Never Forgotten

Having today be the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001, I have decided to tell a little about my adventures and emotions that I had throughout the day.

We started the morning with a little bit of a talk with all the kids. Tim and I wanted to make sure that they understood what would be going on today. We told them about what happened on that day, ten years ago, and we told them about what we did. About how Tim had to continue working even though he wanted to come home and be with us. We told them how I called up Aunt Jeni and we just spent the whole day in shock and confusion together at my house because neither of us wanted to be alone. We explained that all there was on TV for three days was news, and for some reason we couldn't turn off the TV the whole time.

Tim and I have a deep respect for our country. We are both very patriotic individuals. We believe that liberty is more important than security and that freedom isn't free. Talking to our children about some of these ideals can be a little overwhelming for the smaller ones, but I think the older ones were very respectful and understanding about what our decisions are when it comes to our country.

We watched some documentaries about the stories of the people that lost their lives that day, including Flight 93. We talked about the heroic things that the people on flight 93 did. After we learned about some of the names and faces of 9/11, we went to the Memorial Field that is located in the Civic Center in Sandy, Utah. They have a flag placed in the field for every individual that had lost their lives in that attack on America. Tim and I took the children and looked on every tag until we found all the names of the people we talked about today. Including a 3 year old girl named Dana that was on AA Flight 77 that had crashed into the Pentagon. It made the day very real for them. Even Rowdy Rigel was calm and respectful as we read the names on the flags.

Passing on your beliefs and instilling patriotic values into your children is one of the most important lessons you can give to a child. None of them could remember that day, and two of them hadn't even been born yet, but allowing them to see the magnitude of this day and that we don't tolerate terrorism was very important to us. It was an emotional and solemn day, so we had to end on a lighter note. We took the kids out for BBQ and ice cream and they all let the blanket of sorrow be thrown off of their shoulders. We explained that the Fourth of July was for celebrating, but this was the day for remembrance.

My mission in this life, like it states in my tattoo, is to serve God, family and country (in that order). I haven't posted in a long time, but I hope to get back into the swing of things now that my schedule is stable and the kids have started school once again. In the meantime, have fun in your adventures!!!!

Amanda

Out of school/In school!

Having the kids out of school for the Summer is one of my favorite things in the world. There are so many things that we love to do together. The problem I am having this Summer is that I am in school. My school isn't your average go-to-class-and-do-your-homework-deal. I am doing a blended format of schooling. This means I do most of my classes online.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being in school too, but I get so caught up in my everyday life, I forget to do school. Suddenly, it is Sunday and everything (that I had all week to do) needs to be done and turned in by midnight! Monday morning, I'm promising myself that I am going to get my work done early this week.

I start off with good intentions. I wake up super early while the kids are still asleep. I start my reading Monday morning, everything is going great until I hear, "Mom, What's for breakfast?" One of the kids heard my breathing or something (I swear they just sense when I'm awake) and woke up to see what I'm doing. Since spending one on one time with each of the kids is really important to me, I stop what I'm doing and find out what is going on in this child's life.

The day goes on with one adventure or another, the next thing I know, it is the weekend. The only time in the world I get to spend with Tim. I can't waste my weekends on school! We spend the weekend doing family things and just enjoying each other's company. As Sunday comes to an end, I think, "OH NO!!! I have a report that is due at midnight!!!" and the cycle starts over again.

I think my kids need to start telling me every night to get my homework done. That is what I would do to them when they were in school. What if I can just get some motivation for getting my homework done, maybe if I offered my self a reward when my paper gets written? How about setting the alarm for a certain time that would be best to do the work? Those would all be great ideas, if I would ever stick to them!

I don't know, maybe it is just to hard to be in school when my kids are out of school. What do you think?

My Partner in Crime

When I wrote my post yesterday, I realized that I didn't make any mention of my partner in all of this parenting. Since today is his birthday, I will devote this blog to my beloved soulmate and partner in crime. Tim Watt is one of the most amazing people that I have ever met. He is wonderful husband, an amazing provider, and most importantly, a super, excellent daddy!

Tim works hard at a job he hates, to provide a roof over our heads and food in our bellies. It is a huge responsibility to take on the care of 5 kids and a wife (luckily, I'm really a low maintenance person). He is so talented in his woodworking skills. If you want to view his stuff, you should check out his website www.lincolnfurnituredesign.com (I know, a shameless plug, but it is my blog). He isn't perfect by any means, and he will be the first person to tell you that. He is, however, perfect to me.

When it comes to parenting, we don't always agree. Me being a Psychology Major, I tend to try to find the whys behind the bad behavior. After figuring out the underlying cause, I use different methods depending on the behavior to correct it. Tim just tells me that I am looking for excuses and I just need to punish them. He always resorts to putting the kids hands on the wall, regardless of what they have done. (Putting hands on the wall is a type of timeout where the children must "assume the position" of a person being arrested by a police officer for a certain amount of time that varies for each child.) I prefer natural consequences and positive

reinforcements, but the way we work together is a great balance that, I think, works for our family.

It is so much fun to have my man home. When he comes home from work he doesn't just kick back and watch TV or anything like that. He makes it a point to find out how my day was and to see if I need help doing anything. There are some days (like last night) when he comes home and makes dinner. He likes to help me cook and it is one of the best things that we do together. He loves to grill and he also enjoys dutch oven cooking, (we compete together and win prizes! It is so much fun!).

We all sit down as a family and eat dinner. This is when the kids get to talk to dad and tell him all about what is going on in their lives. I believe this is a tradition that is not done enough in this hurry-through-it world. After dinner is when he gets to unwind and relax. He usually does this by watching a show on Hulu, (he tries to make them kid friendly until the kids go to bed), or by playing a few games on the computer. If we are running low on funds, he will go out to the garage and work on his furniture. There are some days that it seems he never stops working.

Weekends are the best with Tim around! He is such an adventurer. If we can't go camping or hiking or something else like that, we find a park so he can go coin shooting with his metal detector. This is one of the kids' favorite activities, because if they stick around, he always hands them what he finds.

When you see him, he seems a bit intimidating. I know there are many people that don't think he is the perfect specimen that I think he is. He is gruff sometimes and he doesn't like people to break through his shell. Only the kids and I really get to see the wonderful man that he is. The rest of the world usually gets to see this side of him:

To us, he is funny and smart. He keeps us stable and he keeps us happy. He is a rock in our family that we know we can count on. He does silly things that make us laugh, he is thoughtful and loving. I don't know what I would ever do if I didn't have him to help me raise these kids. Our family is whole thanks to the amazing man that helped to get it started. So, happy birthday My Love! You are the most wonderful person to have ever entered my life.