I took Megan to the Orthodontist yesterday for one of her routine appointments. When the Orthodontist came over to check her teeth, he said "So, are you ready to get those braces off?" It shocked the pants off of both of us because we had no idea that she was going to be done soon. We thought she would have them on until next spring. It was a fun surprise. And so after a year and eight months and a few thousand dollars later (which we are still paying, by the way)...
Just wanted to share an item that we had the opportunity to vote on. It is an Amendment that would remove a section of our State Constitution, which reads:
"No idiot or insane person shall be entitled to the privileges of an elector."
I'm not joking. Mike thought it was so hilariously unbelievable, that he decided to vote against amending it.
It was a crazy couple of days celebrating Halloween around our house. The kids have been looking forward to it for weeks. Noah dressed up like a red Power Ranger, Sammy dressed like a bat, and Megan dressed like a Twister game. Noah had his preschool party on Thursday. They had lots of yummy food, had a costume parade, and then a carnival. He had a lot of fun. We carved our pumpkins that night. Each of the kids designed their own face, and then we helped them carve it, except Megan - she did her own! On Friday Sammy wore her costume to school and also had a costume parade, and then a fun class party after. We had our traditional pizza for dinner, and then went trick or treating around the neighborhood. Afterward, we went to our friend's house to roast s'mores in the backyard. We were so glad it was a Friday, everyone was pooped by the end!
Megan didn't get to celebrate Halloween at school. Instead they had a Halloween dance on Saturday night. She is on student council this year, and the dance was put on by them. She had to help plan it, set up, and clean up after. I got to go and help too. It was fun watching her at her first school dance - a little weird too! I think the highlight was that she won the costume contest - as voted on by all the other students that were there. She was pretty excited.
We were all grateful for an extra hour of sleep after such a busy weekend. Sammy and Noah weren't ready for it to end, and were begging us to take them trick or treating again on Saturday night.
Mike - I will miss having him there to greet me at the door everyday when I come home. He was like a shadow to me, and followed me around everywhere I went. He was always there to listen to me when my kids wouldn't.
Stefani - I will miss having him kneel with us at family prayer and sneaking licks on us when our eyes are closed. He kept me company during the day, and slept next to my bed at night. It will be lonely not having him around.
Megan - My favorite thing about Casey is when my friends would come over and he would be all over them. I'll miss him because he would always come up to us and try to get us to give him love.
Samantha - My favorite memory of Casey is when my Daddy would tease me by having Casey lay on my bed. I will miss having him in the backyard when I go out to play. He liked to take naps in my room during the day.
Noah - I will miss Casey because he always liked to lick me. He would let me sit on him and try to ride him like a horse. I will miss having him lay by me when I play in the sandbox.
These last couple of days have been sad ones in our family. Today we found out that our dog Casey has cancer. I know that we have quite a few family members and friends that just don't understand the whole dog thing. Many of you have heard me complain about having a dog. I didn't grow up with a family dog, and didn't really plan on having one as an adult either. Mike however always had a dog growing up, so when we bought our first home that was the first purchase on his list. A dog can be so frustrating and annoying. They are messy, hyper, they poop in the yard, they are expensive, they want lots of attention, and on and on. But they are also loyal, comforting, protecting, and always loving. We got Casey 7 years ago to replace our first dog who also died of cancer. Watching that dog suffer with it and then be put to sleep because of it was so sad for us. I was convinced that I never wanted to have another dog. It wasn't until she was gone that I realized what a place she had formed in my heart, and how lonely it was without her around. So we decided to try again and got Casey. It breaks my heart to think about doing that all over again. I just loved this past General Conference. One of my favorite talks was President Monson's on Finding Joy in the Journey. It has been on my mind since hearing it, and ironically I watched it again this past Sunday morning. In it he says "Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each one of us will run out of tomorrows." I realize that he probably wasn't talking about pets, but this thing with Casey makes me realize how quickly things can change in life. Mike noticed a lump on Casey's side a week and a half ago and decided to keep an eye on it. He kept acting normal until this past Sunday when he stopped eating and started sleeping all day and night. We took him to the vet today and found out that this growth is past the point of being operable, and brought him home with some medication that will hopefully make him feel a little better so that he will possibly live through the week. He is an important part of our family and the kids love him so much. Noah calls him his best buddy. We are really going to miss him so much when he is gone. I wonder if we have treated him with as much love and kindness and enjoyed him as much as we should have. Things can change quickly like that in any part of our lives. Unfortunately, we usually don't realize it until it is too late. This is true with our family and friends also, and this experience has really made me realize that I need to enjoy each of my today's, and to be more loving and kind in all of my relationships. We are going to enjoy each today that we have left with Casey.
Back when I was a first time mom with Megan, I felt the need to be a perfect mom and do things to make sure she was a perfect child. I would talk to other moms with kids her age, and we would compare what each other child could do. As soon as I found out there was something she wasn't doing yet, I would stress out that something was wrong with her, so I would work extra hard on bringing up her skill level. This led to many anxiety ridden, tearful experiences trying to teach her to use the potty, learn the alphabet, write her letters, read, etc. And it wasn't just me that would be upset when we would have these teaching sessions, it would be her too. It seemed like the more I pushed her, the more defiant she would be about learning what I was trying to teach her. I figured out with Sammy and Noah that kids will learn the things they need to know when they are ready to learn them, not always when I am ready. It usually comes at different ages with different kids. Knowing this has helped me to just relax and enjoy each new thing that they learn.
Yesterday I was on the computer and Noah came into the office and grabbed a piece of paper and a crayon. He started asking me how to spell each of our names. I would tell him the letters and he would write something on his paper. Sometimes he would ask me what a letter looked like, so I would show him what it looked like. When he was finished, he came over to show me his paper. We haven't worked much on learning letters or writing, so I fully expected to see a bunch of scribbles and characters that didn't look like anything to me. But this what he showed me: (it might be kind of hard to see in the picture)
Apparently he knows his letters pretty good and he can write a lot of them too. I think kids are a lot smarter than we give them credit for!
Today was Noah's first day of preschool. It's a day he has been looking forward to for months, and a day that I have been dreading. It's been tough for me thinking about my baby taking the first step toward being in school. I really enjoy being home with him, and I know it will be so lonely when he is at school. Fortunately it is only Tuesday and Thursday mornings for now. He is going to the same preschool Sammy went to, which helped him to feel more comfortable since he knows the teachers and all the fun things they do there. He was awake this morning before his sisters were, and was ready to go by 7:00. When I dropped him off, he was a little unsure, but let me leave without having a breakdown. He ended up having a great time, and can't wait to go back to school on Thursday!
