A cute story

This was something that happened yesterday. I wanted to document it because I thought it was super cute. And very observant.

Between Mr. M and myself, we have 1 grandparent left. She is a sweet little 97 year old woman. And quite proud of her age and who she is. We live about a 10 minute drive from her. I will refer to her as GGM for this story. 

Last year, GGM fell in the middle of the night and broke her shoulder. At that age, there is not much they can do for them other than keep them still so the bones hopefully heal. She spent 6 weeks in the hospital as she healed and we would often go to the hospital to visit her and see how she was doing.  It became apparent to us at that time that she has some kind of memory loss. I don't know if she has an official diagnosis but the memory loss is there. 

We will go to visit her and about 1 out of 10 times she will know who we are. Usually the conversation goes like this

Hi GGM

Hi

How are you doing?

I am good but who are you?

I am Jocelyn, Mr. M's wife. 

Who is Mr. M?

Mr. M is N's son.

N (mr. m's dad) has a son! When did he have a son? Did he get married? I am going to talk to him! He is in trouble. He got married and didn't tell me!

Because of this happening, we have talked to our children about her memory loss, mostly so that they don't wonder what is going on and are not wondering what it is about.

I have wanted to visit GGM for 7 weeks now but I have had a cough. A nasty one. And since she lives in an old folks home, we cannot go and see her. Yesterday the kids asked again if they could go. We were driving in the van and I said we could not go but I am sure she understood. 

L, being the funny little man that he is, goes to me, "Mom, understand that we are not there? GGM does not even know who we are! How do you expect her to understand why we are not there when she does not even know who dad is and that Poppa N has a son! She does not even know that Poppa got married so really mom, understand, understand when she does not even know who we are?"

It was funny and we all laughed about it. He is right. I remember going to see her after we realized that she has memory loss and sitting there realizing that the visits are really not for her, they are more for my kids to make memories with her. I am sure she enjoys her visits with us. I really feel that it is very important to go and visit with her, take a few minutes (it's a lot for her with the kids) to just stop by and see her and let her know that she is important to us. Because she is.

Finishing up L days

See this is why I am a bad blogger. I miss a day, and then 2 and then think "what is the point, I am so far behind" well, this is catch up then.

L days was compiled of many different things. One of them is a rain check.

We did lots of drawing. Which at first was going to drive me crazy, but I tried to remember this was about HIM! So I said I was cool with drawings as long as it was something different every time, so it was. He loved having people draw for him. Art is very important to him. 

One day he said he didn't want to celebrate because we were at his cousins birthday party and didn't want to take attention from them that day. How sweet eh? 

One day we watched a movie he picked (Despicable Me) love it!

The rain check? He wants to go for a walk in a park. The kicker? He wants to do it in the snow! The things I do for the kids I love! 

We had a few friends come bowling with us. I am not a fan of big massive parties, way too much stress. So this was nice of him to have just a few friends and go bowling and go out for pizza. 

And then I made his "cake" He wanted minions. He saw it here first and LOVED it so he begged me to make them. I will forewarn you I am NOT creative. I have some things I love to do, but really, cake decorating is not my forte at all. So I did my best. Be kind if you comment! 

how cute Eh? I love them.

I am blessed to have the best 10 year old a mother could wish for. I can hardly wait to go for a walk in the snow with him. I love you L. Thank-you for coming to our family and making it a better family. 

L days number 3

Well, as I suspected L would happily pick relaxing every day if allowed. I had previously told him that he got to pick one this and it needed to be different. 

There was kind of 2 things he got today. Today was the day of his "teacher welcome" at his school. His request was that we all go AND that we do not embarrass him. I said to him, "But L, we were all going to go, this is not celebrating you" His response?

"By not embarrassing me, you are celebrating me!" 

I guess that is important to a almost 10 year old. I almost felt like I was cheating him out of his "L" days celebration but it is what he wanted. 

That is until we got home. He said, "Mom, member when we were in the states this summer and you bought me my video game? Well today is September 15th (they were not allowed to have it until today) and I was wondering if I could play it." 

He got 15 minutes that he didn't have to "earn" 

Good thing my kids remember stuff like me buying it and where I put it. We bought it about 6 weeks ago and I said to them, "This is not yours until Sept 15th. If you pester me, I will not let you have it. And you will need to remember where I put it when we get home" 

Of course they remembered where I put it and they never pestered me once!

L days number 2 AND a milestone.

We are celebrating "L" days, a celebration of my sons soon to be 10th birthday. Today, he wanted us to draw a picture of a monster for him. Now no one out there LOVES art the way L does. So his request was that we made up a monster of a mammal and a reptile.

And it had to come with it's own secret weapon. Whatever we want it to be.

I was going to take a picture BUT L wanted to keep the pictures private, so private they are. 

I love that we can do little things to help him celebrate this milestone in his life. 

The most important thing is how important HE feels! 

Yesterday cost nothing.

We all did what he had chosen. 

And we all loved it.

Now, he did say that today, I could share my milestone with everyone.

1 year.

365 days.

8760 hours.

525600 minutes.

31536000 seconds.

no diet coke. 

I never ever in a million years would have thought that I would have made it 24 hours. 

The headache at hour 12 made me reconsider all I had said.

BUT I DID IT!

I can actually do something!

Thank-you all so much for your encouragement. 

It means more than anyone could ever know.

And thank-you to my cousin A for starting the conversation on it. 

I would have never done it otherwise. 

I appreciate your support!

"L" days number 1

So, L came up with a way to celebrate birthdays. He will be turning 10 this year so for 10 days before his birthday he gets to come up with 1 thing each day we get to do to celebrate his birthday and we do it as a family. 

Today was day #1. 

his choice?

his favorite thing of course!

(to the tune of "the 12 days of Christmas)

"on the first day of "L" days my family gets to do with me"

.

.

.

Relax.

I am not joking. 

He loves to relax and take it easy.

So that is what we did!

My house is a mess, I would not even answer the door if anyone came over but I gave him his wish and happily did it. Tomorrow I will have to make up for it. He only get's to pick it one day otherwise I am quite sure he would pick 10 days of relaxing!

making rules

So when I think of making rules, I think often that rules don't apply to me. Why I feel like I should be exempt I do not know. It's not like I deserve to have no rules, just don't really make rules for myself. 

This year I have my boys in school all day and M goes 2 afternoons a week so I have about 2.5 hours by myself. At first I was sad because I love having her around. She is a great kid and I love to have her help me out! So I decided that since all the kids would be gone, I need to give myself rules. 

1. no computer UNLESS it's a very specific project. 

2. no phone calling

3. no texting

4. no t.v

I want to be able to have quiet time to myself. I may go for a massage or go do something little for myself or I may just clean to keep busy. But I don't want distractions. I used to do morning papers and used that time to really meditate and think about the day. I have stopped doing that and miss it. It was nice to just have time to think about things and not have distractions. 

Now I get to go back to it.

how L got his name

Yesterday I guest posted on my friends blog about being due with L on 9/11. You can read it here if you didn't read it before. I have been asked since the day he was born how he got his name.

When I was 6 weeks pregnant with L, I had a dream. I saw this little face in my dream and I knew if I had a boy that this would be his name. It was odd to me because I obviously didn't know if it was a boy or girl. And we didn't want to know until we had the baby if it was a boy or girl, so it was going to be a LONG wait. 

We had our girl name that I was sure I was going to name the baby if it was a girl (McKinnley, none of our kids are named that, just loved the name since I was 15) 

I was due on Sept 11, 2001. A few days after  9/11 I was thinking about his name. I wanted to be sure that his name would have strength, character and was named after someone who symbolized strength and honesty. A name that would have meaning.

My labour was long with L, 29.5 hours. pushing for 2 of it. When he came out he was not doing great so I didn't get to see him for an hour. I remember when Mr. M came up to me with L in his arms and said "So, can we name him Sawyer Prescott?" I looked at the little one in his arms and saw the very same face I saw in the dream. I said, "Nope, this is the face that I saw in my dream" 

So L it is and has been for almost 10 years. He loves his name and the history behind it. It means something to him. He loves the person he is named after and gains strength from him. Really feel like he needs to honest like him.

Here is a pic of him this summer. I love it. He has this thing for having everything tight on him, including his swimming goggles. 

I love who he is and the strength he gives to me.

guest blogging

10 years ago today I was due to become a mother for the first time. I blogged about it but it's on my friends site. Please, check it out here
It's a celebration all about FAMILIES! Sweet eh?

me and deep fried food.

I have never denied that I love deep fried food. My favorite fried food is five guys french fries. Personally I think everyone in life should get to experience those fries. A close second is the garlic and parsley french when we went to go and see the Seattle Seahawks 3 years ago.  I thought everyone loved a fair donut like I do.  Lots of my favorite foods are deep fried. To say I love them is minor. I will never admit how much fried food I eat in 1 week because it's embarrassing.

A few months ago, I went without deep fried foods for 1 week. It seemed pretty easy. My goal was to challenge myself and make it for 1 week. It seemed pretty minor and was easy to do. At the end of the week though, it never really changed my eating habits though. That was one of my goals and but it didn't really happen the way I wanted it to. 

So I was thinking about it a while ago and decided I needed to challenge myself and do something HARD. I decided that for an un-determined amount of time, I was going to give up food that was deep fried.  I know this is not hard for everyone but it is for me. 

This weekend we went away for a little family get away. At one point L was having Chinese food. One of his favorite is sesame chicken. He offered me a piece and I said "No, I am sorry, it's deep fried" He looked at me and said "Mom, I don't know how you are going to do this! Look at all the food that you cannot have anymore!" I told him that it was not a "cannot have" but a "chosen to not have" 

It gave me a great opportunities how in life, people make choices and we get to live by the choices that we make, either good or bad. 

I hope he gets it. 

Did any of you give birth to Fish's? I did!

Okay, so at the beginning of the summer, L was pretty confident. M and B, not so much. B would not even go in the big pool even though he could touch. M was stuck at my side in the water. It drove me crazy because I want them to be confident in the water. I am SO NOT confident. Pools scare the heck out of me. And it's not just the fact that I have to get into a bathing suit. 

So I want for my kids what I don't have BUT I want them to earn the confidence in the water. We live a 5 minute walk from the outdoor pool in our community. In the summer time we spend a lot of time there. Mr. M is so good with them in the water. I just am there for support. 

L man in the pool during lessons. He LOVES these goggles

L man going off the diving board. I love the "action" in this shot!

B boy in the pool during lessons. 

In the deep end. He will only be there with a life jacket. Hey, I am just happy he will go in the deep end!

M and how she spends her time in the deep end. She will go off the low diving board and just keep jumping in a million times. I am so glad she is confident.

What's this???? M getting ready to go off the deep end!

SHE IS 3!!!!!!!

I love this shot! She jumped twice and loved it.

I am so proud of all of my kids!

Reptile gardens

We got to go to the reptile gardens in Rapid City, SD. I was not a fan of the price ($50 for our family, I think M was free) but it was worth EVERY PENNY. We loved it. Check out their link here

They had a fantastic selection of animals! I cannot remember the name of them all but they were wonderful. The staff was amazing, anytime we had a question, we got the answer. So many viewing windows to keep us away from the poisonous (YAY!) The write ups on each of the animals was detailed enough to give the kids the necessary info but it was not too much.

They had 3 separate shows that we could go to. We started at the birds, went to the snakes and then the crocodillians. I loved it because each of the shows were about 30 minutes, and then it was about 15 minutes until the next one. We felt like there was enough time to move from one to another. My kids were thoroughly entertained!

The raven was taking money for something (I cannot remember what)

Boa. That puppy was huge! Poor Mr. M was not doing too good during this whole presentation. He is so not a fan of snakes.

B took this picture! Cool eh?

This guy was demonstrating how to close a gators mouth

Every time he would get close, these guys behind him would head for him! 

Finally, a demonstration! After 6 tries.

we loved it! We hope if you went with your family you would love it as much as we did!

holidays part 1!

So this year we decided to go on a fun holiday and try and pack as much in as we can. A few years ago, I went to Mount Rushmore with L and B but because of timing, Mr. M could not go. He has always wanted to go there, so we decided to add that to our trip. The whole goal of our trip is to see a sweet little nephew who was born in July. So because of where my sister lives and where Rushmore is, we added it to the trip.

I am a "get in the van and drive" kind of a girl, Mr. M not so much. We decided to stay in Billings the first night at the big horn resort. It was a blast. They have a mini West Edmonton Mall, except better because it's mostly built for little kids. They have mini waterslides that M could go down by herself, they have a mini wave pool, hot tub and grown up waterslides. L and Mr. M loved the tube ride. Me, I am not such a fan of super quick things. We loved the waterpark!

This is a HUGE bucket that holds 140 gallons of water. It fills up and then dumps all over whoever is below. The first time I stood under there I got a bit nervous. "how hard is it gonna hit me" was what I worried about. It did hit hard, just not that bad. M would even go under there and stand there to get hit with the water, so obviously it was not that bad!

This is B going across the monkey bars. Both boys LOVED it!

M after going down a waterslide perfect for kids!

The next day it was Sunday and we went to Sacrament meeting in Billings. We were in the quietest ward I have ever been in. And of course, M was the loudest she has ever been. It was horrible. I prayed (really!) that some other kids would squirm and be all loud. Nope! I could not be so lucky. I took her out and some super sweet lady says "she looks like a handful" I replied with a yes. Then she said "I bet you were a handful at this age too". I again replied with a yes. I am sure I was way busier than either of my parents care to remember.

We were a little sad that we could not go up to the Temple because the gates were shut, but realized that it was to keep the Temple safe from those who might wish it harm, so we were ok with it.

This was our HOTTEST day. 105. ouch.

On the way we drove past the Battle of Little Bighorn. I married a social minor, so you bet we stopped! it is some of the most peaceful land I have been at. It was so hot and we all tried like heck to be patient with Mr. M as he looked around. The kids spent time looking for rattle snakes (gross).

Then it was on to South Dakota. Mount Rushmore was what we wanted to go for. We stayed first at a KOA Kabin in Hotsprings, SD. It is not recommended in my book. I was hoping for a nice stay, it was not very friendly. We packed up and left first thing. It was fun to tour Mt. Rushmore with L and B as Mr. M's guide. We went there 4 years ago so you know, they know everything.

M was scaring the pants off of us. She was wanting to sit up here on a ledge. There is a 6 foot drop right behind her and if you see the ledge on the right, she headed for that. There is a 25 foot drop from there. I turned my head for 1 second when I heard "mom" she headed for that ledge. WHAT??? There was a guy who was on the lower ledge who saw her doing that and grabbed her. Thank-goodness. She is such a turkey. I wanted a picture of her and  her brothers on the ledge (of course with her sandwiched in the middle) so we bribed her with ice cream if she behaved and would let us take her picture. Wanna see it? It's a beaut!

I love it! We got a picture and she got an ice cream!

Rushmore was beautiful! I loved it. I loved being there. I loved the whole part of the state that we were in. It was so fun to spend this time with my family.

I have a picture of B 4 years ago. Man has he grown!

Kids getting their "junior ranger" badges

cool shot Mr. M!

Crazy Horse. I notice no change in the last 4 years. Supposedly they have a regular blast schedule but people who were there 20 years ago notice no difference. Sad really because if they completed it, it would be beautiful. 

crazy storm. I always thought that thunder and lightening storms were scary where I live. NOT! In the mountains when thunder rolls, it echoes. I have so many friends that would love it. I did not.

love these little men.

What Rushmore would look like if it was finished.

Ice cream. The ultimate bribe to get your kids to cooperate for a picture

Me and L. I cannot believe how grown up he is! 

M eaves dropping on a conversation. There was 4 people at the table and she sat there peacefully for about 10 minutes and listened. She did not say what they were talking about so she must be a good secret keeper.

"the Help"

"the Help"

I loved this book and movie. Loved it.

The book is based in the 60's in Jackson, Mississippi. It is a story that is about Maids and their employers in Jackson. The main characters are Aibileen, Minny and Skeeter. They bounce back and forth between each of their lives that are intertwined. Aibileen and Minny are both maids, Skeeter is an author who wanted to write something different so she could get a job at Harper & Row. 

The movie stayed so true to the book. There were a few things that were out of place as to the order that is happened, but most of the main parts were there. If you want all the little parts, read the book. No matter what, I don't think anyone could be disappointed in the book. While this book may not be word for word what has happened, it is a part of history that really DID happen. Maybe still does. It got me to thinking.

I don't want to say too much about the book because I don't want to give it away. The book tugged at my heart strings, helped me to view people differently and made me make sure I didn't want to be a "Hilly"

It was kind of scary for me to realize that there was a time in the past 100 years that if someone who employed a maid didn't like her, she could tell whatever lie she wanted and the maid was fired. And not just from her, from all the other people she associated with. One person could make it so that maid would never work again in Jackson. And not just the maid, other members of her family as well. 

I think the part that affected me the most was that the Maids (really, the surrogate mother for the mom while she was out doing whatever was "important") could not go to the bathroom in the same house as  the people who she was employed by, BUT she could be trusted with their children. They changed diapers, potty trained them, all the "going to the bathroom" necessities BUT they could not go to the bathroom in the same toilet as their employer. They could not touch them as they put their food on the table but yet they were trusted with buying their food and preparing it for them. 

It baffles me how there could be such divisions in life. I thought 

"we are all part of the HUMAN race, is that not what matters?"

It has helped me to take a look at my life and the people who are in it. Do I treat people like I am better than them or do I treat them as a slave and not really appreciate what they do. It has helped me to want to be a better person, show love to all people regardless of differences, and most importantly, teach my children that ALL people are created equal regardless of race. 

I read this book on holidays. DON'T! It was horrible to try and sneak in a page and really, you just don't want to read ONE page. There was one time J was like "can you drive" I was at a good spot, I was not about to drive!

(Warning, there are swear words in it that I did not appreciate)

just wondering

How does Heavenly Father forgive us so easily, even if it's something that we do over and over again? How come we cannot????

blessings

So this morning, I woke up feeling like I wanted to rob a bank. Let me state LOUD AND CLEAR that I never would, nor would I think it would be a good idea for anyone to do it, just felt like it. I was thinking of all the un-expected bills that we had pop up this month

fuel pump for the van, 

retainers for 2 kids (insurance only covers half ),

Root Canal for me,

new windshield for the car (more later)

I was feeling the pressure of "REALLY???" This is ridiculous how much it will cost. First I wished I knew  mechanics so I could do it myself, and maybe learn a thing or two about putting in windshields. Then I thought maybe I should become a dentist and do my own root canal an make my kids retainers. Then I though if I robbed a bank I could pay for it all. But, me knowing where that thought from shooed it out of my head almost as quick as it came. I knew 1) I would NEVER do it and 2) if I thought about it long enough I would feel guilty for even thinking about it. 

So I readied myself for the dentist. I have such a nice dentist. I am not a good patient. I take ativan for anything other that just a cleaning. He knows I am jumpy and that it's probably in his best interest to just give it to me. So he was checking out my tooth.

He looks at me and says "I have a test I am going to do"

I said "Is it the freezing test?" 

"Yes ma'am" he replied (Why is he saying that when I don't live in the south?)

"Can't you just believe me?" I responded

He looks at me and said "I believe you. You don't have to have the freezing" 

If you know me at dentists, that was enough to make me wanna cry. I felt so grateful. I felt grateful that he knows me enough as a patient that it would hurt and that he knows I would not just be there for fun. He knows that my nerve is dying and just believes me.

I was on my way to Costco to get meds for M and me and thought to myself "I got up pretty grumpy. I was worried about all these expenses and had prayed to know how we could do it. But I feel so grateful. We have an amazing insurance plan that in 2 weeks will cover about $1500 worth of dental. It has also covered hundreds of dollars of figuring out M's asthma meds. I just felt so grateful that instead of worrying about that money, that it is covered. It's not there it's not a worry. I am so amazed at how much the Lord knows me, he knows the things I worry and panic about and how I feel overwhelmed. I am grateful. And I am really glad I don't feel like robbing a bank anymore.

did you know there is such a thing as float fairies?

 I didn't. I know, how could i go my whole life and not know about float fairies? Well, we found out tonight that there is such a thing and honestly, it was perfectly timed! I have been crazy doing taxes (2 years worth, I know, my fault!), 5 passports, getting ready for Quest and trying to not go crazy planning summer holidays since school ends tomorrow!

(picture the next part being told by L)

We were all doing something in the living room and there was a knock at the door and we were like "oh it's the neighbor's" so we waited a few seconds to answer the door. And then I opened the door and no one was there. I was like "what?!" and then I looked down and was puzzled. There was some ice cream, root beer, orange pop and some really looooooooooong straws. Then one of the kids from next door  came running up and said "there were 2 people who came to your door, put the stuff down and ran! One had gold hair and the other had blue! Come, let me show you where they went!" So I ran around the corner and saw them leaving but could not catch them. So I went back to see what  they left. They said it was from the "float fairies" 

It was so cute to see the little kids next door all curious, not sure why someone would come and leave this on our doorstep and why they would have blue hair. 

I think my favorite part was when we were standing out on our porch hearing their updates, people who could have been our float fairies drove by. I am not totally sure it was the float fairies though because the person in the passenger covered the drivers face with a paper or a towel as he was driving down the road. I am just glad there was no accident. 

(Honestly, if it's the people I think it is, I can just picture the conversation in the vehicle "Oh no, they are out on the step, duck, hide! cover your faces!!!!" I really wish you knew how much I am laughing picturing this whole thing going down. I REALLY DO NOT want to know 100% who it is, I like having this fun going on in my head!)

Here are a few pictures from the enjoyment of the floats. My camera battery was dead so I charged it for a few minutes and then took pics.

We shared with our neighbors. ( they have never had a float before! Heard of it, never had it, how fun it was to share it with them!)

So then B found out I thought I knew who it was. And pestered me the whole night! 

"Mom, I will pay you all the money I have!"

"Mom, pretty, pretty please!"

"Mom, can you give me a hint"

"Ok, here is your 2 hints, you know them and I think they go to our church"

"Mom, that could be almost ANYBODY!"

"That was my point B"

"Okay fine then, I am going to watch for people at church with blue and gold hair then!"

"Makes sense, go ahead"

Here is his "pestering me" face

I know, scary eh?

This is what I found tonight after the kids were in bed. Oh how they enjoyed them.

To our float fairies, THANK-YOU! It was such a wonderful treat and a ton of fun! Our family loved the treat and gave us something fun to talk about. Thank-you from the whole M family.

9 months

9 months is usually how long a woman is pregnant for. 

It's funny because when you are pregnant it seems to take FOREVER to get to the end.

I have been pregnant 4 times and have 3 beautiful children.

I remember sometimes in each of my pregnancies just wanting to be DONE.

Thinking this was taking forever.

This is a different 9 months. 

It's 9 months since I gave up the one drink I loved, craved and woke up thinking about (no jokes)

DIET COKE!

I know it seems weird to compare it to pregnancy but really, that's the only other 9 month accomplishment that I have, so that's what I compare it to.

There were times I really wanted another DC. 

Like would have given an arm or leg for it, especially if it was a vanilla DC from 7/11.

BUT, when I took the time to sit down and figure out WHY I wanted one, I was able to talk myself out of it.

Usually it was "I am so tired and need me a pick up" or "I just have SO much stress I just need to relax" or "Oh man, that just ticked me off, I want a DC"

I know, not really good excuses but all what I did before.

I was thinking back to before I gave up DC.

I was lucky if I had a glass of water a day (I know, sick eh?)

My main form of liquid was DC. 

When I look back to the 9 months I am glad I gave it up. I realized that I CAN make changes in my life, I CAN do hard things, I CAN change the way I eat/drink.

I didn't know what I was going to do when I first gave it up, first it was just until Christmas and then I have just kept extending it.

I think I am done for good. 

Now to give up pop as a whole. 

Maybe.

the Pan Am's

Holy man, I have talked about the Pan Am's so much, but I think that's what I get to do because I am the mom of an athlete who really does well in his sport. He LOVES karate. The kid walks down the street doing side kicks, round house's, Back kicks, punches. I am sure to someone watching who does not really know him he looks like a hyperactive little kid who could drive his mother nuts. But to him, it's practice. He will drop anywhere and show people he can do splits. At our house, front lawn, school, grocery store, you name it. But he LOVES his sport.

I got a little nervous before the pan am's because he was getting a little sloppy with his kata and his kata is his strong point. When it came time for it, all was well.

This was at 6am the morning we left for the pan ams. Seriously, it seemed like B qualifying was the easy part! I had put his uniforms in the washer the night before with bleach. We have a front load so I thought the bleach would not touch his uniform. wrong. I set it for a 1 hour delay and went to bed. I woke up the next morning and ran to put it in the dryer and this is what happened. I could have died. I was so upset. It was eaten away! I put the other uniform that had rust stains on it to get dried. And I prayed.

I went to work. Normally my job is done by 11 and I am done. Oh not this day. My stuff was not even ready for me until almost 1. I kept trying to keep cool and prayed about what to do. The only solution I could come up with was to get my work done so I could be in Regina by 5 to register. At about 11 I started to panic. My stuff was obviously not ready, I had no one to do it and felt like I was going to puke. I was walking back to my van and I had a name come to my head. We were supposed to be taking her and her son back from the pan ams. I called her house and she was gone. I was so flustered I could not even properly ask for her cell, but got it anyways. I called her and she happened to be driving right by where I was! Coincidence, I do not believe that at all. She was so calm cool and collected,  it was just what I needed. She took B. And took fantastic care of him. What a blessing! 

We finally got to Regina and stayed the night before in a hotel. This is a pic of M and I messing around the night before. Everyone was resting but we were wired.

LOOK AT HER HAIR!!!!! I never thought it would grow. Ever. I am the one that resorted to shaving her head to encourage follicle growth! Now, we got some. The 2nd pic I just love. She's been such a blessing in our lives.

The first pic is Team AB's flag! The 2nd one shows B and some of his teammates walking right by us! The red on the side of his head is the maple leaf. He wanted one shaved on the side of his head. We got it done the night before and then when we got home he decided he wanted another one, so I pulled out my cookie cutter and traced it and shaved it on the other side. It worked fantastic! Then we dyed it red. And then the red ran onto his new Gi! (Oh my really? Thanks to shout and oxy-clean, it's out!) He just wanted to represent Canada really well, and he did!

Team Canada at the opening ceremonies. (The US didn't show up. "restructuring" is what they said but really, team Canada kicked their butts in Las Vegas and we are pretty sure that's why they didn't show)

Good action shot of him doing his kata. The lady judge is his very first sensei. She was so tough on him right from the get go and I am so glad she was. Never in a mean way, just that she had expectations and knew he could do it. Her daughter actually worked with B on his kata in lessons. She was tough on B as well and I am so glad she was! He did e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. he was supposed to do, to a T! I was happy with his performance, no matter what he got. I have a hard time watching scores so I didn't know until the called out names that he WON THIRD!!! Really?!?!!!! I knew if he did what he was supposed to do that he could do it. And he did!

Part of his competition

Mr. M took this pic for us. He is so grown up. We are so proud of him and how well he did. He is a delightful child! We are so blessed to have him as our child.

This is the pant leg of his wrecked Gi. Could you not just cry too? I texted one of our sensei's and told her what happened. They happened to be at the dojo and brought one to Regina for me. What a blessing!