Going to West...Hot Dog Roast

WEST HIGH

I went with a group of special ed students from the Middle School up to West High to meet the teachers, get to see the school and meet their fellow students. I am so very humbled....words just can't express it. How grateful I am and should be for what I have and what I don't. We often take for granted the little things, I know I do, but seeing the students there with so many simple daily challenges is extremely humbling. It makes my "hard" days seem miniscule in comparison. There are several kids that Mckelsie will continue going to school with, as 10 from Northwest will be going up to West with her. The teachers all seem very nice however I'm really going to miss Mckelsie's teacher and aides so much. They have been such an amazing influence, mentor, friend and teacher to both Mckelsie and I. I feel so blessed to have had such good people caring for my daughter. People that truly care for her education, well being and most importantly her self confidence. They have been a tremedous infulence in developing her self confidence and for that I'll always be grateful.

Mckelsie's friend Brandon and a current West student, Derrick.

Brandon & Derrick

Mckelsie and some friends.

Mckelsie and her friend Tyson were filling up water balloons

so that I could go get their teachers!

Me and some of the gang...

Take two...

Mckelsie's friends... Jenny, Mckelsie, Nelly, Estephanie, Munira and Brandon.

Jr., Miss Lorrie, Mckelsie, Derrick and Miss Kimm

(Mckelsie would call Lorrie "Orton" and Kimm "Lasatani")

Mckelsie and Miss Kylie

Note: Please forgive me if I mispelled any names!!

Kiddos

My Luke and Leah....

(Yoda's in the middle)

Peaceful Dreams

I have always thought this is the best way to enjoy kids....

Baseball 2010

Baseball game attendees (not all of them).

Grandpa comes every game!

Grandma and Mckelsie mess around more than

watch the games I think!

Mckelsie volunteering in the Snack Stand (or SS as Mckelsie puts it).

We had a really fun night. Mckelsie was so good at it and never fell behind. She paid close attention to what was going on and kept me in line. It was a great night.

Rebecca and Mckelsie working the SS.

Mckelsie and Ally

Best cousins... Adam and Jayden

Mckelsie, Grandpa, Dan, Ally, Jayden and Adam down front.

It was fun to have Dan and the kids join us for a game. As always the kids LOVE the snack stand and couldn't wait to get some treats.

Adam...he's so dang cute.

Ahhh...Dan and Ally

Baseball Pics of Jayden

Here's some pics of Jayden playing Baseball. He's been playing the catcher position and does really good! I have a few short videos at the end too.

Jayden: catcher position

Jayden playing shortstop with Ashton as pitcher. Jayden does a great job at backing up the pitcher as shortstop!

Opening Ceremonies Breakfast
Jayden with teammate Chris and his mom.

Jayden is up to bat

He's was so cute....and wanted to get several pictures of him posing.

He's so freaking handsome though.

Thought:

When you look for the bad in mankind,

expecting to find it,

you surely will.

~ Abraham Lincoln.

Prayer

I recently had someone tell me that "I didn't seem like the praying type". I was quite taken back by this and wondered what the "praying type" is like. What do they look like? What do they talk like? Do they have families? Are they humble or self-centered? Are they ordinary or extra-ordinary? Do they look like my mom or my neighbor across the street? I'm just not sure.... As always, other's can say it better than me.... Not that these will tell you what the "praying type" are like but just a few of my views on prayer in general.

"Prayer is when you talk to God, meditation is when you listen to God." ~Diana Robinson

"Courage is fear that has said it's prayers." ~ Dorothy Bernard

"Grant that I may not pray alone with the mouth; help me that I may pray from the depths of my heart." ~ Martin Luther

Now, I'm not a very outwardly spiritual person but in my own personal time, moments of despair and moments of happiness alike, I talk with God. Like everyone, I'd imagine, I don't always get that peace that I wanted while getting off my knees. However, I know that the times I have felt peace it was well worth the kneeling. The biggest lesson I believe to have learned from prayer to date is that I cannot teach or be taught, what they or I do not want to learn.

Thoughts:

"Look at life through the windshield, not the rear-view mirror"~ Byrd Baggett

"By forgiving and choosing to move on, one takes the power back to morph it into positive energy."~ Eugenia Triputti

"There’s no need to miss someone from your past. There’s a reason they didn’t make it to your future."~ Unknown

"Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections." ~ Unknown

"Tears are words the heart can't express." ~ Unknown

That's my Girl! All Worth It Moments:

Yeseterday I was picking my kids up after work and Mckelsie was telling me how she had the most awful day. I preceeded to inquire as to what had made it such a bad day and she told me that her teacher had taken away this "Chili Powder Candy" stuff. It's mexican candy of some sort and her little friend brings it all the time for her and she loves the stuff. I think it tastes so grose, but whatever. So, I tell Mckelsie;

Mom: "So, you're mad at your teacher because she took away your candy, which is against the rules to have candy in class anyways?"
Mckelsie: "Yes (shyly). I told Miss Lorrie that she was going to owe me a dollar because that's what it cost for the Chili Powder."
Mom: "Miss Lorrie owe's you a dollar?"
Mckelsie: "Yes. She could give me 100 pennies or 4 quarters or ten dimes or what would that be in nickles (you can see her thinking REALLY hard as she's saying this....)?"
Mom: trying so hard to not laugh out loud hysterically...... but just couldn't hold it back any longer!
Mckelsie: laughing....hehehehe...."What's so funny?"


I can't even remember what Lorrie told Mckelsie after Mckelsie informed her that Lorrie would owe her a dollar but heaven bless that sweet teacher!! I don't know how she does it day in and day out! The patience she has is amazing!

All Worth It Moments:

Another good one from Jayden....

We were in the checkout stand at Walmart yesterday getting things for Mother's Day.

Jayden: "Mom, President Obama cheated on his wife!"
Mom: "What?"
Jayden: "President Obama cheated on his wife! It says it right there on that magazine!"
Mom: "Oh Jayden, you can't believe everything thing you read, especially in the checkout stand magazines. I don't think President Obama cheated on his wife. Do you even know what cheated on means?"
Jayden: "Yeah, it means it he dated another girl!"
Mom: "Don't believe everything you read bud."

What else do you say????

All Worth It Moments:

We were driving in the car last night and the kids, as usual, are both talking a million miles a minute. I'll never quite figure out why they think that if they both talk louder than the other that I'll be able to really listen to what their saying. While in the midst of their conversations and I'm trying to concentrate on the road, listen to each of their stories and respond acknowledging each of them, Jayden says:

"Mom, do you want to listen to me read a page of my book here in an Australian accent?"

I'm not sure I could have smiled any bigger. He makes my heart melt. So for the next 10 minutes I heard this 8 (almost 9) year old little (big) boy try his hardest to sound like a genuine Australian! (Apparently, Jayden has many more "accents" in his back pocket too.)