MK Turn’s 14

Another year has passed and today my daughter turns 14. To celebrate her 14th year I want to list 14 thing I love about MK, in no particular order….

1- She has a kind heart and it shows best in the way she treats others. Many people tell me that they can always count on MK to be the kind one. She is forgiving, tolerant and loving with others.

2- She has a sharp mind and likes to learn.

3- She has a natural ability on the piano and I love how dedicated she is to learning her instrument.

4-She is a good student and takes school seriously. She understands how lucky she is to have the opportunity to be   educated.

5-She is pleasant, and easy to be around.

6-She has a great spirit of adventure. She loves to do all kinds of things and doesn’t seem to be afraid of much.

7-I love her beautiful, red hair…so does everyone else we meet, it seems.

8-The gospel is most important to MK and it shows in the way she chooses to live her life.

9-She is a happy person and laughs easily…lots of laughing these days.

10-She seems to have a innate sense about what is right and she tries to act on what is right.

11-She is trustworthy! Having this quality in a teenager is the best thing ever!

12-She has a classic sense of style that suits her personality perfectly.

13-She is confident. Even though performing makes her nervous (like it does most people), you would never know this when she is on stage.

14-She talks to me! I love that she tells me about her life…her friends, crushes, experiences, thoughts. I so appreciate that she will let me be part of her life in this way. We have some great discussions.

Mary Kate is an essential and lovely addition to our family and such a blessing in our lives. We are so lucky to have her!

Happy Birthday Mary Kathrine! We love you more than anything!

Father’s Day

As you can see, my kids spend lots of time enjoying Mother Nature with their father. Most of the photos I have of the kids with Mike are taken in the great out doors. Mike is really his best self out there so this suits me just fine.

I hope my kids understand how fortunate they are to have a father like Michael. He is loyal, committed, intelligent, funny, hard working, self-sacrificing, and he loves them very deeply. Mike is a steady person, and that is an important quality in a father. He’s going to be there for these kids for the long haul. I hope they come to appreciate this steadiness in their lives like they should.

I’m grateful that Mike is my partner in this thing called parenthood. It’s not an easy job (understatement). Having a steady one working along with you is a great blessing.

Happy Father’s Day Michael. We love and appreciate you so very much. Thanks for all the large and small things you do for our family every single day.

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This post wouldn’t be complete without mentioning two other amazing fathers in my life….

John Stauffer…he is the loyal, committed, hard working, self sacrificing father in my life. Dad is a steady one as well and I can’t begin to thank him enough for how that has blessed my life. I get the importance of that steadiness now. Thanks for the unwavering love dad! I love you back.

And Dave Dickey…the best father-in-law a person could want. Some of Mike’s best qualities are handed down to him from this man…especially that undying love of the great out doors. I love you Dave!

Happy Father’s Day!

Goodbye School Year - 2012-13

Summer is underway here. After a week of letting the kids sit around doing absolutely nothing, we finally buckled down. We created a daily schedule and everyone even set some summer goals, including Mike and I. We kept it simple, but my list includes a kitchen remodel of sorts. I’m starting to think I may not get around to that one. Too much work involved!

The kids wrapped up their school year nicely. After our first year at the new charter school, I am completely sold! It was a really positive experience for my boys. (I still hate the carpool aspect though). I personally spent A LOT of time at the school this year. All total, I clocked over 100 volunteer hours. Let’s just say, I got to know the place quite well.

I wanted to post pictures of the boys with their teachers for the record. These teachers were absolutely incredible…

 
Mrs. Welton

Mrs. Gulledge

These two home room teachers were seriously the sweetest ladies; just how you would imagine elementary school teachers to be. They were sweet, kind and patient with each of their students. Jeffrey and Jonathan were very happy and relaxed in the company of these ladies for 6 hours every day. Just what you want as a parent.

Our school also employs a teacher’s aid (they call them instructors) for each classroom, and these ladies were equally wonderful with the students…

Tracy Urbina or “Mrs. T” (Jonathan felt so loved by Mrs. T. I overheard him saying to Jeffrey, “Mrs. T really loves me. Not just because of my face, but because of me.” How great is that?

Mrs. Snyder

I wasn’t able to get pictures with the boy’s math teacher Mrs. Baer, or Jeffrey’s science teacher Mrs. Tylka, or Jeffrey’s reading instructor Mrs. Gaughn. I loved all these wonderful teachers who have influenced my boy’s brains and spirits so positively.

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As for MK. I won’t even try to mention all her wonderful teachers (mostly because I don’t know all their names). She always says positive things about her teachers (most of them anyway), and I know she had a great educational experience this year as well.

MK and Principal Jolley (the choir performed at the ceremony so she had to wear her choir dress)

The Junior High held an 8th grade completion ceremony to recognize the students for having completed their elementary school years. This signified to me that my first born is now officially a high school student! That freaks me out to no end! Just four short years and she will be a high school graduate!

At the completion ceremony they had all the 8th graders line up in rows and then the emcee announced loudly into the microphone…”And here they are, your class of 2017!” At that moment my heart dropped into my stomach. I better make these next four years count because then this beautiful girl will most likely be gone from my home. I just don’t know how to feel about that.

I’m so proud of MK. She “graduated” from 8th grade with honors. I know how hard she worked and I’m proud of her!

My heart gets all mushy when I think of teachers. I can’t help myself having been raised by educators, and having studied education myself. I just think teachers are the greatest!