Kisses and Dandelions: Where Have We Been??

I had no idea it had been so long since I updated! The last 8 months have been a roller coaster ride, that's for sure.

Last summer, Pat and I tossed around the topic of whether or not we should consider moving. Jocelyn's 4th grade year was horrendous to say the least and the idea of her having another year like that was heartbreaking. I took advantage of the volunteer good will I had built over 5 years and begged to get her into a 5th grade class with friends and a teacher she would enjoy and relate to. I am happy to say, that's exactly what happened. Jocelyn's 5th grade year was great! She had so many personal successes this year from winning the Young Author's writing contest for the 5th grade, to having her artwork entered into an art show, to moving up a reading grade level, to building her love of reading, art and singing through Songbirds (chorus), and building relationships with teachers who support those interests in her. And she topped off her year with a great performance in Simulated Congressional Hearings!

She also had another great year in Girl Scouts. In her final year as a Junior, she and the troop earned their Bronze Award creating a life sized Jenga Game for DEFHR. They will use it for trainings and camps as each piece has questions about the farm and horse care. Of course, Jocelyn loved every part of the project, especially opportunities to spend time at the farm.

So back to the big decision. Despite such a great year in 5th grade, Pat and I continued to be concerned about the quality of education Jocelyn was getting, and the kids that she is moving up with. Jocelyn still struggles with spelling and math, and we were also concerned with how little homework she was getting. She was still getting bullied by other kids and the class environment was often affected by behavior issues from other kids. Our final decision to move came over Christmas break when the state released "Report Cards" for all the schools. As we looked over the information, we were very concerned about the schools that she would have had for middle and high school. Between the education ratings and the over crowding, we just couldn't continue on that path. So we made the decision to move. It was a very tough decision. We never would have imagined leaving our home and the area we had been in for 13 years. But we had enough evidence to know that it was the right decision.

We met with the realtor we had used in the past. She has been so wonderful in our past moves and was equally great to work with this go around. We began working on getting the house ready to go on the market, and started visiting houses that were for sale in the area we wanted to move to.

Long story short, after lots of work and stress and more money than we want to think about, we moved into our new house on May 21st, and yesterday, we FINALLY settled on the old house. We can finally look towards the future.

Jocelyn is already meeting friends in the neighborhood. She has toured her new middle school, and we're waiting for the orientations for incoming middle schoolers. We are finding things all the time that we love about the area. It's much less congested with lots of farmland and open spaces. There much more of a small town feel. Our neighbors are friendly and welcoming. I keep thinking back to it, but during the middle school tour, they said the kids doesn't use locks on the lockers. That says so much about the area and the kids that go to the school. I can't wait to see how all this changes Jocelyn's education and life experiences as she gets older.

So as of today, we are happy to say we only own one house again! We have unpacked most of our day to day items, and we're slowly tackling the rest. Jocelyn is adjusting, and starting to let herself get just a little excited about middle school. Two days ago, Pat and I celebrated 16 years since our first date. We realize this past 8 months took us through some of the toughest challenges we've ever been through, but we know that we made the right decision and we are looking forward to making new memories here for years to come.

Another great year in Girl Scouts! Next year Jocelyn will be a Cadette. We are staying in the same troop because we love it. It's going to be a bit of a commute, but worth it.