School started...

I still think of myself as a brand new mom. And because of this, there are often times when I am not quite sure how to parent. When I find myself in those situations, I always say to myself
"Self, you're new at this parenting thing. What do you expect? Just be patient and someday you'll get it." Unfortunately, I've been kidding myself. It's been 11 1/2 years and I really should know what I'm doing. I guess I'm just a slow learner. :)

Anyhoo, back to the topic at hand. I never thought the day would come. But it did. My little baby Kortnee, the one that I just barely gave birth to a few short years ago, started MIDDLE SCHOOL! It just blows my mind. Fortunately, at the end of the day, she LOVED it. She finally admitted she was a little nervous. It was really cute because she was acting cool and seemed to be handling things very well, but as I dropped her off at the school, she turned to me and said, "Ok, Mom. I'm scared to death!" I pulled myself together and said, "Kortnee, you are going to do great! You know where all of your classes are and you have your map. Just go in there and do your very best! And don't be afraid to ask questions!" Then she got out of the car, and walked in and... I lost it! I cried and cried. It was like the first day of Kindergarten all over again. Why is it that the kids are always braver than the parents?

Kade started 3rd grade. He did wonderful. Kade has a way of adapting so easily to any situation. He has no fear of anything! He loves his new teacher, Mrs. Martin and his classmates. He starts GATE (Gifted And Talented Education) in a couple of weeks. He goes three times a week to an accelerated class where they learn more challenging ideas and subjects. Hopefully he will enjoy it. He is a good kid and we never have to worry about him in school. I did shed a tear for him too. I just can't believe how big they are getting and how fast they grow. Just yesterday he was my little guy who would say "Mom, maybe I should stay home from school today because you'll just miss me too much." Sadly, he doesn't say that anymore.

Khloe, well, she doesn't start school for another couple of weeks. I was tempted to ask Mrs. Martin if she would take a three-year-old this year. Then I thought maybe she could pass as a 1st grader. Not so. Guess I'll just have to wait. She'll start ABC Etc. and go MWF from 12:15-2:30. Hmmmmm.........whatever will I do with all that time?

School Awards

Well, I know school is about to start again, but we are on year-round school, so believe it or not, our kids just got out of school. At the end of the year the teachers and principal give out awards and both Kortnee and Kade got a couple. Steve and I were so proud of them. Kortnee got the "Library/Best Reader Award" for her 5th Grade class and Kade got the "Music Award" and the "Principal's Award" for his 2nd Grade class. They both did great this year and made the A-Honor Roll every semester. They also had great teachers who challenged them beyond their grade level so they didn't get bored in the classroom. They are both great students and are excited to start school again real soon...in only 7 days!!!
Good job, Kortnee and Kade and good luck in 6th grade and 3rd grade!

A Funny Thing Happened...

I had a really strange but kinda cool thing happen to me the other day. First of all, let me give you a little history so that it makes sense in the end. Last November, that's 9, count them, 9 months ago, Steve and I spoke in church. It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, so the theme we talked about was "Gratitude", of course. Well, speaking in church for me is one of those experiences that you want to forget about the second, no, the mili-second that you walk off the stand. So, I have not thought about that talk again since then, and was not planning on thinking about it ever again. I got a phone call a couple of days ago from a lady who was visiting our ward that day. She said: "I came to your ward on November 25 and I heard you speak. I really would like a copy of your talk, if you still have it." I guess I read a poem in my talk (it's all a huge blur to me) and she was really touched by the poem and wanted a copy of it. Soooo, I searched through my "Talks for Church" folder on my laptop and sure enough, there was my talk titled, "Gratitude Talk". So, I read it. I couldn't believe it. I know I wrote that talk 9 months ago, but it was EXACTLY what I needed to hear right now. I have read it over and over and it has really helped me to see the blessings that I have and be more grateful for all that the Lord has given me. I think we focus a lot on gratitude during the Thanksgiving season, but then fail to see the everyday blessings we receive the rest of the year. So, this was really good for me to read in the middle of August! I decided that I would put the poem in this post because it really does remind us that the things in our lives that seem to get under our skin, our really blessings from above!

So, the moral of this story is...the Lord knows what we need. And sometimes He works through strangers, like people we've never met who saw us speak in church 9 months previous and get our phone number from I-don't-even-know-who and call us out of the blue. And through them He gives us a sweet little blessing to remind us of all we've been given!

Here is the poem:

Lord, thank you for this sink of dirty dishes;
We have plenty of food to eat.
Thank you for this pile of dirty, stinky laundry;
We have plenty of nice clothes to wear.
And I would like to thank you, Lord, for those unmade beds;
They were so warm and comfortable last night.
I know that many have no bed.
My thanks to thee, Lord, for this bathroom,
Complete with all the splattered mirrors, soggy, grimy towels and dirty lavatory;
They are so convenient.
Thank you for this finger-smudged refrigerator that needs cleaning so badly;
It has served us faithfully.
It is full of cold drinks and enough leftovers for two or three meals.
Thank you, Lord, for this oven that absolutely must be scrubbed today.
It has baked so many things over the years.
The lawn that needs raking;
For each one of us enjoys the yard.
Thank you, Lord, even for that slamming sliding door.
My kids are healthy and able to run and play.
Lord, the presence of all these chores awaiting me says
You have richly blessed my family.

Late-night Anniversary Surprise...

Wow, it's been a while since I blogged. I'm not quite in the habit of doing this, so it might take me a little while. I just can't believe how fast time flies. All of the sudden, it's August! Didn't July just barely start? Where does the time go? Maybe someday soon, life will slow down. (Wishful thinking)
Last week was Steve and my 13th anniversary! I can't believe it's been that long. Steve surprised me by taking me out on the town. He didn't tell me where we were going, he just told me to be ready by 9. We got the kids in bed, and told Kortnee that she was babysitting. (Khloe told everyone that Kortnee was babysitting, but SHE was in charge.) They were all asleep by the time we left. We figured all was well and we could go without worries.
We went to grab a bite to eat and headed off to the strip. I still didn't know where we were going, and I was guessing the whole time. Finally, after 20 or so guesses, I got it right. Blue Man Group! Steve had seen it when he was in Chicago on business, but I had never seen it. I was so excited. The show started at 10. At the beginning of the show they tell you that there are times during the show when you cannot leave the theatre. They also tell you to turn off your cell phones about 15 times. We left Steve's on vibrate, just in case. About 45 minutes into the show, Steve's cell phone starts vibrating. It's home calling. So I answer it and it's Kortnee telling me that Khloe is sick and has thrown up all over. I can hear Khloe screaming in the background. Meanwhile, I look over to see an usher looking straight at me, nodding her head, telling me to get off the cell phone. I tell Kortnee to hang on for a minute, I'm going to go into the lobby and call her back. All of the sudden, the music gets extremely loud and the Blue Men come out into the audience. They stand on the seats at the end of the rows of chairs. One of them just happens to be standing at the end of our row. Then, all of the sudden, they start pulling this toilet paper stuff over our heads, down across the entire audience. (I believe this is the part they were talking about where you cannot leave the auditorium.) I'm STUCK! I can't get out. The phone rings again, so I answer it, but I can't hear anything. The phone rang again, 3 more times. It was Kortnee and I couldn't talk to her. So, then I started crying. I felt so helpless. I'm stuck in some show with 3 Blue Men and 10,000 feet of toilet paper and MY KIDS NEED ME!!!! Finally, I texted my neighbor's cell phone. I asked her to go over and check on the kids. She did and said that they were ok and that Kortnee had done a good job. I told her to tell them that we were coming as soon as we could get out of there. When we got home, they were all in their beds, sound asleep. Kortnee had taken care of everything, cleaned up the throw-up, changed Khloe's jammies and got her back to sleep. Wow! We decided that our 13-year anniversary was bad luck! And we're not going to anymore shows late at night that warn you about not being able to leave the theatre. When you have three kids, you have to be ready for anything!
All in all, I'm so glad I married Steve on the hottest day ever at the Salt Lake Temple, July 29, 1995, and I'm so glad he's put up with me for 13 years!