prayers, please...

Thought I'd ask everyone for some extra prayers for my brother-in-law Randy, who is having back surgery this morning.  He has 2 herniated disks in his upper spine that are affecting the use of his arm.  They think it stems from a fire call he was on {he's a volunteer firefighter}.  A few of the guys were coming up some stairs, the steps collapsed & Randy grabbed hold of one of the guys & pulled him out.  So you can imagine, a pretty big guy + all the firefighter garb was alot of weight.  Anyway, if you could please say a prayer for him, we'd all appreciate it!  

more cuteness

Lydia is really quite a funny little lady right now.  She's been trying to repeat several things I say to her.  For instance, on Friday, she was playing with her "pinkie" {blankie} & I kept saying "good night" & to my surprise, out came something that sounded remotely like it.  She also repeated "all done" & was trying to keep the tune to the ABC song.  I'm quite sure when she starts talking, we'll all be in trouble, & as the mother of 2 older boys, I am enjoying this time where she is quiet, cute & doesn't talk back to me!  She does sound sweet when she "talks", though.

One of her favorite things right now is singing & doing actions to "Itsy Bitsy Spider".  She gets up in my lap, grabs my hands & pulls up, ready to start.  As soon as we finish, she says something that sounds like more & we start all over again {usually at least 6 times}.  Trying to teach her "I'm a Little Teapot" now.  She's not paying attention very well, but how cute would be?  This girl loves music, though.  She sits in her carseat & as soon as the music starts, she's back there head bangin!  Pretty funny.... daddy is so proud!

Another funny thing she started recently was to wave at everyone she sees.  We went to to Target & she was waving at everyone that we were remotely close to.  Sometimes she even added a "hi" along with it.  She is also a fan of high fives & shaking hands {which she picked up at church}.

Oh & I just have to add one more little tidbit.  When the boys got off the bus on Friday & came in the door, you would have thought she hadn't seen them in weeks.  She immediately jumped off my lap {we were so close to sleep} & squealed & patted on them.  She stayed up at least another 1/2 hour so she could play with them.  So cute.  Truth is, they were just as excited to see her too.  I hope that lasts!  Ok.  Done with the cute stuff for now.  I'll update more later.

Saturday, August 23, 2008 at 09:55 PM

Well, we made it through the first & second days of school very well.  It definitely helped that they only had half days... got us into the groove somewhat.  This week will be the true test, though.  I'm positive we'll have the start of homework {word is Collin's teacher is big on that} & I'm also pretty sure we'll have whining {possibly from the both of us}.  I've been giving him pep talks to make sure he keeps a positive attitude & that he starts out on a good note.  Evan is glad he's back in school, he says it gives him something to do, but he's not that happy about giving away his freedom either.  We started reading at bedtime the other night, got them upstairs early & Evan read to me while Collin read his book out loud to Dan.  Lydia just went back & forth between their rooms, played & got up & down on their beds.  They're both good about reading if you just get them started.  I love listening to them & I really love to see the progression Evan has made.

unpack the backpacks

Tonight we went to the elementary school to have the boys unpack their backpacks & see their new classrooms.  They started to do this a few years ago & I'm so glad.  Our school has gone through a lot of changes over the last few years & can be confusing for everyone!  Both boys knew their teachers from previous years, so that was helpful.  Evan's classroom is actually the same Collin was in last year, so he's just saying he skipped straight to 3rd grade {he's actually in 1st}.  Collin is in a different building than Evan, which I think will be good for them both.  Last year Evan hung out way too much with the boys in Collin's class & not enough with his own class during recess.  It will also give them more time away from each other during the day since they don't share recess & lunch times anymore, so I'm hoping maybe they'll appreciate each other more when they don't see each other {hey, a mother can dream can't she?}.  We also found out that Collin's class gained 3 new students, which is awesome, since our little Catholic school struggles with enrollment.  He's hoping he'll make some new friends, too.  I have to hand it to Collin, he's definitely trying his best to keep a positive attitude, but I know he's very nervous.   Evan isn't ready to give up his summer, but he's in need of some structure, for sure!  He's more of a go with the flow sort of kid, which is a definite difference from Collin!  Tomorrow the boys want to ride the bus, so I guess I'll let them, even though I was planning on driving them.  I'll meet them at school anyway, we start each year off with a welcome mass for the whole school.  It makes for a great start to the year.  I'll try to take pics tomorrow of my cute little scholars.  

coming soon, school

So, with the stress of the new school year coming fast {the boys start tomorrow}, I've been trying to enjoy the boys before they go back to school & we start into schedules & homework.  This tends to be a bittersweet time for me, as I'm sure it is for many moms & dads.  I'll be glad for them to have the structure & see their friends, & of course, the several hours they won't be home to say they're bored & fight with each other.  But I also dread them not being here, dealing with Collin's stress {he worries about alot}, the extra homework & of course the guilt that I haven't done enough with them during the summer, both fun stuff & educational.  I know I haven't read to Evan enough, haven't made Collin read enough, & I've been trying to review Collin's multiplication facts with him over the last week....ugh!

I'm sure we'll get through it fine, just as we have every other year.... I just need to keep telling myself "it will be ok, it will be ok, it will be ok".