Reconnecting

Last Saturday I had the privilege to put a voice to the pictures and many stories I have heard over the last 10 years. What a pleasure it was!

Paul served his mission in Rome Italy. Let's just say it was not an easy mission, a lot of work with out a lot of success. However, it just so happened that in his very first week of being in the country he met a girl named Nilla, who upon seeing their sign board on the street stopped to talk with these two strange missionaries from America. A small act that changed her life and that of Paul's forever. He was undoubtedly green, he was still learning how to communicate, but she stuck with them, asking questions and feeling a change in her heart. Paul became very close with her and her family. Several transfers later he received a call that she was ready to be baptized and she wanted him to come back and perform the ordinance.

(No, she is not a giant- just standing on a chair to mock Paul's stature!)

Nilla will forever have a special place in Paul's heart, and I believe that Paul has a special place in hers as well.

What a delight it was to finally meet this inspiring woman, hear her side of the story and meet her husband and beautiful family of three boys and one darling little girl.
I know that Paul's whole being swelled with unabashed joy to find that she was doing so well, that she was happy, married to a great man, and still fully active in the church. It is always amazing to see how one choice, one decision can change the life of so many people. As we were leaving, her husband gave Paul a a hug and told him thanks- without him, his family wouldn't exist! It validated all the hard times his mission gave him- it made all of it worth doing! If not for this one and only reason, he was called to serve in the Rome Italy Mission in March of 1995- Nilla was waiting for him.

Thanks again Nilla for contacting us and wanting to meet. It was a joyous afternoon, please keep in touch!!

Let's just erase

the last three or four weeks. That would be OK with all of you right? If I could, it would make these last very frustrating and stressful and exhausting and disappointing days just go away. But, as we all know, this life is all about choices, learning from those choices and if the outcome isn't what you envisioned or hoped for, then turn around and make them right. This is what we are doing around these parts. This house is in a full swing re-due. We call dibs on a First Day of School re-due involving my lovely and sweet Abby girl.

I am sure you are wondering what in the world has happened. Truthfully, it is very involved and very emotional on my part. Frankly, I would just like to shut that door and walk away from it without any further thought. But I can't. I must admit my mistake and purge all thoughts before that can be done. Honestly, there have been very few times in my life that I have been at a complete lose as to what I should do. A choice was needing to be made as to whether we would stay at the charter school or admit that we had not informed ourselves and made the best decision and walk away from it. So, Paul and I did what we should have done from the beginning, we got ourselves involved. I went into the school and observed multiple times, talk to the administration, and attended not one, but two parent meetings on what the school was doing as far as curriculum and in what manner it was being taught. Now, I do not want anyone to think that I am up on a soap box or trying to preach what schools should teach and how, but we finally, after much deliberation, tears and sleepless nights came to the unified conclusion that we and the school had different visions and so we have said our farewell. That doesn't mean the school isn't right for others, just not for us at this time.

I am a very opinionated person- you all know this. Sometimes it is good, most of the time I should just shut my mouth. If you came to me with this problem I would most likely go on and on about what I think you should do about it. But this time, this time it involved MY child, my daughter, my sweet tender innocent Abby and it broke my heart completely that I had made the wrong choice for her and now she was going to have to switch schools for the third time this year. What parent does that to a seven year old? But I couldn't let her stay and not progress in a manner that I know she can perform and exceed her potential. So we sat her down Saturday night and told her the situation. We made sure that she understood that her opinion mattered immensely. We did not want her to feel upset. Naturally she was as mature as could be, looked us in the eyes and said "it's OK, I can switch schools. It will be just fine." Oh, I love that girl so much!!!

So, yesterday we took her around the corner to the neighborhood school. They welcomed us in with open arms! She was assigned the very teacher all the neighbors had said we should ask for and as she walked into the assembly hall (they were kicking off safety week in a BIG way) she was greeted by shouts of joy, hugs and smiles from all the kids she knows in the ward and the neighborhood. My heart was calmed, she is going to be just fine!

This morning we completed our official First Day of School Take II. She dressed, we took pictures, and she met her friends on the corner. They then made the short walk over to the school and came home just as happy as could be. Yes, she is content to trade in riding the Bus in exchange for buying school lunch for the first time!

In the end, I am beginning to feel like I had to get here by these means so that I would fully understand and appreciate that this is where she is suppose to be this year. These are the people she is suppose to do it with, and this is the teacher she is suppose to learn from, in this way and in this setting. Why I have to always do things the hard way is beyond me, but I am thankful to have finally received some peace and assurance in this matter. Sometimes what we think is the path of least resistance just isn't. Sometimes we need to walk down the new road to have a more clear shot at our destination.

Now, can we just settle into a normal routine already!!!!

I am

really tired right now. Stressed. Living on no sleep. I know that all of you are probably feeling this way- like I just can't give anymore of myself. I have been running on full speed for three weeks now. My schedule has completely changed, and to be entirely honest, I don't know if I like it!! 6:30am is just too stinking early for a 32 year old woman to awake in the morning. (Hey now, stop rolling your eyes at me because it IS!!) Especially when you want to stay up late with your husband and have some alone time and conversation and connection. The only problem is when the said husband has a head cold and despite all his desires to please me and make me happy, he snores- but then you have to throw into the mix some Eva and Liv having bad dreams all night. Not together mind you- at different times and throughout the night. Then smother it all with new school traumas and frustrations and you have my recipe for being beyond the breaking point.

And then, I go and download the pictures from my camera taken before the upheaval of my life. When time was simpler, children slept, spouses were well, and I only had to get up at 7:30am- and that was to exercise- my blessed hour of peace, myself without distraction.

Upon glancing over the photos I found these gems. These darling faces. Giggling. Having fun. Enjoying each other. Loving this life, each other, and me.

OK, I will get over myself- all of THIS is worth it.

Be still my heart!

Imagine, if you will, me walking down the toy isles with Liv and Eva. They are trying to pick out birthday gifts for dear friends. We make the turn onto the "pink" isle- you know the one, the one that every girl lives for. It oozes with sparkles, frills, pretend, tininess and dreams. With all the innocence of youth it began, the wanting, dying over, wishing and loving from my girls for each and every item....until that gushing began to cascade out of me, because I had spotted IT!!!

I could hardly believe my eyes. It completely took my breath away and my heart lept right out of my chest!!! Could it be? Was it even possible? YES!!! There, looking back at me through the cellophane and cardboard- my long lost childhood friend and treasure- Peaches 'N Cream Barbie from 1985!!!
HOLY CRAP PEOPLE!!! Tell me you remember her, the commercials, the desires to have and own her!!! Do you even understand the relationship I had with this doll? I mean absolute devotion. I thought she was the most beautiful thing. Do you see that embossed vinyl top, how it shimmers? Have you noticed the peachyness of the flowing skirt? You didn't possibly overlook that exquisite shoulder boa, all ruffled to perfection. Be sure to look closely, because the piece that I adored the most, yes even more than her long stone fruit scented hair, was that killer diamond ring!! That very one the size of her entire hand- I protected that with my life!!!

I wanted her! I needed her!! Oh, my 8 year old self longed to comb her hair once more and posse her next to her handsome Ken in the dinning room of her pink barbie house where they could dine on blue plastic plates and listen to music from her tiny gray ghetto blaster while the corvette sat parked outside waiting to whisk them away on a fabulous adventure!

But alas, I am not a child, I don't have the miracle that is Santa Claus to override the ... wait for it... $40 Revisited Retro Barbie Line price tag. And so, she still sits on that shelf and I took a picture instead. Being an adult REALLY bites sometimes!!!

Our new life

So, things have been a little crazy around here. LOTS going on, more than I can even document at the moment but I will begin with the most pertinent: SCHOOL!! Hallelujah- I love a schedule and I love routine. The only problem this year- three girls in three different schools with three different start times!! Yeah, I think I am going a little crazy, but after getting through today, I think it just might work. Everyone cross your fingers for me!!!

So, lets begin. My youngest, my sweet Eva. She was the first to start on Aug. 25. She began her first year of preschool with our beloved Mrs. Sherrie down the street. Eva was a little nervous for a couple of days leading up to the event, but on the morning of the 25th she dressed and jumped on her bike for the maiden ride with a smile beaming on her little face! Upon drop off it was discovered that my friends Kerrie and Sunny from High school were also having their sweet daughters attend- oh, I was delighted!!

Next up- Olivia. She started Kindergarten the following Monday, Aug. 30th. She is going to Abby's old School and has her same teacher Mrs. Strong. We LOVE Mrs. Strong. Livvy was SO nervous the first day (it was raining so I wasn't able to get very good pictures) but after we practice her walking path through the school a couple of times and saw her very own desk and cubby she was set! Not a single tear and she was all smiles. I was the one so nervous for her- she was going it all alone, she didn't know a single person at the school, it is K-12 so there are BIG kids there, but she came home talking non stop about everything she did and the great friends she had made!

Then we finally came to Abby. What a roller coaster this last month has been for the both of us! We had her all set to go at one school and then three weeks ago we got an email saying she had come up in a lottery pull at a Charter School I had applied for last spring and she was IN!!! So we had to revamp quickly, go through another admittance process, withdraw from the former school, and go shopping quickly for all new uniforms. The school was still being built right up until the doors opened this morning! Paul and I volunteered with the school move in over the weekend and I did again on Monday. It is a beautiful facility and it functions kind of like a Jr. High. They have a specialty teacher for every subject and they travel with their backpacks from class to class. They are assigned a "Mentor" teacher that keeps track of them through the year, like a counselor. To say that she was nervous, and I was nervous is an understatement!! Everything was new and unknown.
But this morning, Sept. 1st, arrived and we made the walk down to the bus stop- oh, did I forget to mention SHE GETS TO RIDE A BUS!! Truly the crowning piece of the whole situation for Abby. Oh, but our drama doesn't end there, oh no! So, we are walking down the street, we still have a ways to go, when I notice that a bus is rounding the corner and pulling up to her stop 10 MINUTES early!! Nobody is there and it just proceeded on down the street- so I start waving my hands and motioning for the bus to stop and thankfully it does- but holy cow, SHE ALMOST MISSED THE BUS ON HER FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!! I was so glad I decided to be that embarrassing mother that wanted pictures of her getting on the bus!!! (Notice how mortified she was, just one of the joys of parenting!) I don't know if she would have flagged it down, it most likely would have just kept on going!! We will be leaving earlier tomorrow!!!
So we made it, they are all very happy with their schools and I am happy to be settling into routine again- now I just have to figure out my volunteering schedule for two different schools and still fit in my workout schedule. This afternoon I am off to another soccer practice, I guess my sister Shamae is right, life only get more busy as the kids get older!!

And so I bid a fond farewell to our old life, and embrace our new one with a positive outlook for what it holds.