Over the last few weeks I have started to write a few posts. I would save each of them to work on later. Then when I would come back to work on them I would read what I already wrote and immediately delete them. I must have writers block or something because everything I have tried to write lately has been quiet boring. Even when I was writing about something that I thought was exciting. As I sat thinking about that today I began to realize that I need to get those stories out of my system. Writing about them on here is the best way to do that. So boring or not here it goes.
I am officially a student once more. I will start some classes this summer. Over all I will be taking 12 credits but it will be broken up into three different sections that will be four weeks each. For the first four weeks I will be taking Photography I which is 3 credits. Then for the second section I will be taking 3 credits for 2D design. Finally for the last four weeks of the semester I will be taking Survey of Western Art part I and Drawing I. They are each 3 credits. I hope that by the time I get to the last classes that Emma will have adjusted to being away from me for so long. My hope is that it will make it easier on her when I start my fall schedule. I will be taking 15 credits a week. Thankfully Les and I have enough differences in our fall schedule that she won't be with a babysitter the entire time I am in class. The best part is that I won't have any classes on Fridays so I can spend the entire day with her.
My must exciting piece of news (at least I think it is) is that I have found a babysitter for fall semester. I have been so stressed out about this for a couple of months now. After praying for help Heavenly Father was generous enough to plant the idea in my head. One of the girls that I am in the RS Presidency with is graduating this semester. Her husband has at least another year to go. She has watched Emma for us a few times and seems to really enjoy having her around. I believe all mothers know the relief I felt when she enthusiastically agreed to watch Emma while I am in school. I still have stress but it has been greatly decreased by this single event.
Some of my stress come from the fact that I don't have a sitter for summer semester. I know Whitney would be willing to do it if she were going to be here of the summer. I am not as worried about finding a sitter for summer as I was for fall. I still need one because Les will be working at his intership while I am at school. I am not sure yet when I will need Emma to be watched. It really depends on what hours Les need to be at work. I have thought about trying to convince David to move in with us for the summer. He could be a babysitter for a short time and he could also look for a job and an apartment. That would of course be effective only if he decides to come up here to go to school.
Now on to some cute stuff. I think Emma is incredibily smart (as all parents tend to think about their children). I have watched her pick up an object and study it. I can see the wheels in her mind turning as she tries to figure out what it does. Les has often told me that he sees it as well. She is so interested in everything that other people are doing and then she tries to figure out how they did it so she can do it too. It only took me a few hours to get Emma to start doing high fives. Les is now trying to get her to do bones (for those who don't understand that, like me, I always called it fist bumps). When Emma isn't acting shy she will do a two handed wave. She is too enthusiastic to do only one hand. As for clapping all she needs is to hear someone else clapping. She is a bit nervous about walking but just the other day I noticed her standing up all on her own. It took me by surprise because whenever I try to get her to stand she grabs onto me for dear life. Even now that I know she can stand if I get close enough to grab onto she will clutch on. I find it a little funny. I thought she would start slowly like standing next to the couch so that she could grab on in case she started to fall. Not so though. When I first watched her do it she was sitting in the middle of the livingroom floor. She got her feet beneath her and slowly stood up. Les and I tried to get her to walk back and forth between us but that didn't fly with her. As soon as we let go of her she sank to the floor and tried to crawl away.
While still on the cute side yet not so cute I am having problems with Emma. I have been watching the kids for Jana while she is packing. Anytime Kailey crawled within a certain distance to me Emma would crawl as fast as she can to cut her off. Even if she was clear across the room. Then if Kailey even touches me Emma swats her hands or pretty much anything she can reach. Then if I share her cereal, etc with the other two she throws a royal fit. Now I know that this is a stage and that everey kid goes through it, but I don't think I can take it much longer. On Sunday Les took Emma out into the foyer during Sacrament. Jana was out there with Kailey as well. Kailey was off playing with another kid so Emma went to Jana. According to Les she was quiet smug about being with Jana whenever Kailey was watching. Then at some point Kailey crawled back to her mom and using her mother's skirt stood up. That is when Emma reached over and smacked Kailey. So what now, Kailey is banished from her own mom? I don't know how far this will go but I know I won't like it. Tell me it is a short phase.
Last but not least, I am being released from my calling on Sunday. There are no words to express the relief/excitement I feel. While I was the secretary of the Relief Society it seemed to me that everything that could go wrong did. It would be wrong to say that none of the sisters wanted to fulfill their callings because that is not true. There were a few (very few) who accepted any calling they received and magnified it to the best of their ability. For those few very dedicated sisters I want them to know that I love them and I know Heavenly Father will bless them for their obedience. As for those that accepted callings and then refused to actually do them or the sisters that refused any calling they received I want them to know that I do love you as well. Please learn that in order for the church and any auxillary within it to function properly we all must do what we can. If that means that there is no piano player in sight (or even if there is) and I get called to play the piano then I better learn so that I can magnify the calling that God has chosen to bless my life with. Do you want blessings? One of the fastest ways to get some is to accept and then do your calling. I have a testimony of that. I know it is true. I know that if you have problems in your life that the best thing you can do is forget about yourself and start thinking about what you can do for others. Service is an amazing thing. You bless your own life as you bless others. It is a win/win situation. Having this calling has taught me to appreciate the lessons my parents taught me a long time ago. They taught me that I should never turn down a calling and to do it the best I know how. I have also learned that the people in the "bigger" callings have a lot of stress. I will help out where ever I can to help reduce that stress.
3 months ago