Ready for Kindergarten

We had Parent/Teacher conferences today for Adrianna and it was great! Her teacher said she was ready for Kindergarten which only re-affirmed in our minds what we had already thought. She is doing great with her letters and all of the other basic things she needs to know.
She does have a little trouble sharing(duh). I guess a lot of the kids in her class are firstborn so that explains why they all want to be in charge and boss everyone else around! Her teacher said she is also somewhat of a perfectionist...Oh... I was praying my children wouldn't get that from me but I guess she did. Overall she is becoming more confident and seems to really like school. She still looks forward to it and adores her teachers.

I was trying to do some school time with her before we left this afternoon and she was acting like the things we just spent a half hour discussing where completely new and she had never heard of them before! That really frustrates me when I ask her a question about whatever it is we are discussing and she says "I don't know". After she continually was saying this I said it was time to be done for today. I didn't' want to get mad at her and make it a negative experience. She got upset and said "Wait mommy, can be try again? I'm ready to focus now". I guess she must hear that at school! I had to hold back my laughter for a few minutes before I could answer her!

Can We Say Boy!!!

All about my Mommy

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
Adrianna: You love me
Eliza: Go to McDonald's

2. What makes Mommy happy?
Adrianna: Hugging
Eliza: a piano

3. What makes Mommy sad?
A: When people are mean
E: When I throw toys at you

4. How does your Mommy make you laugh?
A: When you smile at me
E: When you are funny

5. What was your Mommy like as a child?
A: like Barbies

6. How old is your Mommy?
A: I don't know...1..2..3..4..5...6...7....8...9...10..11...oh 15!
E: Um...you 4, I'm 2

7. How tall is your Mommy?
A: Big
E: Big like me

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
A: Hug
E: Play with each other

9. What does your Mommy do when you're not around?
A: Go to sleep


10. If your Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
A: Love

11. What is your Mommy really good at?
A: the computer
E: at McDonald's

12. What is your Mommy not very good at?
A: Running--I would agree with that:)
E: Spaghetti...(this answer is because she is looking at a picture of Lady and the Tramp eating spaghetti)

13. What does your Mommy do for her job?
A: I don't know


14. What is your Mommy’s favorite food?
A: Sandwiches
E: Spaghetti

15. What makes you proud of your Mommy?
A: I don't know

16. If your Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
A: Dorothy
E: I don't know

17. What do you and your Mommy do together?
A: School time
E: I don't know

18. How are you and your Mommy the same?
A: Our hair is both brown..I think that's all
E: I don't know

19. How are you and your Mommy different?
A: We are not different, we have the same hair and the same eyes so we are kind of the same, but not the same clothes
E: I'm smart

20. How do you know your Mommy loves you?
A: Because you have a heart and I just know


21. What does your Mommy like most about your daddy?
A: Loving him and he goes to work
E: He's a goofy goof ball

22. Where is your Mommy's favorite place to go?
A: McDonald's
E: McDonald's ( do we sense a pattern here?)

23: What is Mommy's favorite thing to drink?
A: Water (Hmm....apparently she does not see my constant consumption of diet coke and coffee!)
E: Apple juice

24: What is Mommy's favorite thing to do outside?
A: Ride your bike....(haven't done this in years!)

A few of my favorite sounds

The very first cry of each of my children when they came out into the world.

The contented sigh of my sweet little boy.

The laughter of complete happiness.

The fresh spring wind whistling through the trees.

Quiet in the afternoons when all the children are resting.

When the girls say "love you mama"

God is with us

There has been some uncertainty lately about Shawn's job. The district is moving things around and we are waiting to hear some confirmation on some things. It has been a very frustrating day because of the heaviness of my spirit, Eliza peeing all over the place, and just the normal day to day things. As I was feeding Caleb I was just about to have a good cry when Adrianna said, "Are you going to cry? It looks like you are going to cry". We have been trying to teach her that it is okay to feel sad, frustrated, etc...but we just have to learn how to deal with those emotions. I told her I was feeling scared because we don't know what is going to happen with certain things that mommy and daddy have to deal with, but that she did not need to feel scared. She looked at me with the sweetest look on her face, pushed the hair back from my eyes and said "I'm not scared and you don't need to be, God is with us".

Oh the precious heart of a child!

Messy House

Come in, but don't expect to find
All dishes done, all floors ashine.
Observe the crumbs and toys galore.
The smudgy prints upon the door.
The little ones we shelter here
Don't thrive on a spotless atmosphere.
They're more inclined to disarray
And carefree even messy play.
Their needs are great, their patience small.
All day I'm at their beck and call.
It's Mommy come! Mommy see!
Wiggly worms and red scraped knee.
Painted pictures, blocks piled high.
My floors unshined, the days go by.
Some future day they'll flee this nest,
And I at last will have a rest!
Now you tell me which matters more,
A happy child or a polished floor?

...Author Unknown

Grandpa Bernie's Funeral

Shawn's grandpa passed away this past week. We had his funeral on Saturday in Kaleva, Michigan. It was actually an amazing day despite the sadness of it. We had such a great time with family.

We left at 8 am to drive 3 hours to Kaleva. It ended up taking almost 4 since we missed our turn and almost took a tour of Traverse City. I didn't realize it was so close to us! Anyway...we had lunch together and then headed over to the funeral home. Mind you the kids had already been sitting for 3 1/2 hours. They were amazing! They sat so still and quiet for the service! I played prelude music on the piano, which I love doing, and Shawn and I played a few special numbers throughout the service. Shawn played a beautiful tribute of TAPS at the end also. It was a very meaningful service.
I didn't know Grandpa that well, but what I do know of him was that he loved his family very much and he was always very generous. We rejoice that he is with our Heavenly Father dancing around strong and healthy!

I do have a somewhat funny story to share though! At the end of the service I took Adrianna up to look at the pictures and flowers. Grandpa was cremated so his urn was sitting there amidst the flowers. Adrianna walked up to it and tried to open it. I calmly told her that we shouldn't touch it because Grandpa's ashes were in there. Okay..wrong choice of words...:) She gave me a look of confusion and asked why. I told her that some people are cremated meaning that their body is burned and their ashes are put in an urn. She looked at me and said "How does his body fit in there, it is so small!". She also said that she does NOT want to be burned and she doesn't want her body put in that vase!
I was not prepared to tell her about cremation so I did the best on could on the fly! She later told my mom that Grandpa was creamed!
She does understand that he is in Heaven with Jesus though!

After the funeral we wanted to find a place for the kids to expend some energy so we drove to Manistee and took them by Lake Michigan. They walked in the sand and went down a huge slide! I didn't think they had those around anymore for safety reasons, but they all had fun anyway! It was a beautiful day!

We later went to the House of Flavors for dinner and had a great time unwinding and talking with family. The kids were amazing all day. Very obedient and pleasant. It took us about 3 hours to get home only because Caleb was having a hard time going to sleep and he cried on and off from about 8:30 - 11:30! He was over-tired and sick of his car seat! We had to stop a few times to either feed him or give his legs a stretch.
All in all it was a great day! If you want a more hilarious view of the day, check out Shawn's blog!