September 2011. . .It's a wrap. . .er a rap

Hand joining, Finger pointing,

Neighbor kids around, Bicycles abound!

A peek into our days. . .

On the piano he plays.

A bike ramp in our yard,

Boys riding hard.

Brotherly bond,

Of his baby bro, he's fond.

Standing alone!

Smiles shone.

Flower weedin,

Peacock feedin,

Zoo going,

Animal showing,

Bow adoring,

Goal scoring,

Fairy and bunny,

Soaking up sunny,


Into her book,

An apple he took.

Cheering for a win!

Look at that grin!

Look who's almost 1,

He's a bundle of fun!

A lot of joy,

In our little boy!

After the Sunday morning worship service at Lifelight (this was my view from my blanket. . .well, this and 4 children crawling all over me)

We had an impromtu stop at the Apple Orchard!

It was a beautiful day for apple picking

and not very busy! My 4 lil cherubs. . .

How to keep an almost 11 month old busy?

Put him in shoes. My babes spend most of their days barefoot. He is completely baffled, confused, and disgusted with a wee bit of interest mixed in. . .with those things on his feet. . .

Keepin it in perspective

The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day at preschool. Just when I thought Trey was a breeze. . .my easy going child cried and cried at preschool today :( Last night he slept horribly. . .that was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad nights sleep. Did I mention he was my best sleeper as an infant/baby? Just layed him down wherever and he fell asleep. Now he sometimes gets up in the night. Ironically, Ainsley as an infant liked to sleep best in daddy's arms and she turned into a GREAT sleeper. . .just a ray of hope for you other sleep deprived mommies of infants :) Anyway, where was I? Trey didn't want to go to preschool this morning and my mommy instinct said to let him skip since he slept so horribly. But, I didn't want him to think that every time he doesn't want to go he doesn't have to, so I made him go anyway. When I dropped him off, they were playing with playdoh, which reminded me of my sister, Steph (also the easy going one in the family), who was a preschool drop out bc she said she had green playdoh at home :) I asked Trey why he was so sad today and he said, "My preschool hurt my feelings" :) So, he likes home best. I guess I'm thankful our home is a safe haven for our children. . .where they feel loved. Maybe he's just not ready. Maybe he is and maybe today was just a fluke. He will be going back on Thursday for another try. But this blog isn't just to remember the good days. It's to also remember the real days. . .you know, the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad ones. Well, it wasn't that bad. We have food, clean drinking water, shelter, medical care, and the love of Jesus and family. Perspective.

Today after church, we spent the day on the soccer fields.Coach GooF and the girls team
Ainsley got a shot on the goal today. . .it was a great shot but hit the goalie in the stomach and didn't make it in. She also did a great job defending her goal!

One of the best parts of soccer is the friends


It was Trey's 1st game today!! He has been going to games for the last few yrs, and was a tad hesitant but once he started there was no stoppin him :) He scored 6 goals. . .Coach GooF looked pretty proud!

He and Bridger worked together well!

Coach GooF and Porter's team. . .he got a compliment on how patient he is with these kids :) Porter's fav position this year is defending the goal. . .aka giving the ball a big kick when it comes his way :)

When did our kids grow up?

Such a fun time in their life though!

Today, I also was reflecting on Sept 11, 10 years ago. We were newlyweds, living in Ames on that day and I was student teaching in kindergarten at St Cecelia Elem. I got bits and pieces of the tragedy that morning as I was teaching, but didn't know much, and didn't know if something horrible was going to happen to us, but we didn't want to worry the kids, so it was pretty much kindergarten as usual. I remember thanking God for my family and the opportunity to marry GooF that previous summer.

Well, time for bed. . .better go check on Trey, who is asleep in his jersey since he fell asleep on the way home from the games :) Hard work scoring 6 goals. . .not that dad was counting or anything :) I love my family.

Trey's 1st Day of Preschool!

Trey was ready. He's been riding along in the minivan for the past 3 yrs, helping drop his big siblings off at school, and finally it was his turn!! He walked right in, handed his teacher, Miss Holly, an apple he picked for her from the orchard (and got a big hug from her. . she is so sweet and kind hearted). Then he sat down in his spot and got to work. No clinging to me like a big sister I know. No needing kisses and hugs like a big brother I know. Mr. Independent didn't even so much as say goodbye :) He's off on adventures and I'm so excited for him! About an hour later Ainsley said, "I wonder what Trey is doing about now." I had been wondering the same thing! From the sounds of it, he had a great morning! When we picked him up he let out a big, "There's my mommy!!!" OK, so atleast he was still excited to see me when I picked him up :) And he was very excited to show us all that he made, telling me everything he made was for me :)

This must be a self portrait :)

Everthing I asked him, he replied, "Yes I did!" With his face lit up with smiles. This sweet boy of mine is gonna make a fine young man!