My kids

Wednesday night was the final choir concert for Clearfield High this year.  I wish that I could show you pictures of all the kids performing Broadway songs, but when I pulled out my camera to take those pictures it promptly died in my hands.  Who knew that you had to charge the battery on the camera every once in awhile.  So you'll just have to take my word that all of the kids looked very nice and did an awesome job.

While we were sitting there watching these kids sing Duane leaned over and mentioned how much all of these kids had changed in just the short 9 months since school had started. Funny thing is, I was sitting there thinking how we only had two more years of high school with Austin, then he'll be graduating and moving into his adult life. How come when your young, it seems like a week takes a year and when your older a year takes a week? I'm trying to keep in mind that my time with my kids is only for a short period and that I should pay more attention & try to enjoy that time a little more.

 

This picture was taken outside of Fiddlers Green in Denver last month. I think it's important to mention that while Austin is taller than I am, he is standing on a rock in this picture, so he really isn't that big of a giant.  I believe he's about 6'2 now. What I love about this kid (mini-man) is that he is a walking database of completely useless facts & sports stats. If you can make it through a whole day without learning something new from him, then your either weren't paying attention or he was sick & not talking.  He scores really high on his end of level testing, but we practically have to beat him to get him to do his work so that he can get his credits in school. He's very smart, but also a little lazy when it comes to school & happy to admit it. 

Cheyenne will probably kill me when and if she spots this picture of her.  I just thought that it captured her personality so well.  She is a great helper to me and I love it when she wants to hang out and talk.  Of course, most days she just wants to be in her bedroom dreaming of Justin Bieber and Austin Mahone, but when she steps out and starts chatting, she's lots of fun.  It's been a cool year to see her coming into herself. She's become more confident in herself and is willing to put herself out there and try different things. We just have to work on her not being as shy & it'll be amazing where she ends up.  She too had her final choir concert last week and when she's all dressed up it can be hard to remember that she's only 13. Her daddy is going to be beating off the boys with sticks. 

And this is my little man.  This child has been on the go since birth and I can only imagine what he has in store for us through the teen years. He has no problem completely blocking us out and pretending that we aren't speaking to him.  If you try to put him off or ignore him, he'll just keep at you until you almost want to throttle him.  We don't see him a lot during this time of year because he prefers to be outside playing with his friends. I'm not complaining about that either, because if he doesn't burn off his energy, then we all have to pay for it later. He's the only one of my kids that I've ever had to hold down on my lap and wrap my legs around him as tight as I can, then struggle with him for 10-15 minutes while he tries to escape, just to try and get him to calm down. From the moment he gets out of bed until you convince him to go back to bed, this child is moving.

I am so blessed to have these kids in my life, they've taught me things about myself that I didn't know and they bring out the best in me.  I'm going to miss them when they all grow up and move out.