People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing. - Dale Carnegie

I can still remember 11 or so years ago the things people said to me when they found out I was a teen mom. I remember the people who didn't believe in me, and the few that did, I remember the ones who said I would abandon my children and turn to drugs or alcohol for my problems, I would live off welfare, and never finish high school...I was a teen parent, and quite frankly the statistics were really not in my favor.

But to all those folks I'd like to say thank you. You definitely have been a driving force in my life to make sure that I can prove you wrong, and for those of you that were supportive, I'd like to give you something to be proud of.

There is not just one event that has triggered this blog, but a quite a few things have been happening with them, especially with Aaron, going to their conferences just blew me away, and made me think. 'I did this, no Heath and I did this' Here are our results summed up:

Aaron - Aaron last year faced a few struggles, but he was not hesitant at all to leave them lying in the dust somewhere. He is at way off the charts on reading, and comprehending. His writing has made a huge improvement, he is clear, and can stick with the story at hand, while making sure there is a little 'Aaron' in every story. His math is top of the charts as well, he is an active participant, and is never afraid to ask if he doesn't understand things. Aaron has the pleasure of having the same teacher he had last year, and Mr. Volz is really just blown away buy the improvements Aaron has made in such a short time. He is amazing!

Marissa - is amazing at all she does. She is funny, social, smart, responsible, knows when to put on her game face in class. She writes beautifully and has an amazingly strong 'voice' when writing. She is off the charts in her reading...well all subjects for that matter. She is not afraid of trying new ways to solve problems, and jumps right into trying it out when Ms. Farrell shows her different strategies. You could see the passion in her teachers face as she spoke of Marissa.She is astounding!

Not one 'but' or 'we need to work on this' for either of them, both of them are top of their game, and are going to do amazing! I am so incredibly proud of them, words cannot say. I have never walked away from a conference so blown away before. They have always exceeded my expectations, but this time was just amazing!

Anyways,moving on...
I know I am not any where near close to being done raising these kids, and I am truly grateful for that. I see something in them, something great! I know I am just a few years away from the teen years, and many of you will 'ugh' and say those are the hardest, and ya know what...I am not scared at all. For awhile I was, I was afraid, I had heard so many horror stories, and I remember what I put my mom through (sorry mom), but I see something in my kids and it calms me, and I am not afraid. I more than anything am so excited to see where we go from here, what is the next thing they will do that will just blow my mind and make me think 'wow, how the hell did I create something so amazing?'

The past 11 years has been incredibly fun, we have had our ups and definitely our downs, but we always pull through. We have a great family, and a wonderful support system. I am so proud to have these guys in my life. :)

B~