Power of a Mom....

Remember this post? Well here's the big reveal as to what the decision was we were trying to make. Our 3rd son went to kindergarten last year and did fine, but didn't necessarily thrive. I thought for certain this summer would bring big changes for him in maturity, academics etc...

Well those changes didn't happen to the extent I was hoping for. He is a young buck for school, his birthday is in June. So starting in about July I started thinking of having him repeat kindergarten. Basically the shortened version of a very long story is that he is going to repeat kindergarten to give himself another year under his belt and to feel successful and confident in school and in himself.

I am certain this is the right decision for him...however it has not been an easy road. Many educators do not feel that retention is beneficial, in fact many feel it is a detriment (and whether it is a detriment to the child or to the school's numbers/budget is debateable in my mind). I am his mother and I know what is best for him and believe me my "Mrs Weasley" or "Mama Bear" had to come out in a big way this week (along with some tears and some VERY direct conversations and emails from this girl who HATES conflict and is a people pleaser). This process has felt as if it was one brick wall after another in front of us. But just because this wasn't easy, doesn't mean it wasn't the right decision....it took persistence and sticking to what I KNEW to be right in order for it to happen. We as Moms HAVE to be our child's biggest advocate and cheerleader. We have to push for what is best for them even if it isn't popular or looked upon positively by the so called experts. WE are the experts on our children and we must be there for them to be as successful as they possibly can be. We must build them up in such a way that they feel they can overcome anything because they know their Mom has their back. We must teach them..."You is kind, you is smart, you is important" (my favorite quote from "The Help" in case you haven't read or seen the move...do it!) and if they believe that and know their Mother believes it they can conquer anything! My husband was also very involved in this process, I want to give him credit as well as he is on board with this and was awesome in helping make this happen!

Call it my Mother's intuition, call it the Holy Spirit (one and the same if you ask me) but I have rarely been so certain about something in my life regarding one of my children. It has been a learning process for sure. Just because something isn't easy doesn't mean it isn't right. Just because brick walls seem to be popping up at every turn doesn't mean you don't break them down and plow forward. This is a lesson I need to remember for many other things in my life that I am sure will not be easy...but will still be right regardless of the difficulty!

People lover

Recently I have reunited with a couple of different groups of old friends (by old I don't mean their age! :) I love keeping in touch with people from my past, in fact you could say it's one of my hobbies. Once I make a friend, we are friends for life and I want to know how they are, what they are doing etc.... This is why I love facebook (maybe a bit too much) because I can reconnect and keep in touch with friends from long ago.

This picture is when I went to dinner one of those groups of friends. We worked together at a girls camp 20 years ago together. The camp was only 3 months and we had a couple of months of training beforehand, but the bond we created there and the true friendships I made there are strong for life. It is amazing that 3 months can change your life for the better and give you deep, true relationships. When we got together for dinner it felt like no time had passed at all, there was no awkward silence, (in fact for the customers around us there was probably awkward loudness!), we jumped in like no time had passed at all. I love these ladies and know they have my back and are such a great support system. We have created our own little private group on facebook and it feels like we live around the corner from each other.

I also did lunch with some friends I served with in the church many years ago. Honestly it feels like I served with them 2 years ago, but it's been 7 or 8 years...how time flies! All of us have been through some pretty major trials in the last few years and it was so good to reconnect and visit with them...they are fun and deep and amazing!

I have so many wonderful, close, true friends in my life. I am so very blessed to have had so many incredible people be my friends.

“Even though we've changed and we're all finding our own place in the world, we all know that when the tears fall or the smile spreads across our face, we'll come to each other because no matter where this crazy world takes us, nothing will ever change so much to the point where we're not all still friends.”

JJTK31

15!

Today we celebrate being married 15 years! We were taught by amazing parents how to have a successful marriage, my parents have been married 50+ years and Dave's parents 40+. Here are some things I learned from both sets of parents....

1. Think more of your spouses wants/desires than your own

2. Stick together through thick and thin...just found out today that I live in the Divorce capital of the U.S....something to not be proud of!

3. SERVE your spouse

4. Work together

5. Laugh a lot, have a sense of humor

6. Nourish your marriage through dates, time away from children, couple vacations....

7. Only talk positively of your spouse to others...don't air dirty laundry to friends/family etc

8. Rely on your faith through thick and thin, make God the 3rd partner in your marriage

9. Choose your love.....Love your choice!

Can't say I do all these perfectly, but I sure try to make this marriage the best one I know how! Thanks Moms and Dads for your amazing examples to us!

Pressure cooker....

Being a parent is not easy...and that is an understatement! We are in the process of making some decisions regarding one of our children that will literally affect him for the rest of his life. That is a LOT of pressure! When did I become mature enough to assume this responsibility? When did my kids get old enough that these decisions affect them so much? Time flies by and my kids are making choices and we are making choices that will affect them for life!

I have 6 older siblings and they have all said that parenting older children is harder than parenting younger ones. I used to question that a bit, but now that mine are getting older I think I see where they are coming from! When you are parenting tiny ones it is totally physically exhausting. You aren't getting enough sleep, you are in constant motion, you are filling all of their physical needs. But as they get older that diminishes and the difficulty becomes emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

As my husband and I together make some choices about our kids, we are relying on our faith and guidance from above to make these choices. I pray we make the right one!

Random thoughts.....

(Neville, Luna Lovegood, Harry and Draco)

Monday I almost felt like one of those perfect "blogging Moms". You know the ones who throw tea parties or fairy parties for their kids spontaneously.....who decorate perfectly, who make gourmet food, who have perfect photos etc.... July 31st is Harry Potter's birthday so on August 1st we had a Harry Potter birthday party for my kidlets, however it was far from perfect, the kids made the decorations to hang up and came up with their own costumes (see the imperfect photo), the food was not gourmet but kid friendly...we had a great time and my kids had a ball and that is what counts I suppose!

Left my #1 son in UT to spend time with cousins.....missing him lots! Brought home a cousin who is #2's age to hang out and have fun with. They are having a great time in spite of my lack of desire to go anywhere or do anything. They go from playing Harry Potter to Superheroes to Star Wars without blinking an eye....it's hilarious. Right now they are watching the REALLY old, really cheesy BATMAN movie!

I admit that I am a homebody. After being gone for almost 2 weeks I just want to be home. Too bad that translates into bored children. It is to the point of the summer where we are feeling the boredom set in. The excitement of being home and having lots of time to ourselves has worn off, the anticipation of our long family vacation is over. The family fun jar (our savings for fun family things to do) is depleted by the vacation and Mom's creativy is a bit dried up. Give me a few days and hopefully it will be rejuvenated!

How do you beat the end of the summer blues/boredom?