37 Jumps

Gracie has only recently learned to jump rope and she wants to do it all the time now! Two days before this video she could only do 1 or 2 in a row but now there's no stopping her.

School is going great. Grace loves it most of the time. The best part is we can start whenever we want, so that means we can sleep late. :)

Shout out to Brynn and Meg! We love you!

Diving Boards, Etc.

This video is Grace's first time on a diving board. Just 4 days earlier she vowed to never step foot on one but by Thursday she said she thought she was going to try it the next day. As you can see, she did. You might hear a friend of mine say "One, two, three, go Grace!" which seemed to give her the courage she needed to make the jump. She LOVED it and wanted to go again but before she even got out of the pool the whistle blew and class was over. Luckily she has one more week of lessons.





On another note, we've been making decisions around here lately...well, trying anyway. As you may know, we've suspected Grace has ADD for quite some time now and we had that confirmed last week by a doctor. She prescribed a newer ADD medication for us to try before school starts and Tuesday morning we managed to get most of the pill down. Side effects were not pretty! First of all, she was extremely emotional all day...crying or getting upset very easily. She also lost her appetite in the afternoon, which I was warned about. But the most disturbing change was, as she described, "a feeling that something is surrounding my heart".

I called the doctor the same day and she said not to give the medication Wednesday and that she would call me Thursday. After that discussion we decided not to continue that medication. The doctor wants to try the old standby, Ritalin and we're talking about that.

Meanwhile we're seriously considering home schooling Grace for 3rd grade. She had such a hard time in school last year and we believe the one-on-one instruction would help her. She is really excited about the prospect of being home schooled. Even after I told her she would still have to learn cursive and still have to read chapter books with no pictures, she was still excited.

Panties...the video.

Just one of those things she'll hate me for when she's older. :) I think she was 2 years old in this video.



Just to update you, Grace is now 8 years old and will be in the 3rd grade in the fall. That blows me away. Even if you enjoy every moment possible with your child, you still feel it goes too fast, you miss too much, and wonder, did you do enough...enough confidence, enough compassion, enough love for each other and enough sense to know when to walk away and change your path.

Leo lost his job December 29, 2008,..we're hanging in now. Its been 6 months with lots of resumes sent but not many replies. So, hanging in there is the only way I know to put it. Could be worse, I don't doubt that.

Love every one!

Who knew? Doesn't sound like me at all...

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm a Self-Knowing Extroverted Reinventer

State Fairs and Bosques

Gracie and Lindy walking in the bosque. (New Mexico's idea of a forrest.)


New Mexico has HUGE trees in the bosque.


She loves roller coasters! So did I, until we got to the Tilt-a-Whirl. I turned green after that one and Grace was on her own again.


Tea cup fun...although I think she's starting to think she needs to move up to the next step in rides. And she can! She was above the 42" requirement for them!


This is at school. The 2nd graders have reading buddies in Kindergarten. This is Grace's reading buddy. She's a very sweet little girl.


Enjoying a good book. She loves animal survival books. Dolphin Adventures was a great one for anyone out there with young readers (or some to come).

Gracie Quote of the Day

Last night Grace said "Why do they call it New Mexico? Nothing new ever happens here."

Painted Faces and Writing Journals

Grace and her friend Ruthie.
In case you were wondering what Grace wants to be when she grows up...

"I want to be an explorer. There are lots of other planits with pepole living on them. I want to deskover them. Whould you like to be an explorer to? You'l have to pay some mony then. If you do then good luck."

Computer time...