I wanted to share with you all how well the girls are doing in their academics, extra curricular activities and life in general. As tough as this past year has been, the girls continue to strive to do the best they can and for excellence, which they have made me very proud of them. I remember a conversation Dave had with Alyson and will share it with you all. "Aly, I know this is very tough but know that life will go on, even when I am not here, I want you to keep doing everything that you are doing because I am very proud of you girls and don't want to see you stop doing your best. That is all I want and expect of you girls." Following are examples I know the girls are living by their daddy's words.....
Alyson has continued to strive in academics, there were a few hurdles, naturally, early this quarter but she overcame them because that is the type of person she is, she doesn't like to leave things unfinished and she wants to do really well no matter what. She ended up with mostly A's and a couple of B's for grades, it was to her own self-gratification she had achieved that. I let her know I am VERY proud of her no matter what kind of grades she brings home as long as I know she attempts to do her best but she pushes herself to go beyond that for her own satisfaction. That makes me really proud of her that she is doing this mostly for herself because I see that she is happy with her own accomplishments.
As for Sammy "Fish" Kokjohn, I also can't express enough how proud I am of her for her willingness and heart and soul she puts into her swimming. This past weekend, she received her first "first place" ribbon, a BLUE ribbon in one of her swimming events. You should have seen the glow on her when she learned that she achieved that! She also puts all her efforts into what she is aiming for. This next weekend is her last meet before sectionals, I will keep you posted how she does at sectionals. She has a good chance of making state but it's still really early in her swimming career. She is 7 years old competing against mostly 8 yr. olds, she competes in 8 and under for her events, so she is looking forward to next year already because she knows she will kick some patuti as good as she has done this year.
And last but not least, there's Jessica, she's still too young to really be involved in anything but that doesn't stop her from being our little "princess". She's actually going to do well academically also, she has a strong sense for numbers and facts, just ask her! Jessica is also our "girly girl", I can't say I know for sure she won't be as athletic as the other 2 but I know she likes the girly things more than the other 2 did at her age. Maybe she'll be the cheerleader rooting on her older sisters! She is also invoved in dance, which she loves because it involves in wearing girly clothes and having frilly dance costumes! Jessica is a natural born leader so the world better watch out for her.
Can you tell that I am proud of all 3 of our girls?
On the way home from school today, Sammy was telling me about a dream she had of her daddy last night and then very surprisingly Jessica came out and said, "I wish I was dead". I exclaimed, WHAT? why? of course that scared the heck out of me and she simply said, "just because I want to see daddy and talk to him again". This made me really proud of her because you have to realize at Jessica's age, she really hasn't shown a lot of concern over her daddy's death and have been fairly non-chalant about the whole thing. I don't hold that against her though because of her age so that really surprised me when she made that statement. I then reminded her that her daddy will always be with her in her heart and she can always talk to him, whether it's in prayers or in her room or playing, anywhere! I'm so glad she wasn't too literal when she made that comment. It's one day at a time.
Next time any of you see or talk to the girls, please feel free to encourage them and let them know how proud everyone is of them. I know they feed off on that and they really are proud of themselves too! I honestly feel that their daddy is watching over them and helping them through their journies.
God Bless,
KIm
Well, the girls started off the year in an interesting way. Both Sammy and Jessie got the chicken pox. This was Sammy's 3rd time of getting it and Jessie's first time. Although they both were mild cases, Jessie only had about 10-12 spots on her. Their mannerisms and symptoms were nil, you couldn't even tell they had the chicken pox. Weren't they lucky! no fevers or rashes or nothing on they faces, head, arms or legs. The only unfortunate thing out of this is that so far Sammy doesn't appear to be ammune to the chicken pox yet so this calls for some follow up doctor visits to find out what the case is. I also fear that Jessie will be the same way since her first case is as mild as Sammy's first case....we'll have to wait and see with her.
The girls made it through the holidays, thanks to all for their support and care about how they were doing, especially through the holidays. I would have to say the day after Christmas, Dave's birthday, was the toughest for them. There are days, off and on, that reminds them more about their dad and those are the hard days but we manage to pull through them and talk about the memories they have of him. I talk to them and remind them to take these memories as comfort and feel blessed that there were special times to remember. An example about a recent event, Samantha first day back at school after the holidays, there was another child in her class that talked about a trip they just had at Disney World in Florida. Well, of course this made Sammy very sad because it reminded her about her dad and the trip we had last spring. She came home and we talked about it and all I can do is hold her and talk about the fun times during that trip.
I feel so proud of the girls for how well they are trying to deal with this, there are many bumps and ouchies but they had their dad here last year to help them cope better and I know that has helped them. And now they have their angel looking over them. I pray for the girls to continue to be the wonderful sugar and spices that they all are and thanks to everyone for their continued love and support.
