Loving Life 365: 2012

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Thursday, October 11, 2012

I just have to document how proud I am of my little kindergartener. Eric and I just got back from conferences and although I'm not surprised, it's always nice to hear that someone else thinks your child is half as great as you do! Ms. Sather told us how although Emmett is at the reading level 1, his reading ability is higher but during the testing he wasn't able to articulate what they were looking for in terms of comprehension. At school they do, reading buddies, where they are paired up with a second grader. The second grader is supposed to read to the kindergartener. When Ms. Sather walked by Emmett and his partner, she discovered that Emmett was reading to the second grader instead of vice versa. She was very impressed with that. She also said that Emmett's reading buddy was someone who needed to be with a nice kid, as this boy is a bit timid and insecure. She said, Emmett would be perfect. To me, that speaks so highly of his character, I just love it!

The teacher also told us a funny story about Emmett. They were discussing internal organs. One kid caled out "ribs". She said, that's not quite what I'm looking for. So Emmett excitedly raised his hand and called out, "intesticles!"

I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was, that Emmett tested higher than average in math. He didn't test significantly higher, but enough that they're going to pull him out of math a few times a week so that he can work on activities more at his ability level. The plan is to have him "play games" with a child from another class who the enrichment teacher thinks would be a good match with him. I'm so pleased with our school, that they will work individually with the students so that the will each excel and not sit around being bored. This also explains why there are always elaborate drawing on the back of Emmett's math worksheets.

Driving home I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with gratefulness for Emmett. For his sweet heart, for his intelligent mind, for his desire to learn, for his caring personality. I also was aware that although things may be come easy for him now, they may not always. Or maybe they will always come easy. Maybe he will be that kid that doesn't have to try very hard. But there are kids who have to try really hard. And even when they try really hard, they are always a step behind. One of my other 3 kids may be that kid. Two thoughts about that. 1) Wow, how hard that must be a parent. Even the slight glimpse of Emmett not excelling causes me a tad of heart ache. 2) The amount of love a parent has for a child doesn't depend even one tiny little bit on his/her accomplishments. Although I adore Emmett with every single part of who I am, my love wouldn't diminish one tiny bit if he wasn't the "hoppy helper" in kindergarten. If he wasn't a kid who made people's faces brighten when they spoke of him.

Emmett loves school. He comes home kind, considerate, thoughtful and attentive to his siblings. I expected attitude and tantrums. I haven't seen an increase in those areas at all. I love knowing that he is in an environment where he's thriving, he's growing, he's being challenged and appreciated. I just wish I could be a little fly on the wall!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Birthday Boy!!! Ender is 2!

2 years ago today was one of the scariest and one of the most beautiful days of my entire life. My sweet Ender was born. For 2 years I have been unable to read the birth story that I wrote the day he was born. I just read it for the first time, through teary eyes. As I look at these pictures I am blown away by how God protected my sweet boy and protected me. We were so close to a different outcome. How will God use our story, our miracle?

When asked how old he is, Ender responds, "five" as he holds out 5 fingers, complete with his index and middle finger crossed.

When asked what color anything is, he responds, "purple!"

When you ask him what his name is, he responds, "name!"

When you ask him what a cow says, he responds, "cow says!"

He LOVES to sit on the potty chair and go #2 while playing DS. I haven't changed a dirty diaper in months. Thank you DS! We're still working on #1. He tells me as he is going. We've definitely got room for improvement there!

Ender either whispers or yells. There is very little in between. Same with his moods, smiley and happy (which is most always) or complete tantrum (which is quickly followed by "I sorry mama").

When he sees something he likes he says, "Cool! I like it!"

He can often be found singing hymns such as, "Jesus Loves Me" or "He Arose" or "I'll Fly Away"

He often asks to watch a "mobie" or drink "milkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk"

This boy is special; he is others focused. He is the first to apologize. He is the first to offer someone else something of his. He is the first to make sure the person who said "ow" is ok, "you otay mama?" with a gentle pat on the back. When he falls he quickly stands up and says, "I'm ok!"

Eric and I race up to his room to be the first to greet him in the morning because his smile brightens your day. He is a great sleeper (sometimes sleeps till 9:00am!); most always goes down with out a single fuss. He sleeps with his blankie and dactdu (pacifier).

In the moments of the day I feel like it would be impossible to forget these precious details. But I know that they will slowly fade and I'll look back at these pictures and these posts with tears. These are the best days of my life and I pray that God will reveal that to me on a second by second basis. I don't want to take a moment for granted. God spared Ender's life. There are not many babies who are born HEALTHY from a ruptured uterus. Each person has a unique story and Ender's unique birth is part of his. I love this boy to pieces. I am so blessed to call him my son.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Tie and TOMS!

The first day of school...the first for any of my children. The anticipation of this day has been really tough. Can Cologne Academy offer a better learning environment than I could at home? I think so but only time will tell. However, for me, I've had to change my perspective. It's not about what Emmett will get out of school, it's about what he can give. The change took place when I read this blog post by Momastery. What I took from this post is that we need to encourage our children to be blessings to those around them. I've spent almost 6 years pouring all of myself into this amazing boy. As our first child we've taught, loved, encouraged, corrected, disciplined, made mistakes, asked for forgiveness, held standard high, given responsibility, removed privileges ... and on and on... with the goal of instilling the love and passion for his savior, Jesus Christ. My prayer this school year is not that Emmett learns how read, not that he's liked, not that he has fun, not that he grows (although all those things would be nice)...but that he is a blessing to those around him. That he reaches out to the kids in his class with love and compassion. That when he walks into his classroom and his teacher is exhausted that his bright smile will turn her mood. I pray that he is a blessing. That God uses him beyond our wildest dreams to touch others with the love of Christ. That Emmett sees the pain of the boy who doesn't make friends easily...and that he acts. My sweet, 1st born, people pleaser, approval seeking, obedient, soft hearted little Emmett has been such a blessing to me. It's now my opportunity to share him with others. It's my opportunity to let him to pour out all that we've been pouring into him. Obviously this has become my personal journal entry. But I want to remember this in years to come. I'm not sending Emmett to all day kindergarten (9 hours from bus pick-up to drop-off) to get him out of my hair or so that I have less kids to take care of. Believe me, this is a completely selfless choice. I WANT him around! But I feel like I need to share him at this time. Let his little light shine. I pray that when people take one look at this plaid tie and TOMS and they'll see nothing but LIGHT!

Now onto some pictures and captions!

Eisley thought they should pose on the car. I asked Emmett to refrain so that his clothes wouldn't get dirty!

Cologne Academy magnet.

Eisley wanted a picture too!

Biking to the bus stop, not even a block away :)

Yea! Our bus is coming! Oops, not our bus!

Emmett gave the driver a caribou gift card. The bus driver was so surprised! He thought Emmett had made a mistake and the card was intended for someone else. I hope we made his morning!

The sweetest little profile I ever did see :)

I packed up the other 3 kids and waited at school until he arrived so we could snap a few more pictures!

One more good bye!

Hugs from lil' bro!

Walking into school, so confident.

Mom's inner monologue, "don't cry, don't cry, don't cry..."

Good bye my sweet sweet boy. May your little light shine.

A new tradition

I wasn't feeling particularly weepy or emotional. Just exhausted. Like I can't keep my eyes open, I'm going to fall asleep while you're talking to me, exhausted. Exhausted, I think just emotionally as the weight of just knowing that my little boy would start kindergarten today. So, last night, I crawled into the top bunk with Emmett and Eisley and fell asleep snuggling with my 2 oldest kids (and 4 pillow pets, 2 cups of water, 1 box of tissues, 3 blankets...thankfully I had told Eisley the life size crocodile had to stay on the ground). Yes, Eisley was already in the top bunk with Emmett's permission - perhaps also missing Emmett through the mere anticipation of full day kindergarten. I'm wondering if I've started a new tradition...falling asleep in my kids' beds with them on the night before school. When I awoke, I gave them each one last kiss and awkwardly crawled down out of the bunk and into my roomy queen size bed. The bed which I've never called roomy before because my 6'2" husband sleeps diagonally. Good thing I'm short! But sometimes "roomy" isn't quite the most comforting feeling. There was nothing I'd rather be, in those moments, than snuggled and squished. Did I mention that Eisley literally fell asleep with her leg on top of me and her head on my tummy? Who needs a body pillow when you've got a mommy!