Sheesh!

So technically I should be finishing my love story from the other day (week!) ago, but frankly I don't have the time!

Sitting in church today waiting for the pastor to finish his 20 minute "review" of the previous 6 weeks, I made a quick list of the various things that have monopolized all my time this month. 

Some good, some bad, some annoying, some not. 

Some were things you probably also had to devote time to and some things you probably would never devote time to but read through and see what you see!

A - appointments. Let me tell you. Eye doctor = 1. Orthodontist =2.

Dentist = 5. Yep. 5. Can't wait until those bills start to roll in!

B - basketball. This last Saturday was the final 3 games of the season and I can finally claim Saturday mornings for myself again.

C - changing crews/court/Mandatory Mondays/SWAT training = all of it equals Mark working A LOT. This last week he worked Monday through Friday (each a 12 hour shift). We were all tired. 

D - dodgeball Club. Each Thursday Caleb does Dodgeball Club where 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders meet in the gym for an hour (supervised) and play a different form of dodgeball each week. Caleb loves it more that peanut butter.

E - early mornings. In the spirit of getting ready for some races I am getting up each morning at 5 so that I have time to go to the gym while Mark is home with the boys. Makes me yawn around 7:30 at night but I do like getting it done and over with. 

F - Foster Care. Mark and I along with the boys have been brainstorming ways that we can give back to others. We all feel so blessed with everything that we have, that we have decided to open up our home for kids who need a stable and safe place to stay for a while. We have started the mountains of paperwork, had our first meeting with DHS, and have got things rolling. Right now we are limiting it to only 2 children and they have to be between the ages of 3 - 8. We'll see what the Lord has planned for us there!

G - grants. Our property is lined on 2 sides with McKay creek and that means we are eligible for a grant that brings people in and plants trees along our banks to help with erosion. Next month we begin the process of planting 500 aspen trees. There may be some willow as well and Mark just said a few evergreens may show up. We have had to secure deer fencing for this project as well as plan out our irrigation system for the pasture and these trees. 

H - house projects - Owen's room is where we are currently at and it has been pretty bare. We are working on a hunting/fishing/family theme in there and we have a few finishing touches to do before I put up pictures. 

I - investments. As per our goals for the year, it was time to start up our investments again. We stopped while we were building but that retirement is important along with the kids' college funds so it was time. More meetings and phone calls but everything is rolling now. 

J - jogging. Lots and lots of jogging. Now that the weather has been nice (er) I have been running outside as much as I can - including as many hills as I can!

K - kids. I have 29 students right now. 1 severely autistic, 1 on a major behavior plan, 1 with diabetes, 6 on IEP's, 1 recently abused, and all needing my every spare minute of attention and love. EX-HAUSTING I tell ya! EXHAUSTING!

L - legacies. Still helping people change their family trees each Wednesday night while doing the Dave Ramsey class. This is a great group and I am so happy to be a part of their journey towards a lifetime change!

M - meetings, meetings and more meetings! Before school, after school and yes - often during my only prep of the day. 

N - nothing. I've got nothing for the letter N!

O - orthodontist. We are practically best buds now and he and Mark have planned some hunting trips we see him so often. I told Mark to smooze as much as he can so we might see some discounts soon! Spacers and braces are expensive!

P - Pendleton Classifieds. I rarely am on facebook but when I am this is the page I go to. I have been selling stuff on this page like crazy and have now made over $400. That's my kind of web site!

Q - nothing again!

R - report cards. Report card time = lots and lots of assessments = lots of correcting and time.

S - sprinklers. We (I am loosely using the word here as it is much more Mark than I) have been planning and planning the sprinkler system for the pasture. It is complicated and expensive but I do believe Mark and I will be gearing up to put it in the first few weeks of March.

T - technology. Trainings, trainings and more trainings!

U - unexpected company. We have had some wonderful evenings with friends stopping by! No complaints here!

V - video taping, admin. walk-throughs, technology walk-throughs, learning walks. All of these things have meant a lot of people in my classroom and me making sure my lessons are all top notch!

W - World War Z - the book that my book club is going to read for next month. Now just to find the time to read it again!

X - x-rays. We had an emergency dental appointment on a Saturday that took 2 and 1/2 hours. Ask Mark about it sometime he isn't carrying his gun. Oh, and please send me money to help pay that bill! It's a doozy!

Y - nothing!

Z - zumba. My favorite class at the gym. I rarely get to go but when I do, I have way too much fun! The boys have gone to the kids zumba a couple of times and they love it too! 

That is where my month has gone! Still searching for the fine balance of being a great mother, wife and teacher and keeping my sanity in the process! Wish me luck!

True Love - Part 1

 

Valentine's Day...

 

I remember when I was 13 and getting ready for the Sweethearts dance. I was in love with a boy named Jeremy Ashbeck and I just hoped and prayed and fretted that he would ask me to dance. Not just any dance mind you. A slow dance. And not just any song. The song had to be "Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun. It was my favorite song and the height of romance for my little 13 year-old mind.

 

At the dance, I practiced in my head over and over what I would do and say if Jeremy actually asked me to dance. I watched him out of the corner of my eye and of course every single one of my girlfriends stared at him for me and reported to the nth detail what he was doing and who he was talking to.

 

Finally.

Finally.

He came over and asked me to dance. I can only wonder at the courage of that then 13 year-old boy. To saunter over to a gaggle of girls and inquire politely if one of them would like to dance. I couldn't have done it. No way, no how.

 

But he did. And while I didn't swoon, I sure wanted to because just as he was leading me to the dance floor, my favorite song began to play.

Take my breath away.

 

In my bed later that night, I replayed every single moment of that night over and over and after the 59th time, I swore to myself that it had to be the most romantic thing that would ever happen to me.

 

At the ripe old age of 34 now, I still think back to that night and replay the whole breathlessness of the situation. I think about it and smile.

Jeremy Ashbeck certainly won my heart for that night but Mark, now Mark is the one who has won my heart for a lifetime.

 

I shared last year an example of how Mark knows just the right way to love me.

In case you missed that shining example, look here.

 

Valentine's Day...

 

I thought it was time to share another story of how Mark loves me like no other man can.

 

                          This next story takes place at the hospital.

My water had broke at home while I was laying down trying to get comfortable with the bowling ball in my stomach later to be know as Caleb. My bag had already been packed a week earlier and so we grabbed it and threw it into the car. Mark kept talking and we were both giddy with excitement at the thought that our baby was finally on the way.

Before the night was to be over, we would have vomit, spraying blood and gas. All different kinds of gas...




End of Part 1
 

 

Ignorance = Bliss

 

Wits and Wagers is my new favorite game.

It doesn't hurt that I am gooood at it - be warned!

I play to win (and wager apparently!).

 

 

I have decided that I would like one of these please.

 

 

I need squooshy cheeks, rosebud mouths and diaper bottoms crawling around in footie-jammies again.

 

I will even take food faces...

I want to rewind the years a wee bit and have my own boys become 3 and 4 again.

 

 

I would like for Mercy to smile more when I take her picture.

Girlfriend's looking a little scary.

And a little slobbery.

 

 

I would like for Kye to live forever. The sweetest, most patient, gentlest dog ever. She is starting to show her age and I don't like it one little bit.

Not that she looks old.

The fact that she is getting old.

 

 

More sunshine = more walks.

 

 

More walks = more guns that the boys bring to the park in order to do battle.

They are starting to pack backpacks now along with their holsters and belts, hidden knives and swords. The backpacks contain all the "good stuff".

 

Or so I'm told.

 

I've chosen not to look.

 

That's me - Ignorance = Bliss.

Something Special

 

I love being a mom.

The boys bring such happiness to my heart.

Not all the time mind you, but the majority of the time, yes.

 

Today I went into Caleb's room to check the dirty clothes situation. While poking around in there, I noticed that he had created a new poster for his wall. Since I am head decorator around here, I immediately wanted to have a talk with him about hanging stuff up without my permission.

 

But then I walked closer and decided to instead talk with him about putting his new poster in a frame.

 

 

 

 

Do you know which band Caleb has been rocking out to?

 

(Jesus Freak)

 

Love that kid so much!

 

Owen had a big day.

 

His first award in 1st grade and it was in the area of Leadership.

Who knew?

Guess that means he's doing what he's supposed to!

 

 

 

Love this kid too!

 

 

 

My heart is definitely happy right now!

Reason #548

I have often thought that I have one of the best jobs in the world. 

11 years in and I still love to teach little kids. 

Yes, some days are harder than other and I do get tired of all the meetings we seem to be having these days, but when it comes down to just me and a classroom full of kids - I love it. 

There are other bonuses as well. Some of the parents of my students are now good, close friends of mine. And of course, you can't overlook the vacation package! I don't think I would survive without summers off now! Students treating you like a Hollywood movie star every time they see you outside of work - priceless. And then there are "snow days" or in the case of where I live "freezing rain and black ice" days. 

Yesterday was starting to show the signs of a slick night ahead and since Mark is working graveyard right now, I had him scout out the situation for me.

"How are the roads? Anyone sliding? Any accidents?"

He kept me posted and by 10:00 I had a good feeling that we would have at least a 2-hour delay. It was a pleasant surprise to get the call that school was canceled for the whole day. 

First thing I did was sleep in of course!

To the point where I worried my children. 

Caleb woke me up by anxiously knocking on my bedroom door,

"Mom! Mom! It's 7:55 and it's a THURSDAY!"

The boys had gotten up around 7:30, got dressed, made their beds, brushed their teeth, ate breakfast and had their backpacks and coats by the door ready to go. 

Gotta love those kids!

I let them play the Wii as a reward for being so good and I am now relaxing with a cup of special Russian Tea that my cousin Hannah made me, brownies baking in the oven for company tonight and some extra time to go through the pictures on my camera card. 

My job is seriously the best! I'm getting paid to do this!

The first pictures up are harking back to wrestling season. 

Owen was so excited to wrestle this year and even though Caleb said he would rather have this toenails pulled off than be beat up and pinned by other people, we were all supportive of Owen going for it. 

Practices were two nights a week, which I can handle.

Wrestling meets were each Saturday starting at 8:30, which I can handle. 

However, there was only one meet in Pendleton (that I had to miss to go do the Poplar Run - more on that later) and the rest were all away - some, very far away.

Not so cool for a girl who doesn't like to get up early nor one who hates to drive anyway in the winter when there is snow and ice on the roads. 

But I did it. And my son Owen thinks I am pretty cool for doing so, so I guess those 5:30 wake-up calls - ON A WEEKEND - were worth it.

Our first meet was in Hermiston and Mark and I were totally unprepared for the amount of people there as well as the intensity displayed for this age level. Also the tears - lots and lots of tears. 

This is the gym when we first showed up. Not very many people yet because before another half an hour had gone by, the bleachers were completely filled up and you could barely move. 

Owen was a wee bit nervous, but Mark took him out there and they warmed up and he started to relax. Then it was his turn. His nerves started to act up again. (That and he was embarrassed at having to wear the singlet).

The ref velcroed a band around Owen's leg which would show the judges who to give the points to when he awarded them. 

Then they begin to wrestle. Now, I have never wrestled but I can yell with the best of them so I just repeated everything Mark said at a high volume and tried to snap pictures at the same time. I have no idea what I was yelling so I can't really walk you through these pictures but as you can see there were arms and legs involved and twisting/pulling and grappling on a mat. Use your imagination for the rest!

Mark and Caleb were glued to the action.

And Owen did some more pulling and grappling and rolling and twisting. 

And then he won his first match!

Yeah Owen! 

That was all it took.

One win and Owen was hooked. 

It didn't matter that he got worked over by the next kid he wrestled against. 

He was in love with a new sport. 

The season lasted a couple of months and while we didn't make it to every tournament, we made it to quite a few. They were all fun and I even got to see a few of my good friends from college as they were either in the vicinity visiting family (Sarah) or watching their own little boy wrestle (Hailey). 

That definitely helped pass the time!

Sarah even used her new super zoom lens and snapped some pictures of Owen for me.

And when Mark and I weren't looking, she snapped some pictures of us as well!

I am still worried about Owen wrestling girls (he didn't this season at all) and of course, me being me, I am still worried about ring worm (I made Owen SCRUB after every practice and meet) I think that I am starting to warm up to this sport. Who knew!? 

Now, I am off to enjoy the rest of my "snow day" with my family. 

We have a new game to try out - Wits and Wagers, some books to read together for Caleb's Battle of the Books competition that is coming up, some organizing and cleaning around the house and some plain old curl up into a comfy chair with a warm blanket and good book to read!

Hockey - Go Americans!

On Friday night the boys and I zipped out of school as soon as the bell rang and we headed up to Tri-Cities to meet Mom and Zach for dinner and a hockey game. (Mark was working...)

The boys had been looking forward to this and were really excited to go since they had never even seen a hockey game on TV. 

First we went to dinner at Red Robin's. Very good but very busy. 

(I had Denny's flashbacks from college!)

Trying to get a cute picture of the boys was not so easy. 

This is picture number 13. 

And this is the best one believe it or not. 

After dinner we headed over to the hockey game. 

We had seats behind the goal side which was nice. 

I didn't take my camera but instead had pilfered Mark's little digital one that fits easily into my purse. Since I did that, I can blame all blurriness on his camera, not on my photography talents of course. 

The boys were pretty excited as we walked around and took in all the sights and sounds. 

This is the American's mascot and I was a little concerned because I thought the announcer kept telling us his name was "Weiner" but it turns out that it was actually "Winger". Phew!

I had hoped to take a cute picture of the 3 boys at the hockey game but alas, that was not to happen. 

I did get one of my mom and Owen.

"Hi Mom!"

The game started not too long after that so I put away the camera and we just sat back and enjoyed the game. Caleb and Zachary had the best time and even took off their shirts to swing them over their heads for the song "Cotton-Eyed Joe". I wish I had got a picture of that. 

Owen was a wee bit tired and mainly wanted to sit on my lap or my mom's lap. We headed home close to 10 and both he and Caleb were snoring within 10 minutes of us being in the car. 

The Americans lost but it was still a good game. The boys were a little concerned when the players fought but I explained that in hockey, it is part of the game (and secretly a part I enjoy!).

Hopefully Mark can join us next time!

Do you want to know my favorite part of the whole night?

Hands down it was the bucket of mini-doughnuts that my mom bought. 

I am still dreaming about them. 

At the first intermission, she came back to our seats with a bucket of mini-deliciousness that came in 3 flavors. 

The doughnuts were warm and soft and gooey with their toppings. 

The first dozen were covered in chocolate with sprinkles. 

The second dozen were covered with maple frosting. 

The third dozen were simple cinnamon and sugar. 

I don't even have the adjectives to describe how good they were but just picture yourself closing your eyes and a little bit of heaven settling down onto your tongue.

That good.

Seriously.

I foresee another hockey game in my near future.

Book Club

This year I gave up Bunco.

I gave up Tuesday Taco Nights with some of my friends. 

I gave up couponing (for a while anyway).

I gave up watching any TV that isn't DVR'd.

But I refused to give up my Book Club!

Once a month, the group of us 8 girls get together at Great Pacific (a restaurant here in town) and eat, drink and be merry. 

We also usually discuss books. 

Usually.

We have a pre-determined book each month that we all have to read at least 100 pages of. Even if we hate the book - 100 pages minimum. 

Then we come together and talk about what we liked, what we didn't like, share favorite passages and compare it to other books we have read. 

It is way too much fun!

(says the book nerd)

Tuesday night, I hosted book club at my house. We usually get together at Christmas time but it didn't work out this year until now so we did our annual book exchange and fun here. It was perfect. 

We sat around for 3 hours, eating of course and talking about books. 

And babies, school, Christmas, adoption, vacations, and a few other things as well.

Two of our members were ill, but otherwise here's a picture that Mark snapped of the six that partied it up last night:

Book Clubs Rock!

(I'm just saying...)