Summer vacation is here! Calder has his preschool graduation tonight, so pictures to come of that. Today, I want to highlight Amelie. She just graduated from 2nd grade! She has done so well in her new school. Her reading, math, and writing skills have improved by leaps and bounds and she really loved her teacher, Mrs. Rolan.

Working on painting designs on paper that they later used for collages during their study of Eric Carle books.

From a memory journal she made about 2nd grade: “I learned how to regroup. I learn to to do moltuplcashan. I learned how to read more. I learned lots of stuff.”

The LEGO neighborhood her class made.

“My favorite subject was lunch. I liked it so much because they were just so fun.”

Making licorice “rope” to test its strength.

Her class at the end of the year.

“Hey, guys! Show us how excited you are that you all met your reading goals for the year!” And then there’s my sweet subdued little Amelie.

Way to go, Amelie! You worked hard and did so well this year!

Remember this list I was working on? I got to this next one and just didn’t feel particularly inspired and then there was the whole building a house and moving thing…

Prompt #13: What’s the hardest part of growing up?

This has been an interesting question for me to consider. I feel like I had a wonderful childhood and “growing up.”  Parents that always made me feel special and loved, that made me feel like my presence was a joy to them. The unique experience of moving all over the world. A religious community that gave my teen years a backdrop of morality and a place of belonging. I would say it was a pretty charmed life.

But since I have to answer, I guess I would say that transitioning from child to adult had its hard moments. I spent my 11th grade year in Honduras while my parents served there as mission presidents. Something inside of me pushed me to apply for early admittance to BYU and I ended up skipping 12th grade and heading to Utah at the young age of 16. I was 16, starting college, miles and countries apart from my parents, and pretty much on my own. Talk about a learning experience, in big and in little ways! For example, I went from having a maid that did my laundry and cleaned house (totally normal in Latin America) to suddenly having to fend for myself. It wasn’t a huge deal. Learning those kinds of skills was more about practice then anything else. And I am grateful for how my parents handled it. They didn’t step in and try to do everything for me. Now, maybe that was helped by the fact that they were in another country. But I really felt like they trusted me and knew I would do my best. Looking back on it, that was pretty amazing! I hope I can have the same level of trust with my children when they are 16. Because of that trust, I had the chance to learn basic homemaking skills, be fully responsible for all my academic work, handle my own finances, make friends, and live a pretty independent life, mistakes and all.

Was is a struggle sometimes, straddling my youth and my new adulthood? Of course! And, I will admit, there were times when I would come back home and feel like I was still being treated like a child, even though I thought I was all grown up. That just goes to show how young I still was, trying too hard to prove I was a big girl. I found myself dealing with those same feelings when I got married. Here I was, a married woman, but I still felt like a child in my parent’s home. But wasn’t I? And aren’t I still? When I got married at 19, I was still a teenager. At 29, I think I’ve realized that I always want to be a child in their home. I still feel special and loved and now that I am a mother myself, I think I understand a bit more. What on earth am I going to do when Amelie decides to get married, or move out? Cry, that’s what. And then send her on her way with love and trust so that she can have the same opportunities that I had.

So, the hardest part about growing up for me was also one of the biggest blessings. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for believing in me, trusting me, and loving me. And for the constant support you give me now. I’m a pretty lucky girl.

Okay, are you guys ready for this?

Last week:

This week:

Ta da!

We were absolutely stunned to see the progress from last week to this week!

Lots of the framing done.

The back of the house.

This week the house has really become a reality to me. I’m so excited!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-0-F0YDfZk

Click here if you can’t see the video above.

Today I turn 29 years old. That just sounds so old to me. 29! I think this is the first birthday I’ve felt old. The other day, a newlywed couple moved into our ward. I collected the usual information sheets from them and noticed that she was born in 1994. 1994, people! But, I guess with four kids, I have to admit that I’m getting older. Just in case I ever forget, I have Amelie around to remind me. Yesterday’s conversation:

Amelie: I can’t believe you’re turning 30 tomorrow!

Me: Not quite. I’m turning 29. But you’re close.

Amelie: Well, you’re still getting old, right?

Sigh.

Lest we get too caught up in the whole aging dilemma, here’s something to make you smile. Just click on the link. It gets really good at the 40 second mark.

Liam Laughing

My next prompt (#3) is to “Describe your relationship with your spouse.” Where do I start? I think Raven described how we met in her write-up, but I might add a few more details.

When Raven asked me out, I was shocked, as she said, because a few days or weeks before I saw her out my dorm window. She was down on the grass outside our building taking pictures on a date with someone. I thought she was drop-dead gorgeous. I remember thinking, “Well, there goes another one.” There was no chance she would be interested in me. She already had a guy, apparently.

So, a few days or weeks later (I can’t remember how much time elapsed from that first sighting), when I received her asking out to the Preference dance, I was floored. Why would she want to go out with me? She had her guy, I remembered. Was it the same girl? I looked her up in the ward directory. Yup, from Tegucigalpa, Honduras. A real latina. Same girl I saw before. Maybe it didn’t work out with that guy? Who knew.

And then I started getting really nervous. I mean, this was one beautiful girl! Would I make a fool of myself? Would she even enjoy the date if I said yes? All those questions started going through my mind.

Like Raven said, our first date to Preference was fantastic, probably one of the best dates I had ever been on. We hit it off from the start. I still remember singing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the top of our lungs in the car while we were driving from place to place on that date. It was magic. Not only was she one of the cutest girls I’d ever seen, but she was fun, friendly, and seemed to like being with me. I couldn’t believe it.

After that, things went pretty smooth. Of course, I was still nervous, but Raven helped me along. Until…. drum roll…. we were married! It’s been almost 10 years ago, a decade, in April.

How has it been since then? I couldn’t imagine a more loving, compassionate, warm, happy, pleasant, giving, fun, encouraging, humble, beautiful companion than Raven. She continually surprises me by her optimism. She can somehow always see the silver lining in things, which helps me a lot when I’m down. She is a great example to me, and teaches me a lot about how I should be. She loves people, I mean genuinely loves people, like I’ve rarely seen before. She cares deeply about them, every person near to her. Where she is more outgoing and socially adept, I’m more introverted and like alone time. So we balance each other out well that way. She is an amazing mother, even though she won’t admit it. Her first priority, every day, all day, while I’m at work, is our four children. She gives herself entirely to them. Sometimes I think she goes above and beyond the call of motherhood, but I’m very grateful for her deep desire to raise our children right. She is very concerned that our children get the right education, and will go to whatever means necessary to ensure it, including moving them around to different schools or even home school until it feels right.

One of the things I love best about Raven is that she almost always is in a happy, positive mood, and that helps lift me up when I’m down. I don’t know how she does it, but she always has a smile on her face, and that brings a good spirit to everyone in her surroundings.

We’ve had a blast these last ten years together. We’ve been over some rocky road together (who hasn’t), but we’ve clung to each other and pulled through to the other side. We take one day at a time, and look forward to fun times in the future. We try to focus on having great experiences together, things that we can remember, and that we can point back to when times are rough. We do our best in raising our children, although we feel woefully inadequate at the task. We treasure the time we spend time together in the evenings, about the only time we have to spend together every day. Kids go down at 7pm, and then it’s Mommy and Daddy time. Every day. We love it. And it’s good for the kids too, I think.

I don’t know how I was so blessed to find Raven, and get married to her, but I count it as one of the luckiest blessings in my life.