Back to School Time

Yesterday, we went shopping in Park City for back to school clothes. We had lots of fun. Karianna went with us and ANYTHING she liked, Taylor liked and wanted. Jessica wasn't as easy to please and Alyssa was even harder. Jessica leaned toward pants and t-shirts this year instead of skirts and dresses although she did get 2 outfits with a dress and leggings. She did not want "cutesy" shirts though. I really think she might turn out to be more of an athlete than the other girls. Taylor loved everything we suggested and I had to put outfits back without her knowing so I wouldn't have to argue on them. Alyssa really struggled to find stuff she liked ... unless it had cupcakes on it! I honestly think half of her shirts have a cupcake on them. She is a little crazy about them.


After shopping, it was Meet Your Teacher time at the school. The girls are all excited about their teachers.
Jessica is now in first grade and has two teachers - they each teach half day. I wasn't sure about the split teacher idea for this age, but with these two teachers, I just don't see how you can go wrong. They are both AMAZING teachers and women.

Mrs. Plank lived in our neighborhood for awhile and Jessica knows her well. Jessica often played with her daughter and we carpooled to school when Jessica was in preschool. Jessica used to always call her "Plank"... not Mrs. Plank, not Kim (which is what I call her) ... just "PLANK." I was quite impressed when she did call her Mrs. Plank yesterday ... although I heard her call her Plank this afternoon. 





Mrs. Barger is Jessie's other teacher.  She also lives fairly close to us so I know her, but Jessica hasn't interacted with her much.  Jessica is excited to get to know her.  

Jessica has several friends from kindergarten in her class and I have no doubt will make many new friends this year. She is very excited to start school again ... and get to go all day like her sisters, eat lunch in the cafeteria, and play on the BIG playground. :) My little baby isn't so little anymore! But I'm very proud of her. She often surprises me with the things she knows - like adding and subtracting, reading chapter books on her own ... she just finds learning easy and picks up on a lot of things on her own (I really didn't have the time last year to help her much but she just figured it out all on her own).  She is a smart kid!     

Taylor is starting 3rd grade this year. I am so relieved at how she handled this transition. Taylor does not like change and usually REALLY struggles with it. This time, she seems to have done just fine. I am SOOO grateful. But, she is not my little girl anymore. Taylor has always been an extra concern for me. She is so little and petite and has had so many social, speech and eating issues, I tend to be a little more protective of her than my other two ... even though Jessica is younger. I worry more about her because she gets so uncomfortable and worried in many situations. Alyssa and Jessica can both take on the world, Taylor needs a little more gentle approach to things. But this year, that seems to be gone. She seems to be ready to just go for it without really looking back. She has grown up so much this summer. 

Taylor's teacher is Mrs. Willhite - a newly married and very young teacher who really seems to LOVE her students and teaching. We are very excited to have her.Alyssa has moved on to 6th grade (which is in elementary school here - although that still seems weird to me since it was middle school in both places I lived growing up).

Of all my kids, I think Alyssa has changed the most this summer. She has really matured. She has (mostly) outgrown her temper tantrums and sulking in her room - both of which used to be pretty intense and frequent!  She has tamed down her "dramatism" and become much more cooperative and helpful. She has started to think of the big picture. She is becoming a wonderful young lady. 

Shopping with her was a new experience. She still wears girls clothes this year, but definitely has a different taste than in the past.  Plus we had to go to the ladies section for shoes her size that she liked along with other things a young lady needs. It was a hard day for mom ... my little girl isn't a little girl anymore.  

Her teacher, Mrs. Parkinson is a great teacher and I think she will help teach Alyssa to stay focused on the task at hand as well as encourage her in spelling and other areas where Alyssa isn't as confident.  And Alyssa is always excited for science and social studies.  She does love to learn - just doesn't love memorizing or slowing down to be neat on things.   

And with that ... a new school year begins!

A "Project"

My Relief Society President called me early in June and asked if I'd be willing to help with the upcoming Stake R.S. Self-Reliance Fair. As we talked about the goal for the self-reliance fair, an idea that has been on my mind off and on for the last year or so. But I've not acted because I just haven't had time. I have wanted to start a blog about surviving losing your primary income. So, my thought was to put together some hand outs on that. I told them I had considered starting a blog and would do a booth about that same idea. I was thinking I'd just have some handouts, but the more we talked the more I realized I really need to do the blog. Just too much info for handouts and we don't know how many people are coming so handouts are hard to gauge .... so I've started the blog.

I am keeping the blog ANONYMOUS so please don't use my name and don't send people to my family blog. THANKS!

So, here's my plea ... I need input from people and we want people to read the blog, so I'd love for you to share the following on your blog about it...

http://www.enduringfinancialstruggles.blogspot.com/

All our lives we are taught to be self-sufficient and serve others. So when a major financial crisis arises, whether it is caused by job loss, death, health problems or other personal issues, it turns your world upside down. It’s a trial that can cause you to doubt yourself, make you feel alone, destroy your relationships and try your faith. But we all put on a good face and say we are doing “ok”, when often, we really just want to cry. It’s a time when we need others, but because we’ve been taught to be self-sufficient, our pride often prevents us from letting others in and from sharing our stories and situation with others. This blog is to help us overcome that, to give us an opportunity to share our stories, to provide resources and information we learned along the way and to help lift one another so we can all endure it well.

Visit the blog to find all these resources: Personal stories from others. Tips on menu planning from the Storehouse and your food storage. Ways to maintain and strengthen your relationships with your spouse, your kids and your friends. Guidance on finding emotional strength. Resources on how to manage the money you have including when and where to get help. And ways to stay anchored to Christ through it all.

If you have endured or face this struggle, please share your tips, ideas and stories to help strengthen others and make it easier for others to endure. Leave a comment on the blog or email enduringfinancialstruggles@gmail.com (all posts are anonymous).