A Joyful Day

What a joyful day!!!!! Today Bill took the day off and gave me the gift of spending the entire day with me!!! We started off the morning by going to Austin's school and visiting with a group of educational professionals who helped us to see Austins strengths and weaknesses. We are so pleased that he can receive services to help him in areas that need strengthened. He will also be given accommodations when he needs them. We are grateful to his teachers for working with him to help him to receive the services that will help him progress.

Bill, Maddie, and I enjoyed a wonderful lunch together at Chilli's. It was so nice to talk without being interrupted. I have the greatest husband. He is so kind and thoughtful. He still makes me giggle like a little school girl. I am often reminded of when we dated he could make me laugh until my sides hurt. His sense of humor is one of the many reasons I married him and he can still make me cry with laughter. It's a great life with Bill. Happy Valentines Day!

It was a beautiful day, the first after a long winter. I can feel Spring in the air. I couldn't stand wasting the after school part of the day, so we took Willy Austin and Lydia to the park and tried to fly kites. Willy really got his way high in the sky, to the end of the string. It was awesome. There is something about flying kites it's like the freeing of the soul letting it see something bigger and brighter. It draws your eyes heaven ward. After succeeding and failing with the kites, Lydia and Austin enjoyed playing on the "happy toys". Willy shot a few hoops before we put the beautiful sunny day to rest.

It truly was a joyful day. Thanks for the sunshine today!!!! Thanks Bill for spending the day with me!!!!!

Ice

I'm sure Austin has been eyeing the wheel barrow of water for some time. He loves to observe changes. Every day as he left out the back door and through the yard and past the wheel barrow on his way to school, he has probably noticed the wheel barrow. First when it was full of snow. Then the water that was left in it after the snow melted. I'm sure that he has been waiting for the ice to form from the water. He is observant when it comes to nature and changes. So it doesn't surprise me that he calls me over to look at the chunk of ice he removes from the wheel barrow what does is, that he takes the ice out of the wheelbarrow and puts it up to his lips and........ well you know what comes next.

Colors

Earlier in the week, I'm getting breakfast dishes on the table and Willy says to me Mom look out the front window. And of course in a mom doubting way I say why. In my mind I'm thinking I've got to hurry and get everyone off to school, can't this wait. He insists come on mom you've got to see this. He sprints into the office to retrieve the camera, and says mom you'll want a picture of this. "Oh great what has he done now." I trudge into the hallway and look outside the sky is lit up with this amazing color of pinks and reds and oranges. It's bright pink not just where the sun is peeking through on the eastern horizon. The whole sky is enveloped in the coloring of a beautiful new day. Willy snapped a few pictures. The beauty of the sky soon disappeared and I am glad a young man wanted to share the sunrise with his mother.

Later in the afternoon I had been doing laundry for the most part of the day I looked down at all the colors of the folded laundry and noticed the colors of many days. I know it's a little far fetched but the laundry, probably because it was done, and full of pinks reds, blacks oranges and blues reminded me of the sunrise earlier that day.

Honorable Mention

Emily has had a very long day!! After school at 4:00 Emily returned to the school for her big science fair. We joined her at about 7:30 to see what the judges had decided. She had been texting us so we knew that she qualified for the second round of judging. Emily's experiment fit into the area of Biochemistry. Seven of her peers were competing in the same area. She received an honorable mention and a second place was given in this area and no first. The first place of each area goes onto regionals so no one in this area was top enough to go on to regionals. There were some really cool displays but all of the kids were anxious to get home after a very long day, so we didn't get to see too many of them. Congratulations Emily on all your hard work!



This is Emily with her good friend Kaitlyn who was also a participant in the science fair

Lydia In The Middle

Jessica really likes Math and she really likes to help others. Put that together and she tutors Math. Today Crissy came over and Jessica helped her with her Algebra. Once Lydia got home she was all over in the middle of it. You would have thought Lydia was the one trying to learn Math. Lydia tried to have Crissy decide for her what books she should get at the book fair. I'm not sure if Crissy ever got her Math done but we enjoyed having her over.

Just as Crissy left Joe came over all dressed up in his scout uniform. Austin and Joe are good buddies that really like to play on the their DS's. They didn't get much time together without Lydia into their business. Joe couldn't even get his coat off before she made them stop and show her the DS. She just has to see what is going on with everything. The boys were so good just to let her tag along. Joe stayed for dinner. Which I must say he was so polite and he even helped set the table. I hope my kids are that polite when they go other places.

Lydia did stop and do her home work. She completed her letter writing it was so fun to see how she continues on the Harrison tradition of sticking out her tongue when she concentrates. I do the same thing. Well as usual she stops what she is doing to see what else is going on and as the mailman appears she runs out to get the mail. She has to be in the middle of it all.

Try Not to Over React!

I woke up think about how I had sent Jessica to the store last night and how the front wheel area of the car grazed the garage opening. The dent and the white scratch are a new look for the van. And the house needs a hammer to the trim. I know it can be a little tricky getting out of the garage when the suburban is parked to the side of the driveway. I know because I hit the suburban one time and have a damaged back bumper to prove it. I must say I was proud of Bill for not over reacting. Knowing us we'll keep the look on the van for a while.


This is the snow pile it's hard to tell but it is about as high as our mailbox

Bill loves to play in the snowbanks with his suburban. It's an ongoing adventure. You know that as long as there is an available snow pile to run into he's going to do it. There is a nice size snow pile in the culdesac in front of our house. at least twice a day he has to drive through it. This morning he informed me that he got high centered and it was hard to get our of. When Willy got home he told me that Dad was even worried for a little bit and that it felt like they were going to tip over. All I can say is that I'm glad I wasn't watching. I probably would of over reacted. I can't wait until all the snow has melted then I won't have to worry.



With Willy I am never sure what to expect when he comes through the door well today he came in with his black hood over his head, which is not that accepted among his peers, so I knew something was up. "Willy show me your face." " I'm going to go use the bathroom." "No show me you face." He preluded the unveiling with this story " I fell asleep in my English class and this girl wrote my name on my cheek in marker. The kids kept telling me there was something on my cheek so I asked the teacher if that was true. She said yes then she got mad and I stood up for the girl so she wouldn't get into trouble." Later he pronounced this as his good deed for the day. I tried not to over react by laughing. I think his peers got the better of him this time.

F H E

This morning I woke up wishing today was Friday. Yet I know that I shouldn't wish my life away. It's just that I look forward to having some family time and after family home evening on Monday it seems that life doesn't give us much together time until the weekend.
Bill is the teacher of our family he knows how to give a life lesson in about 30 minutes. The kids usually stay focused but last night Emily was having a hard time staying awake, Willy and Austin kept talking and doing strange things. Lydia kept interupting. Jessica seemed the only one intent on learning. However, we continued and were able to evaluate our rally cry. We improved with one green and two yellows. We are focused on our Rally cry, but, we have to continue doing other tasks. So we decided that the other two changes that we will monitor are:
#1 Do a Good Deed Daily
#2 Use Patience and Unity to help us when we have conflict.

I even forgot to get a treat ready for refreshments so the kids had granola bars before bed. All I can say is we continue on.