Perfect Timing

So Friday in our house is always such a crazy day. We always get up late, we are rushed to get out the door and every day we have a fight about what is for lunch. We drive 25 minutes to take the kids to school at SSJ. We have always said that we would make the sacrifice for our children to attend catholic school. But sometimes on those days when I am super stressed I say to myself, "Oh it would be so nice to get them packed up and stick them out on the curb for the bus to pick them up and take them to the local public school." Friday, I got home from work and I was greeted by Kate and Connor. They had many things to tell me about their day. Kate brings me a paper with a story on it about mass. In her story she stated all the different things that she liked about mass. She also said that she was so thankful that she went to SSJ so she could experience these things. Connor then runs up to me and says, "Mom, peace be with you." I said, "Thank you Connor." He then precedes to tell me that they are learning about this at school. He says, "Mom, this is what a follower of Jesus does."
All I have to say is perfect timing! This is what I needed on Friday. To hear these stories come from my children just put everything into perspective for me and reassured our commitment to catholic education. We are truly blessed to have our children there and we would not change it for anything!

I am back!

Okay, so I have not posted in a very long time, but after reviewing this blog, I remember just how much I loved doing it! So I am back. Instead of trying to catch us up from the past 2 years I will just start from here.

Kate is now 6 and is in 1st grade at Ss. Simon and Jude. We are so proud of the girl she has become. She is so caring, thoughtful, fun, and beautiful! We are so lucky to have a daughter like her!

Connor is now 4 and is in Prek at Ss. Simon and Jude. He is the most amazing loveable boy! He loves to snuggle and his smile lights up a room! He is growing so fast and is amazing us with all ofhis acccomplishments.

Chris and I have now been married for 9 years! I can't believe it! Chris now works for a company in Central Phoenix as an Accounting Manager. I am now a Preschool and Kindergarten Director at Our Lady of Joy in Carefree. I love it!

So now the story starts again.....

Connor's Summer of Swim Lessons

Since Kate was on swim team we decided to put Connor in swim lessons. It was at the same time so I actually got to sit and watch both of them. Connor loves the water! He is truly our little fish! Now, Connor has a bit of a hard time focusing and listening:). This became very apparent in the water. He did not like to hold onto the wall. Now being a lifeguard and swim instructor for years I knew what I needed to do. I told his teacher the next time he gos off the wall let him see what the consequence is. Let him go under. Now, I told her not to let him struggle for too long, but just long enough that he might understand why it is important to hang onto the wall. So sure enough a few second later he lets go of the wall and his teacher lets him go under and struggle for a few seconds. He went to the bottom of the pool, she grabbed him and he came up with a big smile on his face and said, "Mom, I touched the bottom!!!" Really!!!! That totally backfired! All of his teachers loved him because he is just the cutest thing! He learned so much! He can now come off the wall by himself and swim a few feet. He can float and jump in. He has absolutely no fear! We are excited to see where the rest of the summer takes him! Good job buddy! We are very proud of you!

Our swimming Champion

This summer Kate did swim team! We were a little nervous at first due to the fact that Kate could barely get across the pool. She pulled through! Her first swim race she swam a 1min 30second 25 yard freestyle. Now to those of us in my family who are swimmers we know that time is no where near good. In the beginning of the season Kate used to stop in the middle of the race and wave to her fans. Now she is a bit more serious. At the championships last week she swam the 25 yard freestyle in 41 seconds! Now that is improvement!

At the championships Kate got a 2nd place medal in freestyle, 5th place medal in breastroke, and a 6th place medal in Backstroke. She was so proud and so was I. But nothing could have been more precious than when she got her trophy! She was so excited she was screaming for joy and had the biggest smile on her face I have ever seen. She said, "Mom, I worked so hard for this trophy." That she did. We are so proud of our little swimmer and can't wait for next season! (Ok maybe I can, the last two weeks of practice were brutal due to the 116 degree weather!)

The Marble Jar

Okay so for my sanity, today we started the marble jar! I have been so negative lately with my kids that I am trying to turn that around. Each time they are ding what they are supposed to they get some marbles put into the marble jar. This morning, Kate made her bed, got dressed, brush her teeth and her hair all on her own. She was so good all day just trying to earn those marbles. Tonight as the dinner table she was so polite and used all her manners. She even said, "Dad I really like your hair today." When they reach the goal like the kids get to do an activity of their choice. So far so good with Kate. Connor is a whole other story. He could care less about marbles. I will work on something tomorrow that will motivate him. It was so good to have such a positive day at home with the kids.
Here's hoping day 2 is just as good!

Party for a Princess

Kate was invited to a birthday party for Brooke (A friend from Daisy Scouts). It was a princess theme and they did such a good job decorating! It was adorable! Here are a few pics. I wish that I could be this creative!

Well, I am finally going to catch up!

Here I go. I am going to try and catch up on my many missing posts.

Many things have happened since October and I will just highlight them here:

I GRADUATED! Yes, I earned my Masters degree in Early Childhood and Curriculum and Instruction. Whew!!!! I never thought I could do it, but I did in only 1 year. One of the proudest moments of my life!

Christmas:
This year was a great year! We had three babies in our family celebrating their first Christmas. Finley, Chloe, and Madison. Kate and Connor had a great time opening their presents from Santa.

Mexico House Building:
I went to Mexico with my school to build a house for a family that does not have one. This was through amor ministries and it was amazing! Now, Chris and I have done this together before and this is how we met. It was great to be back, and older, to really appreciate all that was going on.

Kate graduates Kindergarten!
I can't believe it! I have a first grader! It was a great day and a bit emotional for us. She was so excited. Kate has come to far at ACA. She has had the most loving and amazing teacher ever! Mrs. Harris is just the best and I am not sure what I would do without her!

Connor turns 3:
Well, I can't believe it, my baby turned 3 this year! He is just the most precious thing in all the world! He has such an amazing personality and it such a good snuggler! He had a Thomas the Train birthday party and loved every minute of it.

Chris and I celebrated 8 years of marriage:
I can't even believe it! We have had so much to be thankful for. I am truly blessed to have such an amazing, supportive husband who is such an amazing father!