Unique kids

We want our kids to follow their dreams but do we really give them the room to do that?  When my kids were younger I use to worry about them fitting in. I use to talk about Eric and say he's really not your typical cookie cutter boy.  He was and is completely uniquely Eric.  You know what,  I no longer worry about them fitting in. My motto has become why would you want to be ordinary when you were created to be extraordinary.  I want my kids to find their passion and then WORK to make it happen. Still there's a certain way we are "suppose" to do things.  We are afraid of letting them venture off the path, afraid to let them take chances.  We tend to unintentionally stifle them, keep them in their cookie cutter boxes.   We don't want them to fail. However despite what some may think there are many many different paths to success.   Our kids are absolutely unique, the don't fit into a box.  So I suspect their "path" may be equally unique.  We recently allowed our 9th grader to trade in his prestigious charter school to return to homeschool.  I am sure we have some people thinking we are absolutely crazy.  I don't care.  Is it scary....you know you think it would be but it's really not.   We've really accepted that our kids like to do things differently.  Actually we've learned that our kids THRIVE by doing things differently.  I'm so thankful for the awesome support system my kids have.  I encourage all parents to allow your kids the freedom to pursue what they are passionate about.

To my son starting high school

I get this crazy pit of my stomach feeling just thinking about you starting high school Thursday.  We blinked and you grew up. These next 4 years will really define the man you want to be.  I know we've stressed academics, which are extremely important.  However you will learn so many life lessons in the next 4 years that far surpass academics. As your mom you've reached a point in your life where I can offer guidance and when needed boundaries but now you really have to make decisions for yourself.  Some things i want you to remember: you are amazing, be kind even when no one else is, you are a leader, don't let anyone else define you, work hard for what you want,  you are precious, there will be days when life sucks on those days get up put one foot in front of the other and keep going,  be brave, get our of your comfort zone, don't hold yourself back,  never doubt you were created for a purpose. I am so proud of the man you are becoming. I love you!  *and yes Bryan I know my thoughts were all jumbled...that's how I roll ;)

New school year

Time for a new school year.  While I'm not ready to give up our summer yet I am ready to get back on a routine. This year our oldest Bryan starts high school.  I honestly don't know how that got here so quick.  He has a pretty heavy work load this first semester so I'm sure he will be plenty busy. He also has a list of extra curriculars he'd like to do.  Eric will be in 8th grade and that's almost as shocking as Bryan starting high school.  He plans to do swimming and robotics and he's hoping to start a Pokemon club with the homeschool group.  Caylie will be in 4th grade. Dance will occupy most of her free time but she would like to swim and take some other classes. They will keep us plenty busy. Ready to get back on routine, excited to see how the kids learn and grow this year. Blessed to be their mom.

Out of my comfort zone

So the few of you that read this know that after over 20 years of searching for information on my dad I found his family this year. I really thought when I found him I'd just look at his Facebook page, see what he looked like and not make contact. However when my search found that he passed away 25 years ago, that I had siblings, I decided to reach out. See if family would tell me about him, maybe have pictures. I'm an extremely guarded person. I was overwhelmed with how quickly they reached out and had lots of information and family pictures. It's crazy that my son has the same name as my brother I never knew about and how my oldest looks so much like that brother and my dad. This is all very new and I'm very new to this getting out if my comfort zone thing. I'm really glad I did though. It's really cool to see where you came from, the family you didn't know and to learn bits and pieces about your dad. Eventually we will meet, I hope to learn more about my dad and find the sister I didn't know about.  For now it's just cool knowing there's more family out there.