Nervous

I am totally being terrible at keeping up on this blog. I have things to share, they will come later...

I just wanted to note that tomorrow I become an out- of- the- house working mom. I'm a little nervous. I have done this job before, so it's not about that. It's about how this will affect my family. I feel it will not be so great a change, but we'll see. I am already going to miss Becca's first award at school. It made me sad. I will have to remember to take pictures when I get home. Awards are important. She works hard to earn them and I worked hard to prepare her!!! Not feeling it is off to a good start.

Changes Coming Our Way.

Remember that job I told you about not long ago? I turned it down. Yeah, well, I am now employed by that daycare. I start Feb 1st. I think it's funny how things work out sometimes.

I was offered that job a month ago. I turned it down because the hours weren't right and I really didn't want to leave home. I like it here. But sometimes circumstances change. Earlier this week my sister-in-law told me she was moving. She would no longer be able to bring her kids. I needed a job.

I called my old boss back. I was in a pinch. I asked if by some miracle that position was still open. She informed me it wasn't. My heart sank a little. However, she told me that another position had just opened up. It was in the kindergarten room. The hours would be from 9 am - 1 pm. The hours are perfect, but I really wanted to teach preschool. I would have to take it, so I did.

I went in this week to get all that I needed to get done to work there. We were talking and she said that it was good thing she had called me about the other job. You bet it was! I wasn't even thinking about getting in the work field again, but I also wasn't expecting this.

The more I think about it, I get excited. It's been 10 years since my kids have had their house to themselves. I think it's time. I will be able to put in my 4 hrs of work and be done. Work will stay at work and will not be a stress to my kids. Don't get me wrong, I have always watched good kids, but there were sacrifices my kids had to make daily. Sometimes it wasn't easy for them. Their home, their bedrooms, their toys were never theirs. I think it has been good for their sharing skills, but I know sometimes they would act out just because they were feeling the stress of it all. So, I think this will be a good change for our family.

I'm a little nervous. Having a boss will be weird, but I'll adjust. Change is good for you.

Dustin has gone back on graves. Oh how we really don't like this shift in our house! It beats swings though.

We have had to adjust to him being gone at night and being quiet in the day. No family should have to endure that! But we are willing because he gets to do a job that he loves. And having a happy dad is worth lots!

One bright side is all the afternoon time we get with him. The boys have loved going to the church in the afternoon to practice basketball. While they are practicing, the girls are wearing themselves out playing line-tag. I do laps in the gym. We are all getting our exercise in and having family fun time!

Dustin is hoping to tryout for the Motors this spring. Hope he gets it! Not only will he be able to ride a motorcycle, which he loves, but he will work 4 10s and no weekends or holidays! It was yucky that he had to work this Christmas! I would like to not repeat it.

He is still on SWAT. He has some interesting stories to tell all the time. I have decided criminals are not so bright!

I know his job is dangerous, but he loves it so much. It's great seeing him so happy! And the uniform doesn't hurt either ! :)

I Believe Aliens Have My Daughter

All my children are obedient. They have their moments, but all-in-all they do as they are asked. Our daughter, Rebecca, has always done well. She is happy to please. She loves to see the smile on your face.

Well,lately, this has taken a 180* turn. I find myself having to ask atleast 50 times- probably not 50, but it feels like that in the moment- before she even acknowledges me. Then it will be another 10 before she does it! And ONLY after I have raised my voice and threatened heavily! What is it? I would really like to remedy this issue. I know I had this a little with the others, but she is stuck in some stage, or something.

To Whom it may Concern:

If you have taken my obedient, well behaved, pleasant child, will you please return her? No questions asked. Just drop her off, or beam her down, and walk away. Oh, but don't forget to take the imposter with you. I would greatly appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Mother of the Merrit Household

Inner Child

We were watching television and a narrator came on and started talking about parents' inner child.

"Moms don't have an inner child." I turned around to see who had just said that. It was Kate!

"What does that mean?" I asked, a little defensive. "Do you know what that means?"

"Yeah. It means that they do crazy, fun things. Dads have inner child. Like when he throws us or tickles us. That's inner child."

Oh. She knows. It made me a little sad. So I'm happy to report that the next day Kate received a piggy back ride and joined me in a joy dance. Just trying to show my inner child. And I'll make it a point to do it more often!

If Curiosity Killed the Cat...

where would that leave Grace?

Grace is my most observant child. Along with that, inquisitive. She always has a billion questions for me. Sometimes it's a little (a lot, I'll admit) overbearing. I guess it frustrates me because I don't have the answers, or sometimes I wonder why she cares. Is that bad? I know I need to be more patient.

The other day she asked me, "Mom, why is your hair in a ponytail?" I gave a weird face. This was a moment I was wondering why she cared. "Mom, you've never worn a ponytail before." I was still trying to answer her first question.

"Grace, I used to wear ponytails all the time. My hair is long enough to pull back now."

"Oh," is all she said. She had this look though. It seemed to be saying I was too old for a ponytail.

Today I was talking to one of my friends outside. I came in and she asked, "Mom, why are you smiling?"

"Oh, because I was talking to my friend."

"Mom, when you talk to your other friends you never smile." Sigh.

"So when I'm with this friend and this friend, you never see me smile?" What was she thinking?

"Yeah, you do, but it's different."

"Oh," was all I could say.

Her observations make me really think of how my children view me. Maybe I'm too seriuos. It would be interesting to live a day through their eyes. Especially Grace's! Maybe then I could really understand her curiosity!!

Aaron's 12th

I told you we would eventually have Aaron's 12th Birthday party. We had it four months late, but better late than never, right? Well, atleast Aaron didn't mind.

He got a few of his friends together and decided he wanted to go to Fun 'n' Motion. They had a lot of fun plying Laser tag, Laser Maze, and in the bounce houses. I just sat and supervised.
It was hard for him to pick which friends to come. He invited Kamri, Allen, and Jakob. Kamri and Allen he has known since he was very little. Him and Jakob have become friends this year. I'm sure he would have wanted all his friends to be there, but it was noce just having a small party.

Another young man in the house. It makes for lots of new experiences! Happy Birthday, Aaron! I love you!!

Kamri showed off her craftiness. Look how cute this tie is. She also made him a wallet (filled with money) and a key chain. All from duct tape! He received money from Allen and a really cool glow-in-the-dark basketball hoop from Jakob - it has supplied my children with non-stop, in the dark fun! Thanks guys for coming and celebrating Aaron!

14 and Growing

Ryan turned 14 the beginning of this month. Unless you have a 14 year-old, you may not understand. This age has kind of freaked me out!

We went to a fireside last night . It was the Trek Kick Off. Yep. My son is going on Trek this year. And guess what? Dustin and I get to go with him. At first we were to be a Ma and Pa, but Dustin got his new calling and they want him to go to all the families and get to know all the young men. This left me wondering what I would be doing. I'm still wondering. They say I'm still going. I will serve anywhere. I just want to be with my husband and son who have never experienced Trek before!

Ryan says he doesn't want to go. That made me sad. I asked why. He said it was because they were requiring the youth to dress the part. That means pioneer attire. He doesn't want to be wearing khakis in the middle of July. I can understand that. I was wearing jeans in the Nevada desert on my Trek. We talked about attitude- we talk about that a lot lately. Hopefully he warms up to the idea. But, he's still going. He'll thank me later.

Having young men in the house has really changed the dymnamic of our house. I guess not the house, just our parent-child relationship. It's hard to figure out. Sometimes I wonder if it will click. I always told myself I would enjoy when my kids are bigger, I enjoy it. It's just different than I imagined.

Ryan is a good kid. He is trying so hard to be himself. He's still trying to figure it out. I know once he knows who he wants to be, no stopping him! I'm excited for his future.

Daily Posts

I want to try to do better on my blog this year. I count this as my jounal. A family journal. My goal is to print off each year and it will be our family story. I'm not very consistant of giving everyone equal time. The girls are home so much more (and like to get pictures taken) so they get more stories told. I was trying to think of a way to get my boys on here more. I decided that I would assign each member of our family a day of the week. I will tell what they have been doing and make sure to write what struggles, changes, or anything of that nature, is going on in their life. I figure if I do this, we will have an accurate account of our family life. I plan for the schedule to go like this:

Monday- Ryan
Tuesday- Aaron
Wednesday- Garce
Thursady- Kate
Friday- Becca
Saturday- Dustin
Sunday- Me and any family news

Hopefuly this gets me motivated!

Abundant in 2012

Last year I chose a word to focus on instead of a list of goals. I made sure that it would incorporate all that I wanted to achieve though. That word was Creator. It was to remind me that I was the creator of my circumstances. I felt it worked well. I have done well in 2011, although I know I could have done better. I forgive myself and will just try again.

This year I chose:

Abundant

I was given this word from this article in the Jan 2012 Ensign (go ahead and read it). It was written by our prophet, Thomas S Monson.

This year I am seeking the abundant life he mentioned, "...abundance in success, goodness, and blessings..."

This year we are also studying the Book of Mormon, my favorite!! I love this book. Everytime I read it, I love it more and more. I feel it ties in well with my word. The whole theme through the Book of Mormon is:

Keep the Commandments = Prosper.

That's it. I know we could say alot of fancy, deep things, but what the ancient prophets were trying to tell us is that if we would just do what the Lord asks and expects of us, we would "prosper in the land." We would achieve the abundant life.

I'm so excited. I feel this is going to be a great year, a lot of growth in store. And I say, "Bring it!"