Well Checks

Today I took Nicholas and Laurie to the doctor for their well checks-4 yr. old and 2 yr. old respectively. Everything checked out and they are both doing well. Nicholas weighed 40 lbs. and was 41 1/2 inches tall. For those of you who are wondering, that puts Nicholas in the 95th percentile for height and the 90th percentile for weight!! Laurie weighed 26.4 lbs. and was 34 1/2 inches tall. Nicholas had his sight and hearing checked and got 4 immunizations-so he is ready for public school. He was so brave! He bearly even cried when the nurse gave him the shots. My father in law came with us to the visit so that I would not have to keep up with both of them alone. A big thanks to Brady!! He was such a big help especially with Nicholas. He held his hands while they gave him the shots. He was so proud of how well Nicholas did that he gave him and Laurie (and Jonathan) a dollar and a snack out of the machine on the first floor.
We also saw Rhonda with Ella Kate coming out from her 4 yr. old check up this morning. So I guess it was the right day for your check up!

Next race-a 1/2 marathon???

I don't think that one goes from running a 5k straight to running a 1/2 marathon! However, I believe that our SS teacher is wanting the class to sign up and go to the one in December here in SC. I can pretty much guarantee that I will NOT be running this 1/2 marathon but I do want to walk it. I think that in and of itself will be a challenge for me but I am up for the challenge. I have asked for another training chart and I am excited about the race. I would feel so accomplished if I could say that in 2009 I ran a 5k and participated in a 1/2 marathon!!

I DID IT!!

All the participants from our SS class

This morning started off like any other...I got up, ate breakfast, got the kids ready for Upward etc. but I did something today that I have never done before in my life! I ran a 5k race!! You have to understand, I am not an athlete. I decided to run this race because our SS class wanted to participate in it as a group event. I started training in mid January and worked my way up to running 3 miles. The race started a little after 10am and it was very HOT. I started off well but I had to walk a little going up the BIG hill that was part of the race twice. Chris and the kids even came by in the car, after Upward soccer, to cheer me on. I especially needed it at the exact time that they came by-I was going uphill.

A big thanks to Kameron who ran the last half of the race with me and was a great source of encouragement. Another big thanks to my brother, Nathan, who ran the race also and who won third place in his age category! Congratulations also go to Brad who placed second in his age category and Jo Ellen who placed third in hers. And how did I do you may ask...I finished in 42 minutes!! That is about the same time that it usually takes me to run it on the treadmill so I was very pleased. And hey I was a good 20-25 minutes ahead of the last person. Who-how!!

The whole group-including my brother

My proof that I actually participated in the race!

These are the flowers that my Dad, Mom, and brother bought me for running the race. They are so beautiful! My whole family was been such a great source of encouragement through this whole process. My only question now is..when is the next race???

Race day is almost here!

As you may remember, our SS class decided back in January that we were going to run a 5k together as a class. I thought this might be a great way to kick start my physical fitness so I decided to attempt the race. Now keep in mind that I have never done something like this before, in fact I have never been a part of a race before (like I hated field day in school!). Our SS teacher graciously gave us a training schedule and I have stuck with it for the most part. The race is this Saturday and I am excited and scared. I am excited to participate in my first race BUT I am scared that I will not finish the race or that I will come in dead last.
I was talking to my Dad yesterday (my source of running encouragement-he has run many races) and he told me that I would do fine and he also told me about a few things that might help on race day. He told me to stay hyderated and eat a carb filled meal before the race. He also said that clothes that fit well, all the way down to my socks, would help (so I guess it is off to Academy Sports before the race). He also said to pace myself...not to start off so fast that I get burnt out towards the end. Thank you for all the wisdom Dad!!
The boys have soccer also Saturday morning so Chris will be taking them to their games and I will be headed off to the race. I'll let you know how everything turns out.

Jonathan's TV debut!!

Jonathan is going to be on WAME this morning. WAME is his school's television program that they produce daily. Jonathan will be on the show and the anchors will interview him about what he likes/dislikes about kindergarten. I am so excited for him and he was pretty excited too when he got in the car. I received this note in his bag to back up his story...so we have to get to school EARLY! I hope he does a great job. A few years ago or even at the beginning of this year, I would never have dreamed that my Jonathan would be talking in public (he is terribly shy). He sure has come out of his shell this year.

Hatcher's Gardens

Today, Jonathan's kindergarten class went on a field trip to Hatcher's Gardens. He told me that they looked for small animals and found among others a snake and some geese. He said that he really enjoyed himself! I was not able to go but I understand that they had plenty of chaperones. They were also able to eat lunch out there in the gardens. I am glad that they got back to school before our afternoon shower!

Happy Birthday Nicholas!

I can't believe that my baby boy is 4 years old today! I named him after my grandfather who is now with the Lord..but everyday I see so much of him in Nicholas. Nicholas is such a loving and caring child. He is generous too..he will share anything he has with you. He loves to give things to others and he makes friends with everyone. He never meets a stranger and is well mannered. These are just a few of the similarities that I see between my grandfather and Nicholas.

Nicholas, mommy and daddy are so proud of you and we love you so much! You are a great big part of our family and we thank God for you son. We pray that God will continue to mold you into the great man that He wants you to be someday.

You've come a long way baby!!

Nicholas' birthday party

Nicholas had a busy day on Saturday...he played his first ever Upward soccer game, had a great birthday party at Cleveland park, and went out and ate lunch with some friends! If any of my children are social lites, it is Nicholas! He wanted to invite all his friends to his party (Mommy did have to help him narrow it down a little) and most everyone that we invited came to his party. We held the party at Cleveland Park at 10:30 am (right after the games). The children played on the playground and in the sand pit. They also rode the train since his party had a train theme. Then it was up to the shelter for cake, ice cream, and presents. I made cupcakes for the kids and a cake to put the candles in and so that adults could have some cake too.

Nicholas had help from Jonathan and Emma to open his presents and boy did he get lots of presents! A big thank you to everyone who came and brought such wonderful presents. He got all kinds of sports equipment, a big wheel, some rainbow sandals, a go Diego go jeep, a monster truck, some playdoh, a beautiful outfit from Gymboree, and a junior set of golf clubs from Mommy and Daddy. After the party, we ate lunch with Erin and her kids. Morgan was not able to come to the party because of her soccer game and so we wanted the two of them to get together that day. Nicholas had played so hard that on the ride home, he just about fell asleep. He may have been tired but he still mustered enough energy to try out some of his toys later that afternoon.

Everyone loved the train ride-all except for Jonathan.

Yeah, presents!

Laurie loved the big wheel and took a ride down the hill on it!

First soccer games of the season!

Today, both Jonathan and Nicholas played their first soccer games for the 2009 season. Jonathan's team (the Little Crew) played on field 1 while Nicholas' team (the Nighthawks) played on field 2 both at 9am!! Both boys played well and worked hard for their teams. Nicholas was even able to score the first goal off the season for his team! He was so excited that he did a little dance down the field right after he scored the goal. Jonathan got the award for best defense. Nicholas got the award for best offense.

Nicholas after scoring his goal!

Jonathan's friend, Emma, is on his team

Birthday party preparations

To all my faithful readers...I am so sorry for not posting any this week but I have been soo busy!! My little Nicholas will be 4 on Monday and we are having a party on Saturday. Needless to say I have been planning goody bags and the cake etc. inbetween life this week. It has not been the easiest to do either..because we have had Awana, a field trip, and soccer practices all this week.
FYI whoever came up with the idea of goody bags was CRAZY. I have put more time, effort, and money into these than you all really want to know about. They have turned out really cute though. I am giving each child their own water bottle (hot pink for the girls and blue for the boys) filled with outdoor things (a kazoo, some candy, sidewalk chalk, stickers, and a crazy straw). I hope to get a picture of them before we give them all away and I will post it with one of the other birthday posts. I am off this evening to my mother in laws to make the birthday cake!

ELC Field Trip

All the three year old classes went to the Greenville zoo today. This was their first major field trip and Nicholas was very exicted. Our family had just been to the Columbia zoo during spring break but that did not stop Nicholas from being amazed at all the animals. I was not so impressed though. The Riverbanks zoo is great and the one here in Greenville does not hold a candle to it. I did love the mom and baby monkey that we saw today!

Mrs. Mindy even had a snack (animal crackers and a juice box) for them at the gate. She does such a great job with her class. We were not able to stay together as a class because of the large crowds that were their this morning. The experience was good all in all.

Preschool choir rocks the sanctuary

Nicholas and the rest of the kids in the preschool choir did an excellent job singing in church this past Sunday. This little choir had never sung in the new sanctuary before and to top it off this was Easter Sunday! They sang three songs..Amazing Grace, My God is so Big, and Love the Lord. Nicholas loves choir and loves singing on the stage.

Potty Training Update

I don't know how many of you remember but I have been slowly working on potty training Laurie Grace. Well today she made a big breakthrough in that department. Recently, she has been going to the bathroom every time you put her on the toilet. She has even started telling us when she wants to go and use the potty. We have not really focused on this area though so this breakthrough is all her..This morning, she told me that she needed to go use Dora as she calls it. So off we went to use the potty. Laurie had already wet her pull up so I was not that hopeful that this trip would be a success. Boy was I wrong...she went in there and pooped in the potty! I was so excited. I praised her and told her what a big girl she was and Laurie just grinned from ear to ear.

Happy Easter!

Easter Sunday morning came and my kids were so excited that they were all up early and ready for their baskets. Jonathan was the one who was the most excited because he had been wanting some Club Penguin trading cards for some time and sure enough they were in his basket. After all that exctiment, we got dressed and headed off to church. The preschool choir, including Nicholas, was going to sing on the stage (as Nicholas calls it). They all did a great job and the service was good too.

We ate lunch with my in laws and after lunch the kids had a great time dying eggs and playing on the swing set. The funny thing was that they never actually hid the eggs, they just wanted to dye them. We really enjoyed the time with our family, the kids had lots of goodies from their baskets and the egg hunts, but we also were reminded through the sermons from our pastor that Easter is something that we should experience daily. As they used to say in the days of the early church, HE IS RISEN...HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Three little baskets