Just the Way You Are

When McKenna was a little girl she was the biggest tomboy around. She wore a ponytail everyday of the year. She never wore pink. She never wore lace or ruffles. She didn't dance. She didn't twirl. She hated dresses. She cried for hours at my sister's wedding reception, until we took the ruffle dress off. And no, there wasn't anything poking her. She just hated the frills. When other moms talked of their daughters doing Junior Miss when they were all "growed up" I definitely didn't include McKenna in that. What would her talent be? Shooting 3 pointers? reverse lay ups? serving a volleyball? blocking a shot? hitting in RBIs? solving a tough math problem? No, Junior Miss wasn't for her.

But then January arrived and a sign up sheet appeared in the office. McKenna's name was top of the list. What? When had my little tomboy turn into a girl? I was surprised but excited for her. For months McKenna has attended practices. She has studied up on current events. She learned to walk in high heels. She learned a very difficult piano piece. She learned to look poised and distinguished while sweating. She learned to smile when facing fears. She learned to talk to strangers and appear confident. And she learned to build the confidence of others. And after all the time, practice, and hard work, the time to shine arrived.

The Distinguished Young Women of South Fremont program was on April 20, 2013. Fourteen beautiful, and brave, young women radiated in a night themed "Just The Way You Are". It was wonderful. I admit, I shed many tears because they were all amazing. Here are a few pictures - very few because it was dark and they were moving - of McKenna's performance. The top picture is of the four soon-to-be-senior basketball players and their coaches. Next is of her during the final announcement. Third is her playing her piano piece, "Root Beer Rag" by Billy Joel. Fourth is during the opening number. The last one is of all the winners - Miriam Hollist (Spirit of DYW), McKenna (1st Runner-up), Emily Chelson (2014 DYW), and MaTazie Hobbs (2nd Runner-up). I think they were all tired of smiling.

We are so proud of her. She was thrilled. She received several scholarships due to her final placement and her winning one of two scholarships in Scholastic and Interview. She has grown up and definitely left her tomboy childhood behind. It comes out every once in awhile but a lady she has become.

Life is Good - and watching your children grow is a treasure!

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Today is the birthday of one of my favorite people in the whole world. When I was a young child I spent every afternoon with him. I learned many things from him. I learned not to judge people. I learned respect. I saw examples of getting along with others and finding a solution using compromise. I learned to accept others' differences. I learned to enjoy puppets and trolleys (I still want to ride a trolley because of this.)I probably even got my love of cardigans from him - I wear one nearly every day. He was also the only thing that could draw me away from my favorite pretend family- The Brady Bunch. This man was a great influence on me.

In 2003 Mr. Fred Rogers died of cancer. I was running on the treadmill (I used to exercise), watching Headline News, when I heard the announcement. I truly felt that the world was less good. I think that at that moment one of the greats was gone. Well, it has been ten years since his death and I still miss him. Recently I came across an article about his life and influence. I inhaled it. I remember the clips. I wanted to post it, on his birthday, as a reminder of all the good things he taught. He was a GREAT MAN!

Life is Good - and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood was a great part of my life.

True Ramblings

I came home today, after a rather long and somewhat difficult week, only to find myself skipping the housework that is needed and going right to my bed with the full intention on of taking a little snooze. But, instead I turned on the TV and found my "favorite" show on. When I was a kid I would do anything so that I could watch "Emergency." I just loved those boys of Squad 51. Well, to my surprise, a new channel recently came to our cable and it is called MEtv and it plays reruns of "Emergency" daily. In fact, it runs episodes of lots of my favorites from my childhood. Every Sunday, they play two straight hours of The Brady Bunch. Whoo Hoo! I love this channel!

On a completely unrelated note, I have been loving this weather that we have had lately. March 1 arrived and I declared it to be opening day of sandal wearing season. I have walked to school with my sandals, snow and all. But, I think that it is helping Mother Nature see that I am serious about wanting Spring to arrive. Mother Nature has responded quite nicely and brought "warm-ish" temperatures to us for this week. (You can all thank me later.) This has been a wonderful lift to my spirits. I really hate Winter. I don't really like Spring, either, but it does usher in Summer which is a wonderful time of year.

And now for one more completely random thought. Well, today I was thinking about how grateful I am for my children. My children are fairly "normal," if there is such a thing. They are smart and well behaved. They go to school willingly every day. Today I watched a student in my class struggle to get under control so that he could learn. I watched another student fall into fits of rage and hysterical crying because he got bumped in line. Poor kiddos! I worry about them. I just hope that somewhere along the way, the students and their parents will figure out something that will help them. School will be torturous for them. So "thank you" Collin, McKenna, Adrienne, and Kathrynn for making my life easy.

Just a lot of random thoughts to blog about. Don't you just love randomness?

Growing and Three Missionaries

On Sunday, while we were in Utah, I realized just how grown up our family has become. I looked at the girls sitting around Grandma and Grandpa's living room listening to their iPods and texting and realized that they aren't little anymore. Gone are the days of pulling out the toys from the closet and watching the penguins climb up the stairs and ride down the slide. No more will we be searching for small metal balls before we leave. And never again will the hilarious giggles come from the bathroom as the girls splash and play in the giant jetted tub. It made me a little sad.

It's not just my kids growing up, either. We had gone down to Utah to attend the meeting formerly known as a "Farewell" of our nephew Kendrick. He is leaving on his mission to the California San Fernando Mission. He is a good kid. We love him. But, I am not so sure when he became old enough to go. He is one of the new 18 year old missionaries which is getting him out there early. He'll be great!

This weekend, we will attend the "Farewell" of our niece Carly who is off to the Philippines Manila Mission. She will be the sweetest, most dedicated missionary there. We are so excited for her. Her family will miss her terribly. Carly and Collin are the same age. We have watched them grow up together and I suppose that if Collin is on a mission, then that makes Carly old enough to go too, given the recent age change for sister missionaries.

So, our little Grant family is growing up and we will have three missionaries out at the same time. How exciting is that? I can't wait to read their letters. I can't wait to see how they grow. And I can't wait for us to all get together in two years. What changes will there be for our families. Two years doesn't seem that long if you are only looking at the time itself. But, if you look at growth and changes, two years is an eon. So exciting! I will probably be looking back and longing for the days that the girls were sitting on Grandma's couches listening to their iPods and texting!

Life is Good!

Holding the Ones I Love

I haven't blogged for so long. We have been busy but my thoughts and our activities seem so boring. I figure I don't have anything to say. However, my good friend, Shannon, challenged me to make a post this weekend and so I am, boring or not.

Yesterday, I took the day off to do some much needed Christmas shopping. I started hearing about some kind of shooting that had happened in Connecticut. Unfortunately, I think that I am becoming somewhat numb to these kind of news stories. They are disheartening and so sad. But, they seem to happen so often. I didn't think much of it. I figured I'd get the update when I got home. Then I received a text giving me the tragic details. Twenty innocent children and the teachers and staff that loved them had been gunned down and killed by a young man. My heart was sick. How could this happen? Why could this happen? I always tell my students that their school, particularly our classroom, is a safe place (for some, their only safe haven) and I will do anything I can to help maintain that safety. I am sure these teachers told their students the same thing. But, it wasn't safe. Not even with the precautions the school had taken could keep them safe. I wonder how I approach that topic when I go back on Monday. Someone will ask. They always do.

Three of the people that I love dearly

I was anxious to get home to check on my girls, even though I knew that they were safe. I just wanted to hold them and tell them that I loved them. We say that all the time. No one leaves the house without being told, "I love you" by someone, if not all of us. But, I wanted to tell them just the same. They just looked at me as if I were a crazy old lady and giggled (or groaned). I am so grateful for this little family we have been blessed with. My heart aches for those poor families that are missing their loved ones to hold. When I lost one student, it was almost unbearable for awhile. I don't know how they will heal.

So, what do I learn from this? One, cherish the moments I have with my family (like staring out the window for 90 minutes with McKenna and treasure hunting at 11:00 at night in the snow, post about those later). Two, let them know that they are loved beyond measure by their parents so they never have to wonder, and I never worry that they don't know. Three, pray, like never before, that this will never happen again. But, evil people make evil choices and their consequences are felt by many. I am not sure God could promise me that.

Life is Good - just a bit sadder today.

Yellowstone 2012

Normally, our family visits Yellowstone National Park each month from May to October. This year, with everyone's schedules, mission prep, and mission prep recovery, we didn't make it until the end of September. The good thing about that is our Park pass is good through September 2013. The weekend we went just happened to be the annual Bike to Old Faithful Saturday so we enjoyed the road with HUNDREDS of bikers from pros to novices. I'm thinking that would be a lot of fun next year. Anyone in?


So, we decided to take the road less traveled by the Grant Family. We don't take the lower loop very often. But we did and decided to follow all the little "trails" that went off the main road. It was fun. We found some beautiful waterfalls and had some good laughs because that is what we do - LAUGH!


I'm so grateful to live in such a beautiful place. I feel very lucky to be here. Yellowstone is one of my favorites. I don't think I will ever grow tired of it. I've been going there since I was a little girl and I still haven't seen a fraction of it. There is always a new place to explore. I also love the animals. I think, since it was after Labor Day, most of the animals were on vacation. We didn't see much. We found an elk, a herd of bison and a large coyote or small wolf eating a rabbit. Not much but still wonderful.

I can't wait to go again. It's already paid for!

I don't know what this is called. Trent is so good to stop at everything for me.

At some paint-pot place where we spied a crazy lady wearing a pink furry vest. The girls followed her around giggling. It was laughable. We took a pic so we could giggle later.

This is one for the brother. The girls showing their true expressions.

Another beautiful waterfall that we hadn't seen before. I LOVE rivers!!!!

Life is Good - and Yellowstone is GREAT!!!

Missionary Mom

When we dropped Collin off at the MTC it was the most awesomely, wonderfully, happy and sad thing I have ever done. I did cry a bit but was so excited that something that boy had prepared for for nineteen years had finally come. He was so nervous and yet walked away with such bravery. As he wheeled that luggage up the sidewalk I kept wanting him to stop and run back but he didn't. He didn't look back because he was going into his future. It is a future full of new adventures and people and sights and feelings that none of the rest of us standing on the sidewalk that day would ever experience. So much of our lives are meshed together as we raise our children. Now was the time to let him go and do all on his own. That was the hardest thing for me but I knew he would be okay. Missionaries are so blessed. And their families are blessed, too.

One of the sweetest blessings is the arrival of the weekly email. His first week at the MTC, when we didn't know his P-day, I checked my email EVERY day and EVERY hour hoping it would come. It didn't. Finally, about ten days later we got one. That was possibly the longest ten days of my life. After a few mix-ups we finally have the emailing down to a science. Then just when we were getting the hang of things, he was sent to Guatemala to begin again. The MOST SWEETEST blessing of all was talking to him on the telephone. I began to cry the moment I heard his voice and he cried too. He was able to talk to all of us and was able to call his Dad at work. But, hanging up the phone was so hard. I didn't want to let him go. If I had been there with him, someone would have had to pry him out of my arms. Heart wrenching! That's what that was but it was good. And, now I know just how sweet that call at Christmas will be - in 4 VERY long months.

Until then it is the weekly emails that I anticipate. While Collin has been at the CCM his emails have come on Saturday morning. I read it and then read it again and then again and then again. Then I edit it and post it on his mission blog. Then I re-read the blog over and over again. It is my connection to him. I love his experiences. I search for blogs of other Elders he encounters. I've Googled the CCM and the Taco Bell across the street that he longs for. I get just a little hint of his experiences and love that!!!  

I love being the mom of a missionary. I love that missionary of mine!

You can check out Collin's experiences, too at www.eldercollingrant.blogspot.com.


Life is Good - and missionaries are FANTASTIC!!!