Merry Christmas 2009

Hello Loved Ones,

Hooray! I am getting my letter written BEFORE Christmas this year! Last year I felt like quite the slacker having to post it after Christmas. I've been a little more on the ball this season, it looks like. Wonders will never cease, it looks like.

Our 2009 has been full, as I imagine yours has been as well. I'll try to sum up quickly so that you can hurry up and get to the slide show, since that's all anyone really is interested in, right? Here's that link in case you don't want to read the whole letter--but you'll need to imagine my disappointed face if you do go straight there:)

Isaac is now in 3rd grade and has just turned 9! He has moved to the upper elementary school (Highland Elementary) and will be there for 3rd-5th grade. This school is not in our neighborhood so I no longer get to walk him to and from school. He's happy to be with the big kids though, and is excelling in school. He has a great teacher for whom we are very thankful. Isaac's basketball season has just started with practices. He is so excited about playing in UPWARD again. He's decided that he will probably be an NBA player...if only such things were attainable by sheer desire. It's good to have a goal though, and he practices in the driveway whenever it isn't raining. Isaac is a pretty avid reader and I'm happy that he’s content to read lots of things.

Ethan is 5 ½ and has had a big milestone this year. He is now in kindergarten! His first day was exciting and not accompanied by the same tears (by me!) as was Isaac’s. I am so familiar with his school and all the teachers and the principal, I just had no doubt that he was going to have a blast. And he has. He really loves school and he loves his friends. His teachers are wonderful and one of them goes to church with us. She was his 2 year old bible class teacher and her grandkids are friends with all my children. The icing on the cake though, is that his best friend from church, Bella Rose (our Youth Minister’s daughter) is also in the same class. So he was well set up for a smooth transition into school. Ethan also has become a great reader. He was reading some before starting kinder but has just really blossomed as a reader. In fact, he has recently started reading silently, which I think is really neat.

This leaves Jaylie (who is now 4) and I home alone together. It is quite different having just one child at home during the day after all these years of having several. She plays so much differently than the boys do. I am thankful for our neighbors across the street who have a little girl just Jaylie’s age. Jaylie and Greta play together quite a bit. Jaylie started ballet this fall. It is just about the cutest thing I have ever seen. She LOVES ballet. Of course, I think she’s a natural at it. Since she’ll have one more whole year at home before she starts kinder, I think ballet is a good outlet for her. Jaylie’s hair continues to be super curly, and it is getting longer (much longer) and thicker and altogether quite difficult to comb out. She’s real patient though, which is nice. Jaylie is also the most gregarious of our kids. She seems pretty confident to talk to just about anyone. She recently performed a solo at our children’s Christmas talent show at church! She sang Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town and threw in some sass with it! It was cute.

Eric is currently between semesters. It is so nice when he doesn’t have school on his mind constantly. This semester he had 4 trips to make to Nashville! Crazy, but it’s over. He has enrolled for his final semester this spring and we are all looking forward to his graduation from Lipscomb in May. He’ll receive his Master of Arts in Theology! I’ve teased him about being a theologian after he graduates. I know I’ll not be winning any biblical arguments, that’s for sure (as if I have in the past!). Eric is also perpetually busy with things at Meadowbrook. In March we will celebrate 4 years of ministry with the church here. We are grateful for this body of believers who are striving to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

I am keeping up with the kids and house and Eric as best I can. Since Jaylie’s ballet class is on Tuesday mornings, I am not attending Ladies’ Bible class like I have in the past. I miss the fellowship with those ladies but have met some real neat moms at ballet. It’s nice to have my circle getting bigger, sometimes I feel like the only people I know are those I go to church with! I am still on the PTO board at Ethan’s school and really enjoy that. It’s fun being ‘in the know’ on so much of what goes on. It also helps me with that circle I was talking about. Some of you know that I have struggled with a low B12 problem for a few years. Well this continues to be a problem for me; a thorn in my side--literally since I have to give myself weekly shots to help compensate! I wish my levels would stabilize and I’d not have to do these injections but that keeps not happening. I think I’ll be 80 and still jabbing myself with a needle every week! In the grand scheme of things, it’s a rather small problem to have, I suppose.

Right after school was out at the end of May, we went with my parents to Galveston for a week. It is nice that we get out of school before Memorial Day because the beach was deserted. We had a great time. At the end of that week, Mother and I went to San Antonio to help my Grandmother move into her new place there. In July, Eric had a summer class that was a whole week so we went to Nashville and had fun with Dawn and Brad and the girls, as well as Grandma and Grandpa. In September, the Nashville family came to visit us for a few days, which is also always fun. We are planning to leave on my birthday (2 days after Christmas, for those of you who don’t know!) to head to Missouri to visit Eric’s grandparents and aunts and uncles. We’ve not been there for a while and we’re looking forward to catching up with them.

Most of you will remember that my Granddaddy passed away last Thanksgiving. Well my Grandmother entered into hospice care last week. Ever since we moved her to San Antonio, she has had severe health issues, all surrounding her bone marrow. It has quit making platelets and white blood cells. After numerous treatments and regular transfusions, she has decided to cease treatment and go be reunited with Granddaddy in the presence of the Lord. Mother has gone to be with her. Your prayers will be appreciated as our family faces another major holiday with the pall of loss hanging over it. We are joyful for the prize she is gaining, just sad that we will miss her so.

In all things we give thanks to God for the love he has showered on us. It is our prayer for you that you will feel the nearness of Christ always, but especially during this season of Hope, and Peace, and Joy and Love. The season of Christ’s first coming. May He come again quickly!

With our love,
Eric, Dixie, Isaac, Ethan and Jaylie

Eric’s blog: www.ericnlivingston.com
Dixie’s blog: www.lookaway-dixieland.blogspot.com
Email: ericdixie@yahoo.com
And you can find us on facebook too!

Kindergarten Feast

One of the greatest events at Ann Smith Elementary School is the Thanksgiving Feast for the kindergarteners. Our first experience with it was when Isaac was in kinder 3 years ago and we were so excited by what we saw. First of all, it might be helpful to describe our school to you. One of the best things about it is that it is in our neighborhood (or right on the edge of it) so we walk there. The property boarders where our neighborhood pool house is so we just walk through the gate and into the back of a giant yard, I guess, that has tons of huge pine trees (very shady) and then the 3 playgrounds are scattered around it. This is the back of the school. So on Feast Day, all of the events are outside. There are 9 centers that the kids go through every 10 or so minutes. There is a lady dressed in pioneer clothes with a fire going and a big black pot of Stone Soup. While the kids eat the soup, she tells them the story. Then they go and learn and Indian dance and play some Tom Toms. After that we went to another station and heard Mrs. Fonville (Ethan's teacher) read a story about Wampum bags before the kids were able to decorate their own. At the next station, the librarian passed out popcorn and coolaid for the kids to have while listening to another story. Then we went to take class pictures by a BIG Tee pee and then they sang us songs (Indian and Thanksgiving songs) that they had learned in class. The next station was where they made necklaces out of pretty macaroni noodles (classic) and then played a while on the playground. Then we did a pumpkin relay race, learned about the kinds of animals there are in MS, and the finally we went and did a Bear Hunt and one more relay race! All this takes about 2 hours. At the end of these festivities we all eat on blankets. The kindergarten Room Moms arrange to have parents bring enough food for their class and so we had turkey and dressing and all the trimmings, picnic style.

So that's the big picture, here's some small things that I like about this event:

1: LOTS of parents and grandparents come, and younger siblings too. This is one time where parents are really encouraged to participate. Lots of times, space is an issue and therefor it is difficult to have everyone show up. Not so for the Feast.

2: Mrs. Rigsby is available. Mrs. Rigsby is our principal and I think she is just the BEST! Every week, on at least one day, she is outside greeting kids as they get out of the car. She hugs on them and knows their names. Our school is just for K-2grade so our kids are really young and need LOTS of loving. Mrs. Rigsby and her teachers love our kids really well. For the feast, she's outside (in her heels) visiting, hugging, laughing with parents and children. She makes us feel welcome.

3. Our school is full of very different kids. As you can see from the pictures, we have a very diverse group of little people who laugh and play and love each other. I love this. It reminds me of when I was in elementary schools on military bases. I just love melting pots.

4: Being in the Bible belt, mentioning God never raises any eyebrows. I remember when Isaac was in kinder, a man from the Parks and Recreation Dept. was talking to the kids about natural resources. As he explained what natural resources were, he said, "If God made it, it's a natural resource." Today, in the book the librarian read, it mentioned thanking God at Thanksgiving time. I know that MS schools get a bad rap about lots of things, and there is room for improvement of course, but I am glad that most---if not all---of the teachers my children encounter share a love of the Lord that is like mine.

I'll wrap it up and share my pictures now. Just a note though. Jaylie SO wants to be in school. She loves going to Ethan's school and most of the teachers know her by name and think she's adorable (obviously) She still has 2 more years though. But when it's her turn, watch out! Oh, and Ethan's Indian name is Brave Bear Hunter:)

untitled

Sometimes, I don't post just because I can't think of what to title the darn thing. Hence the unimaginative title today.

Hope everyone is easing into November nicely. You do realize that Christmas is around the corner and that you should have at least started thinking about gift lists and all that, right? This year, we are getting a rather expensive (for us) thing for the family (I guess there's really no danger of saying what it is, since none of my kids read my blog...but still, just in case) and then one thing for each kid. I've already gotten their one thing and have to order the Big Thing. All in all, I'm feeling pretty good about the gift list at this point. I have good ideas about everyone else, hoping for new floors or new countertops for me :)

For Thanksgiving this year, our church is hosting the men who live at the Billy Brumfield house in the family center at church. This is a shelter for homeless men and several men at our church have faithfully developed relationships with them over the years. Anyway, instead of giving money to send a lunch down there, we're having them come to our building and we've been invited to eat with them there. So, I'm helping cook a few potato casseroles and will help serve but other than that, the Thanksgiving plan is taken care of. I'm real excited for it this year. I think it will be a great way to share...I am thankful that I can share.

Isaac will be starting UPWARD basketball practices at the end of the month. He is outside every evening practicing his shot. Hopefully it will pay off and he'll have a rewarding season. We all really enjoyed the UPWARD program last year. It's the best possible way, in my opinion, for kids to ease into competitive sports.

Ethan has had a milestone. He has begun to read silently. He was sounding things out before school started this summer, but has just developed a love of reading so quickly. The other evening, I noticed him reading silently and then Isaac walked by him and did a double-take. Then he looked at me and said,"Ethan's reading in his head!" Pretty cool.

Jaylie is also starting to sound things out so I have no doubt she'll be an early reader. It's fun when they start realizing that there are words all around them. She loves ballet still and has a blast dancing everywhere we are.

I hope everyone has a great week and is enjoying the season of Thankfulness and eagerly anticipating the celebration of the coming Lord. I love this time of year!

Much love
D

Halloween

Well I said I'd post pictures and so I decided I'd better get after it. I'll just post a couple. The kids had a great time and we have too much candy, just like everyone else in the country. We'll see how long it lasts. I'm about to throw out all the stuff no one will eat (almond joy, payday, etc) and see what's left. Isaac has a check up at the dentist on Thursday...not such great timing. Anyway, enjoy and let me hear from you!




Have a wonderful rest of the week. I know I will...there's no rain forecast until next Monday! Hooray for sun and low humidity!!!

Blessings
D

One Week

Well I am impressed on what a difference a week can make. I want to say thanks to those of you who emailed me or talked to me expressing that you were praying for me. I know that has helped me. I also think I have realized a few things about myself in the past few weeks that has helped me have a bit of clarity concerning why I feel certain things and why I react in certain ways. It's always nice to have a bit of introspection to see who it is I really am. I don't know if I can say I am 100% out of the desert I alluded to last week, but God has been gracious enough to show me some 'new things' he is working on. I can see possible reasons for things that I had been clueless about earlier. So, in short, I am breathing easier and feeling quite a bit more like myself. I think one thing that has helped the most is that I've made a ridiculous 'master schedule' for me and the kids. It is loosely followed but I did set aside a reasonable time for prayer and bible study. I have no 'plan' about what I'm studying, yet, but I am spending time on my knees, literally, and then reading. He always speaks, especially when I'm ready to listen.

Moving on: Tomorrow is Halloween. We are going to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood. We had a blast at the Trunk-or-treat at church on Wednesday and took several pictures. I think I'll wait til after tomorrow to post them so we can have all the costume pics at once.

Eric is headed back to Nashville for his 4th and final trip this semester next Friday. This has been the craziest semester because of all of these trips. We're looking at 2 more classes and then done. That will be a relief.

I'm off for now. Just wanted to give a quick update. Check back soon for pictures of my sweet ones.

Grace to you
D

Desert

I don't know if it is the weather, I suspect it is, but I have been downright GLOOMY. We had several days of dreary weather. I mean, today is the 23rd of October and according to weather.com, we've had only 5 days of sunshine so far this month and we've had close to 8 inches of rain. I am feeling like all I want to do is lay around and read and ignore my responsibilities. Do you get like that during bad weather? There's no way I could make it in the Seattle area; although, according to weather.com, they've had a day or 2 more of sun and only half the rain this month.

So, is this going to be a post about the weather?? I sure hope not. But I think this grayness in the sky has sort of taken up residence in my mind/heart. I have not been the best I should be lately. Just lazy, I think. Apathetic maybe. I really want to BE better. Looking for motivation. Occasionally I have gotten like this in the past when a change is taking place, like when the baby stuff was being gotten rid of, or other semi-momentous things were coming to an end and new things beginning. But I sense none of that right now. Just the gloom. I see no new thing on the horizon. I see no corner that is being turned. Just the rut I seem to be stuck in.

Isaiah 43:19 says: See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

While the desert is looking a little appealing to me right now, just because it is usually sunny there, I get the metaphor. I really want to be able to perceive the new thing. I believe that God is working, always working. I wonder how difficult it is for him to work with desert dwelling people, because I do think I am in a spiritual one right now. I think I have maybe been here a while, wondering around. Maybe it is a good thing that I have now realized it. Maybe now I will start learning whatever it is He has been trying to teach me. I think part of the lesson is letting go of things that I have no control over. My energy is so wasted trying to understand things that aren't clear.

So, how depressing is this post? I am not trying to depress you, but I thought I'd post an honest post so that people know I am not perpetually happy and on top of it...in case anyone had had that impression:) I'd appreciate prayers. I don't expect this to last long. Please God, don't let this last long. I'll take the springs that come with renewal. That is what I desperately need...refreshment.

God bless
D

Fall is here

What?!!? 2 posts in the same week? Well, I am trying to do better about noticing things that I can write about. Today happened to be one of those days.

Eric got home from his week in Nashville late last night. The kids woke up this morning all excited to see him. They are so glad to have him home. They've been asking to get pumpkins for quite sometime and I keep saying, "You'll have to wait til Dad can take you." Getting pumpkins and Christmas trees falls under 'Dad-directed' activities, in my mind. So, we went and let them pick out a couple of little ones (we'll probably paint them) at the Ag museum this morning and he is going to take them tomorrow to get a big one to carve. Enjoy the following pictures.







After looking at these pictures on the computer, I kept noticing a smudge in about the same place. Sure enough, there was a big fingerprint on the lens. That's what I get for letting the Little Ones use the camera. Oh, well. the next ones will hopefully be better.

Have a wonderful weekend

D

Delinquency

Can you believe that I have been so bad about blogging? It is so unlike me!!! :) Yes, sarcasm.
But really, I think I may have gone longer without a post than I previously ever had. For those of you (all one or two of you) who still read my blog, I'm sorry about that.

Let's see. Since Jaylie's birthday she has started ballet. It is quite possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen. I, of course, think she's terribly graceful and really talented. I'm just glad she's having a good time and looks forward to it every week. Here she is when she was the princess a couple of weeks ago.
Ethan is trucking a long in kindergarten. I'm happy to report that he is doing much better in the afternoons. He used to be such a grump when he came home from the lack of nap. But he seems to be more able to cope without it. But on the weekends, I make him nap to catch up. I've never seen a kid more in need of sleep.


Isaac is doing great in school too. He says he hasn't learned anything yet so we'll have to see about that. He looks forward to going and has friends that he likes so we're happy. He has started practicing for basketball season which will be starting up in a month or so. He would now like to be an NBA player. Hmmmm


Eric's semester this fall includes 4 trips to Nashville. He's currently gone for the week in his 3rd trip. We are so spoiled that he doesn't have to travel very often, like lots of daddys do, but we miss him a lot when he's gone. He graduates in May. We can't wait!

I am busy with all this. I wish I could say that I have really interesting hobbies and spend my time doing all sorts of important things, but it is just not the case. I know my kids are the important thing I'm doing. And I've read a few books in the last several weeks...that counts as a hobby right?

Eric and I got to go on a trip to DC in Sept. We had a great time out there and enjoyed the sites we got to see. It was nice to have a lot of uninterrupted conversation, which doesn't happen much at home. That was our 2nd trip we've taken since Isaac was born. It's nice to get away. So glad my parents are willing and able to care for the kids and allow us to do things like that. The national mall at night is impressive.


I hope you all have a great week and I'll try to be better about posting regularly. That's always supposing I have something to post about:)

Blessings to you
D

4

At about this time, 4 years ago, this is what Jaylie looked like.


And this is what the boys looked like:

Here they are recently:



Thank you God for the children you have given me. Help me always know that they were yours first and are loved by you more than I can ever hope to imagine. Help me always remember that you love ME that much as well. Give me strength and endurance to raise them to always be yours. Help me be an example to them. Bless them always with love and happiness and an abiding sense of your presence. Let them know that they were made for your glory and for your purposes, and show them early in life what those purposes are.
Thank you for these gifts. Thank you for Jesus and what his name means to me. Amen

Happy Birthday Jaylie.

Back At It

Here is the obligatory 1st day of school picture of Isaac.


Ethan was in no mood to be photographed before school started, so I'll take one tomorrow. I do, however, have some pictures of him, happy, at lunchtime, and all 3 of them, still happy, at Sno Biz, where we went to celebrate the end of the first day.







It was such a great day. Eric took Isaac to school, since he now attends an upper elementary school that is further away from our house. I'll miss getting to walk with him, but it will be nice Dad-time for him and Eric to share the ride over there. He was pretty excited about school. We met his teacher the night before and couldn't be more pleased. She seems exactly what he needs. We're looking forward to a great 3rd grade year.

Ethan's day didn't start out all that great. He was very upset to be going yesterday morning and I was worried that we'd have a big scene when we got to school. But he did GREAT! He is in the best possible situation a kids can have in kindergarten. 1st of all, his very best gal pal, Bella Rose, is in his class. She is the daughter of our youth minister at church and they are great friends. They've been friends since we got here and he was 18 months old or so. 2nd, the assistant in his class is also a sweet lady from church. She is the 2year old sunday school teacher who both Ethan and Bella had. Ethan knows her well. 3rd, his teacher is wonderful. Having been up at school a lot over the past few years, I was confident that he would do fine in any classroom, but I am so happy he has Mrs. Fonville. She's going to be great for him. So he was fine when Jaylie and I left him. Then we went back at lunchtime to help all the kindergarteners with lunch procedures. Many of them haven't ever opened a milk carton or carried their lunch tray, so we get parents to come help during the 1st week of school. Ethan was happy to see us (Eric and my mom also came up) and Jaylie was excited to get to sit with him at his table. After school, he was so excited to see us again, but probably more excited to see Gretchen on her leash. He thought it was pretty neat to be picked up with Gretchen in tow.

All in all, it was a great day. It was long, that's for sure, especially with church last night. But they did great. The kindergarteners are divided up by alphabet the first 2 days so he is off today. Tomorrow he'll go again with his whole class. He said earlier, "Mom, I can't wait for tomorrow. I really like school!" Music to my ears...

In case you're wondering what Jaylie and I are doing without boys in the house, here ya go:




She starts ballet classes Sept 8 and can talk of little else. I think she's going to be great...

Enjoy the weekend

Much Love
D

14 Years

Well, it's been a long time of no posting, huh! So sorry. I have no excuses, really. I just haven't done it. There's a lot of stuff I haven't done this summer...man---I have a problem with following through, apparently.

There's one thing I don't have trouble remaining committed to and that is my marriage. Today, Eric and I celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary! Being married to Eric is as natural as breathing to me. He is such a blessing to me. He's my best friend and is such a great Daddy to our children. Eric is an example to so many people who don't know him nearly as well as I do...but he's also an example to me.

One thing I have accomplished this summer is moving Isaac upstairs into his own room. This has resulted in me having to find new homes for LOTS of other things that had been up there. In this process, I uncovered our wedding book. It is neat to go back and look through all those memories. I saved a hand full of congratulations cards and one of them said, "Let me be the first to wish you happy 50th anniversary. I know you'll make it." I remember thinking, then, that 50 years is a REALLY long time. We're not even half-way there yet, but these 14 years have flown by. They've been full of moves and babies and new experiences and friends and family...and just so full of love. We are blessed in one another.

At our 50th anniversary, we'll only be 68 and 69...maybe we'll squeeze 15 more anniversaries out of this life. And then on toward eternity with each other. I have been struck recently with the scripture that we all know: "Therefore what God has joined, let man not separate." I have been comforted that my life on earth is but a breath, and when God joins, He probably doesn't do it temporarily. So I'm happy to be joined with Eric while we are here...happier still to be joined with him forever.

Blessings
D

Playing Catch Up

I have realized that I needed to update my blog for quite sometime now. I was looking at the previous post thinking that too much had happened and I just simply write a post that would fill everyone in on what's been going on in the month (almost) since then. I'll try to hit the high points.

* On May 22, my parents took off with the kids to Galveston. Eric and I joined them on the 24th so we had a mini-staycation and a peaceful 9 hour drive to TX. Our week at the beach was marvelous. The weather was great. The beach was so uncrowded as to almost be deserted, and Schlitterbahn was fabulous. Everyone had a great time.

* On May 29, Eric and my dad drove the kids home and mother and I went to Beeville to be there for the movers. My Grandmother's house sold and she had decided to move to a retirement community in San Antonio. It has all worked out really well. After the movers were done we went on to San Antonio and helped with the move in. I flew home on June 1. Gotta love Southwest Airlines.

* This past week found me just trying to keep my head above water, it seemed. Eric had done a magnificent job of keeping the laundry done the pantry stocked and the house clean. (He had the unpleasant task of doing all the post vacation laundry and all the grocery buying since we'd been gone for a week and the cupboards were empty. The house was very neat when I got home...He's so great) I managed to go until Friday before hitting Walmart...that's saying quite a bit.

* Then this past weekend Eric and I sang in the wedding of a sweet couple at church. We wish Craig and Cindy a wonderful happy life together.

* And NOW, we're in the midst of VBS week. I'll be glad when it's over only because then it seems like my days won't be as planned. The kids are having a great time, and I am too. I'm ready for a little less structure to my days:)

Things we're looking forward to:

~My sister-in-law, Dawn, and her family will be coming to visit in a couple of weeks.
~The first week in July we'll be in Nashville hanging out with family while Eric is in class at Lipscomb.
~The second week in July, Eric and Isaac will be at church camp. We'll make a few trips up there to see them but my days will be different, that's for sure.

After church camp, it'll be about 3 weeks left of summer. We start on Aug. 12 this year. Isaac is real excited about 3rd grade, which is a plus. Ethan is moderately excited (but very unsure) about kindergarten. Jaylie's not going to know what hit her when these boys are out of the house. She gets to take ballet starting in Sept. and I know she's going to love that.

OK..
Consider yourself updated. I'll do better in the future. As soon as I download pictures, I'll post 'em.

Blessings
D


Oh yeah, I'm back on facebook at least through out the summer. I figured I could manage my time with it a bit better. We'll see how it goes after school's back in. So feel free to visit me over there too.

Conversations with Isaac

On our way home from school today, this is how the conversation went with Isaac.

Isaac: I wonder what color Gretchen sees us in; black or white.
Me: I think she sees us in both. Like if we're wearing yellow, she'd see white and if you have on blue jeans, those would look black. I think she sees everything in shades of black and white, not one or the other.
Isaac: I think that whoever put color into movies should do that to dogs' eyes.
Me: Well, a dog sees like that because that's the way God made them to see.
Isaac: Yes, but someone could still fix it so they could see color.
Me: Are you suggesting that something God has made is not perfect in and of itself?
Isaac: Well, a newborn baby can't do anything and doesn't know anything.
Me: Yes, but they are made to grow and learn. That is the way God designed it.
Isaac: But who teaches them?
Me: Parents, this is also the way God planned it to be.
Isaac: Hmmm....Did you know Jews don't believe in Jesus?
Me: Well, some of them do. Most of them don't believe he is the Savior. How do you know that though?
Isaac: My friend in Pathways who is Jewish told me.
Me: I didn't know you had any Jewish friends


Then he told me how they were bidding on a book in their auction today (they bid with points accrued throughout the year) and this book was about prayers and this boy asked if there was anything about Jesus in it. There isn't so he bid on it but apparently Isaac out-bid him because he brought it home)

Me: Did you know he was Jewish before today?
Isaac: Yes, because he had Hannukah at Christmas time.

Then we got home and he was busy talking to Nana.

Anyway, I thought I'd share this with you. I think it is the first 'debate' (about the perfection of God's creation) we've had and I thought it was interesting to hear him follow an argument to it's conclusion. I also thought it was neat to hear how that led to his conversation with his friend who is Jewish. I love that he knows kids who are different than he is and that he is able to share who he is with them. He is a thinker so I expect to hear more about this over the next few days.

I hope everyone's week is going smoothly. We have field day on Friday and I've been organizing the volunteers for that. It should be a fun day if the weather will cooperate. We just have 5 1/2 days left! Woo hoo!

Blessings
D

Happy Birthday Ethan

Today was Ethan's 5th Birthday. The 5th Birthday is a big deal to me because that is school-age. He'll be starting Kindergarten this fall and that just hardly seems possible. I'm so proud of my little guy. He's such a tender heart and is very considerate for one so young. Ethan is just a joy to be around.

We had a great time at his party. In addition to the had red (for Mario) and green (for Luigi) hats I had gotten for Ethan's guests to wear, I also had made mustaches for them. They were all cute with them on and we managed to get a picture before they decided to take them off.


After that they went out to hunt Yoshi eggs that were filled with gold coins (the chocolate kind) Here's some of the loot.


After that the kids went and played while the pizza cooked in the oven. When it was ready, they ate outside on the patio.



After pizza it was finally time to cut that Mario cake. It was good and the Birthday boy was very pleased.


And then it was present time.




We have a sweet 5 year old and he had a great time today. I feel so blessed to be Ethan's mommy. I pray that he will always feel the hand of God on him, guiding him in His way.




What an angel.

Real Fast

I have completed Ethan's birthday cake with the wonderful help of my good friend Liz. Since I am pretty proud of our work, I thought I'd post these pictures real quick. The party is Saturday so I'll put more pictures up after that.

End of the Year

Sorry I've been absent for a while. I'm not sure how many folks actually READ my blog, but all 3 or 4 of you may be wondering where I've been. Well the answer is, I've been here, up to my eyeballs in things that need doing. I've been marginally successful in actually doing them so that translates into feeling constantly behind. Have you ever felt like that?

Last Saturday was our annual neighborhood garage sale which we participated in. We didn't have all that much to sell but a couple of other families wanted to use our garage and so we had a little garage sale party. The good news about that is that we have a small basket of things that didn't sell, which is pretty good. Getting ready for any garage sale is hectic, but this year it meant rearranging furniture because I am hoping to move Isaac upstairs at some point before next year's garage sale. Right now our bonus room is our computer room/play room/game cube room. But if his bed and stuff is going to fit, we had to move/get rid of lots of that stuff. Normally this wouldn't be all that big a deal except that Eric is in the throes of finals and term papers so I hated to ask him for help. That's where Liz comes in. God love her super-organized mind...and her willingness to move mattresses and other furniture with me! Thanks Liz.

This Saturday, Ethan turns 5 and so we'll be having several other 4 and 5 year old kids over that day. I'm in the process of attempting the most complicated birthday cake in all my years as mom. I'm a pretty uncomplicated person who doesn't do well with lots of details so...we'll see how that goes. Thankfully my sister-in-law, Dawn, has taken lots of Wilton cake decorating classes and assures me that I can do it. And a good friend of mine, also named Daun, used to work in a bakery and has decorated countless amazing cakes and she said she'd help me if I needed it. I'll post pictures of the finished product.

This week at school is Teacher Appreciation Week so I've got sweet surprises scheduled all week for Isaac's teacher, Mrs. Pierce. She's such a wonderful teacher for him. We couldn't have asked for better.

Ethan is now finished with preschool and so I've got both little ones home all the time. It is good. They play very well together and giggle a lot...when they're not bothering one another. I'm needing a day without kids to work on my house...which has all fallen by the wayside in the midst of all the other things I've been up to. At least I've managed to keep up with the laundry.

OK, so now I'm off to start the day, now that it's 10:00! It has been nice to not have to rush off someplace right after getting Isaac to school. I've been needing some leisurely mornings. We watched Enchanted this morning, which I love. After I saw that last year, I went out and bought several sundresses (because Giselle wears dresses constantly in the movie). I've already added to my collection this spring. I feel so much better in a sundress than in shorts. How many of you would rather shop for dresses than shorts?

Enjoy the day
D

Ethan's a Player

Of our 3 kids, Ethan is by far the best independent player. He pretends and plays so well by himself. He is about to outgrow his nap so he has started to have rest time or quiet time in his room. He doesn't resent this at all. Ethan has a bunch of dinosaurs and zoo animals and jungle animals of all different sizes. He can play with them for over an hour without making a peep to me. So, yesterday he came in from outside and said he wanted to play in the house. The TV time was over (they're watching less and less now that the weather is better and better) so I suggested that he bring his dinosaurs into the kitchen to play while I prepared supper. I decided to take a few pictures and one little video. You may not think it is as sweet as I do, but I love his little way of playing.




Notice the way he's got everyone lined up. He does this every time.

He's such a cutie!
Have a great week everyone

D