A Mother's Pain...Kindergarten

Anyone who has been through it knows how hard it is. Sending your baby to KINDERGARTEN! Who would have thought that 8:15 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. could last the entire day? This is the hardest thing I've had to do in my short career as a Mother. Putting on his great big backpack, combing his hair, watching him dress up in big boy clothes...all exciting and heartbreaking! I guess it was so difficult because on the way to school all I could think about was how the first day of kindergarten marks the first day of an onslaught of devastating experiences as a Mother. (Of course, this wasn't much easier for Daddy.)
I know it's exciting for him, and he's so happy to be in school. But, he's my little buddy. He has been a permanent, everyday fixture in my life for 5 1/2 years. The changes are just beginning. Josh and I decided after the first day that half day Kindergarten must have been created for parents, not kids.
We got to go with him for his first day. It was awesome. We spent a lot of time with his teacher, and she visited with each child one on one. When we dropped him off for his first "official" day, he met a few kids in his class and happily marched up the long stairway, FORGETTING to wave. Josh had to yell his name to get him to turn around.
He's going to a private Christian school (thank God!) and we're ecstatic about his teachers and her aides. Before Mason went inside she had all the parents gather around the kids and pray for them. Then they handed out slips of paper for the parents after the kids had left. Isaiah 49:15 & 16a "Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? ...I will not foret YOU. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands..." Yeah, thanks for that!
His teacher walked him out to the car after school. She told us that he was wonderful to the other kids and had "obedience in his eyes." He was the first to listen to her instructions. It made us feel really good that she seemed to pick up on characteristics that are true of our little man. She shared with us what her prayer was for him for this school year. I don't remember when I've cried as hard as I did after seeing him walk into school...and I think my face hurt from smiling after hearing all about how great his first day was. All in all, a success.
If you are reading this blog, click on the song "In My Arms" by Plumb on our playlist. (especially if you're a mom) I heard it on his first day. I cried so hard. This song puts all my feelings into words, feelings I could never hope to explain. It's dedicated to my miracle boy with more love than I understood (until he came on the scene)...

SoCal Vacation

So we recently got back from our southern California vacation and we had a wonderful time. We spent six days of fun relaxation in the beautiful California weather. It was mid 80's the entire time and sunny with the occasional ocean breeze. Several of our days were composed of spending time on the beach. We went to New Port, Huntington, San Juan Capistrano, and Laguna. The picture above is of Laguna Beach at sunset. Amber and I went down to the beach that evening for a sunset date with just the two of us and walked the beach and just admired the view. The ocean is an amazing place at sunset everything takes on a very different feel, it seems very spiritual and almost as if it's a whole new world all together. Needless to say we really enjoyed the time by the ocean.
We also had the opportunity to take the kids to the San Diego Zoo. It was a lot of fun and the kids really loved seeing all of the animals. Jasmine just rode around in her stroller all day and was a little trooper...I think she liked the Giant Pandas the best because she bought one at the gift shop when the day was over. So the seven hours and two hundred miles of hiking the zoo was a success.
The other exciting thing we had the chance to do was to go to Hollywood and see the sights. We got to tour Hollywood Blvd and see the stars. We stopped by the Chinese Theatre and got to see all of the old movie stars signatures in the concrete. (John Wayne, Clark gable, Frank Sinatra...etc) Apparently the theatre is a popular spot for the big premiers even today. Pretty cool place. Later in the evening we went back to the Pantages Theatre and watched the Broadway show Wicked. It was the untold story of the Wicked Witch of the West and the Wizard of OZ. It was really good. By the time it was over you felt bad for the witch...but it's okay because she actually faked her death and is now living with Elvis. The entire production was really cool, I had never seen anything like it.
So that's the rundown of our SoCal vacation. I hope you all enjoyed it and maybe you'll get a chance to visit there soon. It's worth the trip. Even for some of you that think California is going to fall of the face of the earth with the next earthquake. I guess you should get there why you still can. ;-)

On A Brighter Note

I thought I should write about some of the things that are happening here that don't include the world falling down around us...We have done a few fun things this summer, even in the midst of craziness. Right before surgery we went to the Utah Arts Festival which was really fun.

Mason and Josh have been working on Mason's ability to ride a bike WITHOUT training wheels. It is so funny. He scoots right along until he realizes that Josh isn't right next to him. When he sees he's doing it on his own he panics and stops.

Izzy was playing in the basement the other day and I heard Mason yell. I went running and she was halfway up the stairs. She has never even attempted them before. She's gonna give me a heart attack.

Back In Commission...hopefully

Yeah...life's been nuts! Times like these make us learn to appreciate "normal" days. As if having the bathrooms under construction less than two weeks after brutal surgery isn't enough...our dishwasher started pouring water onto the kitchen floor on the night that Josh was supposed to finish the bathrooms. Fun. Shortly after that Mason and I came down with the worst flu in history...which Josh was blessed with less than 48 hours later. Izzy started her bout with explosive diahrrea the day before the flu hit our house, lasting an amazing 13 days!!! We're not just talking trickle-out-of-the-diaper-here-and-there kind of diahrrea, we're talking getting-it-in-her-hair-changing-clothes-5-times-a-day-waking-up-in-the-night-elbow-deep-in-poop kind of diahrrea. Honestly, we've never seen anything like it. Now that you're thoroughly grossed out...imagine living it!
Nate, Rachel, Reese and Damon moved in with us for 7 days quickly following the flu (yes, there was still plenty of poop to go around). They bought a beautiful house, but not before they had to be out of their other one. Two of the four of them had already gotten the flu from us. After moving in, the other two got it. We had a good time, but it was ridiculously busy...and Izzy was pooping.
However, there is a light flickering at the end of what has been a terribly long tunnel. We are getting ready to go to California! Nate's parents live there and they are amazing. They let us stay, feed us, are great company, and allow for a super fun vacation. Mason loves the beach just as much as his dad. It's all he can talk about. Rumor has it we will be getting picked up from the airport and driven to the beach...YAY! I love the beach too, I just can't compair with these two, they'd live in it if they could. It will be Izzy's first beach experience. We will get pictures posted as soon as we can!
So, the moral of the story is that life throws you curves...but if look on the bright side, somehow you can find small victories to be happy about. For example, yes everyone was sick and throwing up and Izzy was making an enormous mess, but, we had two beautiful bathrooms to do it in! Thanks Josh ; )