Many reasons to smile

Parenting is a non-stop roller coaster. Parenting two kids is like running between two rides and trying to keep up with the highs and lows of both at the same time. Luckily, my kids seem to trade off challenges. (You know, the stuff we have to remind ourself is a "phase.") That way, I don't lose my sanity while riding the high speed dips and valleys. In the last week, both kids have really kicked butt at life. They're working hard at school and showing us they're focused on living a positive life. Sure, they still fight, but both kids are in a really good place right now. Maybe it's the light at the end of the tunnel with our big winter break starting soon. Maybe they're both growing up. Maybe Randy and I are getting better at communicating our expectations of both kids. I'm not sure.Last month, I was very worried about Jordan's over-the-top choices she was making at school. After she spent an extended amount of time on lock down at home (no technology, no playing with friends outside of school, and early bed times), Jordan is doing really well at school. I'm out of town for work this week and I'm proud of an email I received about how Jordan helped her classroom calm down yesterday. As a reward, I got to send Jordan an email through her teacher and Jordan got to reply during the school day. That's pretty awesome. (It's the little things, right?)Our most recent dip with Jordan is bringing out her best. She's working on being more polite to her parents and teachers. And because she's doing so much better, she's had a chance to have a lot of fun with friends in our neighborhood and beyond. I'm incredibly proud of her. It's a really smart time for both kids to be "good" with the holidays rapidly heading our way. I don't want to jinx anything, but I think we're ending this year in a really positive way.------------------------Speaking of smiles. Tonight is the final night to purchase Born Just Right t-shirts to raise money for Camp No Limits. So far, Jordan's birthday fundraiser has gotten her much closer to her goal of sending nine kids to camp for $4500. She's at $3,710! Ten days to go before she goes to nine.