Summer time fun!

Our summer was pretty low key, we mosrly stayed local which meant A LOT of pool time!  The kids love the water and love the outdoors, and summers in Texas are too hot to be outside without water.  Isaac is a true fish; the boy never stops swimmimg.  This summer he started to learn how to swim freestyle, how to dive, and how to swim down to the bottom of the deep end to retrieve toys and things.  He is so comfortable in the water, I think it's his second home.  Luke enjoys the pool, but some days he's happy to just play on the side with a water gun or other water toys.  He spends a lot of time on the shelf playing, or floating in his Lightening McQueen float.  In the last couple of weeks he started walking across the rocks, which makes me so nervous, but he is very careful.  He can swim very well, when he wants to.  The last few weeks he didn't swim at all, just played on the shelf and floated in his float.  I didn't push him, I know he can do it, so I am confident of his ability if he falls in, but I'm not going to make him do something he doesn't want to do.  This past weekend the boys were talking about swimming, and Isaac told him, "You can't swim, you won't put your face in the water, you can't really swim."  Well, nobody tells Luke that he cannot do something.  That afternoon we got in the pool, and he immediately got his goggles.  He told me he wanted to swim to me, and he did!  No hesitation, no problem, just like the little fish he was earlier in the summer.  I was so proud of him!  Hannah is a fish in training, the girl has absolutely no fear of the water!  It's incredible to see how comfortable she is in the water.  She is very careful getting in and out, and understands the dangers, you can see that in the way she moves in the water.  She loves to float in her float, she spins in circles and smiles the entire time!  She also lays back in her float, kicks her feet up, and relaxes.  She has awesome control of herself in the water.  She has started kicking her legs well, and really enjoys getting down on her hands on the shelf and kicking her legs behind her (she even does this on the edge of the shelf or steps).  As soon as she hears anything that sounds like it's time to swim she starts to yell, "Wim!  Pool!  Suit!"

I love seeing how different each of the kids are in the water.  They've all grown to love the water at different paces, and all enjoy doing different things in the pool.  I'm so thankful they are all very careful and cautious around the water.  We made so many sweet memories in the pool this summer, I can't wait to make more in future summers!

Surprise!

 

My sweet mom, Oma, turned 70 this past June, so a couple of weeks ago we threw her a Surprise birthday party!  It was put together by Soo Jin and dad, but we all had a hand in keeping it a surprise.  She was trying to make so many plans for that weekend, it got very difficult to come up with little lies.  Finally the day came, we had told her that we were coming over to watch football and some friends would be joining us.  These friends were going to bring all the food, she didn't need to do anything.  Thankfully, these friends are really that amazing, so the story was believable.  We got there early because I had asked her to go shopping with me.  We like to go to Hobby Lobby together and find things to make for Hannah.  I told her I wanted to make her a new dress, so would she like to help me.  Of course she would, so off we went.  I kept her busy shopping for a while, then headed back for the fun.  I had texted Carl along the way home, to let him know when we would arrive.  Unfortunately he got all 3 of my texts as we pulled up!  Soo Jin saw us go by as the texts came through, so they rushed everyone into the master bedroom.  We walked in, everything looked normal, no big deal.  Then all of a sudden, people started flowing out of her room, saying "Surprise!"  and "Happy Birthday!"  She was completely surprised and thrilled!  We enjoyed a nice evening with a good dinner, some cake, and great friends.  There are no words to explain how much we love Oma and what she means to us!  I hope that this party showed her how special she is, not only to us, but to so many people!  Happy 70th Mom!!!

The First Day of Kindergarten

Yes, he is Class of 2026, and this shirt should fit him by then.

 

Enough pictures, he's so excited and ready to go...but mama needs more!

 

Running to the bus stop, he could not wait to get there!

 

Here he goes, getting on that BIG bus!  All alone!!!  Don't cry, don't cry (mama, not Isaac, he was beyond excited about that moment).

 



Yes, I put him on the bus, then jumped in my truck and raced to the school to make sure he made it there and to get a few pictures of him in his room.



 

After school cupcakes to celebrate the First Day of School!

 

 

Isaac started Kindergarten on August 26, and wow, it was quite a transition...for me!  He could not wait, he was so ready to get his back pack on and get to the bus.  I don't think he cared about the rest of the day, it was all about the bus!  While eating breakfast, he said, "Mama are you going to bring me to school?"  Oh goodness, he is waivering, was my thought.  I said, "No, you are riding the bus like you wanted, you want to right?"   "Yes!"  Thankfully we had 3 sweet neighbors riding the bus with him, and one promised to look out for him.  I needed that to make me feel better about it.  We all went to the bus stop together, the boys ran the entire way.  We had to wait a while, so the kids all played together, Isaac seemed completely ready, no nerves at all.  (I may have had some butterflies in my stomach.)  Once the bus came, he jumped right on, he didn't even hesitate, and he was off.  He waved through the window with a big smile.  Our sweet boy has waited 5 long years to ride that big yellow school bus!

 

Once the bus pulled away, I went home, got in my truck, and went to the school.  I caught up to the bus, watched it turn out of the neighborhood, go down the road, and into the school.  Whew, that was a good feeling.  The school was so busy, I found a place to park, and started to walk in.  I ran into a neighbor, one of our good friends, their little girl was all ready to start her Kindergarten year!  Once in the building, I peaked into his room, there he was, sitting at his seat, looking a little scared, but coloring his paper.  I snapped a picture from the door, which caught his attention, so he looked up and saw me there.  He smiled a big smile and waved to me.  I went in, gave him a big hug, and asked about the bus.  "It was great!"  He loved it!  To my surprise he had walked from the bus to his classroom all alone!  He says nobody helped him.  I couldn't believe that, and I was so thankful he made it.  He told me later that he came in the same doors that we had come in for meet the teacher, so he knew how to go.  Thank goodness he is so good with directions!  I only wanted to stay a few minutes, but he was very clingy, which made it hard to say goodbye.  I was doing fine until then, that made me sad, I know how nervous he gets in new situations, so it was hard to leave him alone.  His teacher noticed our hesitation, so she came over to love on him and distract him, so I could leave.  I had to let her know again that he would be a car rider home because he was trying to insist on the riding the bus again.  Oh that boy.

 

Once I got home it hit me, he was gone, all day!  It was so quiet at the house, the weather was rainy, which was not good for the mood, and Hannah kept looking for him and calling his name.  Luke was very grumpy, he didn't want to do anything.  So we watched some TV and just relaxed a while.  Finally we all got it together, and started to try to make the new normal.  It was a good rest of the day, but it was long.

 

We got to the school at 3:00 to pick him up and the line was SO long!  In my excitement to get him I had forgotten that I was low on gas, so my gas light came on.  Oh no, I could not be the one that runs out of gas in the car line!  I was so nervous!  Thankfully it was not as hot, due to the rain, so I shut the car off while we waited.  We waited and waited, but finally at 3:35 we picked up our Isaac!  We were all so excited to be back together!  We came home to hear all about his day, and I couldn't keep Luke away from him!

 

He really enjoyed the day!  He told me, "Mama, we got to go to music class!"  And, "She read the same book we read last night!"  Another thing he mentioned was that the playground was so crowded that he couldn't get on the equipment.  He played alone that day, but still had fun.  I asked who he sat by at lunch, his face lit up as he said, "My teacher sat by me."

 

It was so good to have him back home, I was so thankful to hear about his great day and how much he loved it!

 

The next morning I opened his door to go get him, and he jumped out of bed.  He was ready to go back!  That sure makes this so much easier!  We miss him so much, Hannah and Luke still do, but knowing he's happy and having fun makes it a little bit easier on us all.

Proud of this boy...

I'm so proud of this big smiling boy!  He has finally done it, he is officially potty trained!  It was really a matter of him deciding he wanted to do it, so with a little bribery we helped him make that decision.  While shopping yesterday he found a Planes toy that he really wanted (we don't often or ever really buy random toys while out shopping).  I told him I'd buy it for him, but he could not get it until he pooped on the potty.  He had been doing really well with peepee, but needed more convincing for the rest.  He agreed, so we picked one for him and one for Isaac (I can't buy just one plane, that would create a huge problem around the house).  So we bought the plane, I brought it home thinking it would be quite a while before he earns it.  After being home about an hour he tells me he needs to go potty, he was excited and running to the bathroom.  I sat him down, he looked at me and said, "If I poopoo do I get my plane?"  I told him of course, and waited...and HE DID IT!  That boy, he's something else!  He got that plane (Skipper) and he was over the moon!  I was, too, but worried that it may be a one time thing.  He wore underwear all day and didn't have any accidents!  Today we put underwear on again (4th day of that), and he was happy as can be.  Mid morning, he did it again!  I am so proud of him!

Luke is so fun, so silly, and sometimes so challenging.  Potty training was a battle, but I finally realized that I could not force him to do it if he didn't want to.  My boy will only do things when he decides he's ready....and apparently he's ready to wear underwear now!  Whew!  We are now on a hunt for Planes underwear in his size (he is the biggest Planes fan around).

Meet the Teacher

Our first Elementarty adventure began last week, Thursday, August 22, as we went to Meet the Teacher.  Isaac was very unsure about it all, and even though he's excited about kindergarten, I can tell he's also scared of the unknown.  We got to meet his teacher right away, and she seems fantastic!!!  She was so sweet and welcoming to Isaac, and her room is so cute.  He has one friend in his class from last year, so that will be very helpful as he begins the year.  We didn't get to see too many of his new classmates, as we were the first ones there, but I'm excited to hear all about his new friends after the first day!  His class is small, only 15 kids...which made me feel a little better.  Isaac was very indecisive about everything, one big one was the bus.  He has been saying for months that he wants to ride the bus.  But at meet the teacher he began to waiver.  He kept telling me that he did not want to ride the bus, I needed to bring him.  After much debate we decided I would drive him to and from school.  (Now the night before school, he is insisting on riding the bus.  Ugh, I can't keep up!)  Thursday we got to walk around the school and check it all out.  We found the bathroom closest to his classroom, the cafeteria (which I had to explain to him and let him know he would eat there), and we saw the computer lab and library, too. 

For years I was always very confident in my decision that our kids would go to public school.  As a former public school teacher myself, I just felt it was the best place for them.  After our experience at his preschool, which is a private school that continues through Kindergarten, I started to doubt my choice.  We loved it there, we loved that he learned academics, but also scripture and Truth about our God.  They did such a great job incorporating the Lord into their everyday lessons.  So that mixed with the many many friends we have that homeschool, I have started to waiver on my decision.  Last semester and over the summer, we did a lot of praying and researching, to decide what we felt would be best for our boy.  We went back and forth with all three options, but after much prayer and thought we settled on our original choice of public school.  We trust that the Lord will be with him, He will guide him, and He will protect him.  I have really been praying hard that the Lord would surround Isaac with God loving teachers and friends, and that he would use Isaac to be a light to those who may not knonw Him. 

I'm anxious and excited about this new adventure, but in my heart I know that Isaac is ready and will have an amazing year!  We are so proud of the boy that he is today, and look forward to continuing to watch him grow as he starts elementary school!

Closing a chapter...for a little bit.

Isaac has enjoyed taking gymnastics for the past 3 years.  He has learned a lot of great gymnastics skills, but it's been so much more than that.  He's learned discipline, hard work, focus, and sportsmanship.  Of course, as a former gymnast myself, I am biased, but I really think it's a great sport for everyone because it teaches so many things!  I'm so thankful for the fabulous coaches that he's had, but Coach Sarah (pictured above) has been one of our favorites!  She pushes him to learn and work hard, but also makes sure he has fun!  We've taken many of these classes over the years with his BFF Taylor; we are so thankful for the memories they made together in gymnastics!  We are going to take a little break from the gym as he starts kindergarten, and we'll reevaluate next semester.

Isaac and Taylor during one of their first gymnastics classes! 

Poor Luke...

As I mentioned in the last post, our trip ended with Luke getting sick.  The trip started so joyfully, he was having a blast with his girl, Kacy.  On the way home we had a different Luke.  It was his first experience with a stomach bug, and it was rough.  He was sicker than I've ever seen him, just miserable.  Thankfully, it was only about 28 hours long, but once he got hungry and thirsty he wanted to eat and drink. We were very hesitant with that, and he was very angry about that.  Poor guy.  He bounced back well, and is now happy and healthy.  Unfortunately, that bug isn't done with us, I had a round of it myself and it was terrible!  I'm on the mend and hoping to bee 100% again tomorrow.  Now we're cleaning like crazy and praying hard that the others stay well.

 Tex was a good buddy while Luke was sick, I think they both enjoyed having each other on the floor.