Wordless Wednesday

Not Me! Monday

Ok ok, so I'm a big slacker when it comes to Not Me! Mondays. My blog, my slackerness...my acceptance. I actually wasn't going to post one today, but my internal humor got the better of me. So here goes- all the things I did not do over the past few weeks:

• I do not think it is the funniest thing when Colin says "cuse mi!" every time he passes gas. In addition the giggling I do not do does not encourage him to laugh every time flatulence gets the better of him.
• I do not purposely take my boys grocery shopping to Meijer at morning snack time just to take advantage of the free cookies they give out at the bakery. This just encourages my sons to schlep off free give aways while rotting their teeth and feeding their addition to excessive sugar. I am always diligent about what goes into my sons' mouths and would never encourage them to eat cookies at 10:30 in the morning.
• I do not secretly enjoy watching kids go down our super fast slide out back and laugh out loud when they continue tumbling down the grassy hill. I do not enjoy seeing the look of sheer terror on their faces when they realize that the pitch of our slide is much steeper than others and, therefore, much faster. I certainly do not enjoy watching them try to "style it out" when they find themselves laying at the bottom of the hill.
• I certainly did not load up on dairy one evening just to get Dave back for the sauerkraut farts he bestowed on me the previous evening. That is domestic germ warfare, and I would never hold a grudge for making me want to vomit in bed all night long.

Things I did not say over the past few weeks:

• Colin- seriously...you WILL go blind!!! LET GO!
• Yes, Adam I see that you hurt your butt on the bike. No, I will not kiss your butt.
• Hey, Adam...run inside and grab your dad a beer, will ya? Please?
• Adam, Jesus really likes it when you sit still during church so mommy can listen to the message. He thinks you could even get some chips with lunch if you sit still.

Have a good week, everyone!

List / Week recap

Holy cow! Is it already Friday?!?!? This week was incredibly busy, yet as I look back, I realize that I didn't really accomplish a whole lot. Oh well...there's another week just around the corner. Here's a list update:

#4: Expand the garden.

While the size of the old garden was fine for our family of four, it was also fine for a herd of five deer. Two years ago, in one night they leveled my garden. Last year we didn't even plant it. This year, we've discovered deer fencing. In order to make that work and still be able to move around in the garden, we had to expand it. This was not at all heartbreaking for me since I would love to try to grow some different types of veggies that need more room. This year, we're attempting corn, tomatoes, green beans, a lettuce blend, and summer squash. I figured this is the best way to get fresh, completely organic vegetables for a fraction of what's in the store. I'm excited! We'll keep you posted!

#29 Drink 4 purple jugs of water for 7 days straight.

Done! This item was basically me trying to get myself to get into a better habit of drinking water. Accomplished!

#36 Give up pop for 3 weeks.

Week one down. Hooray!



#42 Research and order a reading curriculum for the summer.

This one was basically a way for me to keep Adam's brain working throughout the summer. Since I'm not that inventive at devising strategies for this (or at least sticking to them), I thought we'd try the commercial route this year. I purchased Hooked on Phonics for Adam hoping that this will help bridge the gap between preschool and kindergarten. I chose this one for a few reasons- 1- it was cheaper than purchasing the entire zoo phonics or handwriting without tears curriculum. 2- it actually has a good set of reviews online 3--the books that he will eventually read are abbreviated and called "HOP" books. :) How could we go wrong with Hop books?!?!

Huked un fonix wurked fer mi!

#44 Help the boys start their own garden.

Adam has always loved helping me in the garden. It's usually a good time until he starting walking all over the vegetables- or picking them because he thinks they're weeds. While he did help me plant the garden, I thought he would enjoy tending to some plants of his own. We created a little spot next to the house and gave him some left over pepper seeds, a tomato plant and some bean seeds. So far, he's remembered to water them every day- even when it rains!

Wow- and I thought I didn't get anything accomplished! Hopefully I'll keep cruising through these items. I'll be starting a new list in no time!

Thoughtful Thursdays

This post kills a few birds with one stone. It's an announcement, a line item on the list, and thought provoking at the same time. Well, at least thought provoking for Dave and me.

Ready?

Here goes!

Tonight we had Adam's Kindergarten visitation, and we enrolled him at St. Mark Lutheran School for next year!!!

Check it out at http://www.smls.net/

This has been a decision in the making for the past two years while Adam was in preschool. As many of you know, he's been in the public school system while in preschool since he needed some speech and developmental support through the ECSE program there. Since then, I have all but lost sleep over the decision we had to make when it came to where Adam would go to Kindergarten.

Even with Dave and I involved in the church, this decision was still a leap of faith. I tell you that this was well thought out. Dear family and friends, we have heard your solicited (and unsolicited) advice. We've heard your comments and your criticisms, and we've appreciated your support as well. So, lets work through the "comments", shall we?

-- Money: yep, that's a big one! However, we fully utilize the SCRIP program which gives us tuition credit based on ordering gift certificates for stores we shop regularly at anyway (i.e. gas stations, family fare, home depot and rite aid) In addition, there are scholarships available for families in need- if necessary. Basically, if there's a will, there's a way. Will this delay the addition, oh yeah. Does this affect our ability to take any vacations for the next 10 years? oh yeah. Does this affect our financial ability to have another baby? yep. All things I'm willing to go without. (I guess this also means I need to stop whining about my living situation, but I'm willing to drop that too!)

-- Transportation: yep, that's a big one too! I must say that I have thouroughly enjoyed the bussing that Adam gets to and from preschool for the past 2 years! A one-way trip to school (on a good day) takes 18 minutes. Round trip with one red light takes 40 minutes. In the winter, it's been known to take us up to 35 minutes to get to church. However, I'm sure I won't be making two trips every day. There are a few others in this area that also send their children to St. Mark, and I'm sure there will be calls made regarding car pooling. However, if that doesn't work out- it's still worth it. A question worth asking myself: am I willing to sacrifice his spiritual education merely for my convenience? not really.

-- We live in one of the greatest school districts in MI, how could we NOT take advantage of that?: Well, let me tell you... The children at St. Mark have tested comapribly to the FHPS kids. So, I'd have to say that the academics are pretty top notch as well. The way I think about it, the teachers potentially see our children for more awake time than we (parents) do during school days. Don't I want that person - who has more face time with my child- to be openly talking to him and disciplining him with God involved? And if he's constantly in an environment where its not ok to talk about religion, what is this unconsciously (or consciously) telling him about how to live his life? Dave and I can instruct him verbally all we want, but it is the daily examples Adam sees that he's going to notice more. **

-- Adam needs continued speech therapy. Can a small school like St. Mark really provide him with everything he needs? St. Mark works with the Kentwood program and brings a speech therapist in once a week- the same amount of time that he would have seen the speech therapist in the public schools. We will still meet yearly for the IEP (plan for his therapies). It's basically the same throughout the state- just insert a different therapist per school district. In addition, the smaller everyday class size will really benefit Adam. In many of the reports home, Adam's preschool teacher has noted his shorter attention span. She has stated that a smaller class size would be beneficial for him next year. Right now his class for next year looks to be around 8-10 kids. In the public schools, its guaranteed to be 20. Plus, St. Mark offers all day/ every day school versus the public school only offering a half time program. Adam has already been part of a half day/everyday program for the past two years. He's really ready to take that next step. We feel those extra hours of instruction will be beneficial to him as a great springboard for his elementary school years.



** Please don't think that we are casting judgement on any of the teachers that do teach in public schools. We're WELL aware that many of them are Christians and good people providing top notch educations to the students in our area. However, every family is different, and this is the route we're choosing to travel for our family.







Let me tell you, in talking to the principal at St. Mark (awesome guy, by the way!), he basically summed it up in a few words: "Sandy, St. Mark is your home." So true. So, so true. St. Mark is our home. The people at St. Mark are the family we have chosen. This is a ministry we choose to be a part of- and all that it entails.

The way Dave and I see it, Adam and Colin are God's children. They don't belong to us. But they do belong to Him. If He's trusted us with the awesome task of raising them here on Earth, why wouldn't we want to surround them with others that love and trust Him? Others that Dave and I can work with as a team to raise them in His Word.

So, now we leap. And we trust that God has pulled, pushed, prodded, nudged, and towed us in the right direction. This is a decision that I'm so at peace with, and I'm so grateful the decision is made.

Wordless Wednesday

Grandpa and the Wii

This video speaks for itself.

Heavy Lifting

I think my mom has always been a "big purse" kind of gal. As long as I can remember, she's always had a big purse- and always with three or more compartments. Until I became a mom, I never really realized the necessity of carrying so much stuff. Well, now that I'm mom, I get it. Being the caregiver, banker, medical assistant, entertainer, chef, and all around go-to person for little ones does require having a few necessities on hand. That being said, I am now a "medium purse" kind of gal.

This video was taken when my mom was visiting a few weeks ago. Colin was trying to carry it actoss the floor.

Grandma, what do you have in your purse?!?!?!