Serenity Now

WARNING: THE PICTURES IN THIS POST ARE NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH Wannabe turned 10 today and everything started out well. We wished him a Happy Birthday several times after he woke up. I did have to take a detour on the way to school as he asked me last night as he headed off to bed what I had bought for his class to give out for his birthday. What? They still do that in 4th Grade? So after making my almost 10-year-old almost cry on his birthday eve for not knowing this all-important fact, I promised him that it would be taken care of in the morning. We headed off to the store before school and he chose caramel apple suckers for his class. I spent the morning trying to restore internet service and email capacity in our home - you know me... technology hates me when at 11:45 the school called. Wannabe had an accident on the playground. He was under the bridge and stood up too suddenly causing the metal to cut into his head. Lots of blood cleaned up, a 4 cm gash and 7 staples later he was good to go. What a brave 10-year-old he is already! And a couple of moms in the neighborhood heard about his accident and brought him cookies and doughnuts. He deserves it!

Some things you have a love/hate relationship with. You know... you might love to eat a whole bag of M&M's or Twix but hate what they do to your waist or your love your kids but hate hearing the tattles... you love your new car but hate the new car payment... you love your job but hate your boss. You know what I'm talking about. We bought a boat a few years back and I fell in love with it. Not as much as I love my husband because as I tell him everyday, I love him THE MOST. But still... our Maxum was beautiful. It was well set up down below and up top and our family could sleep on at night during our trips to the lake with extended family. What I hated was that it only worked properly for us the first year. After that it broke down trip after trip after trip. It would have more productive for me to flush money down the toilet. Our boat was named Crossing Borders but I renamed it the Floating Bed or FB for short - that's all it became good for. Well, on my birthday we sold it and now have a new boat that I hope is not going to be the FB II. My fingers are crossed that the new boat will be a love/love relationship. It is working beautifully so far (of course I have not stepped on board yet). We all know what happens with me and anything that has any electrical components. Still it was time to say goodbye to Crossing Borders on Friday. Maybe with a newer, faster boat I'll be able to get Brett back on the molecule again....NOT!

Is it Mother's Day again already? I have to say that I love Mother's Day. You get to tell your kids that they can't argue or be mean for a whole day because it is Mother's Day and they actually try - briefly - to be nice to each other. I was treated by my kids to a handmade bracelet, paper flowers, a picture and breakfast in bed. Of course my Primary-age boys sang in church but as I was assigned to conduct the girls and was focussed on their singing I didn't see which of my boys sang. I had to get a report from Brett later as to who sang and who remained "cool" and quiet during the Mother's Day songs. At the end of church Sheriff was sure to hand me my gift that all of the women received (a chocolate bar and a whisk). Later today we will head over to Grandma's for some fried chicken. I don't think a nap is in the cards for me today as I still have to call my mom and Grandma but it is more important to tell our moms that we love them than to sleep the afternoon away (at least that is what I'm trying to tell my droopy eyelids). :) Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful women out there!

Somedays I wonder if my kids will ever grow up and other days I am amazed at how quickly time is flying by. Pretty soon they will no longer be little boys. Sheriff is already acting so grown up is many ways and by that I mean he is acting like a typical teenager who knows more than me, contradicts everything I say and can never be wrong. In other words ... he is just like me but I prefer to tell everyone that he gets it from his Aunt Sheri. :) But this last Saturday was a very special day for Giggles. One that he has been impatiently waiting for for so long. He finally got baptized! Thanks to all those who were able to come to the baptism and share this special time with Giggles. Later in the day he was also able to attend a professional soccer game and with those two events he said it was the BEST DAY EVER!! It certainly appeared so for he came home at the end of the day with a huge grin on his face and eyes that could barely stay open. Giggles proudly brought his brand new scriptures that he received from his grandma and grandpa to church on Sunday and was so excited to use them in his Primary class. Smiley is already looking forward to his own baptism but will have to wait another year. I'm sure I will be asked every month how much longer it is until his birthday. :P

Whew! One class down and how many more to go? My summer break is here (although by the chilly forty-something degree weather it doesn't feel close to summer). The kids still have a month left of assignments, projects, book reports, homework, field trips and programs to get through. Plus it is teacher appreciation next week which means an assignment for me to find all the things the teachers love for my four boys and send them each day. Don't even get me started on trying to figure something out for Mother's day in the next few hours and get it sent off to my mom by tomorrow. (I'm a little behind on things having finished up my class and trying to get Giggles baptized yesterday). Busy, busy! But... I am happy to say that my class is done and I feel like I learned so much in this introduction to photography. For our final project we had to take pictures of our current or future career. Well...I'm a mom. So I took pictures of a day in the life of a mom. I loved this class and I look forward to fall semester when I will venture to take Photography 1 and Design. Maybe one day I will be a real live photographer. :)