A Generous Brother

Recently, W found something he thought MK would just love to have. For a mere 79.99 plus tax he wanted her to have a Tink Cafe'.

I explained it was not her birthday, Christmas or just give MK-a-gift day. It was a big gift and we could put it on a list to think about for another time. He may have felt where that was going so he immediately said he would pay for it and wanted to buy it for her. So very sweet. While the girls have banks for coins, he has has an old coffee can that he likes. Now that he is aware he can spend his own money he saves but it has been a while since he has had a large amount. Still, he wanted to count it out. He had over ten dollars and wanted to give all he had but we were not going to spend another $70 plus for the cafe'.

While he was disappointed about not having enough money right now to get it for MK he said he will just keep saving. Why would he want to give it all for his sister when he could save for something for himself, I asked. "Because I love her", he said... and he really does and that goes for A too.

Recent Highlights....

We have so much catching up to do! First, I thought I would combine a couple of posts and then it started looking like it needed to be a week in review and then two weeks and now highlights of the month seems more appropriate.

Let's go back just over a couple of weeks and pick up there. W found his John Deere overalls that Granny made him nearly two years ago and he put them on with his John Deere boots and added the John Deere pen in his front pocket to complete his ensemble. He played outside with MK and smiled at the thought of how good he looked.

A joined us outside with her guitar on her back and waited for Papaw to pick her up to spend some time together. There was her pinewood derby race car that needed finishing touches and guitars to play. MK was just happy. It was a great day for everyone.

Back to the timeline recap... there was the Pinewood Derby race. A's car turned out to be such a family affair. First there was the design, Papaw cut it out and sanded it, D put on the wheels and took A shopping for the paint colors, she painted it, I drew on some lines for her to fill in and the number she picked out. It needed a little more weight after the first weigh-in so Papaw drilled holes for some weights and they took it to the post office to make sure it weighed enough without going over. It was ready to race! Her car made it to the third round and it was a lot of fun watching the races. She said it was special getting it ready and spending the time with family.

Then we sailed into the week to get ready for Valentine's Day. MK and W had valentines to put together for AWANAs and there were class parties. W had soccer practice following a class party and could not wait to get home and go through his valentines.

Even though A's class no longer exchanges valentines, they made it up to them with a formal Valentine's banquet. She was beside herself with excitement and even said "Just think of how much fun we will have finding my dress!". I was just imagining it right then. I braced myself for the shopping experience but it went well. Luckily, the dresses we found for her size were modest and age appropriate.

W stayed with Papaw that evening and we drove A to the banquet. After taking some pictures, we headed to Luby's with MK. She was so thrilled... they have blue Jell-O. After a trip through Target, it was time to go pick up A. She was just elated and announced this was the best time she has had since camp last summer. Really? I am recalling other special moments since then but she is right it will be something she will always remember. I just hope she has fond memories of our time together finding her fancy dress.

Rock Star Night

A week ago, after W learned there would be a Rock Star Night at AWANAs he was so excited. The very next day he had a plan and drew it all out. First, there was the picture he drew of the guitar he needed, and then another drawing of the spiked hair he had to have to pull the look off and of course he had to have a rock star shirt.

He talked about it every day for the week and it could not be far from our minds that it was coming up and there were preparations to make. There was the guitar we needed to make to his specs, hair gel to purchase and the rock star shirt.

The rock star shirt is where I encounted my biggest dilemma. We do not need rock star attire very often but I was quite sure he would not be wearing the likes of skulls with guitars or winged-guitars and frankly very frightening backgrounds. I could have ripped up a shirt I suppose but that would have just been tacky... and wasteful. I found the answer he and I both could live with in a tasteful shirt with rock star guitars fashioned in blue plaid on a brown background. I know the plaid and rockin' theme we had going on may have been at odds but for this sweet boy and me we were satisfied.

Below is his guitar design.

Here is our little rock star.

During the process of putting his guitar together and while we all enjoyed making his dream come true, he was beside himself with excitement. He could hardly contain himself. It is such a joy to watch him grow.

Fire Station Tour

MK and W went on a fire station tour with our play group and had a great time. W has always enjoyed fire trucks and it was fun to watch them crawl all over the trucks and take a close look.

Soccer Fun

This has been a busy soccer season for us. Just today, we had FOUR games! MK is ready to play with a team and I am thankful she is too young for now. I am not sure how we are going to manage when we have all three children with different practice times and game schedules. They all love to play soccer and I am grateful it is the same sport in the same season. We could have it sprinkled with different things all year long for each one and right now this suits us fine.

In the picture below A is playing in her first game today running with the ball.

Here she is after a toe injury in her second game but playing on.
The next picture is W playing with his team and going after the ball. For his age, the teams are made up of boys and girls.

W really is enjoying his first soccer season!
There is just over a week left in the fall season and a break will be great but they are already looking forward to soccer in the spring!

A Birthday for W

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Last Day of Five ...

I have always been a wee bit nostalgic and admittedly sad on the eve of a birthday of any of my children. I think about how much more I wanted to squeeze in the year before and how I wanted to write down details of all the great memories for further evidence of the great times.

When anyone would say that MK, W or A would be the next age before they actually turned it, I had to correct them, even if it were literally right around the corner. We just had more living to do at that age and I did not want to accelerate the process because I wasn't ready for it to be over.

So here I am today hanging on to FIVE and it will soon be eclipsed by SIX. There are more memories to make, more pictures to take and some journaling to do to chronicle the years of their life but I remind myself... IT IS NOT OVER.... life is just marching on as it is intended.

I am truly blessed and have this sweet family to love on so no matter the age I cannot be awashed in sadness while there is so much to be grateful for.

While I was doing all this pondering, I asked W to let me take a few pictures of his last day of being five and he looked at me like 'are you kidding?'... okay, he said that. Anyway, he indulged me and here it is posted and everything. W on his last day of FIVE!

Back to Academy for a 6th Grader and a Kindergartener!

Last week, Academy started back and A was excited to be getting back to see old friends, meet new teachers and have different classes.

MK was holding on to W when it was time to walk him in. He usually holds her hand but it it was cute to see her keeping her little grip on him.

Here is our little man all smiles after putting his backpack down and ready to go to assembly.
His teacher showed him the way to go to assembly for K-2nd graders and it was in progress so he walked on in with his hands in his pockets. He was just too cool to be fazed by new kindergarten people and surroundings.

MK looked so alone when we walked back to the parking lot so I thought I would make it up to her and take her for a treat before going to storytime. This picture was just too cute not to include. Here is MK fresh as a daisy from her nap that afternoon and ready to spend time with her W and A.

A Haircut Experience

W enjoys the day he gets his hair cut and it is an event he looks forward to every three weeks or so. I am not so sure it is all about the hair cutting part as it is about the whole experience. The haircut has evolved into much more and since he is a child who loves routine he likes it the same way each time.

It all begins with Papaw making plans to take him to his barber. He comes to pick him up and W has lunch on his mind. If it is up to him, W picks a cheeseburger and fries from a local place a few blocks from home... even though there are a plethora of choices in the town where the barber lives. After going to his place to eat this big ole grown-up size lunch, they are ready to go see the barber.

Here he is waiting for Papaw outside.

He likes going in the truck the best but he is flexible on the mode of transportation. Here they are about to leave.

He apparently does really well for the barber every time he gets his hair cut and gets a piece of bubble gum. He usually asks for two extra pieces for his sisters.

After getting back from the haircut trip, he spends the afternoon with Papaw at his house. They do all kinds of stuff that W enjoys and he ends up staying until D picks him up after work.

I took this picture at the end of the day and it looks like he enjoyed his big haircut day .... as usual!

Vacation Bible School

Early in June, we had VBS at our church and it was a lot of fun. Just like last summer, I led a big group of preschoolers (two being my own). In my humble opinion, this by far is the toughest group to lead. My memory is short, hence two years in a row. For all the extra work those sweet babes need it is always a huge payoff spending the time with them and seeing how much they learn and have fun in our wild week of VBS.

This was A's last year at our church for VBS since she finished 5th grade. She is already looking forward to helping next year though. She always had her hand up during assembly and was usually the one who recited the memory verse for the day. Toward the end of the week, the director asked for someone to pray and A was the only one who volunteered.

On a side note, over the years I have heard many prayers A has given in front of a large group and I am always struck with how brave she is and how the words she speaks comes right from her heart and seemingly so easily. One of the reasons I admire her so much for doing it is because I am not sure I could have done that and do not recall volunteering to voice a group prayer when I was a child. It warms my heart and I just love seeing her stand up for Him without hesitation.

I do not have a picture of A at VBS but here are MK and W having a blast at Cosmic City VBS!

Pre-K Graduate

Our sweet boy is five years old and he said I can just call him Indiana. We will go with an initial for this blog though. He is W. The following are some pictures of him recently.

This is W and his Cubbie leader. He just completed his last year in Cubbies. After the summer, he will return in Sparks since he will be in kindergarten.

W loves to ride his bike. Here he is celebrating his win after racing his little sister on her trike.





W loves to build and his Granny is holding his little boards together while he hammers the nails. He must have some talent with the hammer and there was a lot of trust.

W graduated from Pre-K. While I am a bit sad this time is going by so quickly, I am thrilled to see what kind of boy he is growing up to be.