Happy New Year 2008!
It’s good to be another year older and wiser. Actually I wish the wiser part was a little more prominent than the older part!
A few of my Christmas wishes came true this holiday season!
The first wish was having a very happy holiday. I’m always a bit fearful of school breaks because of the HUGE expectations that come along with FREE time. Being the family cruise director gets a bit overwhelming at times and this year wasn’t much different except for the constant reminder in the back of my mind…keep it simple!
SNOW was the determining factor in our activities over the break…and wow did we ever have SNOW! At least every other day we had a snow storm. That made it easy for Santa and his sleigh to travel to our house, but made it a bit hard for the Christmas Eve dinner guests to arrive. Our mountain and especially our street takes a big hit when it snows. As we greeted each dinner guest at our door we were given a big sigh of relief and a little tale of terror as they made the last trek up our hill.
In the winter we will often sit and watch from our living room window, the cars spinning and sliding trying to make their way up to the top. Sometimes they make it and often times they don’t. LaFonda (as Connie fondly refers to our Suburban---she gives many family cars a name) always barrels up the mountain with no problem—going down is another story!
Christmas Eve was a wonderful gathering of family and friends (about 30 of us) and once safe and warm in our home we shared a wonderful meal, some family Christmas memories and stories and we read the account in the scriptures of the birth of Jesus. I felt very blessed that night for many reasons…good family, good friends, a call from the Philippines and a personal testimony of the love Jesus has for each of us.
As we were eating our yummy Christmas desserts we were even blessed with a surprise guest…Santa! He was polite and rang the doorbell instead of coming down the chimney (oh wait we don’t have a chimney)! He was dressed in red with a big bag of gifts and joyfully gave to all! That memory still brings a smile to my face even weeks later…Santa is a very fun, giving man.
After all the children were nestled all snug in their beds Kels and I had a few last minute tasks to attend to and then we settled in for the night. All the fun of Christmas Eve must have tuckered the kids because they didn’t wake up till 8:00 AM on Christmas morning! A beautiful gift for their parents.
Christmas day was fun and relaxing. We stayed home in our pajamas, ate yummy leftovers and played with all the fun new toys. The cousins and Grandma Chatfield came over for breakfast and stayed and played for awhile too. Mid afternoon Kels took the kids sledding. Jake wanted to try out his gift from Santa, a snow boogie board. The sun shone brightly on the snow packed sledding hill and all came home happy, tired and without injury. I caught up on a little R&R. Great Christmas day!
Number two on my Christmas wish list was an efficient quick clean up of all Christmas décor and 2007 stresses. I wanted to start the new year with lots of energy and new resolve. The decorations came down quickly and soon after that I was released from my R.S. enrichment leader calling—a clean sweep right! A few days later I was given a new calling. I was asked to serve as the 14/15 year old Sunday School teacher. We are studying the Book Of Mormon this year and so far we are off to a good start. Kids sure do know a lot more that I used to at 14!
My third Christmas wish was to experience something new in my life. Shortly after thinking about this wish we were invited to go Laser tagging with Carri, Connie and their kids. I was unsure what this activity was all about but Nate assured me it was great fun. We split up into teams, donned vests with laser sensitive shields and guns, and entered into a great fog with lots of hidden stairways, rooms, trap doors, re-charging stations and great fun! We played for over and hour and even 6 year old Kate was awesome. Ben took home the honor of being the best sharp shooter but all felt surprisingly good about how and whom they “tagged”. After awhile I didn’t even mind taking a couple shots at Kels!
After all that fun it was nice to get back to a bit of “normal”. School started again and the first week back we had Parent-Teacher conferences. It was nice to find out that our kids are right on track and doing well. Kate’s Kindergarten teacher raved about her and her marks were very high in all areas including citizenship. Jake is excellent in his Math skills and is quite a creative writer. His teacher commented that she loves to read Jake’s stories because she can always count on his to be different than all the rest. She said after reading the same story 23 times it’s fun to read Jake’s. Bianca is grateful that P.E. is done for the year although she will be taking Aerobics this semester. She also completed her Spanish class for the year. She and Kels can communicate a little now and Kate and Jake are always jumping in with the counting to ten. Oh we are such a bilingual family. Bianca will now take an Art class along with all the other required courses. Bianca has a real interest in Art and shows real talent.
Kelsey is taking 4 classes this semester at UVSC. He’s thinking after this semester he will be ready for the Master’s Program and then on to graduation…for good! We hope that a CPA is the end result of all this…along with a fabulous job in the tropics!...or maybe just an office that isn’t in the basement. We’re grateful that his current job is a good one and allows for such flexibility. We hope he continues to be blessed with good health and a will to rise early every morning to greet the day…at 4:00 AM! Study hours are hard to find for a person working and serving full time.
My last Christmas wish is still in the wish stage and as wishes go it must not be revealed in hopes that it will come true. I feel blessed to have a great feeling of contentment in my life. As I watch my children experience things that help them to grow, mature and develop, my smile deepens…I’ve seen that same smile on Kelsey’s face. Its’ good to be a parent…it’s challenging at times but oh so satisfying, especially when one of them leans over and whispers in your ear, “I’m trying to be just like you.”
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Monday, November 19, 2007
We're blogging now!
Here is the latest happening with the Chatfields
It’s beginning to look and feel like Fall around here…
There is still plenty of bike riding, hiking, walking, outside basketball weather left. And the kids do them all. Kelsey along with Jake and Kate hiked up to the old mine yesterday. Kels said once they were about half way up the mountain they could look out across the valley and see clear blue skies and lots of beautiful colors. Jake and Kate were a little disappointed they didn’t run across any wild animals (or their bones) and no slithering things in sight. But Kate was in awe of the stories that Kels told of the many lives lost in mining accidents. She reassured me that she would not enter any big holes in the ground…I’m glad she learned something from the adventure. (Jake wasn’t quite so reassuring…)
While Jake, Kels and Kate were hiking Bianca was out on a lunch date with Grandma Chatfield. Grandma had promised Bianca a birthday lunch date and because of schedules and bouts with colds and strep the first Saturday available was yesterday. They decided to go to Mi Ranchito and have their favorites. Yum!
Earlier in the week Jake had basketball tryouts. He was very nervous about the whole ordeal. We were told that all the boys (3rd and 4th graders) come together in one gym and they play a bit of organized basketball drills. As I was sitting in the old Cherry Creek Elementary gym I had flash backs of a gymnasium back in the old days when you (Dad) would play church ball. This particular gym reminded me of the time when you used to wear a hair piece and as the sweat was dripping off your body, the heat was unbearable, you called time out and while everyone was watching and wondering why there was a time out you yanked the hair piece of your head and carried on with the game. I remember being totally shocked (along with many others) that you would do that because not many people were aware that you wore a hair piece…good quality from the Philippines! You’ve been a free man ever since. Good memories!
Back to Jake’s tryouts…Jake played well. Like I said he was very nervous that he would not be picked for a team. All the coaches were there and they walked from group to group trying to decide which players they wanted on their team. I heard from one of the moms there that once the coaches had their picks they all gather together and fight (discuss?) over the kids they want on their teams and the others are divided up…everyone makes the team but in kind of an odd way. Jake (and I) were relieved to see that many of the coaches were writing his number down. Jake found out the next day from a friend’s dad who happens to be one of the coaches that he was a first round pick…and whether it was true or not it sure made Jake feel good.
Bianca’s highlight of the week was a combined YM/YW activity…A Scavenger Thanksgiving Turkey Hunt. All the young men and young women were sent out through the neighborhood to collect things for a turkey dinner (they actually collected enough for 3 complete turkey dinners). What made it great fun was they were all in search of the illusive turkeys…there were three turkeys that were hiding in homes throughout the area and the groups that found the turkeys were promised BIG prizes. Bianca’s team found one of the turkeys just as it started raining a bit…they were glad to return to the church for hot cocoa and donuts and a great sense of accomplishment.
I spent much of the week at Art City Elementary…I think they are going to give me my own room soon. It was Pilgrim and Indian days for Kate in Kindergarten. Kate learned how to grind corn for maze, made an Indian headdress and ate corn muffins. On Pilgrim day she learned how to make her own butter (and we know how Kate loves butter!), made a Pilgrim maiden’s hat, learned how to sew on a button, wash some clothes on a washboard and played some fun Pilgrim games. Ohhh it was a fun two days!
Dr. D. also visited Art City this week. They had a special Veterans Day assembly to honor our Veterans and Dr. D. was asked to play his trumpet as a special part of the program. He played behind a curtain so no one knew he was there and sounded like the real deal. When Jake came home that day from school he told me that he wished he could have brought his Grandpa to the assembly. There were many Grandpas there being honored. Jake and I talked about Jake’s Grandpas and their involvement the army and the marines. I think Jake felt good that his grandpas were willing to serve in the armed forces to help keep our country free and safe. After hearing some of the stories, he is hoping for a peaceful world in the near future.
I’ve had the opportunity to visit some of the schools in the area (Elementary, Jr. High and High School) for my PTA assignment and am finding there is some major money being spent on facilities and programs for education in our area. It’s nice to see some of the efforts to keep up with the growth here in Springville and Mapleton. I was very impressed with Mapleton Jr. High’s Advanced Choir, and their state of the art building was impressive too…Wow! What they are doing to educate kids these days is soooo beyond what we had in the olden days! Although sometimes I wonder if the one room school houses with the school marm teaching 10 students would be a little less stressful. The expectations are quite high for students…and their parents! Who thought our kids would be doing Algebra in 3rd grade!...not me!
Kelsey trudges on doing his usual school, work, church stuff with a few extras thrown in to make his week much the same as last. He comes out of the basement once or twice to see the light of day and if he’s really lucky he gets to take a short walk. He’s looking forward to January!
Every once in awhile at UVSC they have perspective employers come and talk with the business students there. Kels has had some interesting conversations and made some great contacts but is finding that in fact to get paid the big bucks (or at least a decent wage around here) he needs to go for the Masters or MBA…he will continue to trudge on. We’re grateful he has a great job while going to school.
It’s beginning to look and feel like Fall around here…
There is still plenty of bike riding, hiking, walking, outside basketball weather left. And the kids do them all. Kelsey along with Jake and Kate hiked up to the old mine yesterday. Kels said once they were about half way up the mountain they could look out across the valley and see clear blue skies and lots of beautiful colors. Jake and Kate were a little disappointed they didn’t run across any wild animals (or their bones) and no slithering things in sight. But Kate was in awe of the stories that Kels told of the many lives lost in mining accidents. She reassured me that she would not enter any big holes in the ground…I’m glad she learned something from the adventure. (Jake wasn’t quite so reassuring…)
While Jake, Kels and Kate were hiking Bianca was out on a lunch date with Grandma Chatfield. Grandma had promised Bianca a birthday lunch date and because of schedules and bouts with colds and strep the first Saturday available was yesterday. They decided to go to Mi Ranchito and have their favorites. Yum!
Earlier in the week Jake had basketball tryouts. He was very nervous about the whole ordeal. We were told that all the boys (3rd and 4th graders) come together in one gym and they play a bit of organized basketball drills. As I was sitting in the old Cherry Creek Elementary gym I had flash backs of a gymnasium back in the old days when you (Dad) would play church ball. This particular gym reminded me of the time when you used to wear a hair piece and as the sweat was dripping off your body, the heat was unbearable, you called time out and while everyone was watching and wondering why there was a time out you yanked the hair piece of your head and carried on with the game. I remember being totally shocked (along with many others) that you would do that because not many people were aware that you wore a hair piece…good quality from the Philippines! You’ve been a free man ever since. Good memories!
Back to Jake’s tryouts…Jake played well. Like I said he was very nervous that he would not be picked for a team. All the coaches were there and they walked from group to group trying to decide which players they wanted on their team. I heard from one of the moms there that once the coaches had their picks they all gather together and fight (discuss?) over the kids they want on their teams and the others are divided up…everyone makes the team but in kind of an odd way. Jake (and I) were relieved to see that many of the coaches were writing his number down. Jake found out the next day from a friend’s dad who happens to be one of the coaches that he was a first round pick…and whether it was true or not it sure made Jake feel good.
Bianca’s highlight of the week was a combined YM/YW activity…A Scavenger Thanksgiving Turkey Hunt. All the young men and young women were sent out through the neighborhood to collect things for a turkey dinner (they actually collected enough for 3 complete turkey dinners). What made it great fun was they were all in search of the illusive turkeys…there were three turkeys that were hiding in homes throughout the area and the groups that found the turkeys were promised BIG prizes. Bianca’s team found one of the turkeys just as it started raining a bit…they were glad to return to the church for hot cocoa and donuts and a great sense of accomplishment.
I spent much of the week at Art City Elementary…I think they are going to give me my own room soon. It was Pilgrim and Indian days for Kate in Kindergarten. Kate learned how to grind corn for maze, made an Indian headdress and ate corn muffins. On Pilgrim day she learned how to make her own butter (and we know how Kate loves butter!), made a Pilgrim maiden’s hat, learned how to sew on a button, wash some clothes on a washboard and played some fun Pilgrim games. Ohhh it was a fun two days!
Dr. D. also visited Art City this week. They had a special Veterans Day assembly to honor our Veterans and Dr. D. was asked to play his trumpet as a special part of the program. He played behind a curtain so no one knew he was there and sounded like the real deal. When Jake came home that day from school he told me that he wished he could have brought his Grandpa to the assembly. There were many Grandpas there being honored. Jake and I talked about Jake’s Grandpas and their involvement the army and the marines. I think Jake felt good that his grandpas were willing to serve in the armed forces to help keep our country free and safe. After hearing some of the stories, he is hoping for a peaceful world in the near future.
I’ve had the opportunity to visit some of the schools in the area (Elementary, Jr. High and High School) for my PTA assignment and am finding there is some major money being spent on facilities and programs for education in our area. It’s nice to see some of the efforts to keep up with the growth here in Springville and Mapleton. I was very impressed with Mapleton Jr. High’s Advanced Choir, and their state of the art building was impressive too…Wow! What they are doing to educate kids these days is soooo beyond what we had in the olden days! Although sometimes I wonder if the one room school houses with the school marm teaching 10 students would be a little less stressful. The expectations are quite high for students…and their parents! Who thought our kids would be doing Algebra in 3rd grade!...not me!
Kelsey trudges on doing his usual school, work, church stuff with a few extras thrown in to make his week much the same as last. He comes out of the basement once or twice to see the light of day and if he’s really lucky he gets to take a short walk. He’s looking forward to January!
Every once in awhile at UVSC they have perspective employers come and talk with the business students there. Kels has had some interesting conversations and made some great contacts but is finding that in fact to get paid the big bucks (or at least a decent wage around here) he needs to go for the Masters or MBA…he will continue to trudge on. We’re grateful he has a great job while going to school.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
