We're BAAAACCCCCKKKK!!!! (April 2012)

Wow! I always have the best of intentions to stay caught up with the family blog. I take pictures, I think this will be great on the blog and then another week passes by and nothing is written. In going through a rough outline of what I would like you to know about our lives I am missing a month. I don’t have many pictures, nothing really noted on the calendar… either we had a really boring month or I need to be better about keeping things updated.  I would ask what do you think, but I know that if you frequent this blog you would probably like more updates. So, here’s to doing better. Where were we? Oh, yes, April… the beginning of April…

April 6, 2012

Teaching the 4th Grade

I had the most wonderful opportunity to teach the whole 4th grade at Ceithlinn’s school an Irish jig.  The thought at first was to just teach her class, but then her teacher spoke with the other teachers and they wanted in. So I attempted to teach about 75 students a jig. The space we had wasn’t big enough to accommodate that many moving bodies. I taught everyone the basic skipping step, that can be don e in place, then asked them to split in half. Half stayed standing, the other half sat and watched. Then the groups traded places. Everyone that wanted to learn to dance was able to . It was SO MUCH FUN!!! I had forgotten how much fun it is to teach dance. The kids laughed and just had fun with. We even got one of the teachers in on the action. That always makes the dancing more fun.

I just asked Ceithlinn what she remembers about this day. She said that she and her friends, Katie and Jaelyn were chosen to demonstrate the dance. They pretended to be dancing guinea pigs and the three hand star was incredibly hard for everyone to get.

I had forgotten that these three young ladies had learned the easy three hand in the 2nd grade. They sort of remembered it. I thought it would be good to show everyone what the end goal was.  Why the guinea pigs you ask. Because they are 9-10 year old girls who love to be silly, and Katie has a pet guinea pig they all love, they also love to pretend they are guinea pigs at recess sometimes. What is that three hand star? All three dancer put their right hands in the middle (think hokey-pokey) and hop in a circle, then they reverse by putting their left hands in the middle. I have yet to teach a group of people, regardless of age, that doesn’t struggle with this. The good news is that once you get it, you never forget it. It’s like riding a bike. (I forgot to bring the camera so you just get to imagine the giggling chaos of 75 4th graders.)

Foster Parent Classes

Josh and I decided years ago that we wanted to be foster parents some day. Well, we feel the time is now. So, we have taken foster parent classes and are in the process of becoming certified foster parents. We will be going through a private agency. We are going to foster-to-adopt. This means we are hoping to expand our family through adopting kids that have been in the foster care system for years. We know there are risks. We know the horror stories. We know that everything will not be all butterflies and rainbows. We also know that we have been led to this. We ask that you trust us to make good decisions for our family. If you have another horror story, please keep it to yourself. We have probably heard it. Trust us… trust that we have taken this to God (multiple times), trust that we will keep safe the children we already have (this means Ceithlinn, Matthew and any others we may adopt or foster), trust that we have done and will continue to research the possibilities, trust that we will keep our hearts and minds open...please trust us. I know this plea may seem strange, but any time we have mentioned this to those close to us we are met with skepticism, horror stories and resistance. Please support us and trust us. We are not doing this alone. We trust in God. We trust in His plan and our part in that plan. We are excited and can’t wait to share with you those kids that come into our lives.

April 8, 2012

New Tradition for Easter

We started a new tradition this year for Easter. After the kids went to bed Josh and I hid eggs all over the apartment. I then left a note on the kids bathroom mirror that said “There are 74 eggs hidden in the house. Do you think you can find them? Hint: There are none in the bathrooms or laundry. Love, Mom and Dad” I thought waking up to a note like that would be fun. I was right. They were so EXCITED! They looked all over and found most of the eggs. Yes, I said most of them… this is why we use plastic eggs. If they stay lost for a week you don’t have to worry about the stink. All of the eggs were eventually found. It was so much fun that we decided this would be our new Easter tradition.

April 13, 2012

Cowboy, Knight, Sheriff

You know how all kids go through different phases where they pretend to be someone or something else? Matthew went through one of these recently when he was a cowboy, knight, sheriff… emphasis on the cowboy part. Here is the photo of this outfit. Let me break it down for you. Cowboy… snow boots, because he didn’t have cowboy boots but could pretend they were cowboy boots. Knight… the hat, of course. What you can’t see it that the back is split almost in two and barely holding together, but he loves it and can’t get rid of it. Sheriff… if you look on the jacket you will see a sheriff’s star. So, you have a cowboy, knight, sheriff.

During this phase we were driving down the rode one day and we had the following conversation:

M: Mom, do you remember when you were a kid?
Me: (hesitantly, unsure of where this will go) Yes.
M: You know, when cowboys ruled the West and everyone rode horses.
Me: (holding in the laughter) Son, we had cars when I was a little girl. No one really rode horses and cowboys didn't rule the West. That was your great-great-grandparents.
M: (disappointed) Oh.... (I think he was looking forward to a fun conversation.)

April 18, 2012

Matthew’s SAIL Award

Matthew received a Viking SAIL award at school. You may recall from an earlier post about Ceithlinn receiving the same award that SAIL stands for:

        Safe with bodies and feelings

        Achieving excellence

        Include everyone

        Leadership - making responsible choice

This award is HUGE for him because of the struggles he has had in school due to his Autism. (Last year most of his class was scared of him because when he would get overwhelmed he would throw things… pencils, chairs… he was very unpredictable and scary. This year has become different. We have WONDERFUL support and he is really improving. This is what his teacher said, "Matthew Gates is getting this award for INCLUDING everyone. Matthew is willing to work with anyone in the class. He is a friend to all. His bright smile and ability to tell a good joke, keeps me laughing throughout the day. Thank you for being a Bunker Brainiac Matthew!" So very proud of my boy and the progress he has made. So grateful to his teacher and all the many other educators we have on our team. We feel SO blessed. Here is an example. Look at the picture of Matthew with Mrs. Bunker, Natalie, Cameron and Hannah. You may notice that Matthew is clasping his hands in front of him. What you can’t see is that he is chewing on his “chew noodle” (a piece of tubing on a clasp)… rapidly and hard. Matthew was very anxious being up in front of the school. Now, notice that Mrs. Bunker has a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and is laughing. She knew how to read him. She knew he would be tense and she kept him safe.  She stayed this way until he saw us, waved and then relaxed. This is how blessed we have been with all of the educators that have touched our children’s lives at Bonney Lake Elementary.

A side story to this: One of the other kids that received an award was one of our tenants named John. I noticed his mom wasn’t able to make it. I asked if I could take a picture of him to give to his mom. He said sure and the photo was taken. The boy next to him said my mom isn’t here either and looked at me expectantly. I said I don’t know who your mom is. I wouldn’t be able to get her the picture. He said her name is Janice (or whatever it was). I knew I needed to make this happen. So I took the picture, asked who his teacher was and said I would get her the photo to get to his mom. He was so happy! A few days later, as promised I gave both John and Travis their pictures to give to their moms. After that every time Travis saw me he would give me a big smile and a happy hello. I loved that I was able to make him feel special and hopefully help his mom be a part of something special for him.

April 18, 2012

Josh’s 36th Birthday

Josh’s birthday was on the same day Matthew received his award. Matthew decided in March that we needed to make this alien cake for Josh’s birthday. He originally wanted it for his birthday, then changed his mind. I made the M&M cake. Once that cake was made he asked where the alien cake was. I thought are you serious? Wonderfully Josh doesn’t really care what kind of cake he gets for his birthday, so we were able to appease Matthew by making this cake for Dad. It was pretty cool. Angel food cake, Twinkies, glow sticks and a few other things. Fun and fairly easy to make.

Ceitlhinn was content to give Dad a DVD, "National Treasure." Matthew also decided that he wanted to buy Josh a gift. This wonderful nerf type gun. Of course, Matthew played with it way more than Josh and it was broken and the parts were all missing within the week. It was fun while it lasts and made the cashier cry. She asked Matthew if he was getting the gun for himself. He walked away (Autism thing, we are working on it). I explained that he decided he wanted to get his dad a birthday present. She got teary and told me to cherish these moments and that we had just made her night.

April 25, 2012

Jog-a-ton

Each year the school put on a Jog-a-thon for fundraising efforts. I really like this one because the  kids are having to “work” for donations. They aren’t selling something that nobody needs and it is promoting health. The can get pledges per lap ($.50/lap) or as a flat rate ($5.00). The kids then run for 30 minutes and tell those that have pledge how well they did after the fact. For some unknown reason I don’t have pictures. I am guessing I was getting ready to move, way involved with school and finishing up being an apartment manager… just a few things. Just picture the kids running. Ceithlinn ran 12 laps and Matthew ran 10 laps. Let me put that into perspective for you. 4 laps equal a mile. So, Ceithlinn ran 3 miles, averaging a 10 minute mile. Matthew ran 2.5 miles, averaging about 10.5 minute mile. Really good. I know I can’t do that any more, though I am working toward it. WAY TO GO KIDDOS!!!

A Little Randomness

Ceithlinn and Michael Buble song

Ceithlinn has really enjoys listening to Michael Buble. One day we were in the car listening to one of his CDs and this is how the conversation went:

C: He speaks really good English.
Me: Sweetie, he's Canadian. They speak English there.
C: No they don't. They don't say "about" they say "a-boot." You really can't hear his accent at all.
Me: (I didn’t even try to hide the laughter and replied) Accents like that don't usually come across in songs. I then told her this was going to be shared. She seemed rather pleased.

I absolutely LOVE my children and how they see the world.

Anchor Memories

Someone shared this with me on Facebook and it really struck me. Basically, anchor memories are ones that we remember all our lives. They are usually something small and wonderful. The author gives the example of being pulled from school unexpectedly and being able to spend the day with his family in a sporty car. Small but wonderful.  One of the reasons we strive to do a variety of things with our kids is to give them anchor memories to fall back on when life gets tough. We also want to create fun and easy traditions. We want to create a wonderfully loving family atmosphere. What are some of my anchor memories? Dancing with my dad to Crystal Gayle’s “Don’t Make My Brown Eyes Blue” when I was 5. I can still feel my legs swaying against his hips and he rocked us back and forth… Going to Canyon Glen with my great grandparents and having the most delicious watermelon because great grandpa had put it in the river to cool. Every time I eat watermelon I think of him and smile… Hiking to Bridal Veil Falls with my mom and just enjoying the beauty of the waterfall. I think she gave me my love of waterfalls… those are a few of mine. Simple, sweet and inexpensive. For me it is about being together. What are your anchor memories? What anchor memories will you create with the children in your life?

http://jasonfwright.com/column/Summertime-is-the-perfect-time-to-create-anchor-memories.html

We're Moving

Moving to a New Home

May 1, 2012

 After 6 years of being an apartment manager we are moving. I will no longer be working. I will be focusing on using my degree to start my dance studio — first, get back in shape and remember what is to dance. Honestly, I am really looking forward to focusing on my family. The last two year especially have been crazy with work, school and one year teaching early morning Seminary. We are still in the same area. The kids will be going to the same school and we are in the same ward. We feel very blessed to be getting into this 3 bedroom home. The kids are pretty excited to have their own room… at least for now. We’ll see how the first week goes. They haven’t had separate rooms almost 7 years. Here are some photos of the new place.

Front of our house (same colors as our apt)

Laundry Room

Kids LOVING the New Living Room

Dining Room

Kitchen

Ceithlinn's Room

On a Clear Day You Can See Mt. Rainier from the Balcony

Kids Bathroom (we'll change the shower curtain)

Big Closets in Each of the Kid's Rooms

 

Matthew's Room

Master Bedroom

View from the Master's Balcony

Ok,view... but not Rainier

Master Bath w/ double vanity

Master Tub... I can fit in it comfortably... I may start taking baths again

Update for March 26-April 22 (part 1)

We have had A LOT happen these last few weeks. There will be several installments... Please bear with me.

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In starting the outline for this blog I realized this might be named, “Ode to Matthew.” Lots has happened these last few weeks. Most to Matthew it seems. So without further ado here is the family blog starring Matthew with guest appearances from the rest of us.

 

March 26, 2012

Matthew’s 7th Birthday

Ceithlinn decided the evening of the 25th that she wanted to leave Matthew a happy birthday love note on their mirror that said, “Happy Birthday. Matthew” with balloons and a cake drawn. In the morning when Matthew got up he saw the note and asked Ceithlinn, “Why did you did that?” Ceithlinn said, “I wanted to do something special for you.” Matthew said, “Ohhhh! I like the balloons.” That was the beginning of his BEST DAY EVER! He sang all day at school. The office staff told me he walked in singing, “Happy birthday to me!” His teacher, Mrs. Bunker said that he sang a Primary song “The Wise Man and the Foolish Man” to her and that he sang Christmas carols to a Para. He was thrilled when cupcakes were brought into his class, as were the rest of the kids. (I also brought cupcakes for Ceithlinn’s class. Her birthday is in July so she feels left out of the birthday/school thing. They celebrated an un-birthday for her.) After school we picked up Josh early from work. On the drive home while at a red light Matthew started to roll down his window. I asked what he was doing he said he wanted the cars passing to know it was his birthday, too. I said they probably wouldn’t hear because their windows were rolled up and they were passing us pretty quickly. We got home and decorated the M&M cake. I thought it turned out great, especially since I don’t consider myself terribly creative in cooking or baking. Matthew invited his friend, Cody, over to share some cake. Then was present time — the best time of any birthday celebration. Lego stickers and two remote control cars!! He had been asking for remote control cars since a classmate’s birthday party in February. All in a great day. We are so very blessed to have our Matthew. It is hard to believe it has already been 7 years.

April 1, 2012

Matthew Loses 1st Tooth

Let me back up just a little bit. Before Matthew’s birthday I received a call from the school saying that Matthew was complaining about his mouth hurting. I said it was probably his molars he had coming in. Matthew then got on the phone and said he front teeth hurt. I was confused. He had no cavities or loose teeth to my knowledge — I had brushed his teeth thoroughly a couple days before and had checked for loose teeth. I asked if he wanted me to see what I could arrange with the school to ease his pain. He said okay, then promptly turned to the counselor and informed her I was coming in and hung up. I went in and upon investigation discovered a loose tooth. I asked when he got that. He said, “I was biting the hard black chair and then my tooth became loose.” Well, that explained it. Morale of the story… don’t bite hard black chairs. By the time he got home from school a second tooth was loose. I can only guess he’d been chewing on something.

Now forward to April 1. We had let the kids sleep on the blow-up mattress in the living room the night before and were just kicking back on a *General Conference Sunday at our house. Between sessions of conference Matthew started complaining about his teeth again. One was extremely loose and needed to come out. I wiggled and twisted it, but it wouldn’t budge. Josh had a go at it. Then I jokingly said we should get the pliers. Matthew was horrified at the thought. He said, “NO! You can’t get the pliers they are rusty!” I let him know I was kidding and suggested dental floss. The floss worked. There was much excitement about the lost tooth.

*General Conference is a bi-annual meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We hear from our church leaders about the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are 5 sessions that take place over two days (Saturday and Sunday). The morning session begins at 10A (MST) both days. The afternoon session begins at 2P (MST) both days. There is an evening session for the men of the church on Saturday night beginning at 6P (MST). I love conference. It is a time when I really recharge my spiritual batteries and take measure of where I am in living the gospel of Jesus Christ.

April 1, 2012

Lamb of God

Josh and I had the opportunity through the Multi-Stake Cultural Arts Committee to participate in a beautiful oratorio of the final days of the Savior’s life called the Lamb of God. You can go to this link to hear some of the original recording: http://www.spiremusic.org/lamb I was able to be part of the chorus, Josh was asked to portray Judas Iscariot, the apostle that betrayed Christ’s to the Jewish leaders. It was hard watching him in this role because he was very real and “slimy” with it. The director at one point said he creeped her out. During our first performance he turned around from the microphone and still had a little snarl on his face. The woman next to me jumped. He was good at portraying his role. All that said, we know that Josh loves Christ and would never betray him. One day Ceithlinn and I got in the car to take her to SibShops , a support group for kids with siblings that have special needs such as Autism. Josh had been practicing for his part. Ceithlinn was really upset and said she was glad we left when we did because she didn’t like the song Josh was singing. She said it made her want to cry because Josh would NEVER do anything like that. That he loves Jesus.  She then did cry a little. I said isn’t it wonderful to know that Dad love Jesus. We are so blessed. Later we talked about how he was acting. She did okay with it. Honestly, I couldn’t watch him sing it during the performance. It made me cry, because the words he was singing my Josh would never say. Being a part of this oratorio was a wonderful experience and gave us the chance to work with some of our wonderful friends. Take a listen at the link…

April 5, 2012

Matthew Loses 2nd Tooth

 

Matthew got off the bus on the 5th so very excited because he lost his 2nd tooth AT SCHOOL! That means he got a cool tooth holder to put his tooth in for the tooth fairy. He also made a fantastic card for the tooth fairy.  It said, “Dear Tooth Fairy I hope you love my teeth. Can you please don’t take the my tooth holder please tooth fairy! Love Matthew.” Then he drew a picture of the tooth fairy with high heels on and him holding two tooth holders. So very cute. The tooth fairy wrote back and said something  like I love you teeth and think it would be best if you keep the tooth holder for other teeth you will lose. The tooth fairy always writes on the back of the note so it is kept.

(I forgot to add this, and this silly program won't let me unbold the text so it goes here)

April 3, 2012

Final Quarter of College Begins

I began my last quarter at Pierce College. I will graduate in June with my Associate in Business degree and three certificates! I will return in the fall to take one last class. Also, got the news that I made the President’s List last quarter. This means I maintained a 3.9-4.0 GPA for the quarter. That fun news.

Okay, that is it for now.... what else is to come? Irish Dancing, Cowboys, Easter and MORE...