My first day at my new job..

Well, it definitely was not what I expected. Today I was in a class room with 9 children in kindergarten, they are mildly retarded, with behavioral disorders. There are 4 adults in there at all times, some are there for one specific child, and some are there to help with all the children. I was there for all. I have to preface this by saying that they were all sweet little spirits, and I felt genuine love for them. ~ I saw things that I have never seen before in all my years of babysitting, being a mommy, and having foster children. All I am gonna say tonight; is that it can only get better from here, and I gained another layer of perspective on how blessed I am. I Too tired to give the details tonight, we had soccer & Y. W.'s, & I need to go start some laundry and go to bed! I am going to work at a new school tomorrow, because I have a job!

O my heck I got a job!

This morning I got my finger prints done and my picture I.D. at the district office. This afternoon I got an offer to sub. at Desert harbor Kindergarten. My official job title is; SPECIAL EDUCATION ASSISTANT AIDE, SUBSTITUTE! So I go on Wednesday, after I drop off my kids at their school, and then I'll be done 40 minutes before they get out. So this job could work out really well if I get to work 5 days a week. I feel like Heavenly Father has answered my prayers! So I think I'm more nervous than Porter was when he went to kindergarten for the first time which was yesterday.O, I have no clothes to wear, I don't even know what I am supposed to wear? Hopefully I will switch schools often enough that no one will know that I am an outfit repeater!
About Porter, he likes school so far, he acts so big about it, and he says that he loves recess the most. (shocking) He has a new friend named Cooper, and Cooper is definitely not broccoli, he looks like he could be on the freshman football team. Porter is having one issue so far, he gets very frustrated when he can't do his work right the first time. I have tried to explain to him that it's just fine to need to practice while he's learning. I told him that even his brilliant Mommy doesn't always get it right. (I had no idea how to fill out my tax information today) Anyway if Porter can be patient with himself he will be just fine, easier said than done, too bad being patient takes the most practice...

Everyone knows it's Charlee...

"I'm SIXTEEN in 19 days and 6 and a half hours!!" That is all we here about anymore. Hooray for Loren and I! Dating, driving, & dating, & dating & more dating! At least that's what she thinks. Holy crud! we are getting a glimpse of the future with our 4 girls! who can't wait to have their freedom. The rules in on this subject are still being written.

1. There will be no steady dating.

2. Either her Father or I will need to accompany them, or they will have to agree to an in-body tracking device.

3. They have to return within an hour.

4. There will only be group dating, large groups, at least 20.

5. The mandatory urine analysis (drug test).

6. The mandatory driving test, with Loren riding shotgun.

7. The Grandpa test.

We are not sure of the rest yet, but there is approximately 19 days left! Other than the boy issue, Charlee is pretty awesome for a teenage daughter. She is very smart. Math, English, and Spanish are her best subjects. She is currently the student body Treasurer, and she is the President of her seminary class. Charlee has been interested in the culinary arts for a few years, and she has become quite the cook. She makes dinner at least once a week, which is helpful. Bug is quite obviously beautiful, but she is equally beautiful inside, if not more. Charlee is kind to everyone and they all seem to love her. Cho bug has been well-known since she weighed about 10 lbs. People in Cedar knew us as Charlee's parents! maybe because at 10 lbs. she was walking and looked like she was wearing a wig. She is taller then me now, and has grown into her hair We love her soo much and we are so excited to watch her growing up into a beautiful young lady.

Stephi loves monkies..and dogs, birds, horses, snakes and ....

Stephanie is definitely our resident Dr. Doolittle!~ She loves animals and they love her. Her favorite TV show is Animal planet's "Animal Cops", and she is pretty sure that she has a future with the four legged variety, unless she gets to work at Sea World! Steph, also loves babies! she has made quite a name for herself in the world of babysitting. She has lots of friends, and she is sure to include everyone, so that feelings are not hurt. Stephie has a great sense of "self" she is confident and not afraid to put herself out there. Steph is currently on the honor roll and the Student body historian. Teacher's love her outgoing and friendly attitude. Unfortunately Stephanie is taller than me, and although she is only 12, she looks 15. The girl can athletisize!!! She is awesome at soccer, she is one of the best players on her team, and she is good at pretty much whatever sport she tries. She loves Charlee and thinks she should be able to do everything she is doing. They act like girlfriends most of the time, otherwise you'd better back up! And much to our chagrin the boys are diggin her, so yes she has decided that she likes them too. Steph is a social butterfly, and enjoys going anywhere with her friends, she also likes to sing and is participating in our Stake musical. Loyalty and integrity are two other traits that she possesses, we love, love, love her and we are very happy to call her our daughter!

M&M, our sparkly girl....

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Emmilyn, she's our soft hearted girl, with a wicked sense of humor... She loves to tell jokes and she is kind of naughty in a cute way. The first time Emmi's hand fell asleep she came to me so worried because her hand felt "sparkly". I knew exactly what she was talking about, although it took me a while to explain to her that she shouldn't be afraid of going to sleep at night. This tender hearted child picks up on anyone who is feeling down, she will worry about them long after their sadness has left She will let you know that you're the "prettiest Mommy she's ever had!" or that her " Daddy's ears aren't too big", and she is always sure to give hugs and kisses, and let's you know how much she loves you at the beginning and end of every day. Not to worry, she can hold her own; tough and stubborn, when she makes up her mind it is very difficult to sway her. When Emmi thinks someone is being picked on or left out, she will be the first to jump LOUDLY to their defense. She definitely has some pipes! Em, has a lot of friends, she is so much fun to be around, I love her dry humor. She's very intelligent and she just gets it! She does very well in school and her teachers love her. Unlike Brooki, Emmi will be the first to tell you that she does NOT clean up! so we have to get creative.(threatening) Anyway Emmilyn loves to cuddle and be close to her family,and anything that is soft, like her silky, and she's told me several times that she especially enjoys me, because I'm so "soft". Her older sisters' love her sweetness, Charlee likes to cuddle her. Brooklyn wants to be just like her, and Porter really enjoys irritating her. to irritate her, because she still loves to take care of him, She is way to big for her britches, and is wanting to do everything that Stephi is doing. As for her Daddy, she has him wrapped right around her little finger! Scary.

Everyone loves a brown eyed girl...

Brooklyn, our brown eyed beauty is in the 1st grade this year, and she is quite the handful. She rarely walks anywhere, she is a good little gymnast doing constant cartwheels and handstanding, which might explain why the girl can out eat any of us, and still look like a string bean. Brooki is also the artist in our family, when she's not adoring her big sister Emmi,or wrestling her broccoli bro, she is drawing, coloring, or painting very detailed and colorful pictures. Brooki's best friend is her sister Emmi, they share a room, and they keep it very clean, unless they let Porter play with them, then Brooki cleans it up. She is a very good picker upper, if we need something straightened up I can always count on Brooklyn, although she is starting to realize that she has that rep. in the house, and she's been pretty smart about it. When we want a job done she quickly thinks of something she might like to have in return, Sometimes I get lucky and she just wants me to read to her. That brings me to another thing that B is good at; reading! HOORAY, she's getting better every day and she enjoys it, she'll read to anyone who might make eye contact with her when she's got a new book. I have convinced her that if she will scratch our little dog Diesel while she reads, he will listen to most of her story book. In conclusion, anyone who knows "Brooki cookie" thinks that she is a total doll, and she has grown soo much in the last couple of years! We love her very much, and we are extremely happy for the little lady she is fast becoming!

Our baby boy...

There is just something very unique about having a son. It is kind of scary because I find myself wanting to give him whatever he wants, of course I don't, but I am tempted. It's not that I love him more than any of our other children, but there is the "broccoli" factor. The moment I saw him I knew I was in trouble, his big brown eyes staring at me. He looks just like his daddy, and he has this deep froggy voice."He is all boy", now I know what that means, he's rough when he plays, and he's always liked to run fast and jump off of anything too far above any hard surface. All of our children are different from one another, but Porter is even more" different". Maybe we just treat him differently because he is the baby and the only boy. Porter's 4 older sister's love to snuggle with him, talk to him, watch him break dance, play soccer, skate board, and listen to him sing, he's so dang entertaining, he does all those things well even though he is broccoli for his age. That's another thing he's pretty smart and he knows it, so we have a code word for little, or smaller than, it's "broccoli", Charlee came up with it when we started noticing that he was the smallest in all of his classes and sports, by quite a bit. But he is definitely not deterred by this fact, although he has become aware of it lately, hence the code. He is starting Kindergarten in the morning, even though it's the middle of the school year. He had some health issues which required a minor surgery, and he has now fully recovered from it. I suppose that is why I am thinking about how great a kid he is, and how he is my last child at home so it will be a huge change in my life as well. Sixteen short years at home raising my wonderful children, now I am gonna get a job outside the home, just during the time the children are in school. It is very important to me, that I am home when they are, even more important with my beautiful teenager wanting more freedom every day! But that's a whole different story...