Tender Mommy Moment

 

 

When Shaeler comes home from school, it can go one of 2 ways.  She will either come through the garage or she will go to the front door and ring the door bell multiple times OR hold the door bell button down for 10 seconds followed by multiple annoying knocks. 

 

My preference is the garage because if I am doing something then she just comes in at her own free will AND my nerves stay calm because the second option has become like fingernails on the chalk board for me.

 

Today, I got the hold the door bell button down for 10 seconds which makes a horrible screeching noise in the house followed by the "why haven't you opened the door yet?" knocks.  As I walked to the front door, I was preparing myself to give the speech yet again about going through the garage door when I found myself looking into the eyes of a red eyed 8 year old.

 

Something was wrong.

 

Of course I asked her, in which she replied with alligator tears rolling down her eyes that Lucas (a boy in her car pool) pulled her hair out of it's pony tail and was slapping her on the face.  I asked if he hit her hard?  She demonstrated a more playful annoying slap that he did.

 

Teasing and bickering are not Shae's forte, as she has no siblings that she normally fights with on a day to day basis.  This is behavior she is not use to and she struggles with it because we do not treat each other that way in our family.

 

I grabbed my baby's hand and asked her to come lay down on the bed with me.  She rested her head on my chest and I tickled her back and stroked her hair to calm her down.  I then explained that most likely Lucas was playing around and that his behavior is a way that boys act.  Most likely, he was not trying to be mean to her.  We talked about how she felt and that she should try to never make anyone else feel that way.

 

As my little girl is growing up, I cherish these small moments where I can hold her, comfort her and love her as if she was once again that tiny baby in my arms.  It was a mother moment that I never want to forget and if it means taking the annoying door bell moments to get some, then I will endure it!



Watch Out 3rd Grade!

Today was Shae's first day of school in the 3rd Grade!

 

 She set her Justin Bieber alarm to go off at 6:30 am.  The alarm on the clock sounds like a fire alarm and makes Brian and I chuckle to watch her wake up from shock.  Mind you, she chooses to set it again every night.

Surprise! This year, she chose a Hello Kitty back pack with a Hello Kitty metal lunch box.  She was excited to wear her new boots and asked me to curl her hair. 

She had waffles for breakfast and she made her own lunch.  She had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, bbq potato chips and 2 chocolate chip cookies.  For her snack she packed cheese and crackers with water.

 

She came home and gleefully exclaimed that she did not want to come home from school today!

 

She loves her new teacher Mrs. Cordova!

 

And then she locked her bedroom door so that she could change her clothes and hide the fact that she put a big old hole in her brand new stalkings.  Which the locked door turned on my mommy alarm to see what she was up to.  I told her it was ok.  Tomorrow she can wear socks with her black ballet flats.

 

I spent some time talking to her about her day.   She said that the teacher told her a story about a little train that had to pull toys over a mountain to the good little boys and girls and would say "I think I can, I think I can."  They then decorated cans with pictures with all the things they wanted to achieve for the year.  She told me she sat with her best friends Logan and Belamy at lunch and sat across from Luke.  He told her that she was "weird and insane" and she thanked him for the compliment and told him that she needed to hear that today.  HA!  (FYI - her mama has taught her that we are proud of our weirdness and being peculiar!  Joy and happiness comes from within!)

 

She was SUPER PUMPED she did not have any homework other than her mom had to fill out paper work to give permission for fieldtrips during the year.

 

Mom is SUPER PUMPED to have to only drive Wednesdays and some Fridays for Carpool! Woowee!  Mom is SUPER PUMPED to have some free time back during the day for working out and scripture study.  Mom is SUPER PUMPED that Shae loves school so much and we are looking forward to a fabulous year!

It's just an amazing feeling!

Words cannot describe the utter blissful joy I feel this time of year.  April is the most incredible time for me as the spiritual enlightenment is undeniable.  I love that April always starts with General Conference which I could not describe a more perfect way to jump start anything.

General Conference was AWESOME!

Every single talk struck a different chord with my heart.  The whole weekend was everything I needed to hear.  I always begin Conference with writing down personal questions that I am seeking answers for.  The songs, the talks, the pictures, everything had a quiet answer for my heart's desire for answers.  I cannot say that one talk stood out the most for me.  The entire Conference was what stood out the most to me. 

What I love most about Conference Weekend is that it is like a small sampling of a spiritual buffet.  I am so absorbed by the spiritual wowness in every talk, that it feels like sampling different tastes of a large feast.  Now, I get to go back and listen to each talk multiple times.  Fully listen and dissect the things that are being said and devour the counsel and lessons that have been taught.  It's the month after General Conference that I truly get to feast upon the word's of our prophet's and I love every single minute of it.

I wanted to take just a moment to recognize my love and appreciation to Julie Beck, Sylvia Allred and Barbara Thompson.  I appreciate all that they did to teach and lead by example.

I will miss the energy and accent of Sister Allred.  I will miss her perspective of the church being International and the different aspects she would talk about the Relief Society in action in the Latin Culture.

I will miss giggling when Sister Thompson spoke because I swear she has a second job as being the voice of Mrs. Puff from Spongebob Squarepants.   I truly enjoyed the simplicity of her talks and I have heard that she sacrificed a lot to be able to serve in this capacity.  Thank you for your sacrifice!

I will truly miss Julie Beck. 

Sister Beck gave 2 talks that have literally changed my life as a mother and wife.  She was direct, she was sincere and she was a spiritual strength that made me proud to be part of the Relief Society.  I love you, Sister Beck! 

Of course, I am truly excited for the new Sisters that will serve as the General Relief Society Presidency.  I welcome them with open arms and offer all the love that I can.

One other sad releasement was of H. David Burton of the Presiding Bishopric.  I always loved his talks at General Conference and BYU Speeches.  He was such a great man and I will miss him too!

The Second Great event of April is Easter!  The Greatest Holiday in the Rentmeister Family!

There is so much I could tell you about my trip, but I will just give you highlights.


Mexican restaurant in Salina = Best Mexican EVER!

7 Days of Christ Centered Easter included picture drawing and lamp making this year.  Focused quite a bit on the parables this year.

On the Stake YW level, my presidency has made a lot of changes concerning Camp Certification.  I am one to never ask someone to do something that I am not willing to do.  So, at our Easter Cabin getaway, I began my Girls Camp Certification and have loved every moment of each requirement. I did 2 years over this trip, which meant a total of 8 miles to hike.  It was fantastic!  I learned so much about nature and first aide and my spirituality that I cannot wait for another nature getaway to continue on my certification.  Here are a few pics from our hike.

We had a couple of days to ourselves and then it got crazy crowded at the cabin with all of the family members who joined us.  It was wall to wall beds up on the loft, with 11 people sleeping upstairs.  I love to treat my family to a little mini-Youth Conference for my nieces and nephews.  They get spiritual activities, lessons, treats and lots of play time.

This is my niece Claire!  She is so dang funny!  She kept singing and dancing the entire time and she would say the funniest things.

This year, I did a special treat.  I made a Chocolate Caramel Brownie Heath Trifle.  I made the whipping cream from scratch.

IT WAS TO DIE FOR!

2nds the day later were even better!  That's a repeat dessert, for sure!

Saturday is the day that we do all things fun Easter.

A couple of shots of Easter Eggs.

Our family hides lots of eggs with favorite candies and treats. 

This year, Brian and I not only had the money egg which was up to $20, but we also did a prize egg of a treat with a $15 Itunes card. 

Who's the cool Aunt and mom?

That would be me!

Ha!

Just Kidding!

Other weekend highlights were:

Video taping skits of my nieces, myself, Shae and Brian acting out parables.  That was my favorite part of the trip!

Finding Maddie after she got lost (kind of).  Long story!

Blindfold activity to teach about the Holy Ghost!

Passover Dinner on the floor with pillows.

Laughing and quoting Nacho Libre with my nieces.

Endless and long talks with Brian that make me love and fall in love with him more!

Snuggling with Shaeler!

The swing!

Watching church videos about Easter and the Savior

Going to church in the small town and seeing the same organist lady who likes to play the hymns "her own way" and listening to the congregation trying to keep up with her.

Bearing testimony of the Savior, his life, his mission, his purpose and giving my gratitude in return.

Many, many more great things in store for the month of April! 

I love it and I am on cloud nine over here!

Shae turns 7!.

This kid brings me some of the greatest joys in my life.  Her personality is coming in quite strongly now and she is one crazy child.  Now that Shae is seven, I have kissed goodbye those baby years and I am embracing her childhood now.  Although, this kid has me rolling laughing all the time.

Some things about Shae at 7:

1.  She LOVES movies.  She easily picks up lines to any movies and has such a knack at quoting them at the funniest times.

2.  She has a style all of her own.  Sometimes I put up a battle, but most the time, I let her choose the clothes she wears.  They are always "eye catching" ensembles that get lots of attention.   She has been nick named Punky Brewster if that gives you any clue of what I am dealing with.

3.  Shae has continued taking swim lessons and piano lessons.  She has a year under her belt in both these activities and she is doing very well.

4.  She lives, breaths and wakes for play dates with her friends.  Especially with Bayli.  This gives me great joy that she has such great friends to play with and that she has those interactions all the time.  Healthy for an only child.

5.  She loves cookies and cream ice cream, raspberries, pizza, eating at Sizzler, and Reeces Peanut Butter Cups.

6.  She prefers to snuggle with her dad at night to fall asleep.

7.  She constantly carries around with her at least 2 stuffed cats.  Stripey and Pepper.

8.  She is very curious and asks a bazillion questions.  Some are just simple and some are into deeper things.  For example, she asked me the other day why people open and close their mouths when they kissed?  Yeah, at 7 I am dealing with this topic.

9.  She has a sincere concern for others.  Sometimes when I catch her praying, I hear 3 things:

a. Bless me to have a great day. b. Bless my family to be safe c. Bless ______ to help them feel better.

10. She is such a great kid.  Very obedient, humble and meek.  I love her to death and cannot wait for another awesome year to watch her grow up to 8. AAHHHH!  My baby is turning 8 next year.   Excuse me as I go weep in the corner curled up in a ball.  

Here are some pics from her birthday celebrations!

Leatherby's

Riding with her dad

Somehow she turned it into a photo shoot of herself.

She wanted fireworks for her birthday, so I caved and got sparklers.

Birthday Morning!

Her Sidewalk Chalk Birthday sign!

We Celebrate His Life!

Yesterday was Brian's birthday!  The man in my life is now 36.  Where does the time fly?

Well, we did our best to celebrate his life and our love for him.

Signs of love around the house!

 Chalk sign on the driveway listing 36 reasons Brian is AWESOME!

We decorated the house with streamers!

Shae was bound and determined to get him a pinata!  So we got him a Pinata!

Filled with only candy bars that are worthy of such a guy!  No crap candy here, people!

We love Brian so much and hope that he had a great birthday!  The celebrations continue this weekend, but yesterday was all about him!  Well, and the day before that when I took him to lunch.....ok and today too when I took him to lunch again.  Man, I'm on a roll

I Love that Man!

Well, I did it!   I survived High Adventure.......at home!

Brian left Wednesday afternoon to go to High Adventure with the Stake.  Shae and I were left to make it on our own while he was gone.  I had no fears of the house falling apart or anything like that, it's just not seeing Brian for a time is hard on me. 

I love that man!  He is my other half and we are in constant communication everyday.  I miss him terribly when he is away. 

We entertained ourselves at night with nightly walks to the playground.  That's the hardest time becuase that is usually when Brian is home.

We are so lucky to have many playgrounds around our neighborhood.  I cannot express enough the peaceful and calm feeling of sitting at a park bench, talking with friends, enjoying the cool summer evening.  Such a wonderful feeling!

We wanted dad to know how much we missed him that we spent a night writing him a little love note to give him when he got home!

"Little" may be an understatement.

Who knew sidewalk chalk can be so much fun?