Emily's shiny blue eyes

I told EMily that the dentist cleans our teeth so that they are nice and shiny. She thought about it and said, "Emmy has shiny blue eyes." And then proceeded to make them as large as possible and bat her eyes at me. She repeated it THREE times. Seriously she is so adorable and I LOVE her!

Emily's first Teeth Cleaning

With such a catchy title I know that everyone is dying to hear about her trip to the dentist....

Since Emily tried to take out her front teeth a couple of weeks ago, we had to head into the dentist today and have them checked out. She needed to come in for her 6 month checkup in a couple of weeks so not a big deal. She sat patiently next to me and watch the hygienist clean my teeth. She even passed her the water and suction tube. She thought it was really cool. When the hygienist told her to hop up on the seat she was in heaven. (Funny side story: When the hygienist was putting everything away from me Emily turned to me put her hand on her head and told me she had a fever. That is what she does at Collin's doctor's appointments because she wants to have the doctor check her out. I reminded her that the dentist looks at our teeth and that her turn was next.) She sat with her mouth wide open the WHOLE time. She didn't like the suction and would panic a little went it went into her mouth. Other than that she was quite content to sit there. Her front teeth were still a little tender but she was a trouper. When the hygienist put the strawberry flouride on her teeth she almost gagged. That is the way I used to feel when I used to have sit with it in my mouth. The hygienist said that she was so good she could pick out a prize while we waited for the doctor. She picked a ring and a sticky hand. She climbed back into the chair herself but as I was opening the sticky hand she over compensated in her balance and fell backward off the chair, hitting the ground. Lots of tears but after about ten seconds the tears were because I hadn't finished opening the toy. (Another funny aside: Our family doctor was in the room across the hall from us with her teenage daughter. She had come in to say hi while Emily was having her teeth cleaned. She stepped outside just before the fall but when she got back in her daughter told her that a little girl had fallen off the chair. Deb came to see me to see if we needed a doctor. I said no, and she laughed because she said that she knew it had to have been Emily and that Emily would be okay. Emily just smiled at her and showed her the sticky hand. Yeah she knows about Emily and her falls.) We had to wait 15 minutes or so for Dr. Machin and Emily spent the whole time whipping the sticky hand around. And climbing on the chair. I had to hold onto so she wouldn't fall again! She must be surrounded by guardian angels! And she wasn't even traumatized because she happily climbed into the chair to have the dentist look at her teeth. Especially after he told her she could have another sticky hand because she had pulled hers apart. She walked out of the office with 2 sticky hands, 2 rings and 2 toothbrushes. Whenever she was asked a question she would look up at them with a demure expression and bat her eyelashes a bunch of times. I have no idea where she learned that! The dentist checked my teeth and said that he knows that my check up will be quick and that he can never count on making money off of me. Thanks Mom and Dad for great teeth! :) Carrying on the tradition started by my mother, Emily and I headed out for a treat to celebrate having beautiful clean teeth. Tim Hortons was busy so an ice cream at Dairy Queen hit the spot.

(The trip to the chiropractors after this is a whole other story but all I will say is potty training has definitely had its ups and downs!)

Blessing of Good Friends

I would take a moment to talk about how blessed I have with good friends. I am astonished with how blessed I am with friends. Actually many times I am surprised that I have friends but that is a different story. I figured that we would move and that no one, except maybe family, would notice we were gone. And then the Lord humbled me.

Blessing One:
I love to surprise people with parties. I LOVE it! But I can only remember it happening to me once, I think. I have been putting long days into work and my poor husband and children have been supportive but two weeks ago Landon put his foot down and said we were having a family day on Saturday June 12th. I agreed but then I got a call from my mom. She said that my dad was really stressed and she wanted to take him to the beach on the 12th (two days later) and have him hang out with his grandkids. I told her I'd have to talk to Landon. Landon said that we could drop by but we weren't going to stay long. So Saturday morning came along and we packed up 12 boxes and got the van all sorted out. It was 3pm and we started heading to the beach. I had to help out with Grad that night and so I wasn't planning on showering until right before it. On went a hat and I was heading out the door in grubby capris and ratty t-shirt. Landon asked if I would get changed because we were going to be heading out on a walk and I looked a mess. :) (He did say it nicer than that.) So I grumbling changed into different shorts and a t-shirt. Landon brought me some perfume to put on and asked if I wanted to put on make-up. I declined. We arrived at the beach to find my parents, and the Coe family. I sat down and started chatting. To my surprise the Norris' and my brother's family pulled up. Sheryl than explained that she and her daughters wanted to throw me a surprise going away party. And Landon had known all week! He just grinned. I'm so glad that I at least changed my clothes. I even wish I had brought my bathing suit because it turned out to be hot! We had a wonderful time eating and visiting for three hours until I had to run home and get changed to go out. It was so wonderful. The Coe's have been wonderful family friends and I will miss them dearly. My kids will miss them even more!

Blessing Two:
I started at the high school in September. I've been there for one year. I have been blessed with a great supportive group to work with. There are 11 Student Support Assistants and they have been fantastic. I have learned a lot and we've had a lot of fun. I had one SSA retire in January and two more this June. As we planned the retirement party for the last two the staff asked if they could include me as a going away party. I was really touched. It was very nice of them. We had a beautiful light supper out at Herondell Bed and Breakfast and a fantastic tuxedo cake. The owners of Herondell (Alex and Nancy) have been family friends for years. They taught both Matt and Naomi voice lessons. It was nice to have time to chat with them as well. The staff surprised me with a beautiful gift. They had noticed that I wear little no jewelry and what I wear is very simple. So they bought a beautiful heart necklace and bracelet that says "Life is the greatest treasure..." The incredible thing is that I have wanted the bracelet for years but had never purchased it! I couldn't believe that they were able to purchase such a perfect gift for me. I will miss them all so much! I have worn the necklace every day and have found that when I am nervous it brings me courage.

Blessing Three:
I have many good acquaintances here and a few good friends. I always wished that I had some good girlfriends. I miss girl night out and just having fun and feeling accepted for who I was. I worried a lot that the few people I considered friends really only saw me as a nice person but not a friend. I really only knew people through work and never socialized outside of work. But I've discovered I was wrong. Two wonderful ladies, Norma Lazaroff and Robyn Scoville, emailed and asked if they could put together a small group of people to have a goodbye dinner for me. My friend Glynis Romanica offered her boat for the dinner and we decided to a potluck. The dinner was last night and all I can say is Wow! I came home for about a half an hour after work and then headed out to the dinner so my husband was a little stressed about me going out. But he knew how much it meant to me so he let me go. Jody wasn't able to come but it was a nice cozy dinner with the four of us. I had so much fun. When we realized it was dark outside we couldn't believe it. It gets dark here around 10pm. We had been chatting for over 3 hours. The food was wonderful but the friendship even better. These three ladies plus Jody (and a few others) are the reason I have made it through the last seven years sane. They have supported me, taught me, inspired me and been there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on. Thank-you girls for the wonderful night!


Blessing Four:
Emily is so excited for Mondays when we go to Strongstart (the free parent/child preschool). She excitedly says, "Cynthia, toys!" Cynthia is the wonderful woman who has been running it this year. She has helped me so much with my parenting. She has taught me a loving (not yelling) way to get Emily's attention and to get her to follow directions! Hallelujah! She has taught me to be positive and that it is possible to put a positive spin on everything. Ie: When Collin started yelling at the top of his lungs for fun she looked at me, smiled, and said, "Collin has found his voice." We just love and adore her. She is moving away the same time as us and my dad is sad because she has done such a fantastic job with one of his pet projects, the ORCA bus. (A travelling preschool.) We will miss her! The singing, dancing, positivity, smiling and love she gives everyone that meets her.

Could you resist this face?

Sunday after church Emily wanted a picture with my flowers. I love my little girl!

Emily vs the bed frame

Facts as know by us:
1. Yesterday Emily and Collin were playing on Emily's bed.
2. Landon told them to stop playing with a plastic lid to a moving box (twice)
3. Landon heard a thud come from the kids bedroom.
4. Emily came out crying holding the plastic lid.
5. Landon told her that he had no sympathy since she had been told to not play with the lid. He noticed a little blood on her chin and assumed she had scratched her chin.
6. On closer inspection he noticed that one of her front teeth was facing the wrong direction. Actually that both of her teeth were angled slightly backwards.
7. Tamara receives an emergency call at work to come home and drive Emily in to the dentist.
8. Landon gave Emily a cold cloth to put in her mouth and bite down on.

The dentist was happy to see that Emily biting on to the cloth had caused both teeth to come back straight up and down. The teeth were not "wiggly" and the bleeding had pretty much stopped. Diagnosis was that the teeth should heal. We won't know if any nerve damage has been done for a few weeks. Her teeth might become discoloured. And that she needed to eat soft, mushy food for at least three days. So we made an appointment to see him again in two weeks. A dose of tylenol helped her sleep for a few hours when she got home. After work Tamara went by the store and bought "special" food for Emily. Jello, pudding, yogurt drinks, etc. Emily didn't end up eating anything all night because she kept biting down with her front teeth. A difficult concept to explain to a three year old. She drank lots of juice. We did go up to the Potesta's for over an hour to play with Carissa. Emily insisted on jumping on their inflatable castle. She was very careful and no injuries. Maybe not the best idea but hey she wasn't crying finally.... After another dose of Tylenol she went off to bed and slept through the night. She awoke this morning to tell Landon and I her owie was gone and she wanted toast. Which she ate. In her sleep she finally figured out if she put food in the side of her mouth she could chew. :)

**Side note: We went to play with Carissa tonight with another round on the bouncer. Tonight we weren't quite so lucky. After an hour or so she screamed and came running to me holding her mouth. Her teeth looked okay but Nikki noticed that her nose was bleeding a little. Yep she face planted and her nose bled a trickle for about 15 minutes. Emily has a legion of guardian angels. And as you can tell, she needs them.**

Good Things to Come

The last two years have been filled with a lot of ups and downs for my little family. There have been times that I have wanted to give up but we have persevered and now many good things lie on the horizon. This video sums up exactly how I feel about the experiences.

Drumroll......

I have a job!

Yep. I do!

I had a second interview today with American Falls and they offered me the job at the middle school. I am SOOOO excited. It's perfect for me.

Now to get the house packed by the end of the month.

Go Bengals!

I never thought that those words would come out of my mouth...

Landon has officially been accepted to Idaho State University!

We are so proud of you Landon!

Philosophy

I received an email from a coworker that was amazing, I would say even life changing in my view of teaching and being a mother. He and another co worker have started "The Compassion Project" with students in our school. In the most amazingly, moving, concise way he sums up a beautiful philosophy that I always want to remember so I am posting it here. That way it will end up in our family journal and I will be able to refer to it for years.

"Ian sent me an e-mail this morning regarding my comment on “School Spirit.” I would like to make it very clear that ALL of you at Brooks go above and beyond by creating an amazing atmosphere that clearly supports school spirit 100 percent. From the student council to the sports teams, to the theatre productions to the dances, everyone of you contribute to help create true school spirit! I want to thank all of you as I truly think you rock!

My comment had nothing to do with teacher contribution, but rather student accountability and how to inspire youth to reach their full potential. Furthermore, I think the school culture here at brooks is really positive, students feel safe and really enjoy their experience at Brooks.

Ian’s question - “But it begs the question: is "school spirit" still something students want?”

My thoughts on this subject are very philosophical in nature. Every moment is absolutely brilliant. Seriously, we are hurtling through space on a boulder going faster than any race car ever could, we all have subjective personalities which afford each of us the ability to choose how we perceive, and because of this individual uniqueness we are all essentially “making history” with each moment. In short, each moment we exist, breath and feel is absolutely amazing!

Then why is boredom and apathy so prevalent in our society? Who’s to blame? Well an easy target is the media, and be sure it has a huge influence on image, acceptance, low self-esteem and depression. Technology is also an obvious contributor by helping create a society of humans with short attention spans by completely distracting us through short media bites which deconstruct our consciousness. Texting has now become a way of communication which some people find more comfortable than actual human interaction. These are major problems; however the biggest one which I feel relates to “school spirit” is social conditioning.

I have always found this interesting, go teach a drawing unit at the grade one level and then go teach one at the grade six level and you will be astonished by the results. The grade one’s all love to draw and ENJOY the PROCESS of drawing. At the grade six level many have shut off the creative side because they have convinced themselves they are not artistic for fear of failure. The truth is everyone can draw and everyone is creative. So why is the internal critic so strong at such a young age?

As educators we must inspire students to believe in themselves and have a healthy sense of love for the self. If one believes in the self, then one begins to feel their subjective experience. If the experience is truly felt, then the individual explores and finds areas of passion. These areas of passion transfer over beyond the self, thus the individual finds meaning in connecting outward beyond the ego. When the value of ethical/moral responsibility is acknowledged humans begin to not only perceive life but experience life differently through a lens of authenticity. We all have the gift of perception. It is this very choice of perception which provides us with the potential to view every moment as completely exhilarating or utterly useless.

I think sarcasm is an easy out. Consistent sarcasm provides a framework for people to not take chances by diminishing how brilliant this whole human experience actually is! A joke is a joke and don’t’ get me wrong, I can fully appreciate the art of sarcasm. However what is currently happening is a progression from sarcasm to an underlying current of cynicism. It takes far more courage, passion, and soul to be consistently optimistic. This has been the intention behind the compassion project and the cool thing is the students really get this.

I have taught here at Brooks for five years using various frameworks of philosophy which help students believe in themselves and find the brilliance of the moment. I have found that this approach genuinely works because they tell me it works. I realize now that teaching students to believe in themselves by experiencing the process and by disregarding boredom and apathy is only the beginning. It is not until students see the value in connecting as a unified team by collaborating, creating and giving back to others will the real change happen."

Quiet Time, Oh my!

In our house we don't have "bed time", we have "quiet time". Six months ago I discovered that if I changed what bed time was called the tantrums around bed time almost completely disappeared. Emily and Collin both know that "quiet time" means that we have read scriptures, said prayers, brushed teeth and now it is time to sit in their beds and play with their respective games. Emily has her DS and Collin has a handheld video thing which plays Max and Ruby. (His favourite show.) Quiet time really means don't leave your room or bug your mother. :) This was a perfect solution until Emily found a loop hole. I don't check on them often. Actually at all. They always fall asleep within half and hour and so I don't check until I am ready for bed. Emily discovered that she could climb into her brother's bed and play with him as long as they stay quiet. I caught on quick but hey they always ended up back in their beds to sleep so who cares. Its all about my quiet time, right... Well I made cookies last week for a friend and her family. They were going to be delivered the next day so I had them covered in Saranwrap and on the table. Emily and Collin had helped me make the cookies and had been allowed to eat the ugly cookies. Bed time comes and I find myself sitting on the couch with a book. Ahhh! So nice. Then I hear, "Go, go, go, wait. Go, go, go, fast. Go Collin Go." I turn and look to see Emily peeking around the doorway of her room, pointing to the kitchen table, telling her brother to go. He was almost to the cookies when she noticed me. She yelped and jumped into bed. Collin looked over his shoulder at me, giggled, turned, ran back to his room and climbed into his bed. Needless to say I keep a better eye on them now. (I will admit I was laughing so hard at the time that they didn't get in trouble. It was so cute to see them work as a team. What am I going to do when they get older? They are only 1 and 3!)

Anniversary Picture

We try and get a photo together every anniversary. Here to our seven years together!

Helping Papa with the Lawn

Emily and Collin "helped" Grandma and Papa with their yard while Landon and I went on our date for our anniversary. They loved it! Thanks Mom and Dad!
(Don't they have a gorgeous yard!)

Bear Anyone?

Landon took this picture a few weeks ago. The bear was about 20 yards from our front door. Emily was so excited to tell me when I got home from work.