Pictures of Christmas Parties

Party, Party, Party… That is what the Christmas Season brings.  But before we do the Christmas stuff we had Devin’s arrow of light.  I have never seen a cub scout master like they have here.  Both Sister Shumway and Sister Pond are AMAZING in all the activities they do.  To bad I forgot to have a lesson on how to use my camera before I set Shaylee loose with it.  So most of my pictures of this event are blurry. After Devin received his arrow then they cross the bridge into scouts.  I never got the numbers or troop changed on his cub scout uniform and so I guess I won’t have to now!

On December 6th was our Ward Christmas Party.  Kenny and I were on the planning committee.  It was a lot of fun, and a whole lot of work but it turned out pretty nice.

My family ended up being the family that we did a story about. (It was a story about how to teach the children the true meaning of Christmas) Then all the kids went to another room to see Santa.  I was a bit surprised when Olivia decided just to snuggle up with Santa!

All my kids with Mr and Mrs Claus.

My silly kids!

Then on December 13th was the Mapleton ward (Darrell and Tami’s ward) Christmas Party.  They couldn’t get anyone to come and take pictures so we went and joined the party.  I will have to add those pictures with Santa when I get them (I took them on Darrell and Tami’s camera) But I did take a few pictures on my camera.

Jacob, Shaylee, and Katelyn with two other kids from their ward.Making Christmas ornaments.

Jake was obviously excited about helping with the ornaments! :)And Darrell and Kenny were excited that I was taking their picture, but Riley didn’t seem to mind.

Then on Wednesday, December 18th Shaylee had her orchestra concert.  She is in the advanced orchestra this year.  Kenny went to this concert and I stayed home with the other kids. Kenny said that it was very good!

Then on Thursday, December 19th Makenzie had a readers theater that her class did.  She is LOVING Mr Cope and the 3rd grade.

Then on Friday, December 20th I got to help with the kindergarten “Polar Express”.  They read them the story and they set up chairs like they are on a train and I got to help hand out the hot chocolate.  Then the cutest EVER Mr and Mrs Claus came (These are our back yard neighbors, Tracy and Cathy Eliason.  My kids adore them and also live in their yard in the summer) Mrs Claus, Santa Claus, Addison and her great teacher Mrs Comte.

Also on Friday, December 20th in the afternoon was Katelyn’s Christmas program.

Devin’s class went bowling instead of anything else.  THANK YOU 5th GRADE!!!  It is fun to see the kids but I am ready for a break!

Life is good

I just wanted to update this a little bit.  So much has changed in the past months that I won’t even try to write it all.  The move to Payson has been one of the hardest things for me.  To sale our home in Smithfield, a home that Kenny and I designed and really worked on was so extremely hard and also leaving Smithfield and all the comforts there was unreal.  Leaving my church calling was also difficult, not so much the church calling but the relationships that had been formed through that church calling.  Then moving to a small apartment and trying to manage that and keep my kids feeling comforted when I felt anything but comfort.  Then moving to Marianna’s was a challenge, don’t get me wrong… Marianna is wonderful, just the challenge of balancing and unbalanced life.  Then moving to Payson and hoping things would be the “same” as they were in Smithfield and being extremely unhappy because they weren’t.  It has probably been the last month that I have finally been able to put everything into perspective.  I have realized that everything isn’t going to be the “same” and that I needed to understand that and be excited for a new challenge.  At first I really didn’t like my church ward because it wasn’t the “same”.  I put these people on some sort of a pedestal and was mad because I didn’t fit on that pedestal with them.  When I have come to the realization that my neighbors are human.  Money may not be the challenge of their lives, but other things are from divorce to their children having cancer and diabetes, or their children have gone off the deep end, or many other things.  They are also human and have struggles.  Not that I want them to struggle, but it means that I fit just fine.  Kenny had the opportunity to move from one job to another and we almost did it (he even gave his two weeks notice).  But as things went on we realized this wasn’t going to work and financially we have been blessed more then I could have dreamed would happen.  And lastly my kids struggled with leaving friends (especially Shaylee).  All through the summer Shaylee would call and email her friends and wonder how her life was going to continue.  I think that in the past month there hasn’t been a single email written and the only time she has spoken of them was when we went to Bear Lake and went through Logan.  Shaylee is determined that she is going to USU for college and I am great with that, but I am also seeing her function again.  Our home in Payson finally feels like a home.  I am still not content because we don’t have all the boxes unpacked like we did in Smithfield, it is hard when our basement isn’t finished either.  But I can honestly say that I don’t want our house in Smithfield back either (yes, for a while whenever I thought of our house in Smithfield I would wonder if we could just have it back!).  I have found contentment in my life again (not to say it isn’t busy!), no things aren’t the “same” but it really is OK.  Heavenly Father has really watched over us and blessed us for this decision of change.

Stringham Family Pictures

The original plan for Mother’s day weekend was to spend it in Payson/Provo/Mapleton.  But after my mom broke her ankle we all decided to go see them.  Here are a couple of the pictures that we took…

The grandsons (Tyson, Nathan, Josh, Tanner, Jacob, Dallin, Hayden, Devin, Kayden, Jonathan, Tanner, Braxton, and baby Riley).  It always strikes me funny that after my parents had five daughters they now have more grandson then granddaughters.

The boys being silly!

Grandma Stringham with Mom and Dad.

Dad and Grandma Stringham

Brotherly love.  You never know what you are going to get when you throw those two together.

My dad and his sons (by marriage of course!)

Miley, Addison, Brookelle, Jacey, Shaylee, Olivia, Chelsey, Emily, Mykel, Makenzie, and Katelyn.  Almost 1/2 of the granddaughters are mine.

All the grandkids

A fun picture. Can you read “We love our grandparents”?

Summer shorts

I don’t know if you are like me, but I struggle with purchasing new summer clothes.  Maybe it is from the years of struggling to make ends meet or maybe it is the fact that the kids play outside and we really don’t go anywhere that we need to impress anyone.  So when Shaylee was younger I just started cutting off pants that had holes in the knees and rolling them and sewing them and Walla we have shorts for summer.  This worked for Shaylee and Devin but then came Makenzie.  She has a need for bling!  Even if they were her favorite pants she would not wear them if I did this to them.  So a couple years ago I had a scrap piece of material that I sewed onto her newly made shorts.  And what do you know, they became her favorite shorts.  Her need for bling had been satisfied.  Then last year I had several people ask me where I purchased the cute shorts, a little shocked by the reaction I pleasantly told them that I had made them.  So I decided I would document the fact that I made these cute shorts in an attempt to please my fussy daughters (because now Katelyn and Addison are the same way!)  But before I do this I am going to put in a disclaimer.  I am a beginner sewer.  The only sewing instruction that I have had was when I was 10 years old and took a 4H class.  I managed to sew my thumb in the machine and that scared me bad enough to not touch a sewing machine until about 10 years ago when Kenny bought me a sewing machine and told me it was time to get over my fear.  Ever sense then I randomly make skirts for my daughters and occasionally my nieces.  But I still feel like a beginner.  So these instructions are for those other beginners that want to simplify their lives as well.

I start off by cutting the jeans right at the knee (usually where the hole is).  Our school dress code is that the shortest the shorts can be is 1 inch above the knee.  So that way these shorts can be worn to school.

Then cut a strip of material about 5 inches wide.  (Make sure it is long enough to go around the legs of the jeans.)

Then you sew this strip of material face down around the bottom of the jeans.

Turn the jeans inside out and sew the top of the material closed.  Make sure that the material is wrapping slightly over at the bottom.  (The pictures are worth 1000 words.  Hope that helps…)

Then turn the shorts back right side out.  This is what it should look like.

Roll the material up as high as you think would be cute and sew it into place.

And WALLA you have just made new shorts out of old pants that can appease your fussy daughter. :)    

Feeling like I am in a rut

Have you ever riding a bike and the chain happens to fall off and so no matter how hard you peddle the bike is coming to a rapid stop?  That is how I feel like my life has become.  Don’t get me wrong, I have many people willing to give me a push but ultimately the only way I am going to get this bike going again is if I stop and fix the problem.

Let me update you on what is going on.  I have been living in Smithfield with our six kiddo’s while Kenny lives in Springville (2 1/2 hours away) frantically trying to get our Payson house done.  Kenny is such an amazing person and I am so very blessed to have this man be the biggest bike pusher there is.  If ever I am having a bad day, he is simply a phone call away.  And the same goes for if I have great news and need to share he is always there to be excited with me.  I am amazed at this man and what a great husband he is.  But here also lies one of my biggest problems.  I miss him fiercely during the week.  Living in a safe place should be enough but honestly I have a hard time sleeping at night without the safety and security Kenny brings.

Another one of my great bike pushers is my mother-in-law, Marianna.  Honestly I don’t know what I would do without her.  Kenny is living with her so when we go down to see him we stay at Marianna’s house.  Marianna is great to keep the kids that aren’t going to Payson (yes, this can be an all day thing for her) and yet she doesn’t complain.  I honestly didn’t feel like my kids knew her very well until recently and I am grateful when I see Addison sneaking up the stairs so that she can go see grandma or Katelyn telling me that she would much rather stay with grandma then go work on the Payson house.

The kids are healthy and growing.  They are fitting in with our Payson ward and honestly I think they are loving life more then ever.  This also gives my bike another great big push.

So what are the pot holes?  I think emotionally I have been pretty spent these last couple weeks.  The emotion of leaving Smithfield and my friends here and realizing that life for them continues on.  I wouldn’t want it any other way, but at the same time I feel like I am missing out on what could have been.  Moving the kids to another school.  I am grateful that the state does the common core curriculum so that things should be pretty standard from one school to another, but now I don’t have the insiders perspective that I have gained these past years at Birch Creek. (For example the best teachers for each grade are as follows: Kindergarten- Mrs ElBakri; 1st grade- Mrs Miller but she would be my very favorite in the whole school; 2nd grade- Mrs Groll; 3rd grade – undecided; 4th grade – Mr Rigby; and 5th grade- still undecided here too.) It doesn’t help that Devin is upset that he doesn’t get to go to middle school until 7th grade (his mom doesn’t share in this mindset, but it is what I deal with).  I have only ever switched the kids school when Shaylee was going into 1st grade and I had my Aunt Launa working at the school that Shaylee was moving into.  Also leaving Smithfield means leaving Smithfield 9th Ward.  Yes I can still talk to people in the ward but it just isn’t the same.  Mountain View 9th Ward has been amazing and I am touched that when I walk into Relief Society a little bit late cute Sarah slides over so that I can sit by her and Jacey leans up to say hello but I still feel like the outsider trying to get to know names and faces.  I know that in time I will get it figured out (heck, I lived in Smithfield 9th Ward for seven years and still got a couple names mixed up).

But I think the biggest pot hole right now just happens to be the worry about my parents.  My dad stopped breathing one night and my mom just “happened” to wake up and nudge him so that he would start breathing again.  He doesn’t even get out of bed until 3 PM and even then he just sits in a chair.  He has no quality of life!  I pray often that he will be able to die, but when I find out he is any worse then I find myself shutting down because I don’t want it to really happen.  I think I am the worst kind of hypocrite!  And the icing on the cake happened a week ago when my mom fell down and crushed her ankle.  She had a fun ride on the ambulance and I met her at the ER.  I don’t do well with any sort of blood so to see her foot totally dislocated and just hanging off to the side made me very light headed!  She ended up breaking both bones in her ankle and dislocating it (yes the bone was sticking out on the side the first time I saw it).  They hurried and got it back into socket so that the circulation could be restored and then got her into surgery a couple hours later.  She now sports two plates and a total of 7 pins.  She isn’t allowed to put any weight on it for six weeks and then the road to recovery can begin.  So now she can’t help my dad and my dad can’t help her.  I have decided this week that I will be spending every other week in Bear Lake this summer to try and help my parents and the other week in Payson trying to help on our house.

Enough about me.  Let me tell you about my cute kids…  Today Olivia (Lulu) picked up a ball and then putting it above her head she said “Two, Two, Two” then the through the ball.  She started to clap and then said “Yaaa, didit” (this is two words combined into one sound).  I was a little surprised to see her trying to count then then really surprised to hear the other words.  Also today she broke two more teeth so now she has eight teeth (yep, she is following suit of getting teeth in slowly).  Addison will soon turn five and LOVES to tease especially Olivia.  But she also can be very helpful and is really a good kid when it comes to everything else.  I love having someone to visit with in the day.  Addison is quite proud that she has almost mastered her letters and her numbers.  We have noticed recently that she is still having a hard time pronouncing some of her letters and I have been wondering if she needs to do a little bit of speech like Katelyn did.  We also don’t feel like she is ready to go to Kindergarten this next year but I will need to find a preschool for her to attend to keep her busy.  Katelyn is just finishing up with 1st grade.  She is exceptionally good in math and Mrs Miller tells me often that she just understands it without really thinking about it.  But she does well in school.  Katelyn also loves to be active and so she will be glad to get to Payson and get back into soccer (they do it in the fall and not spring).  Katelyn is getting more and more shy and having a hard time emotionally.  She wants so desperately to have friends but tells me often that nobody likes her.  I tell her it if that is the case then lots of kids are missing out on knowing someone great, but it is a struggle.  Makenzie has really come out of her shell this last little bit.  She LOVES to dress up and is grateful for girls in both Payson and Smithfield.  Makenzie has grown up and I am loving the little lady she is becoming.  School for Makenzie had been not a positive experience once again.  But honestly I think there should be a rule that if a kid has a 1st year teacher then the next year they shouldn’t have a 1st year teacher.  Makenzie’s 1st grade, 2nd grade, and 3rd grade teachers have all been new teachers.  I am not trying to mock first year teachers, but there is something to be said about learning how to run a classroom and the style of teaching that is really worked out in the first few years of teaching but especially the very first year.  With that said we have decided to put Makenzie in 3rd grade again.  (I guess that is the bonus for switching schools!) and hopefully give her the confidence of doing well in school.  Devin has also grown up a lot this year.  He has a desire to be helpful to his younger sisters which has been GREAT.  He also has neighbor friends in both Smithfield and Payson and really loves this.  Devin does well when he puts his mind to it but sometimes it is just a matter of trying to convince him to put his mind to it.  Shaylee is so great to help (unless it is her time of the month or she hasn’t slept enough).  She really does well in school and has kept a 3.7 GPA once again this year.  I am so pleased with the young woman that she is turning into.  I had heard of a time when you stop being their constant mentor and become a friend in your kids life and we have gone through this.  Yes she still gets punished for doing things that she shouldn’t be doing but really that doesn’t happen very often.  I am pleased with the friends that she has that constantly help her to “Arise, and Shine Forth”.  She has so much potential and I am excited for her future.

Hopefully I can figure out how to get the chain back on my bike soon.  But until then I will hang on tight and be grateful for the pushes no matter how small.  After all life is more about the ride then the destination.