Long Weekends

Looking down the street at the 1st ice cream truck of the season


Note the flip flops - She's obsessed (she has bloomers on)


Kid's Cove with best bud Micah

Are great for rest and spending time as a family, but they do get Lily out of her routine. Tuesday was a pretty difficult day for Lily. She was missing me a lot and took out her frustration on her teacher and her classmates. When we arrived home, I was unbuckling her from her car seat.

Lily: "I LOVE YOU, MOMMY!"
Me: "I love you too, Lily."
Lily: "I miss you today. You come back."
Me: "Yes, mommy's always come back for their babies."
Lily: "I'm not a baby. I'm a big girl."
Me: "Mommies always come back for their big girls!"

____________________________________________

Yesterday, she was playing with her cash register. It has a microphone like you see at Wendy's. Please tell me this is not a sign of a future for her in the fast food business. Lily grabbed the microphone and said this:

"I have a question. I need a hamburger for my mommy. (pause) With Cheese (pause) please"

The weekend!

I must say that this weekend has been one of the best weekends I have had in awhile. I had two different occasions where I was able to do a little necessary shopping without my beautiful three year old. She is a joy, but some things are just easier without her! I was able to find her a couple pairs of summer pjs. My struggle is that her bum is the size of a 12-18 mth old, but her head is the size of a 2-3 year old. If it comes as a set, either the top will be too small or the bottom will be two big.

Old Navy had their kids pajama "sets" on sale, 2 for $20 ($14.50 each). At that point I already had a couple pjs, so I really only wanted to buy one. They had their "beach wear" separates for $4 each. I bought her a 2T top and a 12-18mth skort! I got my last and final set for $8 and they FIT! I should take a poll: What size do you think she will be wearing when she graduates from high school? If she continues to follow the curve of the chart (she has to this point), she may not even hit 80 lbs by then. Do you think she will appreciate being able to drive, but still "needing" by weight to be in a booster seat?

I went out to my mom's Saturday morning so Steve could get a little studying done. Mom, Lily, and I got all of the donated art supplies ready to ship to China. I am so glad that we did it as it was yet another opportunity to teach Lily that it isn't all about her. All that is left is to print some updated pictures of Lily and get a not ready to send with the package. Fortunately, there is a couple in our church that both speak Mandarin and write Chinese (China has two spoken languages, but only one written language!). I will sit down and type the note in English tonight and e-mail it to Andrew. He will be able to type the message and send it back to me via e-mail.

We went to a local strawberry festival after the packing was done. Can you say hick, chick fry? That is an inside joke, but Lily did have a great time. Several carnival type rides. I took several pics, but they are on my mom's camera. Our camera has a few as well, but Lily is napping and the camera is sitting on her nightstand. Check back later for pics. I am starting to have camera envy. A DSLR isn't in our budget, but I think it might be one of my first things I save for once Steve is out of school. That is after we pay down his school debt, buy a bigger house (we don't have enough bedrooms to adopt again - state law), save for an adoption. Do you think it will ever happen?

One last random story for your enjoyment! On one of my outings this weekend, I was able to talk to my brother and nephew for a few minutes. Now talking to my brother is enjoyable, but Luke was very entertaining. Luke insisted that he was coming to my house tomorrow. I asked him how he was going to get here. "Walk!" Now you must understand that Mapquest says it would take 18 hrs 43 min in a CAR!

Countdown 2!

9 days of school left
7 full days, 2 half days
4 teaching days
1 Kindergarten graduation
1 Field Day
1 day for packing up

Only 1 more Monday!

Keep praying us through!

One Year Ago

Maria Chapman went home to be with Jesus. Please continue to pray for this family who is still hurting!

Jim's blog

Marybeth's blog

Grace's blog

Countdown!

13 days of school left
11 full days, 2 half days
7 teaching days
1 testing day
1 Kindergarten graduation
1 Field Day
1 day for packing up

SUMMER, here I come!

Playing Library - other ramblings included

The only picture Steve took while he and Lily were at the beach with Gma and Gpa Woof!


Saying Good-bye to Daddy in Harrisonburg


At Mommy's school carnival on the way to Harrisonburg


"Wormy, wormy!"


Playing hide and seek at church with friends


Jen and Victor - So proud I could be there!

If you've read this last night, I added a few things about our recent trip to the beach. So read again if you would like.

Lily received a nylon tunnel from Aunt Janet and Uncle Mark. Lily LOVES it. This morning just before nap she decided to take all the books off the bottom shelf into the tunnel with her. I told her I would help her clean it up since I knew it would take awhile. She handed the books to me and I put them back on the shelf. She said "scan it" for every book, but it didn't look like she was scanning it. She was running the binding of each board along the floor. Then it dawned on me! She was mimicking the Librarians as they run each book over a "de-magnetizer." I asked her if she was playing library and she emphatically said yes. Well, I obviously take her to the library enough!

_____________________________________________

Later in the day, Daddy was trimming a bush with the gas hedge trimmer (compliments of Gpa R). Lily said, "I'm not big. Only Daddy can use it. It will hurt me! Bad Mower!"

_____________________________________________


There were several other videos that I wanted to upload, but I knew that this file was probably the most I could upload using blogger's video upload (without timing out anyway). Lily insisted on putting her pajama bottoms on. She is really getting into dressing herself. Well, the upload went NO WHERE! Sorry, I am going back to trying to get some pics up. Well, pics weren't working either. Check back late tomorrow night - Not promising anything, but I will try! Yeah, it worked. BTW, the last three pics are from my cell phone. I think the one of Lily and the "wormy" turned out pretty good!

_____________________________________________

Steve got home Thursday evening, the 7th. We left for NC on the 8th after I was done with school. I went to a wedding and Lily and Steve joined me for the reception (wedding was smack dab in the middle of nap). One of my best friends from college got married at her parent's church in Sunset Beach, NC. It truly was an honor to be there! So glad we lived close enough! I came back on Sunday, but Steve and Lily stayed at the beach until Wednesday. I was trying my best to share my daughter and husband. I did it, Gma and Gpa have thanked me already profusely, but I have to admit leaving Lily and Steve down there was one of the hardest things I have ever done! The days passed quickly once I started teaching. I was able to get many things done that would have been very difficult if Lily had been around, so I am thankful for that adult time!

I know the last time Steve was home for an extended break, I made some kid of comment about how I should have more time to post with him home. Well, it just occurred to me (2 1/2 months later) that those times are when I actually have less time for such things! I want to spend as much time with him as I can. Being on the computer is one of the last things that I desire to do!

Sorry for the extended ramblings. I guess that is what happens when you wait so long between posts!

Avoiding going to bed

Have you ever avoided going to bed with the subconscious thought that tomorrow won't come? This is something Steve and I have talked about multiple times. Don't get me wrong. I really want tomorrow afternoon to come, but I would like to skip tomorrow, the school day, completely. So this post and the previous one are both an effort on my part to extend this day into the next one.

_________________________________________________

I was buckling Lily into the car seat at her pre-school and she proceeds to tell me that she needs to go potty. Now, Lily has been completely dry for an entire week! So I don't mess with it when she tells me she needs to go potty. We go back into school to find the nearest potty. (BTW, they have the cutest little potties (sp?) that a 2 year old can sit on with their feet touching the floor) She does what she needs to do and then comes the funny part.

She stands up and puts her hand on the back of the toilet and lifts her foot to flush the toilet by kicking the flushing handle. This is something I do on a regular basis when using public toilets, but this is the first time I have seen my daughter do so. I suppose most toilets she uses are too tall for her to even attempt this feat with her feet (pun intended)!

_________________________________________________

I had a wonderful evening Monday. I tend to focus on how difficult life is right now with Steve away at school. My mom, Lily, and I had a fantastic evening. We had a great meal which mom cooked for me, hit Target, Pet Smart, and Sam's Club. With Lily going to bed with relative ease. Even now, it helps me feel better about the week and dealing with Lily's attitude at times.

I have had a couple of good days (comparatively) with school. I have one more day until Steve comes home. Two days left in this school week. 21 total school days left, but I am only teaching 14 due to field trip, testing, half days, etc. I CANNOT thank all you who are praying for us enough. It is probably going to be a hard couple of weeks, but all will be well! Pray hard for tomorrow. It seems that I have pretty hard days after good days especially when I actually vocalize the fact that the day(s) has been good!

Wasted Potential

Here is a post from a blog I follow. I CANNOT WAIT until I can go back to "wasting my potential!"

A series of encounters this week have led to this post. Please bear with me. In former days if I were this bothered I would have to be unscrewed from the ceiling and I am really wanting the "former days" to remain former.

But here's what I wonder, said as nicely as I know how:

Why is it wasted potential if I invest my life in teaching my own children instead of someone else's? To endeavor to teach someone else's child for pay is considered noble. To teach my own for no pay is considered antiquated and odd. Maybe downright weird.

Why is it wasted potential if I keep my own home instead of someone else's? Were I to be employed for monetary gain as a maid in someone else's abode, that would be called honest work. If I spend my full-time efforts in my home, it's called laziness and self-limiting.

Why is it wasted potential if I seek to be a counselor and support for my friends as we encourage one another in our lives? If I had some initials behind my name and a paycheck to attest to my credentials I would likely be called an expert. But today, I am just a friend, just a Christian sister. Nice to have, but certainly not as valuable as the expert who is paid to listen to a problem and offer advice.

Why is it wasted potential if I serve my husband and my children in ways that make our house into a home, creating a haven where they long to come? Were I to open a hotel or a restaurant and do this for strangers on a temporary basis for money, you would call me a successful businesswoman. However, doing it for free for our families is demeaning, or so I am told.

Why is it wasted potential if I write things that folks don't like to read sometimes? Of course, I am not paid for my missives, so I suppose that could be why some consider my efforts wasteful. But I am reminded of some great men who wrote 66 books that not many want to read nowadays either. While I certainly can't compare my trivial writing with theirs by any stretch of the imagination, it does make one wonder, if financial renumeration is the measure of success, how each of those writers of the books of the Bible would be viewed today.

Why is it wasted potential to create things with my hands that my family can use and enjoy, that I can gift to those who might appreciate them? Were I to create items for sale and spend my time outside my home selling or creating, say working in a sewing plant or a knitting mill, no one would find that wasteful. It would be a woman working hard in honest work for monetary gain. And you would call me a strong woman for doing that type work.

Tell me again why it's wasted potential. Tell my why everything outside my home is more important than what's inside. Tell me. Perhaps it's my wasted intellect, but I fail to see "my wasted potential." Maybe that's proof that my brain's turned to mush from my mundane days caring for my spit-shined house and my expressionless little children who lack social skills due to their being deprived of the daycare experience. Yes, I am sure that's probably it.

Oh, my! My dear, wasted potential.

That's mood!

Me: "Lily will you put your scissors away? In the drawer with your markers and paper."
Lily: "I'm listening to mommy."
Me: "Yes, you are!"

She pulls out her coloring book and subsequently drops it.

Lily: "That's mood."
Me: "What did you say?"
Lily: "That's mood!"
Me: "That's smooth? Did you say that's smooth?"
Lily: "Yep."