New Calling

Last month I was called into the Stake President's office and given a new calling. I am the Stake ESL Teacher. Interesting. I just quit my job as an ESL teacher, and here I am again. I really do enjoy it, and the people in the class are wonderful. They are grateful to have me there, and make me feel welcome. It meets before our Sacrament gets out, and during our Sunday School. At first, I was hesitant to hold the class on Sunday, but then I got to thinking, hey, this will give me something to do on Sundays. I was told that they would like me to attend at least Sacrament with the Spanish Branch, which I was happy to do. I don't feel much of a connection to our Relief Society. Some people have a hard time with Sunday School. I usually don't have a hard time with it, unless the teaching is sub-par. Relief Society, on the other hand, I've never been a fan of. Anyway, attending the Spanish Branch's Sacrament Meeting will give me a chance to brush up on my Spanish. I just have to try to focus more. I get kinda sleepy at that time of day.

Old Fart at the Libray

I must be getting old. We've gone to the new library 3 times since it's opened, and I just can't help but wonder at a few things.

First of all, let me say that I am so excited and thrilled that it's only 10 min. walking distance from our home. It could be faster, but Devin takes her time. Because it's so easy to walk to, we plan on going there weekly.

I'm also happy that it is so big and roomy, and that they have all those brand new books. Tax dollars well spent.

But.

I've got to say that I'm not so pleased with the "toys". My kids are readers. They love books, they love reading. Period. But. Whenever we go there, they prefer to play for quite a while before getting books. Playing is good. Just not my idea of what needs to be going on at a library. That's why parks were built. Yes, I'm ancient. An old fuddy-duddy.

Second, it's so loud there. Gone are the days where you could curl up with a good book in the library. It's too hard to concentrate. If you get there right when the library opens, it's a little better, before all the loud people get out of bed, I suppose.

And speaking of curling up with a good book, there isn't a comfy spot in the place. Those chairs and couches are the MOST uncomfortable places to curl up with a book. More signs that I am aging....

I'm going to give you two choices....

Last night, as we walked to our brand new library, Devin said, "I'm going to give you two choices. First we go to the library. Then we go to McDonalds.... I'm going to give you 30 seconds, and then let's go to McDonalds."

She got to go to the library.

Summer Must-Do's

• movies in the park
• music in the park
• Bees game
• swimming
• canning
• reading
• science experiments
• math
• baking
• go to the library
• go to the park
• fly the kite
• sidewalk chalk
• picnics in the backyard
• make sno cones
• make homemade ice cream
• go for walks
• eat from our garden
• go to Payson Lakes
• eat popsicles
  
• popcorn and a movie at home
• watch the new Harry Potter movie
• celebrate Dad's birthday
• write/draw a journal
• crafts/art projects
• visit the lonely
• walk along the river
• have a fondue party
• have a treasure hunt
• make cheesecake
• go on an I Spy hunt
• play Wii
• service projects
• sidewalk paint
• 
  

Dinners and Bedtime

I am so glad that last night was Darin's last night running the community ed program at his current school. Because he's leaving that school, he also had to give up this 2nd job. It's been a rough couple of years with him working so much. Of course the sacrifice was worth it--we were able to pay off debt and I was able to quit my job--but we've missed Dad. It's just not the same having dinner and scripture study without Dad. The kids have missed him at bedtime, reading books to them and tucking them in at night. For a while, they tried to stay awake until he got home, but they soon realized that he got home too late. Though money will be even tighter, we are glad that he will be home for dinner and bedtime each night.

Impatient!

Devin has 5 more days of school.
Jadyn has 11 more days of school.
Darin has 4 more days of night school and 14 more days of school.

Then, of course, Darin will be working his summer job and taking more classes. But at least he will be coming home at night and eating dinner with us!

From Dumps to Blessings

We got some more good news yesterday. Darin got a new job!

The school where he has been teaching for the last 4 years has become a less than desirable place to work. The administration is unsupportive of it's teachers, and sadly, lots of teachers at that school are looking elsewhere for work. The science department that Darin had originally started working with have all left to work at other schools.

It has been a long month of interviews. Even though this was only the third interview, it sure seemed like it's been an eternity. The first interview was in Payson. We were really bummed that he didn't get that job. We were very excited to move down south. And the second interview was at a private school--the last thing we ever wanted to do! Not fans of private/charter schools at all!

It seems that Heavenly Father thinks we need to stay where we're at, because the school where Darin got the job is really close to home, and from what we can tell, has a great administration and the department head seems eager to get Darin over there.

Jadyn, the Great Brain!

Well, it's official. Jadyn is Gifted and Talented. Or at least she's one smart cookie. Now to figure out where we'll be next year.

What's up?

Last year, we totally screwed up the time on one of our season ticket showings at Desert Star, so they let us go today to make up that missed show. We thought that was very nice of them. Of course the place was quite empty, probably because everyone else was being good and watching conference. Don't worry, we DVR'd it. We mostly enjoyed it. I think we've seen the same old jokes too many times after going to a season of plays. The kids really liked it, esp. Devin, which was nice considering she had a fever of 102.3 yesterday. Another sinus/ear infection. Poor kid. She takes after me in too many ways.

Speaking of that, both girls need glasses. They are little mini-me's.

We've been doing some Spring Cleaning. It feels good to have a clean house. Yesterday, when Darin came home, I was telling him that it's a bit of a let-down that it's not more noticeable that I had been Spring cleaning (I had to tell him the list of things I had done), and he reminded me that that's a good thing. If it was noticeable, that would be pretty scary! Good point, Darin. Made me feel much better!

Nerd alert! I even created a Cleaning Schedule. I think this is what happens when your husband has a bone marrow transplantation, and you have to keep the house super-clean for 3 months!

Jadyn's Big Day!

Big Girl Jadyn got baptized yesterday! She's been excited about this for about 3 months now. Here's her testimony:

"I know this church is true. I love my Heavenly Father and Jesus. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet. I love my family. I'm thankful to be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost. I know that Jesus lives. I'm thankful for our prophet, Pres. Monson. I know that the Book of Mormon helps us learn about prophets and Jesus. I'm thankful to be on Earth. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

Our Doggy!

Devin, our doggy. She will crawl everywhere she goes, pant and bark like a dog, pick things up and carry them in her mouth, jump all over my bed like a doggy, and even get her snotty nose all over me. I tell her, "If I wanted a doggy barking at me all day, I would have gotten one!" She just smiles and laughs.

One time we were out, and Devin was crawling and barking. I said, "Good doggy!" Boy did I get some looks!

The one positive--when I tell her, "Sit, doggy!", she does! Usually.

Valentine Baby!

Guess who's 8!
Jadyn Elizabeth Bronson,
a.k.a., Monster and Jady-bug!

• Who are your best friends? Kaylee, Gabriela, Gia, Blanca, Jerelyn.
• What's your favorite movie? Monsters Vs. Aliens.
  
• Favorite TV show? Ghostwhisperer.
• Favorite food? Mom's homemade macaroni and cheese.
• Favorite song? I Love to See the Temple
• Favorite toy? Bike.
  
• Favorite thing to do? Monkey bars.
• Favorite snack? Banana.
• Drink? Chocolate milk.
• Restaurant? Chinese.
• Book? You Achoo (book about germs)
• Place to Go? The park.
• School subject? Reading.
• Animal? Real--elephant. Pretend--unicorn.
• Color? Pink and blue.

Jadyn's first bath.








Jadyn is very excited to get baptized. She will be getting baptized on March 5th!

End of the Year Summary

• One year ago, we made the decision that Katherine would quit her job and stay home to take care of the family. She turned in her resignation in February, and quit working when school got out in June. Since then, she has been throwing herself into getting our food storage together, and learning how to implement it into our daily use. We have also worked hard to pay off all debts, other than the house.
• Jadyn turned 7 on Valentine's Day. What a grown-up girl she is becoming.
  
• Darin taught summer school to help pay off some debts, and he also spent a lot of the summer doing wood work and making Katherine some monthly decorations to hang on the welcome sign he also made.
• The kids loved swimming all summer, and Jadyn is thinking of going out for the swim team in a few years. Devin tends to swallow a lot of water and often clears the pool by throwing up, but she still has fun.
  
• In July, Devin had a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy due to having huge tonsils and adenoids that impeded her breathing at night. She had a hard time feeling like eating for about 3 weeks afterward, and got really skinny, but once she started eating again, she "plumped up" again. She's still skinny, but not anorexic-looking.
  
• In August Jadyn started 2nd grade, and continues to be Miss Smartypants. Her teacher recommended she be tested for Gifted and Talented, but it's obvious that she's way ahead of her grade level, especially in reading. She is also continuing her piano lessons, and really likes singing -- all day long.
  
• In September, Devin started preschool. While we are very aware of how smart she is, her teachers were not so aware, since she has select mutism, which means that she is too anxious to talk in certain situations. Speaking to adults is very scary for her, and we had to have a meeting with her teachers to discuss how best to meet Devin's needs. Things are improving, and Devin has made lots of progress socially, even though she's only spoken to her teachers by accident. But she is obviously getting more comfortable there.
• In August, our Foreign Exchange Student, Tuyen, arrived. She will be here for the school year, and is mostly adjusting. Not sure if she will ever like the food, since it all seems "weird" to her. She has been making friends, and getting good grades.
• In August, Darin was also given a "new" calling. Before his bone marrow transplant, he was the Ward Executive Secretary, but needed to be released to deal with his health. He was called to that position again for the duration of the Bishop's term.
• Devin turned 5 in November, and is getting to be a big girl. When she's not being stubborn, she can be very helpful. Her favorite thing seems to be helping Mom with laundry.
• For Thanksgiving break, we took a road trip up to Katherine's sister in WA. It was a lot of fun, but all the snow and the bad roads made the drive there and back quite long and scary.
  
• On Nov. 26th, Darin reached an important milestone. Two years following a bone marrow transplant, his type of lymphoma is much less likely to return. That gives us a lot of hope, and we feel truly blessed to have reached this point without any concerns.
• After many years teaching Gospel Doctrine in the ward, Katherine was released. She was subsequently called as a Ward Missionary. Her assignment is to work with the young single adults. There are many in our ward, so she will be kept quite busy making visits. She looks forward to getting to know them better.

Happy New Year to all our friends and family!

"Hey Mom..."

Devin: "Hey, Mom, it's your birthday!"
Mom: "It is? How old am I?"
Devin: "Seven!"

Blessings and More Blessings

Today we got two pieces of good news.

First of all, Devin's teacher was given permission to let me sit with Devin during her testing. Not only that, but Devin can whisper the answers to me. This is particularly important because, as you know, Devin will not talk to her teachers. (She has anxiety with the teachers). She talks with the kids in front of the teachers, but she will not talk to the teachers. I had asked her teacher at the Parent Teacher Conference if we could do this, and she said she would have to check with her supervisor, and she did, and was given the ok. So far, most of her test scores are 0 because she won't talk to her teachers.

Not only that, but the supervisor is going to bring some sort of tape recorder thing (not entirely sure what this is) that I can take home and have Devin record her voice for the Chart Calling. Then when it's her turn to be the Chart Caller, instead of saying it, she can push the buttons to have her voice play on the recorder while she moves the chart around.

The second piece of good news is that Darin had his doctor appointment today, and it is very encouraging. He has been going to the doctor every 3 months for the last 2 years (well, ok, it's more like the last 4), and now he gets to extend it to every 6 months. That's right, 6 months! Normally this would have been his last PET scan, but there is a new spot on his left knee (not the cancer knee) that lit up, so he has to get one more PET scan. The spot is not in soft tissue, and the doctors are not worried about it. Most likely, they believe, it is the beginnings of arthritis. But, just to be safe, he has one more PET scan in 6 months to see if there are any changes. This is such awesome news. It has been a long road.

With this 2nd year anniversary after his bone marrow transplantation, we hit an important milestone. The likelihood of this cancer coming back after 2 years drops dramatically.

We are truly blessed!

All About the Punkin Pie

(Got this idea from Jen)

Punkin Pie turned 5 today. What a big girl she is! Here are some questions I asked her.

What was your favorite part of your birthday? The frosting.

What was your favorite present? The bracelets. (She has been wearing all of them, and insisted on wearing them all to school. However, she's been playing with the alphabet game too, and singing the songs.)

What's your favorite food? Uh, cake.

What's your favorite color? Uh, uh, uh, red, because I'm in the red group with Tessa, Alex and Hunter. And me too.

What's your favorite movie? Uh, uh, Avatar? What do you like about it? The guy shooting him.

What's your favorite toy? Uh, uh, rocket.
We don't even have a rocket. I know!

What's your favorite dinner? Sloppy Joe. (Not even)

What's your favorite candy? Chocolate. (Big surprise)

What's your favorite show on tv? Sid the Science Kid.

What's your favorite clothes to wear? My shirt of flowers and brown pants. (What?? Not the fancy pants or the cool pants??)

What's your favorite thing to do? Soccer outside.

What do you want to be when you grow up? I don't really know. Next question.

What's your favorite song? Nephi was a crajus, this was his reply. I will go I will do the things the Lord commands, I know hu hu hu hu hu hu. He wants me to obey.

Who's your best friend? Brayan.

Catching Up on Pictures

At the state fair....


At Red Butte Gardens...


At the zoo... I like how Devin's on her tummy, pretending she's dead.



After a visit to the dermatologist. He burned off about 30 pre-cancerous spots on his face, head and arms. His eye is a bit swollen from the worst one.



Halloween! Tinkerbell and Ariel

At the Trunk or Treat....



Your mom goes to college!

Maybe I'm cuter than I think....

Since I've been home with the kids more (and not working), I've been out with Devin to the stores more, and it never fails, someone always tells me how much she looks like me (and Jadyn looks like Darin) and how beautiful their hair is. This happened to us twice in less than an hour this morning (at two different places). One lady even said that she bets that if she looked at a picture of me when I was that age, I'd look just like Devin. While I know that is definitely NOT the case, and that Devin and Jadyn are WAY cuter than I've ever been, I've taken to calling Devin my Mini-Me. It is definitely flattering to be told that Devin looks like me, cuz she's just SO DARNED CUTE!

One more thing about Devin

Didn't think I wanted to post this on facebook....

So today while Devin and I were running an errand, she decided to put blue marker all over her fingers. Later on that day, she must have had an itch or something, because when I was getting her jammies on, I saw some blue marks on both butt cheeks in the shape of several fingers. Looks like she got a beating and is all bruised on her butt.

What, oh what, will I do when Devin is in school all day? I will sure miss the entertainment!

The Devin Saga

For those of you following The Devin Saga, here's an update.

We met with the teachers (not the lead teacher, whose mother just passed away from cancer, but the assistant, the resource teacher, and the speech pathologist), and we found it to be a very helpful meeting. They weren't trying to punish Devin; they just didn't realize that Devin thought it was punishment when she was not allowed to play if she didn't say the words. Now that they understand, they will stop doing that, and will give her positive reinforcement to help her talk, and will do what they can to help her feel more comfortable in class.

They did start to get a little weird, wondering if they could raise their voice and such when she wasn't following directions. We had to clarify that our concern was only about punishing her for not talking, and that we didn't want her to feel like she was bad for being afraid.

We feel much more comfortable with the situation now.