Throwback

 One of my favorite pictures with the best little brother on his 18th Birthday.

Big Changes

 

This young lady has some really big changes headed her way.

I had to drive Audra up to CU Boulder for a band thing today. On the way, she told me she had decided to go to BYU, but that she was scared because she doesn't know anyone who is going. Which is true. She knows two boys who got in but they are both going on missions first. She knows one girl who got in, but this friend decided to go to SVU to play soccer instead. Audra said she is really scared to go, but she would be scared no matter where she went.

I dropped her off, where she also didn't know anybody, and I got texts throughout the day from her saying how miserable she was. The conductor was super mean and yelled at them non-stop, pretty much calling them goof-offs and lazy who didn't take anything seriously and were wasting his time.

She ate lunch and dinner alone. She even asked another trumpet player if she could eat dinner with her, and this trumpet player said no because she was eating with her band.

She texted, alone and miserable, while eating dinner saying she was on the verge of tears and she hated being there and never wanted to do anything like this again.

At 9PM, I drove back up to Boulder to pick her up (yes, she could have driven herself, but she was really nervous to drive to Boulder by herself). On the drive home, she said that while she was eating dinner, Brinlee from HXP randomly (not randomly) texted her from out of the blue. She hasn't heard from Brinlee in 8 months.

Brinlee is from Wisconsin. They got to texting, and Brinlee said she got into BYU! Audra said she did, too, and Brinlee asked if Audra wanted to be her roommate! Now, she and Audra are making plans to move into Heritage Halls together!

Obviously, this was not a coincidence. This is God's doing, and God is so good! I hope Audra remembers this experience for the rest of her life, because Brinlee listened to the Spirit to reach out to Audra at a really dark time!

God is good! 

Last Game

Last game of the season! Claire had a great time- it was a very positive experience for her. In two weeks she starts back at The Edge to get ready for next season!

 

Valentine's

 Me: I made it with a lot of love.

Ben: I think you need less love and more flour.**

**oops. I know how to bake chocolate chip cookies. They are his favorite and I could literally have multiple affairs, but then present him with a plate of fresh, homemade chocolate chip cookies and he'd be like, "oh, no problem. Give me some cookies!" But, I was distracted and only put two cups of flour instead of 3. Maybe next year it will work out.

We made our traditional fondue:

Random Happenings

 Super Bowl fare- we had our usual dinner of sliders, sweet potato fries, and guacamole. We were happy to watch the Eagles beat the Chiefs.

I had a funny text thread going with my family where I said Claire was starting to see someone and also that I needed to do my taxes over the weekend. Stephanie responded that she wanted a picture. Of course, she meant a picture of Claire beau, but I sent her this instead.

And, it was "Wear Red" day for cardiovascular health, so in honor of Matt I wore red to work.

Camille's Post

 Today is the Super Bowl, and it already feels like the refs are on the Chiefs team. Favoritism! Everyone thinks they are cheating. If the Eagles lose I am literally going to crash out. Or stop caring. If they lose, I will just have to look at pictures of hamsters. These pics are for you, dad (if you ever read this). No one can resist their cuteness, and I can't wait two whole years to get another one! Anyway, back to the Super Bowl. Sorry that I sidetracked. Audra and dad are talking about pasta at the moment; yeah, the Marriott's are weird.  Just read what I'm writing, for instance. Yippeeeeeee, the refs actually called something on the Chiefs "unnecessary roughness".😋😋😛😜😝 I think my mom is going to kill me when she reads this.

Twix!!!!!!

Pep Band!

We got to watch Audra play with the pep band! They sounded great! And, some more lasts for Audra in her senior year.

 

Next Year

 I found out this week that my job is going back to part time next year.

After passing the Praxis, taking a million classes, being willing to go full-time when I didn't want to, and making it work, it feels like a punch in the gut. I'm far more bummed than I thought I would be. I have helped changed the culture of TBE and become an impactful member of our staff, creating a lot of opportunities for our students that they didn't have before. Not being full time next year feels like the district doesn't value what I have done.

But, because my principal is awesome and does value me, she said, "we want to keep you, and we will do whatever we need to do to keep you. We will find another .5 for you if you want, or .3 , or whatever you want."

I went home and talked to Ben and we decided that if I am .5 GT, and then .3 with whatever my principal wants me to do, that would be ideal. I gave my principal a schedule of what, in a perfect world, I would want- getting off everyday at 2:45 so I can be home when my kids get home, and then have Friday afternoons off so I can spend Friday afternoons with Ben. That would actually be a perfect schedule.

I e-mailed my GT feeder team- co-workers in the district who have become friends. One of them sent me this sweet e-mail which made me feel better:

Christina,

I’m truly sorry that you’re going through this at your school. Being new to this position myself, I don’t yet have the knowledge to offer advice on how the GT formula determines FTE per school. However, I want you to know how much I appreciate and admire your dedication to advocating for the GT population.

From listening to you speak in our team and district meetings to seeing the resources and insights you’ve shared through email, it’s clear that you are an invaluable asset to your school, community, and our GT Feeder group. Your hard work and passion do not go unnoticed.

Thank you for being open about your feelings—we are all here to support you during this challenging time.

With appreciation,

Blaine

First Competition!

Camille had her first Winterguard competition- she is so beautiful and such a joy to watch! She was a bit nervous and ended up being too scared to throw her flag, so she needs to work on that. But they did great, and it was a lot of fun to watch them! Her coaches LOVE her and said, "by the time she is a senior, she's going to need private coaching! She is catching on so fast and we can't believe how good she is already!"