disgusted

i was at the town pool today watching my boy have his swim lessons.

in the pool was a young man with special needs and his helper.

he was very hands on 

- i'm not too sure just what he could actually do by himself -

so my little girl was watching them, fascinated.

i was watching the patience and the encouragement that the woman had for him and was quite impressed.

there were two people sitting at the next bench over.

the guy - we'll call him 'Opinionated' - started making comments.

the young man in the pool needed so much help to get out of the pool

(again, i don't know how much was actually needed, and how much was fear or stubborness)

then he needed assistance getting up - i don't think he wanted to stand.

'Opinionated' started saying things like "just stand up." "what a waste of effort"

which to some wouldn't be bad, but he kept on that track.

"Such a waste of money.  

our government could spend the money where it is actually needed like education or the military.  

instead they spend it on those people.  

maybe if they could actually do something for themselves.

they can't even contribute to society.  

or acknowledge the effort people make.

don't waste the money on them.  

but i'm not in the government"

'Opinionated' complained for about the next 10 minutes.

not loudly, just to the person he was sitting with, but they were close enough for me to hear.

about the waste of money and time given to people who can't do things for themselves.

how much was wasted in his schools on them.

how he was deprived of the education he deserved because they got all the special attention and the money.

i honestly was sick to my stomach listening to this.

did i say something?

no.

shake your head at me all you want for not speaking up.

First of all, he was having a conversation with someone else, 

i had a little boy in swim lessons, about to come out and into the dressing room...

and my 3 year old daughter with me, was i wanting to argue the value of that young man's life?  

no i wasn't.

do i hate confrontation? 

yes.
like i said, he wasn't being loud and obnoxious...just having a convesation.

was i going to say anything that would change 'Opinionated's' mind or opinion?  

i would have just told him that he disgusted me.

that everyone had a right to the best life possible.

whether they needed assistance to receive it or whether they fought for it themselves.

God didn't create anyone who didn't deserve a right to life.

that young man in the pool may have needed a lot of assistance.

but you ask the woman who was helping him, encouraging him, whether he contributed to society.

is what he said disgusting to some of you?

i don't know.

maybe you feel the same.

i have voiced how i feel.

it may be only here on my blog, but isn't that was this blog is for?

so, no, i didn't say anything.

i got my girl, who is still excited from watching that young man in the pool and the woman who assisted him, and we went to the dressing room to meet my boy as he came out of his swim lessons.

Fix You

I love So You Think You Can Dance.

i've only missed one season  

because the Canadian version was on instead.

The second second season there was a contestant named Travis who was amazing, 

and has now become one of my favorite choreographers on the show.

He choreographed a dance about his mom 

the song was Fix You by Coldplay.

amazing dance to a super sweet song.

that's what i think of everytime i hear this song now.

i believe.

i am a believer... 

i believe that God created the world in 6 days... 

24 hour days.  

and that He rested on the 7th.

i believe the serpent tempted Eve AND Adam 

and that sin entered into our world.
i believe that God, Father, Jesus, Son, and Holy Spirit...uh..Spirit 
are ONE.
yet THREE
i believe and it is clear to me, yet for me to put it into words - not something I am good at explaining.

i believe that Jesus came as a baby, 

born to a virgin named Mary

I celebrate Christmas in December in honor of His birthday, 

even though he probably wasn't born in December.

i believe that He lived a sinless life

even when tempted.

i believe He honestly cared for and loved the poor, 

the fatherless, 

the widows, 

the prostitutes, 

the thieves, 

the 'sinners'

i believe He loved the Pharisees, 

but their attitudes truly pissed Him off.

i believe that Judas had the unfortunate role of betraying Jesus.

i believe that Jesus still loved Judas, 

even though He knew Judas was going to make some wrong decisions.

i believe that Jesus was crucified.. 

on a wooden cross, not a beautiful gold one.

i believe that it was horrible & gruesome.

i believe that Jesus didn't want to go through it
but knew it was what needed to be done so that He would be the final sacrifice for the sins of everyone.

i believe He forgave his crucifiers,
and the mockers watching. 

i believe he did die on the cross.

i believe the Roman soldiers were good at what they did.

i celebrate Good Friday.

i remember that Jesus died, horribly, for me.  

and you, and you, and you.....

i believe that Jesus was buried in a tomb

i believe that there was a huge stone blocking the entrance.

i believe the guards knew what they were doing.

I believe Jesus rose from the grave.

i believe He is no longer dead.
i believe that He rose form the dead to show death had no power over him.
for me..
and you and you and you.

i believe it as truth, not a hoax.

i believe He forgave Peter for denying Him.

i believe that the Holy Spirit stayed when Jesus went up to Heaven.

i believe Jesus is in heaven right now, 

watching us and preparing things for each of us who love Him.

i believe in Jesus Christ and what He has done for me.

That's what I believe.

i also believe that i can screw up.

i am a human

if Adam and Eve could screw up and they actually walked with God, 

and conversed with Him...

than i am not surprised when i mess up.

i believe the Holy Spirit is with me and giving me God's strength.

But i believe that i just need to keep trying to live like Jesus, 

and relying on God for the strength I need each day.

this girl has mad skillz!

Hi i wanted to share a blog i follow.

Twilight Tree.

this girl has some mad skillz.

Her most recent creation has me wanting one - -

i would love to be able to make one for myself, but i just don't see that happening anytime soon.

anyone want to make me one :)

Check out this blog..

and see the Vintage Linen Top

have a super creative day.

April's Song: The Stand

I love music.

I love singing.

i was thinking i am going to try to share a song each month with you. 

if i can find it on YouTube i'll post a video...

if not i'll try to write out the lyrics for you.

the first song is one we sang at church this past sunday.

this summer i saw Hillsong United live.

I think i need to correct it - - i experienced a Hillsong United concert.

The song is 'The Stand'

it is a song that stirs a passion in my heart and i want to share it with you.

School Days...Part 4: Teachers

I have shared the boy's school experience in part 1, 2 & 3...
welcome to the 4th and possibly final school days post.
 ***
Teach, v
1.  To impart knowledge or skill to; give instruction
2.  To Instruct in.
3.  To cause to learn by example or experience
4.  to advocate or expound. 
***
I always had great teachers from JK thru to 6..
some of the 7 - College were spectacular too

(but there are so many more that are a part of those school years)

When we made the decision to send the boy to school this year i was scared of him having a teacher that was in it for the summer off and the pay,

and not in it for my little boy

 with his fears, his passions, his giggles, his smiles, his shyness. 

i began praying.

I prayed.

i prayed for his teachers. 

(JK and on in the years, but focusing on JK.)

i prayed he would have teachers that obviously cared for him.

teachers i could talk with and work with through any issues that may come up.

teachers he grew to love and appreciate.

they didn't have to be followers of Christ, but i prayed they had a love for my boy and the kids they worked with that imitated Christ,

whether they knew it or not.

i will be honest

when i went to the school intro to kindergarten night i wanted the Early Childhood Educator from one class but the teacher from the other class...

i got the ECE i wanted.

but, i'll tell you now,

i LOVE his teacher. 

She has known my husbands family for a while, and is actually a sweet woman who adores my little boy.

His ECE loves him too.

He loves his teachers.

Even when he was scared to go to school he would tell me he liked them.

They have been wonderful.

the conversations we have had and the encouragement i have received has been appreciated.

His teacher even phoned one night to see how he was doing because when she put him on the bus he was so distraught, and in tears. 

we have had a couple phone conversations.

we have had a bunch of at-school chats.

i am thankful for a teacher who is in the position because she loves to teach.

When i told her i was sending him 3 days she was glad.

(how relieved i was, since i was expecting a fight)

she said she thought the school board needed to make sure the parents knew they had the option.

she said that we know our kids and she'd prefer to have crazy individual schedules than having a whole bunch of exhausted, sad kids in the class for 5 full days.

his ECE told me she related to my boy because he is so much like her in personality,

prefering the smaller groups. 

She understood him, and i loved that.

i am thankful for the women teaching my son in his first year of school.

i am thankful for the teachers i know and have had as well, as i know there are people in this position because they truly have a heart for teaching children.

thank you to my past teachers: (the ones whose names come to mind - jk-college)

Mrs. Teal; Mrs. Langley, Ms. Buchanan, Mrs. Ceni, Mr. Holouschko(sp?), Ms. Earle, Ed Fontaine, Marv Penner, Kaj, Rob, Paul, Mr. Lehrer, Mr Dawson.

You all inspired me to do my best even when i didn't know i had it in me. 

 i know there are many more whose names i can't place.  

Thank you to those who are teaching or have been teaching and who desire to see children grow, learn and strive for excellence:

Kristin S(in PNG), Sue A, Mel M, Kent M, Christine T, Wendy S, Alison K, Darren M, Tracy M, Jody F,  Kerri-Lynn, K, Lisa M...

i know there are more who are teaching but i'm drawing a blank.

And thank you to elijah's teachers... Jane Keevil and Sarah Dix - you are wonderful.   

the boy's wisdom

My kids are making an Easter scene.

There's a hill and a tomb,

we had to make 3 crosses.

on Good Friday we'll place the crosses on the hill.

(and add a stone in front of the tomb, which, on Sunday we'll move to the side.)

i left them while i went to get some hemp to tie the sticks together.

and listened while a good, wise, big brother explained to his little sister why we needed 3 crosses.

(this has been 2 days in my memory, some of the exact wording may be slightly off)

"We need three crosses.

Jesus was in the middle and he had robbers beside him.

The robbers did bad so they were dying because they did bad.

But Jesus was good.

He didn't do any bad.

But he had to die on the cross.

Then they buried him in the tomb and put a big rock in front so he couldn't get out.

But then one day he moved the rock and got out."

Cake Creation

My little girl loves Dora the Explorer.

Her birthday was coming up.

i wanted to make her a Dora-themed cake.

so i decided on doing her favorite map.

She told me she wanted pink candles and blue icing.

thankfully she loved the Dora's Pirate Adventures,

the map scene is water. 

therefore,

Blue icing.

I made Map for her.

out of Fimo.

then I made the singing bridge and the treasure chest.

also out of Fimo.

I made a couple of cakes ahead of time.

One i used my star cookie cutter and made little star cakes.

these were for her friends at Sunday School.

the other cake was for the party.

i don't know how long i spent icing the cake, and making it look as i wanted it to.

the boy got to help me by placing Map,

the treasure chest,

and the singing bridge with the chocloate stones.

then i finished off with the writing.

i'd have to say i was quite pleased with how it turned out.

the girl loved it too.

Add a Backpack pinata and the theme was complete.

Outdoor Fresh

Today i hung a load of laundry on the line.

the first one of the season.

i love hanging laundry.

i love taking the time to hang it all up,

to enjoy being outside for that time.

sometimes i get to do it with no one out there.

time to myself.

peace.

other times i watch the kids play and laugh....

and fight...sigh.

sometimes the boy likes to sit with me and hand me the clothes pins.

my favorite time is truly the alone time.

i love knowing the clothes will swing in the breeze

warm in the sun

smell like the outdoors.

i look forward to this day all winter long.

everytime i load or empty the dryer.

sure, clothes in the dryer seem softer...

have less lint...

but dryer dry and line dry just don't compare.

this is actually from last summer but you get the point.

**i had thought about taking a picture of my clothes hanging up, but didn't in the end.**

happy birthday little one

My baby is turning 3.

what a beauty she is.

i wanted to share a look at her over this past year

on her 2nd birthday.. enjoying the spoils of the pinata.

Snow is melted in gpa and gma's backyard..lovin' the puddle (as always)

my beautiful girl, enjoying the summer weather.

Smiling for gramma

You can't see me!  sleeping out in the tent.

Haha mommy, look what i can do and you can't!

look at the caterpillar i was playing with - why isn't he moving?

Sleepy head - she passed out during quiet play.  oh so tired from growing up.

My jumpin' queen!

Lovin' the chocolate.

haha, look what i did when you weren't looking.

my beautiful puppy.

Happy Birthday to my fun-lovin', crazy beautiful girl.



The Girl

My beautiful little girl turns 3 in just under 2 weeks.

She is my baby.

She is my 'Kota-girl

She is my "friend"

She is my 'little miss attitude'

She is my snot nosed little brat

She is my truck lovin', steamroller wanting, mud eating, pretty in pink, princess.

She is a pony some days.

She is a puppy some days

She is my clean freak...yet eats her snot, mud, dirt, crayons....

She is my 'fluent in Dora/Diego spanish' kid

She is my 'bop her head to the music', dancer

She has fear, yet no fear

She has a best friend: the boy.
Lamby is a close second though
She admires and adores her big brother... so much she annoys him often.

She loves her papa and her grandpa

She is Grandma/Gramma's girl

She will forever be daddy's little girl.

i have a daughter, and i am so thankful for her.

School Days.. Part 3: tears and more tears

I told you about the bus pick up...

I told you about choosing to send him 3 days a week...

well, i haven't yet told you how he did going to school.

oh my.

well, the bus was a challenge for the first week or two.

tears every time he thought about the bus.

tears the night before when he realized it was a school day the next day.

tears as he begged me to drive him.

tears as he begged me to let him stay home.

tears if there was a supply driver.

happy when he came home.

He got better.

he didn't cry about the bus ride anymore.

i talked with his teacher and reailzd he wasn't crying so much at school.

then he got the flu.

he went to school on the wednesday.

he cried all day.

he had a fever that night.

sick all day thursday.

i kept him home on friday.

Monday was not a good morning.

tears were back.

and school was scary again.

thus began the daily tears.

he didn't full out cry about the bus anymore.

He asked every school morning if he could stay home.

I went to pick him up one day.

i talked with his teacher and she was saying that maybe a shorter day would be better for him

for them too - since he cried almost the whole day each day.

he wouldn't participate, except with small groups.

if the tears weren't coming, they were always near the surface.

we decided i'd come each day at 11:30

the hardest transition for him was going outside

i would arrive once they were outside.

the tears were starting to be less,

knowing that i would be coming when he would be outside.

He loved coming home after half a day.

i didn't know how to get him to want to go for longer days.

how did i feel?

my son, the one who loves learning, hated school.

i always heard how smart he was.

i always heard how easy school would be for him.

i knew he was shy.

he usually got better once he understood the routine.

this seemed different.

i felt like a failure.

i felt like i hadn't prepared my kid for entering school.

i cried myself to sleep some nights.

i wanted to cry when i put him on the bus.

i wanted to cry when his teacher suggested sending him half days.

it didn't matter what people said, i still felt that way.

i went to the observation time and had a chance to watch him interact.

I bribed him.

no tears and i'd buy him a rocket popsicle after.

don't judge me.

like you've never bribed your kid at some point.

he cried that day when i was leaving. 

eventhough he knew i'd be back to get him later.

no popsicle.

i talked with his ECE teacher for a while before I left.

in that talk i told her about BEAR.

Bear is the boy's best friend.

he goes everywhere with him.

when he's scared he brings Bear.

Bear doesn't go to school with him.

She told the teacher about Bear

when i picked him up later that morning i had a chance to help elijah pick out a best friend for school.

something that could go outside with him,

somthing that he could hold and bring with him to each aspect of the day.

He picked Jaguar.

a plastic jaguar.

no hesitation.

he knew who he wanted.

Jaguar goes into the boy's cubby when he's not in school.

since that day, the boy asked if he could be picked up later in the day..

then changed his mind and told me that he wanted to take the bus home.

he missed doing that.

I wanted to cry.

I was so thankful to hear my son making that decision on his own.

He started going full days again.

Jaguar is his buddy

sometimes Jaguar doesn't stay with him, but he knows where he is.

he loves school.

his teachers tell me he is full of smiles now.

he is making friends now.

he participates in all class activities.

they are finally meeting the boy i know and love.

will i have a part 4? i think so.  i need to tell you about his amazing teachers.

Oh yeah, he did got that popsicle.  the next day, actually.

Book Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I love to read. 

I love to get lost in a good story.

I love feeling like I know the characters, and what stirs them.

So, I had a recommendation to read The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins.

Theresa wanted me to read it so we could go see the movie when it came out in March.

OK.

why not. 

sounds interesting.

I put my name on the waiting list for it at the town library.

Title: The Hunger Games

First in a Trilogy.

Author: Suzanne Collins

Target Audience: Young Adult

Fiction

North America in the future. 

Not how we know it. 

It has been destroyed and now all that's left is The Capitol City and 12 districts.

The Capitol has the money, the food, the clothes, all the pleasures of life. 
it rules the 12 districts. 

each district has it's own specialty.  Coal, Fabrics, Fish, Trees....etc.
They send all their goods to the Capitol. 

They are guarded by Peacekeepers, they are fenced in, with electric fences. 

The people live in poverty. 
The people starve to death. 

The people have to give one young man and one yong woman (between 12-18) to fight, to the death, in the televised Hunger Games each year. 

If one of their fighters happens to stay alive and win they are a Victor and the Victor's district receives extra portions of food etc. each month for the next year. 

Why do they send their kids to fight to the death? 

The Capitol does this each year to remind the districts of their power and how the districts (formerly 13 of them) attempted to revolt one time, only to see number 13 completely destroyed, and the others into even harsher submission. 

Keep the power where it belongs.. in the Capitol. 

The Hunger Games is reality Television at it's worst. 

The Capitol residents love the hunger games, cheering for their favorites to win, and cheering when the others die, usually in bloody fights. 

each district sends one boy, and one girl. 

Katniss is the girl for district 12. 

the district that mines.

She volunteers when her 12 year old sister's name is drawn. 

it's her sister's first year with her name in the draw. 

Katniss steps up to save her sister. 

She will fight in the Hunger Games. 

The book is about Katniss. 
She lost her father in the mines at a young age. 
She cares for her mother and sister. 
She is a hunter, in the woods around district 12. 
She hunts illegally, her father taught her how to use the bow. 
The Hunger Games is her story. 
She is strong, but feels weak.
She, along with everyone else in the district, hates the Capitol, and that they hold these games every year.  but she will be a part of it, she took her sister's place, and has promised that she will win and come home.  She needs to do everything she can in order to stay alive. 
Peeta is the boy from District 12.
Can she kill him when she needs to?   

and then go back home and face his family. 

This book had me within the first couple paragraphs.  I liked Katniss.  She's hard, but her life has been hard.  I think Suzanne Collins has written the characters very well.  even the ones who only appear for a short time.  

There were descriptive killings, but not overly, and not disturbing. 

Enough to understand what had happened. 

It's a story about Love: for family, for friends.

It's a story about strength.

it's about fighting against Big Brother.

it's about standing up and being proud of yourself.

i love to read, and i'm glad that i read this - in 2 days.  

Suzanne wove a gripping tale.

i'm glad my friend recommended it - it lived up to her praise.

i just finished the second book Catching Fire, in another 2 days of reading. 

and have my name waiting for the third one MockingJay. 

if you dream about the books you read i don't know if i'd recommend this to you, you will want to stay up reading it.  but you may dream about the deaths, and that may not be so fun.

I am looking forward to seeing this in the theater.

Papa John vs. Big Cat

In September my dad ran the Terry Fox Run with me. 

At that time we had no idea that Cancer was stalking him.

i say stalking because that's how i see what it is doing.

unfortunately, in some people cancer ravages them.

cancer grips a hold and tears apart.

it destroys and kills.

in my dad the cancer is a lion.. a panther.

it is slowly, quietly stalking him.

deciding how to destroy him, but biding it's time.

it had already began scratching at his tonsil

it had made a place of rest in a lump in his neck.

it is circling, patiently.

if you have ever seen a cat, large or small, stalking prey

that is how i see the cancer in my dad.

it has not ripped, torn, shredded.

it is stalking him...

waiting for the right time to lunge, to attack with full force.

believe me, even a stalking panther is dangerous.

it's quiet and light on it's feet.

it is stealth.

it is killer waiting to happen.

thankfully my dad has attacked before it had the opportunity to lunge.

his chemo and radiation end over this next week. 

then we'll see if the cat is killed or just tranquilized.

i pray it's dead.

because i don't want it to wake up mad.

More on my dad's cancer see: my mom's blog

Date Nights

2 nights of amazing movies.

the second night we even got to go out for dinner first:

Subway!

You will love the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour if you like the following:

movies

laughter

the outdoors

outdoor adventures and pursuits

travel

people and their lives

learning about cultures

seeing people accomplish goals

heartpounding, seat gripping craziness

dreams coming true - or at least people attempting them

i recommend that you check out the tour in a place near you.

out of the ones dan and i saw i had a couple favorites:

Reel Rock: Origins Obe & Ashima - crazy awesome boulderer: 9 year old girl.

Kadoma - an amazing story about kayaking in the Congo. 

(a story about adventure, dreams, life and, unfortunately, loss)

C.A.R.C.A - the way avalanche rescue should be.

(for a full list and descriptions, go to the BMFF tour site)

Praying for my kids

I became a mom 4 1/2 years ago. 

My church has a thursday morning women's Bible study that i used to go to weekly.

it's called TLC. 

thursday ladies conversation?...tender lovin' care?....the ladies connection...(i never knew what it actually meant until recently) 

Anyway, I met some amazing women there.

learnt some wonderful truths about life and the Bible.

Shared prayer requests, and prayed with others.

it was always a time to go and spend time with other young moms, and some special senior women.

there was always child care, which made it so much easier to focus on the teaching that day.

i haven't been going lately - i got out of it when the boy had swim lessons on thursday mornings.

anyway,

one day Christine, who was leading it, brought in an article about praying for your kids.

I liked that idea. 

I had thought of it but beside the "dear God, please help my kids grow up loving you, and keep them safe" i never had a specific prayer time for them.

The article had 31 character traits to pray for - one a day (for most months) 

it talked about this guy's discovery as he began to pray specifically for his kids daily.

Well, i have adapted some, by merging a couple or adding a new one,

but i have been attempting to do this each morning..

i will be honest.

i was doing awesome, every morning...

 then i missed a day..

and another..

it's been a couple months and i just started again. 

3 mornings in a row now.

one thing i try to do, as well, 

while I pray for the specific character traits for my kids

i also pray them for myself and for my husband. 

if we don't have character traits then why do I expect my kids to see the importance of it.

Here the list as i do it. 

with verses for reference (some from the article, some i chose).

1. Salvation (Isa 45:8, 2Tim 2:10, 1Thess 5:9,10)
2. Growth in Grace (2Pet 3:18, 2Tim 2:1)
3. Love (Eph 5:2, Gal 5:22, Prov 3:3)
4. Honesty & Integrity (Ps 25:21NLT, Prov 12:17)
5. Self-Control (1Thess 5:6)
6. A Love for God's Word (Ps 19:10, Ps 56:4)
7. Justice (Ps 11:7, Micah 6:8, Ps 106:3)
8. Mercy (Luke 6:36, Matt 5:7)
9. Respect (for self, others, authority) (1Pet 2:17a, 1Pet 3:15b)
10. Strong, Biblical Self-Esteem (Eph 2:10)
11. Faithfulness (Prov 3:3)
12. Courage (Deut 31:6)
13. Purity (Ps 51:10)
14. Kindness (1Thess 5:15)
15. Generosity (1Tim 6:18-19)
16. Peace, peaceability (Rom 14:19)
17. Joy (1Thess 1:6)
18. Perseverance (Heb 12:1)
19. Humility & Compassion (Titus 3:2 & Col 3:12)
20. Responsibility (Gal 6:5 TNIV)
21. Contentment (Phil 4:12-13)
22. Faith (Luke 17:5-6, Heb 11:1-40)
23. A Servant Heart (Eph 6:7 TNIV)
24. Hope (Rom 15:13)
25. The willingness and ability to work hard (Col 3:23 TNIV)
26. A Passion for God (Ps 63:8 KJV)
27. Self-Discipline (Prov 1:3)
28. Prayerfulness (Eph 6:18)
29. Gratitude (Col 2:7, Eph 5:20)
30. A Heart for Missions (Ps 96:3)
31. Forgiveness (Col 3:13)

when a day is missed feel free to pair up the ones missed and just keep praying.  

Praying for our kids is very important for us as parents, grandparents. 

if you're planning to have kids, adopt kids, raise any kids, it is never too early to begin praying for them.

Keep pressing on. 

School Days part 2: how many days a week?

We're in the district of the only school in town that currently has 5 day a week JK/SK.
that is 5 full days a week, for the 4 - 6 year olds. 

when we were looking forward to sending the boy to school i had a problem with that above fact.
He was turning 4 the summer before he started school, and i knew my son enough to know that sending him 5 days was not a wise choice.  He needed his alone time in the day, and if i'm home why do i need to send him.

personally i feel like it's to accommodate those families with both parents working or the single parents who have to work.  it's free and the kids are somewhere learning.  for those families, great. Glad there's the affordable option for you.
For our family, i am at home with our kids, and we chose to send our boy 3 days a week.

I honestly expected a fight.  i expected the school to try to convince me i needed to send him all week.  I was ready.  I was defending it as soon as people asked what school he was going to.  Now i know that i didn't need to be defensive.

the school told me just to let his teacher know what days i was sending him, she would be in charge of knowing what days, since other parents were doing their own schedule. 
What? other parents aren't sending their kids all week long? 
we are really allowed to choose the days, even times, that our kids will be there?

No school information told us that.

they boy's teacher told me she was glad that parents were doing that, since we know our kids and if they can handle 5 full days or not. 

What a relief!

Kids don't legally have to be in school until they're 6, so, i guess it only makes sense that we - as parents - should have the authority to choose how often they go. 

the boy started the year, you know how it started with the bus..., well he started the year with a lot of tears! i do mean a lot! 

i figured he'd get used to the 3 full days a week once he realized the schedule..
wow,  things don't always go as planned.

stay tuned for part 3.

Step in Time

Well....

I LOVED IT!

Dan and I are back from watching the Broadway Musical (in Toronto)

MARY POPPINS

I loved it.

The stage

The transitions

Bert

Mary

the songs

i will admit - not too big of a fan of the dancing statues..

but other than that

two thumbs way up

spectacular performances.

wish i could go see it again.

i get so crazy weepy when i watch performances like this..

but i can't bring myself to let the tears out. 

so hard to control today.

The live performance is so different than the movie,

but so amazing in it's own way.

Reality of Life and Loss

A friend of mine just lost his father on Dec 31 2011
The end of a year... the end of a precious, amazing life (here on earth).

People go into New Years Eve taking stock of their past year.
The amazing memories, the wise choices, but also the regrets.
A new year is coming so they look forward to making more memories and hopefully no regrets.

My hope for this coming year is to cherish my loved ones.
My friend's loss has reminded me how quickly and unexpected loss can happen.
i have been facing those thoughts over the past month as I have been facing the mortality of my own dad.

He has recently discovered he has cancer and as of January 2012 he will be undergoing both radiation and chemotherapy.  the reality of this has been hard to take.

Some losses come unexpectedly. 
accidents, heart attacks...
some losses may take years to happen.
illnesses, or natural causes...
but losses will happen. 

We don't know how long each of us has to spend on this earth.
I hope that any regrets that we have as we look back on the past year have nothing to do with showing love to those we care about. 
may the regrets we have be nothing about wishing we had spent more time with those we no longer can.. or never telling them how much we loved them. 

As 2011 ends and 2012 begins let's make sure we remember to love each moment of each day. 
forgive, love, cherish, hug, kiss, laugh, share, build memories that you'll enjoy remembering. 
i love my dad...he is one of the most special men in my life.
my friend loves his dad, and misses him like crazy.
but i know his dad knew he was loved by his son.

let's make sure to cherish the lives around us and not regret when they are lost.

Just a Spoonful of Sugar...

I got an early Christmas gift from my parents.

i know it's after Christmas right now but I got it the weekend before.

My dad figured it would help us as we decided when we were heading to Toronto to visit them over these holidays.

I love Mary Poppins.

I love theatre & musicals.

my dad got me 2 ticket to go see Mary Poppins the Musical in Toronto.

I think i said thank you.

i do know that i suddenly couldn't stop talking.

When i get excited i begin to babble - and babble i did.

i have introduced the movie to my kids and they like most of it.

(the girl doesn't like the 'pirates' that shoot their cannons at the 'guys dancing up on the white house')

i am looking forward to going.. to experience this musical.

i'll tell you about it after.