Dropping the Kids off at School :(

Wasatch Art Festival picture, (description below)

Sometimes the absolutely worse thing in the world is leaving the kids at school. Driving away, hearing them say, "love you mom", "have a happy day", carrying their lunch boxes, with a note of love and confidence. I always hope people will be nice today. Will they come home with delightful experiences, or are they going to encounter something else?

Gavin in Junior High, being indoctrinated by teachers with opinions. Opinions different than mine. Having conversations that have to do with our world; Immigration, global warming, the next presidential election, wanting to know what things mean when I am still trying to figure those things out. What am I thinking?

Why not spend the entire day with my children running barefoot through the grass, rolling down hills, swinging in tree swings, knowing that you will reach the sky if you just pump a little harder. I can play four square, kick-ball, jumprope. I can teach them times tables, and how to write an essay. I just miss them, and wish they missed me a little more. But they are independant and going to grow up no matter what I do.

When they were little and learning to walk, I would trip them up, "gently" push them back down, crawl a little longer; I would beg. Cuddle more with me, come into our room at night, oh, how I miss having four of them all trying to find a place to snuggle at night. Making beds on the floor of my room. I guess they needed that because I was pushing them out into the world of school and sports. I suppose that is why they needed more at night, because they were learning and growing, and they wanted to have all the time in the world with me too. I miss that. It does go away, and I don't like it. They loose their youth, they grow into these wonderful people that are so like yourself, and yet so like their own person. I have planted them as seeds, now I need the courage to let them grow.

I guess that is why I am trying to redefine me. Who I am? What kind of a world do I see myself offering these little people as they grow up. I tell them, "stop growing up", and Jeremy replies, "Mom, you can grow up with us." Thanks Jeremy, if I can be with them for now, I guess I won't worry about tomorrow. And maybe I can work out an appreciation for the time that I have to define me, while they are out there, exposed to our wonderful world, at wonderful Wasatch Elementary, and Clayton Jr. High; well at least it is an interesting experience.

There is something to what they gain, that I can't give them.

It's just the courage it takes to let go of them; remembering what was written by a third grade girl, at Wasatch, to go with her art piece. It has stayed with me ever since.

This is what our kids are doing while they are away growing up. They are learning to be stars, sensitive, thoughtful, aware, respectful, students. They are little seedlings, sprouting.

They are learning to have the courage to be their best person.

So, yes, Sam, Jeremy, Clarissa, Gavin: Have a happy day!

Me too.

YES! We're Grounded!

What you must know going into this: We do not generally use grounding. It has only been used as a punishment to fit the crime. Like the time when Gavin had forgotten who we were trying to raise him to be. To remind him, we grounded him to a list of words which he had to look up in the collegiate (1500 pages) dictionary. From the list and their definitions he had to put them in report form. Which word would I like to describe me, and which words would I like to avoid being described as. Sounds easy, except that he was only 7 years old, in the first grade, and we had given him words which would require that he look up more words to define; took him a bit longer than a week, for the first draft. At that age their handwriting is atrocious, so of coarse a re-write was in order. It was so impressionable that no one in our home has forgotten.

Clarissa had the same punishment…

Second, Gavin was grounded from me once for a period of two weeks; for disrespect towards me. The natural punishment was that he lost the “privilege” of me and, with that, all that I do for him. (This actually works very well. Painful enough that we have had no more incidences worthy of such grounding.)

At this time he was in the 3rd grade. He had the opportunity to eat oatmeal for two weeks, in his room. Do his own laundry. Walk to and from school. Eat pb and j, with carrots and water for lunch (at school…no cookies, etc, notes from mom, just boring old sack lunch – very painful punishment!) and ditto for dinner – in his room. He could not talk to me, ask me questions. He was to report directly to his desk and was given various writing tasks by his dad. He was also given only two bathroom breaks a day. After a couple weeks of missing mom’s dinners, love, attention and attending too, he was ready to understand that respecting his mother gains him great comforts.

You would not think that this would be a good thing to aspire to.

Alas, Sam and Jeremy are grounded. Unfortunately, I allowed them to come up with their punishment this time, and this is how it went.

After walking the dog and checking in with various neighbors to see what their after school treats were, they decided that without telling mom they would stay at the house with the best offer.

After about an hour of dog walking time I began to worry. Not so much for the boys, but for the neighbors whom they were certainly entertaining.

Sending out an SOS (ie Gavin and Clarissa), the boys were called home and given a stern lecture, dinner, pajamas and meet me at the couch to talk punishment.

They came up with being grounded.

I thought, not what I would have chosen, a bit harsh, but….both agreed it was what they wanted.

I gave in. And then…..in unison, “YES, WERE GROUNDED.” We get to eat in our room. The cheers, I am certain, could be heard downtown, because about that time Brian called to see if everything was “okay.”

Me, in shock, “Yeah, were fine, the boys are just off celebrating that they are grounded.”

(Later I hear them talking, “finally, we get to be grounded.” “I am going to clean up my desk, how about you?” “Yeah, we get a whole week in here, so I want it to be clean.” “What do you think mom will serve us for dinner?” “We don’t have to go to piano….we don’t have to go to scouts….I don’t even think we can come out to go to church.”)

Watch out world. (and in conclusion: why didn’t I think of this, peace and quietly I get to type away, eat what I want, when I want, and they are in their room CLEANING.)

17 Posts in Draft Form, One Scheduled

You know when you need to simplify when there are that many drafts to go back and finish journaling. We had a busy summer, I thought school would start and I would get to finishing my future history. I am even scheduling posts so that I have the fear of them posting before I write them. You didn't know I could tell the future, did you!!! Se la ve...

Life Lessons and Playing Ball

You win some, you lose some. Today East lost to Alta.

It was a perfect loss and lesson.

We couldn't have been more proud of the way

these boys congratulated each other on a game well played.

(East, 6; Alta, 10)

Here's the low down.

When someone is life tells you that the other team is going to run circles around you, they will.

When someone in life tells you that the other team is part of a Club,

(the only club in the league)

you will feel less;

feeling less you have already lost.

When someone in life tells you that the other team was best in the league last season,

It won't matter that you are best in the league this season.

What our minds tell us about matter really is where we win or lose.

(Go Gavin, #23)

These boys played their hearts out, as a team. And when they lost, they stood as a team.

Sometimes it is better to not hear what the rest of the world tells us going into our game.

We need to remember who we are, or we lose before we even start.

East Team chant:

Who are, who are, who are we...

We are, we are, we are East!

Life lesson today:

REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE,

and go for it;

no matter what anyone tells you

about the "other" team

(Clarissa spends a fair amount of time cheering her brother on, in between texting, of course.)

Our Big Brother is pretty cool!!!

Good Game Gavin!

Moment of Silence

Starting School AGAIN

Didn't we just do this? I am suppose to be in Biology and have already had it with school. I need an attitude adjustment.

what happens at daybreak

just some pictures i have come across that I thought were really cool...

Bats!

We fished in the night, and bats were the most exciting thing we caught. Well, the fish were pretty exciting, and the dead battery in the car. Suzie and Gavin had to RUN through the darkness to rescue our dead car and sleeping little ones. Oh my, what a memory!

Speakmans Moving

Taggart, Clarissa, Naomi, Marissa, Jeremy, Storm, Teague, Gavin, Sam
at the 33rd ward

Gavin and Storm, bowling at the Union
Jeremy and Naomi, skateboarders
Jeremy and his best friend Teague
Sam and Taggart, many days in our library playing chess!
Clarissa and Marissa, Baxter the dog, and walks for Slurpees!

The neighbors and friends that my kids have known their entire lives have moved, sadly, to Hawaii. We will not know what to do with out them. They have been very much a part of every memory here, and being just a few doors down, as soon as my kids could crawl their way, they have played together. We love them, we will miss them, and wish them the very best.

And finally, my little friend, Naomi.

A meeting with the Bishop

Okay, I spoke too early about Faith and Prayers. Why, when I am being so rebellious and seriously contemplating ... does the bishop have to extend a calling to me. ARRRRRRGGHGHGHGHGHGH

Jeremy's Test Results

Test results negetive for Cystic Fibrosis, negetive for an enlarged heart, negetive for all the horrible things that the physicians have been looking for.

The only positive thing is the relief that we are feeling right now. Jeremy is still ours, and will be for...well, forever. We are just needing to be patient with what we are facing. But it is not the worst.

A Scare with Jeremy

(excerpts from communication while we are trying to figure out what is going on with Jeremy)

"Gosh, how does Jeremy feel? I think he is confused about what is happening, but mainly he knows he doesn't feel well. He just can feel that he catches his breath. Yet he can run and play sometimes, and other times he is just not able to. He tells me a lot that he can't breath, it's hard, and it makes me sad.

When we learned about the Iron yesterday Brian started giving him a tablespoon of natural molasses. Jeremy says its yucky but he wants to get better and he believes it will help. The heartwrenching reality is he knows how he feels and how bad it is. I have tried to protect him from the frightening diagnosis that we are waiting on. I really have protected him and been very positive, so the following took me by surprise. This morning after having the Molasses he was walking with Sam to their room and said to Sam, "Know why I have to have that stuff? Because if I don't fix my Iron I have to go to heaven." I was shocked.

Brian started to tear up and left the room. Jeremy came to me right after that and said, "Mom, if I go to heaven can I have a birthday every day?" I just knelt down and took both his hands and looked at his face. He had such a look of courage I can not even describe. Like he was trying to be so brave asking me. I answered "Yes, Jeremy, you can have a birthday every day in heaven, and Grandpa would be there with you, You and Grandpa would be best pals and do so many wonderful things together. You would be our angels and watch over us."

Then he said, "Can I have a star just like Grandpa?" I said, "Yes, the biggest one....but Jeremy you are going to pick a star for me long before you get to heaven." I told him that he had so many things to still do. Learn to play the piano (I started him in lessons today, no time to waste), go on a mission, marry your best friend, be a daddy, play sports, go to work, go to college....you know. I was pleading with him to know that he was going to be okay. I told him, "Jeremy, Daddy and I are going to do everything possible to help you feel better, and it is going to work, and you are going to grow up and be strong, and have all the fun in the world before you ever go to heaven." And then he said, "If I do go to heaven can I paint the sunsets with Grandpa." I nearly lost my pretend happy composure at that moment. I just said, "You can paint sunsets, Jeremy, and rainbows, and butterflys, and beetles. You will have so many important things to do and heaven will be wonderful. But Jeremy you have many things to do here first."

I reminded him that Bishop blessed him and that we would help him and he will get better. The look on his face said it all. He heard what I said but he bravely holds on to his wonder, "what will heaven be like for me".

...why is he even thinking such things. I am so scared. I feel so destroyed, my heart is aching and breaking at the same time. He shouldn't be thinking these things. I am protecting him, or so I think, from the worry and concern. But he knows how he feels, and he is frightening me. After I talked to him I went into the kitchen and Brian was in tears. I have seen him cry only a few times, when his dad died, and today. He is mine, my Jeremy. I feel so stubborn. I don't want to let him go. Last night he woke up and was clammy everywhere. He was having a night terror and wasn't really awake, shaking and really upset. I put him in a warm tub and bathed him, he gently woke up. Then I held him in the bathroom on the floor for hours, with tears streaming down my face, while he slept in my arms. I can't stand worrying. I just want to know so that we can fix it. He seems like he is just fine most of the time, but if you watch closely he doesn't breath very well. If he has an enlarged heart, and has had it since he was at least 2 years old, it is a very scary diagnosis. I don't know how to do this. Everything about him has always been different, from the beginning. But everything about him is "Just Jeremy". That's what I always say, he is Just my Jeremy, different but perfect in every way.

About a month ago I had a strong feeling that something was going to happen to him, I thought maybe he was going to die....dreams about him getting hit by a car, or something. I told Colleen to watch him carefully, I called his teacher at school and pleaded that she be really aware of Jeremy because I had such bad feelings. I made the doctor appointment a month ago because I noticed his breathing was getting worse, he was more agitated by it. I just thought it was asthma. None of this is what I planned. How selfish is that, thinking that I can plan everything? I realize that I am in the middle of some refinement for me and my family, but this just really sucks and That is the bottom line, it sucks.

FINALS

Being in the middle of finals is never the greatest place to be. I would rather be just to the outside, and getting ready for the holidays.

I am taking a break to think about this person that I spend most of my time with, me.

Officially, who am i, right now. Not the person that I am embarrassed of (the past), or the person I hope to meet (in the future).

Today, I am all the opportunities I have taken, all the mistakes I have made. Leftover from yesterday....the burnt toast, scraped, with jelly.

I am taking Math, Brazilian Capoeira, a writing class, and still trying to re-learn some piano basics. I use my children for gain. Whatever they are learning, I learn along with them. I am jealous of them most of the time, because they are confident, loved, and secure. Three things I never felt.

I am past my years of Chairing the School Community Council for Wasatch Elementary, yet heavily involved in making our children's education the very best, and creating an educational environment that is seriously in the best interest of the children whom it serves.

I am just outside of leading our ward's primary Sacrament Meeting program, as chorister. After 7 "seriously" long years as Primary President, I am seeing that I learned so much more teaching music to these lovely little creatures.

I am becoming more and more rebellious, and questioning my beliefs. What do I believe, and how do I want to live my life.????

I am loving the many books that I am reading, confused because I can't seem to read just one.

I am looking forward to family events, and enjoying the ones that we have recently had.

I am wishing that I was on vacation; Japan, Maine, Boston, Tennessee, Arizona, Oregon, even Moab. All with so many memories.

I am loving every Wednesday night, when my Brian and I take an evening to ourselves, to be in love, romantic, and to rekindle the love that brought me to like who I am. (props to our sweet sister who takes the children for the night, and thank you for the one morning that I could sleep in if I ever stopped scheduling my classes so early!!!!!)

Back to studying I must go. It's only my 4.0 at stake.

Burnt Toast

Do you ever feel like you are burnt toast? Literally. Cooked too long and useful to no one.

I learned today that if you scrape the burn off, then the toast actually tastes pretty good. Why I bothered to do that, rather than just making a fresh piece of toast would take too long to explain.

And truth is, the scraping really makes a mess. My life. Scraping the burn off is really making a mess.

I wonder if it is worth it.

See you again-

throwing up

I spent the whole entire day in bed or throwing up, with a migraine. I have never had one before and this took me by complete surprise. Actually I think that this was a perfect way to describe the pressure that I have been under for the past few weeks, like a volcano, my body finally heated up and exploded, literally. I have certainly learned a great deal from this experience. I have never experienced a debilitating headache like the one that I had yesterday. I will never make light of anyone who suffers from true migraines, nor will I suggest that I have a headache anything along those lines again. I could punch anyone who says that they have a “migraine” and is standing up. I could not function, stand, or even sleep through the pain. If I wasn’t throwing up I was in bed with an ice pack, and yet the pain never subsided. It took the whole day in bed, and even today I am still sensitive.

My Test Scores - Values Class

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

My test answers for ending values for future reflection:

Aesthetic

4.4

Control

3.2

Creativity

4.5

Family

4.8

Humanity

4.8

Physical

3.6

Renown

2.5

Social

3.0

Spiritual

4.9

Wealth

2.9

How balanced are your totals now? How balanced is your life now? What has changed about your life since the first values scale?

My total really reflects how I would personally score each in importance to me. I think that for me the balance is great. I actually believe that my scores regarding areas of less importance to me; wealth and renown went down more, and my scores in areas of great importance; family, humanity, spiritual, went up. Actually the greatest difference to me is I think that having spirituality being the highest score was surprising. I think that much of the influence of this class really pushed me to put a lot of things in perspective and helped nudge me back to the road that I needed to be on. Very cool!!

What has changed about my life? I listen to my kids more, to what they are really saying, to what maybe is behind what they are saying to me. I let them know that what they need is very important to me and that I want to help them to achieve the very best. I am definitely a more positive person. Our home is more positive and we don't focus on the negative as much. I really feel like a whole happy person, I was not in a good place when I first started this course; I had a difficult summer, leaning toward some things that would not be the very best for me. I also noticed that my control value went down a bit. I am not so concerned about what I have control of. I take things a bit easier now.

Aesthetic: I think that not too much has changed other than I really do look more for art in so many areas. I see appreciation in art that I didn't see before, but I also look at the world, homes, gardens, roads, buildings, mountains, and see a great deal of beauty in them. I also recognize that beauty is in everyone beholding, each person has a different way of seeing, and each way is independently right for that person.

Control: I was and still am quite controlling, but I have been able to let go of a lot of things. I think part of this is because I have learned to focus on other values and find true happiness independent of what I control.

Creativity: I love creativity, but found that I am not as in love with this value as I thought. I think I really value it but it is not the central aspect of everything I do. I have interest in to many other areas to really focus on it. I think I could say I appreciate creativity, but don't really participate in it daily. I did also learn that creativity flows over into many parts of life, not just "artistic" creativity as many would think.

Family: My family is so important to me. When I did the value beginning it was really low because I answered the questions about my parents honestly and some of those answers were 0. It really put a perspective on things for me. It was discouraging to think that I don't value family. Family is in the top three of my values, and rightly so.

Humanity: This is one of my top three. I took a humanities course a year ago and it pleases me that humanity is one of my highest values. It is an area that I would be interested in future study in my education. I also feel that it is a part of my integral life. I believe and love the value of humanity.

Physical: Still low, probably lower. Just not something that I focus much on, and it is not really something that I worry about. I have a greater awareness of being healthy, but the whole aspect of the physical value is not that important to me still.

Renown: This was also a lower value for me. I do think that through the course I came to better understand this value, and I even respect it as being an important value. I particularly find it important if it motivates people to do good because of how they will be remembered.

Social: I love to socialize. The value is one of my lower ones, probably because if I had to choose something social over being home with my family, I would walk away. I am good at socializing and being social, but I just don't find it to be that important. I can go to a party, even throw a good one, but I like quiet time.

Spirituality: This value really changed in me. I was questioning religion and my value of it strongly and this course really made me reflect and think about my spirituality in a way that I have not for a long time. I also think that the experiences with the movies and books really impacted my life.

Wealth: Low, still low. This is important to me in the hope that I can provide well for my family but otherwise not really something that I value. I just don't think much of being wealthy. I have been really poor in my life, and now have a pretty nice life. We barely make ends meet each month and don't look for a lot of extras, but I don't really think about it and I am really happy. When we don't have something, or can't do something, I don't make a big deal of it so I don't think that my kids worry much about it either. Wealth can be good, and it can be evil, but I don't think it has anything to do with the actual wealth. The value of it is just low for me.

Self Reflective Essay

I can positively say that the thing that I have most come to understand in the process of this class is the genre translation. In the beginning I did not get that at all. I must have read the information in the book more times than any other subject. I was driving home from Utah County one morning and saw a billboard advertising Moab as a great place for “wheelin’”, and it finally hit me, a genre translation is a way of using rhetoric in a significantly different way than in a simple essay, something that would be within the scene of my issue. Suddenly I began to put all the pieces together and everything that I had not understood up to this point about scene, issue, genre, began to make sense. Then I thought of many ways that I could present a genre translation, an advertisement, a magazine cover, t-shirts, bumper stickers, a pamphlet, letter to the editor of a magazine, a poster for a car parts place. I was so excited to create something for my genre translation. I have a design for a t-shirt for our family to wear to Cruise Moab 2007, and I have done a magazine cover with my sons on it to go along with the article that is my Researched Argument. Finally, understanding the concept of genre helped me to further my writing to a higher level.

In my writing I struggled with mainly how to narrow a subject to a specific detail or issue. I seem to always want to present more than is necessary and make my writing difficult to engage in. I used a great deal of input from my peer group to grow a couple of really good ideas and scrap the rest. Specifically, Michelle advised that I write the article using the move that I am writing from a woman’s perspective. I thought that was clear in my original draft, but come to find out it was not. I definitely incorporated that into my second draft. I also needed to specify that I was writing about the fun that our family had on the adventure, rather than to cover so many other alternate arguments, such as secondary trails, or alternate ways to explore the area. I needed to stick to my issue more clearly.

My peer group also suggested that I address the issue of safety. I seem to say it is a safe, fun, family event and then drive some laughs by writing about the “scarier” aspects of the sport. I need to address the transition better to lighten and at least advise on my feelings and reaction to the dangers, especially if I am appealing to the family fun aspect of four- wheelin’.

I used most of the advice given to me, specifically to keep with a voice throughout the paper. I did not address the specifics of safety, because I chose to take out the quote context from Todd Kaderabek and specifically address the issue of it being a fun event for our family. I decided to stick with the folksy travel voice. This would work best for the audience that I will be addressing. I still think that my paper will require a few additional peer reviews and some serious consideration prior to submitting it to the magazine. Much that I included for the classroom style argument will be deleted and I will generally address the travel adventures of the Cruise’ Moab event.

In the beginning of the course I wrote that good writing was writing that is easily engaged in by a reader. I still believe that good writing has to have a few specific elements. It has to appeal to a specific audience, the audience that is intended for the writing. Writing has to be written in a way that the reader does not have to struggle to involve or interest themselves in the reading. And finally, writing has to be interesting and address the issue in a way that keeps the interest of the reader. I think that with so many different areas of writing that the concepts taught in this course really have given me a better foundation for writing. I will be thinking of so many more things than I would have before, which will only help me to be a better writer, specifically things such as the scene, the audience, the way that my words impact the reader, and the opposing viewpoints, to name a few.

I have really enjoyed the visual rhetoric concepts in my research and writing. This too has influenced me greatly. I specifically really began to understand alternate viewpoints using the cartoon in the book on page 81. I better understand angle of vision and writing to a specific audience. I also was better able to understand a lot of other areas when I engaged in visual rhetoric.

For my presentation I plan to use a visual rhetorical move to present the process of writing as an adventure. I want to engage my topic, my issue, but not really talk about my issue, only use it to make a point in my presentation.

For my final researched argument, I plan to create something that is light and interesting, using humor to engage readers in the idea of wheelin’ being a family fun adventure. I will submit the article in January to Toyota Trails for possible publication.

throw in a ward party....

Another summary as the days are just running together. I can’t think of much of anything other than sleeping during the day when I come home for my family, and then heading back to my sisters in Utah County for the nights with the twins. Emma’s heart alarms go off all night long, it is so scary. The twins wake up a lot right now, they are adjusting to being home. I feel like I am always missing something and just keep praying that I will stay well enough to help with the twins and keep up with my own family. I have put school on the back burner right now, which is not good with everything coming due, but it has to be for now. I am just mostly thankful that my sister is alive and has a chance to heal and come home to her family.


Friday, December 1, 2006

Tonight is our ward activity. I will head back to my sisters house afterward for part of the weekend. Gavin is going with me to help with the babies so that Jake and I can take turns sleeping tonight. I had to take Jeremy into the doctor this morning; he has a growth on his face. I thought it was no big deal, but when we got there the doctor gave him a shot and used a scalpel to remove the growth right there and then. He said he needed to do a biopsy on it and that he would have the results in a week. I think I am going into shock, he is only five years old, what could it be! It just seems unreal right now to be dealing with so much on so little sleep. I am trying to think positively and find many things to be thankful for, even in these seemingly nightmarish trials. I know that it could be worse and am not asking for anything more, just being grateful and finding something positive in each thing right now.

December 2, 2006

Today we had a family party. Afterwards I had Gavin stay with Jake for the weekend so that I could spend a couple of nights at home with Brian and my kids. So much I could write about and probably should, but I am so tired. I am just glad to be home tonight.

December 3, 2006

Today I slept some of the afternoon. My brother and sister in law had us over for dinner; it was really nice of them. Tonight is Mark Millers Managers Christmas party at the Country Club. It is always a nice party and excellent dinner and entertainment. Last year Brian was the winner takes all for the Texas Hold’em tournament. He is reining champion and nervous about playing tonight, since he keeps getting an earful at work. It should be really fun. My sister flies in from Arizona tonight for the week. She will be here for to help with the twins. I am hopeful to get caught up on school, but realistically I will probably just get further behind with all the family running around this week. It is finals week, my presentation is due, I have a lot to catch up on, and I am way behind in Math. There you have it….I am hopeful, but hopeless, tired and praying for strength to catch up and catch my breath.

Crash and BURN

Well, I guess it was time for things to crash a bit. My little Samuel ended up in the hospital last night with possible early appendicitis. He had severe abdominal pain. They tried a enema on him, then did two bolus of fluids through an IV, finally doing a CAT scan on him and blood work, letting us bring him home feeling a bit better, but not 100%. He is only 7, and what he went through was horrible for a kid. I just felt so bad and worried.

Jake returns from Portland today. I had my English class, and really need to push to get on top of things for next week. My paper needs to be done, and I need to have a presentation ready. My kids are out of school tomorrow and I am a bit worried about juggling my Math class in the morning, I haven’t found someone to watch them yet. Sam is not feeling perfectly well and I don’t really want to leave him. I really think that the past week has been the calm before the storm.

Tonight when I took Gavin to Young Men’s the bishop asked if we would speak as a family in Sacrament meeting on Sunday. I figured what the heck, on top of what we have been dealing with, this would be a breeze. Besides it will be good for my kids to hear something from their Dad, he is usually really goods at avoiding things like this.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

I skipped my math this morning, with the kids out of school and all I figured they could appreciate their mom being home with them. We cleaned house and wrote their talks for the Sacrament meeting Sunday. They each chose something really cool to talk about, Gratitude is our subject, and it was sweet to spend the time working with them. Today was a perfect way to spend a Wednesday!!!