Passing a Story Along...

The other day at work I was chatting with one of the education coordinators that was up from St. George visiting a classroom and making the rounds in the office. She is awesome. I do not think she knows how awesome she really is. I was asking her about her kids, who most are well. while one is not. She said she was in Sacrament meeting a couple of weeks ago and relayed the following story. A grandma had taken her two grandkids to a butterfly exhibit (I can not remember the exact term for it). The kids were trying to catch the butterflies without any luck. They were getting frustrated, so she got their attention. She told them to stick their hands in the solution in a bucket, then sit down and hold still. Sure enough with in a few minutes the butterflies had landed on their hands. The kids were then able to get a closer look at the butterflies. After she relayed the story, she said she thought the speaker was talking about reverence. That had been the topic assigned. However she had interpreted it to mean that instead of trying to seek out her son, who is floundering in the world, she should just wait and let him come to her. I have been thinking about this, since then. Thinking it is a good example of the patience I need in so many things. Maybe even others of us. We live in a have it now society. Life takes patience, especially when it comes to life. I want so many things, but know in my heart the lord has a plan for me and my family. I have figured out how to get my degree by next spring. Which will be just in time for Dave to move on with his graduate degree! The kids need us to be as patient and understanding as we can. We need to teach them that Meghan needs to be taught right, not wrong. By example, because that is how she learns. I am so thankful for the understanding of my wonderful family and those I am lucky enough to call friends.

Life Plans

People who know me well, know that I always have a plan. It does not matter what it is. I am not spontaneous at all. It drives Dave crazy. I have tried to tell him that when he makes a suggestion and I make a face, it is only because I am thinking through what he has just told me and fitting into whatever plan I have made. So I have been thinking lately about how to move up in the world, then yesterday I was having a conversation with a lady I work with and she tells me her son is graduating from BYU Law School today. She tells me that he is going to work as a clerk for a Federal Judge for a year and then go to work at a firm in New York City, then teach at a law school. Well the biggest draw back Dave has had to going to law school is actually practicing as a Prosecutor or Public Defender. I came home told him, I thought he ought to go to Law School, clerk for a while, then teach. I think he is actually on board. His only thought was, how will be live. I told him, I will work full time, while he attends law school. I just looked up the process for taking the LSAT, which can be done here at SUU, and the timeline for getting accepted to Law School. This time next year, we can be moving to a NEW place for him to go to school. It gives me some time to gear up for a BIG move. Kind of frightening to me. I will be like the Little Engine that could...I think I can, I think I can. He needs to do something with all of his smarts. He loves teaching, but it is not much of a challenge and he likes to be challenged! Life goes on, just as I keep saying, however we need to make the most of it!

Baseball Weekend...

Zach being cool!

Thomas as Batman.

Thomas blowing out the candles on his cake.

Meghan and MaryAnn being silly!



Meghan, Emma, and Aunt Desiree

Emma and Uncle Hyrum

Cameron

We went to the very first baseball game of the season. Just as I predicted, it would not go well. Zach is on a team with mostly 9 year olds. Hopefully it will be better today when they play. It will be disappointing to Zach, if they do not do well this season. He does get to play catcher. He is excited about that. Being older, he has a good shot at making the all star team this year. Cameron and Thomas are looking forward to playing in their respected divisions. We are making some progress on know what we can do to help Meghan more. I have her IEP conference in a few weeks. That will shed some light and help us to know what more we can do for her at home. Emma continues to be fiesty! Here are some pictures of the kids from Thomas's birthday weekend.

The Easter Bunny Made it...barely

We had a truly uneventful holiday. My mom decided that she wanted to do the shower in our bathroom in our house. A project that was suppose to take 2 hours took 2 days. I think the kids were bored out of their minds. We have been dealing with car repairs and our money has been going to that as of late. Thanks to my mom the kids had things for Easter. They got candy, new balls to play with, and bunnies for the girls. They boys had new shirts/pants and the girls had new dresses to wear. It was testimony in our ward and I taught primary. Which is when I learned a visit from the tooth fairy was going to be necessary. My oldest son lost a tooth at church and could not find it. We had dinner at our house with grandma, Mike, Uncle Royal and Desiree. Then Dave went out to go to work and the car would not start. We have replaced everything possible, except the starter. So here we are another car repair. The one thing I can be grateful for is that we are not making payments on a car we have to keep repairing. I know what some of you are thinking...why do they not just buy a newer one?...not in the budget. I have pinpointed some thing though. The darkness seems to filter in when I feel like something is out of my control. Probably because I am a control freak. No matter how hard I try, I can not seem to give it up. No news about Meghan, as of yet. I am hoping for something soon. The unfortunate thing is that Emma is starting to copy her behaviors, something I had hoped would not happen, it makes for some interesting times. The thing I am grateful for is that it has taken this long for Meghan not to do so well at Sunbeams. I am hoping for an isolated incident or I may need to explain what we do not know to the primary presidency. I have so many blessings. I just need to count them when things seem crazy.

The Weekend Before the Easter Bunny...

It has been an action packed week. Cameron had his bug program. I did scouts. Most importantly, Thomas turned 6. He has been counting down the days to his birthday for weeks. He has been keeping me updated on what we needed to do to get ready for my appearance at school, his friend party, and his family party. I took blueberry muffins to his class on Friday, which were a big hit! We talked about some of Thomas's favorite things and his class asked him some questions. I am so proud of him and thankful for the teacher he has had this year. He is reading, doing basic math, and being the best friend he can be to all the kids in his class. He invited everyone from school and primary to his friend party. We wondered what we would do if 30 kids actually came. Especially since it was a blizzard most of the day on Friday. As luck would have it, there were 13 kids at his party. Just the perfect number, although I did feel bad for the ONLY girl that showed up. She seemed quite overwhelmed by the whole thing. We opened presents, ate cake and drank punch. as well as played some party games for an hour. The parents came and we were done. Thomas had his favorite for dinner, Pizza! Yesterday came, my sister and her husband came for Thomas's birthday. The boys spent the afternoon with Uncle Hyrum watching movies and eating popcorn. The girls stayed with their dad for the afternoon. I went for my first ever manicure at the insistence of my sister. I have never been before, because I am not that kind of girl. However it turned out ok. I am sure I will not go back, even if my sister thinks there will be a next time. We then had everyone to our house for dinner, ice cream cake, and presents. Uncle Royal and his wife came, my sister and Hyrum came, and Grandma came without Grandpa Mike (he has been struggling with pneumonia). Grandma brought presents for all the kids. That is always a big hit. Now it is Sunday, I am hoping for a little peace, because I did not sleep much last night and the kids were up early. Next week is spring break for the kids. Because of my camera being broken, I took pictures with a disposable camera and will have those pictures this week. I will get them posted, as soon as I can!