It's SUMMERTIME!!!

We are one week into summer and having a blast.

The regular baseball season is coming to an end, and it just doesn't seem right that it ends as summer begins. I equate baseball with summer.




And, if you've been around me lately, you know that we have been ANXIOUSLY waiting for the pool to open. I thought it would open on Saturday and made the huge mistake of telling Collin. Well, it didn't open Saturday. It opened Memorial Day.

Collin took it very well, but he did insist on putting his swimsuit on right after church on Sunday. He announced that he would keep it on until the pool opened. So, he played in it on Sunday, slept in it Sunday night and wore it right up until 10:00 when we left for the pool. They were all beyond excited.

Here are some pictures of us in our "summer home". This is where we have spent the summer for the past 5 years. It's so funny to watch some of the people at the Y watch us. Many of them were there when I had only Caleb. Then, we added baby Collin. They actually watched me "grow" with Claire (the only pregnancy in which I needed a maternity bathing suit). Now, I'm sure they are wondering when the next one is coming. :) We love this place.





So, welcome Summer. We've been waiting on you for so long!

The Cheering Tunnel

It seems to be feast or famine with me and this blog. No posts for weeks; and, now, back to back blogging.

I just had to write about Collin's last day of preschool. They went today until 11:30 even though parties and everything were yesterday.

Again, Collin saw fit to dress for the occasion...kind of. He went to school in full soccer gear -- jersey, shorts, socks and shin guards. Yesterday, he decided that he needed to be a soccer player on his last day of school, but I wish I could figure out how he comes to these conclusions. I mean how does he determine if it is a Batman day or Darth Vader day, Indian day or Cowboy day, soccer player or...? Well, you get my point.

His teachers love him and I fully enjoy watching their expressions as they open the car door each morning to see what he will look like.

But, my purpose in writing is that I had a VERY emotional moment when I picked him up. I was a few cars back and noticed that one of the teachers what doing sort of a cheer as each child came down the ramp to his/her car. But, as I got closer I realized that all 6 teachers had formed sort of a cheering tunnel like you see parents make at the end of soccer games. As the child was called to come to the car, he ran through the tunnel of cheering teachers -- all smiles of course.

I was not expecting that AT ALL, and I couldn't get a grip. It hit me that it really doesn't seem that long ago that Caleb ended his first year of preschool and now he's...practically grown! But, their actions also spoke a profound message to me.

We don't celebrate accomplishments enough!!!

While I realized that this was the end of Collin's first year of preschool, I was moving in auto pilot. We were going to high five, get his favorite lunch and talk about our summer together. But, his teachers made me stop in my tracks and realize that a celebration was truly in order.

It would be nice if life gave us a cheering tunnel for all of our accomplishments -- big or small. We start out that way as babies. We got applause for sitting, standing, walking, talking, etc. Then, somewhere along the way, we begin to expect accomplishment from ourselves and those around us. So, we take them for granted and move on.

Not so at First Baptist today. Those children were treated like super stars. And, that's exactly what they are.

Now, I just wonder if Collin was given a "heads up". Maybe THAT is why he chose to be a soccer player today. He was certainly the only one appropriately dressed to run through a cheering tunnel.

Writer's Block

Wow. I can't seem to get motivated to update this blog. Maybe it is because there is just SO MUCH I could write about. I've gotten so far behind that I don't know where to start.

Since my last post...

-Collin has finished his first year of preschool. He LOVED his school, his teachers, and his friends. And, he is very ready for summer. Today was the day for their end of the year party. Collin was up and dressed at 6:10 in his "party clothes" which were brown shorts, socks & tennis shoes AND his Indian Pow Wow shirt (the shirt made by his teacher for their pow wow at Thanksgiving). The funny thing is that no one at his school was shocked. They are all very familiar with Collin coming to school in odd outfits. Most recently...white ninja, cowboy, Indian, and Batman -- just to name a few.

-Claire has an ear infection AGAIN! I'm pretty sure the last one never cleared up, and that is frustrating to me. As we enter into the long awaited summer swim time, I do not want to be faced with ear issues. She is saying lots of new words and has gotten really good at throwing herself out in the floor when things don't go her way. Since she is the third child, that is often.

-Caleb is one week shy of finishing Kindergarten. I CAN'T believe it. The year has flown by, but he has grown up so much during it. His teacher sent me his reading level yesterday. I am proud to say that he is ALMOST reading at the level they like for first graders to be reading by the end of the year. Amazing! He is also playing baseball -- which he LOVES. His little team is undefeated which he announces to everyone. Only when he says it, he says..."We don't ever lose." Humility. That's his best quality. But, coming from the mother who just announced her son's reading level online, I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

-I am, well, surviving. As school comes to an end, I have gotten a little overwhelmed thinking about the days when all three will be in school. I feel as though I barely survived one in school and one in preschool. But, it has all been so fun -- at least what I remember. I'm still running some with Scotty. And, I've had some interesting new opportunities in my group fitness world. More to come on that later. I had a WONDERFUL Mother's Day, complete with a gift card to Aqua the Day Spa. :)

-Finally, Scotty is now the Minister to Children at First Baptist Church. It still seems unreal. The process leading to this has been interesting. I won't type it all here. But, last year, we were amazed to find that we actually "fit" at First Baptist Clinton as members. Those of you that know our church struggles know what I am talking about. And, now, this is the very church that God has chosen to be Scotty's first full time ministry position. His ways are not our ways, yet we couldn't be happier with the path He has placed us in.

Thanks to all of you who have let me know you miss my posts. I have missed writing. But, during this time that I took to update, Claire has written all over her hands and legs, Collin has taken off the clothes that I put him in for church and changed...3 times, and Caleb has been so very quiet that I am really scared to go downstairs and see what he has been up to.

Time for a Spa Day!!!