It's About Time- part 4

And finally, what Matt and I have been up to.

Matt's blazing through summer school right now, taking Anatomy and Physiology.  He aced his spring semester classes and is doing awesome so far this summer.  From all his study of the body on his own time, he actually knew some of the stuff already and the rest he's finding interesting and enjoyable.  What's next?  We just found out he was selected to interview at Duke.  He'll do that the end of July and will find out in August I think, whether or not he got in.  If yes, he starts a grueling 4 semesters of nursing classes in January.  If no, he will start probably next fall at another school.  He has a few he can apply to, but none fit as well as Duke, as some others have different requirements he doesn't meet.

Things have been busy at the gym too, as we've had an influx of new folks in the last month or 2.  Matt's keeping up with everything well and still looking ahead, trying to get things in order for when he has full time school.  This fall he'll have 2 tough classes, so he is building up to one of the busiest times of his life.  He is so smart and level-headed that I know he's going to do great!

I only got a few pictures at breakfast from Father's Day.  Had to get Joshua's tribute to him, particularly the "handsome as Michael Jackson" part.  We had a nice breakfast and then grilled out at his parents' house, watched baseball, and went to the pool.  Matt adores our children and I am thankful for that most of all.

As for me, lots of excitement lately.  I was here, there, and everywhere at the boys' end of year events, all the while gearing up for our first ACT for Justice meeting, BYBC, and KNO. (love the acronyms, I know)

I was sooo nervous about giving a little talk at the ACT meeting.  Each of us 5 on the leadership team were to tell a little of how we got to the point of wanting to start our group.  I focused mine around Katie Davis, whose blog was the beginning of my awareness and interest in poverty and justice issues.  It turned out that we didn't have the huge group that I thought could have been there and our little group of 20-something were all friends.  I was still nervous, but made it through.  I'm really wanting to get more practice and step-by-step become a better speaker who is more comfortable in front of others.  I think being in leadership of this group will provide some of those opportunities.  Anyway, it was a good meeting and the best part was that so many of the ladies there are just beginning to explore the suffering of the world, which give our group a great opportunity to help them on that journey.  Next, we prepare to discuss a very hard topic of human trafficking.  I'm excited to find ways we can help and to see our group work and grow together.  We're wanting everyone to bring their husbands to this event as well, as it is a subject every adult needs to hear about.

KNO passed quietly this month.  We had done some visiting of some of the families to get to know them better and get them signed up for our summer activities, so it was good to keep furthering those relationships and see them at our regular event.  It was calm and everything went smoothly.  We had a little more time to talk in our older girls' Bible Study and that was great, as we discussed life goals and how to get there.

Next was BYBC, which I wrote some about already.  I was the games coordinator so much of my work happened before the event.  I had fun getting games together and it was great to see some of them in particular become hits with the kids.  I was an assistant during the week and was able to bring one of the KNO older girls to help with our group as well.  So it was a good week of spending time with her, the boys, and the Grace Hill kids that I don't see as often, as my place is usually with the nursery at church.

Now we are gearing up for a brand new summer tutoring program for the KNO kids!  It will be every Wednesday starting next month.  We really want to see the kids be successful in school and feel like providing them with an educational time is going to give them a great advantage when they go back to school, as opposed to sitting home watching tv.  I think it's going to be a little crazy, as we will have our kids to deal with as well and it's so new that we don't know what to expect, but hopefully in the end, it will be a good thing!

Other than all this, I've been reading a lot as usual, trying to brush up on my Spanish (it's great to get to practice with some of the KNO moms but I have so far to go!) and even trying to relearn the piano a little too, now that we have the keyboard.  I'm trying to make it to the gym, which doesn't always work with the 3 kiddos.  I'm sleeping in.  I'm trying to be more hospitable.  I've been growing new flowers, tomatoes, and looks like we might have a bunch of watermelons this year!  And I'm now officially caught up with this blog!  That's all for now....

It's About Time- part 3

Now for Mr. Joshua.  He finished first grade well.  He was kind to his classmates and made/continued friendships.  He did well on his work, though still hasn't found the motivation to work up to his potential.  Though his teacher found him a little chatty the last week of school, 99% of the time, we can count on his good behavior in class.  That's a good thing in a way, but I can see how, in general, he tends toward not seeing his own faults and finding himself superior to worse behaved peers and siblings.

He really enjoyed his teacher this year, and though she's sadly moving to a different school, she has recently joined the gym, so hopefully we'll continue to see her around.

Joshua has done all the fun things that Gray has done, so not as much to update on here.  He also really enjoyed the campout and BYBC.  He was enthusiastic about the activities as well, but in a different way than Gray.  He was very intent on carefully taking his time with all the crafts and he enjoyed the games, but in a "gotta do the best" kind of way.  In the sponge duck, duck, goose game, he went and got 3 sponges out of the bucket instead of just one like everyone else.  He has this mindset of doing everything better and his own way and I'm sure when well-directed, that's going to serve him well.  When not well-directed, it drives me crazy because it looks more like disobedience than anything else!

He loved going to the pool too, but was disappointed to find that he couldn't swim as well as he thought he could.  Fortunately, there is a teenager at the gym that wants to teach the boys at her house, so we'll get into that next month.

Joshua has been reading up a storm as usual.  We signed everyone up for the library Summer Reading program.  If you record 600 minutes, you are entered into the grand prize drawing and the limit of minutes you can record for other prizes is 1000.  If we had entered his reading every day (I've missed some here and there), I think he'd be approaching the limit already.  And it's been a week.

We recently got a power cord for a nice keyboard Matt's sister gave us and the kids have loved it, but especially Joshua.  He learned how to play Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star on his own and has been practicing often:)  And then we had a fun dance party in which we took turns being the dj and everyone else had to dance.  He loved it and actually came out of his shell and danced up a storm.

When Matt announced that the boys would try Jiu Jitsu, Joshua said, "NO!" and was very nervous, wanting to put it off till next week.  He ended up loving it and of course took it very seriously, excited about training and getting better.  He's also wanting to learn Spanish this summer, but so far we aren't making much progress.  This child is very driven when it comes to something he enjoys.  I know it will take him far!

It's About Time- part 2

Today I'll update you on the one and only princess of the house.  Julia continues to delight us every day.  We love to hear the things she imagines and tells us about.  We love to see her dress up and dance around, always tossing her hair in dramatic fashion.  We love to snuggle with her and see her lovingly care for her babies.  She's still the best cleaner-upper of all the kids.  And we won't focus on that stubborn streak that has her sometimes standing on the steps out front, screaming her head off because I won't carry her into the house...nope, let's not linger there!

So what is Miss Julia into lately?  She has had a few new experiences--or at least new to her because she didn't remember them from last year.  She squealed with delight the whole freezing time we went to the pool on Memorial Day.  Loved it.  Laughed like crazy.

She also enjoyed a tea party at Nanny's with all her girl cousins.  I didn't tell her what she was doing till we got there and she was so excited to find out.  It was very fancy and she got to eat lots of treats.

BYBC was very different for her this year because she was at a different house than I was.  She cried all 4 days when I left her, but stopped as soon as I left.  She ADORED being at the house with a few babies and took on the persona of one of the moms there, imitating the things she had seen her do with her baby.  My friends say she did just find without me and I was glad I decided to let her go alone.  She's been crying when I leave her in nursery, which she didn't even do as a baby, so it was good to get her a little more independent experiences.  And she did have her trusty "night-night" with her the whole time. My friends say night-night got to do all the activities along with the other children:)

Night-night has become like her invisible friend.  She tells me all about night-night's feelings and emotions (which are actually what Julia is obviously feeling but won't admit).  She says she is night-night's mom and that when she's afraid, night-night says, "It's okay mom," and then she feels better.  Sadly, night-night is rapidly deteriorating and will likely not make it through too many more washings!

Lately, Julia continues to adore all things princess or fairy and is slowly getting back into playing with her brothers.  She wants to help me make every meal, which of course makes things a little more difficult, but I have a vision of one day being able to commission her to make dinner and that keeps me going!  She LOVES telling the boys all sorts of announcements.  i.e. If I tell her what we're having for a meal, she immediately jets out of the room and shouts to them, "Boys!  We're having ____for supper!"  They are usually in the next room and heard me say it and respond to Julia in a less-than-enthusiastic manner:)

The theme of Julia's life lately is "don't leave me out!"  She wants to do everything everybody else does and greatly resents being told she's too young or too little.  I once told her Daddy got to do something because he was big and she told me, "I'm big as Daddy too.  I just looked at mine-self in the mirror and I was!"

Other Julia-isms:

She loves to talk on and on about nothing that makes any sense.  (please no one say she's like me in that regard!!)  The other day in the library, she walked around in circles chatting away to no one in particular about all the "childlen in their countries and their relationships".

She was sick a few weeks ago and asked me, "Mommy is my theether gone?"

She was convinced the holiday we celebrated last weekend was "Thodder's Day" and could be for anyone in the family.  No amount of explanations cleared up the fact that fathers and daddies were the same thing.

She's into getting married and having babies lately.  She told me she wants me to have a baby (don't get excited, we aren't on the same page on that one!) and she said about herself, "I got married cause I have a Daddy husband."

And my personal favorite, while playing cars with the boys, she said, "Which car are you?  I'm the racist!"

It's About Time! part 1

I know, I know....if anyone still bothers to check this blog, I have been sooo behind on posting.

The end of school, our first ACT for Justice meeting, KNO, and Backyard Bible Club all collided in a matter of a couple of weeks and something had to give!

This post will also be painfully devoid of pictures, as I have taken very few in the last couple of months.

So such as it is, here is our update:

(I'll start with Gray today)

Gray finished off the school year well.  Academically, he had an awesome year and his teacher was very pleased.  Emotionally, he survived his first year "away from home" and made friends easily.  Behaviorally, it was definitely tough for him at times.  He is a silly boy that likes to make people laugh and much prefers keeping things light-hearted, as opposed to focusing and being serious.  He has a lot of trouble tuning in to what people are saying when there is a lot going on or he's in his own world.  These things don't bode well for a group learning environment, but he did improve a lot.  Discerning what is lack of discipline vs. immaturity vs. personality has been a continued challenge.

He enjoyed a fun-filled end of school time, with a Mother's Day lunch, an ice cream party, a final project celebration, a classmate's birthday party, and lots of fun projects at school.

I made a chart of things the boys must do before watching a movie each day this summer.  It is long and it turns out we are much more on the go than I imagined, so some days, we've pared it down to the essentials.  Gray has done really well with this.  He's already improved a lot on his bike riding and basketball skills.  We've had some great conversations from his prayer journal work and he's had a good time doing lots of drawing.

He's gotten to do a few special things this summer already.  He got to have a campout with Pa, Joshua, and cousin Jackson last weekend.  It was full of fun boy stuff-- a treasure hunt Pa made himself, shooting a bb gun, catching lightning bugs, staying up late.  Gray was so tired he took a rare nap the next day.  Joshua didn't nap, but spent the evening in a very obvious daze.

Gray also got to participate in his second year of Backyard Bible Club, along with Julia, Joshua, and me.  I was at the boys' club this year, which was good to be with them...I wasn't ready to give them up so soon after school ended.  It was a ton of fun and Gray was his usual enthusiastic self, happily taking part in all the activities.  They played a game the last day similar to Duck, Duck, Goose, but instead of tapping people with your hand, you did it with a dripping wet sponge and then squeezed it on the person who was "goose".  Some of the kids barely squeezed it on their selected person.  Gray watched lots of other kids get picked and patiently waited for his turn.  Then he was chosen and when he went around the circle and got to the "goose" he chose, he didn't just squeeze a little- he squeezed every drop out of that sponge, howling with laughter.  That's Gray.  He just eats up the silly, fun stuff and always has.

Finally, Gray has gotten to try a new activity- Jiu Jitsu.  On Thursday, Matt all of a sudden decided to take the boys to a free kids' class at the place behind the gym.  Gray was ready!  Didn't hesitate a bit.  He enjoyed it Thursday and they went back Friday.  On one teeny problem.  Jiu Jitsu is serious business.  Gray is not up for serious business.  I didn't see the classes, but Matt says he just wants to be silly and laugh and interact with the other kids and was the only one who wasn't following directions well.  Ouch.  It's tough to have your kid stand out in a negative way--and this isn't even really a big deal!  I think we're still going to give it a go, though Gray says he's sore and it makes him too tired so he doesn't want to do it:)  Did I mention he's not into hard work?

But I know God made this child just the way he wanted him.  His enthusiasm for life and fun-loving spirit is a treasure that we just have to figure out how to direct.  I'm so interested to see how he'll do as a first grader.  We did decide, on the last week of school, to send him to Joshua's school.  He has a few reservations but is mostly good with the decision.  I'm praying the teacher he gets is just right for him and is able to encourage his strengths and patiently work through those weaknesses.  I'm excited to see him make new friends and for us to feel settled at this school, able to whole-heartedly support it, rather than feel torn between the 2 elementary schools.  In the meantime, now that the busiest part of the summer is behind us, looking forward to lots of time with Gray and the others!

Last piece of news-- Gray lost his first tooth this month!  It didn't even seem that loose, but we were at a party and all of a sudden it was gone.  We figure he ate it.  Typical Gray, since he's eaten all sorts of interesting things in his little lifetime!