First Day of Kindergarten

We decided to wait and not start Cecilia in school last fall. I wasn't sure if she was ready and I wanted to work on her verbal communication skills and fix the whiner baby attitude.

Cecilia is doing much better and when she wrote her name on a picture she colored and told me it was for me and she had put my name on it, mom, I knew we were ready for Kindergarten. We decided to start her at the half year. I think it will be better and if we do go into the summer she will have more just mommy and Cecilia time for the second half of Kindergarten.

Well the box came to day and when I showed her the new books she immediately opened the books and started to do stuff. I picked a page out and told her what to do. She wrote her name at the top and did the loop to loop of the plane. It was all I could do to get her to stop...

I have started a tradition that we do every ones hand prints on the first day of Kindergarten. So as this was Cecilia's first day of "school" we did the hand prints.

I love to see the differences in sizes.... Silas's hands just barely fit on the paper.

So I am going to post this with pictures of hand prints as soon as I figure out how brave I am and if I am going to be able to do Elsie without a big mess.....

So Many Blessings

My hubby called me tonight to say that his dad was bringing food over for dinner. Burgers and chips. I had just been talking to my kids and trying to figure out what to make for dinner.

It had been a long day.

At 5:45 Cecilia woke up a mess. She had went to putter and did more than that. So we had to have new bedding, a bath and new jammies. I didn't want grandpa to come over to a mess.

During all this Elsie wakes up and is angry. As I was taking her with us to Ruth's test I left her up. I figured this way I could feed her breakfast without Ruth seeing and wanting to eat.

Ruth started to wet the bed every night for about a month and I decided to have the doctor run a UTI test. It came back positive after the culture. She has stopped wetting the bed, but, they want to make sure that there isn't anything in her kidneys that is causing the infection. So off we went at 7:15 to the hospital for a renal ultrasound.

Ruth did so well. She laid so still and was my BIG girl. I wanted to cry at how well she did. I was so overwhelmed and it was so cold that I just came straight home. Of course I was informed that I needed McDonald's. So we went through the Hardee's drive through as it was the only fast food we pass going home. Made my Ruth happy and we were off to see grandpa.

Me being gone for three hours put school a little behind and when grandpa left we worked on getting things done.

Bill phoned and asked if I had ordered Cecilia's kindergarten yet. I had barely caught my breath. So I sat done and got it done.

As Bill's mom and I talked as burgers were finishing she made a comment about Cecilia starting school. And Bill said something about still having two babies.

I thought that this day would never come. That my little girl, that I watched "die" in the very ER of the hospital we had been in that morning, would ever be starting kindergarten. She amazes me everyday at what she can do. I know that there still might come a day when she doesn't pass a milestone due to damage from time with a lack of oxygen. She is the baby God gave to us twice.

I thought starting her at the half year would make it a little easier and if we needed to go into summer it would be just her and make a smaller break before first. It so nice to be able to go at your own pace...

Silas is turning 10 on Saturday. I can't imagine the baby we prayed for for 5 years is turning double digits. He is becoming a man.

I have 5 wonderful children, a wonderful husband, and in-laws have always been there. I have a wonderful church family that have done without asking, prayed without ceasing, and just smiled when it was what I really needed.

This is just the very short list that made me say...."I don't want to talk about it..." today.

Have you counted your blessing today??

No it isn't CUTE!

One of my big pet peeves is that statement that something a small child is doing is cute, when, if done by a teenager or adult would be WRONG! Now I am not talking about drooling, potting in ones pants, or other baby things. I am talking about obvious rebellion, bad attitude or rude actions and words.

I have seen parents brag on their 1 1/2 year old son pinching a waitress's behind as she walked passed them at a restaurant. I have seen our family think it is cute to watch my then two year old act like a tyrant and be bossy at everyone in sight.

The big draw back is that when they get older it is no longer cute and even harder to fix or stop. This is where we as parents and more so for us mommy's who spend the bulk time with our kids must be on alert.

If the thing is only cute because it is coming out of a little human, then you need to take actions to rectify the situation.

1. PRAY: That you are not the example of this behavior. That you will see it immediately in the child. That you can in love guide them to a proper behavior.

2.DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP: I have had to point out behavior to SS teachers of my child and say "this is unacceptably, and if they do this in your class tell them to stop and tell me." Tell your husband the behavior you are working on if he doesn't already know.

3.CONSISTENCY: This ladies is the key to all we do in life. Be on your guard to not let it slide ever again. No more nagging, whining, or threats. Say what you mean and mean what you say.

4. WATCH FOR BAD INFLUENCES: Here again the TV comes into play. If you let your kids watch anything on TV actually sit and watch the program. It amazed me on the attitudes that are in so called kid cartoons. Even in EC or Preschool programs. I recently got a Caillou tape from the library for my girls. This little boy throws a fit in almost every episode on the tape. Most cartoons I have watched in the last year have had bad attitudes toward parents and authority. The parents and authority are portrayed as stupid and blind to what is going on. Children lie, steal, skip school, cross-dress, etc. Watch who you are playing with.

5. STAY IN YOUR BIBLE: As mothers and wives we need to be as close to God as we can possible be. We need to be studying things out so we can teach them to our children. So we can be ready to give an answer to those in the world who ask.

I am not perfect in this area, but, I know the One who is. But this area is such a biggy.

Bloomers are Blooming

As I have finished 20 pair of bloomers in the last week I thought I would post the answer "why bloomers?".

In 1994 just shortly after we were married we moved to Colorado. We ended up in Berthoud a little town just south of the one I grew up in. While we were there we met a wonderful family, the Aguiars. Bro. Aguiar helps small and struggling churches. We had the family over to our house for fellowship. Mrs. Aguiar explained how she was going to make bloomers for her four girls so they would be modest when they played at the park and such. She said she was going to find some that went down to the knees and gathered with lace. I gave her a lot of fabric for her to use as they were on their way to the next church.

Fall of 1995 we went to Resaca, GA for camp meeting where we were able to see the Aguiars again. She explained that she had found a Raggedy Ann costume pattern and it had perfect bloomers. I filed the info in the back of my mind as I had no children at the time.

In 1997 our pastor's wife had a little girl. She soon became anxious for ways to cover her little girls bottom and diaper. I told her I could help her make bloomers. We made quite a few pairs and I realized I too thought it was so much nicer to not show off diapers.

I didn't have a little girl until 2004. When I did my former pastor's wife brought me a bag of bloomers she had saved from her little girl. I will admit that due to health problems I was unable to do much sewing and Cecilia didn't always have bloomers on.

4th of July weekend 2005 we were at a friends house when she made a comment about the culottes her daughter was wearing being more modest than my daughter's dress at that age. I realized that she was right and that Cecilia needed to have bloomers on everyday. I made a commitment to have her wear them everyday since.

My husband doesn't care for culottes as they tend to be cut off pants or long shorts. And they still do not cover bottoms when little girls go tumbling around the floor. I agree and as we have talked we decided if an area arose where my girls or I couldn't do it in a dress we would wear culottes, a split skirt that looks like a skirt when you are stand still. We have yet to find a situation.

I really feel guilty as the bloomers I have been working on are from my mother. She sewed the first 10 in the spring and they were too small for CC so I put them away unfinished. She sent 10 more with the Christmas/Birthday box. She then apologized for not getting all the sewing done. She had an aneurysm burst in her brain in November and is apologizing to me. Talk about guilt. So I sat down and put elastic in all 20 pair. Now Cecilia and Elsie have plenty. The too short ones Cecilia have been wearing are now Ruth's.

Bloomers are part of our everyday dress. They are considered underthings that we do not show off to other people. I even wear a form of them as I have children and find myself tumbling around the floor on occasion.

I also find them helpful as I did not have a Christian upbringing and as my little girls grow up they have to learn how to sit properly in their dresses.