Wednesday, April 8, 2015

You're Egg-stra special

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I am in the middle of a 4 day stretch at work. (I work 12 hour night shifts.) You never sleep as well or as deep when you sleep during the day. By the end of my days I could be dragging pretty well. Nothing a good NIGHTS sleep won't fix though. We truely are not meant to be nocturnal creatures. Tonight could be interesting trying to stay away. ;-) awhhh the joys of shift work. 
Time is short so today I am leaving you with this fun little word art....
Now to figure something for dinner. hmmmm, any ideas?!
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Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Hippity, Hoppity, Happy Easter

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We spent the weekend doing work on our house before selling it. Needless to say our Easter weekend was NOT all that we wanted. Still the boys got to enjoy some fun egg hunts with family and friends. We are back home hoping to relax before everyone returns to work and school. In the meantime I took advantage of my sweet hubby being home to do up some fun Easter word art. I will be posting one each day this week so come back, share your fun stories and pick up something fun to go with all your Easter pictures.
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Monday, April 6, 2015

Smile- it's contagious

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      I have an amazing friend in Idaho. She is the ultimate optimist! I have seen her struggle through life's challenges that would beat down the best of us with a smile on her face. She is forever happy. She thrives on life and the challenges it brings. When we had to make an unexpected and truthfully, unwanted move her words to me were, "what a GRAND adventure you will have!" I struggled with the move that took me away from the town, friends, and family that I hold so dear. I was so homesick and struggled to make our new house and town a home. If those words were a quilt they would be rags from all the times I have thought of her cheerful advice. They wrapped me in a warm embrace as I tried to learn from her amazing example.
     We taught cub scouts together for 5 years. Trust me, a group of 9 year old boys can wear you down. Not Rebekah though. She could smile and laugh off any of the boys antics. She is wise and caring. Her children are amazing and strong and well behaved. I have always been in awe of how she can mold a child; how she can teach a child without them realizing they just learned. It all comes so natural. Her cup is always half full or more. She truly has a smile that is contagious to those blessed to share it! I try to remember her quick and easy laughter. It really does make the day lighter.
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Monday, March 30, 2015

Still Discovering...

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My boys are growing so very fast!
Josh is now over 6' tall. I'm tall but have to look up to him. I told him there have been few men in my life I've looked up too, then gave him a hug. Keegan is learning the joys, and frustrations, of having a cell phone. Tyler is discovering the ups and downs of friends. And Matthew is learning about increased responsibility. I love what each stage of development brings. Even when they were all little, I seldom found remorse in what we were leaving behind because of the excitement of what was to come. I am trading the training wheels, preschool class, and nap times in for dating, driving, and late nights. I love it when they come home jabbering away at the latest activity at school or wanting to go explore with friends cuz it's just not cool to stay home anymore. About the time I wish they were little ones wrapped in my arms Josh comes home with a story to tell or opens up to mom. He loves to hate it when mom makes him break a smile through his crusty scowl. It lets me know, I'm still his mommy.
It's lives lesson I think. To see the adventure in every challenge. My friend, Rebekah taught me that. So today we are "Still Discovering"! Discovering life, love, friends, and family.
And today....I still love it all!
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Wednesday, March 25, 2015

A Journey in Dual Language Immersion

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http://www.utahgermandli.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/home-page-logo-german4.png    
     This year we have the privilege of starting our youngest, Mr Matthew, in a dual language immersion (DLI) program. Our school district made the fantastic decision to introduce all 5 languages offered in the states DLI program, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Mandarin Chinese. This is an opportunity I would not miss out on. Our school school was chosen for German. My sweet hubby is fluent in German having served an LDS mission there and although a bit rusty he still enjoys speaking this language and stays in touch with friends. We were thrilled that Matthew would be able to learn German. Our oldest, Josh, also entered his first year of German in high school. 
     Matthew spends 50% of his school day in German and 50% in English classes. His German teacher speaks only German to the students. They learn math, German culture and various other lessons in German. After the holidays the students were further challenged to only speak German to each other as well. It's challenging to be sure but allows his brain to focus on understanding and deciphering German.
     Our dinner conversations have been fun with many laughs as the boys share new words and try to stump each other. We knew it would be an adventurous year when the second week of school Matthew was making wise cracks to Josh...in German. Yeah, little brother thought he was ALL THAT!
     What I find amazing is how much faster Matthew is picking up the language than Josh. Earlier this week dad was thrilled to have a conversation with Matthew in German. He needed a few cues but Matthew was able to share his thoughts and feelings on the topic, why he was too big for "Cars" underwear.
     In sharing this fun moment with Matthew's teacher, Frau Page, she asked why I thought it was that Matthew was surpassing his older brother. Both are strong students. Both have the advantage of a fluent parent. Both are maintaining their grades and proficiency in other studies but Matthew is moving toward conversation passing Josh in language skill. Is it because of an aptitude for language or another reason? The answer is clear...AGE! Matthew's 6 year old brain is still hard wired for language development. He has an advantage over Josh despite prior language challenges.
     Matthew had a significant speech delay. At 12 months he spoke 6 words then...nothing. He stopped speaking. Life was good. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. No trauma or outside influences to prevent him from speaking. We have another son who also had a speech delay so we set to work using the skills and tools we had learned from Keegan's speech therapy to help Matthew. It took a year and weekly speech therapy before Matthew repeated an easy word he previously knew, bye. I was in tears to hear my little boys voice break through again. We heard all the usual reasons why he wouldn't or couldn't speak but none of them fit. Our speech therapist was stumped. He did not know why Matthew was not talking. Matthew learned to communicate through sign to avoid frustration. It took years, but he finally took off talking and caught up to his peers. In fact, this is the first year he has not had speech therapy so it is interesting to me to see him pick up a second language with such ease. 
     I love to hear Matthew share his latest German song, phrase, or just a new word. He even corrects moms pronunciation. Josh continues to learn as well but quizzes his little brother a little less...it's not so cool when little brother is no longer stumped by your "quizzes". Matthew is loving his DLI. He is learning to love the language, culture, and people. We are learning as a family as well. Next year we are even looking forward to having a German exchange student.
     The world is growing smaller. The internet has put the world at our finger tips. The opportunities my boys will have increase everyday. The opportunities Matthew will have by participating in and learning German are limitless. I am thrilled and so thankful our school has this opportunity. How could I NOT have my boys participate in Dual Language Immersion.
http://www.utahgermandli.org/


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