Letting go.

*This is what we get for telling Kyle to show his teeth when he smiles for pictures.*

My biggest baby started 1st grade this year and I have lived to tell about it.  I thought Kindergarten was hard but 1st is much harder. I mean, I let 6 year old leave me ALL day, 5 days a week! Who does that? Oh yeah, me and about 6 billion other people...or something like that.
I did totally fine the first day but then a random 3 days later I was blubbering like a fool. I thought all those cliche' thoughts, "Where has the time gone?", "I wish he'd stop growing up so fast." Yada, yada. I have since come to peace with it all and am enjoying watching him excel in school and make new friends.

Kyle missed the first 4 days of school due to our Northern California trip but I knew he would handle it fine (and he did).

We have had our Parent/teacher conference 

where we have been told that Kyle is doing really well

 in school both academically and socially. 

We are very proud of him.

Love.

“Parents, remember that now is your opportunity.
You may feel yourself harassed as you struggle through the days with children,
but you are living the happiest and most golden years of your life.
As you tuck them into their beds at night, please be kind to them.
Let them hear a kind voice amid all the angry, vile voices that they
will hear throughout life.
Let there be an anchor to which these little ones can turn when all else fails.
The Lord help you do so…” ~Harold B. Lee

I love this quote so much.
This is what I strive for every day.
I am not perfect yet I continue to try.
It's that important.
I love my babies.

{Oh and do you think "harassed" is a strong enough word? :}

{Note: There is no picture of my baby girl because I am not so desperate that I would risk waking a baby that sleeps like a feather.}

Winnie the Pooh will always be welcome here.

My feelings are nothing new and have plagued many a mommy before me.
I have recently felt the anxiety that many mommy's feel when they realize that their baby won't be a baby forever. i.e. Kyle has taken a liking to Winnie the Pooh and therefore goes around the house singing "Winnie the Pooh" to himself. This is an everyday occurrence. However, yesterday as he was singing it the unfortunate thought occurred to me, "Before you know it "Winnie the Pooh" will be gone only to be replaced by 'Winnie' the girl. And various other scary things.
As much as I dislike these rude interruptions of thought in my life, I am also thankful for them. I am given the opportunity to re-focus my priorities and what is truly important. Facebook can wait. Dusting can wait. (It always does.) Even my blog can wait. But my growing baby boys will not. Listening to Noah sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and the ABC's verbatim or watching Kyle develop a new passion for puzzles. These years are but a flash. I don't want to take them for granted. My boys are so sweet. I hope they both ALWAYS know how much their Mommy loves them.

Spencer Coleman Hind 1921-2008

My Grandpa died today. I am so full of emotions of every kind. Grandpa would be a whopping 88 years old in January. He lived a long and full life. I can only hope that I am blessed in the same way. He enriched my own life and many others. At a very young age he contracted spinal meningitis which in the end left him unable to hear at all. However, through his trials, my life has been enriched. I am thankful to have learned sign language among other things from him and my grandma. What a good man he was. I will miss him very much.

Some of my fondest memories are of him coming over to our house daily to feed the horse kept in our backyard. We got occasional rides and unlike most people, we had a HORSE in our backyard! I also remember him taking us to the West Jordan rodeo grounds to ride horses with ice cream afterwards. The there is the rib jab that Grandpa will always be famous for among the grandkids. Grandpa had a great sense of humor and a smile right to the end. What a good example he was to me. I feel blessed to have had him in my life for so long. I am so grateful for my testimony of the gospel and that I know I will see him again. I'm sure we will have a great chat then.

Spencer Coleman Hind
"A Man of Service"
January 10, 1921 ~ December 17, 2008
Spencer Coleman Hind, 87, passed away Wednesday, December 17, 2008 in West Jordan, Utah after a long and productive life. He was born January 10, 1921 on a farm in Smithfield, Utah, the son of James Albert and Amy Coleman Hind.
When Spencer was 7 years old he contracted meningitis and lost his hearing completely. He attended the Ogden School for the Deaf where he met Gladys Allsop. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on December 5, 1940. Spencer and Gladys recently celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary with their family and friends.
In spite of what many would consider a disability he worked hard to support his family. He was a welder repairman for Westinghouse for 35 years.
Spencer was beloved in the deaf community and served the deaf people in many ways. He had a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and passed this faith on to his children. He served diligently in the LDS Church and was a pioneer in the leadership of the deaf branch of the LDS Church. He was the first deaf person in the church to serve as Branch President. He presided over the Salt Lake Valley Branch for the Deaf for eight years. He was called to be a high councilman in the Salt Lake City Park Stake. He was also the first deaf person to serve in that calling. He served in many capacities in the church including as a temple worker and as a full time missionary along with his wife in the Houston Texas Mission.
He loved horses and spent several happy years as part of the West Jordan Riding Club. He also loved dogs, tools, sports, and cars.
The Hind sense of humor is legendary and Spencer was no exception. He loved to tell funny stories and tease his grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife, Gladys; his children, Carol Stirling (Fred) of Pocatello, ID; Spencer J. (Judy, deceased; Karen), Richard (Cindy), Douglas (Karen), Ken (Valorie) all of West Jordan, Bill (Cherri) of Riverton, Janet Taylor (Boyd) of Mesa, AZ. He is also survived by 32 Grandchildren and 47 great- grandchildren. He was proud of his large family and enjoyed being among them.
Proceeded in death by his parents, his brothers Platt & Bernard and sisters Wilda and Thelma.
Services will be held Saturday, December 20 at 1:00pm where friends may call Friday, 6-8 pm and Saturday from 11:45 to 12:45 pm prior to services.
Dad, you can finally hear us.