Holiday memories

I remember like it was yesterday. The anticipation of Christmas morning, leaving out cookies for santa, waking up way too early and waiting with my brother and sister wondering if it was late enough to wake up our parents, seeing my stocking for the first time chock full of goodness, the christmas morning fire, the smell of pine, eating lifesaver candies, enjoying my siblings gifts as much as my own.

I will never forget what it felt like to be there, all of us together, and even though these days of my youth are long since past, I pray Adam and I are helping to creating these same kind of memories with our girls that will last a lifetime.

Merry Christmas! May your holiday be merry & bright!

xoxo

52 photo project | week 06 | memory

It doesn't take long these days with social media around to get the word out, unfortunately it was not good news this time. I found out today my older brother's friend died yesterday in a plane crash. Knowing too well the loss that my high school friend is now experiencing for her brother has brought some very tender feelings back to my heart.

When my brother died there was a part of me that longed to go back in time when life was effortless and my world simple. When I didn't know the pain of loss and how it could devastate you. When I didn't have to think or concern myself with what came next I could just walked outside my door and a world was waiting to be created.

Sigh.



Those were the days, the carefree summers nights playing games with the neighborhood kids, our annual fourth of july swimming and fireworks with my cousins, riding horses in Star Valley, fishing, jumping in Lake Powell to cool off, playing star wars with my brother, sleeping in my doorway to feel the swamp cooler breeze, playing house in my tree house, walking to the dairy to get ice-cream, summer chores, sleepovers....etc. etc.

I can never go back to those innocent years and simpler times (honestly I don't want to), but I am grateful those memories have stayed with me long after other ones have faded because it's those carefree moments of running through the grass barefoot without a care in the world that have become a source of comfort and a continual reminder to me to let go, to not fear, to live with abandon--and heaven knows I need reminders.

I know life is fragile, and while I think we should continually keep our eyes focus on the now, our happy memories can be a source of peace and play a part in helping keep us on our desired course and live the life we always dreamed we would as a child. When you're a child anything is possible, why should we forget that now that we've long grown out of our childhood?

We shouldn't.

xo

Knowledge is power.

Knowledge is power.
Knowledge is power.
I have to keep reminding myself of that when all I want to do is close my eyes, plug my ears, and hum through all the words being spoken. Sometimes it hurts to know. You expect life to go one way and when you're hit by a curve ball you want to stand up, shake it off and yell I'm ok. Everything is ok. When it's not though, knowledge is the first step. Actually I'm thinking maybe admitting is the first step. So I guess we're at the second step and now that we know we have the power to do something about it.

The thing is one of my girls is really struggling in school. It came to me as a complete shock one day when I was volunteering at the school. The teacher just kind of vomited all this information on me and took me completely off guard. I mean, I knew she struggled with reading, but didn't know it was bad enough where the student teacher would be saying something like, "what do we do with her?" So we set up a daily schedule and we worked to help her improve and she did. What we were doing at home was making a difference at school, however, the improvement seemed to be short lived. A few months later another stream of information came at me again about how she's struggling and not making it. Again frustrated, begging for ideas of how I can help, what I can do, and with each time seeing some improvement--but apparently not enough.

Then yesterday it all sort of came to a head. I think they (teacher & student teacher) were hoping all this time, as the year progressed, that it would begin to click for her--it's not clicking and she's pulling further away from the class, but that's not the hardest part. My daughter is a pleaser and wants to do well so the most frustrating piece to this whole situation is that she is trying her best, but just not making it. Can I tell you how much this hurts my heart to hear/see? She has been working so hard all year, but she's just not getting where she needs to be. Yes I am intentionally being vague about all the details, but what I'm hearing doesn't sound like something more hours with a tutor can fix.

So I've been doing some research, trying to figure out what the next step should be. I've been wondering if maybe she has some kind of learning disability. I don't want to label her in anyway, but knowledge is power, remember, and if I can do something more to help her I will. When I brought this up to the teacher during our conversation she said, by law, that wasn't something she could discuss. Seriously? All this politicking has to stop. We are talking about a little girl who needs help.

Now I must stop here and say, her teacher is a dream. A dream. I could not have hand picked a better person to be with my child this year if I tried. She has been a gift and blessing to us. I believe she loves my daughter and is willing to do whatever she can to help. I have been forever grateful for her patience, for the extra attention she has given my child, and for caring enough to not let my daughter slide by unnoticed. So my little girl is lucky. She has a lot of people looking out for her and a lot of people in her corner wanting to see her succeed and ready and willing to do whatever it takes to help her get there.

Her teacher did end up giving me some suggestions and a few places to start. She keeps telling me what a visual learning she is and how a lot of these tests are not tailored to visual learners so maybe that's all it will be, but regardless of what it is or isn't we're taking the next step.

Needless to say this subject has been nonstop on my mind since yesterday. I've debated back and forth whether or not to share it--I don't want to harm or embarrass my child in anyway. However, I believe in the power of sharing with each other. I'm hoping by putting this out there that some of you may be going through or have gone through a similar experience and can help point me in the right direction. Help me know what to do to keep it a positive experience, after all, all I want is for her to be happy. I want her to feel successful and to have confidence in what she's doing. Although education is a huge part of childhood it is not the only part and she excels at so many other things. I just want to empower her and help give her what she needs so she can succeed.

thanks for listening.
have a great weekend.

xo g

simple pleasures

When you put on a movie with popcorn you don't even know there's kids in the house, let alone six.

My friend's out of town and I've had her three since yesterday. It's actually been fun to have a shadow again--her youngest is four and has been keeping me company while the others are at school. Besides the change it was to my day, having them here has been a huge hit with my girls. Since we don't usually have sleepovers, except with family, they were stoked to be able to do it on a school night and then come home and play some more. I keep wondering if they're going to get sick of each other, but so far it has been nothing but good times--and how could it not? They've made their own personalized pizza, watched movies, danced with abandon, played outside, enjoyed bowls of popcorn, and slept in a fort.

Oh the simple pleasures of being a kid.

My childhood Christmas' were simply put, magical. Family gatherings, winter activities, anticipation of gifts, believing in Santa Claus, constant treats being made and coming in, and of course I can't forget the decorations. All of it together made for a magical season. I didn't really know then how magical they were until I became an adult and creating the Christmas magic became part of my job. Admittedly, it took some time to get use to. I'm not too keen on Christmas being crazy busy and full of to dos so when it was all on me, I resisted and started begrudging the holidays--the same holidays I loved as a child.

That was not okay with me.

This year I decided to take a different approach summed up with one word--simplify. I cut out things that were not essential and found it left room for all the things we really wanted to do/see/experience. Don't get me wrong it was/is still busy. I mean, I think that's just part of this time of year, but the main difference was I embraced it. I knew going in what I was facing and appreciated it for what it was, knowing full well, that soon enough Christmas would be over and life would quickly go back to normal as it always does.

I think that's what I loved so much about Christmas as a kid--it was that one time during the year where life was anything but normal. It was festive, joyful, bright--it was magical.

**do you find the holidays to be stressful or do you embrace it and enjoy each moment?

xo
amy gretchen

magical summers

Today as we sat at home for the third day in a row with another sicky (Tess this time) I found myself thinking fondly about my summers as a child. They were magical. I know it sounds cliche, but they were...magical.


[Star Valley, WY | 1980]

I remember boating on the weekend and trips to Lake Powell where my dad taught me to water ski.
I remember going to Star Valley, WY to my aunt & uncle's cabin to swim and ride horses.
I remember running out my door in the early morning hours to my friends house hoping one of them would be able to play.
I remember night games, kick the can, sardines, etc. until the sun went down and my mom called us in for the night.
I remember drive ins and fireworks.
I remember tan lines and popsicles.
I remember my dad playing catch with my brothers in the back and BBQs with family friends.
I remember long days outside playing house in our tree house.
I remember my friends and I asking our moms to let us have a sleepover.
I remember riding bikes around the neighborhood and getting Slurpees and garbage pail kid cards at the 7/11 up the street.
I remember the house being so hot at night that I would lay in the hallway to get the cool air coming off the swamp cooler.
I remember tomatoes and squash fresh from the garden.

It's crazy for me to think I'm now on the other end of these memories. When you're a kid it's so weird to think you'll be anything but. Of course time races on and those memories fade into the background until you have your own children and then once again you're reminded as you watch and help them create their own memories just how magical it really was.

I hope they are feeling the magic too.

childhood magic

The tooth fairy found this note waiting for her...



You know when you have a moment where time stops and you know all the hard work and frustration is completely worth it? This was one of those moments for me. I wasn't expecting to find a handwritten note from her and it made me all warm and soft on the inside. She desperately wants to believe and so I gave her reason too.

I answered her in the same fashion using my left hand and stole my friend Janessa's idea by sprinkling fairy dust (pink glitter) on the note and on her bed. Leaving her room as quietly as I could I was grateful my parents created the magic for me when I was a little girl.

This morning she couldn't wait to tell me about the note waiting for her in return and the glitter on her bed. She said, "when this tooth falls out, I'm going to ask her what she looks like."

I'm already looking forward to it.

instant relief

one....two......


three


We went to the dentist last Thursday and she didn't want him to touch her tooth, but come Sunday she couldn't wait to get rid of it. Can you believe she let her dad pull it out with floss? As far as I'm concerned it took as much strength to do it as it did to get it done, I basically took the picture with my eyes closed. She took it like a champ and couldn't wait to eat using her whole mouth. Poor girl has had that tooth loose for months.


[love how you can see the smile and relief in her eyes]

triggers

My dad has this thing for organizing and cleaning out his garage. Among the many moves I made as a young adult, back and forth from college and such, he has kept many of my old things boxed up waiting for me to take. In his lack of patience throughout the last few years to see the boxes go, I have little by little taken what belongs to me.

Well it was during my sister vacation this summer that many of her things were in question. My Dad had a box of stuff that was going to the DI/Good Will if they were not claimed. So of course I found myself looking through the box, I have a thing for anything that reminds me of my childhood, and found this very cool little vintage looking plaque that read, "Think happy".



Seeing it again triggered a flood of memories from my childhood. I have to be honest, I'm not sure whose it was, but I can remember it hanging on a wall and looking at it each time I passed. I always really liked the simplicity of the illustration, but don't know that I thought much about it passed that. It just, well, it made me happy to see.

My sister really didn't care whether I took it or not, which was good because when I saw it I knew I had to have it. I'm not sure why I was so attached to it, like I said I don't even think it was mine, but seeing it again reminded me that happiness is a choice and that knowledge is something I am desperate to teach my children. I know not everyday is a good day, but I know each day we can find something to smile about...how I wish I had understood that years ago. So I decided it would have a permanent home in our kitchen, a place my girls would see it frequently and hopefully be reminded that happiness is within their reach and completely up to them.

And perhaps on a bad day it can be the one thing to help them smile.

spt - childhood memories

Ah my childhood. What can I say? When I think about it I have a very selective memory. I don't know why, but it has definitely taken on a dream like quality where I wonder, was I really ever that young? Was there a time when someone really took care of my 100%?

I loved my childhood. I mean really I had what I thought to be the best life a person could have. I had multiple friends in the neighborhood, healthy rivalries with my siblings, imaginary worlds and friends without number, and I was loved and very much taken care of by my wonderful parents, all with having very little.

This photo more than anything stand out to me for several reasons. First of all I can remember it perfectly, a pool in the middle of a golf course in Afton Wyoming where my Aunt and Uncle had a cabin. It was a place I formed many many memories and seek to have these same experiences with my children. (Adam and I hope to find a cabin, someday.) I must have been about 4 since my younger brother isn't in this photo, and I will never forget how much fun we had together. How snotty I was when telling my mom, "well, i guess, i'm just goina havta dwowned" when she wouldn't blow up my floaty for the tenth time (I only know this because it was caught on tape and if I could share it with you I would...it's perfect and explains a lot to me about megan).

Looking back at my childhood, those moments that are wrapped around my family are the strongest and so important to me. I love remembering all the times we had together and continue to remind myself that we can still have them and that we will have them forever.

a few more photos to share from that same time period.

horseback riding, 3 yrs old

christmas morning 1979. I wish I could remember that doll and check out my starwars night gown.

Christmas morning 1977. I love the jacket/pant suit I'm wearing.

Do some of these photos not remind you of my girls?

I just love looking through old photos. I have tons and tons from my dad. Not as many from this time period, but over my life my dad always had his camera out. I am so grateful for those photos. They have helped me to remember moments I may have forgotten and given me a great reminder as to why I love capturing life.