Grandma Greene

Tonight I have a few minutes alone and I feel like writing about my Grandma. This week has been the beginning of the end for her. Her pace maker surgery on Friday did not turn out like we hoped. It was just too much for her body to handle. She is a fighter but I think that she has just gotten tired of fighting. My mom is with her and they hope to get her home tomorrow and set up with hospice so she can live the rest of her days where she feels comfortable. Karlynn and I are flying over tomorrow evening so that we can say our last goodbye and to tell her all that she has meant to us. Here are 10 things I know about my Grandma Greene.
1. She made unbelievable chocolate chip cookies. No matter how many times I've tried...they just don't turn out the same.
2. She hardly has a gray hair amongst her beautiful red hair. At 93, that is unheard of!
3. Mr. Clean should have my grandm'a picture on his bottle. No one keeps her house as clean as my grandma did.
4. I love the way she smells.
5. My grandma never forgot anyone's birthday or anniversary. Not only did she not forget, there was often a card in the mailbox several days early with a handwritten note inside.
6. She loved her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I loved listening to her sing and cuddle with Ryan and Luke when they were babies.
7. Grandma loved to read. She read every night before bed. I picked up a love for books from her.
8. She was a woman with unwavering faith. Her religious strength was an inspiriation. I know if we ever needed prayers, Grandma was our prayer warrior.
9. She loved to watch basketball. She especially loved to watch March Madness if Duke was playing.
10. A big whole will be left in the hearts of her family. We will miss her terribly.

Special Spring Break Outing

One reason I love being a teacher is the chance I have to connect with kids. Last year I had a couple of boys, Jose and Even, who were pretty special. My favorite memory of last year is when we went to Bonneville Dam. As we came across the salmon and sturgeon I thought Jose and Even were going to fall in to the water with amazement. They were so excited and appreciative of the experience. It was then that I realized that these boys had not had many experiences far from home and it didn't take much to make them happy. Since both boys had some struggles with behavior choices, I became part of a mentoring program that our school started this year. Every morning these two boys "check in" with me and set goals for the day. At the end of the day I meet them at the bus for a quick review of the day. Often times, the first thing they say to me is..."How are you doing today?" I think they realize that I need the "check in", too.

Anyway, I challenged these boys in September to have a great year, with few behavior issues. They have accomplished that so far and are doing well. To celebrate, Matt, Ryan, Luke and I took them to a Blazer game tonight. Matt even found a great deal on seats that were 13 rows behind the Blazer bench!!! We picked them up and headed to Taco Bell. When we got to the Rose Garden they were both so excited. Even had been to one game earlier in the year with another teacher. Jose had never been there before. His eyes were popping out of his head. He was wearing an older Sebastian Telfair Blazer jersey that he had found at Goodwill and had bought just for this game. Well, we decided to buy both boys a new jersey so they picked out Brandon Roy's jersey. After all the excitement we settled in our seats and enjoyed a great game. I think both boys asked a hundred questions and cheered louder than anyone else in the section! The Blazers won and even helped us end the night perfectly with Chalupas. Jose thought they were going to have a real, hot Chalupa waiting for everyone at the exit. I had to explain that they actually gave each of us a coupon to get one free at Taco Bell. He replied, " Wheewww, I didn't know how they were going to be able to make that many Chalupas so fast!"

We just had a great time...especially Matt and I. It was fun to watch the Blazer game from these boys' perspective. It reminds us to appreciate things we might take for granted!

Easter Eggs

All three of my boys love hard boiled eggs. They would eat them morning, noon and night if I had them at hand. So, of course, they love dying eggs for Easter. My personality rears its head during this annual event. Every year I want to make my egg look so beautiful...you know make colorful stripes,etc. However, I get going and I can't stand it. I have no patience. I end up just throwing it in the cup of dye and calling it good. Matt, on the other hand, is MR. METICULOUS. His eggs are perfect because he spends 10 minutes perfecting the first half of color. Then he dries it, dabs it, and blows it before applying the next layer. For goodness sake, he even accomplished a perfectly plaid egg this year. In the picture take one wild guess which one is my egg and which one is Matt's!!!

I noticed this year that Ryan is like me...which surprised me because he tends to be more organized and particular. He just chucked his eggs in the cups and settled for the result. I think they all turned out mottled and brown. :-) His is the hand pictured. I asked him if we were dying eggs or our hands....the funny thing...guess whose hand looked exactly the same? Uh..mine!! Luke was definitely more careful...much more like Matt style. Like I always say...my boys surprise me every day.

Easter will be pretty low key. Mom and Dad are driving home from Boise. Karlynn and Scott are coming down next weekend. Matt is working/sleeping. So, the boys and I will go to church and then come home and settle in to watch more March Madness. Actually, that sounds pretty nice. It's been one heck of a busy week and I am still so tired. It's kind of nice to be mellow.

I hope you all have a Happy Easter. Love you!

March Madness

My favorite sports time of year has arrived! March madness is here. Yippeeee~

Today was almost a perfect day. Although I had to wake up before the crack of dawn to head downtown to RUN...??? once I was up it was pretty fun. I walked out the door and the birds were chirping, it smelled like spring and I realized that spring break is only a few days away. Anyway, when I got downtown with my buddies there were TONS of people around. Of course, I had to pee because I have pee phobia (the need to pee because you don't think there is anyplace to go!) Once I hit the disgusting porta-potty, I was ready to go. So my first 5k race began at 8:05 a.m. I was off and running at my ever so quick pace, determined to run the entire thing. The first mile was awesome...just whizzed by. The second mile sucked...all a gradual incline. I really had to push myself to keep running. The third mile was downhill and went by quickly. My legs had figured out a rhythm. I finished in just over 42 minutes which was not bad for my first road run. I definitely won't be training for the Olympics anytime soon. :-)

After an awesome breakfast with my fellow Shamrock Run crew, I went home and took a long, hot shower and threw myself on the couch for 3 hours of basketball/dozing time. I loved every second. The tournament selection show topped off the great afternoon. Matt, Ryan, Luke and I have our brackets ready to go. Luke has Boise St. going to the FINAL FOUR! Yeah baby! I on the other hand am looking forward to watching Oregon, UNC, Duke, and Stanford. There are several teams that I have enjoyed watching the past few weeks that should make the tournament interesting.

Now, I must force myself to get some schoolwork done. Even though I only have 4 days left of teaching before spring break...I suppose I should make those 4 days somewhat worthwhile!