My last post was my opportunity to reminisce about Brie as she nears a milestone in her life. Now I get to reminisce about Alyssa...
It's so hard to believe that she is done with her sophomore year in high school. What an amazingly successful year she has had! Straight As (actually, straight 100s!) in two AP classes, one gifted class, three honors classes, Spanish 3, and marketing...lettering in two sports...being nominated for a prestigious summer gifted program in four subjects...winning her regional DECA competion, then placing in the state competition, and the competing in the international competition...and just recently being selected for our city chamber of commerce's Youth Leadership Program and for a wonderful summer program for students who want to teach math or science in the future (only 25 students from the entire state are selected!). But what has really filled us with joy this year is her desire to do her best and to really work hard to achieve her goals. She has far outshone any of my high school accomplishments (which I used to think were numerous, LOL). And through all of this, she attended early morning seminary without complaint.
Her teachers have repeatedly expressed to us what a joy she is to work with and how impressed they are with her work ethic, her attitude, and her dedication. She truly is a remarkable young woman.
In the midst of her preparations for AP exams this year, she was getting a bit frustrated, stressed, and down on herself. I ordered her a necklace I found online, with a little silver tag that says "I can do hard things." I wanted to remind her not only CAN she do hard things, but that she can do them well and that she should do them -- that she should choose to do them.
One of the hardest things I ever did was leave her, as a tiny, precious little baby, in the hospital NICU after I was discharged. No new mother wants to leave her baby behind...and I'm so grateful it was only for a few days. But it was so very hard. It was hard to give birth to her only to have her rushed out of the room and away from me, not to see her for hours and hours and hours. (I won't even go into the fact that natural childbirth was *really* hard, LOL.) It was hard to go watch her go through some interesting health scares as a baby...chronic ear infections and a few ear surgeries as a toddler and child...and it has been hard to leave behind each phase of life (infancy, the toddler years, childhood....) and move with her into the next phase of life.
I feel sorry for her at times because she's stuck with rookie parents. She is the guinea pig. We've never had a teenager before and the road has had its share of bumps and potholes, along with rainbows and flowers. But I can honestly say that there isn't a teenager on the face of the earth that I would rather go on this journey with. She is an example to me of strength and determination. The poor girl inherited some of my perfectionist tendencies and it is hard to try to convince her that it's ok to let go a little bit...not that I've mastered that lesson yet.
It will be hard to let her get behind the wheel of a car by herself in a few months...and it will be hard to have her attend a different high school than the one her Daddy teaches at. It will be hard to let her go on her first date...and, when the time comes, I know it will be so very hard to send her off to college. I imagine I'll feel a bit like I did that early August morning almost 16 years ago when she was rushed out of the delivery room and away from me...like a piece of my heart has been ripped out. So very hard. But this is what parenting is about -- about letting go a little more each step of the way.
The fact that I can do hard things doesn't mean I have to like doing them. And letting her grow up is something I don't really like doing.
I think she has taught me, more than I have taught her, that we can do hard things. And that the hard things are worth doing.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
In the Blink of an Eye...
Our sweet Brie turned 11 last week. I know a lot of people say things like, "It seems like just yesterday...." and I used to roll my eyes when I heard that. But really, it does feel like just yesterday that this beautiful, adorable, charming, sweet, loving, smart, fabulous little girl joined our family. We prayed and waited and prayed and waited and prayed and waited a long time for her.
Her arrival in the world was a totally different experience from Alyssa's arrival...with Alyssa, there was trauma and risk and danger and all of those lovely (not) things, culminating in her being rushed off to the NICU before I could hold her. It was hours before I was able to see her...and then hold her a few hours later. The wait was terrible, and holding her for the first time was incredible, even with all of the wires, tubes and machines that she was hooked up to.
After all of that, I wasn't quite sure what to expect when Brie finally arrived. In fact, the L&D nurse looked at me like I was crazy when I asked her what was going to happen after the baby was born...but I really didn't know what to expect with a full-term (well, close enough to full-term) baby.
I will never forget the moment she arrived and they quickly handed her to me. Wow. I remember making almost instant eye contact with her, laying my hand on the side of her face and just looking at her, with her looking back at me. It was an incredible moment...one that I have not been blessed to have again. But it was wonderful. And she seemed so peaceful at first...LOL...I guess she was lulling into a sense of false security, thinking that she was a peaceful baby. Oh no -- she was mischievous from the start...and has brought us smiles and joy ever since.
I remember going to church with her on Mother's Day that year -- she was less than a week old and I didn't want to go but my Mom insisted. We left in her in carseat and put it where no one could touch her...I was so nervous about her getting sick. But what a wonderful Mother's Day that was...I remember sitting on the couch just cuddling my new baby for most of the day.
It really does seem like yesterday. The days of infancy and toddlerhood passed so quickly...and now we're approaching the tail end, I suppose, of childhood. Just two more years until she's a teenager. We're approaching the end of elementary school in a few short days...the end of Primary in another year...the beginning of middle school and new adventures.
These 11 years have passed so quickly...literally in the blink of an eye. It's sad...but exciting at the same time.
Her arrival in the world was a totally different experience from Alyssa's arrival...with Alyssa, there was trauma and risk and danger and all of those lovely (not) things, culminating in her being rushed off to the NICU before I could hold her. It was hours before I was able to see her...and then hold her a few hours later. The wait was terrible, and holding her for the first time was incredible, even with all of the wires, tubes and machines that she was hooked up to.
After all of that, I wasn't quite sure what to expect when Brie finally arrived. In fact, the L&D nurse looked at me like I was crazy when I asked her what was going to happen after the baby was born...but I really didn't know what to expect with a full-term (well, close enough to full-term) baby.
I will never forget the moment she arrived and they quickly handed her to me. Wow. I remember making almost instant eye contact with her, laying my hand on the side of her face and just looking at her, with her looking back at me. It was an incredible moment...one that I have not been blessed to have again. But it was wonderful. And she seemed so peaceful at first...LOL...I guess she was lulling into a sense of false security, thinking that she was a peaceful baby. Oh no -- she was mischievous from the start...and has brought us smiles and joy ever since.
I remember going to church with her on Mother's Day that year -- she was less than a week old and I didn't want to go but my Mom insisted. We left in her in carseat and put it where no one could touch her...I was so nervous about her getting sick. But what a wonderful Mother's Day that was...I remember sitting on the couch just cuddling my new baby for most of the day.
It really does seem like yesterday. The days of infancy and toddlerhood passed so quickly...and now we're approaching the tail end, I suppose, of childhood. Just two more years until she's a teenager. We're approaching the end of elementary school in a few short days...the end of Primary in another year...the beginning of middle school and new adventures.
These 11 years have passed so quickly...literally in the blink of an eye. It's sad...but exciting at the same time.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
The Week in Review...
I'm a couple of weeks behind already! *Sigh*
It has been a busy two weeks...mostly due to an injury Brienna sustained at her school sports club. She fell, someone landed on top of her, and she "sprained" her jaw (that's what the pediatrician said -- personally, I didn't know the jaw could be sprained!). It has been quite painful to her and led to follow-up appointments with the dentist, the pediatrician again, and an oral surgeon just to make sure no serious damage was done. The poor girl is still having a hard time moving her jaw, and chewing has been very difficult. It's only been since yesterday that she's been able to eat anything that wasn't very soft, like applesauce, yogurt, oatmeal, soup, and macaroni. It has been very painful and one of the things that is hardest for me about being a parent is watching one of my children suffer. It is torture to the highest degree for me. Fortunately, is is starting to feel better and tonight for dinner we're going to try her with some meat (finely chopped, of course) and see how that goes.
Alyssa has finished her track season and says she never wants to run the 800M again. LOL It is not her favorite event. She really wanted to run the mile this season, and she did a few times, but her coach kept her in the 800M and she didn't like it at all. He has already told her she will be able to run the mile next season so she's happy about that. She is away for a few days at the international DECA competition (after a two hour flight delay...they barely made it to the location in time to register for the competition and take her written exam). Tomorrow is the role play competition, an exclusive DECA only concert by Lady Antebellum, and a tour of the Louisville Slugger museum and Churchill Downs. I think she'll have a great time.
Last weekend we had a formal youth dance at church and our ward was in charge of the decorations. It was a lot of hard work but it came together beautifully! I am glad it's over, though. A couple of pictures...
It's hard to believe Alyssa is growing up so quickly!!!
It has been a busy two weeks...mostly due to an injury Brienna sustained at her school sports club. She fell, someone landed on top of her, and she "sprained" her jaw (that's what the pediatrician said -- personally, I didn't know the jaw could be sprained!). It has been quite painful to her and led to follow-up appointments with the dentist, the pediatrician again, and an oral surgeon just to make sure no serious damage was done. The poor girl is still having a hard time moving her jaw, and chewing has been very difficult. It's only been since yesterday that she's been able to eat anything that wasn't very soft, like applesauce, yogurt, oatmeal, soup, and macaroni. It has been very painful and one of the things that is hardest for me about being a parent is watching one of my children suffer. It is torture to the highest degree for me. Fortunately, is is starting to feel better and tonight for dinner we're going to try her with some meat (finely chopped, of course) and see how that goes.
Alyssa has finished her track season and says she never wants to run the 800M again. LOL It is not her favorite event. She really wanted to run the mile this season, and she did a few times, but her coach kept her in the 800M and she didn't like it at all. He has already told her she will be able to run the mile next season so she's happy about that. She is away for a few days at the international DECA competition (after a two hour flight delay...they barely made it to the location in time to register for the competition and take her written exam). Tomorrow is the role play competition, an exclusive DECA only concert by Lady Antebellum, and a tour of the Louisville Slugger museum and Churchill Downs. I think she'll have a great time.
Last weekend we had a formal youth dance at church and our ward was in charge of the decorations. It was a lot of hard work but it came together beautifully! I am glad it's over, though. A couple of pictures...
It's hard to believe Alyssa is growing up so quickly!!!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Synthetic Division
Alyssa brought home her math test the other day and I had to sign it (standard classroom procedure -- don't worry, she got 102 on the test!). In the written responses, I saw the term "synthetically divide". Having never heard the term before, I asked her what it meant. She responded that, even if she explained it to me, I wouldn't understand it. She wasn't being rude or disrespectful -- she was stating a fact. I don't understand math well at all. I would rather do almost anything than work a math problem!
But this little exchange has stuck with me for the last day or so and I've found myself thinking a lot about it. Not about synthetic division itself, whatever that is. But about the fact that there are areas of my daughters' lives where they have, or will soon, far outrun me in knowledge and learning. I think that's the way it's suposed to be. I am proud of my girls and their amazing gifts for learning, particularly in math and science. I want them to do well. I think as parents it is our job to equip our children with the tools they need to learn and succeed and encourage and help them along the way. But in some areas, Alyssa has reached the point where I can no longer help her and teach her...I have to rely on someone else to do that, while I stand by and be the best cheerleader for her that I can be. My children have a love of learning and I am proud of that. Now I just stand on the sidelines and cheer her on.
I hope, though, that I do not allow my spiritual learning, growth, and development to be at a level where I am no longer able to help and teach my children and set a good example for them. I fear that I have allowed too much stagnation to take place and have not set a good example of talking openly and frequently of spiritual things in our home. I need to work on this. I know my girls have testimonies, and I know that Mark and I have testimonies. And while I may not be able to understand synthetic division and help Alyssa with her math homework (truth be told, I haven't been able to help her with her math homework for years!), I can teach them about the gospel and share my knowledge, understanding, and testimony with them. My role as a hands-on teacher in the sense of basic education and skills may be drawing to a close with Alyssa, and Brie is sure to outrun me as well before too much longer, but my role as a spiritual teacher is far from ended.
But this little exchange has stuck with me for the last day or so and I've found myself thinking a lot about it. Not about synthetic division itself, whatever that is. But about the fact that there are areas of my daughters' lives where they have, or will soon, far outrun me in knowledge and learning. I think that's the way it's suposed to be. I am proud of my girls and their amazing gifts for learning, particularly in math and science. I want them to do well. I think as parents it is our job to equip our children with the tools they need to learn and succeed and encourage and help them along the way. But in some areas, Alyssa has reached the point where I can no longer help her and teach her...I have to rely on someone else to do that, while I stand by and be the best cheerleader for her that I can be. My children have a love of learning and I am proud of that. Now I just stand on the sidelines and cheer her on.
I hope, though, that I do not allow my spiritual learning, growth, and development to be at a level where I am no longer able to help and teach my children and set a good example for them. I fear that I have allowed too much stagnation to take place and have not set a good example of talking openly and frequently of spiritual things in our home. I need to work on this. I know my girls have testimonies, and I know that Mark and I have testimonies. And while I may not be able to understand synthetic division and help Alyssa with her math homework (truth be told, I haven't been able to help her with her math homework for years!), I can teach them about the gospel and share my knowledge, understanding, and testimony with them. My role as a hands-on teacher in the sense of basic education and skills may be drawing to a close with Alyssa, and Brie is sure to outrun me as well before too much longer, but my role as a spiritual teacher is far from ended.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Another Week in Review....
Another week has come and gone! Last week was spring break for Mark and the girls. We didn't go on any trips, but instead they spent the week at home...relaxing, enjoying time with friends, time with Grandma Cherril, and sleeping in. Sleeping in is wonderful...but me having to get up early and go to work while everyone else is still asleep is definitely NOT wonderful!
We are trying to figure out our summer plans. Part of those plans include Mark and the girls going out to Utah for a few weeks and I hope to be able to join them for part of the trip this year. I missed out on the last Utah trip! We are also looking at some other possibilities so we'll see how things work out.
It seems that the weather here jumped right from winter to summer...a couple of weeks ago it was still cool in the mornings, and the last few days it has been between 80 and 90 degrees -- well above normal for this time of year. Everything is in bloom and there is pollen everywhere. The trees and flowers are lovely...the pollen -- not so much!
This week we resume our normal activities...soccer, piano lessons, track practice, youth group activities, seminary, etc. I think we're all ready for summer and a break!!!
We are trying to figure out our summer plans. Part of those plans include Mark and the girls going out to Utah for a few weeks and I hope to be able to join them for part of the trip this year. I missed out on the last Utah trip! We are also looking at some other possibilities so we'll see how things work out.
It seems that the weather here jumped right from winter to summer...a couple of weeks ago it was still cool in the mornings, and the last few days it has been between 80 and 90 degrees -- well above normal for this time of year. Everything is in bloom and there is pollen everywhere. The trees and flowers are lovely...the pollen -- not so much!
This week we resume our normal activities...soccer, piano lessons, track practice, youth group activities, seminary, etc. I think we're all ready for summer and a break!!!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
The Week in Review....
This week got off to a bit of a rough start as Brie came down with a cold and missed the first two days of school. Our poor girl, normally a bundle of energy, spent two days on the couch feeling miserable. She is mostly back to her perky self with one exception...her nighttime cough is keeping her (and the rest of us!) up at night. We'll all be very, very happy when the cough is finally gone and we can sleep through the night again! We have yet to find a cough medication that really helps either of the girls when they get a bad cough.
A did well in her track meet this week, placing 3rd in the 800m and 4th in the mile. She was happy with her results. She also turned in two major projects at school and is very happy to be finished with both of those. She's ready for a break from school and is hoping to catch up on her sleep this week and Mark and the girls have spring break this week. Yea! (Personally, I don't think it's fair that they all get to sleep in but I still have to get up early and go to work....*pout*).
We got our new dining table on Monday and it's lovely -- we're thrilled with it! When we built our home, the dining room was the playroom -- literally -- filled with toys and books and games and art supplies. A couple of years ago we decided we really didn't need a toy room anymore and we moved our dining table and chairs into the room...but it wasn't until this week that I feel like we fully graduated from the playroom to a "real" dining room. We bought a new light fixture for the room yesterday and Mark hung it last night. All that's left is to touch up some of the paint, pick out a few favorite family pictures to frame and hang, and find something to hang on one other wall. I saw a framed "Proclamation to the World" in an ad this week and I'm thinking I might order that. I'm excited about the room -- it's the most peaceful spot in our house now and it has inspired me to really work on decluttering and fixing up the rest of the house. I'd better work fast before I ose the desire to work on it!
The new dining table/chairs and light:
The highlight of my week, though, was the General YW Broadcast last night. It was really wonderful. Sis. Dalton made a really cute comment -- looking out on the assembled congregation, she said that "this is what the stripling warriors' girlfriends must have looked like!" That was so cute. I also loved her emphasis on "deep beauty" -- that it comes from within, from righteousness and purity and courage and doing the right thing and knowing who you are, and that no makeup, plastic surgery, or worldy beauty regime could achieve that. She is so right. And I loved Pres. Uchtdorf's talk. It was just what I needed to hear. He talked about fairy tales and how we all want our "happily ever after"...but after "once upon a time" begins the story, the hero or heroine of the fairy tales always has to go through trials and struggles and overcome something in order to get to that "happily ever after" -- Cinderella had a wicked stepmother and mean stepsisters, Sleeping Beauty was poisoned, Belle was imprisoned and separated from her beloved father for several months, etc. But they persevered and overcame and achieved their "happily ever after"...and we need to persevere and overcome and then Heavenly Father will bless us with the most wonderful "happily ever after" that can be imagined. I loved his talk and will definitely be printing a copy of it to read and reread, as soon as it's available online.
I also celebrated my birthday today and I have been touched by the birthday wishes from my dear family and friends. While I don't enjoy getting older, it makes me feel special to be remembered. So thank you all!!
A did well in her track meet this week, placing 3rd in the 800m and 4th in the mile. She was happy with her results. She also turned in two major projects at school and is very happy to be finished with both of those. She's ready for a break from school and is hoping to catch up on her sleep this week and Mark and the girls have spring break this week. Yea! (Personally, I don't think it's fair that they all get to sleep in but I still have to get up early and go to work....*pout*).
We got our new dining table on Monday and it's lovely -- we're thrilled with it! When we built our home, the dining room was the playroom -- literally -- filled with toys and books and games and art supplies. A couple of years ago we decided we really didn't need a toy room anymore and we moved our dining table and chairs into the room...but it wasn't until this week that I feel like we fully graduated from the playroom to a "real" dining room. We bought a new light fixture for the room yesterday and Mark hung it last night. All that's left is to touch up some of the paint, pick out a few favorite family pictures to frame and hang, and find something to hang on one other wall. I saw a framed "Proclamation to the World" in an ad this week and I'm thinking I might order that. I'm excited about the room -- it's the most peaceful spot in our house now and it has inspired me to really work on decluttering and fixing up the rest of the house. I'd better work fast before I ose the desire to work on it!
The new dining table/chairs and light:
The highlight of my week, though, was the General YW Broadcast last night. It was really wonderful. Sis. Dalton made a really cute comment -- looking out on the assembled congregation, she said that "this is what the stripling warriors' girlfriends must have looked like!" That was so cute. I also loved her emphasis on "deep beauty" -- that it comes from within, from righteousness and purity and courage and doing the right thing and knowing who you are, and that no makeup, plastic surgery, or worldy beauty regime could achieve that. She is so right. And I loved Pres. Uchtdorf's talk. It was just what I needed to hear. He talked about fairy tales and how we all want our "happily ever after"...but after "once upon a time" begins the story, the hero or heroine of the fairy tales always has to go through trials and struggles and overcome something in order to get to that "happily ever after" -- Cinderella had a wicked stepmother and mean stepsisters, Sleeping Beauty was poisoned, Belle was imprisoned and separated from her beloved father for several months, etc. But they persevered and overcame and achieved their "happily ever after"...and we need to persevere and overcome and then Heavenly Father will bless us with the most wonderful "happily ever after" that can be imagined. I loved his talk and will definitely be printing a copy of it to read and reread, as soon as it's available online.
I also celebrated my birthday today and I have been touched by the birthday wishes from my dear family and friends. While I don't enjoy getting older, it makes me feel special to be remembered. So thank you all!!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Pathetic...
I really do have good intentions when it comes to blogging. I really do... But then things come up, life happens, and I tell myself "I'll do it tomorrow." And then tomorrow brings more of the same and the blogging slips to the bottom of my ever-growing to-do list. (I think to-do lists have a way of magically growing and growing despite my best efforts to accomplish the items on the list!)
Two of my friends have recently started blogging, though, and they have inspired me to try harder. Knowing myself, though, and how obsessed I can get with things, I have found that I need to exercise moderation. To that end, my new goal is to blog either on Saturday or Sunday each week and post about the things that have happened that week. I hope I will be able to keep up with it this way...I tend to be more successful when I take things in more manageable pieces.
So what's new and exciting in our lives right now? B's soccer team played in a tournament in Florida last weekend and they won their age division! They were so excited. The team has been really great about B not playing or even attending games on Sunday and we appreciate that. This is the first tournament they've won in B's four seasons with the team and it was pretty exciting. Today she is participating in the county Honor Choir so we'll be going to her concert this afternoon. A is staying busy with school and track...she ran her personal best time in the mile in a meet earlier this week. She works so hard on her schoolwork and we were thrilled to find out that she is currently ranked second in her entire class at school. At this very moment, she's laying on the floor next to me working on her AP World History homework. Right now we're trying to decide what schools the girls will attend next year. Hard decisions!
It looks we're going to buy a new dining table and chairs. We've had our current table and chairs since we got married (it was the first furniture we ever bought -- we used money we received as a wedding gift) and I'm a bit sentimental about it...but it's time. That poor table is rather wobbly and the chairs desperately need to be reupholstered again. After 18 years, I think it's time to retire them. I've found a lovely set that I really like and hopefully we'll be buying it today.
Earlier this week I finished the book "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society." My sister Melissa recommended it and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I love strong, fiesty female main characters. While I usually have a great deal of difficulty reading anything about World War II and Nazis and concentration camps, I found that I was able to read this book with no trouble at all...I think because the concentration camps are really not the focus of the books in a way that forces you to put full attention on them. It's hard to explain why I have such trouble with that kind of subject matter. I'm not sure I really understand myself. Anyway, the book was such fun to read -- I highly recommend it!
Spring is finally upon us, with blooming daffodils and trees. The temperatures are warming up and the dogs want to spend more and more time outside. I love the sunshine!
Two of my friends have recently started blogging, though, and they have inspired me to try harder. Knowing myself, though, and how obsessed I can get with things, I have found that I need to exercise moderation. To that end, my new goal is to blog either on Saturday or Sunday each week and post about the things that have happened that week. I hope I will be able to keep up with it this way...I tend to be more successful when I take things in more manageable pieces.
So what's new and exciting in our lives right now? B's soccer team played in a tournament in Florida last weekend and they won their age division! They were so excited. The team has been really great about B not playing or even attending games on Sunday and we appreciate that. This is the first tournament they've won in B's four seasons with the team and it was pretty exciting. Today she is participating in the county Honor Choir so we'll be going to her concert this afternoon. A is staying busy with school and track...she ran her personal best time in the mile in a meet earlier this week. She works so hard on her schoolwork and we were thrilled to find out that she is currently ranked second in her entire class at school. At this very moment, she's laying on the floor next to me working on her AP World History homework. Right now we're trying to decide what schools the girls will attend next year. Hard decisions!
It looks we're going to buy a new dining table and chairs. We've had our current table and chairs since we got married (it was the first furniture we ever bought -- we used money we received as a wedding gift) and I'm a bit sentimental about it...but it's time. That poor table is rather wobbly and the chairs desperately need to be reupholstered again. After 18 years, I think it's time to retire them. I've found a lovely set that I really like and hopefully we'll be buying it today.
Earlier this week I finished the book "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society." My sister Melissa recommended it and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I love strong, fiesty female main characters. While I usually have a great deal of difficulty reading anything about World War II and Nazis and concentration camps, I found that I was able to read this book with no trouble at all...I think because the concentration camps are really not the focus of the books in a way that forces you to put full attention on them. It's hard to explain why I have such trouble with that kind of subject matter. I'm not sure I really understand myself. Anyway, the book was such fun to read -- I highly recommend it!
Spring is finally upon us, with blooming daffodils and trees. The temperatures are warming up and the dogs want to spend more and more time outside. I love the sunshine!
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