More Homework, Please!

Summer has officially come to a close. School is back in session and we are working on establishing a new routine. I can't believe that Jarrod is a sophomore, Jacob a 5th grader and my baby, Noah, started Head Start last Wednesday.

Jarrod said the first day was "alright." Jacob said it was the best first day of school ever, and Noah LOVED Head Start. I wasn't sure what to expect at the beginning of summer when we signed him up, but he has matured so much this summer. In a lot of ways he's a different kid than he was just a few months ago.

Wednesday after his first day, Noah came home and said "Mom, do I have to do my homework now." I said, "Noah, you don't have any homework today." To which he replied, "But Mom, I NEEEED homework." I told his teacher the next day that his only complaint was that he didn't have any homework and she said she could remedy that. Sure enough, Thursday night he had homework (and he was thrilled). Jarrod and Jacob are trying to convince him that homework is bad, but so far he's not buying it. I'm thinking I should have recorded the whole conversation to play back to him in a few years!

The Death of a Dream

As some of you will recall from my previous posts from August of 2007, Darren became the proud owner of a scooter nearly two years ago. He had dreamed of the moment for a while and his dreams finally became reality, but alas it was not to be. His visions of that cool windblown look and enormous gas savings did not materialize. And finally, this spring he decided to part with his scooter and give up his dream.

We sold "Scooty" (as Noah named it - all of our vehicles have names) on Ebay and the fellow arrived from Detroit, Michigan this morning to take "Scooty" to his new home.

So....another chapter closes. I wonder what gadget or gizmo Darren will want next. Sigh....

The Fast Track

First off, let me say, yes I am still alive. I know it's been a long time since I blogged but I have just not had the time or the energy. Now that tax season is over I'll have more time....yeah, right!

Anyway, today I went and signed my baby up for Headstart. I can't believe he is school age already. He misses being able to start Kindergarten this year by 16 days. I don't have to send him to Headstart but he REALLY needs the structure. He's ready and I believe Kindergarten will be much easier if he gets into a routine now.

Now, I've said that he NEEDS to go to Headstart, but as you might guess, he has a completely different opinion. He doesn't want to go to school and apparently has decided to put himself on the fast track. As we left the Headstart building yesterday he said, "But, Mom. I don't want to go to school. I just want to grow up and mow. That's what Jarrod dooz." (Jarrod has started his own mowing business this year and Noah thinks mowers and mowing is "awesome" [his words]). He's so funny. I can't believe how much he has grown. He's not even gone to school yet and I miss him already.

Frosty Failure

Last Sunday afternoon the snow had melted sufficiently to become perfect for snowman making. We've not had many good snowman snows since Noah was born so I convinced Jarrod to take him out and help him build a snowman. They had been out for a little while when I heard Noah screaming his head off. When I went out he was crying and clearly distraught. When I asked him what was wrong he said, "Mommy, we put the hat on but Frosty won't come to life!" It took forever for Jarrod to convince him that Frosty was make-believe. Later that night Noah told me, "Mommy I know what's wrong with Frosty. He don't gots no legs and that frosty on my square TV gots legs." He went out every morning after that to talk to Frosty and tell him bye before going to the sitter. He would carry on big conversations with him, assuring him that he wouldn't melt and the like. Of course, yesterday was not kind to Frosty and today all that's left of him is barely a snowball's worth of snow. I figured Noah would flip out when he started melting but he seems to have taken it in stride except for the melting play by play (i.e. his eyes fell off, his nose fell off, his head fell off, etc.). Tonight he finally reported that Frosty was "all gone." Farewell Frosty until we meet again.

Winter Wonderland

We woke up this morning to about five inches of snow here in Fleming County. Suprisingly, by the time I rolled out of bed at 8:45 a.m. the roads had been scraped and looked to be in decent shape. I still didn't go in to work though. In anticipation of the weather I had brought several tax returns home with me last night so I have been working on those most of the day.

Jacob and Noah have made two ventures out into the snow today already and their clothes are now in the dryer in preparation for the third. It's really nasty outside right now because on top of the snow we are now getting some nice freezing rain. We are getting ready to go to church to help do some clean up from the kitchen/nursery remodel in preparation for Ermil Pettit's visitation and funeral and the boys are going to play outside some more with the Paige crew.

When Noah came in a few minutes ago he said, "Mom, it sure is cold out there." That reminded me of something Jacob said when he was about Noah's age. Whenever we went out in the cold on the way to daycare I would always tell him, "It's colder than a dog's hind leg out here." (Where did that expression come from anyway?) One day, when we went out to get in the car he looked at me and said, "Mom, it's a freezin' dog leg out here." Now, that's cold!

Hope everyone is warm and safe on this "freezin' dog leg" day!

Flying Solo

Every night when I put Noah into bed, I say his bedtime prayers during which time he pays varying degrees of attention. His attentivness ranges anywhere from perfect stillness (rarely) to jumping up and down in the bed (more often than not). In any event, I say his prayers give him a hug and a kiss, say "I love you", he kisses my hand (don't ask me why) and it's off to dreamland. This is the routine we've had for quite sometime. But things changed Tuesday night. He decided out of the blue to fly solo. He was standing in the bed quietly while I said prayers and when I finished he said, "Now it's my turn to say prayers." I replied "Okay" and this was the sweet, simple prayer of my 4 year old son:

Thank you for Jesus

Thank you for Nana

Thank you for Mommy

Thank you for Daddy

I love you, Jesus.

Amen

It brought tears to my eyes. I'm so glad that he is already realizing the importance of Christ in his young life. It is so encouraging to see the things that are so meaningful to me mirrored in my kids.

Reflections of a Year - 2008

Wow! I can't believe that 2008 is drawing to a close. It's funny to me that as a child it seemed to take forever for Christmas to get here but the older I get the faster Christmas rolls around each year.


2008 has been a good year filled with blessings from God on high.


January - Jarrod and I prepared for our mission trip to Mexico. The excitement was building as we completed our fundraising efforts and travel plans.


February - A group of us from New Life, including myself and Jarrod, traveled to Mexico with Faith and Works on a mission trip. This was my second trip and Jarrod's first. What an awesome opportunity! God touched my life in so many ways during this trip. We also began Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at church. This program has been such a blessing to us and I am so thankful for the lessons we've learned and applied to our lives through Dave's program.


March - I spent March in the whirlwind of tax season. I'm thankful that God has given me a skill that I can use to help provide for my family and I'm thankful for my job. Especially in these tough economic times.


April - We were saddened by the sudden loss of Darren's cousin, Stephanie. It's so important for us to remember that God doesn't promise us another day, or even another hour. Life is so fleeting. Spend it doing the things that really matter....spend it in the service of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Also, Jacob turned 9 years old. He is growing up so fast!


May - Darren and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. We have officially spent half of our lives together. I'm so thankful for the man God blessed me with and look forward to growing old with him! We were also especially thankful that my brother-in-law made it home safely from his one year tour of duty in Iraq and we are grateful to God for protecting him from harm.


June - Gospel Man & Bible Boy consumed much of our June. We were busy filming videos starring our two heroes for Vacation Bible School. We also spent a weekend at Sugarloaf Family Camp where a bunch of us from New Life took care of the children's program.


July - What a busy month! Camp and Vacation Bible School. I pray that we we're able to touch the lives of lots of kids and plant seeds of salvation through our efforts.


August - Darren and I made a solo trip to Delmarva, Deleware to preach at Delmarva Family Camp. We really enjoyed ourselves and are looking forward to returning in a couple of years. This was the first trip we had taken without the kids since Jarrod was about 1 year old! Also of note this month was the beginning of school. My firstborn began his freshman year at Fleming County High School. Wow, where does the time go?


September - Amy and I began our weekly Bible study. We talked about doing this while we were in Mexico together but it took us until now to get around to it. This study and our fellowship has become one of the things I look forward to most each week. I'm so thankful for Amy and our friendship.


October - We began another season of Bible Bowl and both of our teams had good results at our first round robin. It was great to see the kids so excited about what they had accomplished. My baby turned 4 this month. I can't believe 4 years have come and gone since Noah came into my life. Thoughts of him can always bring a smile to my face.


November - We kicked off our new women's group at church. Ladies 2for2 is a ministry striving to fulfill the mission and promises of Acts 2:42-47. I am so excited to see what God has planned for New Life through this wonderful group of ladies. Also, Jarrod turned 15! 365 days and counting until the dreaded driver's permit!


December - We presented two performances of "Hallelujah! Jesus is Born!" at church. This was our first attempt at a musical during our time at New Life. I thoroughly enjoyed it and we didn't sound half bad if I do say so myself. I hope our program brought glory to God. We enjoyed Christmas with both sides of our family and at home. It was so nice to be with everyone and to see loved ones that live away.

As I look back over the year I see so many things to praise God for. Health, home, family, friends, jobs, and opportunities to serve. God is so good! I look forward to seeing what God has in store for us in the coming year and I pray that He uses us in a big way!

Wishing all of you a very Happy New Year! May God bless and keep you all!