Laughing Out Loud....

I work at an elementary school as a teacher's assistant.  This year I work with first graders.  The joy of the job is that almost everyday I hear something that is laugh out loud funny.

A recent field trip to the Explorium (a children's museum) in Lexington so the kids could learn about taking good care of their teeth was good for some laughs.  My favorite quip of that day was when the "tooth fairy" came into the room wearing a long, flowing white gown with spaghetti straps and to complete her outfit she had wings and glittery wand.  She was a very pretty tooth fairy who had, for some reason, decided to wear a camisole under the spaghetti strap dress so it ended up looking like you could see her bra straps.  Noticing that, one of the kids shouted out,

"Hey, the tooth fairy doesn't wear a bra!"

BWAHAHHAHAHAHAHA! 

Today I was in a classroom working individually with kids on reading while the rest of the class worked on writing a paper about what characteristic most describes them.  I heard bits and pieces of conversations between the teacher and the students as she tried to guide them and encourage them in their writing assignment. I totally lost my focus when I heard the teacher say, in a moderately exasperated tone, as she looked at a child's paper,

"Honey, crazy isn't a characteristic!  It's a mental condition!" 

BWHAHHAHAHAHAHA!   :)

A laugh out loud day is a must....everyday. :)

Oh the Places They'll Plank....

Planking.  It's the "thing" to do for teenagers.  What is it? It is an activity consisting of lying face down in an unusual location. Both hands must touch the sides of the body and the body has to be rigid to constitute good planking. The term planking refers to mimicking a wooden "plank".  Oh, and having someone with a camera is a must! :)

One day I decided to get the pictures off my camera and imagine my surprise to find planking pictures of Abigail and Annah. :)

Oh the places they'll plank when their mother isn't looking!

Abigail on the fridge... 

Annah on the counter....

On the fridge....

On the kitchen stools...

On top of Jordan's guitar case...

The back of the couch...

The rocking chair...

A case of water...

So that is what our girls are up to when we aren't paying attention. It makes me laugh to see these pictures of the things they do. :) 

One day while I was looking through some old pictures I came across this picture of Annah and of all things she was PLANKING at the young 3!!!  :D

Bowling Party....

On President's Day (February 20th) school was out so we hit the bowling lanes.  This is the first President's Day that we've had off in *years* because President's Day is used as a make up snow day.  This year with our lack of winter we actually got the day off! :)  Abigail and Annah each had a friend that had spent the night and then they came with us to bowl. Word spread that we were going bowling and taking two missionaries with us since it was their P-day and when all was said and done there were 18 of us at the bowling alley -- Tim and I, 6 missionaries and 10 kids! I didn't get pictures of everybody there since we were on three different lanes but here are a few.....

Oh yeah, those stylin' shoes.... :)

Abigail

Elizabeth

Annah 

Umm... Jacob (we are *not* bowling on the iPhone!)

 Moi, a.k.a Momma Bowler

Tim, a.k.a Papa Bowler

Jennifer

Oh, Jacob really did bowl :) 

I have not bowled in probably 20 years or more. It was really fun and I was having a good time having the high score through the whole game...until the end. Then Papa Bowler trounced me with a 119 to 107 score. 

Next time, Papa Bowler, next time! :)

I Hate Winter....

I hate winter. 

Did anyone ever think they would hear me say that? 
Well, I do.  I hate THIS winter.  By February 4th we had gotten exactly 1.1 inch of snow.  Since then we have seen maybe...MAYBE, an additional inch but I might be stretching a bit. I am totally disgusted with winter, or rather the lack of winter! 

In early December I put up the beautiful paper snowflakes that Annah had made and I even used a spray snow on the corners of the windows to "pretend" there was drifting snow just outside my windows. You know, just until the real stuff showed up. Maybe that is what jinxed it.  At first I was encouraged by my snow flakes and fake snow -- that "fake it till you make it" adage -- but, what once encouraged me now mocked me! 

Last week there was talk of a "significant accumulation" storm rolling in and it was almost certain we would see some snow on the ground. Yup, I took down the snowflakes and cleaned off the fake snow all in anticipation of the real thing.  Again, winter mocked me.  Not one flake flew that day. 

I am so done with winter. I say let it be spring with lots of sunshine and warming temperatures.  Oh wait,I think we already have that since it hit 70 last week! :(

There is always next year and I am already hoping for white. Come on, winter!  Show me what you are made of! I will be rooting for you!

18

Happy Birthday, Jacob!

Somehow 18 years have come and gone since Jacob made his way into our family and our hearts.  His arrival in the wee hours of that Monday morning changed our lives forever...in a good way, of course. :)

February 21st Jacob celebrated his 18th birthday. Three days later he took his driver's test and is now the newest licensed driver in the Valenta household! :) (He really has not been interested in driving much and as he thought about it he decided to wait until after he turned 18 so then he wouldn't be bound by the intermediate licence laws we have in Kentucky. That's Jacob, always thinking!)

 

Jacob at age 1

Jacob saluting and holding the Wee Sing America song book

(his favorite back then!)

 About age 6 

In 5th and 6th grade Jacob had an obsession with duck tape (okay his obsession went beyond just 5th and 6th grade!) and he made duck tape clothes. 

In 6th grade he wanted to challenge the dress code and wear his duct tape pants just to see what they would say since no where in the dress code did it nix clothes made out of duct tape.  No, we didn't let him do it but a teacher did ask him to bring them to an open house at the school because he wanted to see them!:) 



Hmmm, what is there to say about this one? :)

Jacob found watching a movie on a laptop while crocheting....

he is a boy of many talents!

A favorite picture of Jacob.....

Tim and Lisa's wedding August 2008

Those eyes.....love them!

Jacob's senior picture.  You can't tell in this picture that his eyes are still blue but trust me, they are!

Happy Birthday, Jacob!

We love you, man! :)

Age Doesn't Matter....

Yesterday I celebrated my 50th birthday.  Yup, 50 YEARS I've been hanging around. :) Some have asked me if I am depressed about turning 50. 

Depressed?  About what, I wonder? 

Depressed that I've spent more than half that time married to my best friend? 

Depressed that I have 6 great kids who have shaped me as much, if not more, than Tim and I have shaped them?  

Depressed that we've seen our own miracle with Tim's recovery from cancer?  

Depressed that I get to be 50? 

Not a chance! 

How I can be depressed when I have seen so many blessings in my life? 

I've had 50 years to love, to learn, to grow, to laugh, to cry, and to see the hand of God in my life.   I have lived and that is what life is all about!

Sometimes we are tempted to think that if we could turn back the hands of time we might change things that we experienced. My 50 years have taught me that I wouldn't change a thing because each experience, good or bad, has shaped me. 
To change my experiences would be to change who I am and who I am continuing to become. 
 

And as Annah so wonderfully reminded me on my birthday,

"Age doesn't matter....unless you are cheese!" :)

Partly Sunny With a Chance of Tears

We rang in the New Year in our traditional Valenta style with pizza rolls, soda, chips, dips and games.  Mingled in the celebration was Jordan packing for his next adventure, going to BYU Idaho for school.  It has only been a short few months since Jordan got back from serving a mission in Brazil and now he is packed and ready to go once again.  As we made packing lists and to do lists over the past week or so it has felt like we were getting him ready for his mission all over again.  And perhaps we are.  Two years ago his mission was to go and teach people in Brazil the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Now, his mission is to go and learn so he is prepared to meet his future.  

The mom in me wishes his future kept him closer to home but I know it is his time to spread his wings and go make his way in the world.  The thing that I have learned about being a mother over the past 25 years of raising kids is that our job as parents is to teach and prepare them and then let them go.  From the time our children come to us we are preparing to let them go. 

So early tomorrow morning (3:30 a.m.!) we will bring Jordan to the airport to send him west to the land of colder cold and the potential for more snow than his eyes have ever seen. (I hear that is not the case right now but I promised him in the months ahead he will see snow!)  We chuckle that Jordan can't really comprehend an Idaho winter and he doesn't even know it yet. :)  

As we talked about what he needed for Idaho I suggested boots.

"BOOTS???" he replied in a tone that let me know that he thought I was off my rocker. 

He continued, "I don't need BOOTS! My sneakers are just fine.  I don't need BOOTS!" 

I smiled as I knew there was no convincing him so I simply said,

"Jordan, Idaho gives winter a whole new meaning. I think you will just have to get out there and see for yourself.  I think you will decide that you *will* need boots but you can get them out there if you decide you need something more than your sneakers." :)

We haven't discussed boots again. 

We did get him a coat that I am sure is *not* up to Idaho standards as far as winter garb goes but it was the best we could do with our mild Kentucky winter selection.  I think he will get good at layering his clothes very quickly. :) 

I did find him a thick hat that I hope will help keep his noggin warm in light of his extremely short haircut.  Jordan gives himself haircuts so a few days ago when it was time for a haircut he went to work.  I waited for my cue to trim his neckline when he said he was ready. When he called I went to add my contribution but found it hard to hide my shock when I saw how short his hair was.  The first words out of my mouth was, 

"WHOA!  What happened?"  

He grinned and explained that he likes the top a little longer than the sides so he cut the top and then changed the clipper gauge to a shorter one to do the sides.  He thought the top needed to be shorter and began cutting the top again without thinking to change back to a longer gauge!  The result was an over all *very* short haircut....like short, short, as in "I can see your scalp" short!  We both agreed that he would probably be wearing his new thick hat a lot in Idaho, including to bed, until his hair grows out some. BWHAHAHAHAHA! :) 

This is before the haircut :)

So the boy is on his way to his future without us really knowing when he will be back home again.  That is the part that tugs at my hearts strings. I thought I would feel better knowing he was in the states but I don't.  Gone is gone whether in Brazil or Idaho.  

As we make our way to the airport with him in the wee hours of tomorrow morning I know the forecast for the day.....

Partly sunny with a chance of tears.