A Post about Kat

I figured that I finally has something to post about!  (Other than being sick and going private!)

Kathryn was chosen as Student of the Month!  It was for December (she wasn't in school at all in December because of her track break, so I guess her teacher was going based on the other months, not on December alone!).  She got to have pizza with the Principal at school and a bunch of coupons and passes to local businesses.  She was very excited!  I was proud of her, because she was also chosen in May in her 1st grade class!  She is a good student and a great example to her fellow classmates!

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Last night, Sunday, we had a Baptism Fireside to go to.  It was for all of the Primary kids who are 7, turning 8 this year, and are preparing to be baptized.  I was a little emotional about it.  I can not believe that Kat will be baptised in a month and a half!  My baby is getting to big! 

Kat liked being able to see what would happen on her special day, and get a little tour with her class.  She has a large class, so lots of baptisms this year!  She says she is nervous.  Not for being baptised and what it means, but for all of the people watching her!  She gets so shy!  I know she will be just fine!  We bought her a couple of books to read about preparing yourself to be baptised.  We have also been talking with her a lot about what it means and why we do it.  Hopefully she will be prepared and realize what a big step this is.  I know she has a beautiful and sweet spirit, and I hope that she knows how much we love her!

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Kathryn and I have been working on her country report all week.  She was given Great Britain.  I have to say, I feel like I have been doing homework all week!!  I have been on line, at bookstores, and reading books.  Let me say, I did not do the report for her!!!  I just made sure she had everything she needed to do it!  She checked out books from the library, went on line, looked at books with Mat, and colored pictures.  I gave her direction for her poster, and we did it together.  She wrote her book and put all of the information into the book that she had learned about Great Britain.  It was a lot of work, and I am grateful that I was able to do it with her.  It was fun to work on it and to be together.  She had a lot of good ideas and was a great study buddy!

We still have to make an authentic treat, and she has to wear authentic costume for a program they are putting on for the parents next week.  I have to figure out what that outfit will look like!  ugh!

I may complain a little about the work she gets from school, but she has a great teacher who really cares about making learning fun for the kids and helping them love learning!  It makes a difference in how Kat acts about school, and that is a good thing!

Going Private

Sad isn't it?

I am going private. I have felt a little creeped out by a few e-mails and posts. Not necessarily on my blog, but on friends blogs referring to our blog. I have thought of going private for a while, but haven't. I think it will make me safer, and safer for my family, and safer for my extended family.

So if you would still like to follow our family and our 'exciting' journeys, please leave me a note, and your e-mail if I don't have it. If you don't want to leave your e-mail here, you can email me at asheemarie at yahoo. (I did it that way on purpose!) Or you can send me a message on Facebook.

Thanks!!!

I will wait for a couple of days to make it 'official'.

Not much new...

I realize I have not posted for a while. This is because life has been pretty boring and uneventful lately. A few things have happened.

Kat is sick. She has a cold and cough. Not much fun for her, or her sister. (Kat has been kind of grumpy today because I won't let her get up and play because that makes her cough more!) Kept her home from school today. Hopefully she can go back tomorrow! We'll see how she feels in the morning. I am sure she caught something from school since she was on break for a month and her body didn't have to hold off the germs of 18 other children at all times! Oh, well. She'll be fine.

It is raining. Not a very exciting thing, I guess. Unless you live in the desert! It rained yesterday too! And it is suppose to rain tomorrow! So far we have gotten an inch of rain! I think that is our yearly downfall! (I don't really know what our yearly average is, I am just trying to be obnoxious!) Right now our basketball court is a pond, and I am sure they will issue flash flood warnings if it keeps up! Our gutters are full, so I am sure the flood channels are getting full. I love the rain. I love the smell. I love the feeling. I love being lazy and wrapping up with a blanket and feeling ok not to do anything because it is raining! I love that right now I have our screen door open and I am freezing, but in a yummy, its raining kind of way! I am soaking it up (pun intended!) because I know it is very short lived here! I will complain in a few months that I miss the rain. So for now, I am a happy camper! (Speaking of camping, Kat saw it was raining so Mat took both girls outside to see - it is that rare! - Kat immediately said "I wish we could go camping in the rain!" I don't know what she is thinking! It would be miserable and muddy! Silly girl!)

Mat is back to school. He likes UNLV and did awesome last semester! He thinks he will like his classes this time around. Hopefully he will do as well this semester! I am trying to get use to only working two days a week instead of 4, since he is gone Tues - Thurs. nights. Not too bad for me!

So, yeah, we are just living life. We haven't even done anything worth taking pics of! Though, Mat could have pulled the camera out last night and took pics of the girls doing yoga with me! It would have made for some great black mail pics! I guess he knows better!

mom....

"Mom! I think my nose is leaking blood!"

- Kat, last night before bed.

She does not get nose bleeds very often - apparently, since she

thought she was just 'leaking blood'! Silly girl!

Rose Bowl Parade

If you watched the Rose Bowl Parade on Jan. 1, this year you probably saw the Donate Life Float. It was a beautiful float with a Phoenix flying up with Floragraphs of Organ Donors on the tail feathers. (I would post pics, but not sure about the copyright rules for that! So click on the links if you would like to see the pictures of the float and all of the details of it!)

Also, in the 2010 Donate Life Float's Family Circle Garden were hundreds of roses in vases. Each vase had an inscription on it from a family remembering a loved one. "A rose is a symbol of love, loss and renewal. It represents something different to every family: to some it is hope, to others it is grief, and to still others it is gratitude." (Donate Life Rose Parade Website)

Our family was chosen to dedicate a rose to Bambi. My dad and I got to write the inscription that was placed upon the vase for Bambi. Not many knew it was there, or what it even meant, but I feel honored that I have a part in Bambi's story.

I feel so grateful for the opportunities that my family has because of Bambi. The involvement in Organ Donation events has been a healing process.

Although I miss her more than I could ever express, and would rather have her here than away, I am so grateful for the impact she has made on my life and on so many others.

I hope that as we start a new year we can all commit to impacting someone's life for the better. Not matter how small or how grand, try to make your mark.

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Love ya sis.