my brain is fried....

I just thought I'd give you all an update on my schooling...My brain is completely fried. It's been a long time since I've exercised my brain. My Algebra class is going great...Acing it so far..not too difficult. Don't ask me how to use my super fancy calculator yet, but I hear I can program Tetris on it... too advanced for me. As for Bio...having it from 8ish to 2ish is absolute torture. The labs are kinda cool..we dealt with goat blood today. Some ladies that are nursing majors got grossed out by it (not me)...I was thinking " Uh, nurses deal with blood...You might want to think of a different career." Oh well. I think anatomy will be awesome, but first I need to pass this biology course. Brent and I thought this class would be like high school bio, Nope, so wrong! I sure hope I survive this!

honor thy mother and father

I recently came across an essay we had Alycia write a few months ago. She was not doing what she was being told to do, and corner time was utterly painful for us (her wonderful parents) to hear the grumblings. I thought for sure that writing the essay would be a delight for her since she loves to write. Nope...I was so wrong, she sat there for over an hour complaining about how unfair and horrible we were to make her write an essay on honoring her parents. Once she realized how much time she wasted, she finished up this masterpiece. Both Brent and I were amazed at how well she knew the scriptures and that this girl has a fantastic memory.

Some days parenting can be quite challenging, while other days you are just happy to be a parent. I love and enjoy this precious time I have to be a mother and wouldn't change any of the challenges that have come my way. At times I wonder if what I'm teaching my children is actually soaking into their little minds or if I'm wasting my breath. I'm pleased to know that they ARE listening and applying them into their everyday lives. I can't honestly say that my children are perfect.....a clean room, towels hung up, dirty clothes put IN their baskets (not just near them), would be wonderful but I can't ask for total perfection..can I?

As you read the essay, Alycia does a wonderful job illustrating the consequences of not honoring parents and why honoring your parents is so important. I do plan on framing this or perhaps just saving it for her when she has her own children.

marriage between a man AND a woman

This past week I've been thinking about marriage and what the true definition of it is. We' re living in some troubling times where morality is becoming (in mainstream media) a bad thing. Brent and I were married June 10th 1995. We were married in the most sacred and and holy place where we were sealed for not "til death do us part", but for time and all eternity. I am very fortunate and extremely blessed to have found the man I plan to spend the eternities with. He is such a wonderful husband and father, and truly my Prince Charming!

As I was saying earlier, things in society are changing quickly and NOT for the better. I have recently been made aware of what the consequences of "alternative lifestyles" are, and that they are attacking the institution of marriage. In the state of Massachusetts and California, as many of you know, same sex couples have a legal right to be married. Some may think it's not a big deal, but there are some serious consequences to these "rights." The Catholic church in Boston was told that, by law, they needed to allow same sex couples to adopt the children. The church had to close down their adoption agency due to this request. What's next, are churches going to be "made" to allow same sex marriages or risk prosecution? Are schools going to be "made" to teach these alternative lifestyles in their curriculum? Are pastors or bishops going to be hit with "hate speech" because they are teaching from the scriptures? This is NOT kind of society that I want my children growing up in.....so what can I do? Go out and vote and make sure that my voice as a citizen is heard. In the state of Arizona, we will be voting to clarify the language in our constitution that marriage is between a man and woman. If this doesn't pass....I will NOT be a happy! Let's hope the people of Arizona and elsewhere make the right decision to vote for this! Okay...I'm done venting.... :-)

I officially have a "tween"

As I was walking the kids to school today, Alycia was reading a book and walking ahead of Joseph and I. I called her to come and talk to us. She turned around and asked what we wanted. I told her that she looked nice today and that she was very color coordinated. Even her shoes matched! She grumbled a "thanks" and continued walking.

What happened to my sweet little girl that would wrap her arms around me and tell me that she loved me and would miss me while she was at school. She used to ask me if certain things matched or if an outfit looked good. Now she has her own sense of style.

I am seriously not ready for her to grow up. I can't believe she starts junior high next year. Am I old enough to have a kid in junior high? Yes, I'm a bit vain! Some of the things she is doing reminds me of myself as a tween and I'm not prepared for this.

I hear boys are easier...Wish me luck!

What is your integrity worth?

While I was walking home yesterday morning from dropping off the kids, I noticed a $5 bill on my next door neighbor's front yard. At first I thought..."woohoo finder's keepers!" My second thought was to go next door and return the money. I felt that if I went over to my neighbor's house, she would think I was crazy. The whole rest of the day, I had a sinking feeling. This may not be a big deal to some of you, but it really bothered me. Later that day I decided to call my wonderful hubby Brent and get his opinion. When I told him my dilemma, he said "Is your integrity worth $5?" Hmmm....I knew exactly what I needed to do. When I went next door and told my neighbor about the money, she smiled and said that she didn't lose it and said "finder's keepers." In all, I'm glad I made the right decision.

i wanted to cry....

Well, this Friday was my first day of my all day Biology class. I was so lost. This professor was speaking a foreign language. I few things clicked in my little brain during the lecture, but I was not ready for this. I'm actually debating on switching to an easier biology class to ease my way into this field. Hmm..we'll just have to see how this next week goes. 5 students dropped out within an hour and a half of the class, so it's not just me that thought it was tough. It's been almost 14 years since I've been back to school, so this was a huge shocker to me. I think I just need to suck it up and actually WORK at doing well in school.

Just after my class finished up, I wanted to run to my car and cry cry cry. Fortunately, one of my classmates walked up to me and reassured me that it was not just me that thought the class was tough. Okay.....I'm done whining and complaining.

As for my math class, I'm liking it. It's not a hard class, but some of my fellow classmates are interesting to people watch. There's a guy I've named pinhead (due to the amount of piercings), she-man (a very tall muscular man dressed as a woman), and the hippie(she sits at my table and smells like a certain illegal plant). Things have definitely changed since I've been back to school.

Well that's pretty much all that's going on with little old me. So if you see me at the college parking lot on Friday balling my head off, you'll know things did not go well. .....I seriously need to think positive thoughts.....

happy birthday alycia