Thursday, April 16, 2015

Dear Kids and Life Changes

I swear I start every entry with something along the lines of......It's been so long..........Sorry I haven't written in forever.....blah blah blah.....I had the best of intentions with this blog.  I was gonna document all the great conversations with the kids, share good stories, experiences, etc.  Clearly, that hasn't happened.

I don't know where to start so I am going to write letters to the kids.

you both spotted a bird of some sort that you recognized









Graham and his buddy, Dylan at the park


Dear Graham:
You are growing up way too fast!  I love you to pieces but you are causing me all sorts of gray hairs at the ripe ol age of 32.  For a five year old, I think you are very intelligent.  You ask me difficult questions such as:
           Hey mom, what is your favorite animal from Central America?

           Do you know what the fastest land animal is?  Or how to tell the difference between an Alligator and a Crocodile? (uhm yeah, one starts with an A and the starts with a C...BOOM...smart mama!)

You have a huge desire to learn about all sorts of creatures.  I believe your interest has been sparked by the tv show "Wild Kratts."  Anyone could ask you questions about almost any animal and you can name the region, habitat, preditor and special features of the animal.

For awhile, I was afraid I was going to have to start paying rent to the Principal's office at school since you seemed to frequent that place.  Now you just keep the timeout chair warm....congrats on the improvement buddy!  If you could figure out how to keep your hands to yourself, life would be so easy with you!
When you get in the car from school, I always ask, "so how was school today?"  On numerous occasions, you respond:
       It was good!........Well, Kinda good.........actually, I had a timeout........ok, maybe two timeouts.........
It kills you to lie!  Which is great!  I love that about you!  I don't think integrity will be a problem.  Seriously though, when I take you to the store for a special treat and tell you to enjoy it......not to rub it in to Kamryn..........I will be darned if it's not the first topic of conversation out of your mouth when she gets in the car!
          "So sister....I have something to tell you....I got to go to Dillon's and get a donut!!!" (let's note that is the first time EVER that your mother bought you one 4.14.15)
THEN we get to experience the Kamryn melt down saga.................Thanks. For. That.

Ok, I will stop picking on you. On a positive note, you are the best at random "I love you's!"  You love to give me hugs and blow me kisses when I leave.
You like to call Kamryn, "sister."  When asked why you call her "sister" more often then Kamryn, you say:  "Technically, I am the only one that can really call her sister because I am her only brother."
True, true :)
You love to play baseball and golf.  Soccer is ok but not your favorite.  You enjoy riding your bike, playing with Kamryn and your friends, and doing workouts in the garage.  Two weeks ago, you could not get a pull-up by yourself.  We had you practice ring rows and pull-ups with a band........the other day you got a pull-up all by yourself!!  That was so awesome to see!!!  You (we) were so excited!

You are starting to learn how to read which has been really cool also!  "THE" stumps you every time though, LOL....bless your heart.  It reminds me of the movie, "Dumb and Dumber!"  I'm not saying you are dumb!!!!  But you have to watch that movie someday...CLASSIC!

 Even though you are a little onery, you have a heart of gold!  I love you buddy!

Dear Kamryn Louise:
Oh sis..... I freakin' Love you!  You challenge me daily with your teenage attitude bottled up inside a toddler body.  The things that come out of your mouth are generally hilarious!  Honesty is not a problem for you.  We need to work on that though in some situations.  You need to learn that it's OK to keep some comments to yourself!
We have to choose our cashiers "wisely" when we go to the store....God only knows what opinion you may feel like sharing!

You are such a free spirit!  Love to dance around....you love to hear Taylor Swift songs, especially "Shake it Off!"

I think you have yet to meet a stranger.  You're very friendly and are very good with names!  Much better than your mother.

You could stand to be friendlier to your brother.  For whatever reason, you take your aggression out on his face when the two of you fight.  You're a tough little cookie.  That's for sure!  I don't think we will have to worry about you getting into trouble on dates!

At the supper table a few nights ago, you made an announcement.

K: "I know who I am going to marry!"
Graham: Oh dear...
K: Carter!  I'm going to marry Carter!  Yep, he's in my class.
Graham: Sister, you have a long time before you need to worry about that.
K: No really, I'm going to marry Carter!
Graham: ugh sister, would you just be quiet and eat!
K: Graham...who are YOUUU gonna marry?
Graham: you know.

Busted.  Graham has already found his match too apparently!

This is your first season in soccer.  You really like it!  You are a fast little girl and very, very LEFT footed!  For the most part, you do a great job listening to your coaches...........except for Tuesday night when you kept falling down on purpose and then would lie in the goal box after scoring and would just lie there and refuse to get up.  Not embarrassing for your mother at all!  Dad was and has been at work alot due to Turnaround at the Refinery.  Unfortunately, he missed the drama.


As of now, you are obsessed with dresses!!!!!!  OBSESSED.  You told me this week that when you grow up, you want to be a cheerleader.  We shall see.......

Every night before bed, you want to read a book, say your prayers and then ask me to sleep with you.
Although you are full of piss and vinegar, it kills me to see you growing up so quickly.  Yet, I will say, it is so fun to watch you play sports and interact with people.  It's bittersweet.  You sucker me in to lying with you most nights.
In the mornings, your favorite thing to eat is strawberry yogurt.  You barely open your eyes, but what you are asking for it!  I love it when you ask me if we can  have "girl talk!"  These are the moments I hope continue forever.  In case they don't, I am cherishing them now!

I love you sis!

While my kids are growing at warp speed, I am making big girl decisions as well.  For the last five years, I have worked at the YMCA, using my degrees and Strength and Conditioning Specialist certification and Crossfit certs, to do personal training and coach CrossFit.  I love the athletes I get to work with daily!  Anyone I train is an athlete in my eyes.  I have trained 10 year olds to 65 year olds.


CrossFit has truly changed my life!  In April of 2012, I went and earned my certification to be considered a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer.  Since August of 2012, I have done all the programming for the adult classes and taught some of the CrossFit Kids- High school sessions.  LOVE IT!  To be able to impact and improve lives is truly rewarding.

Although I love what I do, I have felt a strong pull to do something on my own.  Last week, I resigned from the YMCA giving my two weeks notice.  This was  decision that took me 5 months to weigh.  It was very difficult to put myself first before others but I prayed for signs and God brought several to my attention.  The sign that opened my eyes and my heart the most, was this daily devotional that I received through email that read:
      Joshua 18: 2-3
     But here remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received their            inheritance.  Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: "How long will you neglect to go and              possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you?

This devotion talked about how many times do we neglect to receive the gift God has given us?  We pray and pray for changes or for signs and then when we are faced with an answered prayer, we hesitate to go forth.  We let fear stand in our way.  Maybe we are more comfortable praying for something else instead because that is the easy way out...the safe way.

I took this devotion as a challenge but also cherished the message and sign I had been delivered.  In my heart, I truly believe that I am on this Earth to make a difference and do something BIG.  I'm not 100% sure what that is yet and I may be close.  Change is a time to embrace new learning experiences and GROW.  Change is scary.  No matter how frightening though, I canNOT think of one time in my life where CHANGE failed to teach me SOMETHING.  Something good or bad...I have learned something.

My plan right now is to do training on my own.  I am very excited for this opportunity.  Very proud!  Thankful for those whom have been so supportive and understanding.  I ask for those who may be bitter or mad about the change, to accept it...you don't have to like it.

I look forward to this new journey and will probably be more into social media than ever before....that will be a big step for me.

And the journey continues......