Summer

Apparently, I didn't spend any part of my summer updating my blog. Years from now my children may wonder what happened this summer since I haven't chosen to record anything in over two months. Well, here are a few things that happened this summer...

Chapter Books - The twins started reading chapter books. Bear found (with my help) a really cool series by Dan Gutman. The first book in the series is called Miss Daisy is Crazy. All the books are hilarious and are a good fit for him. He can read them on his own:). Lou Lou began reading a series about princesses - girls who attend a Princess Academy. This is a semi-good match for Lou Lou's interests. Other options that we did not choose included several fairy books, which I'm not in favor of, and animal fiction books (horses, puppies, etc.). If we could find chapter books about girls who love ballet, that would be right down Lou Lou's alley. We did end up finding a series about children in Appleville Elementary School. The problem is...there are only 4 books in the series. We'll see how it goes for Lou Lou!

Birthday - Birdie turned 2! She is very social, very chatty, very copy-catty of anything Bug or Lou Lou say, and very loving. She loves kissing everyone and always sticks out her lips and her chin so much as she heads toward someone to give them a smooch:). The funniest thing that she did this summer...All the kids were playing in our kiddie pool, and, for some reason, the big kids were acting like monsters and saying, "Rah! Rah! Rah!". It must have bothered Birdie because she came up to me to tell me what turned out to be her first official tattle tale. She began with a few sentences of gibberish and then, imitating the big kids, said, "Rah! Rah! Rah!". We all laughed about that one! Today, I was talking with her about using the bathroom, and when I said, "When you have to poop out, come in here and poop in the potty," she said, "OH!" with a loud "aha" sound, like she was thinking, "What a great idea! I never thought of that before!".

Bug turns over a three year old leaf...Bug, my most laid back, sensitive, good as gold child has turned over a new leaf. I guess I should say she is exploring another part of her personality. She has become somewhat feisty with a bit of a sassy mouth. Although her feistiness is not to the degree that Lou Lou's was at 3 years old, it seems just as difficult to deal with because it still surprises me when she acts like that. Anyway, she is still very sensitive and reminds me of myself so much. She is very independent, strong but a little bit fragile at the same time. The monster-chasing game is the new thing at our house recently. Typically, Jimmy's the monster, but if he's not around, Bear is happy to fill in. Tonight, Jimmy was going around chasing and scaring and being a tickle monster. Anyway, all the kids were running all around the house as he turned lights on and off. By the way, this game is nothing I enjoy or participate in. Even as a child, I didn't like scary, run around like crazy games. When they play, I just keep doing whatever...folding clothes, sweeping the floor, etc. Well once tonight, when Bug ran past me, I could see that she was really distressed, way past the point of having fun. I so completely identified with her. It's a rather odd feeling to have a child that is natured so much like myself. I think she likes Monster Chase when it first gets started, but when it gets really cranked up or keeps going for awhile, she can't take it. It makes me think about her as an older child and a grownup, because being sensitive is tough sometimes.

Backyard...Jimmy cut down lots of trees in our back yard. We still have 10-12 and I think he cut down 7 or 8. He cut them down to make more space, to help the grass to grow, and to make space for a playhouse and swingset. The playhouse is set up, complete with a small flag from Mama C. The swingset is set to be finished Labor Day Weekend I hope. During the last part of the summer, it seemed to rain every single day, which held up swingset construction:)

New job...Prayers answered...The day before Open House, I found out that I indeed was moving to my "old" school as the Title I teacher. Title I teacher is nothing I would have ever picked, but with so much prayer just from me over the last two years, I felt that this was exactly where God wanted me. I have prayed for this move diligently, daily for the past two years. It feels like I'm back at home, and the twins are in the second grade there. I am so completely, immensely happy about spending my working time there:):)

New fish...We have two big fish decals and four small fish decals on our car, representing me, Jimmy, and our 4 children. We added two new fish this summer to represent Courtney and Trey, our babies in heaven. Courtney went to heaven in July 2004, when I was about 7 weeks along. Trey went to heaven in February 2009, when I was about 10 weeks along. Recently, the twins noticed the fish and asked me about the "extra" fish. When I explained it to them, they were excited about having a brother and sister waiting for them in heaven. By giving these two babies names and recognition in our family, it makes it easier for the rest of my children to (later on down the road) begin to understand openness to life, the culture of life versus the culture of death, and God-control versus birth control, which was God's plan all along. Thank God for Courtney and Trey:)!