4th of July 2010

If I was commenting that it had been a while since my last post, in my last post, well then I definitely have some repenting to do now.

Life has been crazy, but I'm sure you have guessed that by now.

Garrett is doing really well. In the fall, he'll be starting the 5th Grade. He'll turn twelve a few months after that and is almost as tall as I am now, but I guess that's really not saying much. He's going to be finishing up elementary school at the same school he started at seven years ago and I'm so glad. I'm nervous about him going into middle school next year, but at least I've got some time for that to sink in.

The two other boys are going to go back to the feeder school around the corner from our house. We were tired of the school board changing their minds every five seconds about how they were going to run things. JT will be in 4th grade next year and we finally figured out that if he follows Garrett to the school that he's going to, Justin won't have any of his friends going with him when he goes. We decided instead to pull he and Ryry out of the school they are attending now and move them back to the local school. That way they will have some time to make friends before the next change.

JT is probably my biggest worry now. He's so active and his mind is all over the place. If he isn't a candidate for the ADHD label, I don't know who is. He's a brilliant kid, but his mind is running on so many levels that to get him to stay on task is a big deal. I'm hoping to get him into a doctor soon. If he ends up having to go on medication, I rather have him adjusted to it before school starts. As a mom who has suffered from ADD most of my life, I can see his condition written all over his life.

Ryry is great. He's the sweetest guy and though he is moody lately. (He's milking his youngest status for all its worth). He'll be in 1st grade and I can't believe so much time has past.


Okay, now that I've ranted enough...I just thought I'd share a message with you that I found while reading the General Conference issue of the Ensign Magazine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As many of you know, I've been a member of this wonderful church my whole life. I just wanted to share my testimony of the truthfulness of it. I want you to know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. That Joseph Smith, Jr. was a prophet of God and translated the Book of Mormon. I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and that if you read it and pray about it, you will feel a wonderful confirmation that this book is from God.

As the Prophet Joseph Smith said, "The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.

This gospel has changed my life. My family has benefited from being members of it and I couldn't imagine how I could have survived without it.

Thank you for reading.

Ilda

Time really has past faster than I expected. My mom always said that once I got married to grab on to the reins and hold on. Okay, those aren't her words exactly, but you get the drift. It's already October and I haven't written anything since what, May?

This year has been crazy, but not as crazy as most. I guess the two things that I will remember most about this year, so far, are our trip to El Paso, Texas this summer. We finally made it to a small family reunion were all six siblings and our families were able to see each other. Thirty-two people in one house was definitely an adventure. But we survived, long enough to still be smiling at the end of the trip.

The second thing will be Garrett's last IEP. It continues to amaze me how much earlier and earlier they are trying to get us to prepare for graduation. Now if Garrett was a "normal" kid, I would be thrilled, excited about the prospect of the education system taking such an interest in this momentous step. And yet he's not. Their interest right now holds in whether he should take the FCAT. You all might not know this, but in Florida, if you child does not pass the FCAT in the third grade say "AMEN" to ever having hope of getting a real diploma. I know that I should be excited about the progress that he's already made. He's drawing, he's swimming, he's excited about being in cub scouts and has earned his Bear badge. But as a mother, you dream of all the things that come with that little piece of paper and its so hard to believe that at 9 that dream has already shattered. Deep in my brain, deep, deep down. . . I know this is the best situation for him. But, and there's always a "but" out there somewhere, in the immortal words of Sally Field from "Steel Magnolias". . . "I wish someone would explain it to my heart."

At this time in the history of the world, when everything is in flux and at times a little scary, I tell myself and you all to remember that God loves us. There is nothing that is laid before us that we can't handle, if we only let him show us the way.