First Baby's Last Day of Kindergarden

Eden's last day of Kindergarten....really??!

Wasn't I just taking her picture standing at the front door, eyes squinting as the sun blocked her view, lunch box in backpack?  Lars standing nearby, encouraging her all the way.  Elia wasn't even walking yet!  After the first week of Kindergarten honeymoon had worn off, I had to walk her to school kicking and screaming because she wanted to bring her blankie, or she wanted to stay in bed longer, or have different cereal, or not brush her hair or this or that....

Now, at the end of the school year, she has grown two shoe sizes, is getting dressed without whining, can brush her hair and teeth without help, and doesn't even realize that she is growing up right in front of me! She now leaves her blankie and PJs neatly in a pile on the floor next to the couch where she dresses, in effort to let Elia sleep peacefully in their room. She goes in Daddy's car and he drops her off in time for breakfast with her friends, too numerous at this point in life to name, then she's gone for the day.  Lars is itching to get her by 3:00 so they can play and is usually glad to walk or bike up with me to retrieve her.

She can read short stories to anybody who will listen, she is adding and subtracting, has tried a variety of new foods, thanks to the lunch program, and has learned a little bit about speeding up the pace in her life to keep up with the world around, which is often very hard for her, as she is never in a hurry.  And I do mean NEVER.  My grandma always told me, "Sarah, the hurry-er you go the behind-er you get" and though this may be true, Eden will not ever have that problem I don't think.  Sometimes I wish I would slow down a little and enjoy life the way Eden does.  But I really don't want to repeat grade school!

We have learned about Eden that she is a perfectionist, which was long ago suspect, and she tends to chit chat to friends at times when she should be listening.  She likes to fiddle with things in her hand, and she is a day dreamer.  We have learned that she is well behaved and respectful to others and that picking her up every day from school put a grin on my face, almost as big as hers!

Good Job, Eden Ann!  Enjoy your summer (because the first day of first grade is your next birthday!)

To Race Car Drivers everywhere

To Race Car Drivers Everywhere:  Please remember to make a sharp left at every corner and if you miss one, realize that your Blood goes round and round and your Air goes in and out.  Any variation of this is a bad thing...

From Your Local EMS Provider.

Allen is Rev'd Up and Ready to go racing!

Happy Birthday to Me.

A quick thank you to all my family and friends who remembered me yesterday and made it special ... even the text from my brother at 0500... and the one from my sister an hour later....somebody needs to remind them of the TWO HOUR TIME CHANGE! 

After church, we gathered for a beautiful Sunday dinner of roast beef and mashed potatoes, carrots, roasted chicken, fresh baked rolls with real butter, fruit, veges & dip, romaine salad, and all the fixings.  Almost all that I didn't need to cook, with a cake that I didn't bake or decorate, and candles that I didn't light and ice cream that I neither made nor scooped.  It was service with a smile!~

Friends gathered to eat, drink and be merry, ride bikes, play ball, work on the race car, roller skate, roller blade, sit and relax with wine, take photos, jump rope, and generally enjoy a beautiful, sunny day.  

Ended the day with a few phone calls from far away family & friends, a few texts, a card game, and dozens of well wishes from my fb friends.  

A day well blessed, filled with love and life~

Post Grandma

Well, as expected, time with Grandma went fast.  And time hasn't slowed down, because I'm pretty sure she left a week ago and I have still not caught up to blog! It's always nice having an extra pair of hands to empty the dishwasher, make a sandwich, change a diaper, help dry off the freshly bathed, fold laundry, take a walk with, run out the door w/o having to find a babysitter for rescue calls, etc....

Here are the events of the past couple weeks--

Highlights: Two day respite retreat was WONDERFUL.  Quiet, calm, free, humorous, relaxing, fulfilling, productive and worth every penny. 

Grandma taught Eden how to sew straight stitch embroidery and she has since completed her name on a cloth.  Or, nearly.

Low lights:  Elia has a double ear and upper respiratory infection and sleeping at night has been a challenge. 

An unexpected death in our congregation of an elderly and beautiful woman brought much sadness to this house last week.  She was somebody who always hugged me and loved our children unconditionally.   She only wished Lars would let her hold him, but he never would.  Elia regularly crawled up on her lap during service and then she'd sit there and just hold her, apologizing later that she couldn't stand up to sing the next hymn.   We went for car rides in the country that she loved, she cooked hot dogs for our kids and 3 course meals for us.  She taught me a lot about being a wife and mother.  I thought she had so much more to teach.  I know I had so much more to learn.  The day before she died, we sat alone together in her living room, and she was still beautiful to me. She asked me to sing at her funeral, and I couldn't answer.  But it was an honor to do so.  She often said she loved to hear me sing, and I loved knowing she was right there listening.  I guess with the 318 people at her funeral, I wasn't the only life that she'd touched.  

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In other news, Lars will be done with school this Friday and Eden the next.  Which means summer vacation begins in the house very soon.  No more 7:30 bed time, but oh, how I do like my quiet evenings after that. 

Eden has grown so much in Kindergarten and is proving to be a little Mommy to the younger two.  She is quite a peacemaker, yet enjoys throwing in a taunt or two when she sees fit.  Yesterday, she locked Lars in the bathroom and took to her bedroom for the afternoon...

Lars has done so well in Head Start and is so aware of what he needs, he just does it. His tantrums have diminished to almost nil and short lived when they do happen.  He'll start to yell about something and then tell me he needs to go sit quietly in the dark for a few minutes before he can finish his sentence.  Works for me!  He assures me he's going to use the toilet when summer break comes, but was quick to correct me that summer technically doesn't begin until the end of June.... 

Elia is a pistol.  A riot, but a handful none-the-less.  She has learned how to climb over the chain link fence, so locking the gates is quite pointless.  She helps herself to whatever she would like with the help of stacking stools on chairs, or enlisting Lars to do her dirty work. She can undo childproof containers of every shape and size and can effectively stay up past her bed time every single night with a few blinks of her eye lashes....

Allen "The Rev" is two weeks away from his first race as a super stock race car driver at Hi Way 92 Raceway Park.  Since the sale of his Bumblebee last fall and the winter purchase of an old rusted out stock car, he has been pounding panels, painting, decaling, installing a modified motor, and has become the Vice President of the Platte Valley Motor Sports Club, as well as this year's Track Chaplain and class representative for the Limited Late Model class.  He's in for a fun and busy summer.  He has a few dedicated friends who have helped him get off the ground these past few months and we are all looking forward to the race season beginning. 

I'm just going with the flow. And that's just fine with me.

Tomorrow, I'm one year older, and that's Ok too.