Tonight was the Meet and Greet for our church’s Awanas program. It is held on Wednesday nights throughout the school year. Big E is excited to finally get to be a Cubbie this year and C is happy that she will still be a Spark. Big E is too young to participate, but that didn’t stop him from throwing a massive fit when I wouldn’t let him walk off with the play grocery cart. 🙂

We are all looking forward to next week when the programming actually begins and the kids start into their verses and lessons. It’s a great opportunity for our kids to get exposed to the gospel outside of our home and in the presence of so many amazing and dedicated volunteers!

It was a little before seven this morning and Tim and I were standing in our kitchen. Even though we had gotten up to darkness, the sun had long broken through and was dancing between the leaves outside.

Upon hearing shouting I wandered to the sliding glass door that overlooks our small deck. Beyond the deck and in the common area there was a man in a bright orange shirt, the kind you wear if you are working in construction or along highways. I’ve seen him outside before, though I could not tell you his name, or anything about him beyond the fact that he has a small dog, in whose company I always see him. This morning the dog lingered just out of reach as the man attempted to coax him back to his house. The more the man pleaded with the dog, the further away the dog scurried and the angrier the man got. It wasn’t long before the man was shouting obscenities to the heavens and that pitiful little beast took off into the woods. I watched the man as he dove into the tree line after him, the air punctuated with his angry tirade and his bright orange shirt bobbing in and out of sight. He emerged empty handed and defeated, tossed one last insult on his charge and marched toward his house, stopping to rest on some steps. He glanced up and our eyes met for just a moment.

I looked away, embarrassed to have been caught witnessing his outburst, but perhaps eye contact was what was needed, because the shouting came to an abrupt end. I’m not sure if he gave up on the dog, or if the dog got lonely and wandered home but a few minutes later the man was gone. I breathed a sigh of relief that my children missed the colorful display, but I also felt a twinge of sadness for this man I’ve never met and the weight he was so clearly carrying.

++++++++++++++

Mommy, farms are not as big as trees. Big E pronounced from the back seat with authority.

Actually, farms are much bigger than trees. 

No, they aren’t. Trees are bigger…

And thus began the long conversation about the size of trees versus the size of farms, a conversation that carried us halfway to the sitters house and left us both confused. In the end, I never could convince Big E that trees were smaller, even as we drove past acres of farm land dotted with trees!

 

Goodbye Summer!

It’s hard to believe that it has come to an end.

We had some pretty amazing moments. Tim went to Canada, we took a wonderful family trip to Ohio. We spent countless hours at our beach. We worked and we played. We survived the scary seizure and hand, foot, and mouth. We’ve witness friends and family go through some pretty heart breaking things, and also some pretty amazing things too.

C’s school is underway and Big E starts his preschool this Friday. I guess summer really is over. And while I am sad to see it go, I am really looking forward to seeing what this school year brings (and may that mean wonderful moments and minimal sick germs! Ha!)

 

We celebrated C’s birthday with her grandparents, aunt, and great aunt and great uncle. She was excited to get some beautiful dresses as well as a veterinarian kit. She spent the evening giving every toy she could find a check up. Such a sweet girl.

Any mom can tell you that she loves it when she sees people loving on her kids, and I am no exception. It melts my heart to see my family shower love on my kids. There’s nothing better!

 

 

The last long weekend of summer is in full swing.

The kids and I made the trek out to visit my parents this weekend and they were delighted that Naona let them play in the sprinkler. C and Big E jumped right in, but Baby E was a bit hesitant at first. It didn’t take him long, though, to join in on the fun! Good job, Baby E.

This is my mama and I love spending time with her. My mom is a really awesome woman and she has taught me so much about life, motherhood, and my walk in my Christian faith. I love her so much!

These kids love visiting their grandparents and have a blast every time we come for a visit! We are looking forward to the rest of the weekend.

Big E was sprawled across my side of the bed when I got out of the shower this morning. His head was resting on my pillow, inches from his sleeping daddy. He shot me a huge grin and I climbed into the bed next to him.

Good morning, Handsome Pants.

Good morning, Mama. 

How’s my favorite big boy doing this morning?

Good. 

Will you always be my boy?

No, one day I will grow up and I won’t live with you anymore. 

Oh, well after you move away can I call you sometimes? 

Well, you can’t call me your boy. You can call me YOUR MAN!!

He topped it off with a huge hug around my neck and a kiss on my cheek.

Thanks, little fellow. You made my day.

Can we go in the tunnel??? My kids plead for at least the 15th time.

The tunnel they are referring to is a large pipe that runs under the road in our neighborhood and empties into a small, fenced in pond.

Absolutely not!  I reply as I spread peanut butter and jelly onto the waiting bread.

We spent a good amount of time playing outside this evening, coming in a few minutes after what should have been bed time. Instead of heading straight upstairs, I cobbled together a piecemeal dinner of PBJs, hotdogs, waffles, pancakes, and slices of salami. Certainly not healthy, but quick.

But Lizzy (name changed) went in the tunnel. We want to go in too. She said it was fun!

Lizzy did go in the drain pipe, along with several other kids in the neighborhood, and she proudly recounted her story (covered head to toe in cobwebs) within earshot of my children, and naturally they wanted to join in.

No. 

What if we have a flashlight?!?

Not even then. 

What if Daddy takes us there?

He never would.

What if we know it will be dry inside. 

No. 

You never let us go in tunnels!!! 

It’s not that I never let them go in tunnels, I just never let them go into large drainage pipes, which all things being considered, I think is pretty reasonable.

BUT LIZZY WENT IN!!!

I’m not Lizzy’s mom. Every family has their own rules and in our family we do not go into drain pipes. 

I don’t bother to mention that on a dare in high school, I crawled through such a drain pipe, 12 inches deep in water, cobwebs hanging from the ceiling and Lord only knows what lurking in the muddy water. I was a teenager and it was incredibly stupid, but now I am grown up and standing here staring at my children as they are wrestling with our family boundaries and the allure of peer pressure. Before tonight they didn’t even know there was a pipe there, let alone that it was accessible.

Thankfully our children are confined to our little quad in front of our house and always under adult supervision, but one day they will be old enough to go exploring on their own, and no doubt they will be tempted to do stupid things like crawl through drain pipes or wander under bridges, or whatever it is they find to get into.

I didn’t expect peer pressure to work its way into our family so soon. I thought these battles were better suited for older children, but apparently I was wrong. Thankfully we have been able to nip them in the bud. Because of their ages, the problems are naturally simplistic and easily dissuaded, but as the kids grow I know one day it will be harder for them and for us.

But for now, I’m glad I get to take on pretty cut and dry cases like whether or not my kids can crawl through drain pipes.

 

Do you know why I’m hiding from you? She whimpers from her perch on the stairs. It’s because I think you don’t want me anymore. Her body starts shaking with sobs. I guide her back to her bed and assure her that there is nothing in the world that could ever make me not want her. I lay next to her and play with her hair, reminding her how much I love her as her tears come under control and her eyes start to get heavy.

I’m going to be honest, we are having a rough week. C is absolutely loving school and everything about it, but it is a difficult adjustment to going back to sitting still, doing work, and following instructions every moment of the day. By the time she gets home from school she is exhausted, and by the time I get home from work we still have to make it through dinner before unwinding. I’m getting them to bed on time, and even a little early, but we are dealing with some pretty major meltdowns. For the most part, I’ve been riding them out, knowing their root cause isn’t malice or spite, but rather incredible fatigue. In a week or so, they should even out as we settle into our new routine. Until then, we could all do with a little extra grace.

I am just so happy that we have a long weekend to look forward to. We are all going to need it!

After a long day of being a first grader, sometimes you just need to crawl in bed and cuddle with your baby brother.

I’m sitting here staring at a pile of papers a quarter inch thick that I have to go through- PTA membership forms, volunteer interest forms, Codes of Conduct and such. I like filling out paperwork. It’s a strange quirk, but I enjoy it.

C did amazing this morning. She got up and got dressed. She hurried downstairs for breakfast. She filled her little pencil case with pencils and trinkets to take to school. She put on her shoes and hurried outside to sneak in a few minutes of riding on her scooter before the bus came. Last year she was nervous and excited, this year she was just excited. She insisted that our new neighbor girl sit with her on the bus because she didn’t want the little girl to be scared. She tried to grab her hand as the bus pulled up, but they got separated in the shuffle, however once they were all on board, they settled into the same seat together, smiling and waving out the window.

She was tired this evening, which I expected, so we took it easy and spent time reading and playing. The boys missed her terribly today and both of them wanted her attention this evening. When she is tired, she does not volunteer information, but I was able to learn more about her teacher, which friends she saw, where they went for recess, and that she had a good day.

Her backpack was heavy, teaming with paperwork, her lunchbox, and her newest library book. The lunchbox held most of the lunch I had packed for her still intact, proof she talked more than she ate during lunch today. She undoubtably had a lot of catching up to do with her friends.

All in all, I would say the first day of school was a success!