WOW, THEY NEVER STOP AMAZING ME....

Whew, and tomorrow is Friday! I can tell already this year is going to go by so quickly I cannot even let one day go by without making the most of it!  So I had mentioned that many things I see changing this year and there is one that I can finally confirm and talk about.  CCF has brought on board and Administrative Assistant.  We reached a point it was time to decide; we either keep going along as we are or we grow.  If we choose to grow, we grow big and growing big is what we decided.  In saying that, we need more man power because I simply cannot keep doing what I am plus more.  So we started interviewing and it didn't take long until we found the most amazing candidate.  She was everything we could hope for plus some. She made us laugh and cry in her 2+ hour interview.  The foundation is so important to me, to all of us, and I never imagined it would develop into what it has.  We have been blessed over and over again and all I can say is great things are sure to come!

Changes are also developing in Raelynn and Coop's education and school system.  I sit on the Site Council, PTO and several sub committees so that not only do I know what is going on at their school but also that I can be a part of making their education the best it can be.  I do not see any reason to sit on the sidelines and either question why things are being done the way they are or simply be incoherent to what surrounds them on a daily basis.  Their education is extremely important to me and so is their future.  While I feel like I am a fairly intelligent person I think I lacked in broad thinking and characteristics of an entrepreneur which I would have given anything to have.  I remember as a youth and young adult I used to wonder why we were taught certain things and why I would ever waste space in my mind remembering some of the things I was taught.  On the other hand, there were things that were difficult and challenging but I understood how I would use them for the rest of my life or how they would apply to almost any job.  As an adult, I believe constant progression with technology and understanding the world around us and adapting to our world's constant changes tops my list of focal points.  With the thoughts I have from my youth and the focus I have as an adult, I must say the current Bond Issue being presented for an April vote is absolutely intriguing, arousing and necessary as far as I am concerned.  The Bond Issue is presented as a renovation to many schools and a preparation for the use of technology in all schools.  It highlights safer entries to our schools and better interior design for teaching.  I hope that all those that do not support the bond would take a really hard look around and ask themselves what they really don't support because when it comes down to it, you either support your neighborhood schools and the children you pass by daily or you don't.  Simply enough, if you don't, look not too far away at KC MO schools and ask your self if that's what you want Lawrence to be dealing with in the years to come.

So as you can tell, this past week has been pretty exciting but I don't think any of it compared to the excitement I felt inside as I sat with the kids Tuesday night eating dinner.  Tuesday was a pretty crazy night.  I had exactly 50 minutes after work to prepare dinner, get the kids fed, bathed and homework done before I was off to Site Council and PTO.  One of the things I am working on is playing it cool at times when everything is rush rush.  So Tuesday night was a perfect night for application of my theory that more gets done if I just work quickly and efficiently but not rushed.  The kids did great at doing homework and getting things together for the next day and setting the table while I got dinner ready.  We all sat down to eat together.  As we ate Coop said, "Mom you know what?  There was this lady a long time ago who had to sit in the very back of a bus because her skin was a darker color."  Raelynn popped right in, "Oh yea that was Rosa Parks."  Coop replied right back, "Yea Rosa and she was nice but those other guys were mean to her and we would never do that."  The two of them went back and forth just feeding off of one another with more details of Rosa Parks which then lead to discussion of Martin Luther King, Jr. which then led to Raelynn saying, "and do you know some of the presidents are assassinated?"  I indicated I did but again had no time to reply before Coop was right back in the conversation stating that President Kennedy was assassinated.  Now I don't know about any of you but I did not even know what assassinated meant when I was 5.  The entire dinner the 2 of them discussed various presidents and asked me several questions which finally lead me to grab my iPad and google answers for them.  They both were seriously taken back by how the color of someones skin would affect the way they were treated.  I was so proud of their knowledge but also of their perception of things.  They continue to amaze me by they information they long to have about our history.  This is something that has never interested me and in the 7 years Raelynn has been alive I have probably learned more about politics and our history that I did in the 30 years before that.  Between the two of them they want to know different aspects of historical events.  Raelynn always focuses on every one's feelings and why things happened the way the do.  Coop just wants facts; who, what, when and where.     With the combination of questions topics are covered very thoroughly around here.

Raelynn also informed me this week that she wants and injured animal.  I was a little taken back or concerned by this statement so I questioned why.  Her response, "I want to get an animal, a dog or horse, from the shelter so that I can take care of it and make it healthy again."  She continued, "I know you don't like animals but I want to take care of the sick ones, and oh Mom?, I am going to adopt kids, maybe have one of my own, but I am going to adopt kids that don't have a Mom and Dad like you and Dad."  And well there you have it, another generation just like my Mom, my sister Steph and myself.  Raelynn is right, I don't love animals, but I would adopt or foster children anytime!  I just smiled and told her I would let her love her injured animals and I would be the best Grandma her adopted kids could ever ask for!  To watch both she and Coop grow and develop into their own personalities is truly the greatest gift ever!