Fiesta Texas

Yesterday, I took Kenneth and Ian to Fiesta Texas. It is less than 5 miles from our house and we have season passes so we can go when we want to go. It's a lot of fun. Kenneth took a couple of friends and they went off on their own. I kept Ian and we just had a real blast. I watched him play in the water and swim around at the water park. We spent some time in the lazy river, which is a place that you sit in tubes and float around in the water. It's really relaxing. We played and played and played. I watched him swimming around and I just couldn't help but think that our times like that would be fewer and fewer as he is growing up so fast. The baby years flew by for all of my kids and sometimes I wish I could turn back the hands of time and go back to those simple days. Deborah will turn 16 in August and Kenneth will be 13. Where has the time gone? I cry to think they will be out of the house before I know it and I will miss the noise and laughter. I am trying to hold onto every little memory and think of the moments that pass so quickly. I hope I am making great memories for the kids too. I hope they won't look back and think what a terrible mother I was and how I yelled at them to clean up their messes. I hope they will remember days like yesterday or times when we would all play Wii Sports together and Mom would get so involved in the game. Or our many road trips to the west and to the east. They were some fun times too.
I have been thinking about my own youth more and more too. I have so many great memories because of my parents and I am grateful to them. I miss them every day and I want to have them back with me. It seems impossible to think that Mom has been gone for 5 years and it has been almost 6 months since Dad died. I miss the days of hanging out down at Cape May with them and just talking. They are great memories.

Exchange Students

Today the exchange students did their presentations. I had Igor from Kyrgyzstan, who is our student living with us this year, Kanar from Iraq and Sam from Turkmenistan. It hit me hard that they will all be going home soon. I started to cry when I watched Igor with the little kids and saw how much he has grown and matured. He is like my own child. It's hard for people to understand if they have never had exchange students in their homes. I am so proud of his accomplishments and all that he has done while he was here. I can't help but cry when I think about his departure in June. It's like they take a little piece of me with them when they return to their countries. I have gotten close to Kanar too and she is a great girl. I worry about her future in her country although she lives pretty far away from most of the fighting. She has great potential in her future and I see that she can do many things. I have just gotten to know Sam and he is a funny kid. He has made some mistakes while here and didn't follow all the rules, but he said it has been a huge growing experience for him and he thinks he will always be a better person because of it. I wish I could just keep up with the kids when they go home, but I can't keep track of all of them.
At home, things are just going the same. The kids seem to be feeling better and everyone went to school today. Kenneth has his energy back and Ian is running around as usual. He is actually at a birthday party for one of his friends from school right now and I have to go get him soon. It is a party for a girl named Daniella and he his the only boy there. He gets invited to all the girls' parties. It cracks me up. He is only 10 and in 4thgrade yet he already has the girls chasing after him. I worry so much about the teenage years. I will have to keep close watch over him.

Another Day in Paradise

That is what I have to say right now. All of the kids have been sick to various degrees over the past few weeks and it's been hard to have everyone healthy. Deborah was sick with a sore throat and cough. Ian got the same thing, but he had a fever. Igor was next with a sore throat and headache. Then, Kenneth got a sore throat, headache and fever. None had strep and none had it at the same time. I actually thought I was going to enjoy some quiet around the house before they were finished school on the 4th of June, but I must have been wrong. I think all of the kids will go to school tomorrow but Ken is going to work late so he will be home until about 12:00. I suppose I won't get too much time alone.
I have to take some exchange students to an elementary school to do presentations in the morning. It will be one of my last official projects with AYUSA. I have been with them off and on since 1999. I will miss it in many ways, but the stress will be gone and I can focus on school. It's bittersweet. The exchange students have influenced and touched our lives in so many ways. We have learned about the world around us and the desire that we all have to have peace in the world. The kids fall in love with the students and feel like they have brothers and sisters all over the world. I don't think we will be hosting again next year. I know the kids want to but we have been so busy this year, we just need some time with the family. I think it will be a real change for us, but we need that change.
Well, that is all for now. I will keep this up and hope you are not too bored.

Trying again...

Well, here we go again. I am just going to keep this updated as much as possible and letting everyone see what we are doing. I don't want to bore everyone, but it's a nice way to keep up with everything.
School is over for me for the semester and I am officially a senior. I can't believe that I only have one year left to graduate. I finally passed the remedial math class after trying 3 times. I actually got an A!!! I was in shock. I just have to take one more math class and a few more communication classes and an accounting class too. It has taken me over 35 years to get to this point, but I know it's the right thing for me to do. The kids finish school on the 4th of June. We just plan to have a lot of good summer days relaxing by the neighborhood pool and going to Fiesta Texas. It will be another hot summer.
We have been hoping to go to Pennsylvania again this summer, but we aren't sure because of the price of gas. We will work on getting some painting done in the house though. The kids like to help do that. So, we will just try to relax and take it easy for the most part.