Conferences

Last week we had a rash of conferences. All three kids had parent-teacher conferences, which I can't decide if I love or hate. I can definitely state that I don't like waiting for 50 minutes to meet with four teachers only to have a big sign staring me in the face that says: "Please limit conferences to 10 minutes." Okay, besides that.

Each teacher had writing samples for me. First was Tanner who had written and illustrated a book of poetry:

Next was Kilee who had written dinosaur stories (She copies off the SmartBoard so nicely.):

Then was Braxton who had to build a pop-up book to demonstrate knowledge of certain literary terms.I wish I could tell you what this is, but I can't. And Braxton currently isn't home for me to ask him, either. Let me just tell you that presentation isn't his strength.

I also had a conference of sorts last week. If you really wanted to see a writing sample, I could post my paper on practical applications of adult learning theories, but that might not be very much fun to read. What is fun to read is this:

Can I start signing my name Trulee Ann Stocking, M.Ed. ?

PS - Feel free to let me know when I'm no longer humble. :)

Thank You's

In finishing my master's capstone project, I received a lot of advice, criticism (constructive, of course), and counsel. A few people were over-the-top and I want to take a minute to thank them.

April: For her excellent eyes and word choice.
Christy: For her salad and careful scrutiny.
Vicki: For her knowledge of color and what looks good.
Nathan Eldridge: For having a master's degree in IT and providing valuable advice on Dreamweaver and my website.
Bear: For calling everyday to make sure I was on track, knowing the right words to use, and reading all the awful first drafts.
Kathy and Sheila: For picking up the slack at Southside.
Kilee: For praying for me everyday.
Bishop Lewis: For counseling me to read my scriptures EVERY DAY (Ithink I've learned more this time reading the Book of Mormon than any other time).
Tanner: For being the official reminder (because I kept forgetting everything).
Lori: For listening to me whine, complain, bawl, and generally carry on.
Mary: For providing welcome distraction.

But the one person who deserves most of the credit I can't thank enough. Without the support of my husband, I could not have done this. So, Randy, thank you for taking care of McKay day-in and day-out (I'm so glad you had knee surgery on both knees!), for doing the dishes and the laundry, for going grocery shopping, for fixing breakfast and dinner (even if it was potatoes every night), for putting gas in the van, for picking up the kids from school, and for telling me EVERY DAY that I could do it. Thank you for believing in me.

My New To-Do List

1. Read The Bronze Horseman.
2. Get a pedicure.
3. Read a story to McKay.
4. Go shopping with my girl.
5. Clean out my email.
6. Give Tanner a piano lesson.
7. Work on a merit badge with Braxton.
8. Update my blog more often.
9. Take a nap.

Did you notice anything? Is something missing here? Oh- studying. STUDYING!! Yah, I'm not too concerned about that anymore.

Twinkies

After primary on Sunday, Tanner's teacher comes over to me to tell me how much they missed Tanner (he was in Idaho with my folks). Then she tells me that a few weeks ago, her lesson was on something-or-other (she really did tell me what but I can't remember now) and she used a Twinkie as an example to explain a concept (no, she didn't take one to class. She's a good teacher and follows the handbook). She said Tanner looked at her kind of strange and asked, "What's a Twinkie?"

She says to me, "Does he really not know what a Twinkie is?" No. Tanner really doesn't know what a Twinkie is. I never buy them.

Then she finishes with this, "Wow, you are really healthy."

And I didn't know what to say. My options: "Yes, we juice our own fruit, too." or "What? Are you kidding me? Do you see the size of my thighs?"

I assured her that we really aren't healthy people.

And made a mental note to buy Twinkies.

If You Want To....

If you want to laugh, go check out the Howard blog on my blog list and read about how Mallory is still learning.

If you want to see beautiful, go to the Shari D. Photography blog and just look at everything because it is all beautiful.

If you want to see a miracle, go to the Lords Family blog and check out handsome Daniel.

If you want to see a piece of Heaven, go to the Hritz blog and watch the giggles.

There really and truly is goodness all around us.

McKay's Lap!

***Be sure to scroll down and pause the music player at the bottom if you want to hear the video. I'm sorry you have to watch so much other stuff just to see McKay's battle techniques.