When Kaybree was born, I recall laying awake at night. Her pack-n-play was at the end of our bed and she was sleeping in the infant attachment, I could lay at the foot of my bed and with the night light look in at her. She was awake, looking back as me. As long as she saw me she was good to lay there and drift to sleep. I recall watching her take her sweet breaths. Precious baby breath, inhale and exhale. I watched and wondered in amazement. She took her first breath on this earth when she was born. One breath to grant her life. She inhales and exhale. Fascinating. Breath that gave her life, but yet each breath she takes or any of us for that matter pulls us closer to the last breath of life. Each breath grants us life yet pushes us to age and motions us through growth and death. It is amazing. There have been many breaths since that day I watched her. Now she sleeps in her one bed, in her room. She says things to me that Kensley used to say so long away. Things that are so simple that she understands as she sees things so simply. I told her I would stuff her back in my belly and cuddle her there. She said, now, "I don't want you to eat me again!"
I have a lot of fun with her.
Kyson however, is now a man. He put in his mission papers last month. I could not be prouder. He does things with little expectation and gets little notice but he has overcome so much. Bullying at school, graduating with his class when the odds were against him, he pulled it off. Got his eagle in scouts before he turned 18 only to have drama with the mix up of paper work on the end of our leaders. Didn't matter though, he did the work and the leaders finally got it all turned in and he got his eagle as he had earned. It came through quietly and with little notice. He graduated from seminary. The day of the graduation, Kyson could not be there as Grandpa Parkinson had his funeral that same day. All the kids in our ward were recognized for graduating Seminary, but Kyson was not called up because, no one saw him so I don't know if they just assumed he did not graduate but weeks later the Clerk got his certificate to him on completion. He somehow never gets the credit but he did it all and I am so proud of the man that he is.
Kaylen bought her first car, it was for $1700.00 and it ran for a year and a half. She has loved her freedom. She is stubborn but her stubbornness is fair at times and it will do her good in her future.She just bought her second car. I am not happy she went into dept for it. Got to somehow help her to get it paid off. Her best friends family Logan will be moving again. This time to Texas. Kaylen is upset. It would not surprise me if she tries to move down there for a bit. I really don't care for Texas. She has a boy she has been dating but I don't think she would mind leaving him behind for her best friend. Those two do some crazy fun stuff. they wont regret it. They do have some great stories. Today she came home after she said her biggest scare of her life. She thought she had poisoned her clients food as she prepped for a party at work. She sprayed non stick cooking spray all over these ribs to prep them for the party and then she thought the can looked like the oven cleaner. She said she was so scared her eyes went blurry and she couldn't even read the label. Lucky it was cooking spray. Funny how our bodies tend to protect us when we are so afraid by shutting down senses so we don't pass out. If we can just get Kaylen to stay in school and focus this last year, she will have a successful future.
Kelsey is now moving into High School just fine. She has lots of friends. She is a beautiful girl and that is a bit frustrating to Matt as she is always getting asked out and she is not 16 years yet. She did awesome on her driving test. Just one near death experience but those are great learning opportunities.
She went to Prom and we spent all this time and money on dresses. Yes more then one, then $500.00 later, she had the perfect dress. Since the Prom, she has rarely talked to the boy. But she hangs out with his friends. Matt does not like it. It just a future we see that is going to get more intense until some young man locks a ring on her finger. I hope she knows she can get the best. Kelsey is working at a gymnastic place teaching kids how to do flips. She is very talented being self taught she knows how to do all sorts of flips and tricks. She is talented. She was an awesome tap dancer too. Her teacher used to put her in the front of the lines to help her bring everyone in and lead the other.
Kensley acts a lot like Kyson, She likes her friends, but hates drama. I seriously think she is one of my hero when it comes to handling intolerable situations with grace and Christ Like. She doesn't go a long with it but she with frames and she is truly inspiring to me. She doesn't like to watch Kaybree because she says bad things always happen to Kaybree when she watches her. Okay, there was the time when Kaybree was playing and fell off the bucket she was standing on and hit her tooth so hard it went back up into her gums. We have yet to see the tooth come back. That was 6 months ago, but the dentist said it was working back down. That would have happened even if I was watching her. Then one day, she fell asleep and my dad came. He took Kaybree home with her. Kensley called me all upset she lost Kaybree and she was so scared that she was kidnapped or got hit by a car. I called my dad and he confirmed that he had her. Kensley was so worried sick. I told her welcome to being a mom feeling. That stuff is how you feel all the time when you don't know where your kids are. She thinks she will just keep to having dogs, cats and bunnies and animals for kids. She graduated from 6th grade tomorrow. I will attempt to be there to surprise her.
Kids are getting big, starting to leave the nest. Grateful I get to be their mom and watch them grow. They are independent. I wish I could do more for them but I think the fact that I have to work and had some things come up where they had to make choices and be responsible has been a blessing. I see my kids can make choices and understand consequences. They hold jobs and make their own money and they appreciate when I or someone else gives them. That is hard to find in other kids there age. So I am grateful the lord knows what he is doing. I see that.
