Teddy Bear Picnic

Nicholas had his teddy bear picnic at preschool today. He was so excited too! His teacher, Ms. Mindy, is so good with the children and they all love her. He took a bag of chocolate animal crackers for all the kids in his class just because he wanted to share them with the kids. Nicholas took his 'football man' as he calls him for the picnic. 'Football man' is a bear from build a bear that he made for his sister's first birthday. The bear obviously is dressed in a football uniform. Nicholas sleeps with his bear every night. He came home with two bear crafts and a smile that said it all. I am so glad that we are able to let him go to preschool so he can learn and lots of good friends!

School Days are happy days

Jonathan and Nicholas are doing great this first week of school! They have not had any problems readjusting as I thought there might be. I am so thankful to God for his blessing!
My Dad used to sing a song to us when he took us to school in the mornings. I have not sung it with my boys but the lyrics of the song would hold true for them. The song went like this:
School days, school days
Happy golden rule days
In our work and in our play
We dream of school days everyday!
Amazing how these memories come back to me so many years later. I love you Dad! I hope my boys will get to hear you sing that song to them one day soon.

No, no, no, No

I need to find a good child rearing book and read it again and again!
I had two laid back, go with the flow boys before I had Laurie. And I thought that having a girl was not much different than having a boy..I was sooo wrong! The boys have been around long enough (they are 6 and 3)that they know where the boundaries are in our family. But Laurie is just starting to exert herself,trying real hard to be independent, and she does not know where the boundaries are...yet.
Her favorite word is NO! She uses it to mean both yes and no. She uses it when she wants something but she wants to do it herself. I do not want to wish away her babyhood but I will be so happy when she can communicate more with words than whines and fits.
I am about at the end of my rope..Spanking her is effective but not always practical (like when we are out in public and everyone is staring at you). I need some other tactic that is effective. I need that parenting book pronto!

So far...so good

Both of my boys started school again today and I must confess that I was a little worried. Nicholas has never had any problems with school. The first couple of weeks that he was in school in the fall, he wanted me to walk him into the building but he walked right in without any trouble. I thought that was great for a three year old!
Jonathan, on the other hand, has had many hard adjustments to school. It started when he started preschool. It takes him a while to warm up to new people and new situations, both of which are present at school. He was just getting used to the routine when Christmas break happened and the adjustment started all over again in January. BUT this year his first day back was great. I hope and pray that the rest of the week continues this way. So far...so good!

A look back at 2008

I am not one to be sentimental or one to look back much but as I thought over the past year, I came up with two truths. Last year was a challenging one but one in which the Lord was very good and faithful to me and my family.
Last year was the year that my little girl and our new puppy saw their first snow ! They both were unsure of the snow and Laurie did not stay out in it for very long.
We celebrated Laurie's first birthday and Easter all on one day-March 23! She is such a joy and makes our family even more exciting and full of life!

My parents were to come home for my youngest brother's graduation. My brother, Kevin, graduated from USC with a degree in Physics. Jonathan also graduated from preschool! He had Ms. Leigh both years that he was at the ELC and he simply loved Leigh. We were so proud of both of our graduates. We also treasured every moment that we had with my parents since they had to go back to Africa in June.

Jonathan also played Upward soccer for the first time in April and May. He was such a good little soccer player. He loved his experience and he wants to play again this year.

We were able to take a vacation to Charleston with my in laws. We had the best time! My kids are already talking about going back again this year with Nanny and Papa. It was a special trip because it was the first time that my children had really seen the ocean. I know, I am a bad parent but I like a swimming pool so much better! My children, however loved the beach!! Laurie was our accident prone child this year. She dislocated her elbow and cut her knee bad enough to need four stitches all within three weeks of each other!! She had just cut her knee when we went to the beach but that did not stop her.

In August, Chris started his new job at Brynes High School. He had quite a transition from college professor to high school math teacher but he is glad now that he made the switch. Jonathan started big school (kindergarten at Anderson Mill Elementary). Nicholas started 3k at the ELC. They both got great teachers in Mrs. Jayna Lehrer and Mrs. Mindy.

In the fall, Jonathan and Nicholas both played Upward football. This was Nicholas' first time to play and he did great. He is going to be my future line backer!

We enjoyed the holidays and I have seen my kids grow and develop their own unique personalities! Thank you God for all you give us! Thank you for all your grace!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!!

Our thank you's!

I have started a new tradition this year-writing thank you cards for Christmas presents. I took a Bible study this fall and it was all about raising godly children. During the study, the suggestion was made about writing thank you cards in general to help teach your children about having thankful hearts. So when I saw Christmas thank you cards, I snatched them up.

Since Jonathan is the only one that I have that can write, the burden of most of the cards fell on him. He was happy to do about three in the first sitting, the rest we will work on a little at a time. Nicholas even got into the act and I helped him write one of the cards.