Sister Kramer: Where you at?

 When I wake up Monday mornings, the first thing I check is our email for Bailey's weekly letter.... Bailey's email wouldn't download on my phone... slight panic attack...race down stairs to our main computer, waking up a child that wasn't supposed to be sleeping on the couch.... relieved it was just my phone and our computer picked it up just fine. :) First Crazy Mom moment, of the day, averted.



 

What was your best moment this week??

 

the best moment this week was yesterday we got a new interrogator it was really cool

 

Hardest moment?

 

hardest moment was i gave blood for the frist time because we volunteer at the blood clinic it bruised most of my arm

 

Funniest/Weirdest?

 

nothing really weird has happened

 

 

Tell me something unique about St Johns?

 

St. johns has the oldest paddle boat races in all of north america it is a huge celebration here

 

 

What is something funny they say in NFLD?
 

{Where you at} means how are you and {This is it} means im good

 

Favourite scripture or topic this week?

 

endure to the end 3nephi 15:9 
 { Behold, I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.}

 

What's the best thing we can do to support the sisters in our ward here ?

 

the best thing you can do for the sisters is to be member missionaries, to go with them to lessons, have them in your home and to friendship all who they bring to church because the member last longer than the missionaries and new people in the gospel need that support longer than the missionaries stay.


Man we love and miss our missionary!

We're Friends Now.

Its been years, but ever so often I am reminded of a lesson I learned, when my rug rats were still small, and I was only just beginning to navigate the pit falls of parenting...

For almost an entire school year we had a young boy spend many mornings and afternoons in our home, so his mother could support their family. He was rambunctious and smart, but struggled at times to control his behaviour especially with his peers at school. He had been through much in his young life and those circumstances were not something he could change.

He often came home with notices informing his mother of his misdeeds during the day...

I was horrified when one of those notices was for bullying a sweet, kind special needs boy in his class, completely unprovoked...

Severe consequences were needed and most definitely deserved.
 For a few days I wondered how, the situation would ultimately be handled....

When I saw my young charge again I quickly asked "What happened?"

"I had to apologize but we're are friends now." he said as if that was the expected answer

A little surprised at the drastic change...I eventually asked his mother, further

Instead of wanting restitution, our sweet boy and his mother decided, my charge, needed a friend more than a punishment and this sweet boy thought that a recess where he could share his prized, recently acquired Halloween candy, with my charge, would be an awesome way to make a friend.

Candy was shared.

And from that moment on, they were indeed friends.

I am still humbled by the lessons I learned from that very wise Mother, who saw a hurting boy, disguised as a nasty bully and then reacted in love.

Not all consequences need to be punishment.

Maddie Made It!

Our Maddie walked across the stage last night, our third in a back to back run of high school graduates.... and we  dripped beamed with pride, from the concrete bleachers of a sweltering rented hockey arena.

 {It was sad that a teacher's strike prevented them from using their school or sharing the evening with their teachers.}

 

The morning started with the traditional breakfast out and then the also traditional Kramer's are too cheep/lazy to hire an actual photographer, photo shoot.... at the Vance's Bison Farm (Island Bison), Maddie's other parents and second home. Love them! :)

 

 We found black Converse hi tops last minute and thought it was a little way to honour Grandpa Les. {He was an educator for 40 years and bought all my kids back to school supplies and clothes every single year, until he passed away and all he wore were Converse hi-tops}

Maddie took a bit to get over the awkwardness of a dress....but eventually found her inner princess....

The ceremony....Pomp and Circumstance gets me every single time, except they don't play that, the grads get to pick, {so its a lame song}...But watching the Grads parade in is an awesome MOM moment.... Hearing your kids name, also awesome...

 

THREE HOURS LATER....

 

We got this shot. :)

 

Class of 2014

Proud parents :)....

Token sibling shoot (we really miss Bailey)...

Way to go Maddie!!! So, so proud of you!!!

The Evolution of the Grad Parent

If you still think us Kramers are these amazing parents and you want to keep thinking that....Don't read this post ;)....

Three High School Grads, in three years...is EXCITING ;) (and exhausting and boring) !!!!

Holly graduated in 2012...

Our first...
there were several grad parent meetings and we attended them all, professional photos, relatives came, attended the car parade waiting for a glimpse of our pride and joy, sat through the ceremony in gleeful anticipation, snapped a thousand pictures, shed some tears, waited up all night for her to return from the after grad party....{awesome parents}


Bailey did the same 12 months later, 2013....

We skipped the parent meetings, took our own photos, invited no one, skipped all but 2% of the car parade, or was there even one?, brought charged iphones and lots of snacks for the eternally long ceremony, gave up on inside pictures,(they never turn out any way, and the school sends you one), made her get a ride home from the after grad party....{mediocre parents}




Madison, poor Madison....



Wait! What? Grad is THIS Wednesday?!?!

Do we have to go, to like all of it??? Can't you just text us when they get close to the K's??
{those parents, people write books about}

I did finish altering her dress today and she did finally find the perfect grad shoes (black VANS)...

But there is almost no worry or stress (that part of my brain finally broke)...as long as we show up with our iphones charged, for photos of course and snacks for Superman...it will be those wonderful parents at yet another wonderful grad :)

Yes I am well aware that Madison gets the short end of the stick, yes I know that isn't fair, yes she will probably need therapy. The fact that we are actually getting this girl in a frilly dress{it's a Christmas miracle}is probably doing the greater damage to her psyche...

Grad is an awesome achievement...Really Maddie,...

Sorry you're #3... please accept our most sincere apologies...

We still love you!

Sister Kramer: We Got Pictures!

Bailey is a missionary of few words....

 

This weeks email in its entirety....

 

sorry but i only have a few minutes to email! how did alex get caught! i love you guys so much

 

Even with the largest font it's still tiny. :)

 

But a picture says a thousand words, so I guess, this weeks email is....

 

3,021 words ;) (her longest one yet)

 

She looks happy and that's all that matters.

 

Riding Out Rain

 

 

 

 

 

We left Nanaimo the other night on dry roads. It started sprinkling at the Parksville exit, at  the Qualicum Beach turn off (5 minutes later) we hit a wall of water, and discovered our van has this fancy feature that shuts off cruise control of the second you start hydroplaning... {thank heavens}

I've never seen it rain harder. (not even kidding)

Superman instantly slowed to a crawl, as the torrents came down and I tried to keep my pseudo-swearing to a minimum ;)

 

 

 

 

 

Then as quick as the monsoon came, it was over ...And we were scrambling to find sun glasses...

 

 Crazy Island weather...kinda matches our crazy life...

 

Unpredictable, never sure how long the rain or sun will last. Always trying to be prepared for both... I guess, as long as we manage to stay on the road home, it will all be alright...eventually. :)

 

 

 

Oh Summer...

The kids suddenly started summer early (teacher's strike), sigh.

I wasn't planning on having them in my face for another week or so. But nope...here they are...and I am missing me time, already. I know, so selfish...whatever...

I've even let them sleep in til the crack of noon, just to buy myself a few extra hours of silence...

But this house ain't packing itself, so....

I opened #4 and then #5's door at 11:45am... Come on really Mom?!...Dallyn didn't even move as the dog growled at me ...awesome...

Thirty minutes later the two enter the living room looking like they had barely survived the zombie apocalypse...awesome.... 

Okay let's start in the storage room.

{tah}FINE, eye roll...

Oh my gosh!!! This is going to take FOREVER...

awesome...

Within 7 maybe, 8 minutes...I had taken away phones, told them to stop it, Stop It, STOP IT and threatened to make them share a room in the new house and  not one thing had even landed in a box yet.

awesome....

Letting you sleep in is the only privilege you two are going to get today!

Is it possible for two kids to fight more than five? Yes, yes it is...

Eventually,  after an hour of ungrateful shenanigans,  #4 and #5 decided to be helpful. 

awesome...

I'm such a better Mom... When they're not home...no really ;)