Did I Mention the New Baby?

Here are a few things rolling around in my head...

I got into a carpool for The Girl's school. I had no idea how much I wanted/needed this. Thankfully, God always knows what we need, and know us better than we know ourselves. He has provided such a huge blessing to me, you have no idea. I think I will make it through the year just a titch less grouchy now.

Just a titch though.

Oh, I kid.

I am thrilled. It lightens the load so much more than I imagined. In fact, I had a Jammie Day today. So, ya, it's been heavenly.

Secondly, and totally unrelated, I had this conversation with The Little Man yesterday, and it made me smile for awhile. Not just because of what he said, but who he said it about:

me: (texting a dear friend some encouragement because she lost her father just this past month)
P: What are you doing?
me: Writing Miss Suzanne a note.
P: About what?
me: Just about her daddy, and telling her to have a great day.
P: Why?
me: So she won't be sad anymore.
P: Why is she so sad?
me: Because her daddy died.
P: Oh. How old was he?
me: Sixty-six.
P: Oh. Well, that means I now know two people in Heaven.
me: Really? Who?
P: Suzanne's daddy and Jesus. They both are watching over me from Heaven now.
me: Yes, they both are.

Third and last, I can't even believe I haven't posted something about this sooner, but I have been/am totally crazy. Just to give you an insight at the lunacy that is in my brain, I really haven't been able to do much until I saw this entire project come to completion the way my brain saw it months and months ago. SO without further ado...Our family has welcomed a new little boy James Matthew on August 20th, 2009. My sister did awesome, and I was able to be there for the entire event. It was one of the coolest, most precious, exciting times I have ever had. Here is the finished project.

God is good.

Taking the "Fun" Right Out of Fundraising

I can't believe how fast this past week went. When the kids are in school, time goes way too fast. The good news is: The Girl really likes her teacher, she has made new friends, and loves getting to eat lunch at school. She also loves gym class and recess. So despite all my nervousness and worry, she did just great her first week away from The Little Man and I.

Can I tell you what I really despise about back to school? I mean besides homework, early mornings, school drama, the carpool lane, and the fact that my baby is away from me for SEVEN hours a day. I can't stand all the school fundraisers.

Seriously.

It's totally obnoxious.

I would much rather know how much money the school needs, divide that by the number of students attending, and then write a check. Instead, I will be buying wrapping paper, cookie dough (that The Girl cannot even eat because of her peanut allergy), coupon books, plates and bowls, and a myriad of other junk that, really? I don't want or need. Then to make matters worse, we have to convince our family members and friends that they want it too. Forget the neighbors. Their kids are selling the same things. Can't take the sheet into the office and sell stuff to co-workers, The Hubs offices out of the home. Our poor grandparents. They have to decide who all they will buy from, or sometimes they buy a little from each grandchild.

To top it all off, they (the school people) get the kids all excited about selling stuff by tempting them with all the wonderful prizes they can win if they just sell "x" amount of junk. The Girl thinks she is totally on her way to being the recipient of a limo ride for her and 25 of her friends, a money safe, stickers, and a stuff animal. I am trying to let her down gently.

Anyone want some wrapping paper or cookie dough?

Don't worry if you miss this bus, there will be another right around the corner. The Little Man will be hitting you up as soon as he starts school next week.

I'm Not the Only One

That's The Little Man barely making it through the morning without his sister. I couldn't get the backpack off of him. He didn't want to be left behind in all the back-to-school rush this morning.

And he kept it on until later that afternoon.

I don't know what is more painful. Watching The Girl walk away from me this morning and into the school, or watching The Little Man not be with his best friend all day.

She barely noticed our sadness:

I Thought Kindergarten Was Hard

I was packing up The Girl's backpack for the first day of school TOMORROW. Trust me, it was all I could do not to bawl my eyes out in front of the fam. Do you realize that in first grade they are away from you for SEVEN HOURS! S-E-V-E-N. Seven. That is more time than she has to spend with me. Well, at least awake, that is.

This woman, who's her teacher, that I've only met one time, gets her more than I, the one who gave birth to her. The one who knows all of her silly little quirks. The one that understands how sensitive she is about not only her feelings, but other people's feelings. I know the difference between her laugh-just-to-laugh laugh and her full on giggle because it's so funny she can't contain herself. I'm the one who knows that she gets nervous about the small details in new situations. It's me that understands that she just wants her teacher to not only like her, but love her. It's me. And now I have to trust that her new teacher will take just as good of care of her as I would. For seven hours of the day.

As I finished packing the last of the notebook paper and folders, I saw something sticking out of the back pocket. I found this note.


It totally pushed me over the edge.

I miss you like crazy already, Baby Girl...

Our Summer in Images (AKA: The Most Pictures I Have Ever Uploaded to Blogger)

So there is really nothing left to say. The title says it all. I am too tired to be witty.

You're welcome.

Just as a reminder as to how busy our summer has been, I was getting the camera (our point and shoot) ready to take some pics this upcoming weekend. Generally speaking, I download pictures every time I use the camera. I never leave pics from one event on the card to take to the next event. Neurotic? Sure. But, I never run out of room on my memory card. So, tonight as I was getting the camera set up for the weekend, I noticed that I hadn't downloaded our pictures all summer long. CrAzY, I know. Looking back through them was like going down a very short memory lane. A memory lane that was our summer.

Here you go:

(Oh, and if you have ever worked with pictures in blogger, you'll know and understand completely when I tell you that these images are in NO particular order. That would be NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE)

First up, a family self portrait. I took these with the timer and the ol' tripod. My legs were so sore the next day from doing the equivalent of about 100 5o yard dashes in record breaking time. I still never got the "perfect" shot, but I couldn't run any longer so...


After all that running we celebrated The Little Man's B-day at Red Robin. Yes, I treated myself to a second helping of fries, thankyouverymuch.


The Little Man's B-day Party...remember the one with gale force winds?







A day I thought it would be fun to play in the sprinklers instead of going to the pool. See! I do add variety to our routine.






Some baseball time:


Here's The Little Man playing 1st base with Daddy coaching behind:


Ooops, more sprinkler fun...see, I told you...no particular order!


And some more baseball:


At the VERY beginning of Summer Break, we thought we would spend a rainy day at a local museum. Little did we know, with all the rain we got this summer, we should have bought an annual membership.




All the cousins:


You know how The Little Man can get a little wild with the way he dresses? Well, every once in a while, The Girl will pull out a show stopper herself:


Some more birthday party action:


Are you wondering if a picture from this past winter accidentally slid into the batch? Well, your wrong. Here are the kids all bundled up for the Fourth of July. It was delightful.


Ahhh...the pool...




We hit the zoo this summer with the cousins as well:


If I really wanted to dig deep, and spend more time uploading pictures to blogger, I would find a picture that is similar to this one except the children are much, much smaller, and the bear is actually visible underneath the children. They aren't supposed to grow this fast!


The Little Man and his favorite girl cousin:


The Little Man didn't really like the smell of the Pacaderm House, and he thought he would help his cousin out as well:


See, I told you...he gets wild! Here we have a cross between Spider Man, Darth, and a pirate:


Ahhh...more pool:






A hat he got when he was six months old:

(isn't this what your children do when they are supposed to be putting on PJ's?)

Proud to earn a trophy from a great season in baseball:


The Hubs and I on our 9th anniversary:



As we went to Meet The Teacher Night tonight, I realized that tomorrow would be our last Friday of Summer Break.

My heart sank.

But look at all the fun we had!

Oh, and there was still some dancing!

It's the Final Countdown

It's officially the last week of Summer Break. I am freaking out just a little. I want to make sure we have as much fun as we can. Thankfully, the weather looks like it might hold out for us this week, so we should be able to squeeze in a ton of pool time.

(Would it be weird for me to continue to go to the pool after the kids are back in school?)

(Would it be even more weird for me to invite all my mommy friends for a pool date while all of our kids are in school?)

(I just want to soak in the last days of summer.)

(Is that so wrong?)

School doesn't start for The Little Man until September 1st, (Hallelujah! Some schools have it right) so I guess that means I will have to find SOMETHING to entertain him while his sister is away at school all day. If that means we have to pack up our stuff and head to the pool each and everyday, well, I am up for the sacrifice.

This summer went way, way too fast.

I Need a Sticky Note

Have you ever just needed a reminder? I mean, like you know something, people will tell you it over and over, or it will be taught to you again and again, yet still you just need to be reminded. Or maybe you just need to hear it again for reassurance. You just want to hear it. Sometimes things can be said in ways that help you to understand something just a little bit deeper than you did moments before.

There are two songs out right now that, even though they get a lot of play on the radio, I could not hear enough. Some days, I want them to just play over and over in a loop. The words in these songs make my heart beat a bit faster, and no matter how many times I hear them, sometimes, my eyes will well up with tears.

Which, when you are at the gym and it comes on the ol' iPod, is a bit embarrassing.

Also, I am completely baffled by the fact that I will still hit the repeat button.

I live to make a fool out of myself.

The first song is by The David Crowder Band. It's called "How He Loves", and although I have a link for you here so you can take it in for yourself, I will share with you some lyrics that make my heart skip a beat. First, right out of the gate, "He is jealous for me." I need that reminder so much and so often. I need not look elsewhere.

Also I can barely contain myself when I hear, " We are His portion and He is our prize, Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes, If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking."

The next song is by Jonny Diaz. It's "More Beautiful You". (You have to push the play button on the video to hear it.) (Also, you might get solicited by a Walmart ad. Sorry.) If I could have only heard this song, oh, when I was twelve and about EVERY SINGLE DAY SINCE THEN, my, oh, my I can't help but think I might have made a few different choices.

However.

These lyrics remind me, I've been forgiven.

"So turn around you’re not too far
To back away be who you are
To change your path go another way
It’s not too late you can be saved
If you feel depressed with past regrets
The shameful nights hope to forget
Can disappear they can all be washed away
By the one who’s strong can right your wrongs
Can rid your fears dry all your tears
And change the way you look at this big world
He will take your dark distorted view
And with His light He will show you truth
And again you’ll see through the eyes of a little girl"

Now I have little ones, and it's my chance to make sure they hear this, know this, live this.

Maybe you're like me and needed a little reminder too?

Enough Said

It's Wednesday.

We've been to the pool twice this week already.

Going again tomorrow.

I'm not sure how the kids feel about that.

I'm in heaven.

It Will Be a Co-Dependent Type Relationship

I have found a piece of heaven, and it fits on my counter top.

In case you can't see the very small print that indicates the scent of this heavenly candle, it is Vanilla Coconut.

Oh, yes, it is.

The aroma that this candle gives off is like something from a dream. A dream in which I am on a beach that is far, far away. A dream where it is peaceful and warm. A dream where there is no worrying about skin cancer or wrinkles, so I feel free slather on the coconut oil and soak in the sun's rays (much like I did in my carefree teenage days).

(On a side note, if SPF 45 smelled like this, I would NEVER forget to reapply. Ever. No, in fact, I think it would become an everyday lotion. For everyone in my house.)

Every time I light this candle, that is where I will be. If you happen to drive by my home this winter and see a warm glow coming from the window, know that it is this candle, and I am doing my best to cope.

The End.

It's Called Balance

I have a very sweet boy. I think I have mentioned here before about what an encourager he is. I love that about him. It's surprising how much I need those encouraging words from my own four year old.

Or maybe it isn't.

I guess I can be kind of needy sometimes.

Yesterday morning, after the kids woke up, they got to see some handy work from The Hubs and I the night before. We had The Girl stay the night in The Little Man's room (which was a big treat), so that we could re-paint her room.

(Remember how incredibly bored I have been this summer? Remember how I thought this summer would be the perfect time to redecorate the kids' rooms? You know, in all our down time?)

The Little Man was just beside himself with the transformation. Over and over again we heard, "Wow, you guys! This looks great!" and, "Good job Mom and Dad! You did some awesome work!". It was so nice to get that little pat on the back so early in the morning. I actually had to tell him that it was so nice of him to say such encouraging words, but enough already. I guess you could say I was starting to get a little embarrassed. I mean, we just slapped the paint on the wall, in literally, a couple of hours. It was nothing special.

Later that night, it was time to clean up. The Girl had a LARGE pile of stuff on the step. How she stepped right over it without even noticing it, is beyond me. I did call her back down to clean up, at which point her sweet brother said, "I'll come and help! It looks like you have a lot."

How sweet is that?

Sure enough, he loaded his arms as full as he could get them and headed back up the steps. That's when I noticed he forgot one of his own shirts. I said, "Oops! You forgot a shirt. Don't worry, I'll get it."

He replied with, "Thanks, Mom. I really needed the help. I appreciate you doing that for me."

Seriously.

This was coming from the same boy who, just mere hours before, threw a temper tantrum so loud, so wild, in the front yard of our home, for all the neighborhood to see, and had to physically be carried inside by his father. Why? He didn't want to ride his bike to get ice cream from the Sonic that is less than a quarter mile from our home. He wanted to drive instead. When we said that it was too nice of a day to drive and we should ride our bikes instead, he lost his mind for about a solid 45 minutes screaming over and over, "I WANT ICE CREAM!"

So, before you go get yourself all jealous and such( I imagined that last statement coming out with a Southern twang to it), just remember: When the pendulum swings high in one direction, it must go back in the other direction. (Insert Southern twang again) (Or not.)