Catch-Up

Well, here I am again with a lot of time gone by between posts. So, I will give you a quick catch-up of what is up with us!!

1. C has lost two teeth! He lost the first the beginning of October. We were all super excited, although I was a little nostalgic (big surprise). Then, three weeks later, he lost the one next to it! The new ones are almost in. Such a big kid.

2. C is now 6! He had a huge pirate party in November. It was all-boy and so much fun - obstacle courses including football dummies, a cannonball fight with a real boat and a search for hidden treasure.

3. We had my family here for Thanksgiving - my parents, my sister and her family. It was such a special time - the dinner table set for 13! It was so hard to see everyone go home. After my parents left, C and R saw me crying. C asked if I had begged them to stay longer (I had). R asked who was going to play games with him now? ( I do).

4. R had his last day of preschool this year on Thursday. They had pajamma day at school and Santa came to visit. R is so excited about Santa this year. He LOVES him!

5. P went hunting in early November and got a 12-point buck. He is having the head mounted, and it should look great in either the garage or his office.

6. The University had a special Christmas open house on Thursday night. It was cold, there were Christmas songs playing and horse and carriage rides through the campus to see the lights (they are truly magnificent - rival the Opry Land Hotel). It was so magical and really got us all in the holiday spirit.

7. I took the boys to Breakfast with Santa on Saturday morning. When it was their turn to sit on Santa's lap, they were having a super long conversation with him. C eventually moved on, but R stood up and continued talking, making big gestures. I asked R what he was telling Santa - he would like a basketball goal. I hope Santa got all the specifications.

8. I was lucky enough to get to go to Memphis with some girls yesterday and watch White Christmas at the Orpheum Theater! The show was unmatched. My favorite Christmas movie performed live at the beautiful historic theater. Snow came down from the ceiling at the end!

I am trying to get things ready for Christmas! I got my cards done early this year and they've been sitting at my desk for 3 weeks waiting to be addressed. They will be addressed within the week!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

So glad they love Bible class

While driving in the car:

C: Are there any bad guys here, Mommy?

Me: Well, there could be some people who are not good, but you don't need to be scared - you have lots of people to protect you.

C: Like who?

Me: Like, Daddy and me, police officers, our friends,

R: And God

Me: Yes, R!!! That's right! God will protect us!

C: And Jesus!

Me: Yes. Definately Jesus.

R: And Noah!

Me: Ummn. Possibly Noah.

5

When I think about significant milestones in my boys' lives, there are certain ages that stand out beside the obvious ones. 18 months - when my boys turned this age, I was able to breathe deeply and think I can do this!!! I gained more confidence, the boys had more independence. Gone were most of the sleepless nights, they could communicate their wants and needs. They were able to walk by themselves and understand instruction. That age was significant. (This is also the age C was when we conceived R, so I must have really felt confident!)

3 years. At this point, my boys were potty trained (for the most part). They seemed so much more independent and could do so much by themselves. Just becoming liberated from a diaper bag was huge. They started preschool and began socializing more.

Now, I am taking notice that 5 is a big year. C will be 6 in less than two months, but 5 is huge. He started kindergarten, which is such a big deal. I feel like he has matured tremendously since the start of school. He is gone five days a week, for the better part of the day, which makes my heart hurt! I still miss him so much! Like Shelley, I understand the urge to home school for a few years. He is responsible and is able to think things through and make decisions. He has a love for learning and a desire to be his personal best. I am so proud of him.

He lost his first tooth this week. On Wednesday night, after three or four days of wiggling, he let me pull it out and the tooth fairy came to visit him that night. Long after he went to bed, I was watching some show and the kids were graduating from high school and leaving their parents to go to college. One dad said 18 years went by pretty quickly, didn't it? Oh my goodness. I totally lost it. I finally get it. Now I know why it was so hard for my parents to leave me at college that August day some years ago. It's because our children grow up way too quickly! The preschool years are fleeting! Once they start school, I believe a piece of them is lost to us that grows larger every year. They start growing independently of us. I cried and cried for those poor parents whose children are leaving for college and the hole in their parents hearts they will leave as the parents try to figure out how to move forward. I cried knowing that P and I will be in those shoes in 14 years.

I am praying that I will be intentional and live in the moment, not worrying about tomorrow's soccer game, the fundraiser, the birthday party, but sit down and love my boys today.

Whew!

Boxcar Derby

Today was the annual kindergarten boxcar derby. Since open house, we have been hearing about this event. This is a really big deal. The children and their parents are to make a race car out of a cardboard box. It must be at least six inches tall on each side. Those are the only requirements. We have been working on our car for over a week. It was so cool. It was painted blue with yellow "5"s on the side and C's name painted on the back. We had real lights in the front and reflectors on the back, real windows on the side and a windshield on the front. The race was scheduled for 9am this morning. The local newspaper was there, as well as the local radio station interviewing racers. One of the local banks set up a tent with donuts and coffee for the fans, which probably numbered in the hundreds. The entire school came out to cheer on the racers.

C had quite a cheering section. Besides me, P and R, Mammaw and Pappaw were there, our dear neighbors JuJu and HeyDad, Coach Brent and Miss Mary all came to root C on. The racetrack was the soccer field, set up for the runners to go twice around, with three pit stops. One to clean the windshield (wipe their faces), check their tires (check to make sure shoes are tied), and a water stop.

Each of the six kindergarten classes ran in 3 heats of five or six students. In C's first heat, he was neck and neck for first place. At the water stop, he drank all his water and kindly placed the cup back on the stand. The other kid threw his cup down. C caught up, but at the finish line, tied for second place. First and second place for each heat ran in the next heat to compete for classroom winner. C had the lead and won the race! He won for his whole class! Then, two minutes later it was time for the championship and he was just so tired. He did great, won a trophy and his picture will be in the paper!! We are so proud! He won for Mrs. W's class!

R was dying to get out there and run. It was killing him to just watch. I guess now we have game film for him to study over the next two years!

Loving Every Minute of It

September 17th - really??? Where have I been for blogworld in the last twenty-odd days? Well, probably...

taking C to school - making lunches - taking R to preschool - sorting through all the paperwork in the backpack - finding show and tell items at the eleventh hour because we changed our mind - soccer pictures - haircuts for the boys - cooking dinner - taking R to musicplay class - soccer practice - helping C's teacher - fieldtrips - driving to swim lessons - soccer games - lunch at school with C - memorizing aerobic routines

Whew! On Friday evenings, I collapse and think, what an incredibly busy week. I've been hanging on for the ride. Good thing there isn't that much on the schedule for next week. Ha. Ha. Ha. It is amazing that every week fills up so quickly. I remember my Mom telling me when the boys were babies that once they reach school, the time truly flies by. I am beginning to understand. Before I know it, it will be Christmas, then summer, then I'll be sitting at a high school baseball game cheering on my boys wondering how on earth I got there.

I must say that as busy as it is, I LOVE it. When I remember back to the dreams I had as a girl about what my life would be like when I grew up, this is exactly what I dreamed of. Of course, I thought I'd be living in a suburb of a large city with Target, TJ Maxx, Nordstrom, etc at my convenience, but that is stating the obvious. I have a wonderful husband who provides for my family, loves us so much and loves the time he spends with us. I love the privilege I have of staying at home with my family, being able to help out at school and be present and involved in the lives of my children. I am truly blessed beyond measure.

I just hope that I have the energy to enjoy all of it.

PS - Since I am a non-commenter, this is a shout out for some of you. Janelle - I am right there with you - hence the infrequency of posting. Alana - the multitude of paperwork in kindergarten - oh my goodness! I, too, am paralyzed by it. I am creating a 3-ring binder of C's work. Jen - I will never, ever forget Janelle's comment at C's birthday party! That memory is etched in our brains forever! The local magazine just ran an article on C's bug birthday party - I will try to remember to send you a copy - there are great pics of all your big kids. You all know that we would absolutely love if you came again. Can we coordinate our crazy schedules and plan a big kid and mommy sleepover? Love you all! And to Big Mama - I have to agree about the 7 for All Mankind jeans - my favorite pair EVER. Unfortunately, I wore a hole in the right knee. I am on the hunt for a replacement pair, although I have heard from a dear friend that Rock and Republic jeans are also great. Jennifer - love that Campbell is doing so well in soccer - maybe we'll play at adjacent fields some Saturday - would love to see you grab Warner running down the field - much like me grabbing R last year. How did Ace Hardware's team get such a great sponsor? Sports bags for the whole team? I am so jealous!

We love Kindergarten

Well, the first week of kindergarten is behind us. And it was a huge success! C absolutely loves school. Let me break down our week for you.

The first day was quite emotional for me. We had everything laid out the night before. When I woke C up, I started tearing up just looking at him asleep in his bed, realizing that his whole world was about to change. At breakfast, I could not stop looking at and kissing on my big boy! He put his tennis shoes on (can you believe that for the first day, he was scheduled for P.E., so he had to wear tennis shoes!! A great first day outfit and he couldn't wear the cool flip flops), tied them up, took some pics and hopped in the car. We walked him in and he sat right down at his table and was ready to go. I had to keep going over to him and asking Do you remember where your snack is? I put your nap mat in your cubbie. Do you know how much I love you? He was excited and ready to get this school thing started, so I kissed him and walked out the door. P was a rock during all of this. Nostalgic, but holding strong. I seemed to hold it together pretty well until I went to a First Morning Coffee at church and our children's minister prayed for our kindergarteners. He asked that the Lord would walk with our children and keep them close to Him. That did me in. I just thought of our Almighty Lord holding my C in the palm of His hand, loving and protecting him on this first day of school and knowing that the all-powerful King of Kings loves my child like He does touched me to the core.

I picked C up, waiting in the school patiently for the bell to ring, and he had had a great day, although he looked so tired to me. What a long day. He had friends to eat lunch with and play with at recess. The rest of the week was great as well. He loves his teacher, loves his time on the computers, loves recess, library, music (shout out to Alana and Kindermusik), and art. Every day when I picked him up from school, he was happy and had stories to tell. R and I had a great week together, although he so missed his brother! When we picked him up from school, R would jump into a monologue describing everything we did that day. He was always excited to pick C up from school - Me can't wait to see C!

C had to take a family picture in to school on Wednesday. I asked him after school what they had to do with the pictures.

C: We had to talk into a microphone.
Me: How cool is that? What did you say?
C: I told them that daddy was a baseball coach. And that he is a professional baseball player.
P: Wow!
Me: What did you tell them about me?
C: I told them that you don't have any work and that you used to work in a bank. And guess what? That makes 5 mommies - 4 plus you is 5 that work in a bank!

This made us laugh so hard. The week before, we went to the bank and he deposited his piggy bank money into his own savings account. We were looking at the vault and I was explaining what it was. I told him that I had been in a vault, that when I was an auditor, in my early staff days, I had some banks as clients and I had to go into the vault and count some of the money. I've never actually worked at a bank.

Speaking of not having any work, my teaching aerobics at the university went great. I lectured this week and we'll start working out in another week. The girls in my classes seem great - very excited and fun. Turns out I like to lecture. Who knew? Maybe I won't be out of work for long.

Ready to Go

This is it. We are ready. Kindergarten, here we come. We have all our supplies, and I have labeled each crayon, marker, glue stick, etc with C's name as instructed. We have our school clothes, we have a new backpack and lunch bag with C's name embroidered on. We know our teacher is Mrs. Wood. C can read and tie his shoes. He can count to 100 by ones, twos, fives, or tens. P shared a special day of fishing with C yesterday. They discussed character, making good choices and being a leader. A real man-to-man talk. School starts on Monday and we are ready to go.

Except maybe I'm not. I am trying to be ready. I know he will absolutely love kindergarten. But, I will miss him. I have spent more time with C during the last 5 1/2 years than anyone else. And I like to be with him.

We went to open house tonight. Our prayers have been answered. C's teacher seems wonderful. I loved her classroom. C is at a table with another boy and two girls. He already knows three children in his class. His teacher welcomes parents helping in the class, which I have always looked forward to. After the open house, we walked to the playground for a few minutes. Kid were calling his name right and left. Kids from baseball camp, basketball camp, preschool.

When we got in the car to go home, C stated I want kindergarten to start right now.

He's ready.