It's All About Change!

As each one of the kids have their end of the year activities I have been able to take a step back and notice all the change that is and will be going on!!! Jordan had her singing "solo" concert the other night. Wow -how she has progressed. She is still terrified to sing alone in front of people, but what a difference! Each time she does it, she has more confidence in herself. I am so proud of her for stepping out of her comfort zone. She has "changed" and grown so much this year. Not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually. I look at her and wonder where my little girl went!

Paige has been struggling a bit these past few days. She LOVES school and even more, she LOVES Glen Oaks. She is so comfortable and happy at her school. She loves all the teachers and especially her art class and the freedom she has in there. The other night, she just broke down into tears. She just doesn't want to move onto sixth grade and MIDDLE SCHOOL. Don't you just love when those "teaching" moments happen. Paige and I had such a great talk about change. It has been said that, "the only thing constant is change." Paige and I both agreed that her attitude is what will make her fail or succeed. I was able to share personal experiences with her and point out times in her life when she has had "change" and things worked out. I just hope our talk helped her out! I just hate to see my kiddos so uneasy, and sad :(

Chase is growing into such a great kid. (well, let's face it, he has always been a good kid.) It's fun watching him and Cody wrestle, hang out, and really talk! Even though Chase is getting older, he still loves for me to hang out with him. I was able to go to the zoo with him the other day for a field trip....he was so excited I could go! But I think I was more excited that he WANTED me to go!

Cody has grown leaps and bounds this year! Oh my gosh - he reads everything he can get his hands on. Yesterday he started reading a "Wimpy Kid" book. I couldn't believe it!!! You would have never known he struggled so much. I was able to attend a field trip with him the other day as well. You know when you have something happen to you and you just want to freeze time. Cody and I were sitting on the bus and he just scooted himself right next to me and rested his little head on my arm. I cherish moments like that.

Honestly, my talk with Paige was probably as much for me as it was for her. Its not easy for me to watch the kids get older, move on, not tell me everything, not "need" me all the time. I wish the kids wouldn't get older, I wish I could just freeze them. BUT - I know I can't. So as they get older and grow in so many ways - I need to embrace each stage and hang on tight to the memories. Change is hard. Watching your kids grow up is hard. BUT - it is also good. It is good to see them take what you have taught them and use it to make good decisions and be successful.

So as hard as it is - I just keep telling myself....Embrace Change!!! (Because it is going to happen whether I like it or not :)

One Crazy Week!

I'm not sure if you feel this way or not, but May always seems to be SO busy! I love springtime and the fact that school is coming to and end, but oh my goodness....things are crazy! It seems like there is something going on every night. So in an effort to stay current with everything going on....here is our life over the past week or so!!!

FIELD DAY!!

Field Day is a huge highlight of the year! The kids love spending the day outside and their most favorite stations are the water stations! This year we had a great day! It was warm, but not too hot! Chase just loved being outside with his buddies! He also loves playing tether ball with his friends!

One of Cody's favorite games is the sponge game. You hold the container on your head and your friends fill a sponge with water. Whoever fills their container up first by squeezing out the water...wins!!! Cody loved it because he was soaked when it was all said and done!!












Paige just loves it all.....being with friends and having fun!

PRIMARY ACTIVITY!!
Our primary activity this month was service oriented. One of the activities the kids did was to clean the building. I wasn't sure how they would all react, but they were excited and cleaned the building with smiles on their faces. Paige's class was in charge of cleaning the bathrooms. Cody's class cleaned and vacuumed classrooms.











Chase had to be at baseball, so I had taken him over to the church the night before with me to help clean and set up. Even Jordan was able to help. With me being the primary president, the whole family tends to get involved with all the activities. Jordan was a great help with the younger kids, and even took over a class for me.

HORSE RACES!!
After cleaning all morning, soccer games, and baseball - Davey, Kristi, and Bub offered to take the kids to the horse races! Before I go on, I have to say - I have the coolest cousins EVER!!! Davey and Kristi are always so good about spending time with the kids. Bub just moved here for the summer, and he has stepped right in - loving on the kids!!! Bub helped me out huge that day, being my personal chauffeur! Thanks guys for being so AWESOME! We love living so close to you!!!

The kids had a blast at the races. It was kid day, so they had fun things for the kids to do. They enjoyed feeding the animals......
riding on the ponies.....

and I loved this picture. Here Bub and Chase are racing Davey and Cody! I think I was told Davey and Cody won that race!

SOFTBALL BANQUET!!

Jordan had her softball banquet at the country club. What a year she has had. She started the year on the JV team. She loved it! She made some wonderful friends, loved the coaches, and enjoyed being one of the top players on the team. She played second base and batted fourth in the line up. (This was a little funny to me, because Jordan has never been much of a power hitter. More the bunting type.) But she did great and loved every minute of it. She did sacrifice her sleep to be part of the team. They would practice in the morning before school, which meant she had to attend the 5:45 seminary class. Jordan had a great attitude and was positive all the way through. As much as she loved the JV team, her ultimate goal was to play on the Varsity team. She was able to play a few games/tournaments with the Varsity team throughout the early part of the season. Then it happened. They asked her to to move up and finish out the year on Varsity. Jordan was so excited!!! One of her best friends was playing on Varsity, so she was very happy to be playing with her.

She loved the Varsity girls and worked very hard. The coaches were awesome!! Jordan learned so much from them. It is amazing how much she has improved!

At her banquet she was awarded with the Academic Excellence Award, and was also told she had lettered! She was thrilled!!! Jordan has enjoyed being a part of the Boyd Softball Team and has made wonderful friendships!!! We are so proud of Jordan!!! Way to go babe!! Can't wait until next year!

HONORING PAIGE!!

This year the fifth grade started a new recognition program. The kids had the opportunity to earn the letters L - E - A - D. They did this by completing different criteria the teachers put into place. The first two letters weren't too hard...the kids had to complete all homework, show respect, help when needed, etc. To earn their "A", they had to provide so many hours of tutoring or help a teacher. Paige skipped recess many times to help the kindergartners in Art. To earn their "D", they had to do something that would help the community. Paige made a website about keeping the world clean. This was an amazing award because only a handful of kids from the fifth grade earned their award.

Paige, we are so proud of you for not only being such a great student, but for caring for others, and being willing to provide service to so many!!!

JORDAN!!

Jordan had her final choir performance 80's style!!! The Boyd choir is awesome! I loved their final performance because it was so fun for the kids. They danced all over the stage, singing songs that I love!!! Jordan had such a great time performing. I'm so glad she wore her bright yellow.....if she hadn't, I never would have found her!!

Jordan also had a youth dance last Saturday. She absolutely loves and looks forward to this time to hang out with her friends. This one was bitter sweet though. One of her very good friends is moving in just a few weeks. So Jordan invited a bunch of friends over so they could all get ready together!

PAIGE'S ART SHOW!

Last night was Paige's yearly art show. I love to see how she improves each year! The painting on the top was a painting Paige did for our neighbors who went to Venice. They took pictures and asked Paige to paint them something. This is what she came up with. The black one on the bottom is a still life picture. And my favorite is the Monet double!!! I need to get it framed. The only problem is, I'm not sure where to put it!! It seems almost every room has a "Paige Original." We are going to run out of space soon. :) I love it though!! Paige you are amazing! I am so happy you have found something you love!

Well, that was our week in a nutshell.... Only 3 weeks left, then summer - HERE WE COME!!!

My favorite things!!!

Yesterday was a great Mothers Day!!! I woke up to the smell of bacon cooking in the skillet! Rick made a yummy bacon and eggs breakfast for me and the kids! After church I got to come home and take a nap! Wahooooo!!! What mother doesn't love a Sunday nap?! Rick barbecued steak kabobs and made baked potatoes! We had a great dinner...In front of me were flowers and homemade cards from the kids (my favorite!) It was a great relaxing day, spent with Rick and the kids! Thank you to my awesome, loving, husband for taking this journey of parenthood with me! For helping me be a better mom! Thank you to my kids for making motherhood enjoyable, interesting, and so much fun! (most of the time :) I am truly blessed to have such good kids. My girls are so much fun! My most favorite time with them is our fun talks at bedtime!My boys make me laugh and smile! The other day I was driving home and as I pulled into the driveway, I stopped the car and thought about some of my favorite things!

Rick had mowed the lawn the night before and I couldn't believe how green the grass looked. I LOVE fresh cut grass! The roses in the front yard were blooming and they looked beautiful! The kids had cut some to take to their teachers, but there were a few left to enjoy. This rose bush is awesome and has a story behind it! After Katie died 11 years ago a dear friend gave me a small pink rose bush. I planted it right in front of the house. I had no idea this tiny little rose bush would grow and grow and grow. Almost to the point it started to overflow into the walk way. Well, when we moved, the thought of leaving my rose bush behind made me very sad...so.....we dug it up and moved it to our new house. The first year or so, I wasn't sure it was going to make it. We gave it quite a shock by moving it....but as you can see, it is doing very well, and blooms the most beautiful and best smelling roses!

I also tried something new this year....SNAPDRAGONS. I'm not sure if they will last long, but on that particular day, they looked great!
And one of my new favorite things are my GEL TOES! Don't they look fabulous. I feel like a little girl....I catch myself admiring my toes all the time. In the sunlight they sparkle and in the dark they shine. I love them!!! Thanks Kendra!!!! I can't wait to try more colors!!This mothers day, I have noticed the small and simple things that make me so happy. I feel very lucky to live in a home with beautiful flowers, green grass, to be able to feel pretty with pretty toes, my homemade corsage, and most of all I feel very lucky to have four healthy children and a husband who loves me NO MATTER WHAT!
I hope all of you mom's had a great day! As my friend Aprille would say, "YOU TOTALLY DESERVE IT!"

A GREAT Day!

It is 9:00 in the morning and the day has already been a great one! To celebrate Mothers Day, Cody's first grade class provided their mom's with a breakfast and readers theatre. Cody and I had arrived in his classroom and I had to find which desk was his. He was sure I would know right away because he drew a picture of me and placed it front and center on the desk. We walked around the entire classroom and nothing stood out to me. Cody said, "Mrs. Gahan said we could walk around three times." I finally figured it out when he walked straight to a certain desk and looked up at me. "This is me! I said." Cody was so proud I "guessed" which desk was his. (it had nothing to do with his helpful hints.) Check out my picture...looks just like me don't ya think? :)Cody sat on my lap and I got to look through some things he wrote about me. My favorite was:
Cody's definition of "what is a mother?"....
Cody's response: "A mom is someone who taks you to school and tuks you in bed. and she taks me playsis she loves me a lot."
The class then read the book, Love You Forever. Okay - I cried! Not only is it a great story, but here I was, watching my baby read to me and right then and there, I realized my baby is growing up....sad moment for me! The kids did a great job and took a bow proudly! After the story and all the moms dried their eyes, the kids served us breakfast. Yummy fruit and muffins! Cody gave me a corsage to wear and a beautiful flower to plant! It was a great morning with my little Cody!

My New Life!

After getting all the kiddos into bed, I sat down to read emails and for some reason thought of one of my favorite blogs I like to visit. I figured I would view it since it had been awhile. Isn't it funny how things happen! Maybe I needed a reminder of how lucky I am or the fact that I have the awesome responsibility of being a mother, or the fact I am healthy, or even that I can take care of myself and my family. I'm not sure why I was prompted to view this blog, but every time I read it - I am reminded just how truly blessed I am! My struggles and trials seem to be insignificant and I am reminded, what life is all about!

Many of you may know this blog and the story behind this couple. She titles her blog, NieNie Dialogues. A beautiful wife and mother, with 4 adorable children and a husband who just adores her. A few years ago, her and her husband were in a tragic plane crash. She was severly burned, but they both survived the crash. Check out her blog to get updated on their story. What I loved about her post today was the video she was able to take part in. It sure puts life into perspective! Here is the link to her site and video... http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/

It may bring tears to your eyes, but it will also fill your heart with gratitude!