Another Great Cross County Season

Tonight Nicholas finished his cross country season with districts at Central Valley High School.  We have been very blessed with amazing weather this fall...lots of sunshine and warm temperatures.  But, not today.  It was only 39 degrees and pouring rain!  The sad thing about cross country is that there is a lot of standing around, waiting for your division to start and then the run only lasts about 10 minutes.  Nick was soaked by the time his group started...but he had a personal record, running 1.5 miles in 9 minutes 28 second.  I'm so proud of him.  Now, he can focus on just soccer for awhile...until basketball starts!  

Obviously this picture is not from today -- I wish we had some sunshine! 

Primary Program (aka My Favorite Sunday of the Year!)

Sunday, September 30th, was the Primary Program.  The theme this year was, "Choose the Right."  I'm so touched that my children are learning at an early age that agency is a gift from Heavenly Father and that we can use that agency to choose the right.  Obedience is truly the only gift we have to give to our Father in Heaven, who has blessed us with so much.  

Here's a picture of Natalie and Adam on the morning of the program . . . they are my only two children still in Primary:

Back to School 2012

When you see these lined up....

... you know it's that time of year again:  Back to School!!!

Ally is in 9th grade, Nicholas in 8th, Natalie in 5th, and Adam in 3rd.  

Today was a crazy day for our family.  Nick especially had a long day.  He was gone from 7:30 this morning until 8:00 tonight.  He had school, cross country, and soccer practice.  Nick is such an easy-going kid.  He never complains and seems genuinely happy to be active.  He's growing like crazy.  When I dropped him off this morning I heard a girl, who was walking behind him, say "Wow, Nick grew this summer!"  As you can see in the picture above, he is now taller than his "big" sister.  Nick will be busy this year with school, sports, scouts, and serving as 1st counselor in his Deacon's Quorum.  I know he's going to have a great year!  

Ally loves high school so far and felt comfortable with her classes.  The only one she wanted to change was drama (she wants to take photography instead!)  She's most excited about her Spanish class.  I think she'll excel at learning a second language.  A few years ago, I taught the children some basic sign language. We had a book we studied and I put up charts around the house.  Ally loved it and continued to learn more words and phrases on her own.  This summer, there was a hearing-impaired girl at Girl's Camp and Ally was able to use some of the sign language she learned.  I think she'll take to Spanish like she did to sign language.  Also keeping Ally busy this year will be seminary.  It starts on Monday.  Ally's amazing teachers stopped by a couple nights ago.  They have such sweet spirits!  I know they're going to be a blessing to Ally each morning.  Ally is doing competitive club cheerleading and looking forward to trying out for the high school squad in the spring.  

Natalie is most excited this year to be at the "top of the school" as a 5th grader.  She loved going back to school and seeing all her friends today.  Natalie is definitely the most social out of all of my children and very liked at school by her peers.  She was welcomed back today with tons of hugs and kids calling out to her.  She's excited to serve on the ASB again this year; mainly, because she loves doing the announcements over the PA system in the morning.  We've been pondering a lot lately about what a good extra-curricular activity would be for her that won't aggravate her asthma.  We discussed options and prayed about it and decided she should sign up for a dance class.  She wants to do jazz.  I think this will be a good match for her.

Adam (also known as "coco" or "the baby of the family") also had a fabulous day.  He has probably the BEST teacher at his school, Mrs. Skeman.  Adam loved her instantly.  I know he's going to have a great year.  He starts soccer this week and will be busy with that and cub scouts.

The night before school started our wonderful home teacher came by and gave each of the children a blessing.  The spirit was so strong that night.  I was especially touched how each blessing was tailored to each child.  I have no doubt that our Heavenly Father loves us and knows us individually.  

The lazy days of summer are over, but there are no 4 people I rather be "busy" with than Ally, Nick, Natalie, and Adam.  "I believe that the ultimate treasures on earth and in heaven are our children."  Elder Dallin H.Oaks.  

Alaska

I'm so thrilled that I can now cross "See Alaska" off my bucket list!  I'd heard Alaska was a beautiful state, but, truly, words or pictures can't perfectly capture the breath-taking scenery of Alaska.

The kids, my grandparents, and I went on a one-week cruise from Seattle to Alaska, with 3 stops in Alaska (Juneau, Skagway, and Tracy Arm Fjord) and 1 stop in Canada (Victoria).  It was such a great opportunity to spend time with my family and to behold the beauty that Heavenly Father has created for us.  My heart was full looking at mountains, glaciers, wildlife, and the ocean.  Alaska is so pristine.  I left with more respect for our amazing planet and more resolve to take care of it.


We also spent 4th of July on the ship.  We were actually in Canada on the 4th, so for the first time ever...no fireworks for us.  

It was a little windy!  

  
One night on the ship was formal night for dinner.  Here we are ready to eat (although we look like we are going to church!)

April 7, 2012 was Adam's Big Day

Adam was baptized the day before Easter.  What a wonderful weekend to focus on Adam's decision to be baptized and also to celebrate the miracle of the resurrection.  Adam was actually blessed on Easter...8 years ago!  The following Sunday he bore his testimony about his baptism experience.  The faith of an 8 year old is such a beautiful thing!    


Our sweet home teacher, Brother Smith, baptized Adam.  This man has gone above and beyond in taking care of our family over the last year!  Grandpa and Grandma came up for the big day and then stayed for Easter.  It was a wonderful weekend filled with family, fun, and closeness with the Savior.  

 Adam and Brother Smith

Arriving at the church for Adam's big day

 Easter Morning

 

Adam's Baptism

I'm so excited for this Saturday.

Adam will be baptized at 5:00pm at our stake center. All are invited.

I'm so happy he has made the choice to follow in his

older brother and sisters' footsteps

AND in his Savior's footsteps!

The Light of Christmas

Why is it that at this time of year, my heart is soft and I feel the need to reach out more? Why is it that at this time of year the very mention of Christ's name brings tears to my eyes? Why is it that at this time of year, my soul feels overwhelmed with gratitude for my blessings? The answer, of course, is the light of Christmas...our Savior's love. It envelops me, causing me to draw near to Him and want to be more like Him. If only I could bottle these feelings and keep them with me all year long.

Along with a full heart this time of year, I've also had a lot of happiness and laughter with these 4 little angels:

And, grateful for these 2 angels who have given me unconditional love and support my whole life:


And, thankful that this bearded-man loves his children and that they love him right back!

It's That Time of Year Again...

We were so excited last Sunday when Santa made his annual stop at the Zorich House to find out what these 4 amazing children wanted for Christmas:

And then today we had a "sweet" time decorating gingerbread houses:

Thoughts on Snow

I am so, so thankful Heavenly Father made snow the color white. I don't think the view from my house would be as breathtaking to me if snow was black. Small blessings....

Hopes, Dreams, and New Paths

I recently came across this cute picture of Andrew and I cutting our wedding cake. Man oh man we had big hopes and dreams on that day. And, for the most part we made a lot of those dreams come true with a temple marriage, college degrees, four beautiful children, and 18 years of memories. The path, though, ended for us as a couple, but continues as parents of those four beautiful children.

Halloween 2011

We had another super-fun Halloween, filling the day with parties, friends, and, of course, CANDY! We started the day with parties at the kids' school. Then we made our annual trip to my office for some "chambers trick-or-treating" and lots of attention from my co-workers! They all refer to my children as their "office babies" because they've known my children since they were born. Next, we went to some friends' house for some group trick-or-treating, hot cocoa, and great conversation. All and all it was a great day and evening, although there were some sad moments as I realized this is the start of my first holiday season as a single mom. There are so many traditions that will have to be tweaked to make up for Andrew's absence. But, I'm sure we'll be able to make new traditions that the children can enjoy with each of us separately. Andrew and I are committed to making sure the children know how much we love them.

This Halloween also marked the fact that my big two are getting...well, BIG. Ally wasn't interested in trick-or-treating so she went to a friend's house to watch movies. Nick refused to dress-up, insisting it wasn't "cool." He did finally cave in before the night was over and threw on a football jersey and head out with his best buddy, Teague, to trick-or-treat. I had already put my camera away, so I don't have any pictures of him. But, here are some pictures of my little two with their friends:

The Winning Goal

Nicholas just finished the most amazing soccer season. We love, love, love his coaches. 2 are wonderful men from our church and the other 1 is a teacher at my children's school. Each coach brings a different strength that, in the end, resulted in an undefeated season! It has been such a joy watching Nicholas play soccer. He played a lot when he was 4 -7 years old. Then quit because where we use to live the spring soccer season and baseball season overlapped too much to do both (baseball is his first love!) He picked up soccer again when we moved to the valley and played like he'd been doing it all along. He mainly excels because of his stamina. Without a doubt, Heavenly Father has blessed him physically with great endurance.

Last Saturday was the last game of the season. Nick's team was up 5-0 at the half. But, things fell apart in the second half. They were tied 5-5 with less than a minute to go. That's when Nick's best friend, Teague, passed the ball to him right in front of the goal and Nick tapped it in. Awesome play and awesome celebration between two best friends afterwards. While I know Nicholas works hard and excels because of his dedication and intensity, I also recognize tender mercies from a loving Heavenly Father who knows that my sweet son has had a tough year and really needed a moment like that to lift his spirits. Man oh man, I'll take tender mercies like that any time!

Here's a picture of Nicholas with his dad after the game. So great that Andrew could come up to Spokane and see the winning goal!

Hip Hip Hooray Primary Program Day!

The Primary Program is my favorite Sunday of the year. I adore watching all those children up there concentrating so hard to say their parts from memory and singing their little hearts out. Is there anything that brings you closer to the Savior than listening to children sing about Him? This year was a special treat for me because I actually got to be down with the congregation watching instead of on the stand helping with the program. It was so fun to watch my Natalie and Adam. Man, I love these two little people.

Back to School 2011

Summer went by way too fast (it always does!) We filled the summer of 2011 with lots of water skiing, a trip to the ocean, and a fun camping trip at Priest Lake with friends from our church. But, alas, the first day of school came and took us away from the lazy days of summer. Here are some pictures of our 8th grader, 7th grader, 4th grader, and 2nd grader:

2011

I just printed my blog for 2010. When the book arrived I noticed it was REALLY skinny. Yikes...that means I didn't have very many posts on my blog last year! So, I've committed to stepping it up for 2011.

The biggest change for this year is that I'm now a single mom (wow - it feels weird to even type those words!) While it's been unbelievably hard, the kids and I have decided to thrive and not JUST survive. My posts for 2011 will, hopefully, show our family embracing life and trying to move on the best we can. Here's a recap of the year so far:

January and February: Skiing, skiing, skiing. I love skiing together it's a great way to get out of the house during our long Spokane winters and embrace all the snow we get. Ally enjoyed competing for Spokane Gymnastics and took 1st place in the all-around category in 3 meets.

March and April: Soccer, Soccer, Soccer. I wish I had more pictures, but these were dark months following Andrew's departure. I just have one of Natalie's cute team...and none of Adam and Nick's :-( Natalie looks so "tough" in this picture!


May: Wicked. Finally! I stood in line for 3 hours back in March for good seats and finally the big night arrived. This picture is from Rock City (our favorite restaurant) where we ate before the big show.

May also brought a new priesthood holder into the home. Nicholas turned 12 and was ordained by my grandpa. It was an amazingly spiritual experience that our family will always remember.

JUNE: Dallas! My good friend, Jani, owns a boutique and invited me to go to market with her in Dallas. I had the most amazing time shopping and helping her pick out merchandise for her store. The 100 degree weather was an added bonus!

Well, that's the recap for the first half of 2011. Looking forward to a brighter second half.

Halloween 2010

This may have seriously been the most exhausting Halloween ever! Today, we're all coming off a 3-day party (my children's poor teachers), but boy did we have fun! Friday was the school parties. Saturday was our ward's annual carnival and trunk-or-treat. And, then, Sunday we stayed home and had some friends over for games and caramel apple cider. Here's some pictures of my little prom queen (Ally), baseball player (Nick), cow girl (Natalie), storm trooper (Adam), and some of their friends from our church party.

The "Cow Girl and the "Coug Fan" (The Coug Fan was a little grumpy because the Cougs lost 42-0)

Cute 8-year-old girl!

Cute 11-year-old boys!

Matching storm troopers: Adam and our neighbor Matthew

The Beehives!

Moose and a Mile

Woke up to a MOOSE eating the leaves off my tree this morning.

And, this handsome guy ran a 6-MINUTE MILE in health and fitness yesterday. Way to go Nicholas!

Back to (NEW) Schools 2010

This year Ally, Nick, Natalie and Adam all started NEW schools. I sent 2 to middle school for the first time and 2 to elementary school.

Ally and Nick loved their school! They were so blessed to already have several friends. Both of them informed me that they didn't even feel like the "new kid" because they knew so many other kids. Thank you church!!!

I was way more emotional an hour later when I dropped off Natalie and Adam at the elementary school. This was the first year Natalie didn't have her buddy Anna in her class (or even at her school!) I was already emotional about that and THEN I sent my baby to first grade! I was brave until first bell when Adam began to walk in the door and then looked back at Andrew and I and gave us a little smile and wave. I realized at that moment that he was a big boy now and lost it. Thank goodness I had Andrew's shoulder to cry on this morning (and the free tissues handed out by our PTA!)

Here are some pictures of my brave children, starting over at new schools without even missing a beat . . .

7th Grader

6th Grader

3rd Grader

1st Grader

Natalie and a couple friends from church - she's the only one that let me take pictures AT school.