Home School Book Fair 2009

Every year in Arlington the weekend of Mother's Day the Home School Book Fair is that Friday and Saturday. We set aside that weekend for family time. A time to focus on the past school year and what we accomplished or didn't. And a time to focus on the coming school year and what we want to accomplish during that time for each child. It is such a joy and a privilege to have this responsibility. I wouldn't trade it for anything! 

The kids were able to finish up their school work on Thursday. That is the first time we have done that and we really like it. So that will be our goal from now on, to be finished before the book fair! We may have to work a little harder in some areas at certain times of the year but we will still not start until after Labor Day and we will still take a winter holiday from Thanksgiving week through New Years. We do so much during that time anyway, just not workbooks. 

This year, while I did get the traditional math workbooks that we enjoy, my heart was drawn to things that will prepare my preteens for the things that will be coming in the near future. It may seem early for that when my children are only 10 and almost 8 but I know that if I let this window of time slip by and do not prepare them in the way that the Lord is leading me to do then I am not doing my job correctly as a mother. The world has such different standards than the Lord does. So if I want my children to have the Lords standards for handling things then I need to get to them before the world does. 

I found this neat series for preteens and young teens and their moms called Secret Keeper Girl. It is for moms and daughters. I purchased the younger version of the 8 Great Dates for you and your daughter. I also got the Bible study called: My Best Friend Jesus. I want my daughter to know that above all, Jesus needs to be her best friend. And that I am here for her in all things. My older daughter and I went through some hard times so I am trying to learn from the mistakes I made. We are very close now but went through a lot to get here. I am hoping I can help my other little princess have an easier road.

I also got the Beautifully Made set. It teaches her about the changes that are going on in her body and how to deal with them. There is one for younger girls like her and then when she does start. There is also one for moms. It has ideas for celebrations you can do with your daughter when that time comes. It helps them celebrate the changes that God created instead of dreading them. I am very excited to do this because I didn't learn them this way. I learned most of it from kids from school. Not really the best way. 

I also found some things for the guys in my family. Most of them are to teach them what God expects them to be as a godly man. I even found one for moms called Preparing Him for the Other Woman: A Mother's Guide to Raising Her Son to Love a Wife and Lead a Family. I thought that would be really good for me to read.

I am praying that this new school year will be full of wonderful memories for our family and building blocks to a godly life for my youngsters!

That is our progress report for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

Happy 6th Birthday, Jennifer Lynne!

Happy Birthday, My "Lil' Angel Baby"! You turned 6 years old today. I have been looking at your baby pictures all week. I wanted to post those on here but haven't had the time to do it. I wanted to scrap them in your book but the last six years have gone by so quickly and though I have taken lots of pictures of you, I have yet to put them in a book. I vow to change that this next year so that on September 16 we can look through a scrapbook and see the years gone by of how you have grown into such a wonderful young lady. And next year I will take the time to post those special pictures of you throughout the years that should be on here for everyone to enjoy!

You were born at 9:25 a.m. on Sunday morning. You were 9 pounds 6 1/2 ounces. You were born in 55 minutes of labor. Your 14 year old sister was in the delivery room when you were born. That made it very special. We had lots of friends from church come to see you that day and the next. I can not believe 6 years has gone by already. Every year has been such a joy with you as I watch you grow and change.

Each year we let you pick the "character" theme for your party. This year your favorite thing is Holly Hobbie. They don't make party stuff yet so I went on line and made invitations and thank you notes. I got Ms Cathy to make your cake (as always, she did such a great job). I let you pick where you were going to have your party because last year you didn't get a chance to have a party. You wanted Chuck E. Cheese so we did it. I picked Saturday morning at 9:30 because I knew it would be almost empty until almost noon. We invited your friends from church, school, the apartments we teach at and just friends outside of any of those. You had 25 friends come to your party, plus parents. That is a great turn out.

Your cake turned out cute!

Your 1st Grade Teacher, Ms Kirkpatrick

Your Best Friend, Kamryn

Afterwards, we came home and unpacked all of your gifts. You played with the My Little Pony house for most of the afternoon. Even after stopping and playing with something else you always went back to that. I would say that had to be one of your very favorite gifts this year.

Today you wore your new dress that you got from one of my daycare kids. You looked so pretty! That great smile just made my day, all day. I know this next year will pass just as quickly as the last one did. So lets make sure we take some moments together and share how your day was and what you are thinking about and dreaming about. I don't want to miss a second of your life. I love you so very much, words are not enough to tell you. God gave me a great gift 6 years ago and I am forever grateful!

Love, Mommy

Until next time...blessings to you.

First Day of School

Today was my children's first day of school. They go to a private school. Public school here started last week. Our day started like every other day, only with more excitement because it was the first day. They have new teachers and new routines.

Each year, even when we homeschooled, we take a first day of school picture. This year Nick was too old, I suppose. So he didn't get his picture taken. But the other two had special new clothes and backpacks that they enjoyed taking pictures with. They really are growing up too fast!

JC had a Transformer Theme, even though he hasn't seen the movie yet. He even had a lunch box to match inside that backpack. And, yes, he is posing for this picture! He is such a ham. He thinks he is so cute! Don't tell him I said so but he really is!

Jenni was all decked out in Hello Kitty, including her lunch box! Her shoes where the only thing that didn't have Hello Kitty on it. She seemed to be in good spirits here and seemed very excited about going to 1st grade. She knew her teacher from last year and is in the same class as a lot of her friends.

As we drove up to the school we noticed right away things were different from last year. We already knew the enrollment was quite a bit larger than last year. This is only the second year for this school. But this was amazing. The parking lot was FULL! So that meant the halls would be full of children and the classrooms would be full, as well. And they were. It was wonderful to see.

Nick went right in to his 10th grade classes. JC didn't have any problems, even though he had never seen his teacher before today. She wasn't at the Back to School picnic. His room was full of children and his seat is on the front row! That is him with the blue chair near the board. Last year they had 5 desks in the room at the beginning of the year and now they have 11 students. They will not have more than 12 students in a room. He is in the 3rd grade.

Jenni, on the other hand, broke my heart. She seemed to be fine while we were dropping off her brother. I didn't worry at all because she didn't cry at all last year when she went to Kindergarten. But maybe she wasn't fine. Maybe she was feeling overwhelmed because of all the people she didn't know in the halls. When we got to the room they told us where to put her backpack and we went down the hall to put it there. As soon as she dropped off the backpack she grabbed my arm and hung on. I walked her down to the room and could tell she was feeling nervous. She started crying and I told her teacher that she was just going to have to take her. So she did and talked to her a little bit and I snuck a picture before I headed out the door. I didn't want to stay and prolong the agony on both of our parts. If you can tell from the picture, she is trying not to cry but isn't succeeding totally. It was a different story when I picked her up. She was smiling and happy! Her teacher said she was just shy all day in front of the other kids. I know she will get out of that.

So, as the first day of the 2007-2008 school year comes to a close I am thankful for my children and the school they go to.  I do miss my children while they are gone but I am trying to make sure I spend quality time with them after school and hear all about what they did and what excited them about it. How blessed I am to have 4 great kids and to watch them grow up and learn new things.

Until next time...blessings to you. 

She Is Growing Up

It is hard to believe that almost 6 years have gone by since my little angel baby, (that is what I used to call her when she was an infant), Jenni came into our lives. In one month she will be 6 years old and today she came to a major milestone in her life.......she lost her first baby tooth!

She was very excited a month ago when she realized that her tooth was getting loose. She actually has 4 teeth that felt a little loose, her two top and two bottom. As this one tooth on the bottom got more and more loose, we discovered that her big tooth was coming in behind her baby tooth. So we began to wiggle that tooth to get it out of there. The funny thing about teeth is that when one is coming in behind the other it stops it from being loose as it grows in. So we had to work "hard". I would take her tooth and wiggle it as she and I counted to 10. We would stop and she would wiggle it to see if it got easier to wiggle. Today when she got up I told her she might as well just go get her an apple. Her brothers have lost a lot of teeth that way.

She got a green apple out of the fridge and started working on that tooth. Sure enough, there it came! She was so excited!! She had the tooth in her hand but still asked me "did it come out?" She had to show Daddy when he walked in the door. And all she can think about it telling Bro. Bobby (our pastor) about it because he gives kids $1 when they lose a tooth. So that will be the first person she finds tonight when we get to church.

Congratulations my lil angel baby! You are on your way to becoming a young woman. I know the time will pass faster than I could imagine. You already are asking me daily about asking Jesus into your heart and about baptism. I know that is a scary thing for someone who doesn't like to sing in church with her choir group. But I know when the time is right God will be there to help you feel strong in the face of that fear. I love you so much! Mommy

Thanks for letting me share my joys of childhood growth as I watch my last baby go from a little girl to a big girl. She has been pretty big in a lot of ways but still has some things that are younger about her. As she takes all these new steps I am happy and yet a little sad. She is such a joy to me and everyone she is around.

Until next time...blessings to you.