A Little Lost

I'm a little lost, I have to admit.  I was released from being Primary President after close to 3 years of being in that calling.  When I found out that they were going to release me in early December, I was really sad.  I didn't want to be released and there were many tears.  I have completely loved this calling.  It has been an extremely busy and sometimes stressful one with absolutely no downtime but the rewards that have come from being with the sweet children in our ward have been well worth it.

I was blessed to serve with over 160 primary children ages 18 months to 11 years old, 25-30 teachers both male and female, choristers and pianists, activity day leaders, cub scout leaders, and 11 year old scout leaders.  I have also been blessed to work with some amazing women as I have gone through 4 second counselors, 3 secretaries, and 3 teacher coordinators (like a third counselor).   I have received inspiration and answers to prayer as I have thought about the children and the teachers that I have come to love in my ward.  I have seen children start on the front row and end in the back row.  It has been very bittersweet to say the least.

Although I have enjoyed being very busy, I will not miss the last-minute scramble of having to find a teacher on Sunday.  I will not miss writing the annual sacrament meeting presentation and the stress of hoping that everything goes smoothly with perfectly behaved children on the stand that get up and say or sing their parts perfectly.  And I will not miss pouring over and discussing names of ward members to fill callings practically every month.

However, I will truly miss the big eyes of the primary children as they soaked up every word I taught during sharing time.  I will miss their sweet and sympathetic faces as I teared up while sharing my testimony of the gospel each week.  I will miss the innocent and funny comments and questions that come out of their mouths.  I will miss their playful giggles and pokes to their friends.  I will miss the singing at the top of their lungs and the dancing during music time.  I will miss them waving to me quietly and secretly during sacrament meeting.  I will miss big waves and loud hellos when they see me at the school and at stores around town.  I will miss darling notes and drawings left on my front porch or given to me at the end of church.  I will miss the shy boys that have crushes on me (Kevin, Evan, and Carter) but light up with a big grin when I wink at them.  I will miss being in Primary with my own children each week and watching their testimonies and knowledge of the gospel grow.  It is a calling that I am going to miss so much and I feel a little lost without it, but it's time for me to move on and serve elsewhere.

Here are some of my favorite pics through the years and funny moments of our Primary children:

The first "Powerhouse Primary Presidency" (quoted by Sarah):  Me, Sarah Martin, Melissa Swasey, Emily Thornton, missing Cajsa Linford

Bishop Lance Martin getting the number of memorized Articles of Faith

Cody Okuda, die-hard UNLV fan.  Bah!

Children's Halloween Costume Parade

New Bishopric:  Kevin Eckersley, Richard Schraft, Bishop Lee Reese

Easter Egg Hunt

 Primary Program Practice and Pizza Party

 Primary's Got Talent was an annual activity that everybody loved.

We performed a dance to "Cotton-Eyed Joe":  Melissa, Cajsa, Me, Lyndsie, Kelly

A mom asked her Sunbeam this question one day after church:

Question:  "What did you learn about today in Primary?"
Answer:  "Today I learned about Joseph Smurf!"

During sharing time:
Question:  "Why do we have trials?"
Answer:  "Because life just isn't fair!"

Relayed by two primary teachers:
Teaching:  "The Word of Wisdom tells us that we shouldn't drink coffee or use tobacco."
Comment:  "Uh-oh!  My mom has Tobacco (Tabasco) sauce in our fridge and she puts drops on our tongues when we say bad words!"

Asked for our Mother's Day questions:
Question:  "What does your mom like to do when you are at school?"
Answer:  "Take naps and sleep."

Asked for our Father's Day questions:
Question:  "What does your dad like to do when he comes home from work?"
Answer:  "Play on the computer and watch TV."

A fun and interesting fact:
Everyone in the presidency had 1-2 more children during their service in their primary calling except myself and Krista. 

Krista Jentzsch, Kelly Dunagan, Me, Lyndsie Curtiss, Melissa Swasey

We performed a lip-sync to "Baby" by Justin Bieber

Me, Melissa Swasey, Lyndsie Curtiss, Krista Jentzsch, Laurie Higgs

 Primary Teacher Appreciation Dinner

The end of an era:  Krista Jentzsch, Amanda Stewart, Melissa Swasey, Me, missing Laurie Higgs

Anderson Dairy Field Trip

Carlee and I went to Anderson Dairy again on a preschool field trip.  This is one of our favorite places to visit.  The tour is so cute with talking and moving animals, a movie, special effects, and a free scoop of Cookies N Cream ice cream at the end.  I love field trips!

 Fog comes out from this area with the sliding penguins.  It always surprises the kids.

Ella, Carlee, and Ava--The three girls in Carlee's class

Rex wants to marry Carlee.  They are in the same primary class as well.  He is always willing to play house with the girls and is either the dad or brother.  Too bad you can't see his face.  He is a cutie!

Back to Cub Scouts

Jacob is officially our Cub Scout.  He has been so excited for Scouts.  Every Sunday we religiously sit down and go over his book and what he needs to work on and earn.  He really enjoys his den meetings and is extremely disappointed when those meetings have to be cancelled last minute.  Jared and Courtney Noa are his leaders and he adores them.  They do such a great job with those boys.  He had his first Pack Meeting tonight and earned his Bobcat.

The boys are supposed to pin their earned pins on their moms upside down and that is exactly what Jake did!  Brother Noa held him upside down so he could pin me.  But Jake was laughing so hard he couldn't get the pin through and I was afraid I was going to get stabbed.  I had to help him out.  Very creative scout leaders at those pack meetings!

My Carlee

I love my Carlee.  I love having her home with me.  I am not looking forward to losing her to Kindergarten next year.  It is strange not to have another toddler in the house to take care of but Carlee is my girl.

We have a really great time together.  She makes me giggle with her comments and logic.  She makes me smile when she shadows me.  Some days we are up and busy running around to preschool, dance, the elementary school for the kids, grocery shopping, dry cleaners, the bank, and Target.  Other days we are cleaning the house to music and washing laundry.  And my favorite days include being lazy and staying in our PJ's while we watch movies, read books, and make treats.  (But we do hurry and get dressed before the older kids and Daddy come home.  It is our little secret.)

Today she wanted to play with the sidewalk chalk on the sport court while I cleaned up the breakfast dishes.  I grabbed some sneak peeks . . .

Apparently the goggles shielded her eyes from the sun and chalk.  I think she needs something to shield her crazy leftover hairdo and bedhead!

What a fashion ensemble.  

The court was too cold for her bare feet so she grabbed the closest footwear--Daddy's shoes.

Welcome 2012!

I love January!  I really do.  I love how everything slows down and I finally have time to get to things that have been put on the back burner since Halloween.  It is time to de-junk rooms, clean and organize closets and cupboards, start fresh on chores and schedules, drop off donations, and re-group as a family with our goals.  I actually do my re-organizing about every three months but January is the month that I really get gungho and excited about it.  My goal this month is to go through one room from top to botttom each day and completely clean it, get rid of unused items, throw out unnecessaries, and see it sparkle.  We'll see how far I get but I would love a completely organized house January 31.  Ready, set, go!