Cheap Shoes

That's it! I have really learned my lesson this time! Towards the end of May last year I bought Samuel a cheap pair of shoes for school. His were getting old and these were only $3 on clearance at WalMart, so I thought I would go on and buy them and hold onto them for school this year. (My thought process went something like this......"For $3, how bad can they be?"......don't ever ask that, by the way, because fate has a way of proving it to you!) Well, Samuel wore these tennis shoes 2-3 times over the summer and then has worn them to school every day since school started 3 1/2 weeks ago. This morning when he went to put them on, this is what they looked like:
Now we did have a little bit of rain yesterday, but the shoes were by no means soaked. I am appalled that shoe and clothing construction standards have fallen to this point! I am throwing in the towel and will be purchasing name brand shoes from now on! This is ridiculous! A big thumbs down to WalMart and their Champion brand shoes! If I still had my receipt I would go ask for my $3 back, but it would probably cost me that much in gas just to drive to WalMart and back home again......

A Trip to the Children's Museum

I took Savannah on her first trip to the Children's Museum a few weeks ago and forgot to put the pictures on our blog. We climbed up in the treehouse,
painted in the art room,
made a yummy recycled pizza,
dug for dinosaur bones,
and picked apples from the apple tree.

We can't wait to go back!

100 Things You May or May Not Know About Me

I have been tagged, by my cousin of all people, so here is my 100. I was quite surprised at some of the things that I learned about myself when I was writing this! I am not sure that it is supposed to work that way, but it did!

1. I am the 2nd oldest of 6 children. I have one older brother and 4 younger sisters.

2. I have always been very responsible.

3. I started babysitting when I was 8 years old for my family and for neighbors down the street while they went visiting teaching.

4. I was "mom" to my little sister, Mandy, during the summer before my youngest sister, Rachel, was born. My mom was down in bed most of the time due to problems with her varicose veins, so every morning I loaded Mandy (age 2) up in my little wagon and took her all around our neighborhood to the park and friend's houses to play. We came home for lunch and then I put her down for a nap. I was 9 years old.

5. I babysat newborn twins for the summer when I was 12 years old.

6. I have never left my babies with anyone younger than 16. I don't think it is wise and I can't believe people ever left their babies with me at such a young age.

7. I cheated on my 4 times tables when I was in 2nd grade and then I lied to my teacher when she asked if I had done it all on my own. I had tried and tried to memorize them and got frustrated and cheated. I was wracked with guilt and spent that afternoon committing those facts to memory. I have always felt bad that I didn't apologize to my teacher.

8. My favorite aunt was my Aunt Jane. I wanted to be a nurse like her. I was devastated when she and my Uncle Jerry (dad's brother) divorced. I felt like Uncle Jerry betrayed us.

9. I was a candy striper when I was in Jr. High. I loved being a candy striper, but that is when I realized that I could never be a nurse. I didn't like causing pain (even if it was necessary), but I loved being the one to make people feel better after the pain.

10. Once a week for a month, I sat at the bedside of a 2 or 3 yr. old boy who had been severely burned by an abusive parent in a hot bath and read him stories during my shift as a candy striper. I cried when I went home each day.

11. As a parent, I was always scared I would get the bath water too hot for my own children.

12. I lived on an Indian Reservation in Shiprock, New Mexico, when I was little. I have a silver bracelet that one of the indians made for me.

13. I moved around alot when I was growing up.

14. I changed schools eleven times.

15. I wanted to get married and settle down and never move again. When we bought our first home, I imagined my grandchildren coming home to it.

16. My husband and I have lived in 3 apartments and owned 4 homes.

17. I cry every time I leave another house, but I no longer imagine my grandchildren coming to our current home.

18. I was engaged twice; both of my fiancees were named Chris!

19. I am convinced that I married the best one! We have been married for over 15 years now.

20. I gave birth to 5 children without ever having an epidural. I love natural childbirth, but the truth is, I was too scared to get an epidural!

21. I worked as a lactation educator for WIC before I ever had children.

22. I have breastfed all 5 of my children, but will admit that learning to breastfeed is way more difficult than I thought it would be when I taught my clients at WIC!

23. I have been pregnant 11 times.

24. I have had 5 miscarriages and 1 ectopic pregnancy.

25. Sometimes, I still mourn the babies that I lost. I am incredibly grateful for the ones that I have been able to have. It breaks my heart when I hear of someone else who has lost a baby.

26. I decided not to get pregnant again because I couldn't cope with the pain of losing another one. Sometimes I feel like I am weak because of that decision.

27. I have a hard time making close friends. I think it is because I am scared to become attached to someone because I will just move again.

28. I am fiercely loyal to the friends that I do have and would do anything for them.

29. I do not think I am a very good cook.

30. I don't enjoy cooking for my family because the kids always complain about what I make.

31. I love baking, though, perhaps because no one can complain about cookies and brownies and cakes and rolls!

32. I do not have a passport.

33. Except for one trip to Tiajuana, I have never left the United States.

34. I would love to travel, and I have to admit to being slightly jealous of my husband and all the travelling he gets to do for work.

35. I am not a risk taker. If I did travel, it would probably be with an organized tour group.

36. I have had plastic surgery on my face.

37. Growing up, my two greatest fears were being in a car accident and being in a fire.

38. I have never been in a fire. I am still scared to death of it.

39. I was in a car accident in college. I was on a scooter and was thrown through the windshield of a car.

40. I have had stitches in my knee, my face (way over 100, that's when they stopped counting, see #36 and 39), my stomach, and my wrist.

41. Amazingly, I have never broken a major bone.

42. I have broken my pinky toes way too many times to count! I really should stop walking around barefoot and accidentally kicking things.

43. I used to love doing cross stitch, but I haven't done any since my first child was a baby.

44. I learned how to smock when I moved to North Carolina. I also learned heirloom sewing techniques.

45. I wish I had more time to sew. I really do enjoy it but feel like I neglect my kids and house when I do it.

46. I am a project person. I like projects, but I HAVE to finish them. I become engrossed and nothing else matters until I am done. (See #45)

47. I am a bargain shopper. I love to get a good deal.

48. I have been known to buy things because they are a good deal, not because I actually need them. This is a quality I inherited from my mom! I am trying to work on not doing this!

49. My most recent bargain shopping trip was last night. I went to a Dillards that was going out of business and bought 4 sweaters, 1 sweatshirt, 1 pair of Calvin Klein jeans, 1 pair of dress slacks, 1 skirt, 1 dress; 2 hairbows and 1 shirt for Savannah; and a semiformal homecoming dress for Shelby all for $60. The orignal prices totalled over $600!

50. I rarely buy clothes for myself. As a matter of fact, the above shopping trip was the most clothing I have ever bought for myself at once.

51. I would rather spend my money on my kids.

52. I will buy the name brands for my kids, but only when I find them at a great discount. I think it is important that kids understand the value of money.

53. I always had hand-me-downs as a child. I envied my cousin, Sonda, because she got a new coat and dress every year, but I loved getting her hand-me-downs.

54. My cousin, Alan, and I share the same birthday. One year we even had breakfast in bed together on our birthdays (I was 7 and he was 8)!

55. I love daisies! I like them more than roses because they last longer. They are a simply beautiful flower.

56. My biggest pet peeve is dishonesty.

57. I cannot stand when my children lie to me. Unfortunately, they lie to me alot! I feel like my biggest failure as a mother is not effectively teaching my children to be unfailingly honest.

58. I am a worrier. I cannot help but worry. I often lose sleep at nights because I lay awake worrying! I wish I could not worry!

59. I got ulcers in college because of my tendencies to worry.

60. I also had a parasite when I was in college. I have no idea where I got that from!

61. I weighed as much after I had 3 children as I did my senior year in high school.

62. I was incredibly chubby in high school!

63. Fortunately for me, I had a distorted self-image as a teenager and I thought I was very skinny when I was in high school!

64. For years in college I worried about my weight. I became obsessed with it and weighed myself 20 times a day. After I got married and was pregnant with my 1st child, I had to put my scale away because I was afraid I would be too paranoid about my weight gain.

65. I graduated from Brigham Young University with a BS in Dietetics. It was one of my greatest accomplishments.

66. I love taking long, hot, bubble baths.

67. I do not currently have a bath tub in my bathroom, only a shower, and it is probably the thing I dislike most about my house!

68. I have an incredible weakness for chocolate! I like dark chocolate best.

69. I do not like to be the center of attention. I would rather be in the background quietly being supportive.

70. When I was little, I wanted to be an singer, model or movie star when I grew up.

71. I am glad that I didn't grow up to be any of those things!

72. I eat Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds almost every morning.

73. I am a creature of routine! I find myself eating the same things and going the same places because I know they are good and I like them. I don't want to waste my time doing or trying something I might not like.

74. I wish I could be more spontaneous and adventurous.

75. I really wanted all girls when I started having kids.

76. I have 2 girls and 3 boys.

77. When I had my first boy, I didn't know what to do with him. Now I am so glad that I have boys!

78. My middle child, Joshua, holds a special place in my heart because he was the baby born after I had lost five babies in a row.

79. When our children were younger, Chris and I rarely went out on a date. I think we went out 2 times from the time Shelby was born until Caleb was 6 months old (almost 2 years).

80. The one thing I regret most about our early years is that I didn't make time for my husband and our marriage enough. If I had it to do over, I would find a way to have a date night every week; even if it was just creative dating in our own home after the kids were in bed.

81. I love reading a good book. Unfortunately, I HAVE to finish those too (see #46), so I try not to read too much!

82. I secretly wish I could throw my husband's Blackberry on the floor and smash it into a million pieces! It is one more way that I feel like his work invades our private family time!

83. I was a pseudo-single mom for two years while my husband worked on his MBA at nights. I like to take ownership in that degree, too, because he couldn't have done it without me holding down the fort at home! Oh yeah, and I proofread his papers for him!

84. I have always had a hard time fasting. When I was little, I would throw up on fast sundays. Now I can fast, but I have only been able to go the full 24 hours once in my life.

85. I suffer from migraine headaches. They make me throw up. Chris likes to tease me about all the different parking lots that I have thrown up in!

86. I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

87. My favorite scripture is "Be still and know that I am God" . (Psalms 46:10) I believe that often things happen to us that we don't like or don't see the purpose of, but if we can "be still" and trust in God, he will work all things for our good.

88. I find great peace and safety in following our prophet. I would never do anything contrary to his commands.

89. I really miss living in Utah, but I appreciate the perspective that I have gained by living most of my life outside of Utah. I have to admit that there were some things I really hated about living in Utah, though!

90. I wish I lived closer to my family. We have such a close relationship and I am glad that my sisters and brother and I have all remained friends through the years.

91. When I was little, I worshipped my big brother, Glen. I wish we lived closer to each other now because I think that distance has hurt our relationship.

92. I don't like rainy, dreary days. I feel like staying inside and baking cookies, but that only works for one rainy day, not weeks of endless dreariness! It rains too much here in the spring and I think I go into a seasonal depression! Deep down inside I think I am still a "desert girl"!

93. I hate having my hair cut short. I keep it long now even though I think I am probably too old to have long hair.

94. I have too many gray hairs to count and I cannot bring myself to pay to have my hair colored! I am going to have to give in soon, though, because it is way beyond the amount that you could pluck out each time you fix your hair!

95. I have an incredible amount of respect and appreciation for my parents and the time they put into raising us kids. I think they both came from bad situations and they were surprisingly good parents to us. I am glad that I was raised in their family.

96. I cannot sleep in in the mornings. I never had a problem with this as a teenager, but now I am up early every day. Sleeping in to me means waking up at 8 a.m.

97. If I turn on the TV during the day, I usually watch HGTV. I love their home decorating shows and it is fun to watch when I fold laundry.

98. I used to watch TV alot, but I really don't watch that much TV anymore. I feel like it is a huge waste of time.

99. I spend entirely too much time on the computer. It is probably my greatest weakness! It is fun to be connected to distant family and friends, but I need to set restrictions for myself so I can stay productive!

100. I keep the heat between 66 and 68 degrees at night during the winter. I like to feel cold air around me and then snuggle up under my blankets to stay warm!

WHEW!!! That was actually kind of fun! When I started, I could not believe I would ever be able to come up with 100 things about me, but now I am finding I could actually keep going! (Don't worry, I won't!) So now its your turn....TAG Shannon, Shelby, Amy, and Julie!!!

So That's What My Husband REALLY Thinks About Me

We had a really neat enrichment night tonight at church. At the end, the enrichment leader went around and told something "spectacular" about every woman in the room. She said sometimes we don't realize how great we are, so she had contacted friends and family members of each woman and found out something special about them. It was neat to learn so many cool things about these women who I go to church with! I was the last person in the room, and by the time she got to me, I was really curious to know what my husband said about me.

It went something like this....."Janine was Miss Nevada American Coed 1989 and she went to Hawaii to compete in the national Miss American Coed Pageant". (My comments: Yes, it is true, but there was a reason most people don't know this about me.....it was something I did to overcome shyness and become more poised in front of people, but I feel like most people would think it was rather shallow.) Then after a nice little pause, she says "AND her husband says she has really HOT legs!"

I have to admit that my face turned all shades of red! I buried my head in my arms and I couldn't stop laughing! Of course everyone else in the room thought it was hysterical and my new nickname is now "Hot legs" and I will never be able to stand up and conduct Relief Society again without people giggling in the background! The funniest thing about it all was that I don't believe I have ever heard my husband say that to me! It's amazing what you find out when someone else asks! So anyway, that pretty much sums up my mortifying evening!

Acorn Math

We have had a very dry summer, so fall is coming a little early here. For the last few weeks, acorns have been falling with a vengeance from our oak trees! Today, Savannah and I took advantage of our bounty and spent the morning doing "Acorn Math"!

She had so much fun using acorns as manipulatives and we learned a lot of cool things about squirrels too!

Back to the Garden

Life has been a bit busy here since school started, and I have to admit, I let my garden go untended for the last several weeks. I have made many trips out to grab a few tomatoes for dinner, but other than that, I haven't spent much time there. When I went over to check things out today, this is what I found. Yes, it is completely overgrown with weeds, but I couldn't believe how my cantaloupe plant has taken over everything! The garden area ends in the middle of the picture to the right of the sticks. I was once again surprised at how healthy this cantaloupe plant has been to only produce 1 measly little fruit that never survived! Our watermelon stopped growing several weeks ago and was all rotten, so poor Savannah was crouched down next to it rubbing it and saying, "It's okay little watermelon, we'll fix you"! (Looks like its time for me to make a strategically timed trip to the store to buy a watermelon to sit out there for her!) The tomatoes are nearing the end of their lifecycle, but we have sure enjoyed having fresh tomatoes for the last month. I was just about to walk away when I noticed one small cantaloupe growing on the vine. I bent down to get a closer look and noticed that there are others! After rummaging around through the leaves and weeds, I was able to count TEN cantaloupes growing! I don't know what this means.....it may be too late in the season at this point to start growing cantaloupes, but we will wait and see!

Fun Sunday Activities

My kids seem to get a bit crazy on Sundays, so I have to come up with activities to keep them busy or they will break something in my house! Here was our activity this morning while we were waiting to get ready for afternoon church.

No instructions here; anything goes.....Just use marshmellows, toothpicks and candy you have in the house. You can make a royal icing to get everything to stick together really good, but we just used toothpicks! We got our idea from this blog where they have lots of other cute ones! Now we will just have to see how the primary teachers like the kids after they eat this much sugar!

Camping with the Ward

Last night we went to our ward preparedness campout. All summer long, the activities committee has been holding classes on "How to make your 72-hour kits" and last night we got to test them out. I haven't been to a ward campout since we left Utah ten years ago, so we thoroughly enjoyed camping with friends from our ward.

The weather forecast called for rain, and a lot of people cancelled because we all know camping with kids in the rain is not a fun experience, but we ended up with great weather!

Last night we gathered around the campfire and then today there were classes on fishing and cooking that I really enjoyed. The kids had a great time staying up late, playing with friends, fishing in the pond, exploring the woods, and eating up all the smores!

I Really Should Get Out More....

There was a retirement party last night for a lady at Chris' work, so he took me with him to the dinner. I think Shelby was more excited than I was because as soon as she got home from school, she started pulling things out of my closet trying to decide what I should wear! She even resorted to running up to her room and getting things from her closet that were "really big" on her because she was sure I would fit in them. While I am flattered that she would think I could fit into her size 1 skinny jeans, I knew there was not a chance they would come up past my knees! Much to her chagrin, I ended up wearing my own clothes (which weren't quite as "edgy" as hers) and fit me better!

I couldn't believe how much fun it was to get dressed up and spend way more time than normal doing my hair and make-up. I curled my hair and used more hairspray than I have used in the last ten years combined (Shannon, you would have been so proud!) and realized that I can look like something other than a MOM!

We ate at Texas de Brazil, a Brazilian Steakhouse, and the food was GREAT!

If you haven't eaten at one of these, you have got to try it! I ate more meat than I usually eat in 2 weeks! Basically, you get your salad from their salad bar (which is incredible, by the way) and then they just keep bringing more and more meat until you have had enough. My favorites were the filet mignon and their house special sirloin. I had chocolate mousse cake for dessert and it was to die for!

We ended up being at the restaurant for 3 hrs. and the kids were in bed by the time we got home, but Shelby asked me all about it on the way to seminary this morning. Chris and I stayed up late playing with my new toy to burn off all the many calories we ate!

Not that I am trying to brag or anything, but I can kick his butt! Yes! Finally a game that I can beat him on! Life may never be the same around our house again! We now have our own virtual personal trainers (yes, I picked the hot male one and Chris picked the girl just to spite me!) and we will see who wins next week!

All in all, it was a great night and it reminded me of all the many reasons that I am so glad I am married to my best friend!

Future Gymnast

Savannah started gymnastics on Tuesday! Her Intro to Gymnastics class was at 1:30 pm, but her leotard went on first thing in the morning, followed by the question, "How much longer?" asked repeatedly until 11:30 when I finally caved and left the house to run errands so we could at least be on the way to gymnastics!

As you can see, Savannah has real potential, so we are already blocking out the summer of 2020 so we can be with her at the Olympics!

We are thinking perhaps Deer Park bottled water would be a good sponsor for her! What do you think?
Now I just have to work on getting Samuel a sponsor for swimming since his goal is to be the next Michael Phelps!

Fundraisers...

I know I am opening a can of worms, but here goes. I HATE FUNDRAISERS!!!! Yes, it is that time of year again--we just get the kids back to school, and after spending hundreds of dollars on school supplies and fees, we are hit up with the dreaded fundraiser! I am not a fan of fundraisers, by any stretch of the imagination. As a matter of fact, at my house, the envelopes usually go straight in the trash without ever being opened. I cannot feel good about pressuring friends and family into buying overpriced junk just because they happen to be associated with us. I think it is a sugar-coated way of exploiting my children, and I will not buy into it.

I know it takes money to run a PTA, really, I do. I get that there is an ultimate purpose to fundraisers, but I also think that selling to PTA's is big business. In one of my school districts, the PTA actually had a cultural arts fair where they would invite all of these community groups to come and showcase their cultural programs and then each school's PTA would choose which programs would come to their school. Our school had $5000 budgeted for cultural arts and we could usually get 3 different groups to come for that amount. In my opinion, this was wasted money! The elementary aged kids would have thought it every bit as cool to see the high school drama department present a play or hear the high school band or orchestra perform or to watch a dance performance by the high school drill team. It wouldn't have cost a cent and everyone would benefit.

The computer programs, play equipment and school store supply companies are set to make a lot of money off your school too. Make no mistake, the fundraisers that are marketted to your school are also big business. Yes, the school gets a profit, but the fundraising company takes a huge cut. It is all a big scam if you ask me!

Last year, our middle school decided to do away with all fundraisers. They asked for a $20 donation from each family, and about half of the families in the school participated. It was relatively painless and I was all for it! In the end, they were a little short of their fundraising goal, but they were able to analyze their programs and cut some that weren't necessary.

I think we are all a little guilty of buying into the idea that we need more money to make life better for our kids than it was for us. Who hasn't been dazzled by the idea of purchasing a new play structure or a rock wall for your kids' school? But the truth is, these are not necessary purchases. A study was recently done that showed that activity levels were lower at schools where a large play structure had been installed. Small play equipment like balls and jumpropes promoted higher activity levels! Now isn't that our ultimate goal? Why can't the PTA focus more on organizing our time to help out in classrooms or plan special events rather than spending so much effort on pressuring my family to fundraise?

Until we see a major reform in the mindset of PTA parents, I am afraid we will continue to see runaway budgets (one of our schools had a yearly budget of $60,000!) and the continued pressure to fundraise. In the meantime, my fundraiser envelopes are right where they belong......my trashcan!

Ever Wish You Were Born in a Different Day and Time?

Yes, this is me, in 1964. Not a very flattering year, we must admit, but there were merits......like miniskirts....hey, the girls obviously couldn't use their looks to attract the guys! This is how my dear husband looked in '88, the year I graduated from High School. Perhaps it is a good thing that we didn't meet until later.....
And this is perfect payback for Shelby for always mocking me about my BIG bangs! Check out 1994!
Thanks, Darla, for a fun diversion tonight! Everyone else, go see how you look at www.yearbookyourself.com

Free Bowling

So, you know those coupons you get in the mail for "FREE BOWLING"? We had one that was about to expire, so Chris and I decided to take the kids on Saturday since Hurricane Hanna had become Tropical Storm Hanna and was dumping rain on us. The coupon was good for up to 10 people, so being the cheapskate that I am, and not wanting any of the coupon to go to waste, we let the kids invite some friends and turned it into a big old bowling party!

Just so you know, there is no such thing as "FREE" bowling......we ended up paying $30 for shoe rentals(ouch!)......but everyone had a great time, so I guess it was worth it!
It was Savannah's first time bowling, so she got to use the buddy bowler to make things a little easier.
The competition was fierce, but in the end, Shelby was our bowling champion! Congratulations on the victory, Shelby! It was a great way to end a rainy Saturday!

FAT!!!!

Being a dietitian, I have always tried to have a low fat diet in my home. I use skim milk and lean meats, I buy reduced fat butter spread and peanut butter, I scrutinize the fat content on labels before I buy foods for my family, I usually try to cut back on fats in cooking, I use canola and olive oils, I basically do everything I can to keep foods healthy. Apparently, I have done TOO good of a job!

I took Caleb in for his yearly physical yesterday and was shocked to find that he has dropped to the 5th percentile for his height and has fallen off the growth chart for his weight. His BMI is so low that he is at risk for malnutrition. Yes...you heard it here first...I have a malnourished child! Caleb has always been small, usually measuring around the 25th percentile, so I have tried not to worry about his lack of growth or how little he eats. Obviously, I needed to worry!

What do you do when you need to add fat to your diet and gain weight? You add more of everything you cut back on when you are trying to lose weight! So, contrary to my healthy eating plan which I have recently established for my family, I will be making milkshakes for Caleb every day after school. The trick will be doing this without Shelby feeling like she needs to have a milkshake too! (Shelby gained 20 lbs this summer, which is exactly what she needed to do, but she is not currently needing to gain anymore weight!) I will also be using abundant amounts of butter on his food, mixing up a nightly hot chocolate made with cream, and using Pediasure or Carnation Instant Breakfast mixed with cream as additional snacks or breakfast.

Check back next year to see if Caleb has grown 6 inches and added 50 pounds (geez, that would almost double his current weight) on my "get fat diet"!

When is it Okay to Quit?

Shelby has been taking piano lessons for 8 years now. When we started her in piano, she really wanted to do it, but within a year she HATED piano! Knowing that it was hard work and required dedication on her part, I have used some very creative bargaining techniques over the years to keep her dedicated. I even resorted to bribery, using horseback riding lessons as a reward for continuing to take piano lessons! Along the way, Shelby has become a good pianist! She realizes now that she is glad she stuck with it this long.

So now she is in 10th grade and wants to quit again. Truth be told, I never thought she would continue this long. She says that her life is too busy to be tied up in piano lessons. She can already play several hymns and she thinks she can self teach herself the rest as she wants to learn them. I had just hoped that she would take lessons to the point that she would be able to pick up the hymnbook and play whatever was asked of her. Part of the reason she has progressed slower than most is that she hasn't LOVED piano. Practicing has been a chore that she puts up with. Shelby doesn't really like her teacher either, although she is very nice.

While I don't want to encourage my children to be quitters, and while I know that this skill is worth the work she will put into it, I have to wonder if it is time to let Shelby make this decision without me making it for her. As anyone with teenagers knows, they consider themselves to be knowledgable beyond their years.....so even though I know Shelby will regret quitting later on, she is sure that I am wrong about that! I can't help but think that it is time for me to give up the reins a little, let Shelby assert her independence and make the decision to quit, then stand by as she learns from her choices. Isn't that what parenting is all about anyway?

In Case You Were Wondering, I Am.....

You Are Aurora! (A.K.A. Sleeping Beauty.)

Thoughtful and loving. Authority figures probably have been sheltering you all of your life. Thankfully you're a very tranquil person who is content with what life has given you, but secretly you want to know how the outside world works.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Thanks to my sister, Shannon, for helping me to find my true inner princess! Wouldn't you know it, Sleeping Beauty was my favorite book when I was little!

First Day of School

We survived! Sometimes that's all you can say about the first day of school! Shelby left first to meet her friend, Devynn, for a 6:35 a.m. bus. She managed to make it in the nick of time, so there wasn't a chance for me to take any pictures. Her report of the first day at a new school was "okay". She wandered around at lunch because she didn't have a group to sit with and didn't want to "look like a loser" if she ate by herself. She just happened to stumble upon a girl from our ward who has started into public school for the first time this year (she has been homeschooled up till now) and the two of them were so thrilled to see each other because it gave them someone to eat with! There are only a handful of kids from our church at that school, so I was so glad that the two of them were able to help each other through their first day.

Caleb, 8th Grade

Caleb left next at 7:45 a.m. He decided all of a sudden that his new shoes were too big and wouldn't wear them (WHY did I take him with me to pick them out and try them on?????) He says all of his teachers are weird and he doesn't like any of his classes.....hard to please, huh?!!!

Joshua, 4th Grade

Joshua's bus picked him up in front of our house at 8:40 a.m. and he was so excited for a new year at school! He couldn't wait to ride the bus, but wanted dad to meet him at school and walk him to his class. He was happy to find two of his best friends from last year in his class this year.

Samuel, 2nd Grade

Samuel wanted to ride the bus with all his buddies too, and he got picked up at 9:00 a.m. He liked that he got 3 pieces of candy for being good and 3 tickets to turn in for a prize at the end of the week. He didn't like that he had a short recess, a very short lunch time, and an incredibly long bus ride. His school gets out at 3:40 and is 5 minutes from our house, but Samuel didn't get off the bus until 5:00 p.m. yesterday! Apparently there are still some kinks they need to work out on the bus routes. The driver was running late from the route before, the poor kids sat on one bus, then changed to another, then a child got on the wrong bus and they had to go back to school. We are hoping for a much shorter ride today!

Savannah's last year at home

Poor Savannah was a little sad when she watched all her brothers and then her neighborhood friends get on the bus. She is the only one out of all her friends who misses the kindergarten cutoff date this year. I am planning to do preschool at home for her, so as soon as we got the last child on the bus, we set off for Kid's Club at the mall. We got balloons, breakfast, and a fun science show to watch. It also gave Savannah the chance to play with other friends! Afterwards we stopped by the beauty salon and got Savannah's hair cut. When the boys asked about her day last night, she said "BORING!" See if I try to do anything fun with her again!

Another Year, Another School

Well, tommorow is the big day. All our kids head back to another year of school. Once again, I have 4 kids in 4 different schools.....lucky me! I have to admit that the child I am most concerned and anxious about is Shelby. Last year was somewhat of a disaster for her and she made a lot of choices that she really regrets. This summer has been just what she needed. She has been strengthened and lifted up, she has gained a testimony of her own, and she has put her life back on a positive track. I am in awe of the young woman she has become and her ability to recognize her mistakes and learn from them.

For Shelby, part of the transformation involved a decision to change high schools. So tommorow Shelby heads off to start her sophomore year in a new school. I can't help but feel a little nervous for her! Tonight we sat up talking and I felt impressed to tell her what a beautiful young lady she is. I told her that I worry that she is always concerned about whether or not she measures up to the popular crowd and she just needs to let that go. She is worth so much more than she gives herself credit for. Then I played a beautiful song for her by Jenny Phillips, To Become Like Him, and told her that I wanted her to make this her theme song for the year and listen to it on her ipod on the way to and from school.

Here are the lyrics; they are words that I don't think we can ever hear enough. If you want to listen to the song, you can click the title above and it will link to it.

You look around you
And you wonder if you’ll ever measure up
In this world it seems you may never be enough
Don’t let anyone convince you that it’s true
So much beauty lives inside of you
And you are enough
Just look up

Remember you are greatest
When you walk with God
When His light is in your eyes
You are truly strong
You don’t have to prove your beauty
In the eyes of men
You are divine within
You were sent here to become like Him

When you’re uncertain
Of the place you hold and who you are inside
He will share with you your part in His design
Seek for His meekness
Seek to emulate His life
And you will feel Him always by your side
You have His love
Just look up

Remember you are greatest
When you walk with God
When His light is in your eyes
You are truly strong
You don't have to prove your beauty in the eyes of men
You are divine within
You were sent here to become like him


So here's to another year in another school. Shelby, I know you can succeed! You are beautiful and you ARE more than enough. I love you!