REMEMBER!

Helloooo again! I think I must have sounded a little discouraged in my last post. My brother called my mom to see if I was ok. I am ok! In fact things are getting better all the time. Kaylee seems to be doing very well at school and socially too! She has made a few friends with the young women in the church. April and Alex seem to be doing a little better, but are still working on finding "JOY"! I know it will be better. I wouldn't want to be in Jr. High for anything! Would you want to go back? The elementary kids seem to be fitting in great! Kameron is loving having a scouting program. Abbey is loving Activity Days! They are easily entertained so it doesn't take much! Throw them in a room with a tv, computer and plenty of food and you wouldn't see them for days! I try to only use that scenerio as a last resort!
Talking about school has got me thinking...do you remember your school years? I know that I went to a different school every year until high school, so my experiences are very different than most. I remember how hard it was to fit in, how the secretary at almost every school needed to buy a bra, how I loved the school lunches because they made them from scratch at some of the schools, especially the cinnamon rolls! I remember the plays, the debate team,the school newspaper and the very important recess. I remember swinging on the swings like spiders with my best friend Susie and singing "Private Eyes are Watching you". I remember riding my bike everywhere; it was a yellow ten speed and I think I wore it out! I remember mowing lawns, babysitting, cleaning and farm work to earn money for school clothes and fun! I remember lots of great times and a few really hard ones. I think as you get older when you look back you remember the good and try to forget the bad. Someone once told me that works with children too. When they grow up they don't remember that you yelled at them!? Do you think it is true? It is for me! I cannot remember my mother ever being mad at me...now I know that can't be true, but I really can't remember. Maybe I really was as good as I thought!!Haha! I bet my children won't be that lucky! It is fun to look back and remember all the experiences that have shaped you. I wonder what I would be like if I had never moved. Or if I didn't have to learn to make friends all the time? Both of those experiences have proven to be great assets in my life. I usually make friends easily and have learned to adapt to change. I wonder what my kids will remember. Do you think it will be vacations or game night? I think the most memorable things are usually the little things!

The beginning....dadada!!!!

Ok. So we made it to Utah and we are mostly unpacked, at least as much as we are going to. I must admit I am a little disappointed that we haven't met the neighbors or very many church members. When you come from a small branch you attack anyone new that enters the doors. Here they don't even know if your new. There are so many people. I think the children are feeling it too. Only they are feeling it in a different way. Yesterday they started school and I am not allowed to comment much on it, it evidently did not go well. The schools here are huge. There are 1600 kids in the high school 10th-12th grade. There are just as many in the jr. high. The elementary kids have 1000 kids in their school and they seem to be fairing better.
There is nothing harder than watching your children suffer with any problem. I have prayed and cried and prayed some more that someone might step in and be a friend to them. Everyone needs a friend and moving is so hard. I should know I went to a different school every year until high school. There are some advantages. You get to be whoever you want. No one knows if last year you were a geek, because this year your amazing! The other advantage is the "I'm new here and I don't know what your talking about!" That is a classic! Of course, I here that all the time! I am proud of the kids for doing their best to make the most of it. I know it will get better, but change takes time and we are an impatient society!
I know I tend to blabber, but if you know me then you know that I am like that in person too! I love to talk. Not the best thing to do when your new. The best idea is to be friendly, but be a listener. Not my gift! I am working on it. Especially since Kameron informed his primary teacher and school teacher that his parents NEVER listen to him! How can that be? I am sure I have heard him talk before. I mean in the last 10 years I have had to have heard something he said.....no..I guess not! What a funny kid! He is a riot though and I would be sad if he were to ever go away! See you later!

I was lost, but now I'm found...

I know it has been a long time since I wrote which is actually kind of sad since there has been so much going on. Let see, we had the holidays, which we spent in Minnesota. They were great. The best part was Troy was home with us! We shared Thanksgiving with a couple of wonderful branch(church)friends! Troy flew out just after Thanksgiving and it was a very long month until we saw him again! I am so glad that is over! Christmas was stressful, as we were trying to get things packed. We took the Christmas tree down on Christmas day. That was kind of sad. Then the day after Christmas a bunch of men from the church came and helped Troy pack the truck. Oh didn't I mention...we moved! No, we didn't sell the house, but we have some great friends taking care of it until it sells. Anyway, we finished loading the truck, cleaning the house and started on our way to Utah! It took a lot of effort to get most of the stuff on the truck we rented and when it didn't all fit I started to lose it! Troy gave in to my pleadings (reluctantly, since he thinks we should just have disposable furniture!) and got a trailer to pull behind the 26' truck. I was happy until I realized we would still be leaving things behind! I know it is just "stuff", but we are those kind of people who don't replace things that we get rid of. Anyway, after some mourning for my unpacked possessions,we began our journey to Utah.
We decided to make it a little fun for the kids and so we stayed at a water park hotel in South Dakota. It was a lot of fun! Troy and I were so heavy together on the tubes we thought we would never stop in the toilet bowl slide! That is another story! So that night we drove up to Mt. Rushmore to see the lights shining on the mountain. It never even dawned on me that it would be closed. The last time we had been there it was summer you know! The roads were pretty clear and when we arrived the gate was open, but no one was there. The faces were all lit up and we enjoyed a full, clear view, without the crowd! It was great! I imagine most people don't go to South Dakota to look at the mountain two days after Christmas. We also went to reptile garden and though we couldn't see all the reptiles because it is too cold, we had a good time. The bonus is that it is way cheaper in the winter!
We arrived in Utah on New Year's Eve! We had a couple of guys show up to help us unload, but mostly handled it ourselves. Thank heavens for my tough girls!
So we are starting a new year in a new town, with new faces and new schools, but we keep reminding ourselves that we are finally together and that is truly all that counts!