The Seven of Us

One other great thing about Christmas:  We had people here, and not just for Christmas dinner.  The kids had friends over:  Bo. Austin. Jacob. Other friends. And I loved it.  We've always wanted people to be comfortable at our house, to spend time here. We  like our kids' friends and we like having our kids around here with their friends. So that was a bonus. 

1.  I haven't thought about school one bit. Really, Thursday was the first time. I spent a couple of hours in my classroom.  I didn't accomplish enough.  I am behind where I wanted to be and am a  little concerned.  And guess what?  Teachers are always a little behind and a little concerned.  I bet I'll survive. And my students will still learn. So I'm blogging, not prepping.  (Okay, so I spent another hour or two working today.  It's not enough, but it's okay.  And blogging is way better than okay.) 2.  I've been a homemaker.  Okay, so there are things about that word that used to really bug me.  I used to say "I am a MOTHER , not a homemaker!"   It's true: After a couple years of playing house, I didn't really want to be a homemaker.  I'm not crafty.  I don't believe in doing chores for my family; instead, I taught my kids to do chores.  I've done a lot of delegating. I take no pride in having ...

Things I'm grateful for--Mostly in Order:  1. My knowledge of God & his plan for His children , which is closely related to 2. My membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 3. A really incredible, selfless husband  4. Five healthy, mostly happy/responsible/good kids who have taught me most of what I know 4. Great parents who taught me all kinds of good stuff & who continue to play an important role in our lives 5. My health-and the role  Stephanie Harms  & mark mcdonald play in keeping me going! 6. A comfy house that provides a place for us to just BE 7. Our good jobs--we are fortunate to have dependable jobs that we like. 8. Our family & friends, who make life meaningful. Merry Christmas to all of you. Best of 2014:  1. Working with Steph--getting strong again, deciding to do an event 2. Caleb's all star victory--hitting when they were trying to intentionally walk him 3.  Selling houses, getting money 4. I am...

Today is August 1st. It feels a little like D-day, because my summer is over.  On Wednesday I go back to work.  .luckily I won't have students until the following Thursday, Aug 14.  I'm not completely ready for them yet! Having the summer off really has made me love my job.  I'll admit: The month of May felt long.  But then it was summer, and I felt so lucky and grateful to be home.  What other job would allow me to do that?!  While I wouldn't mind another week or two of vacation, I can tell that I'm almost ready for a change.  I wish I could be home with the kids for their last week, but it's not a perfect world.  So I'll do what I can to be ready.  And it'll be good, because we had a great summer together. 

I've watched some amazing ball games in my life:  Some great baseball games, even as long ago as 6 years, when Kenna and Caleb played machine pitch together.  In one game they combined for a great play at first.  Many of Jimmer's games were completely amazing:  the San Diego game his senior year, some MWC games that year, the games where he scored over 50 points, the game against Florida State during March Madness his junior year.  Taylor's basketball and volleyball teams have played some awfully close high school games.  And then there are  the annual junior high basketball tournaments.  We've yelled our guts out during a few of those recently.  And I can't forgot the Border League tourney game against Holyoke 2 years ago, when we exacted some revenge on our  Least Favorite Coach Ever (Rece doubled, Darian tripled, and immediately after those two hits, Caleb had hist first home run. And it felt so good because LFC had argued with ...

This weekend, I got to play in our state all star tourney in Rocky Ford, Colorado. I had played in two in past years, and wasn't quite sure what to expect following our disappointing run last year. I pitched in our first game, and threw pretty well. I struck out fifteen, surrendering 2 walks and just one hit. At the plate, I went 1-4 with a sac fly and 2 run single in an 8-2 win. The next day, I caught all seven innings in a 8-3 win over UPL, and went 3-3 with 3 more RBI and a few runs scored. I picked off/caught stealing 3 runners. My team played on Sunday morning while I was at church, and they lost 13-3 to the eventual state champs, Santa Fe. On Sunday night, I was able to play. We were playing UPL again, and they wanted revenge. I thought I started things off right when I exploded on a ball, but the bigger field allowed a catch at the wall. I was catching pretty well, but our younger pitchers struggled. We soon found ourselves in a 6-1 hole. I came up to bat and hit a ...

On Saturday I ran a 5k in memory of Scott Gerlach, a member of my church congregation who died in an accident in May.  The following words, which were in his funeral program and printed on the shirt I received Saturday, really made me think.  They are:  "Your life consists of two numbers and a dash. Make the most of the dash." I started reflecting on some of the more unique things I've done and still hope to do before my dash becomes a number again. In that spirit, I made these lists. What I've done with my dash: *Learned to work and to use my body to do things I enjoy: volleyball, weight training, running, swimming, yoga. I've modified those activities, but I haven't given up on them. And I'm coming back strong now.   [Side note: jogging during yesterday's 5k doesn't seem to have damaged my knees.  Was it my new kicks?  I hope so....I'm still planning to do some kind of a fitness event--something more challenging than a 5k--during my 40...