Flashback Friday

Was he really that little when we brought him home?

The new American citizen.

Detroit, 2008

3 Days of Highs and Lows

Highs and Lows thus far this week.

Low: Zach was running a fever at bedtime on Sunday night.  He had an important test scheduled on Monday, and you really can't afford to miss any school your junior year, so off to school he went on Monday morning.

High: I went from work to the fairgrounds to pick up the art entries.  I was surprised to find two blue ribbons on Julia's piece.  Apparently, one of them fell behind the piece and was not visible during the fair.

High: Zach passed his license test on Monday and felt much better.

Then today came, and...

Low: Savannah's field hockey team suffered a difficult loss which was particularly hard on her.

I took my big kids to celebrate Zach's license and shake off Savannah's loss with some frozen yogurt after supper.  Zach actually went to pick up his paycheck and met us there.

Zach takes off out of the parking lot.

Low: Zach hits the vehicle next to him right after I take this picture and leaves a noticeable scrape along the bumper.  I kick myself again and again because parking in a busy lot is his weakness, and I did not have his driving instructors address that in his two lessons.  

High/Low: The vehicle he hit was mine, so he didn't have to locate another driver nor leave his number on the car. It is my van:(

I will end this on the best high:

Savannah's big sister on the field hockey team is one of Zach's classmates.  They have a class together and sit fairly close together.  She commented on how much she loves Savannah, and Zach's response was this:

"I love my sister.  She is the sweetest girl in the world."  

If I were prone to tears, they would be surfacing now.

Flashback Friday

Vacation Fun

my silly sisters -Tara, Tessa, and Tiffany

Savannah, Logan, and Austin

my girl and me

Savannah and Logan - Do you think I can get a repeat of this next year? -they will be 14 and 15 then

Everybody's In Now

What needs to be done vs. what should be done

When everyone except Wyatt headed back to school, we ran into a sticky situation.  Wyatt needed to attend back-to-school and meet the teacher day, and I could not get him from Dad's house to get him there.  In order to remedy the situation, Andy took the day off work.  He needed that day off.  We were all so tired from the race back to school and return to sports.  The house looked and continues to look like a storm marched through it, and so much needed to be done.  However, I insisted that regardless of what needed to be done, Wyatt should have a fun day, preferably with a friend, but definitely something fun.  Andy made a day out of treating Wyatt.  He took him to a nearby cave where Wyatt could mine for gems.  They enjoyed treats, lunch out, and a cave tour....all a big deal for one of four kids.  Wyatt had a great time and did not forget about me.  He brought me some great smelling candles. That boy knows how to get to my heart.

Fun for Everyone

Months ago I learned that my all-time favorite band was coming to town.  However, when I looked up ticket prices, I found that there would be no way I could attend.  Sorry, my all-time favorite band does not even justify $85 for one ticket.  On a whim I took another peek at the prices a couple of weeks ago and found tickets for half the original price.  Hmm...what to do? They were appearing on the very night that Zach's football season was starting. With Zach's permission, Savannah and I joined two of my sisters for the concert.  The band was very good, and I would definitely see them again.  However, I will buy my tickets sooner next time to get better seats.  The dude sitting behind us smoked pot, probably peed on us, and harassed Tara throughout the entire show.  If I had a do-over, I would insist that security have him removed.  I can take obnoxious behavior (I do teach high school, after all), but he crossed the line.

I missed Zach's sac, tackle and other positive football feats that I cannot relate here because years of watching football has not taught me enough about the game to have any understanding of it.  Field hockey is pretty much the same.  I can cheer when they score, and that's about it.

While at the fair for the concert, we hurried over to the art entries to check out the entries by Julia, Wyatt, and Savannah.  We found a blue ribbon on Julia's art.  We kept this secret until Sunday when the entire family visited the state fair.  

She was thrilled.  Neither Julia nor Savannah has had any art classes outside of what they do in school and extra art at school.  Both have now been awarded blue ribbons at the state fair.  Kudos to a great elementary art teacher.  Julia's piece was done at school and given to me as a Mother's Day gift.  It is impressive.

Wyatt is also a very good artist.  He stuck with his love of Mario for his fair piece, and he does not like to add color  to his art.  Because Julia received an award, and he did not, he is losing confidence in his artistic ability.  I know, however, that he has much potential in this area.

Savannah's entry is pretty cool.  She is bothered by the crease in it, but it happens.

We enjoyed some of the other attractions at the fair, such as checking out the cockpit of a helicopter.

The kids tried the Krispie Kreme donut burger.  We bought one and had it cut into four pieces.  Zach and Savannah thought it was okay.  Savannah called it a waste of calories.  She does not need to count calories, but it is good that she recognizes when they are wasted.  Wyatt and Julia liked it.  Kids can be so disgusting.

Julia asked for pictures of Andy and me by her art.

We had some silliness.

Our visit to the fair was typical for us.  We had about two hours and spent all of it in one section.

Julia returned to the fair after school with a friend, and they tried the hamster balls.  We did not even see these.  We have never taken our kids out on the midway.  We find it best to not let them know that you can ride rides and play games at the state fair as getting in for six of us after paying hundreds of dollars to get four kids supplied for school is as much as we can do.

We are all back to school now

Wyatt returned to school yesterday.  He came home insisting that I sign his agenda. I know what his teacher emphasized -working on getting that agenda signed daily. Wyatt has two teachers this year.  They both work part-time and split their days at school, so he has one teacher on Monday and Tuesday and another teacher on Thursday and Friday.  They take turns working Wednesday.  I see both advantages and disadvantages to this, but after meeting them, it is clear that they work very well together and are committed to producing success in their students. 
As it turned out, Wyatt had a nosebleed on his first day of fourth grade.  Oh Joy.  We also had a full schedule as Savannah had a field hockey game.  Wyatt and Julia had soccer, and I decided that I should actually buy Zach and Savannah something new for picture day.  Therefore, we had to go shopping.  They aren't really growing, so they rarely get new clothes, and it is pretty clear that they need them (Zach wears the same outfit to church every week - I know this is a first world problem).  So Wyatt ended his first day of school with a tired and cranky mama who really gave him a hard time.  Extra love is on order for that boy today.

Now the picture is complete.  Everyone is back to school.  Sports are in full swing, and scouts are right around the corner.  Hoping for a great 2012-2013 school year...and hoping my house recovers soon:)

Flashback Friday

Zach plays his first football game of the season tonight. He was a fan long before he joined the team.

















Fast forward a bit to the fall of 2007, and our sixth grader starts playing football for his school.  It was a great way to march into middle school and continues to be very good for him.

Then we blinked, and this was last year....

He's now a junior, and we are looking forward to an exciting season.

A little note on Flashback Friday...I set up several weeks at a time to publish in advance, so even I have fun opening up the post to see which one is there.

3 out of 4 are back to school

School started yesterday for three of our four kids.  Wyatt has been hanging out at Granpa's since I am back at work, and my sitters are back at school.  He will start school next week.  I can think of only one other time that I got to be home to see the kids off to school on the first day, so I treasured today.  I won't have this option with Wyatt.  They were excited about starting the year, not so much about the mamarazzi - and it shows.

Savannah has the big start this year as she is a freshman in high school. She had a great day and was thrilled to find several friends in most of her classes.  

Julia started third grade.  Her teacher called during the day and left a message stating that Julia was having a great day but was quiet.  Julia came home with a very cute homework assignment where she filled in a huge sheet with a picture of overalls on it.  Everything on the overalls were to be about her.  She was so excited to do the work but melted down on the section where she talked about what she wants to do when she grows up.  She messed up on writing that she wants to be an Olympic gymnast and fell apart over it.  She eventually changed it to "be an author."  Wow!

Julia turned the camera on me.  Do I really look like this?  Yikes!

Zach started his junior year and apparently played class clown all day...way to make a first impression on new teachers Zach!  NOT!

We sure missed Wyatt for this picture.  He is really jealous of the three who attend CAL.  Getting his teacher letter was a disappointment this year as he really hoped that he would not be returning to his current school.  Andy has taken off work tomorrow because things are so crazy this week.  He plans to have a special day with Wyatt, and Wyatt is beaming.  Hopefully, we can redeem this school/friend situation with some special time with him and scouts which I am making him do this year.

Hopefully, Wyatt's start to school will be as good as it was for his siblings.

the big reveal

Savannah has been sketching and sketching.  The state fair opens soon, and I am now allowed to reveal her entry for this year.

The black line is not part of her art...just a scanner glitch.

For many weeks, this was her choice and was to be her fair entry.

drumroll please....and this is it.  She completed the weekend the entries were due.

We are headed to the fair very soon and anxious to see the artwork.  Wyatt and Julia also have work on display this year, so this will be extra fun.

Thus far in August...

August has been a busy, busy month so far...

We started the month with a long wait at Chic-Fil-A for Chic-Fil-A day.  Traffic was backed up onto a main road, and our wait was an hour for our food.  The crowd was polite, but even so, Savannah does not handle crowds well and opted to wait in a hot vehicle.  

In regard to Chic-Fil-A Day, I am going to state my opinion on this once and once only.  My support of this restaurant does not equate to some kind of hatred for the homosexual community.  I have taught homosexual students and worked alongside homosexual adults for years, and I love them and wish them the best.  However, I do not get to be God, and I firmly believe His ways are best, and He is very clear on this lifestyle.  Likewise, He is clear on divorce and co-habitating outside of marriage.  Sexual immorality is still sexual immorality regardless of sexual orientation.  I have really been angered by a picture circulating on Facebook where an African-American student is labeled as "black" while and angry crowd of white people is labeled as Christian.  The slogan says to exchange the "black" for "gay," and you have today.  This angers me because it is wrong on so many levels.  Homosexuals, to my knowledge, have not been enslaved, denied access to school with other students, nor forced to drink out of separate water fountains.  Likewise "white" does not equal "Christian."  Christians have done damage with their pride and judgement, but many, many Christians sacrificed greatly to stand up for the African-American community in their fight for equal rights, and it is probably a real stretch to call members of that mob Christians.

The reason my family supported the restaurant on Chic-Fil-A day is because they do a lot for our community and school and were being bullied.  You don't back down to a bully, and when mayors of three major cities state that a business is not welcome there, they are acting like bullies.  Dan Cathy's statement was no surprise.  The restaurant has always held biblical standards.  They never in any way indicated that a homosexual patron would not receive the same high quality service as any other patron.  I am wondering if a private business run by someone of another religion would face the same drama for making the same statement.  So, I felt like he faced much ado about nothing. That is my one and only vent on this.

I returned to work for two days.  There is so much to do, and while I dreaded returning to a school that has been under renovation all summer, it was actually good to be back.  

However, returning to work was exhausting.  I am a huge Olympics fan, so I have to stay up and watch it.  

Speaking of the Olympics, my favorite moment was when Gabby made this statement.  She is absolutely precious.  That smile is contagious, and she repeatedly gave glory to God.

Along with a return to work, we have a return to fall sports, and we are all in.  I mean, all in.  I have made countless trips to school to drop Zach off, then pick him up, then drop Savannah off, then pick her up.  Both of my teenagers had games this week, and their teams won, so the hard work is paying off with a great start to the season. Wyatt and Julia have their own sports schedule with soccer.  Fortunately, they are on the same team.   Zach, Savannah, and Julia all start school on Wednesday, and I am back to work full-time on Tuesday, and we have three items left on our summer bucket list.  Bummer.

As we wrap up the summer, we found a great new park in our area.  When I say new, I mean new.  It is not even complete.  Julia's Sunday school class met there last night for a last hurrah before the kids move up to the next class.  We had a fabulous time hanging out with the parents while the kids played. One of Julia's teachers bid her farewell and told her how much she enjoyed having her in class, and she shared how she teared up when she witnessed Julia's baptism...so special.

You could definitely tell it is Olympics time as the girls flipped and climbed.  

I think some parents were shocked that I did not put a stop to this, but this is typical Julia.  She was hopping on this thin tube and putting her leg out in front of her and behind her.  I was amazed at how she regained her balance at times when it appeared that she was surely going to fall.  

Wyatt has definitely been bummed.  He thrives on social interaction and has had very few playdates this summer.  I was trying to invite a friend every week to swim with us. While I normally have patience with other kids, sometimes they cross me in a way that makes me want to stop.  Wyatt's last playdate was with a friend who really didn't act like a friend and was rude and defiant with me.  I stopped the playdates after that, and Wyatt was the one who actually suffered as a result.  As busy as we are, I am insisting that he join scouts this fall so that he can connect with a small group of boys.  Isn't it a shame that our kids can't just run around outside, meet the neighbors and run from house to house like we did as kids?

We will be so busy and tired with the start of school, so my next post may be at the end of August.  Flashback Friday posts are all scheduled through the end of the month, so they will still be here.

Flashback Friday

Do you recognize that face?  That is Andy as a baby.  There is a story behind the fact that this picture is in my possession.  When we got married, we posted a collage of pictures of the two of us growing up at the entrance to our reception.  My pictures were mostly copies, so what happened to them after the reception was no big deal.  Andy's pictures, however, were all originals.  When I emptied the frame, I put his pictures in an envelope and told him to return them to his mom the next time he ran by his parents' house.  I found them years later, and this was typical of Andy during that time.  I had also asked him to return a sample book of invitations for the wedding and found it months after he was supposed to drop it off.  

Fortunately, my mother-in-law did not take this out on me, even though I know she was really concerned about getting those pictures back.

Nobody's perfect, not even Andy.

Flashback Friday

Some of my favorites.  Classic!