Winn Family Updates

Wowzers!  It is July 16 already!  Where did the last few weeks go?  Before we know it, school will be starting again.  Crazy!  So I have had several people ask me about our family, so I thought I better write a few updates here on this blog.  (0:

We are doing great!  It has been a fabulous summer!  Just a couple of weeks ago, I took the boys up to Burley for a week.  We had such a fun time there!  I love going home.  Even though that area isn't very big in size, the people make up for it in heart.  It was fun to spend time with my parents.  We were able to help them with a few projects.  I was able to spend time with my grandparents.  Of course, we were blessed to get to see the Walquist cousins.  Spencer and Burke are two peas in a pod.  I love Annie and Alexis too.  Jessica and I were able to hang out a bit with our kids.  Overall, it was a super fun trip.

We haven't taken any exotic vacations this summer.  Honestly, we need to save up our money for tuition and rent.  But that is okay.  We have had so much fun together.  Jason and I started taking nightly walks together.  There are so many beautiful places to see here in Logan.  We have several favorite routes we walk.  It has become our special time together.  We bought our boys a larger swimming pool for the back yard.  They swim almost every day.  We also have some wonderful kids in the neighborhood our boys enjoy playing with.  Between swimming, playing with the neighbors, scouts, and cousins, the boys stay pretty busy.  Preston and Spencer started swimming lessons today and enjoy that.  Austin has taken up an interest in biking.  He and Jason have been riding nearly every day.  What a wonderful bonding experience for both of them.  (0:  We also purchased Austin a flute.  He loves music.  Since I pulled him out of Mount Logan, he hasn't been able to play.  He will start flute lessons next month.  I can't wait!  I think the music was so good for his concentration.

Jason is not loving his job, but he is surviving.  He was promoted to financial and construction manager when his boss was diagnosed with leukemia.  Thankfully, his boss continues to fight his cancer and is hanging in there.  My heart aches for him every day.  He has suffered so much!  It is a sad circumstance  in which Jason was able to be promoted.  We haven't seen a huge boost in income, but every little increase helps.

As for me, I am a pondering fool these days.  (0:  How so you may ask?  Well, I am trying so hard to figure out what in the world I am supposed to do for a career.  I am so back and forth.  There are pluses and minuses to both career paths I am considering.  I would love to be a counselor or a therapist.  At the  same time, I love education.  I want so much to continue working with kids in a school setting.  I have to admit, the education lifestyle appeals to me very much.  I was blessed to have my mother at home every summer.  I want to be there for my boys like my mom was there for me.  Pursuing a degree in school psychology would give me summers with my boys.  However, that is NOT a reason to become a school psychologist.  That is only a perk of the job.  Honestly, I want to help those kids who can't learn.  I want to help those kids who struggle with anxiety and depression.  I want to make every child feel like a winner.  As a school psychologist, I would be trained to intervene in the educational process.  I would be the one to help assess learning problems, behavior problems, and mood disorders and give kids the tools to deal with those problems.  I so wish someone would have given me the tools to deal with the anxiety I fought with for most of my years in school.  It was debilitating at times, and I thought I was crazy!  Well, I guess in a sense, I was crazy!  (0:  But what a difference it would have made to my mood, to my self-image, if I would have known I wasn't alone in my panic attacks, in my worry-some thoughts.  If I had known how to combat those problems, even after I had all my babies, I know I wouldn't have missed so many days of school or fallen into the pit of despair.  I have felt so good about the school psychology path.  I pray every day for confirmation it is the right path to pursue.  It won't be easy by any means.  But I am not afraid of a challenge!  Not one whit!  I know if this is God's plan for me, I will reach the end.  I won't fail, no matter how steep the climb becomes.  The one thing that is left to do is fast.  I hate fasting!  I know fasting works, but I feel so icky when I fast, it is hard.  However, that being said, I know I need to fast. I need that confirmation so I can move forth with faith.  Right now, I have a lot of fear in my heart.  I fear I will fail.  I fear I won't be any good at what school psychologists do.  I fear my stupid body will freak out and I won't be strong enough to handle the stress.  Fear and faith cannot exist at the same time.  It isn't possible.  I know if I have the confirmation this is what Heavenly Father wants me to do, I won't fear anymore.  I know there is a career path for me out there.  I have talents, however small they may be.  I want to make the most of my life, and the only way I will do that is by trusting in my Heavenly Father and letting him guide my life.

I love my calling!  I love my husband!  I love my family!  I love my boys!  I love my pets, all seven of them.  Ha ha ha!  (0:  I feel so good about where my life is.  I never want to lose my way again.  Being on the dark side of the force is a bad place to be.  I love the feeling of light, joy, peace, and happiness.  I hope as our family continues to move forward into the future, we will keep the light we have gained.  It feels so good to be good!!  (0: