Ackroyd House

2012-01-29T08:48:00.001-07:00

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about people and reading and people who do not read. Here are a few vignettes that have made me pause and have brought me here:

- I have enjoyed the book club at school with the Grade Three's. One mom, who I am friends with, has needed some, shall we say, encouragement to get the book for her kid. Having to get the book for her child has forced her to learn to use the public library website (a bit of a painful process for her, so it seems!) and it has initiated some good conversations about reading and being a facilitator to help kids get access to books that inspire them. It was particularly interesting to me when I sent out the email announcing the next book the kids had picked....she wrote back: "Nooooooooooooo!!!!!" I was a bit worried initially that she didn't like the book choice. Rather, she was saying she didn't want to have to go to the library AGAIN!" Since I go to the library a number of times a week, I was a little stumped about how to address that one. In the end she found the book in our school library, so the problem was solved.

- One of my co-workers who says she is an avid reader told me she doesn't have a library card. I was stumped again. Not sure how we would live without the library. It is the best $12 I spend all year!

- At parent-teacher conferences a parent whined that her child still hadn't got the book club book. As we got talking it came out that the child has a bunch of fines and mom insists they must be paid from her child's own money..... so she can't take the book out. She ranted on about how irresponsible her child is with books and how she accumulates fines all the time....end result: this kid won't be getting the book, nor participating in our book club meeting...and will continue missing the opportunity to feel the spark she might need to develop a love of reading. Seems like a strange parenting hill to die on, if you ask me. I can't tell you how many times this parent has complained to me that her child doesn't read. Sometimes I really don't know where to start in conversations with her.

- A well educated woman (teacher with a masters degree) and a parent of young children that I know, was talking about how her sister is in a book club. she reiterated a conversation wither sister where she was aghast that these people meet EVERY month, and they also actually read a whole book EVERY month. She said, "Who has time for that?" Allen was standing there when she said this and he just kind of looked at me and smirked. We didn't bring up how many books Allen reads in a month (often 4-8 books, as well as reading The Book of Mormon in it's entirety)

It really got me wondering why it is people don't read. I have a secret mission (is it still a secret if I declare it here?) to get people reading. The question is: how is that best done?

The Circle

2012-01-28T21:40:00.001-07:00

The play we went to see today was sandwiched with service. Before the play I went and helped get food ready for a dear friend's ex-husband's funeral. After the play we went to the funeral and helped with the food for the reception after. They were all very grateful, and it was a wonderful experience to be able to give that service. I couldn't help think often, as the service wore on, about how people did this for me when Destiny died. It gave me a feeling of reverence to be able to do the same for someone else. I suppose that is what this life is all about. We help each other through the hard times, and together enjoy the happy times. All I know is I was sure happy to be able to give that service for a friend. Peirce and Allen were there too (Jill was babysitting) I think Peirce felt the spirit of service too because I didn't hear any complaining from him for the long hours we spent. He wrote an amazing note to my friend's son to say how sorry he was that his dad had died and how he knew a little bit about how it feels because his sister died. Tonight he even told me he liked being there. So glad to be able to give that service together. Life is good.

Munch Ado About Nothing

2012-01-28T21:10:00.002-07:00

Today Peirce and I got to go to Storybook Theatre and watch Munsch Ado About Nothing. It was really quite a hoot. They totally changed the theatre so it was facing a new direction, and turned it into a circus stage. Shakespeare and two friends told Robert Munsch stories. It was a great way to introduce Shakespeare to kids - to do it with stories kids already know and love. We loved it!

Opa!

Reading At Recess Lives On

2012-01-27T20:35:00.006-07:00

I used to sit around and chat with other moms at the pool while my kids were swimming. I found myself getting sucked into a vortex of negativity and gossip so I decided to quit hanging out and talking. Today I didn't feel like going to try to find a quiet spot to read or mark or meditate or pray. Fridays the library closes at 5pm and so my usual hiding spot was out. So I decided to be brave and hang out at the pool. Only I just sat and read while the other mom's visited. At first I felt a little awkward. I felt pressure to just sit and visit....but I held strong and kept my nose buried in my book. It was so great! I like all those moms....don't get me wrong....I just find idle chatter really taxing sometimes.

The great news was that I read some stuff for school, did a real good skim through a new Kagan book I just got, and read half of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, the Grade 3 book club book for this month! Ah yes. Time well spent!

The irony was that the Kagan book I had was called Silly Sports and Goofy Games. The intro is all about how important play is.

Is it okay if I don't want to play with the other moms? Truth be told, as a kid, I loved reading at recess too.

Don't get me wrong, I do like to play....I just never have really enjoyed idle chat for too long as it seems to too often devolve into nasty negativity.....and sometimes I still have trouble figuring out how to get out of that bucket gracefully.

My nerdiness has really stuck with me through the ages.

Longest. Day. Ever.

2012-01-26T22:17:00.002-07:00

My day:

4:30 am get up
5:00 am take Jill to the pool
8:00 Craziness of school begins. Thursday is my busiest day with only 1 prep. Today during that one precious prep I had to run home because I took Allen's keys with me by mistake and he was stranded at home, Ugh!
3:20 pm school ends....10 minute reprieve until interviews start. Oh wait....,first one arrives at 3:20....let the fun begin!
8:00 pm Almost done. Phone rings....last family is running late. Can't come tomorrow so they will get there ASAP.
Sit around and wait......they finally arrive at 8:45. Should be quite quick because their child is a star. Nope....they want to discuss how we can challenge this child more. Isn't practically perfect good enough when you are arriving 45 minutes late for your appointment?!

Finally, 9:30 pm I arrive home to find out my kids in fact didn't wash out their lunch bags and clean up after themselves as I had specifically requested.

Argh!

Good thing tomorrow is only a half day!

These interviews were student led conferences, so most of the time I hang back and let the child show their patents the ropes. Translation: try to look busy but don't get too involved in anything so you are available when they have questions. It reminded me of my 3 days of employment at K-Mart, standing around with not much to do. I think I would rather run all day and all evening than stand around. I think standing around idle is harder! Good night world!

Grace by Richard Paul Evans

2012-01-25T10:04:00.005-07:00

I actually read this book over Christmas but am just now finally getting around to reading it.

Grace is a girl who runs away from her family because of abuse by her step father. She hides out at in a treehouse of a school mate. He knows she is here, brings her, food, and helps her be comfortable. It is a heart warming story with a sad ending that really makes you think about kids and what we do to help or hinder their safety.

I find myself fascinated by authors who are able to spring to wealth by writing a book that gets made into a movie. He has done that with more than one book. That is the life I really want!

So Sad

2012-01-24T10:11:00.004-07:00

I have a friend who has has a tough year helping her dear friend recover from a terrible motorbike accident. This weekend she had another tragedy. Her ex-husband, and father of her 7 year old son suddenly passed away. For various reasons she is the one that will plan the funeral and have to do a lot of the things immediate family usually does. Situations like these really make me sit up and realize how small my problems really are. I feel so bad for her little boy. Losing your daddy is never easy. I know. Hugs!

Kids Say the Darndest Things

2012-01-23T09:23:00.002-07:00

The other day in school we were talking about moms being tired. One of my students had this to say:

My mom's job really isn't appropriate for me to talk about at school. Sometimes she has to leave at midnight to see her clients and she's gone all night so she is really tired.

Hmmm....had to wonder what her mom does!

Her mom came in to volunteer so I had to ask her. Turns out she is a birthing doula.

Sure had me wondering for a while!

Reminded me of a picture I've seen passed around by email:

Dear Mrs. Jones,

I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer.

I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture doesn’t show me dancing around a pole. It’s supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot.

From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Smith

Miracles

2012-01-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

The Saturday evening adult session of our Stake conferences are always a spiritual feast. Tonight was no exception, the topic was miracles. A number of people spoke about miracles in their lives:

One sister talked about how her stake president had challenged their stake to attend the temple four weeks in a row. She had health issues involving chronic pain that made a trip to Cardston very taxing. It would usually wipe her put for days. She decided to take the challenge though. As she attended each week she found she was able to be limber enough to do all she was required to do driving o, at the temple, coming home from the temple, and in her personal life after returning. Her pain totally disappeared and she was healed. A true miracle.

Next was a new convert to the church. He talked about how hislife had changed since being baptized - all miracles. He talked about how great it was to be part of a church family where people greeted him and cared Bout him and where he could visit with people in their homes. He talked about how is relationships had improved and how he was more patient and tolerant. All miracles.

Then a man got up who had had chronic back pain. Over six years it got worse and worse until he was bedridden 95% of the time. He had someone he had promised that if he read the Book of Mormon with him every day he would be healed and they would go on backpack hiking trips together....something absolutely impossible and absurd at the time. that was in 2011. Over the year they did read together and he was healed. A true miracle. Now he works out daily. He can walk and run and skip, and he does!

A lady spoke who is a single mom. Her husband died when her oldest was ten. She talked about the struggles of being a single mother, and how her children struggled too. She talked about how the oldest got reactivated and went on a mission and was called to the place his father had said before he died that he would. When he got his call it was to a neighboring country to what his dad had named as his mission, but the call got changed and he did end up serving whe his dad had said he would. Her next son has also been called on a mission.

The music tonight was amazing. The opening hymn (The Lord is My Light) set the tone. The intermediate hymn was a special musical number and was amazing. One line was: let me lve and serve and teach those that come within my reach, for that is where miracles begin. After the stake presidency spoke we departed from the planned hymn and stood and sang The Spirit of God. It was amazing!

President Rausch talked about his daughter Emily. When she was 8 she started having seizures. It started with just falling down. She said her leg got tingly and she fell. This stated happening more and more until she was having 40 or more seizures a day. She couldn't do things other kids did because there was always the worry she would get really hurt while having a seizure. They went to all sorts of doctors and no cure was found. A couple years later at the beginning of the school year she was told in a Father's blessing she would ge healed by he end of the school year. A new neurologist came to the Childre's Hospital and found something in an MRI none of he previous doctors had noticed. A surgery was scheduled for July. That wasn't the deal though. She was to be healed before school finished that year. Sure enough an opening came up at the beginning of June. Since mid-June of that year, now ten years later, she has not had another seizure.

President Zemp talked about a friend he recently ran into. Is wife has had severe mental health issues and there has been nothing over the past 20+ years to heal (or help?) her situation. The miracle there has been the husband. He has been blessed with an amazing ability to love and hlp his wife through her struggles. A true miracle.

President Thomas spoke last. He challenged us to trust God and allow him to perform the miracles in our lives he can. He said God has much more in store for us than we can ever imagine.

It was an amazing evening. Just what I needed! I have seen many miracles in my own life and know they are God's grace. I am grateful for miracles and will continue to watch for them in my life.

Calgary Temple

2012-01-12T16:16:00.002-07:00

Hundreds of people took time this morning to go see the Moroni statue get added to the Calgary temple. It was very exciting!

Even Allen, Jill and Peirce played hookey from school and work and were there!

You can read more about it here.

We are sooooo looking forward to this summer when the temple is finished!

So Sick

2011-12-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

Not sure what is wrong with us today. Jill has been throwing up every few hours. I haven't, but I feel like if only I could things would be okay. Jill is really funny. She is happy and bouncy, and every few hours she stops that and throws up.

There always has to be someone sick in our family during the holidays, it seems!

Boxing Day

2011-12-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

Mom wanted us to go to dinner today to a place she had been invited. Brad's wife, Jill's, sister had invited her. I felt kind of weird about going, but mom wanted us to go, so we decided we would. I figured we could endure it.

I have to say, I had to most fun at a party where I didn't know anyone. There were probably about 30 people there for dinner. Mom and Uncle Clifford and Brad and Jill were there - so we knew some people at least.

Turned out we had a few connections! Jill's sister's name is Mikenzie. She is really outgoing and fun and easy to be around. She was sitting and talking to mom and I suddenly it clicked who she was. She was talking about sewing and shopping and sewing machines....and it clicked. Patti Hawryluk always talked about her friend Mikenzie who she'd go shopping with and who likes to sew. So I asked her if she'd ever lived in Calgary and if she knew Patti, and sure enough!

We also found out that her son lives in our ward. Funny thing was his little girl was singing happy birthday in French to Jill. While she was singing I said to myself that I should go talk to this little girl - but I didn't. Then when we found out that Mikenzie's son lives in our ward (he's less active and someone the Bishopric has been trying to visit) Allen visited with him some and we found out that their daughter goes to Peirce's school. We had a really nice visit with them.

Such a small world!

Peirce's Letter to Santa

2011-12-25T23:56:00.002-07:00

I'm not a scrapbooker, but I do like to keep a record here. If I were a scrapbooker I would put a page in my book with Peirce's letter and the reply from Santa with cute stickers. I could even scan it or take a picture and post it here - but he typed it up, so it's not like the printing is that endearing or anything. Anyway, here is his letter:

Dear St. Nick,

I would like to thank you from last year and this year in advance. you are so cool. I hope you have set up your Christmas tree. This year my favorite toy is an i-pot and some Harry Potter lego. I hope your elves can make two more presents. I was just wondering if you could speka another language other than English. I speak French. I think it is fun knowing that you can speak French and English. I hope you have a nice trip.

Peirce

P.S. When I said my favorite toys are, that is what I would like for Christmas.

I love the letter because it is so Peirce....exactly how he talks. :)

He is always sure to show me the letter. I'm pretty sure he's on to the Santa thing. He's smart enough to know though that he should still play along. :) That's okay with me.

He got a letter back too! It said:

Hello Peirce!

I was so happy to receive your letter. I'm always over the moon to hear from boys and girls who love the magic of Christmas.

Yesterday, Mrs. Claus suggested that we take a break and go for a walk in the lollypop forest. The elves strapped on waffles to the bottom of their boot to keep them from slipping. We walked, laughed, and picked some lollypops - grape,butterscotch, berry explosion and my favorite - maple swirl. Mrs. Claus took pictures to put in the workshop.

Well, I must go now. It's snack time and I promised Rudolph that we would try out the new cookie machine.

Thanks again for your wonderful letter. Please remember to write me next year.

Your friend,
Santa

P.S. My, you write a wonderful letter. I speak French too! I can't wait for Christmas - can you? Meilleurs voeux pour un Joyeux Noel!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-25T23:00:00.001-07:00

I think Sundays are my new favorite kind of Christmas day.

Today was a great day. I woke up at my usual 5:30 am and waited for everyone else to wake up. It didn't take too long as the kids woke up at 6:00 and we were quickly downstairs opening gifts. It was a lot of fun. I'm so proud of my kids for their reasonable Christmas lists. They each made Christmas lists and we were able to get almost everything on their lists - and they noticed that. They were really pleased with their presents.

One funny moment was Peirce with his gyroscope. He plays with one of those every year when we go to the Hudsons for carol singing. He has asked for one a number of times and one day while we were in Chapters we noticed they had some in their old fashioned toys section! I bought one for him. Allen also ran into them one day so he bought one too. We gave one to Jill and one to Peirce. The funny moment was Christmas morning when Jill had opened hers. Peirce actually had his in his hand. He sat their open mouthed not knowing what to say when he saw that Jill got one. We laughed and laughed and told him to go ahead and open the one in his hand. Pretty good timing! :)

After gift opening we had a few hours before church. I really don't remember any other Christmases where we went to church. We probably didn't! Today we did. The program was all music - and it was so amazing! The primary children sang. I was touched by how many little children knew the words so well. Then the young men sang. My heart was about to burst! I was so happy to see them up there singing. It wasn't anything fancy - but I think that it was beautiful to see them do it. I'm sure singing does something good to their hearts. Something that boys need! I hope they're still singing when Peirce is in young men's. There were various other musical numbers by the choir, a Spanish group, a quartet, and some instrumental pieces. My heart was burning all through it all. It was beautiful!

After church we had a big of a social with squares and snacky food. It was a perfect way to end the meetings and it was really lovely to visit with everyone.

We made a quick get away though and came home to get ready to go to Lethbridge. Once again the kids surprised me and we were ready in record time. By the time Allen got home from doing tithing we had everything by the door. We had hoped to leave at 2:00 and we were in the car at 1:45. That never happens!

Dinner at my mom's was fantastic. We opened more gifts there, visited and had a great time. We missed Dad. Taylor is also gone this year. She went to Germany! But those of us who were there had a great time. By the end of it all I was really pooped though.

It has been a wonderful Christmas day! Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T21:54:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve this year. We started the day off by insuring and registering Allen's new car. YEA!! It took much longer than I anticipated - but everything worked out. Actually, one thing I'm quite pleased about this year is the relaxed feeling I have around Christmas. When school was finished I started in on incorporating FlyLady routines into my day and it seemed like I was comfortably caught up on housework in no time. Phew! I did pretty much all my Christmas shopping this past week (risky, I know!). It seems like Christmas preparations fit into how much time you give them - and that's okay.

This afternoon I broke one of my Christmas resolutions and went to a mall. I was pleasantly surprised though. It wasn't that bad! It was like an average busy Saturday. I didn't even have to drive around the parking lot for 30 minutes trying to find somewhere to park. A Christmas miracle!

We had planned to have the kids go tobaganning today - but it seems we are not having a white Christmas and there definitely wasn't sufficient snow for tobaganning. Nathan and Becky and their kids came over for dinner. It was a great dinner, and great company. After dinner we had planned to sing carols and share favorite Christmas stories - but that didn't end up happening either....and that was okay! Another Christmas miracle: our kids decided to go to bed early so Christmas morning could come quicker. Allen and I spent an hour or so wrapping the last few gifts to be wrapped, filling stockings, and getting breakfast ready for the morning. Christmas morning here we come!

So long Aziz!

2011-12-24T08:34:00.001-07:00

We have had students from other countries stay with us on and off for the past 13 years. One of my regrets is that I haven't kept a record of these interesting people!

This month we said good bye to Aziz. He stayed with us for about a year. A year?! wow. Time flies!

Aziz is from Saudi Arabia. He has a large family - it seems to me he said there are 17 children, and he is the youngest. His father died when he was a child. He was raised by his mother and his 'aunt'. His dad had two wives and they have continued to live in the same house after his father died. I think the 17 children are from both women.

Aziz had to be the best student we had at trying to get to know Canadian culture, learn the language, and be a part of our family. He also tried to infuse some of his culture into our home. He didn't think we were celebratory enough when someone returned home and would always rush to the door when anyone returned home to pronounce a hearty, "Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!" (on my off days this sometimes prompted me to quietly enter through the front door where he wouldn't hear me LOL). A lot of students who have stayed with us have been serious students, but he was probably the most earnest learner of English that I have met. It was amazing how much he learned in a year.

Aziz really loved our children. Sometimes his care made them uncomfortable though. He developed a habit of grilling Jill about where she had been and Allen talked with him and told him we do not treat daughters like that in our culture. We trust Jill and don't expect her to ask for anyone's permission to do things, except her parents. He lightened up on that. I think he was just trying to play the role of protective older brother, but his approach made Jill and us uncomfortable. It was too close to that Moslem control girls issue. He also got on a kick where he was trying to arrange a marriage for Jill with one of his nephews. He said she would always be looked after and that his family would give us lots of money (like a million dollars!) the entire discussion made Jill uncomfortable and often angry. He gave that one up to. Then he would talk about how he would love to take Peirce to meet his family. Peirce was curious, but I think a little afraid Aziz really would take him there and not bring him back. He was probably a little afraid because even though he thought it sounded like an interesting adventure I would always say no to the idea I wouldn't even joke that it might be okay. After Peirce's complaints Aziz finally gave that one up too.

That being said, Jill and Peirce loved to watch TV with Aziz, they loved how he always had treats for them. They loved helping him with his homework (it is always flattering to be a kid expert). And they had a lot of fun teaching him about Canadian things like tobogganing, skating, not wearing flip flops in snow, and things like that.

I appreciated the things Aziz taught me about Saudi culture and his religion. He prayed many times a day at specific times. He loved his family and spoke with them often. He had a favorite sister and whenever we mentioned her name (even when not talking about her specifically) he would clutch at his heart and say, "Oh my Sarah. I love my sister Sarah. she is my favorite." There are many things in his culture about women that I hate: they cannot drive, their work opportunities are limited, they must get permission from their husband or father (or whoever has been assigned to stand in in those roles), and they must cover themselves. Whenever I would ask him about these things he had answers that almost swayed me to think the customs were rooted in care and respect. Almost.

One thing Aziz and I discussed a couple times - and after a couple very dynamic discussions wouldn't discuss it with him anymore - was the Israeli Arab conflicts. We could not come to an agreement. He could see no other way than the belief that his brothers there have been wronged and the wars and killing are justified....even celebrated. Now and then he would drop comments that made me think he even admired Hitler. I could barely tolerate this, and Aziz knew it. We both greased very lightly on that sensitive topic.

We often had religious discussions and discussed many similarities between Muslims and Mormons. He said his family worried he would convert to Mormonism because he often told them how much he admired our religious ways. We invited him to come to church but he never did come on a Sunday. He came to a couple parties, and that was all. He was amazed at our grand church house and wanted to be able to visit the temple here when it is finished. He was always amazed when I knew Old Testament stories of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Sarah, etc. I don't know if he ever really understood that I got that knowledge from The Bible. He would always be aghast and say, "You know Abraham?! I cannot believe it."

One thing about Aziz that was odd was that he never really adjusted to our schedule. He would go to sleep after school, then wake up at a certain time for his prayers, and then stay up until 3 or 4 am talking on Skype, studying, and praying. He would often sleep until noon or later when he didn't have classes. Sometimes he stayed at the University all night studying in the library, and after a couple days of that he would come home and sleep for 12 hours or so straight.

Aziz was generous. He would always ask me if I needed anything if he was going out. He paid us full rent but very rarely ate here (that is part of the deal). He would often bring home treats for the kids and always offer food to us. He had a big heart and truly tried to be part of our family.

I have always found that when someone stays for more than six months I get a little tired of hosting. Aziz could sense that and I felt bad about that. He left at the beginning of December to move to Halifax and go to school there. He will be doing a masters degree in geomatics (I think). He already has an undergrad degree from a Saudi University.

I admired how Aziz loved his country, was grateful for his king's generosity, and how he was generous in praise towards our family. I am grateful that we got to know him.

I never could figure out what the watering can in the bathroom was for though.

Ethnic Christmas Party

2011-12-23T21:52:00.003-07:00

Tonight we had another ward Christmas party. This one got started when some people in the ward decided they wanted to get together and share food and sings from their culture. It ballooned until it ended up being a ward party. The food was terrific! Allen said he could have done without the singing - but I thought it was nice to be able to have people share those things that are important to them. We had some Iranian singing by Sister Nachsbondi, some Romanian songs by the Badaras, a Japanese carol by a collection of Japanese members, families and return missionaries, a Spanish song by a group of Spanish speakers, and the kids and I (and Peirce's friend, Anthony) sang Quand La Pere Noel (much to their chagrin). We were going to bring poutine to continue with our French theme but we ran out of time so we bought some chicken fingers to warm up, a black forest cake, cookies and punch. Canadian food, I guess.

What I loved about this party was that it rose up out of an idea from members rather than leaders planning an activity because we are supposed to have an activity. That is how it should be more often!

After it was all finished we met a man who came to the building for his 'test' with the missionaries. He has been taught by the Mandarin missionaries and is getting baptized on Christmas Day! I love that! A real white Christmas!

Play Dates With Anthony

2011-12-23T21:49:00.000-07:00

Today Peirce got to have his friend, Anthony, over. I am pretty terrible at arranging playmates. When he asked today and I agreed to it he was over the moon excited. They had a terrific time too. We really should do it more often! They played on the computer, played with their DS' together, and had a great time together at our ward party tonight. Anthony said it was the most fun he has ever had at a church. :)

The End

2011-12-22T17:35:00.000-07:00

Today is the end of part 1 of my vacation. This week I was off but my darling children were still in school. Oh the things I can accomplish when I am home without them! I have never been as unprepared for Christmas as I was this year. I worried about it but just planned that I would get everything done this week. I worried a little that something would come along to thwart my plan - like sickness....but phew! I have stayed healthy. In the past when school was finished I usually had to spend the first 3 days sleeping. I couldn't do that this time - and luckily didn't need to. Phew!

Today I got to go to an assembly at Peirce's school. It was so fun to see him there. They did a little salsa dance first....every kid in the school was in it! It was great. Then the after school program did a little play, and Kambul Bloxham cut off his hair! He grew it out for cancer patients and today he got it cut off in front of the whole school. He asked kids to come up and cut chunks off - and Peirce even got to be one of them. Quite a lot of fun. They used this as a way to present the virtues for January: caring. It was really great. At the end of the assembly there was a flash mob by the teachers. So fun!! I was so happy to be able to be there. My first assembly at Peirce's new school (this is one of the hazards of going back to work full time). Made me think now and then I should take a personal day to go to their assemblies. Something to seriously consider!

And now our kids are finished school and our Christmas can officially begin. Allen is out trying to find a car today. Here's hoping we can find something in our price range that will allow us to get to Lethbridge for Christmas!

Grace by Richard Paul Evans

2011-12-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

I have been listening to this story on CD. I might have to resolve never to get book CDs out of the library though. The last CD was damaged so I couldn't get the last two chapters of the book. So frustrating!! The afterward though was good and filled me in, and I put the book on hold at the library.

The beginning of this book was a little frustrating to me. It is about a girl who runs away and hides with the help of a boy from school. She hides in his tree house in his yard. His parents never figure it out. Her parents never find her. That part kind of drove me crazy. I can't imagine having my kids hide someone and not figure it out.

Apparently the story is based on the author's experience. You can read about that on his website. When he explains this at the end it about broke my heart. It's about abuse, caring, and protecting children. I won't give it away, but just say that you seriously have to read this book!

Morning Date

2011-12-21T17:23:00.001-07:00

This morning Allen's office had a Christmas Breakfast. It was so fun to have a date on a Wednesday morning! We had a great time visiting with friends from the office. Wonderful day!

Digging Out From the Mess

2011-12-19T17:20:00.000-07:00

Today has been a day filled with housework. So much to do! I feel like I've neglected my house for so long - and it shows. Today I worked like crazy getting caught up on laundry and doing some housework. The interesting thing is it doesn't take that much before I start to love my house again. It makes me wonder why I don't just work a little harder to keep up.

Oh ya. Time. Our life seems to run in high speed. Seriously, I do the best I can. I'm so glad to be able to catch up this week! Now I can have people over without feeling like dying. :)

Look Ma! No Nap!

2011-12-18T17:11:00.000-07:00

1. Today was the first Sunday for me to not be in primary. I have to say as I heard them from the Sunday School room as they were singing the opening song it really touched my heart. I missed them!! I am grateful for the music in primary. I always said the music leader is like the gospel doctrine teacher of primary. I still stand by that.

2. Today was a glorious Sunday. I enjoyed Sunday School immensely. We discussed the Christmas story and read Luke 2. It was absolutely wonderful and I left feeling spiritually nourished. Relief Society was the same. I loved it. Most interestingly of all, when it was all over I didn't feel like I needed a 3 hour nap! That's been my Sundays for the past couple of years. I found after church I was positively exhausted. I guess it wasn't just that I'm getting old. I wonder how the new primary presidency felt today? I will have to check in with them some time.

Maybe.

3. Today I feel especially grateful for Christmas. I am off now and have a lot to do this week. So glad that I have the time and resources to do it!

4. I am so very grateful for my job. I almost don't like to be away. I really miss it. But I am grateful for the break. I feel truly blessed to have the job I have.

5. My family. I found out Neil isn't coming out for Christmas - but he is going to come out in January. Luckily he picked a weekend that we don't have something going on. I'm really grateful for that. I'm excited to see my family at Christmas. Can't wait!

6. I'm grateful for the wonderful people I got to work with in primary. It was strange being in RS today with Karyn. I wished Deanna was there. And I wondered where Colleen was. I love those ladies!

7. I'm grateful for life! I am grateful for the good man I'm married to. I'm grateful that my kids are healthy and happy. I love to be with them all. Life is good. :)

In Training

2011-12-18T17:08:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it is harder to teach kids to help, than to just do it yourself. However, the pain of knowing my kids can't shovel a sidewalk, or look after their own house, or do dishes pushes me on through the pain of getting them to learn how to do stuff.

Last night it snowed so after I took Allen to the church for ward council (we are still a one car family right now) Peirce and I went out to do some shoveling. Man, who knew shoveling was such a complex subject! Peirce was whining and complaining....so each time he continued to complain I'd tell him, "Well, I guess we have to do another driveway. You need to learn to do this without complaining." By the time he stopped we had shoveled our driveway plus 3 others, plus all the sidewalk on our street. Eeesh!

Let's hope we get some more snow. He is in training to learn to be a good shoveler!

Released!

2011-12-11T14:21:00.002-07:00

I'm actually writing this on Wednesday - but can't publish the post until Sunday.

Tonight the Bishop came to visit us. He released me from primary! I was kind of mixed about it. I have felt like it is time for a change, but then again, I have also felt like primary is the best place to serve and would be happy to stay forever! I guess, though, everyone needs a chance to get to see how great primary is.

The one tricky thing about it all was that I was planning on a presidency meeting on Thursday night to plan classes for January. Didn't quite seem like a good use of time- so I cancelled the meeting. Ahhh!! So looking forward to a calling with no more meetings! :)

No new calling yet though! I guess I get a bit of a vacation. That's okay with me!

Charlie Brown Tree

2011-12-09T17:45:00.000-07:00

When I got to my classroom this morning this is what was sitting on my desk:

So cute!

There was a card that said:

No matter how big or how small

your role is...

Every effort, every smile,

every carding word

ties into

the success of the students

both today

and tomorrow!!

Thank-you for your hard work and

dedication!!

We appreciate you so much!

Merry Christmas!

FFCA NWE School Council

I am SO grateful to work where I do. I love working with people who all really like each other. I love working with people who are just genuinely good people. I appreciate the generosity and kindness everyone shows. I feel privileged to work there! There seriously cannot be a better place to work! ....and it isn't even about all the presents I am getting :)

Secret Santa

2011-12-08T12:07:00.000-07:00

Recently, at work, they announced they were going to be doing Secret Santas. Call me a grinch if you want. Initially I groaned when I heard we were doing this. I figured I don't need more to do. I don't need gifts. Why a make work project!

Today was the first official day of Secret Santas. It was so fun! One co-worker made a Christmas tree of coke cans because she had someone who loves coke. There were all these emails going around to say thanks for this and thanks for that. Someone sharped another's pencils. I even got something!! A mug with oreos and a candy cane, and a Starbucks card!

I have repented of my grinchy ways. I have to say, after watching all the fun, and even receiving a gift, I have really enjoyed it. I'm excited that we're going to be doing this all week long!

Here's a picture of my gift today. I only thought to take a picture after munching on oreos while correcting spelling. The cup was full of them!

Blessings We Didn't See At First

2011-12-03T18:42:00.003-07:00

This weekend Allen took Jill to Edmonton for a meet. On the way there he started to have car trouble. When he got there his car died. Dead. Not to be revived. It is the transmission (again!) we replaced the transmission once, then had to do a big transmission repair again, and now another transmission issue. Enough. Time to move on. A few weeks ago he was in an accident. That is the blessing we didn't realize was a blessing. The insurance money to pay for the no longer needed repairs will be a great start to a new vehicle. Phew!

While I was sitting in church today I was thinking about my week: about what I learned about planning versus letting go, about not getting upset when bad things happen like car accidents, or car deaths, and about trusting God, when the spirit whispered to me that God always has a plan, a much better and more grand plan than I could ever come up with. Letting go and just stepping off the ledge and trusting that God will be there to catch me is hard for me, but I am learning to trust Him. I am grateful for that little whispering today. I know from the pain in my sciatic nerve that appeared today is because I am worrying. I will try to have more faith. I am trying!

Trickster Learning Curve

2011-12-02T22:32:00.010-07:00

This has been an amazing and exhausting and fun and educational week. We had an artist in residence program called Trickster. I was telling my mom about it and she said, "Oh, so they come in and you get the week off?" Well, not exactly. I make a plan for the week, then they come in and change it all, and add 80 or so extra things to to do lists! :) .....but it is all worth it. It is an amazing experience.

I have seen Trickster a few times with our own kids at their school, but this was my first experience as a teacher. It was amazing to watch the Tricksters get our crazy ideas that seemed to spread over a myriad or topics into one story. Our theme was Nights of Character and every class had a character virtue to focus on. Our virtue was integrity. I worried all week that we wouldn't touch on integrity enough in our play. Our Trickster was amazing at letting the whole play totally come from the kids. It was their ideas, their humor, their understanding of integrity....all wrapped up with hunting rabbits, farting in tents, and things like that....and in the end, it was a lot of fun and it all made sense. I did a lot of letting go and did my best to try to learn from the process. I am a planner and don't let the kids lead as much as they got to this week. I really think the strength of this program is that they are masters of letting the kids take the lead.

It was very inspiring!

Sick!

2011-11-30T20:18:00.003-07:00

It isn't often that I just want to stay in bed. This morning though, I did want to. It must have been a premonition. At school the first thing that happened was one of my students came to my and asked what all the gross stuff was on his binder. Another teacher, a mom, and I were standing there. The mom touched the gross stuff and gave it a whiff....right away we knew. BARF! I sent him to the office to get some help cleaning it up. All the kids were coming in and they kept asking what the horrid smell was. I finally realized that the backpack he had taken the binder out if is full off barf!! SICK!! Sent him to the office with his backpack. The ladies in the office said no way they were cleaning that up....they called the parents. Dad came to try to solve the mystery. No one knows how the barf got in the backpack! It wasn't my student. No one was sick on the bus. No one was sick at home. It is a total mystery!

Sure is a nasty way to start the day though.
I should have stayed in bed!

Steal of a deal!

2011-11-27T22:19:00.001-07:00

I have been wanting some new chairs for my living room. What I really want I can't quite afford. So I stop by second hand stores, I check out kijiji, but kept not having any luck. Today I totally lucked out! Someone posted these on free cycle! It was so fun to go pick them up. They came from a BEAUTIFUL house in Mount Royal. The arms have been clawed by a cat, so my plan is to recover them. They are really heavy chairs, and look to be really good quality. And the price sure was right!!

Winter Cup

2011-11-26T20:48:00.001-07:00

Peirce was racing today. He had a great day! The meet was at the Winter Club....not my favorite place for meets, but today ended up pretty good.

200 Free - Man that is a long race! He was quite worn out by the end, but he did a great job. He did it in 4:15....not bad formhis first 200 Free. The race didn't look nice because he was last in his heat, but he was with a bunch of other kids without a seed time and I think he got in with some older kids. It feels a little discouraging in the middle of the race when that happens - but he did great looking at the numbers.

100 Back was beautiful! Peirce is a great back stroker. He beat his time by 14 seconds! As Jill says, Peirce is a backstroking beast!

100 free was next. I forgot to time him so I will have tp update when the official stats are posted.

50 breast was a tense one because he has been DQd in the past - but it looks like he is getting the technique figured out. No DQ and a great time today!

Then last of all he swam in the relay. They didn't win but they had fun.

Looks like we have another swimmer on our hands!

He was one super tired boy tonight. That is just how I like 'em to be at the end of the day! :)

Hugo Cabret

2011-11-23T22:59:00.002-07:00

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is an awesome book. I've read it with my kids. I've read it with the book club we had at Jill's school. I've also read it to my students. Today the movie based on the book came out! We decided to go to it and invited the kids from my class last year to come along with our family. It was so fun!

The movie is called Hugo.

Peirce said it was the best movie he's ever seen. It was great to have Jill and Peirce turn to me and whisper all through the movie that this scene was so perfect, or that scene was all wrong. The movie was pretty true to the book.

It was also really fun to be there with my students from last year. About half a dozen of them came, along with their parents. The funny thing was the preview was for Save the Whales, which is also a story we read in Grade Two! The other preview was for Beauty and the Best, which the high school came and did a little assembly to tell our school about the play today so that kids would come to it. Too funny!

It was really a great night. Loved it!

Romance!

2011-11-23T16:57:00.000-07:00

My dear husband brought me flowers at work today. Why? Just because!

He's a keeper :)

Anne with an 'e'

2011-11-11T22:55:00.001-07:00

Tonight the kids and I volunteered at Storybook Theatre. I am not sure how many years we have been doing this, but it has been a while. The kids LOVE it. Yesterday the guy who was Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat last year was there. He was the choreographer for Anne. He came and chatted with us for quite a while. I guess Peirce had gone up to him when we first saw him and told him how much he loved that play, and he was kind enough to have a long and meaningful conversation with us about theatre, performing, and life in general. It was really great and Peirce felt very validated as a theatre aficionado. It was great.

The play was also terrific. I have always loved the Anne of Green Gables story. Jill, not so much. I think she is converted now though! She kept saying last night, "She is just like me!"

Love it. :)

Peirce

2011-11-10T16:13:00.002-07:00

My mom found some pictures of her grandkids in some of Aunt Marvelle's stuff. Here's one of my darling boy, Peirce.

Just love that little face. Oh to go back to the days of dressing him in OshKosh overalls!

Being a Working Mom

2011-11-09T20:34:00.001-07:00

Truth is, I've always been a working mom. For the first 12 years though I worked at home. It was a little crazy. Now, changing to teaching, it's a little crazy in a different way. I don't have the same flexibility with my schedule that I used to - but I definitely work less hours. Some would be surprised at that. Working from home seems like a dream. But the truth was I got up early and worked, worked all day, and worked late into the night. When we would go somewhere I'd bring my computer with me and work along the way. It worked at the time - but now I'm grateful to be back in the world of teaching.

Teaching is a crazy life too - and I work lots of hours....but I really love it. This is report card season so I've been especially busy lately. Still, we've had real meals, I've gone to bed at a reasonable hour, and my kids have still got to the activities they need to get to. We can call it a success! I am amazed at how much I have accomplished in the last seven days. It seems like every waking minute I'm busy busy busy. Hopefully by Monday I'll be finished report cards though and will be able to get back to regular life. Here's hoping!

So Blessed

2011-11-08T20:53:00.001-07:00

Today one of my co-workers brought me a flower. She said it was so I could look it and think of my little Destiny.

Brought a tear to my eye!

I'm seriously so blessed. I work with some amazing, kind, creative, fun and thoughtful people.

Released!

2011-11-08T15:10:00.003-07:00

I'm actually writing this on Wednesday evening, but I couldn't publish it until Sunday. The Bishop came to visit and released me as Primary President. I pretty much expected it. It's been just over 2 years. I sure have enjoyed it. I felt kind of tossed about getting released. In some ways I feel like it's time for a change. But then again, I'd be happy to stay in primary for a long time. I guess a change is good so that the kids in primary get some fresh ideas and new enthusiasm. I will miss them!

No new calling yet. I guess I get a vacation!

Book Club Night

2011-11-07T22:37:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the night I wait for! Book Club! Peirce and I joined a book club at the library and this month we read The Magic Half....well, I read it. I read the first part with Peirce and one Sunday afternoon read the rest of it, and then forgot about reading it with him. Oops! He really isn't much into reading chapter books on his own. Hopefully the book club will help create more joy in reading. Right now he likes books like Geronimo Stilton and Garfield comic books...which is okay...but I sure would love to see him learn to love regular chapter books. We'll work on it.

So we had a great night at book club. On the way home we made a stop. When we went to get back in the van poor Peirce got his hand slammed in the door. Poor little guy! Now that isn't going to create good book club feelings!

Four Years Later

2011-11-06T15:19:00.002-07:00

We have a little girl in our ward that was born the week that our Destiny was stillborn. We sang happy birthday to her in primary today at church. I often look at her and wonder what it would be like to have a little girl that age running around our house. Our life sure would have been different than it is right now. Time does heal wounds though. My time with Destiny changed my life for the better. Today is the day she was delivered (I never know if I should say it was the day she was born - or the day she died)

All I know is it is possible to love someone you haven't spent time with. She is a gentle soul whose presence I often feel.

Thank you for all you have done for me, my little Destiny Dawn Ackroyd.

I have have grown and changed through all this. I contemplated whether I should post anything. Sometimes I think people think I should move on. I know some people are uncomfortable with the topic. I guess the big reason for me is that I never want her to be forgotten.

Fall Fling

2011-11-05T22:46:00.002-06:00

Today was another swim meet day. NCSA hosted and so parents have to volunteer at two sessions. Since my kids swim in different sessions I ended up volunteering all day. I was there from 8 am until 7 pm. Ugh! Talk about a long day. I sure have soft moist skin now though. :)

In the morning I was a timer. Easy peasy. In the afternoon I marshalled. Oh the pain! I did it at the last meet too and I had resolved that if things got too crazy I was going to call in the coaches to come help...and when things got really crazy I forgot. I'm tossed about whether I should volunteer to do it again so I can remember to do that - or hope I never have to do it again.

Decisions. Decisions.

The meet went well for Jill. She improved in one race and did about the same in the other three. This was Peirce's second meet. We'll just say he is on a steep learning curve. He is enjoying it, but has a few more things to learn about technique so he has fewer DQ's. He did have one race though where he didn't get DQd. I was proud of him for pushing on despite the disappointments. At one point, in his 3rd race, the starter asked the boys to step down (which they often do if someone is on the blocks too soon or doing something they shouldn't). Peirce got confused and ended up falling off the block into the water. Poor kid. He was embarrassed. He didn't get DQd for that though!

All in all, I'm glad we have swimming in our lives. Although it seems to make my life a little crazy, our kids are sure getting in good shape and learning a lot. Life is good.

Daily Blogging

2011-11-04T21:45:00.000-06:00

I'm recommitting to daily blogging. It's my way of journaling, and I am sorry to miss things. I resolve to do better!

You've Come a Long Way Baby

2011-10-21T19:29:00.000-06:00

Today we had a PD day for the Charter School Conference. The conference was at the Calgary Science School (another Charter School). Turns out they lease the building that the Montessori school used to lease that I worked at for my first teaching job. It was so cool to go step into the room where I taught music, then Science, then Grade Two. The feelings of nostalgia that swept over me were almost overwhelming. It was all so real. I remember the feelings so well. There were a lot of positive feelings. I loved those children. I sure felt inadequate though! I have come a long way since then. I had no idea what I was doing back then. I worked SO hard. I wondered if it would ever get easy. I can't say it is easy now, but I sure feel a lot more confidant compared to how I felt there back in 1993! It was great to be back there.

The Book That Changed My Life (edited by Roxanne J Coacy and Joy Johannessen)

2011-10-11T17:41:00.000-06:00

This book is a collection of vignettes about writers and books that they love. It's kind of a fun book to read because you don't have to read it from beginning to end - you can jump all over. Here are some of my favorite parts from the book:

Nicholas A Basbanes: Something else Professor Berkelman preached in all his courses - and I took eight with him over four years, quite possibly a Bates record - was the merit of reading favorite passages aloud, a practice I use to this day, most productively with my own writing. When my daughters were children in the 1980s, it became customary for us to read their literary assignments together at night, and to discuss what we had just learned as we went along. Shakespeare's plays were by far the most fun for us. We selected our roles, assumed what we thought were appropriate voices, and visualized the scenes as if we were directors staging our own productions. We tinkered with blank verse, examined the language, shared our perceptions. Most of all, we allowed reading to enter our lives, and to work its magic.

I wonder if this is one reason I love reading books with Peirce so much - because we always read aloud. There's something special about reading aloud!

Benjamin Cheever: When a friend sticks a book in my hand and crows, "It changed my life," my heart plummets. They never say, "It changed my life." They sing it out, as if boasting about intellectual suppleness, while not talking about the book at all. As if change were easy, welcome.
I know better. Sure the Renaissance was change, but so was the Ice Age.
Plus, I'm not intellectually supple. When one of those books does come along, it knocks me over. I'll read it twice. If I can possibly get a recording of the book, I'll do so. I'll run with it in my iPod, wash the dishes with it. I'll dog-ear and underline my copy. I'll quote endlessly from the text in e-mail. I'll bore my neighbors, embarrass my friends, infuriate my family.

I think I like this guy. I love his description! I love how he loves books. :)

Claire Cook (her favorite was the Nancy Drew series!): She talks about how she grew to love Nancy Drew. Her mother had died and she relished getting lost in the world of a book, rather than living in her own. Nancy, interestingly, also didn't have a mother. She talked about helping kids love reading, and says: The truck is, as I came to see it, is that once you fall in love, really in love, with that first book, you'll never be able to stop. There will still be plenty of time to introduce the classics. I give Nancy full credit for that teaching epiphany.

That's so true! That's my goal with the kids I teach...and with my own kids :)

An author named Sark (no last name....just Sark) said she was touched by Maya Angelou's I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. She said she was abused and while reading the book she had an epiphany. I went to hear Maya Angelou speak at the same library where I'd found her book, and clearly saw her invincible spirit as she talked to the group. Right there, sitting on that folding chair, I decided to have no more shame about the abuse that had happened to me. That is amazing. Books can bring miracles!

Then there are a few books I noticed, that I'd love to read. One of them being by Maureen Corrigan. It is called "Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading." Now that is right up my alley! I also learned some strange facts. Like, did you know: Sherlock Homes is....the only fictional character ever made an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry because of his contributions to forensic investigation. A fictional character! LOL And I learned some funny things about some authors I love....like Jack Prelutsky. He said: When I was in junior high....I fell in love with Wild Animals I Have Known by Ernest Thompson Seton. I hid the book in an obscure place in the school library so it was always waiting for me, and read it a couple dozen times. I wonder why he didn't just sign it out? LOL

Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo

2011-10-07T08:15:00.000-06:00

Well, I've really got to get better at blogging! Once in September, and suddenly it is October 7. Life seems to spin faster and faster!

Peirce and I joined a book club this year at the public library. The first book we read was Elephant in the Garden. The book is pretty good. It's a story of a family in Germany during the second world war. It was interesting to read a World War II story from the perspective of a German family. It made me want to read more of his books though. It was a great introduction to this author. You can read more about the book here. It isn't a book I probably would have ever pulled off the library shelf on my own. That's one of the great things about a book club! It gets me reading books I wouldn't have otherwise.

More than anything though, just the experience of reading a book with Peirce has been really wonderful. I seriously recommend it! I am pretty sure it wouldn't matter what the book was about - it is good bonding time. Next month will be a test to see if my theory was right because next month's book looks like a girls' book to me! Time will tell!

The Race

2011-09-18T08:28:00.001-06:00

Well, you can tell when school started for me because the blogging stopped. I have been able to come up for air so thought I would try to catch up.

I went to teacher training mid-August. I attended it last year so I was lucky to be able tonattend again. I found it really helpful because ow I have some experience and a place to file the info in my brain. The new teachers I was with are really great. I lived the entire experience!

The big news work wise is in August I got a call asking me to come in to chat with my principal and vice principal. Hmmmmm......intriguing! it turns out one of the teachers got engaged this summer. I got to sit down with her one day and listen to the whole story. It is the kind of story movies are made of. Very romantic and definitely meant to be. I got goosebups on my goose bumps and shed a tear or two over the beauty of it all! Her fiancé is from South Africa and while he waits for immigration to allow him to move here, she is taking a year off.....so they asked if I would move to Gr. 3. I said yes and while I felt a little disappointed (I was really looking forward to teaching something again) now I realize what a blessing for me it all is. I thought it would be more work because I am learning a whole new curriculum. Whole that is true, the teachers I am teamed upmwith are amazing! They are very organized and very helpful, and lfe is very very good. Not only that, my class is a dream! I taught all but one last year. There are a few from my Grade two class, and the rest I taught math to last year. I felt like I was able to hit the ground running since I already knew them. All in all, I am really loving teaching this year!

At the end of summer the kids went to Grandma Camp. This was a different year. Poor Grandma was really worn out by the end. They had good times, but there was too much bickering amongst cousins. Not sure if it was lack of sleep, too much planned, or the ages they are at, but it was a tricky time. Grandma was a real trooper through it all.

Peirce has been particularly miserable. Grumpy, Fights with his sister, a doomsday attitude about everything, particularly his new school, and a few other issues had me considering adoption. LOL After some thought and prayer we wondered if he has wheat issues like Allen does. We decided to try taking him off wheat and saw a remarked improvement quite quickly. It is an adjustment for us all.....but we will get it figured out. All I know is my happy and quiet boy is back!

Another great thing in our life is swimming. Jill counted down all summer how long it would be before swimming would start again. She has moved up again and now swims six days a week. She couldn't be happier with that. Peirce is also swimming competitively this year and has been loving practices and his new coach. I am at the pool six days a week and twice on Tuesdayand Thursday. Oh boy!

Jill is loving being in Grade 8. She says it is the perfect time because she is no longer the youngest, the Grade nines are just old Grade eights, and she gets to see her old Grade Fives who are finally in Grade seven! .......confusing, I know. But she's happy, so the logic works for me. Peirce's school closed last year....er, rather, the program moved. He has been in a wonderful small school and has never had more than 16 kids in his class (kindergarten had 9 kids!) and now he is in a more normal sized class and there are 5 classes of his grade! He was really nervous about the change, but his new teacher is wonderful, he is with some of his old friends, and he already has someone who has a crazy crush on him. All works out in the end!

Allen has been a wonderful help in all the craziness of the schedule being back in full swing. He is busy with Bishopric responsibilities, and business is going well. I love him more and more all the time.

So, life has turned up a notch. I will try to keep up with blogging so we can remember it all!

Family Bottle Drive

2011-08-15T16:39:00.000-06:00

Little miracles seem to happen all the time.

Jill wanted to attend a swim camp this week. We told her she would need to raise half the money to attend. We talked about some things she could do make money. She decided to try dng her own "bottle drive" of sorts. She tried knocking on doors with Peirce on Friday, but hardly anyone was home. I suggested we try going to some restaurants and businesses. They were kind of leery at first, but after a few successful attempts they were on a roll. We went out for 3 hours on Friday, and then had some places to follow up on Saturday. Some people said they would bring their bottles from home, or they had to check with the boss, etc. So we came back Saturday.

The camp cost $250. Just before heading out to the camp today we added up what she had.....an astounding $125.50.

Can you believe that?? What are the chances that we would get the exact number of cans and bottles needed for the exact amount needed?? My thinking is that it was a miracle indeed. A real lesson that God provides exactly what we need.

New Stage in Life

2011-08-12T23:39:00.000-06:00

Tonight Jill and I went to a wedding reception for my friend, Kelly's daughter, Brittany. It was a whole new experience to listen to the parents give their little talks at the reception. It was different because these are my friends! I have known their kids since they were babies! It was really interesting.....and heartwarming!

Deerfoot Drive In

2011-08-11T16:47:00.001-06:00

Every summer the Deerfoot Mall has a drive-in. We always enjoy it. Last week they had their first movie, but they got rained out - so last night they did a double feature. Peirce and I weren't tough enough to stay for both movies - but Allen and Jill and Soleil and Tanner did! They had a great time.

The first movie was ET - a classic! And then they showed Jurassic Park. The kids all had a great time!

Close Call

2011-08-10T18:45:00.000-06:00

Late this afternoon we were all having a little rest. A thunder storm had started. Suddenly we heard the loudest clap of thunder I have ever heard! Peirce came running into our room, and we went out to check to see if any houses were on fire. Soon we heard sirens too so we figured it was somewhere near by. Turns out a tree in the field behind our house got hit. It is about 100 feet from our back yard.

First they put their danger tape around the tree.

Then they had to figure out how to get the split part of the tree down so it didn't fall on anyone, I suppose. I wish I had taken pictures when they were trying to get it down. They put a big rope around the tree and tugged. One fireman couldn't do it so a second one got in to help. Then a third, and a fourth. Finally the fifth guy came along, put the rope around his waist, and they all tugged and pulled and pulled and pulled....and down it came. It was great fun for the kids to watch! In the far left of this picture are Peirce and Jill and Sunny. The guy standing by the firemen in the blue shirt is the guy whose house is right in front of these trees. He is a retired minister. I bet he was counting his blessings!

Good fun for a Wednesday afternoon!

Syd and Peirce

2011-08-07T16:09:00.009-06:00

Today I burned discs for Peirce. It was fun to see the things he takes pictures and videos of. Play sure seems to have changed for kids! Now part of the fun is recording what you do!

10 Day Countdown

2011-08-06T11:14:00.000-06:00

I got up this morning for my morning prayer and study and planning time realized I really only have 10 days of summer left! ACK!! In 10 days teacher training starts! I am excited about it, and also sad that summer will end. I really haven't accomplished a heck of a lot. I had big plans, but found relaxing took over. At first I was a little embarrassed about how much relaxing I was doing (I hate to call it laziness). However, this past week I have realized how much I needed it. I feel a change coming over me. Pretty much ever since Jill was a baby I have had a computer tied to my hip. I have taken work everywhere with me, which was a blessing, and also not so much of a blessing. I don't need to get into the details of that, except to say that having six weeks off for the first time ever has been revolutionary. I have had time to think a about me, about my life, my attitude, my goals and my dreams. I am excited to start this new school year a better person. A better wife. A better mom, and a better teacher. I am so grateful to be able to return to the world of teaching. I love it and I love what it has done for my life.

Rained Out

2011-08-05T23:15:00.010-06:00

Tonight for our date night I suggested we go to a walk along the river. Allen really doesn't like walking though (back issues) and sometimes it's worse than others. Tonight walking was out. Well, how about we drive down to the river and sit on a bench?! It was a deal....until this happened:

This is the view from our front door. Unbelievable!!

We decided we would stay home and play Scrabble. Allen hates Scrabble. I had to let him win :)

Ladies Fastball

2011-08-04T23:25:00.000-06:00

This week I have worked at Vipers games 3 nights if the week. Well, truthfully, it wasn't Vipers, it was ladies fast pitch. There is s professional league in the states and they cane up here to play. The crowds were a little small so that was disappointing, but it was fun to see them play. They we're good!! It made me want to play ball.....but, well, I guess I will continue in the concession for now. LOL

Sticking my toe in

2011-08-02T23:22:00.000-06:00

I went into the school today and started working on my classroom. It was so great!! The other teacher has moved her stuff out and now I can see what I have and don't have and clean up and get ready for September. There is a lot I need to do and get, and a lot to throw out and sort through. I will get there though. I loved being there! Apparently some other teachers had the same idea because there were about 5 or 6 of us there. It was fun to see them. I can't wait until September!

Nanton Days

2011-08-01T11:14:00.033-06:00

Today we went to Nanton for Nanton Days! First order of business: the parade! ...and here it comes! We always have a lot of fun at these small town parades. The candy. The people. The sun. It's great! Oh, and did I mention, no crowds? Love it!

After they had a Children's Festival at the park. Jill was so happy

that she wasn't too old to go in the bouncy houses.

Some little boy latched on to Peirce while we were there. Peirce was so cute with his new little buddy.

Sparky!

More bouncy houses

Jill got a tatoo. Yup. A shark!

It's a swimmer thing, apparently.

Nanton is raising money to replace their structurally damaged roof on the arena. They had a duck race. We bought a few ducks and went and watched. It was so funny....all these people on the bridge watching this quite slow moving river. I figured it was a prank to see how many people they could get to come hang out there, and then they'd take a picture of all of us fools. Finally, they did come around the corner. We didn't win anything, but it was fun to watch our kids run around on the shore, and visit with the other people on the bridge!

All in all, a really fun day :)

God's Minions

2011-07-31T18:14:00.002-06:00

Today in Sharing Time I had the children share their favorite scripture story or something they have learned from the scriptures. It was so great to hear them share. My favorite was one who shared the story of Ammon. It went something like this:

"and so he cut off all the robbers arms - so the king said, "Whoa! are you God or something" and Ammon said, "No, but I am one of his minions....."

Out For a Spin

2011-07-30T23:22:00.003-06:00

After the BBQ today Allen and the kids went to the church to clean. Our previous Bishop is a motorcycle guy and he gave the kids a ride on his motorbike! Oh the things that happen when the mother isn't around!

Here's Jill getting ready for a spin!

Davidson's Annual BBQ

2011-07-30T23:11:00.000-06:00

Every year our friends, Mike and Chelle, have a big BBQ party. It's lots of fun. They live out in the country and they treat all the kids to wagon rides behind the tractor, horse rides, a bouncy house, and a big big bigger than you can believe bon-fire. Lots of fun!

This year even Peirce rode a horse! He said to me that at first it was no big deal, but the more he did it the more he got addicted to it. Now he loves riding a horse!

I'm just sorry I missed it! I was at another Vipers game.

Destiny

2011-07-30T15:00:00.001-06:00

Do you ever have times where you are for some reason just sent back and memories are at the forefront? For some reason I felt that way. This morning I got up and put on my necklace that I have't worn for a while. We went to a movie and there were parts of the movie where I was almost brought to tears with memories of pregnancy and of Destiny. (But the movie was Smurfs....so I couldn't get too emotional...it was Smurfs after all!) LOL Then someone posted this thought on Facebook:

"Sometimes," said Pooh, "the smallest things take up the most room in your heart." (A. A. Milne)

.....so true.
So very true.

Girls Camp

2011-07-28T16:37:00.000-06:00

What a great time! Here are some pictures from Jill's Girl's Camp. We have the greatest group of girls in our ward. They're all great....and they get along famously :)

Out of My Mind (by Sharon M Draper)

2011-07-28T15:21:00.002-06:00

This book is one that I just couldn't stop reading. Luckily today was a day where I could just keep on reading. I cried. I laughed out loud. I held my breath. I would jump ahead because I could hardly stand the anticipation, and then go back and carefully read what I missed. And when it was all over I just sat there and stared off into space as I slowly shook off the story and surfaced back into
reality.

This is a great book!

The story is about a girl who has cerebral palsy. The center of the story is when she is in Grade 5. It tells what happens prior to Gr 5...and then picks up from there where the central character, Melody, is.

Fifth grade is probably pretty rocky for lots of kids. Homework. Never being quite sure if you're cool enough. Clothes. Parents. Wanting ot play with toys and wanting to be grown up all at the same time. Underarm order.

And Melody is right there. Only we would have never known if she hadn't discovered Elvira - a computer that helps her communicate. Prior to that she couldn't at all. Even though no one knew it (well, her parents knew it) she had a lot going on in her head and Elvira helps her show others what she knows. She's not just smart, she's brilliant.

There were so many places in this book where I turned down the corner of the page (my apologies to the librarians) so I could remember that bit of the story.

This book is an amazing insight into the life and mind of a disabled person. I plan to never be the same as a result of reading it!

Some of my favorite parts:

Chapter 7 - I love Melody's mom and how she tells off the teacher. Idiot teacher! Teachers are supposed to have a special vision and see children's potential. That teacher was a dough-head.
Chapter 11 - Melody gives amazing insight into how badly she would like to communicate. She knows words. She understands - she just can't say them. I love her description of Garfield and how she wishes she could have balloons above her head.
Chapter 15 when she tells her parents for the first time with words, that she loves them. I wanted to put the book down and cry with the ugly face! So heartwarming!
Chapter 19 where Melody prepares responses for people who ask what is wrong with her (she has a hilarious sense of humor). For those who are genuinely concerned she says, "I have spastic bilateral quadriplegia, also known as cerebal palsy. It limits my body, but not my mind." And for the snotty people she runs into she prepared, "We all have disabilities. What's yours?"
Chapter 21 where she makes the team.....I wanted to jump up and shout! I thought my heart would explode. It reminded me of times when I've watched Jill race and succeed. I just love her so much I ache to see her succeed and be happy. The author of this book does an amazing job of helping you feel that way about Melody. And then, Chapter 33, when things don't go that well, you just wish you could fix it, rewind life, run away - but you can't. And all the heartache is part of growing up. It makes them the amazing people they are....but it kills you to see them go through the heartache. That's what happens in this book.

I read this book while the kids were at Park and Play. I hung around in case they needed anything. At the pool I was sitting in the awful viewing area where there's no air conditioning. It was horridly hot - but I couldn't move. I had to keep reading.

Seriously. You've got to read this book.The author has a great website with a Q&A section. It's well worth checking out. Apparently the author is a teacher. No wonder she had the school aspects of this book so bang on. Beautiful!

What are you reading?

2011-07-27T08:05:00.001-06:00

The average book club member reads 36 books per year. Only 12 of those are book club selections. (The average American reads 5 books per year.)

(Interesting facts from Book Movement: http://www.bookmovement.com/info/about.php)

This summer I planned to do a ton of reading. While I have done a fair bit, I don't think I am really taking advantage of my free time this summer enough. Time to get reading a heck of a lot more (and less iPad!)

Discovering new books

2011-07-26T20:18:00.002-06:00

I used to go to the library and scan the shelves. I rarely do that anymore. I usually go straight to the hold shelf and grab the ones there waiting for me. Thanks to my Gogle Reader I peruse my favorite blogs each day (many of which are about books) and get book recommendations that way.

That is how I found out Melanie Watt has a new book! It is so cute. I think I might read it to my students on the first day of school.

When I signed it out the librarian sad, "oh! Melanie Watt's new book! I Got to hear her speak once. I always enjoyed her books but now, after hearing her speak, I love them!"

...and then by strange coincidence. Ran into an interview with Melanie Watt on a blog. You can read it here.

I would love to hear her speak!

My Flower Child

2011-07-25T17:16:00.001-06:00

I love this picture of Jill. We took it when we went to Taylor's party.

It's so Jill....dancing in the flowers. Totally Jillish!

Happy Birthday Taylor!

2011-07-24T23:54:00.004-06:00

One day road trip! Allen does this kind of thing all the time, but I am not a big fan of it....but I decided what the heck, it is summer.

Today was my niece Taylor's birthday so after church we headed off to Sparwood. It is about a three hour drive. The kids and I went and we had a great time. It was a surprise party for Taylor and she was really surprised! It is always so fun when it works out like that.

Then tonight we drove home. Tomorrow Jill has girl's camp, so we had to get home. I had some Beaver Buzz to keep me awake. Unfortunately the beavers are still buzzing around in my head and I cannot get to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be interesting,

Go Stamps Go!

2011-07-23T23:58:00.000-06:00

Tonight I worked my first Stampeders Game. It is all a part of the swim club fundraising. I had an amazing twist of fate with being paired up with Brenda Winkler! I knew her from my stake where I grew up in BC. She later moved to Calgary around when I did and we hung out prior to getting married. I probably hadn't seen her for 20 years. And then tonight we were paired up at a cash register at the game. It was really fun to catch up with her!

I have to say that a football game has a totally different atmosphere than a baseball game. It was a real party atmosphere! And the fun never ended. There were always people in line. I was astounded at how busy it was. But then again, being busy is better than standing around, that is for sure!

Anyway, it was a good time. Looking forward to doing it again!

Preparing for Adulthood

2011-07-19T18:05:00.000-06:00

It was a week ago that we had the meeting about scouting. I have thought a lot about that meeting and a lot about the things Allen has told me about Helaman's Encampment. I read a blog today by someone we got to know when we were in 3rd ward in the West Stake in Calgary. He brought up a great point about these boys. Boys that are scouting age are the boys that have gone to war in the past. I just can't imagine. Gives a new perspective on how important it is to teach our boys to be men. His blog post is here. I thought it was terrific.

It's interesting to me to watch how my kids respond to things we're trying to teach them. One of our topics recently is speaking respectfully to each other. Life is so good when that's how the conversations in our house are....and so frustrating when they're not. I think they're starting to get it though.

The other thing we're working on is helping around the house. My kids have chores to do each day and usually they need to be reminded. Tonight Jill wanted to go swimming but hadn't done her chores for yesterday or today so I told her they had to be done before we left. Her friends were already at the pool so she was very motivated. I couldn't believe how quick she could do it! LOL If only they would just do it that quick on their own. We'll keep working on it!

Baby It's Hot Outside!

2011-07-18T23:26:00.013-06:00

Today was the hottest day so far this summer.

I decided it was a good time to hang out in the basement and get some sewing done.

A few months ago Allen and Jill went shopping and bought some dresses. A few were way too long. Today i hemmed the last one. I didn't want to just shorten it from the bottom so I took the skirt off and cut inches off there. Now all three panels are about the same length. When I had it hemmed Jill asked if I could sew some straps on it....we got fooling around with it and ended up making not only straps, but little capped sleeves. It turned out quite cute! A great summer dress.

I also got a bunch of really nice blouses from someone on Freecycle recently. They all had long sleeves. I am not a fan of long sleeves, and most of these were a little too short so
I cut them off and made short sleeves. Love them now!

War Wounds

2011-07-17T18:03:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we did a bunch of housework and yard work. Definitely a day of trials for our children. Pierce was raking and got a sliver in his hand. Oh the weeping and wailing!! You would have thought the world was coming to an end.

This morning as we were leaving for church I asked him how the "wound" was.

He said, "Oh it's fine. I am going to tell the ladies it was from a shark bite though."

Oh brother!!

Date Night at Box Wood Cafe

2011-07-15T23:08:00.000-06:00

Usually we have some time during the week when we take the calender off the fridge and make sure we're all understanding what is going on in the week. When we did that this week I told Allen we'd be going on a date on Friday. He joked, "Oh good....grocery shopping together."

Sadly, our date nights are often like that. We don't do it too often because life is just too busy. By Fridays we're dead tired, and usually Saturday is packed with more to do than we can do, so we opt to rest and get ready for the craziness of Saturday. However, this week seemed like the perfect time to get ourselves out of the house together to do something with each other!

This is Stampede Week, and judging from the attendance at the Vipers Game on Thursday, not much else happens in this city besides Stampede! So it took some thinking to decide what we'd do. Actually, I put a post on Facebook for suggestions for our datenight. We decided to go with dinner out at the Boxwood Cafe. What a great place! I had actually driven by their earlier this month and made a mental note to tell Allen about it. It looked like an interesting place. Turns out it is owned by the same people who own The River Cafe another amazing place in Calgary!

I had Quinoa Salad with Cucumber, Roasted Peppers & Feta , and Spiced Almonds & Pecans with Citrus & Rosemary....and they were both so delicious!! Loved loved loved it! Allen had lamb with some kind of sauce on it, and a lentil soup. I was amazed at how our serving sizes weren't that big, but we were totally satisfied by the end of it all. Truthfully, I found myself eating slowly and wanting to savor the amazing tastes.

They try to serve food produced and sold around Calgary....I love that too. They even had Broxburn cucumbers from Broxburn farm! The menu even says: To reduce our carbon footprint, we offer water that is filtered onsite. Still water is complimentary, and unlimited sparkling water is available at a small charge of $2 per guest. Thank you for supporting our efforts.

It was a refreshing change from those places where all the girls wear black revealing clothes and all kind of look the same.

Definitely recommend Box Wood!! Thank you Lynn Ursenbach for the recommendation!

After that we drove around and looked at beautiful houses around Elbow Drive....another favorite past time of ours!

All in all, a great night!

The Art of Racing in The Rain

2011-07-14T23:46:00.001-06:00

On Saturday when we were driving to and from Lethbridge I listened to a book on CD. I don't listen to books on CD very much. I don't seen to have a long enough time span where I can focus on it, and as a result, I lose track of the story. I always thought it was because I am not much of a auditory learner, but I seemed to do okay with this one. I'm starting to think that the issue is having the time to focus on it. It gives me hope! It has been killing me since Saturday to not be able to finish it. Truthfully, I read a bunch of it yesterday when we were at Chapters for the Harry Potter Party.....I went and found the book and stood there for an hour or so reading. I was so sorry when the kids were ready to go!

Part of the reason I was able to enjoy this one might have been that it was a great story. I was reading it for the online book club that I'm a part of (and hardly ever participate in).

One thing I really enjoyed about this book is that it is told from the family dog's perspective. His name is Enzo. Great dog! While I was listening I found myself looking at, and thinking about Chico a little differently. I wondered how much he understands and what he would say to me if he could put the words together.

I loved the ending for this book too. Enzo didn't disappoint :)

Calgary Stampede

2011-07-14T14:22:00.017-06:00

I'll admit it. I'm not much of a Stampede fan. Like I said before, I usually I do my best to make sure we're out of town when it happens. My kids though seem to have an insatiable curiousity for the Stampede. This year we skipped the parade. It was so much more fun when the fund companies used to give Allen bleacher tickets. We would get up at a normal time, go downtown, and saunter down to our spot on the bleachers where someone would bring us breakfast...now those were the days. They haven't done that for the past few years (something about sub prime mortgage crisis and all that) so the first year they didn't I went downtown at 6 am to save us a spot. I was horrified to see all the people there. It wasn't easy to find a place. I wasn't that interested in doing that again....so this year we skipped the parade and sold the kids on small town parades.

Jill really wanted to go see her favorite band, Down With Webster. Man, was that an experience!! They were on the Coke Stage. That means no seating - which can work really great. It also means when it's with a bunch of DWW crazed teenagers it can be a little crazy. But we lived to tell the tale.

And here are some photos to prove it! (Thank you Peirce for remembering your camera!)

I have to say though, I love the Stampede bands! We had a lot of fun listening to them tonight too.

Yee haa!!

The Magic of Harry Potter and Stampeding!

2011-07-13T23:25:00.001-06:00

Tonight we stopped by Chapters for a Harry Potter party. Peirce wore the Dumbledore costume my mom made a few years ago and won the costume contest! The prize was the last Harry Potter book. His teacher this year read the first one aloud to their class and he has a goal to read them all this summer. Jill also won a prize. She was the first to find the snitch and she won a HP Lego set. Pretty fun to have both of them win something!

This is Stampede week in Calgary. Mostly I avoid all things Stampedish, but one of Jill's favorite bands was playing at the Coke stage. What an experience it was! Jill loved it. Peirce hated it, and I endured it. Nothing like hanging out in the world, the nasty worldliest of worlds, with our kids. *sigh*

Scouting

2011-07-12T21:45:00.001-06:00

Tonight Allen and I went to a meeting about Scouting in our ward. I went as the Primary President since one of my stewardships is Cubs and 11 year old Scouts, and Allen had to be there because he is in the Bishopric.

I was so impressed with everything we discussed. Scouting is, well, can be an amazing program. I am really grateful my son gets to be a part of it, and am especially grateful that we have a Bishop who has a great vision of what Scouting can accomplish.

Park and Play

2011-07-11T20:41:00.000-06:00

The new season of Park and Play has begun for us! I am so glad my kids have always loved this program. Today Peirce said to me, "Mom, did you know the leaders get paid to go?? They get paid to have fun!! I'm going o get that job one day!"

Sunday Parties

2011-07-10T22:20:00.000-06:00

Well, the summer fun continues. After church we headed over to Aunt Shirley's to celebrate Ardell's 70th birthday. There was a lot of really nice people there to meet and a great BBQ and salad feast.

After we went over to the Rice's to celebrate Kylan being ordained a deacon. I ran into my old friend Suzanne (Clark) Maucieri. It was so fun to see her again!

Then we stopped by Aunt Colleen's and enjoyed a couple more hours of visiting.

Quite the social life we have!

Car Prayers

2011-07-09T23:46:00.005-06:00

Today Peirce and I went to Lethbridge for Dustin Noble's new little baby's baby shower. What a cute little guy that Logan is!

We went down in Allen's car. On the way home at Fort Macleod we ran out of propane. No problem. I switched over to gas....or so I thought. The car kept stalling. I called Allen and we couldn't figure out the problem. I figured out if I didn't touch the gas it would start, so we coasted into Claresholm. Peirce was scared and asking tons of questions non stop driving and me crazy. I finally said: Peirce, how about you stop talking and just pray...and don't stop praying....and wouldn't you know it, that was when we figured out what was wrong. Suddenly the green light for propane came on. Maybe I had hit it twice when I went to shut it off. I don't know. All I know is it took us about an hour to go the 18 km's into Claresholm. It wasn't until Peirce started praying that we saw the light. Maybe we just needed a prayer experience for the kid :)

My Mouthy Kid

2011-07-08T21:45:00.008-06:00

One day I am going to spend a day writing down the funny things Peirce says. We hear the funniest things from him. Here are some of my favorites today:

"Mommy, If you want to avoid a lawsuit, I suggest you start thinking about what to make for dinner."

Jill was admiring some purple flowers in the ditches. Peirce said, "I'm not sure why you would like those. I'm pretty sure they've an invasive plant, and what is there to admire about an invasive plant? Nothing if you ask me!"

After talking with a family at Calaway Park: "clearly some parents are blinded by love."
(translation = that was one ugly kid!)

Camping with Cousins

2011-07-08T13:08:00.001-06:00

All the Ackroyds love camping. I don't love it - but fortunately they are kind enough to take our kids with them. This year they went to the Kananaskis and had a great time. Here are some of the pictures from Peirce's camera. Well, here are some of them. He took about 800 pictures of rocks and things that I can't figure out what they are. I'll spare you those....I'll just burn those ones on a disc for him. I'm sure they are very important.

Cousins

2011-07-07T22:54:00.001-06:00

Jill and Peirce went camping with a swarm of Ackroyd cousins this week and had a great time.I have been thinking about cousins lately and what happiness I have had because of cousins. I think it began with hearing that Kara and her family were going to Sparwood for a week. Jealous!! Summer and cousin fun still seem to go together!

I was also thinking about Scott. Someone in our neighborhood practices bagpipes lately. It brings back a flood of warm memories of many summers with Scott. Scott played the bagpipes and took lessons one summer in Calgary and stayed with us. Well, he stayed with us lots of summers actually. I also spent some time working for him when I was in University when he was running his own travel agency. He passed away a few years ago. I miss him. Hearing the bagpipes in he summer seems especially nostalgic for me. I love it.

This Saturday I am going to a baby shower for Brad's first grandchild. He is my oldest cousin. I can't wait! Nickee will be there too as she is here for her annual pilgrimage. So many fun memories with Nickee!

I have lots of good memories with Shane and Renee, and other cousins too. So blessed!

The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson

2011-07-06T07:25:00.001-06:00

I loved this book. Why? There was just something about it.

Something about the magic play with dolls. "My wish is that you will find a doll's true purpose: to be awakened by the heart of a child" (page 4)

Something about friendship. The doll helps build a friendship in each scenario. It made me want to be a better friend!

Something about coming out on top despite hard times. Most of the stories are set in the depression. Man those people went through a lot!

Something about happy endings. "If you want a happy ending that depends of course on where you end your story." - Orson Welles (p.179) I loved where henauthor chose to end the story. Beautiful!

Shhhh! Did you hear that?

2011-07-05T13:20:00.003-06:00

Today I am all alone in my house....well, just me and Chico. It's a beautiful thing. No one is talking. There isn't any music on. Neither the TV now the radio are on.....just me tapping away on my iPad. Allen is gone to Scout camp. Jill and Peirce are camping with their cousins. And I am here all alone.

Too bad it is only for one day!!

I have a long list of things to do. Hmmmm.....whee to start. Where to start?

I think I shall start with finishing my book.

July 3 Adventure

2011-07-04T23:16:00.001-06:00

Well, today J & P took off on an adventure with their grandparents and cousins: a 3 day camping trip! I really don't like camping and they were kind enough to not make me go. I have to say though, seeing how excited they were almost persuades me to take them camping.

I'm sure I will be able to shake off that feeling.

Musings on my teaching life

2011-07-04T10:05:00.004-06:00

I get some interesting comments from people about the school I work at. I think there is a lot of misunderstanding about FFCA and I often am not sure how to respond to people's comments.

Two recent comments that stick in my mind:

"I could never teach there. It's too old school."
"Is that the school that is really structured?"
"is it true that all the lessons are canned and you all have to say the same thing?"

The truth is I used to think it was old school and way too structured - until I went into the school. I was amazed at the atmosphere when I started subbing there. It is a wonderful place to work. I guess I need to figure out a way to respond to people's comments like that.

I have often read about the Thomas Jefferson approach. It fits well with what I believe. I winder though if it can work well in a classroom?

Here's some info from: http://www.tjed.org/about-tjed/

Every person has inner genius. Thomas Jefferson Education consists of helping each student discover, develop and polish her genius. This i s the essence and very definition of great education.

There are really only three kinds of education, and they are best understood from the student’s perspective. Students get a good education for one of three reasons:

they are forced to study long, hard and effectively (the “Stick”)
they are convinced or manipulated to study long, hard and effectively (the “Carrot”)
they love to study long, hard and effectively (the “Love Affair”)
If the first two are “good,” the latter is truly “great.”

The Stick, the Carrot, or the Love Affair–these are the three types of education; and the love affair is by far the most effective.

Snakes and Sirens

2011-07-03T23:17:00.003-06:00

Primary is always so entertaining. This is my month to do Sharing Time. I talked about Moses' temple, Nephi's temple and Joseph Smith's temple. I was trying to explain who Moses was and told some random Moses stories.....one being the snake on the stick. I went on to Nephi, but one boy couldn't get past the snake story. Every time his hand went up (which was anytime I asked a question) it was another snake question.

What kind of snakes were they?
Why were there so many snakes?
Where did they come from?
Did they get to keep the snakes?
I want a snake on a stick.

Then we would roll a dice during Singing Time (our poor music leader had a house of sick kids so I did singing time today). We would sing the way the dice rolled: cowboy style, underwater, opera, etc. After we sang it police man style I couldn't get one of the Sunbeams to stop making police car siren sounds. LOL

Primary. It's two hours of comedy sometimes!

July 2 Adventures

2011-07-02T23:08:00.000-06:00

I can't think of a very good title for today's adventure.

We stayed at mom's last night but Jill stayed in Raymond because she decided to do a 2 K road race. She's my hero! she came in first for girls her age, and fourth for boys and girls her age. What a girl!

I was going to go to the temple but I was really tired, and also felt like I should hang out with Allen some. He is in the middle of getting a new recommend so he couldn't join me. He helped my mom with her lawn, and we enjoyed visiting. Mm and I went and visited Aunt Marvelle. She is in a beautiful extended care facility now. It was good to visit with her. She looks like she is doing well there.

This afternoon we went to Park Lake for a Wilcox family reunion. What a great place!! And great people......it was a great day!

Tonight I am so tired though I can hardly see straight. Two days of partying has taken it's toll!

Canada Day Adventures

2011-07-01T23:05:00.003-06:00

Today we headed to Mecca (a.k.a. Raymond) for Canada Day festivities. Parade, potluck, visiting, street festivals, and more. What a day! So tired!! I would write more, but let it suffice to say, our kids had a GREAT time!

Cool fireworks that night in Lethbridge eh?!

Mount Laundromatus

2011-06-30T23:58:00.001-06:00

I told my kids we would have an adventure every day. Today: Mt Laundromatus. We didn't quite make it to the summit, but almost! I gave the kids the challenge to conquer the wilderness of their bedrooms. It wasn't easy. Sometimes their courage faltered. But in the end they conquered the monsters!

Today I worked my first Vipers game. It wasn't very glamorous, but it was fun, I love the ball diamond atmosphere!

After I was finished I packed within minutes, jumped in the car with my family, and now we're off to Grandma's for a more exciting adventure!

It's Over!

2011-06-29T21:58:00.004-06:00

All year I have dreaded the end of this contract. I imagined standing in the middle of my classroom crying, "it's oooooovvvver!" like the guy at the end of Just For Laughs. However, it isn't over, and I am soooo happy about that. I am so excited to have a real holiday, and to be able to go back in September.

Today was an Organizational Day. We had breakfast at 8 am at Coras. Delicious!! We talked and laughed and ate until 10 am. Then we had a meeting at the school at 11 am. There was some business to go over, and then a testimony meeting of sorts. We shared our highlights from the year. Amazing! This is a bunch of people that truly love teaching. Lots of laughs and lots of tears.

Then I spent the rest of the day getting organized. I had so much work to do! I was cleaning up, but lots of others were preparing for September. Ack! Now I'm already behind!

So, now the holidays can begin. I am not sure I have ever had a summer off. Well, that's not true. My last year f teaching, when I was pregnant with Jill, I didn't work. Other than those 6 weeks, I have always worked in the sumer! I started working in summers when I was 12. I always started as soon as school ended. In University I would add a part-time job to my full time job. Even when I taught I worked in the summers prior to kids. Then after Jill was born I started working as a mystery shopping scheduler and never took time off. This is going to be bliss!!

Tonight Peirce and I went and spent some of the Chapters gift card I got from parents in my class, then did my visiting teaching.

Now the next order of business: SLEEP!

My Great News!

2011-06-27T23:00:00.001-06:00

So excited to finally be able to share this!

On Friday I was offered another contract to teach Gr 2 for another year. I am soooooo excited and feel so blessed!!

Accolades

2011-06-25T23:02:00.000-06:00

Tonight was the year end awards banquet. So proud of Jill yet again. She won the aggregate trophy for 11 and 12 year old girls. Pretty good for a girl who never swims Sundays!

Crazy Weekend Life!

2011-06-24T22:05:00.000-06:00

Most people love Fridays because it's the start of rest and relaxation. Personally, I find I have to take a deep breath and get ready to get my crazy on. This weekend is no different. Tonight Peirce and I went shopping to get ready for his party. It was really quite fun.

Allen and I even had a little time to hang out....that was a nice change!

Jill had swim Practise then babysat. She fell asleep though so we went over to drag her home (besides we always like a good excuse to go visit with Nathan and Becky)

Tomorrow's schedule? Hem dresses, clean the house, party with 9 year olds at Calaway Park, go to an awards banquet for swimming, then fall into bed so I can get to my 7 am meeting on Sunday.

Yup. Deep breath! Here we go!!

Before There Was Mozart by Lesa Cline-Ransome

2011-06-23T22:53:00.000-06:00

This is a really beautiful picture book. It is the story of joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-George. He is a boy whose mother was a black slave, and whose white father was the plantation owner. It's a story that I think happened many times over - but this is the first picture book I've ever read about a story like this. Joseph Boulogne became a famous violinist who even played for the King and Queen of France (quite unheard of when you're a Molatto).

What was most interesting was reading the book to my students. The idea of people being slaves, or people being treated differently because of their color is soooooo foreign to them. I'm so grateful for that.

I skipped parts of the book. There's some things that just hurt my heart and feel uncomfortable to talk about, even though they're part of history.

Got teenagers? This is so true!

2011-06-22T11:27:00.000-06:00

Missionary Life

2011-06-21T20:24:00.000-06:00

I was listening to a program on The Mormon Channel called Enduring It Well. It was an interview with Elizabeth Smart's parents. There was a lot on the program that touched me - but the thing that prompted me to write on my blog was a little bit at the very end of the program. When the interview was recorded Elizabeth Smart was serving her mission in France. Her parents said that she said serving a mission was the hardest thing she'd ever done. They responded with, "Really? The hardest?" They went on to say she said it was the most rewarding thing, but really the hardest thing she ever did.

Isn't that amazing??! Mission are wonderful. Even though it is the hardest thing, it is the most wonderful thing to. I am not sure that there is anything that has impacted my life as much as my mission.

So Proud of My Girl

2011-06-18T20:31:00.000-06:00

This weekend was the Age Group Challenge swim meet in Medicine Hat - also known as B Provincials. Here's the summary from what I said on Facebook:

She got silver in 50 back, made finals for a bunch of races (8 swims in total yesterday) and shook off a real disappointment in 200 fly and kept giving it her all in her other races. She was 30 seconds ahead of everyone else, but got DQ'd. ...She does this weird thing where she skips a stroke. Didn't get DQ'd in any of her other races for it (she did all the fly races) but in that one the S&t guy said no go......she was so sad. It was her tkt to A's. The finals for 100 fly were today but she decided she wasn't going to swim on Sunday....and she was 1sec off an A time in that one. I told her we could stay if she wanted to swim it but she was pretty sure she'd get blessed more if she didn't swim on Sunday. *sigh* So really, she did a lot of great things, just hoped for some metal to show for it. She's decided though she is going to work out all summer and start the next season stronger. Maybe next year will be her A year. She was hundredths of a second off an A time more than once. Bitter sweet. I am sure she will get rid of her weird skip a stroke habit she does now too. :). Nothing like a big disappointment to give one BIG motivation. I told her there isn't anyone who accomplished something great that didn't have to fight through disappointing results. She gets it.

She had six races this weekend and made finals for 5. The one she missed was hundredths of a second differences. :) watching it all totally wore me out. LOL stressful!

Pirate Peirce

2011-06-14T22:06:00.002-06:00

Stake Primary Activity

2011-06-11T15:10:00.005-06:00

The stake put on a primary activity today. Planning an activity for 180 kids is not for the faint of heart! I admire them for what they pulled off!

The theme, of course, went with the theme for Primary this year: I Know The Scriptures are True. First the kids were all divided up into the 12 tribes of Israel. Peirce was in Reuben's tribe. We went to the primary room to learn about people from the Old and New Testament.

First we learned about Peter. President Zemp was dressed up as Peter. He said he loved fishing, so if any of the kids guessed wrong about who he was they would have to eat a raw fish. He also said he liked to eat locusts. There were lots of wrinkled noses over that comment. He was also the only person, besides Jesus, to ever walk on water.

Then we learned about Daniel. He taught a poem:

Wherever I am,

Whatever the day,

Heavenly Father is

Only a prayer away.

We met Noah next. He brought some of his animals too!

After that it was Adam and Eve. They ate an apple too! (For old time's sake?)

Last of all, in that room, was Esther.

The next room we went to was where the kids got to do a craft. They took pictures from the scriptures and made their own mini scriptures.

Here is Peirce doing the craft.
After that we travelled to a room where we learned about people from the Book of Mormon.

This is Sam, I mean Alma the Younger! (Sam is Allen's cousin) He did a great job talking about how remorseful he felt that he was such a problem child while his dad was the prophet. He talked about how he even saw an angel! After that he repented and became a great missionary.

This is Mormon. He even brought along some gold plates!

Next was Captain Moroni. He teasedthat he was Tin-Foil man - but the kids knew better.

And there is the Title of Liberty!

Last of all was Ammon. He told about how he just wanted to be a good missionary and so he didn't marry the king's daughter. He loved sheep, and went about doing the things the king asked. He even had an arm he had chopped off when the robbers came to scatter the king's sheep! Ewwww! That was a big shock! :)

After that we went into the gym. All the kids sat in their tribes. Pharoah was sitting there looking over everyone (or something like that!)

Soon, in walked Moses and Aaron! President Thomas was dressed up as Moses, and President Rausch was Aaron.

They told us the stories of trying to get Pharoah to let the people go. There were plagues and everything. Soon it was time to leave. We went through the Red Sea that Moses had parted!

We wandered in the wilderness for quite a while. The weather was not great. However, while we travelled we received mana from heaven! (Well, actually it was popcorn) We learned about how they received enough for each day. If they tried to keep extra, it rotted. But the day before the Sabbath they received more, and it stayed fresh for the Sabbath. A miracle for sure.

It was kind of chaotic and slow traveling through the wilderness. Sometimes people complained.

While we were traveling in the wilderness we got very thirsty. Moses struck this rock with his staff and water came out of it!

We also saw miracles! Moses put a serpent on a stick, and when people looked at it, they were healed! They taught it that this was to teach the Israelites about Jesus Christ as we just need to look to Jesus to be healed.

This is President Rausch, I mean Aaron, teaching us about the snakes. Moses didn't do a lot of talking. Aaron was his mouthpiece most of the time.

We were all happy to finally get to the Promised Land, even though Moses and Aaron were not able to come with us. The Promised Land was full of hot dogs and chips and millions of cookies! A blessing for sure!