The Last Days of School

As we wind down the last days of school things were different.
I am finishing my second year at Westlake High in the copy center.
I have worked 3 years at Saratoga Shores, an elementary school.
5 years for Alpine School District.

Kelsi is finished her 11 grade year and Logan just finished his 10 grade. 
Many of their teachers are my friends here at Westlake.  The staff here is amazing.
We are saying goodbye to 40 employees.  Many are leaving to teach at the new Junior High in Eagle Mountain named Frontier.  With the new jr. high opening Westlake is becoming 10-12 grade only.

In the last week of school I helped with graduation.  I sat at a table on the top of the inside track and as they came to me I looked up their names and if they were cleared to graduate and had no outstanding fines I stamped their hand with a stamp and let them pass by to go downstairs into the gym floor and get their cap and gown.  Most students passed without any problems but some needed to go back and get cleared or pay money.  I have this favorite special ed girl who has the cutest smile.  She would come and visit me in the copy center with her peer tutor and I would watch her come for lunch so I could see her smile.  As she approached the table, the lady by me said, 'Oh the teacher already got her cap and gown, she got all of theirs." I just waited for her to come to me.  She was smiling the whole way.  When she got to me I said her name and look you get to graduate and I stamped her hand like everyone else.  She squealed with joy. 

Another day I got to pass out deposit refunds.  I got the letters A-C.  Such cute kids.  They had to sign, date it and then they got back usually 15.00.  I spent from 8-1;30 out there!

Drivers Ed will have two sessions this summer.  I made them 700 copies of everything!  That was a lot of copies on the last week.  And my experienced teachers made their copies for the first few weeks of next year.

At the closing breakfast on the last day, our principal read a letter that was so touching.  It was about a boy whose parents were told he would never be anything, never graduate from high school. The parent in the letter, complimented our special ed team and called them each my name telling what great things they had done for this boy.  Now, I had met this boy.  His nickname was Skinner and Jane Pate loved him.  She would bring him down the copy center and I liked him too.  One time Jane sent Skinner down to get a ream of paper and he lugged a whole box up to her class room she brought him back with the box of paper, and showed him just a ream.  They were both laughing.  Skinner got a mission call and is called to the Spokane WA area and I was so pleased to hear this.  My parents live in Spokane.  Our principal read this letter from his mom to our special ed team at the closing banquet and called them up front.  It was sooooo nice to hear a thank you.

I finished my year making 3,411,813 copies.  So many copies.  I got a new machine which was faster and better.  My copy guys (the company that services the machines) were amazing to work with and always came when I needed them.  Most days everything went smoothly.  When they didn't I always had a back up plan.  One day I will never forget I totally lost it because the machines were down.  A teacher stood in there and helped me and then delivered them to the teachers who most needed them.  I tell you teachers are the best to work with.

Oh next year, what will it bring?
Less teachers, less students, less hours.
Yes, you heard me correctly.
I was happily working 40 hours a week but because of Obama care and the changes that makes to employees and rules of health insurance I can only work 27.5 hours next year.
This is unreal.  I changed nothing but I get changed. I will have to share my job and my space with someone.
I am worried about this.  It is change and I hate change.

I love being a Mom

I get home from work on Friday afternoon. Frankly I was not in a hurry to get home. I knew we were having pizza and I knew we had to leave at 6;15 for a basketball game for Logan in Provo. I had gone tanning and went to Smiths for sliced carrots. As I came through the door all 4 of my kids plus Alida were all sitting there and they looked so happy to see me. " Finally", they said. I see these gift bags with men on them and a pink card. "What's up?" I ask. They have made up a song and are all laughing as they say it's Mothers Day now.

I

So I open these gift bags and I am puzzled with what is inside. It is like mish-mash.  I am trying to be nice and say nice things about what I am opening but I am confused and so I play along.  I open it all and say nice things and settle back in the chair.  We are going to eat now and then Colby says"Mom, you were too nice". 

These were crazy gifts, now for the real ones.  They are all giggling and being so cute. 

He leaves the room and brings back these.

Inside the pretty pink bag was the wallet and the I Pad and inside the Starbucks bag was this amazing tea cup that also brews the tea.  They were so funny, and cute and so excited to give me the gifts.  It is fun to have older children.  Mothers day today was good, delicious food, nice Sunday at church and a beautiful day outside. Also, the first strawberry shortcake of the season!

My Betsi Mom

When I married my husband I met the sweetest lady.  She raised 4 wonderful loving boys.  She is an amazing women who serves others joyfully.  As I have known her throughout the years she has worked at schools, done crossing for schools while taking time to talk to each child as they crossed the street.  She has served in the nursery at church, picked up people. and taken them to and from church.  She has let women live with her and she has served many by dog and cat sitting.  Betsi is a joy to many.  She attends meetings, choir and high school reunion get togethers and  she always gives someone a ride.
An experience I love about Betsi is she has a blind friend and this blind friend lives by hersefl and Betsi goes to her house and helps her all the time.  She takes this blind friend to fairs and events and describes what is going on to her in full detail very patiently.
When my children were little she would take them on the bus around Tacoma and they would visit their favorites.... bridge of glass, the water and the mall.  She would take them to Vics and let them pick out tresures and I learned from her to be patient and stand still while they look and question and watch.  She acted like she had all the time in the world for them.  I love her so much because she has always loved me, accepted me and shown me great qualities that I can make mine!
Happy Mothers Day,
Love you!

My Mom

My mom, How do you honor someone you have always known. Almost 50 years she has been there for me. I have a strong memory of an over powering love that came over me one year at Mothers Day when I was a little girl in Alaska. I had learned a song and I wanted to write the words down and give them to my mom. I hurried and checked out the songbook from the church library and I remember sitting under the coat rack and writing down the words to the song about walking in meadows and how flowers reminded me of her. This was back when Primary was on a week night and when I got home I remember burning the edges of the paper with a match to make it more pretty. I don't remember giving her the poem I created for her but I remember the strong feelings of love that overpowered me to find the words and write them down. My mom was always there for me. She cooks the most amazing homemade bread, cinnamon rolls and Dill bread. I always had a new skirt to wear when I wanted one and when I needed help writing an English paper or a school newspaper article, I would sit at the table while she was cooking in the kitchen and she would give me catchy headline or an opening sentence. Every time I had a baby she came and took care of me and the baby. We have always gotten birthday cards and anniversary cards and graduation cards from her. I appreciate that. Even when she is traveling she either mails them early or takes them with her to mail. Now that my kids are older I can spend more time with her. She comes to Utah for Womens Conference at BYU and last year spent a wonderful week with me while Logan attended a basketball camp. As the years have gone, I have never loved her more. Happy Mothers Day MOM, thanks for the best example!

Meet Sparky

What do you do when your last child gets his drivers license and you realize that no child needs you to drive them around anymore? 

 It has been almost 26 years of driving kids places.

 You get yourself a cute little car with basically no backseat! 

Complete with a lavender spray tied with a white ribbon.

Logan says, "Mom, watch the kids as you drive past they will slug each other." 

The neighbor says, "You are cruel to get that car." I think to myself cruel? How? Then she says my kids are constantly slugging me. Once Faith was over and we were on the porch and they pulled in and I saw the girl slug her dad two times. 

Faith's car was across the street at my house. HEHE then I knew!

Buying this boy a car

From the time this child was born he loved cars. As a toddler he lined his Matchbox cars up on the couch and studied them, watching the wheels turn. He would park them in perfect straight rows. Then he grew a little older and from his booster seat he would stare out the window looking at the cars on the road. He knew what all of them were and he loved to watch them. An amazing thing about him at this age is he loved to look at the license plates and see when the tabs expired and he was the first to spot the new years color's tab. He knew what year every color was. When we would wash cars on Saturday, he would detail the wheels on our cars with all the care in the world. His little body squatting down there washing every part. He has always planned on getting his drivers license on the day he turned 16. No one else in my family got it like this. He planned it out and took drivers ed at school back in September before basketball and track season so he would be ready. Friday night this car posted on KSL classifieds.  He and Kim went to Orem to see it. It was a perfect fit and he drove it home that night. That night they washed the dash, the doors and the console. Then they shampooed the seats and washed the windows. He said as he was going to bed, I won't be able to sleep tonight. I am too excited. Saturday he washed the outside with such great care. This time when he washed the wheels they were his wheels. Tomorrow Kim will go to the DMV and Tuesday he will drive himself to school. My cute little guy is driving himself to school!

Jake graduates!