Just some things that made me smile today

I swore after being up late last night doing school work, that I would get to bed early tonight. And here it is 11:00 and I am STILL up blogging. But as crazy as my schedule is I don't know when I will have free time again to do this, and I didn't want to forget to blog about these

things that just made me smile today...

I was doing the dishes after dinner and looked over and saw this.

Amidst her brothers loud, fighting, craziness,

Ame was writing in her journal and working on her Faith in God.

What a jewel this girl is.

It was a definite proud moment for this mom

and one that just MADE ME SMILE!!

that and her beautiful singing with the Senior Primary Choir

in Stake Conference Today, that just brought tears to my eyes.

She was right in front and sang with such pride,

conviction and love for her Savior.

And this boy, just makes me smile every

minute of the day (well almost).

I was a little slow to get the video and didn't

quite catch him when he was histerically laughing.

He became a little too mesmorized by the camera

to laugh much more after I started filming.

But still such a cutie!

Joy School

I have never participated in Joy School b4.

Mostly because I have always wanted my kids

to have experiences away from me, and lets

face it I do need a break sometimes.

But for economic sake, I thought why not give it

a try and if anything safe us some $$ every month.

This past week , amidst starting school myself,

it was MY TURN to teach joy school.

Lets back up a bit.

Ash has not had such a smooth start with this

whole preschool thing. WIth joy school we are

rotating between 7 homes, and I don't think that

is Ash's ideal environment. He missed 3 straight

classes because he just wouldn't stay when MOM

took him. So I thought lets have DAD take him

and sure enough, it worked!

SO I think he is liking it a bit more, or maybe

just because it was with mom this week.

We have a really cute bunch of kids.

All pretty low key and they get along very well.

(Porter, Hyrum, Abram, Ash, Abby, Jacob and Jaylee)

My 2 lessons included:
Joys of the Earth-seasons/seeds and animals
We planted seeds, talked about the seasons, sang songs,
ate apples, applesause, apple juice.
Then we made bird feeders out of pinecones,
brought pets to share, and much, much more!
These are quite detailed/interactive lessons, but a lot of fun!
After a whirlwind week, I am glad to have a break
for 7 weeks! Although this week we are taking
a fieldtrip to Great Harvest Bread
(that's if I don't get a sub teaching job, which
is always a possibility...oh yes one of the other
things on my list of busyness).

I hope I don't have to miss this one, I LOVE GHB!

It was a JOY to spend time with my Ashy Boy this week
and see him interacting with his peers!

its gotten CRAZY!

Life has gotten CRAZY around the Hanamaikai home since the past post.

Mostly because mom has started school!

I am getting my Master's in Math Education, k-6.

I started on October 1st and since then I can hardly keep

my head on straight. I still don't know what I think about

getting an online degree. I am just such a hands on, interactive

learner, it is definitely enlightening as to my abilities as a learner.

We have had to make some adjustments around here so mom

can study a few hours during the day,

but also mom is just getting less sleep and

doing a few hours of school work

at night after the kids are in bed.

My R & R time is gone for the time being.

I used to love that time after the kids were

all in bed and I could sit down with a bowl

of ice cream and enjoy one of my favorite shows!

These late nights are kickin' my butt, I must say.

Staying up until 11:30 or later, just doesn't work

well when I SHOULD be up at 6:30 the next morning

(if I want any chance of getting in a work out b4 the craziness

of getting kids ready for school begins).

As part of WGU we commit to at least 20 hours a week,

and I am trying to stick somewhat close to that,

at least for the next 6-8 weeks.

My main goal is to finish my first course, which is

18 units. I am trying to get my teaching license current

again. It expired since I haven't taught for over 4 years.

And the quickest way to renew it is with college courses.

Once I get enough credits to get my license renewed,

I will slow things down a bit with schooling

and not feel so pressured to work so hard and so fast.

Amidst teaching Joy School, volunteering in my kids classes,

trying to figure out Halloween costume, think about

my baby turning 1 and just BE A MOM, I

am now a student again.

This is one WILD ride!!