G O O D B Y E

I woke up this morning 

To find you were gone

And I never had the chance 

To say thank you 

So it may be a little late 

But here goes 

Thank you for being my teacher 

For being so patient with me 

Thank you for always making time 

For giving me hugs whenever I needed

For giving of your time sacrificially 

Thank you for being so positive

And for making everyone feel loved 

Thank you for being like a second dad 

To me and everyone at our co-op

I never had the chance to tell you in person 

But I know you wouldn’t be mad 

I look forward to telling you in person 

What an impact you made on me 

But until then I’m going to miss you 

Goodbye

Until we meet again 

In memory of Doug Dedger

We’ll miss you 

How to Level up Your Babysitting Skills

I've been a babysitter for five years now, with over ten different places I have worked, and every time I walk into a new job I feel completely unprepared. Each set of kids are different which makes each job unpredictable. But I have picked up some tips along the way, so here they are:

1. Pray a lot. 

I try to use my drive to work to pray. I am not a naturally patient person, so I usually pray for a lot of patience, that I would be a good influence on the kids, and that they would react well to my authority. It's hard for a lot of kids to have someone different come in and be in charge, so I pray extra for them, knowing it's not going to be easy for them. 

2. Cultivate genuine love for the kids. 

I have walked into jobs before where there are 10 kids I'm helping watch and I don't like any of them, but choosing to love them despite not liking them makes a world of difference. You can't change how the kids act necessarily, but you can change how you react to it. Choosing to like them to doesn't hurt either. ;)

3. Get down on the floor. 

Kids like to be played with. I personally love sitting on the couch and watching kids play, but they do well with adult interaction. Sit down, play with the toys, let them knock down block towers you build. It's really fun, trust me. 

4. Focus. 

Don't let your focus get off the kids for to long. Phones, books, movies, they're all fun, but even if it's a pretty casual babysitting job, it's a good idea to just leave your phone in your purse (With the ringer on so parents can contact you) and focus on the kids. 

5. Don't take it personally. 

My mom told me this and it has been the number one biggest help in my babysitting career. If you work enough babysitting jobs, you'll hear a lot of stuff (i.e. I hate you, you're mean, go away) none of it fun to hear, but you don't need to take it personally. More often then not, kids are just upset that they're parents are gone, and are taking it out on you. Choosing each time a kid acts out to not take it personally but it just deal with the issue helps way more than getting flustered.

6. Be willing to work (and play) hard. 

When I go into a job, I try to let the kids have as much fun as possible. I'm here for only a short part of their day, and I want them to look forward to coming back. Parents may not always have the energy to play tag with their kids after a long day of work, so I try to do it. I don't always feel like showing kids how I can do a cartwheel (Which is still lopsided, but I guess that's beside the point), but I never regret it when I see how happy they are. So go the extra mile, read a book when your voice is tired, iron 20 pearler beads and get burns, play hide and seek for an hour. You'll enjoy the memories. 

Bonus tip: Keep track of funny things kids say. I have started doing this recently and it is the best! 

I may not be a world-class babysitter, but I do love working with kids and I hope these tips help. 

What's your favorite thing a kid has said to you? Comment below and I'll tell you my favorite kid quote from this week.

Shouldn't You Love Today?

Just some thoughts on the pressure to join different movements, and days to talk about certain issues. Typically I try to keep my poetry happier, but this is just what I've been feeling lately and I wanted to share. 

Shouldn't you love today?

Shouldn't you love this movement? 

They do a lot of good

They change the world

Shouldn't you love that? 

Shouldn't you speak up? 

Shouldn't you take a stand? 

They need a reminder 

They need a voice 

But I can't

I'm trembling on the inside

Every time this day comes

I feel like I should speak 

But I'm not like you 

Your pain caused you to be bold 

Your hurt turned into helping 

Mine left a bruise 

And made me shelter it 

Talking about it doesn't help 

And speaking out isn't just painful 

It's debilitating 

And I'm not ready for that  

Please don't tell me my silence is weak 

Please don't tell me I'm hurting people 

Please don't say you're saving a life

And I'm just watching them die 

'cause you don't know me

I've got my own pain 

And you've got yours 

I want to love today 

But I can't 

I'm not ready for it

So please don't ask me to 

I'll tell you when I can

Go change the world 

I'll join you when I'm ready

Ausgust Highlights

August was a mix of super chill, and hecticly busy as work started up again. 

I went completely off of lactose for two weeks. I am a weird mix of more than just sensitive, but not highly allergic, so I went 100% off to see if that would help some problems I was having. It helped a ton, so I am now about 95% lactose-free. If it's low enough on the ingredients list, I'll still eat it, (Like below salt or things like that) because that means there's probably not enough in the product to give me problems. So yeah, that's meant mainly just giving up a few products, but not to much.

I saw my first accident actually happen. I was with my mom and we saw someone using the turn lane to get around traffic, and they plowed into someone turning into the business from the median. Thankfully they both seemed fine, but it was still kind of scary to see. Needless to say, I sincerely hope you never catch me using the turn lane for anything other than turning. =P

I deep cleaned my room in anticipation of work starting. Boring, but it felt very good to get done.

I did something I haven't done in a long time: I sat down and read a book straight through. Six hours on the couch just reading through Follow the Dawn by Rachelle Rea. The book was epic, and just reading like that was great.

Me and a random feild of cotten, because why not?

We're getting a new young adult pastor,  which is pretty bittersweet. Aaron was my first Young Adults pastor, and he is awesome. It's sad to see him go, but our new pastor, Bart, is pretty cool as well and I'm looking forward to seeing our group grow.

So I was reading a book and came across this really creepy part... at midnight. My sister happened to be up, so she watched a very chill Star Trek Voyager with me to get my mind off of it. It worked beautifully, and now we can say we've watch Star Trek till 1AM. XD

My brother and I were on our way home from church and we saw some stuff out by our neighbors trash. We got two tables with stools, and a fishtank with all the plants, food and stuff. That was pretty fun. Trash out in our area can be awesome. XD

I played a lot of Mario Kart. That was really fun.

Some of my sibings and I. <3

I started work at three new jobs. I'm a babysitter, so on Monday I work with my sister Rebekkah teaching preschool at a homeschool co-op. On Tuesday I watch one darling little girl (We mainly just play), Wednday and Friday I watch 3-5 kids (including my darling). It's been a lot to learn since I'm not used to working with this many kids just me, but it's been good. My sister Rose and I get to carpool, so we're reading a book together! =D

Us three youngest randomly met up in town for Pizza. <3

Our church met on Saturday night once becasue the hotel we meet at had a wedding on Sunday morning. So my sister and I got dinner together, then went to church. It was pretty fun!

My whole family went to the zoo together. It had been quite awhile and it was HOT but we had a blast. =D

Honestly I love SO many of the books I read. Follow the Dawn was amazing. In 27 days might have been my least favorite, but it was my own fault. I knew what I was getting into. ;P

Currently... Eliza Noel

It's All About Perspective Ellens Musings

Cute Iron-on Transfer Shoes Life Without a Latte

There is Good Coming. There is. All I Know is Grace

Save the Supportive Best Friends Once Upon an Ordinary

So, how was your month? Ever rescued treasures from someone elses trash?