Look out... I feel a blog coming on.

Do you mind if I deviate from the original intent of this blog (which is to brag about my kids, of course) for a few moments? I just have a lot to say, and frankly, there are no better listeners than the random people that read blogs, right?

Last night I had my third grade music program and in spite of me, it went wonderfully. In fact, I would probably say it was one of the best programs I've been involved in. The program was a celebration of Oregon's birthday (which is today, if you didn't know). We sang "Fifty Nifty" (of course) and some good 'ol favorite patriotic songs including "Oregon, My Oregon." I had a sing-a-long for the parents in the middle with a medley of "My Country Tis of Thee," "America, the Beautiful," and "This is My Country." Despite 30% of the audience wanting to roll their eyes at the thought of standing and singing, I think they really enjoyed it. A few of the parents of my bi-lingual kids came up to me with tears in their eyes saying how much they enjoyed the performance. What an incredible feeling when someone who speaks very little English comes up to you and uses the few words they know to express their gratitude. I know how uncomfortable I am using the few Spanish words I know in front of people who speak that language. So, my point here is, It was a hugely humbling experience.

This program came at the perfect time, when I was starting to feel really inadequate about my teaching ability and my group management skills. Right now, the music teachers in the south area are doing "Honor Choir," which is a select group of kids from each of the elementary schools in the South feeder area. They come together and we teach a choir for 6 weeks and then have a performance with the high school and middle schools in our area. Each of the elementary music teachers takes a turn at teaching and directing different songs that we will perform. Talk about feeling less than! Some of those teachers are amazing to watch. They have this power over the kids. The kids hang on every word the teacher says, they are quiet while the teacher is teaching. I have learned a ton from the other music teachers and am so glad that I get to watch them, but, I am not comfortable teaching in front of them. Besides that, I am not comfortable conducting when there is more than one part being sung. Something about cueing different parts totally throws me off. I would much rather be the singer following the conductor than the other way around. However, I am trying to take what I can learn out of this to improve my skills rather than beat myself up over it.

Sorry about all of this babbling, but I guess if you got tired of reading it, you would have just clicked the X as Micah says. My main point here is that I feel so blessed and want to tell you that God is faithful. I have to remind myself that he will finish what he started. He gave me the desire and skill to do this job and he is continually molding me into the person that these kids need. He faithfully lifts me up when I need a boost and gently points out things that I need to work on.

Now I'm feeling embarrassed about all of this, but I think I will post it anyway. Maybe I should start a blog where I really don't know any of the people who read it and they don't know me. Its hard being vulnerable, but its human and that's what I am... a work in progress. Luckily I have God for a creator.

Milking a Cow

This morning one of Playhouse Disney's mini-shows came on called, "Daniel Cook." This little boy goes around and meets people at different jobs and tries doing different things with them. The theme song came on and I said, "Its Daniel Cook!" Micah said, "Thats where I learned how to milk a cow!"

Fun week!!!

I worked one and a half days this week! With two snow days, we've had lots of fun. So, I can't just sit home on a snow day, especially when there's not really enough snow to play in, so we went over to my friend Christin's house and I helped her organize her daughter's room while the kids played. Her kids are conveniently one or two sizes bigger than mine, so she gave me some clothes for Amelia. Here is Amelia with her new skirt and top. (Yes, I cut her bangs. They were straight when they were wet.)

The other night we had those same friends over for pizza and then we watched the kids while Christin taught her swimming class. We waited for quite a while and I thought I saw their van drive by two times. I figured they couldn't remember where we lived and decided to go to McDonalds instead. As we were waiting, Micah and I were talking about it and he said, "Mom, you should tell her that we live in the white house in West Salem." I giggled and told him that there are many white houses in West Salem. He said, "Oh, there's one over there (looking out the window). Tell her its not the one by the mailbox. Its the other one."

Later that evening after Christin left, I was changing Amelia's diaper and Lici (Christin's daughter) asked me about the desitin cream that was laying on the ground. I told her that I used it on Amelia's bottom when it gets red and has owies. She launched into a whole story about how she gets owies on her "(va)gina" and her daddy puts medicine on her gina and this and that about her gina. Then Amelia was brushing her teeth and Lici saw her toothpaste tube and asked, "Kandi? Is this for Melia's teeth or her gina?"