They performed several songs for us and showed us that they could do the alphabet in sign language. I didn't know he could do that! He has never showed me those skills before. I'm going to have to pick his brain a little more to see just what he has learned!

MONDAY'S MUSINGS

I didn't get much accomplished today due to a major migraine. Carly is out of school for 3 days due to end of year testing and hers was today. She did really well. She is a very smart little girl. I did manage to pull it together long enough to get her to her testing and to take the kids and some friends to the park for a short while. After that they had gymnastics so it was a busy day. My headache didn't go away until way into the evening so I just kind of had to function with it anyway. No fun! Well, not much else happened today. We're all a bit wasted from working hard on the weekend I think. More later. 

GARDENING WEATHER!

It was a beautifully HOT Saturday! A lovely day for gardening and so we were able to hire in a couple of professionals! Okay, no we didn't but we did better than that! Thank goodness for Grandma and Grandpa or we might have to fill our whole front garden area with large rocks! I am not the child who got the green thumb!

And don't worry, Grandpa is not wheelchair bound. He does use it on occasion but this just seemed to be one of those occasions it worked well for. It allowed him to be close enough to help. We get lots of compliments from the neighbors every year once the garden is in. Don't know what I'd do without my professional help--and I certainly don't want to find out, either! Lol!

I can't believe I managed to get all three pictures without their little helpers. Carly and Jono were helping quite a bit of the time. They bring them plants, peat moss, tools, whatever they need. It's a great little working relationship . . . most of the time! Hahaha!

The masters at work

Hard at work making everything beautiful!

Hello to everyone back home!

 

TIRED MOMMY BRAIN

Today was my lucky day. The kids have a crazy schedule for the next couple of weeks with school ending and I was pretty sure I had it all down correctly. Though, I was wrong and didn't know it. I'd even gone over it with Rob last night to make sure we knew what was happening when but that didn't make me any righter! I thought Carly had her first piano recital tomorrow (Friday) evening at 6:00. I had invited Grandma and Grandpa and her sister Megan. Then this late this afternoon, just by happenstance, I had a short email exchange with her piano teacher that had nothing to do with her piano lessons or the recital. At the end of our correspondence she said she would see me at the recital this evening. I had a huge moment of panic! I wasn't at home at the time but ran home to check the flier. Sure enough, I'd gotten it wrong! Gah!

Luckily, I'd had Carly do her full practice time this morning and luckily, I hadn't already missed the recital! I quickly got ahold of Rob and Megan and let them know of the change. I told Grandma and Grandpa I would tape it for them as I didn't them to have to hurriedly get ready. I felt so stupid but mostly I just felt grateful I found out about it in time to get her there for it. I could have so easily made her miss the entire thing. I feel like I've been doing a lot of stuff this lately. I'm going to call it #tiredmommybrain!

Carly did a great job. I was most proud of her when she stood up and introduced herself and her piece to a roomful of mostly strangers. That could be very intimidating to a little six year old. She was very brave and made me very proud! Love my little girl so much!

SUMMER IS COMING FAST

Grandma and Grandpa both got out today to do some flower shopping. They came home with a whole bunch of flowers for the front gardens. They will be so pretty once they are all planted.

It was such a nice day here I let the kids ride bikes outside after school. It got up into the seventies. They played with the neighbor kids for awhile and then I took them to get some slushies. It was so nice to have a warm day. I am crossing my fingers and hoping I can actually plant my raspberry bush soon.

Rob had flown to California yesterday for some training and flew back in this evening. I'm always so happy when his feet are back on the ground! He got home around 9:30 this evening and we were all so glad to have our daddy home!

I can't believe how fast the end of the school year is coming. Carly has already stopped bringing home school work and all they are doing is review work. She has her testing next week and then their big activity is a trip to the zoo. Jono has his graduation next week from Pre-school. Wow, Summer is coming fast! I'm actually kind of excited to have them home for a bit. Remind me I said that when I'm whining later. On second thought . . . don't. I think I'd rather just whine. Lol!

THE SUN WILL COME OUT TOMORROW . . .

It was a nice enough day that Grandma got out and did some gardening. We have lots of weeds to remove before any planting can begin. However, there is a hard freeze warning for tonight. I wish the weather would STOP doing that! Or if it's going to do that if it could maybe just freeze and kill all of our weeds for us! 

I had big plans for getting things done today but I was watching my own four year old and someone else's so I accomplished very litte~aside from mothering. Ah well, there's always tomorrow!

BEAUTIFUL RAINBOW

I stole this from Facebook but I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. Now this is my kind of rainbow!

OUR LITTLE BOMBER

You've heard of a photo bomber. Well, we have a blessing bomber at our house. We were all at the table for our lovely Mother's Day dinner. We bowed our heads and were ready for Rob to give the blessing on the food and before Rob could even open his mouth Jono started and finished the prayer. He said it so fast I'm not sure anyone understood a word he said - well, except for Heavenly Father, pretty sure HE got it. Funny kid. (By the way--he's also the photo bomber at our house.) Hmmm. I should probably start to worry about him if this behavior continues. Lol.

SHARKS!

Today we spent the day at a very large aquarium. It was so large it actually was a huge 3 story building that holds 2,500 people at a time to view everything in it. We got to see Sharks, Penguins, Otters, and different fish of all kinds. We also saw turtles, birds, spiders, scorpions, lizards and all things creepy crawly. It really was a fascinating place and the kids loved it. We had a great time there. They even had a swinging rope bridge kind of like you expect to see in the jungle that you cross if you were brave enough. I was not--so I was the photographer for the group. I took a video of the brave ones from the other side. Carly is sitting here telling me what to type. She says I have to explain that it was her, Jono and Daddy that were the brave ones. Sorry if you were confused before that. Lol.

After we finished at the aquarium, my delightful entourage took me out to eat for Mother's Day. We went to a really good Mexican restaurant in SLC. Then when we got home they surprised both Grandma and me with flowers. It's been a really nice day! Now, I'm ready for some shuteye!

MAMA KNOWS . . . UH, NOTHING

I learned today that spaghetti is not pasta. To be fair, I learned it from my six year old daughter who wanted me to make "Pasta" a dish she was certain she'd never had before. Pretty comical since her favorite meal is spaghetti. Lol! I kept trying to teach her that spaghetti was one of many pasta's but she stopped listening after she tired of my "wrongness." Lol. After all, it was only "mom" telling her. If it had been her best friend at school or her teacher or even Grandma it might have been true but she's reached that magic age when she often knows more than mom! Oh JOY!

I humored her and made PASTA for dinner. I made Rigatoni, shells and some kind of twisty pasta (can't think of the name at the moment) with our spaghetti sauce for dinner. That made her very happy. Then at dinner I mentioned out loud that she didn't believe spaghetti was pasta, to which Rob immediately said, "Carly, spaghetti is pasta! There are lots of kinds of pasta." And of course, once an expert on the subject had spoken she simply said, "Oh, O.K." End of questioning. Grrr.

OUR DAY

So grateful I took pictures and posted them of our beautiful iris because this morning we had a thundering hailstorm that really beat them up! Big frown! I couldn't believe it when I looked out and saw the hail coming down. It was really tiny. Smaller than tic tacs. But it was heavy and then all of a sudden the thunder started and clapped really loud. I had turned from the window by then and heard what I thought was a heavy rainstorm begin. Then, the kids called me back to the window to look because they said the hail had gotten worse. I couldn't believe it. What a wild morning. Just a few days ago it was 86 degrees and today it was 46 degrees. Yep, hang around for ten minutes and the weather will change!

Unfortunately, I woke up to a sick boy this morning. Jono's breathing is bad again. He was coughing so hard when he woke up that he started vomiting. Had to start him on special breathing treatments and have been going at it all day and will through the night also. He is doing somewhat better but  only because we are treating it so often. Please keep him in your prayers for us. Thanks and love to all.

BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS

Our irises are in bloom and that actually means my Grandma Flint's irises are in bloom. These were actually grown from transplanted bulbs brought from her farm some 1500 miles away. Aren't they gorgeous?! I just love them and they remind me so much of her! I love you Grandma! Happy Mother's Day!

 

 

OUR SABBATH

Had a really nice Sunday. Got a call mid morning that we'd be having visitors after church so I got busy and made a different dinner than I'd planned so there would be plenty to share. Mom helped a lot. She made her yummy potato salad and her really tasty oatmeal cake.

We had a really nice visit with our friends. It was one of the missionaries who had served in Greencastle in the late seventies. Even though we'd communicated since then, this was the first time I'd seen him since. So, it had been a very long time. Most of his kids are grown and gone but he and his wife had one daughter, a teenager with them and it was so nice to catch up. They were on their way back home after visiting grandchildren.

Megan made it over tonight and we watched a movie with her and the kids. It was nice to just all hang out together. She's been busy or not feeling well the last couple of weeks so we were all happy to see her.

Yesterday, we kind of blew off all the things we needed to do around the house and just spent time with the kids. We took them to the amusement park and let them have fun riding the rides. They love that! It was such a nice, warm day. I think it got up to nearly 85 degrees.

Rob has the next few days off so maybe we can accomplish something--or who knows, maybe we will just play. It's not often he gets to just have time off. So, we will probably just enjoy ourselves.

THE JOYS OF PRACTICING . . .

Or maybe I should say of getting my little girl to practice! A couple of mornings ago Carly had a case of the mellow dramatics. She began melting down the minute I asked her to practice her piano assignments. Her piano teacher wants her to practice 30 minutes, 5 days a week. When she does it, she learns well and gets better but it can seem like a lot to her and she gets easily overwhelmed. Her teacher offers her a reward if she does all of her practice time. I also have a reward system for her but all of these are easy for her to forget in a moment of drama.

At any rate, she started having a  meltdown this morning even before I started the timer. AND she kept stopping and coming to me with excuses why she couldn't practice every few minutes. I was seriously stopping and re-starting the timer every 2-3 minutes to have a "rah-rah" discussion with her.

Grandma came up during this time to make breakfast for Grandpa and her. She caught on pretty quickly to what was going on. She told me she was pretty sure the whole "practice drama" was the reason she never took piano lessons. She said she watched her sister Kaye go through the same thing when she was Carly's age. So, when her mom (my Grandma) asked her if she wanted to take lessons she said "No!" She did not want to have to come in from playing and having fun outside and be tied down to a piano like her sister! Lol!

While Grandma and I were talking in the kitchen, we could hear Carly moaning and carrying on in the front room (trying to get me to lighten her)"sentence while she practiced." She was like Monty Hall on LET'S MAKE A DEAL offering me 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes--but not 30 Mom! She was making herself sound so miserable that it made Grandma and me giggle a little. I had to have her keep practicing though, since she has a recital at the end of this month and is just starting to learn her song. As she started to play again, a thought came to me, and when I said it out loud it made Grandma and me laugh a little harder, "Would you believe the song she is practicing right now to play at her recital is Ode to Joy?" True story! Trust me - there was no joy in the piano room! Lol! (Though, I'm sure one day, she'll thank me!)   :D

Miss Carly ~ Banging on the keys
Probably age 4

SILENT ACHES

Today would have been my husband's thirty-second wedding anniversary to his first wife, Lisa. Lisa passed away about ten years ago from complications of Multiple Sclerosis. When Rob and I were first married, days like this were hard for me. I wasn't yet secure in my place with him or with my girls. I feel very differently now, though. When special remembrance days come I am no longer caught up in my own emotions and insecurities. Instead, when Lisa's birthday or the anniversary of her passing, or hers and Rob's wedding anniversary arrives my heart and mind turn to the silent aches my husband and girls are probably going through. I find the only thing I want is to make sure they are doing alright. I'm so grateful for my changed heart.

I know how deeply and sometimes silently I've mourned for those I've loved and lost ~ even when I've taken the time to talk often about them with loved ones. I know sometimes you still need someone to remember, to listen and to care.

If I've learned one thing in life I think it's that time doesn't really heal all wounds. I think maybe time does make things a little easier to deal with, but I don't know that we are ever really done grieving when we have truly loved and lost one to death. I don't know that anything prepares one for the loss of a spouse or a parent. My girls will grieve for their mother at some level their whole life. They will always miss her. My husband will always grieve and miss her, too. How could he not after all those years of marriage? You see, I didn't marry a man who was unhappily married. I married a man who lost his wife after many happy years of marriage. I'm grateful my heart and mind have come to understand and accept so much.

I feel so very blessed to even in some small way be able to mother the beautiful daughters Lisa gave birth to, loved and nurtured in her life. They are my daughters also and each is talented in her own way and are loving, caring and amazing young women.

I am wonderfully blessed to be married to their father. He is one of the most loving, caring, sensitive men I have ever known. He is also a terrific father who takes really good care of our family.

I guess what I want to say as I finish this post is that it's important to reach out to those who are mourning, to those who are silently aching. Sometimes the trauma passes and we think it is over and move on but the pain for those it happened to still lingers. Just because we can't see the wound doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt. If you are in doubt, reach out.

The sting of death becomes bearable only when we truly know we will see and be with our loved ones again. I am grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ who makes this possible and a Heavenly Father who loves us enough to send His Only Begotten Son to redeem us.

May God Bless You.

NEW FRIENDS

Grandma and Grandpa got out today to get Grandpa a haircut. He has a favorite barber he goes to and I think Grandpa was glad to just get out of the house for a bit. He even stayed upstairs for awhile this evening.

The kids both had school today and it was a pretty day out but a cold one. Jono kept wanting to play outside after school but I didn't let him because I didn't want him to get sick. Yesterday we had snow flurries so I guess it's no surprise that it's still so chilly out. I managed to keep him interested in a new learning computer game and then some friends came over to play so at least it wasn't an all day fight.

Then later he and Carly had gymnastics. A really cool thing happened. Two little black girls about Carly's age had signed up and were in Carly's class. I saw Carly's face light up when she walked in and saw them. Afterward when I picked her up she came running up to me and told me she'd made a new friend and I needed to get her phone number so they could have a play date. It turned out one of the girls was her same age and the other was a couple years older. So, when their mom came I got their number and she's really excited to play with them. I just loved seeing her face light up! So fun!

I'M SO EXCITED AND I JUST CAN'T HIDE IT! LOL!

Tomorrow is our State Republican Convention and I am a delegate. This is a new experience for me and I am excited for it. I am doubly excited now because my daughter Julie will also be joining me as a delegate. She was elected to be a county delegate and has already performed her service there. However, one of the state delegates for her area had a family tragedy and cannot serve so they called upon Julie since they knew she ran to be a state delegate! So, I am excited we get to do something we both love --being involved in political work (not politics) and serving our communities together!
Look out world, here we come!

MY SWEET LITTLE GUY'S MEMORIES

Today I was out running errands with the kids and we happened to drive by the cemetery where our son Carson is buried. (Carson did not make it full term. He was still born but we count him as ours. We believe he is part of our family and we will have him in the next life.)

As we drove past the cemetery, I mentioned to the kids that he was buried there and they asked if we could stop and go to his grave. So, after we finished our errands we dropped by the house and cut some fresh tulips to put on his grave and Lisa's (Rob's first wife) grave. This is the first time I'd taken the kids to his grave. They've always had lots of questions about him but they'd never been there before. I guess that's because we don't focus so much on the grave. We know he isn't in there. We believe he is with his Heavenly Father.

Anyway, back to my story. We got to the graves and the kids each put the flowers on the graves. Then we stayed and just kind of took in the moment. I answered their questions. They both told me they missed Carson. Then without any warning, Jonathon started to cry. I mean really cry. He started bawling his eyes out. I asked him what was wrong and all he would say was that he missed Carson. He had tears streaming down his face and his nose was running. I picked him up and tried to comfort him but he wouldn't stop crying. I told I believed everything happened the way it was supposed to happen and that Heavenly Father needed to keep Carson with him. I told him if he hadn't decided to keep Carson I might not have him or Carly because I would have had a baby when they were born and the timing wouldn't have been right. Even that did not stop his mournful cries. I got them back in the van and drove home and he cried loudly the whole way home still saying out-loud that he missed Carson. I asked him if he had known Carson before he came here and he said, "Yes."

My little guy for all of his energy and at times orneriness can be so close to the spirit. He has done this same thing in missing his Grandpa D. -- and he was only 2 months old when he died. Now he has seen pictures of his Grandpa holding him but there is no way he could have direct memories of him.  Yet, he talks about him and cries for him with genuine love. Sometimes I wish I could peel back the corners of his little mind to see just what he really knows and remembers!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH AND ASHLEY!

We had my sisters and their families up this weekend to celebrate Easter and some family birthdays. It was great to get everyone together. Sarah's birthday is today (Tuesday). My niece Ashley, Susan's daughter is celebrating her 19th on Wednesday and Sarah's son, Ian will be 19 on May 8th. Everyone is growing up so fast!

Sarah took a bunch of pictures but I don't have them yet. We (three girls) took a few with mom and dad but I'm waiting for her to send those so I can put them on the blog.

Grandma went to the doctor today for a sinus infection and they set her up with the meds she needs to get over it. Hopefully, she can do that quickly.

We got some really wild, cold winds in here today that are supposed to chase away our warm weather for awhile. Hopefully, not too long, though.

Rob and I went and gave blood today . . . something I haven't done in probably twenty years or so. I used to give all the time until I started getting migraines and went on medicine for them. Then they told me I couldn't anymore. I guess they have refined the process enough to let you give blood on all kinds of meds. Anyway, I did good except I've felt pretty weak all evening. Hopefully, that will pass by tomorrow. So--anyway--the good news is: You can probably give blood if your only excuse was you thought you couldn't because you were taking some medication. Apparently even diabetics can give blood. So, no excuses! I only mentioned diabetics because the person drawing my blood was a diabetic and pointed it out to me--she gives (and takes--lol) all the time!

Well, that's my soapbox for the night! Have a great one!

BECAUSE OF HIM

Because this is so beautiful and eternally true, I want to share this video on the meaning of Easter  with you. I hope you have a wonderful Easter with your loved ones! Enjoy!
http://easter.mormon.org/

OH, THE THINGS A 6 YEAR OLD KNOWS!

Grandma came up this morning and told me about a conversation Carly had with her. It went like this.

Carly: Grandma, I know how you get babies in Mommy's tummies!
Grandma: Oh really? How?
Carly: You draw a bump!

Oh my goodness! Yah--I don't think I was breathing while I waited for the answer. I was thinking "My goodness, who has she been talking to." Then, when I heard the answer I laughed out loud. What a sweet, simple, innocent answer. I love my little girl so much. If only we could all stay this innocent forever--the world would sure be a sweeter place. :)

NO MORE SORE!

Grandpa has been going to a wound clinic to have a bedsore that had become kind of chronic treated and they treated him with some kind of new medication and all of the sudden he's cured! He's had in home health coming in for quite some time to help treat it and then someone suggested seeing this wound clinic doctor. I think he went twice and on the second visit-he graduated! That's almost unheard of! These sores are really hard to heal! I guess--I should say unless you specialize in them because this wound doctor/clinic seems to really know their stuff! So we are pretty happy campers around here! Yay for us! Hope you got some great news this week too!

WHATEVER YOU CALL ME, JUST DON'T CALL ME LATE FOR DINNER!

Grandma had a dentist appointment today. She found a new dentist not far from the house and ended up liking him really well. I've been needing to find a new one for the kids, too so I'm hoping to get them in to see him soon.

Today was a busy day. I watched one of Carly's school friends for her mom this morning and then took both of her and Carly to school. By that time it was time for Jonathon and his friend Ellie to be dropped off from pre-school. I had Ellie for about 3 hours but she and Jono play pretty well together. When she left and we picked Carly up from school it was time to head to gymnastics!

After gymnastics I quickly fed them dinner and then Rob and I had to head out to a meet the candidates night. I am one of the state delegates and am in the process of meeting and getting to know the candidates and issues. It wasn't a really long evening and I did meet some nice people and get some good information.

Sunday we celebrated our daughter Megan's 27th birthday. We just made a nice dinner, had some pie (her request) and opened gifts. I can't believe she's 27. Time has just really flown by. My girls have all grown up so fast! That would include one Kindergartner who sounds and acts as if she's going on 30. How does that happen?!

I think maybe our spring has finally sprung. It was such a nice day today. No jackets, no sweaters--just so nice outside--even a bit on the warm side. Love, love, love this time of year! Happy Spring Weather to all of you! I hope you are getting a little of this where you are. It's HEAVEN!

Oh--one last thing. My baby boy--he's four now--almost five, well, he will be five at the end of August. Anyway, he told me on my way back after dropping Carly at school today that I needed to stop calling him "Jono." I asked him why since that's all we ever call him--(well at least 90 % of the time.) He said, "You need to call me Jon-a-thon (he emphasized each syllable really slowly) because that's my real name not Jono and I'm a big boy now. So, call me Jon-a-thon, O.K.?"

You know, I expected him to ask something like this, maybe even demand something like this . . . when he was 14, 16 or 18 . . . but not at 4! I mean, REALLY? What is going on and what's happened to my little Jono. I'm not quite sure I'm ready for Jonathon! Then again, if Jonathon is more serious and cerebral - maybe it could turn out to be in my favor. I think I need to analyze this again. Actually, I probably need to over analyze it. I will have to get back to you on this for sure--and it may take awhile. Lol!

WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO . . .

Yay! We finally got Rob back home tonight. He has been up in Idaho for a few days. He had a stubborn call up there, a machine that wouldn't fix. He thought he'd only be a day and ended up being there three. We miss him when he is gone!

Mom and I got out today and did some exploring at a new shopping center near here. We had some fun and found some neat new stores. Some of the fun was managing to keep Jono with us. He doesn't like to hold our hand or stay right with us so it's a bit of an effort. But then, being four isn't the easiest thing in the world, I guess. Lol.

We were a couple minutes late getting back to pick Carly up from school so Grandma got out to go retrieve her from the school. We figured she would be nicer to Grandma than to me-- and we were right. Grandma didn't get the tongue lashing I would have gotten for being a few minutes late, though she still wasn't happy we weren't on time. We did make up for it by getting her and Jono an ice cream on the way home. That made it all better!

In the last couple of days, it has rained, snowed, hailed and been warm and sunny -- not on separate days but all happening on each of the days. Pretty funny. If you just stand around and wait ten or fifteen minutes the season, er, weather will change. At least that's what's been going on around here. You can't decide what to wear outside and you can't even decide what temperature to set the thermometer at! No word when weather sanity will return. Strange Happenings!

SNOW? NO!

I'd have thought it was an April Fools joke if I hadn't seen it fall from the sky myself! But sure enough another day of wet, icky snow! I'm going to stop predicting when it will be warm again and just stick to things I know--which are relatively few. And I can't think of any right now--so that could be a problem!

The kids were a little bit sick this morning. I ended up being up late with them last night and having to give them cough medicine so they slept a little late today. That was nice but they neither one felt really great all day today and so I am hoping they are better tomorrow. Carly has been on Spring Break since last Thursday but goes back tomorrow. So, it's been a nice "winter-like" Spring Break! Lol! I did take them to the park one day but even that day it got cold before we left the park.

I found a few pictures I took of the kids when we were in CA I thought I'd post tonight. I loved this rug in our hotel so I made them pose on it a few times. I just thought it was really cool. I wouldn't want it in my home or anything but I thought it was pretty funky for a photo backdrop! It made the pictures kind of fun.



Psychadelic Carly



Psychadelic Jono



My Psychadelic kiddos

TO GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE WE GO!

Carly and I were looking at some pictures the other night from when she was younger and she wanted to know everything about them. She wanted to know who was in the picture and what they were doing here, how they were related, etc. She noticed Grandma and Grandpa C. weren't in any of the ones in our home when she was tiny and she asked why. I told her they hadn't moved here yet and she was puzzled by that. She thought for a second and then said, "Oh, you probably didn't know you had another house under our house then that they could live in did you mom? You probably hadn't found it yet, huh?" Lol!

It's funny because she has this concept that Grandma and Grandpa are in their own house right underneath ours even though they are living just downstairs in our basement. They do have a nice area down there that they've made theirs but she apparently believes it is their "house" which she can easily go in and out of whenever she chooses. Hahaha!

SPRING PLEASE

Today we got the kids bikes out of the garage and let them ride on the sidewalks with the neighbor kids. They had a blast. They didn't even mind that it was a little on the chilly side. It was actually a nice sunny day with just a bit of a chilly wind. I do believe we may soon actually see Spring! Yay! Bring it on!

CATCHING UP!

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything. We've had a sick little boy and lots of catching up to do. Thankfully, we have him well again now. Early Spring is always a tough time for him. The combination of allergy and asthma hit him pretty hard and it seems like we never quite get the right one, two punch before it hits him.

As I said before, we are very glad to have Grandma back. The kids are very happy but Grandpa may be the happiest! He only had me as his nurse-maid for those days and my attention was going in four directions--though, I really did try hard to take good care of him. I will say he was a very good patient--and he was really good and patient, also.

The weather here has been really nice this past week. I was able to get out and do some clean up on the yard last evening and the kids were able to be outside and play with friends while I did that. It was probably near 70 degrees today. I think tomorrow and the next day we are in for some rain and a little cooler weather but after that it's supposed to warm back up.

Mom had a really nice visit with her sister Kaye and brother-in-law Bob and their daughter Ronda. I thought I'd let you see a couple of photos from her trip. Have a terrific day!

Carolyn and Kaye

Kaye, Ronda and Bob

GRANDMA'S BACK! YIPPEE!

Grandma got home safely tonight and we were all so happy to see her! She has only been gone since Tuesday morning but the kids thought it had been an eternity. They pretty much cried themselves to sleep every night because they missed her and drove me nuts every day, all day long asking when she was coming back. It's safe to say they love and adore their Grandma.

With all the news about this missing flight 370 I wasn't too crazy about having anyone I loved up in an airplane and I'm pretty sure Grandpa felt the same as me. It was sure good to get her feet on the ground here again. Lots of prayers were said before that happened! You can just call me the nervous Nellie type. :)

After we got Grandma home tonight Rob and I ran over to our neighborhood Caucus meeting and I somehow managed to get elected as a State Delegate. A little overwhelming but I am excited for a new challenge and to get involved in the process. I am so disappointed and saddened in the direction our country is heading. I feel our Constitution and our freedoms slipping away from us. I believe if we don't stand up and begin to do something about it ourselves on a local, community level we will truly lose what freedoms we have left.

I'm so proud of my daughter Julie who is away at college! She went to her caucus tonight and got elected to be a county delegate and I know she will do a fabulous job! I think that is so awesome! Congratulations Julie!

Well, we had a lot of excitement here today. After we got home from everything, Rob got called out to fix some machines. He is on-call this week. So, it is after 1:30 in the morning here and he is on his way home now. It's been a long day--but a good one. Hope your day was just as good! More later!

MISSING GRANDMA

Grandma's been gone two days now and it feels like two years to my little ones. They ask me at least twice an hour how much longer until Grandma is coming back. Lol. (That should make you feel good Mom!)

Grandpa and I have been bonding. I am trying my best to keep him healthy and well until Mom gets back. I had a busy schedule today since Jonathon has been sick with allergies and asthma and I had to get him into the doctor. After that, I had to get his meds filled and get Carly from school so Grandpa had to man the house for awhile by himself--well, with the dogs help so I could accomplish everything.

Not much else going on here. We will all just be glad when Grandma gets back. She's a very important cog in our family wheel here. We love you Grandma!

BEDTIME TEARS

I had two very sad kids at bedtime tonight. Grandma is leaving in the morning for a few days to go and see her sister Kaye and they are not used to not having Grandma here. I told them to give her lots of hugs and kisses before bed and they could do the same in the morning before she leaves. That didn't stop the bedtime tears. They sure do love their Grandma. I LOVE that they have such a close relationship with their Grandma and Grandpa. That was one of the great joys of not only my childhood but my life was the closeness I felt to my grandparents. They weren't just my grandparents--as I got older they really were my friends, too. I'm so glad my kids have them--and are attached.

I'm also glad my mom can get away for a few days to see her sister. We will take good care of Grandpa. We love you Aunt Kaye! Have fun you two and don't do anything we wouldn't do! Be safe Grandma! LOVE YOU!!

SOME THINGS (AND SOME PEOPLE) NEVER CHANGE! :)

My Dad used to drive Susan and I nuts when we had The Flower Shop and we would be making an arrangement of some kind. He would come in and stand behind us and critique what we were making and then tell us where we needed to add flowers or greenery. We would sometimes get a little frustrated because, afterall, we were the designers and we knew what we were doing. We'd usually let him know that, too. But then he'd tell us he was looking at it "with the customer's eye" and he really thought it needed this or that, here or there. Lol. He almost always got his way because, you know, he was our Dad, not to mention, the owner. Haha!

Anyway, that was one of the things he did on a regular basis that bugged us and sometimes (we are pretty sure) he would do it just to bug us. Naw, would he do that, would he?! You bet he would! Well, it's been years and years since we sold that shop--and I hadn't thought about him doing that for just about that long. It really was kind of funny and he sure could get us going. Though we really didn't need the help!

So, the other day I was re-doing one of my mom's silk flower arrangements that was attached to the wall in her bedroom and she and Dad were laying on the bed talking to me while I did it. All the sudden I hear my Dad say, "Nancy, I think you need one more flower--there's a spot on this side that needs something." Now, I turn and look at him and laugh--and say "Good one, Dad!" because I am certain he is teasing me about when he used to do that in the old days! He looks at me with kind of a blank stare for a second and then lets me know he's serious--he thinks it needs another flower! Holy Cow! Really Dad--it can't be the "customer excuse!" We're not selling it to anyone! Hahaha!

Seriously though, I humored him and put in another two or three flowers. I filled the whole thing up! I should probably say that he was usually right. (O.K. I just said that to make him feel good. And I will deny it if you tell anyone. Lol!)

In the end, I learned one thing, though--some things and some people never change! Ha!

REPORT FOR THE WEEK!

Rob was out overnight last night fixing broken blood analyzer machines but he made it safely back home tonight! Yay! I always breath a great sigh of relief when he walks back in the door. Too much crazy in the world these days!

Grandma is busily packing for her trip to visit her sister Kaye who lives in Illinois. She is flying and will leave next Tuesday and return on Friday. I guess Grandpa and I  (and the kids) will get some quality time together. Lol.

My mom and her sister Kaye are the last the surviving Flint siblings. Kaye and mom are the babies of the family. Unfortunately Kaye had a stroke earlier this year, but happily she is doing much better. Mom hasn't seen her since she got sick so she is excited to spend some time with her!

Sarah called earlier today and her son Ian has a cellulitis infection on his leg and has been running a temperature of 103-104. She got him right in to the doctor's office and they gave him some large doses of antibiotics and are watching him closely. They have no idea how he got the infection and are pretty worried about him. Please keep him in your prayers for us.

Well, that's all I know for now. Hope you are all well. Love ya, Nancy

SWEET NOTHINGS FROM A SWEETIE PIE!

The sweetest little girl (my Carly) whispered the sweetest little nothings in my ear this morning!

Carly came in the kitchen while I was fixing lunch and softly said, "Momma, Did you know I had to ask Heavenly Father if you could be my Mommy?"

Me: "I didn't know for sure, but  kind of wondered."

Carly: "Well, I did. And he told me he'd have to talk to you about it."

I glanced over at her quickly when she said this but she just continued telling the story.

"He went to talk to you and he told me when he asked you, you said yes really fast, like this, "YES!!!" That's why I'm here!"

My little ones say some very sweet things to me but I think this is one of my very favorites~probably because it's exactly what would have happened if I had been asked! I prayed my kids here and that's for sure! Love them so very much!

OUR DISNEY TRIP IN PICTURES

All of us on Main St. at Disneyland



Carly and Jono's Goofy picture!

Fun with Mickey

Captain Hook with Jono and Carly

Cruella D'ville

They are driving young these days!



Now THAT'S a Bumper Car! So much fun!
  

Just along for the ride! Got me a driver and she's doing a great job!



Can you tell this is his favorite ride! Luckily, it's awhile till Jono gets his real driver's license! Lol!
 

SPECIAL TIME WITH DAD

Carly and Daddy 

Jono and Daddy

There's nothing better than your dad spending time with you and showing you how much he really, truly loves you!

DON'T FORGET TO CLOSE YOUR MOUTH . . .

When you've opened it wide and your feet are inside! That is if you ever realize that's what you did. Lol! So, we are leisurely making our way back from California and this morning after we checked out of our hotel we decided that since we slept through breakfast we would stop for donuts. We picked a place that sounded like a winner--"Grand Slam Donuts" and it had several positive reviews and only one negative one which was about the service. So, we drove there and a pleasant looking Asian woman near our age began serving us. 

As we were choosing our donuts this woman asked Rob if Carly and Jono were our grandchildren? He said "No, they belong to us." I am not exaggerating one bit when I tell you that her mouth literally dropped open and hung there when he said that. She looked not only astonished but confused so I joined in and said, "No, they are ours." She still didn't close her mouth but her eyes joined her mouth in a way that seemed to add even more confusion to the astonishment. I was afraid she was going to fall over backwards if I didn't do something quickly and yet I didn't feel like alerting everyone in the place to our situation (let alone making it a big deal for my sweet kids) so I mouthed the word "ADOPTION" to her. FINALLY--her brain caught up with her mouth and allowed it to close. Her face showed some recognition of the facts on the ground matching the explanation she'd been given and an ability to move on with her day. Yay! We would indeed get our donuts without having to do a DNA test or provide legal documents. Holy cow!

But wait! She wasn't through. Before we got our donuts she wanted to know why. Why did we have these children and not their birth mothers. Did we keep in touch with them and then, on top of all that, she had some advice for me about whether we should or shouldn't keep in touch with them. I won't bore you with all those details. But seriously!!

No, I don't know her name. Yes--both of her feet are still in her mouth. Yes, I was much too polite and gave her much too much information. It's hard for me to respond rudely like some other adoptive mother's I know do when people are just being stupidly curious or as they see it invasive--though, as my kids get older, it's getting harder for me not to as well. It's a fine line.

You see, these children ARE mine. I forget sometimes what you see; what others see. I forget what makes you curious. I only know what my heart sees and that is a deep, profound love for my children. My Father in Heaven sent these children to me. They belong to me and while I have stopped being hurt (mostly) by stupid, thoughtless, insensitive questions about their relationship to me, their color versus mine, and why I have them and not their biological mother--that journey for them is just beginning. Trust me - these may be informational questions to you but they can be deeply private, painful questions for both the adoptive parent and child.

I know I am preaching to the choir right now--but CHOIR--you know other people out there--pass this information on. Tell people to stop being so insensitive. It's OK to be curious but you don't have to satisfy your curiosity. NO YOU DON'T!!! Curiosity killed the cat and it can hurt people you don't mean to hurt--especially little ones! I'm just saying. If someone wants to share their story with you, they will. Otherwise, it isn't your business.

That said, I am a fairly open book. Most people I know and love know our story. I am one who generally shares the stories of my blessings fairly openly--but I like to choose the time, place and people I share with--especially so I know how it will effect my little ones. I never want to do or say anything that will have a negative impact on them--and I don't want anyone else to do it--even in an unthinking moment. Thanks for hearing me out. I just needed to vent. Love you all. :)

OUR DOO ~ DAH DISNEY DAY!

We finally made it to the Magic Kingdom today and we had some happy little faces to show for it! The weather was perfect, too. If anything, a little cooler than expected but certainly not too warm--and the lines were not too long for anything we wanted to ride or see. It was such a nice day. We are going to take in some sight-seeing tomorrow and see if we can find the ocean and some beach to hang out on for a bit so the kids can collect some sea-shells. Then we will take in another day of Disney. It's really been a good trip. Here are some pictures of our Disney adventure so far.

Getting lunch so we could enjoy our day

Waiting for my ride to Disney

Our friend Minnie

Mickey the gatekeeper!

Daddy and us with Mickey

Jono, Carly and Mommy

Watching the parade

Loving me some parade, Mom!

THE WANDERERS

We are traveling and I wasn't sure I was going to have time to blog while we were on the road. However, the kids are asleep and I have found a few quiet moments. Rob's in laws (Grammy and Poppy) from his first marriage (whom I also consider family) are not in very good health and we are on a short trip to visit them. We are in California and were able to spend time with them today and will spend a little more time with them tomorrow before we go. Grammy is now bedridden and isn't able to do much on her own. She also doesn't have the energy for long visits so we are trying to be careful not to tax her strength too much. We had a really nice visit with them and with our brother and sister-in-law and their kids. We went out to dinner with them and Poppy tonight and had a very nice evening together while Grammy rested.

Tomorrow after our visit we will head to Anaheim for a couple of days to take the kids to Disneyland. They are really excited! The last time we went to Disneyland Julie was only 12. Oh my, where has the time gone?!

WE'RE HAVING A WARM STORM!

Today was a gorgeous day--I mean, really gorgeous. It was so nice you would think Spring was here already. Unfortunately, it is supposed to be cold and wet the rest of the week but it will be worth it just to have had a few nice days. Unfortunately, Jonathon's asthma has been bad enough the last couple weeks I haven't been able to let him run around outside while it's been nice and I practically had to stand on him to keep him indoors today. He loves to be outside and he so wanted to run and play. Poor little guy. I am really hoping he starts to grow out of this as he gets older.

He was able to go to gymnastics (indoors) today so he at least got to have a little fun. Plus, he had his pre-school and also had a friend over, too. It was all the doldrums for him. On the way back from gymnastics today he and Carly were talking about how warm it was outside and asked me if it was Summer. I told them it wasn't and explained how the seasons go and that Spring would be here soon and then Carly blurted out "Well then, we are having a warm storm--and it's making me very, very hot!" Lol! She makes me laugh!

Grandpa got his results back from the gall bladder tests he had the other day. Turns out he's got a bum gall bladder and they suggest he have it removed. I haven't talked to him myself about it yet but the word on the street is that he has other ideas about what should happen with it. Maybe he's had his gall bladder so long he's just plain attached to it, or maybe he's gotten used to the vomiting and he's starting to actually enjoy it. Lol. I'm not sure if he's really thinking about keeping it or if he just wants more time to think about it but I will find out and let you know. In the meantime, keep my Big Bad Dad in your thoughts and prayers would ya?

Also, my Aunt Kaye is back in the hospital. She had a blood clot in her left leg and it broke apart and part of it went into her left lung. She is feeling OK but they have her on oxygen now and she will have to remain on oxygen now. She is hoping to be able to go home from the hospital soon. Please keep her in your prayers as well.

I will update you when I know more. Night all.

NICE WORDS ON A HARD DAY

I taught my 14 year old's today. To be honest, I thought I would be less nervous teaching the youth. WRONG. It's just a different kind of pressure. It's still hard and you have to be on top of your game. I was so nervous this morning and trying to pull things together--after working on my lesson for many hours yesterday and this morning. Then, Rob got called out (he's on call this weekend) and I was left to finish my lesson, get myself and the kids ready, feed them and get them to church on time. Well, it didn't happen. We missed the first meeting. Luckily, I wasn't teaching until the second meeting. Rob got home about 25 minutes before the second meeting started and we pulled it together and got there.

I think the lesson went kinda, sorta well. I've been taking some small treats and give them out in return for reverence and participation. That has been helping. My co-teacher will have the next two weeks as I have taught two in a row. Now, it's her turn to do the same.

I did have a very nice thing happen after I left class. A man who had been in my adult Sunday School Class and who didn't know I am not teaching in there anymore stopped me in the hall to tell me I am his very favorite Gospel Doctrine teacher. That is a one and only moment. Never happened before, will never happen again. :) I told him he made my whole day! It really did make me feel good. Everyone needs a payday like that once in awhile, especially when you are having a hard day!

MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL

Yesterday I took Carly to get her hair done. It only took about an hour and a half. Sunshine is the young woman's name who does her hair. She is always so nice. She spent extra time curling and styling her hair. It was so cute when she was through. Carly was so excited to have "shiny" (that's what she called it) hair again. I'm just thrilled to have comb-through, manageable hair again. Yay!

Here are a couple pictures of my little sweetie pie with her new 'do. :

Carly with her hair styled

Carly's curls

It was kind of funny afterwards on our way home. She hadn't seen herself in a mirror yet but she knew Sunshine had used a curling iron on her hair. She also knew we had gone there to have her hair straightened. I didn't realize the mix of the two had confused her. Our conversation went like this: 

Carly: "Mama, I thought we were getting my hair straightened?"
Me: "We did honey. That's what Sunshine just did."
Carly: "But Mommy she just curled it?"
Me: "Yes, but before she curled it, she straightened it.
Carly: But why did she straighten it if it was already curled?
Me: Who's on first, What's on second . . .

OK--so I didn't say the last one --but it kind of felt like that. Took a little explaining. She was delighted to see the "after" curls she had as opposed to the teeny weeny hard to comb through "before" curls. A mirror made all the difference!

YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY~THAT WON'T FLATTEN YOUR TUMMY :O

The weather is messin' with me. Today it was all sunny and nice again. Oh well, I'll take it. I was just glad to have a lovely day. It was a little chilly but I didn't care. It was just nice to have some sunshine!

Rob called me late afternoon and was heading to a hospital where he usually does some work. However, he told me he was headed there because his brother was in the ER really sick. They weren't sure what was wrong but thought he might even have meningitis. We went through a couple of hours of nervousness and his brother had to have a spinal tap but, thankfully, it came back negative. They think it is just a really bad virus. In the end, the symptoms remind me of what Rob had at the end of December that ended up being a really bad flu. His head hurt worse than he could remember it ever hurting and his body ached all over and he felt really, really sick. Anyway, we feel really blessed that this didn't turn out to be meningitis. They have him on some strong meds so hopefully he can start to get better quickly.

Rob and I have both lost some weight recently. In fact, we'd both like to lose a little more--though we're feeling pretty good with where we've gotten so far. We spent a month on the Whole30 Paleo diet to clean out our guts but it helped our waistline as well. We plan to continue eating Paleo-rific about 85% of the time (except when we don't.) That will help "our guts" stay clean and our waistlines thin--hopefully. However, tonight I just wasn't in the mood for Paleo anything! We had to make a trip to Costco and right by Costco is this nice little Asian restaurant called Pei Wei. It is so YUMMY! You guessed it--I talked Rob in to taking me to dinner there and we were both a bit naughty. Hopefully, it won't show too much tomorrow.

I did run for 20 minutes today and do 1,000 sit ups! Yes, you read that right. I am trying to get rid of my tummy. OK, maybe not completely rid of it--but just flatten it a little. Lol! :D

SO MUCH FOR THE SUN . . .

Hahaha! Wow, fooled me! Yesterday and the day before it was all warm and sunny here. I mean, it was almost shirt sleeve. It was around 60 degrees. Woke up this morning to heavy, flying snow! No kidding. Yesterday made me dare to believe we were done for the year. Joke's on me! Crazy weather. The one good thing is that it never did stick to the ground--hopefully, it won't overnight, either. But, I guess we get what we get and we don't throw a fit! (Jonathon comes home from pre-school and says that!) I think his teacher must have to repeat it to a bunch of 3 and 4 year olds a lot! Lol!)

Julie's doing really great this semester in school. She just aced two more quizzes. She's working really hard and we are so proud of her!

Carly got to take out her first library book from her school's library and bring it home. I don't remember doing that when I was her age. I'm not sure when I got to do it but it was an important rite of passage for her. She feels big! We read it together tonight and she gets to return it on her own and check out another one. I'm really glad they are teaching them responsibility at such a young age.

Well, not too much going on here. Time to lock up and go home. :D

WARM AND SUNNY HERE

Yesterday (Monday) since it was a holiday, Russ, Susan's husband had the day off, so they came up to visit and do some "honey do's" for Grandma and Grandpa. Russ spent the day hanging pictures and decor for Grandma and Susan helped Grandpa organize his files and papers.

The kids were were really glad to see them, too. They don't get to see them very often since they are an hour away. They stayed for dinner and then headed home. I will have to take some photos of Russ's handiwork. The walls look really nice.

Our weather has been really wrm the last few days. I think it got up around 60 degrees today and all of our snow has finally melted. With any luck, we can coast on into Spring. That wouldn't hurt my feelings at all. I haven't minded the Winter as much this year as last year but I'm still ready for a new season.

Well, better get myself to bed. It's been a long day.

A NEW ASSIGNMENT

I am now teaching the 14 year old's in Sunday School which is a relief for me. Teaching adult Sunday School was a bit stressful--not that teaching teenagers isn't. It's just that it's a bit more pressure to teach adults. So anyway, today was my first day to teach the lesson. I have a co-teacher and we take turns. I have to say I was really impressed with how good they were today. We have a whole class of boys who have been a bit rowdy at times (I have subbed in there before) and today they were very reverent. I was really grateful for that. Of course, only four out of the seven were there but still, they were good and it made it very easy to teach.

We watched a bit of the Olympics tonight and then had a family home evening lesson with the kids. After that Rob helped Carly practice her piano lesson. I am so grateful he knows enough to help her. Otherwise, I'd be up a creek without a paddle. I so want her to learn to play but I managed to learn nothing about reading or playing music in my life (unless you count the radio--which I don't!) Anyway, it was so sweet to watch him help her so I had to run and get my camera.

She reminds me so much of myself when I was growing up. When I didn't understand something or when something seemed too complicated to grasp, I would just kind of stiffen up and my lips would start to quiver and the tears would start to fall. I watched her on the piano being a bit confused about how to do what she was supposed to do. She started into that same lip quivering mode until her daddy carefully walked her through how to do it. I love my husband so much and I am so happy he is such a wonderful father.

Like this.

Like this?

How am I doing Daddy?

Perfect.