Can You Believe It!?!

Yep, its another post from yours truly. Finally. We haven't had much going on since David's exciting coloring contest win, so no posts. Still don't have much going on, so this is likely to be short.

Have you ever seen something that just breaks your heart? Of course you have. And I have too, but what I saw on Monday ripped my heart out and stomped on it.

I go in 2 times a week to help in David's class. Monday I went in, and went to PE with the class. I noticed a little boy who was wearing jeans that were so short on him that they could've been capris. And his long sleeved shirt was more the 3/4 length. I didn't see any kids teasing him about it, but that doesn't mean that it didn't happen. And this isn't the first time I've seen this boy wear clothes that were obviously too small for him. Obviously, his parents either can't afford to buy him clothes that fit, or, well, I guess that would be the only logical explanation. So after thinking about it & praying about it, I asked Richard if we could buy the boy some new clothes. Anonymously. And he agreed. I was almost in tears talking to Richard about it, it had me so upset. So I'm watching sales, and hope to go shopping for him this weekend. We're going to make sure to take all the tags off everything so that nothing can be returned for cash that the parents will spend on themselves.

In other news, David gets out of school early today & will be home around 2pm. He's excited about that. Except that I told him he might have to take a nap. :) Maybe. We'll see.

Oh, and Richard & I went on Sunday afternoon to see the high school production of "The Sound of Music", one of my very favorite musicals. The cast did a fantastic job! It was actually made up of elementary school age up to high school. The girl who played Maria did an awesome job! And the boy who played Captian von Trapp was very, very good as well. Richard basically went because I really, really wanted to go, but he ended up being very impressed as well. Two of the von Trapp children were played by two girls from church. They did a great job as well. The entire cast was great. I do have to say that the boy who was cast to play Rolfe did a good job, but his makeup made him look like a girl. It didn't help that he had long hair that was in a pony tail that was tucked into his collar. But other than that, I'd go see it again. But it only ran over the weekend.

Its Only Tuesday??

It feels like it should be Friday! Today was pretty uneventful. Our lp tank (liquid propane) was filled in preparation for cooler weather & turning the heat on. It was a pleasant suprise when the bill came to only $365.40. It was $1.40 a gallon. This time last year it was around $2.00 a gallon, in the winter of '08 we paid as much as @2.30 a gallon. Hopefully the price per gallon will stay low.

One thing I forgot to mention that I did yesterday was that I went and helped in David's class in the morning. It was fun, and I started learning everyones names and started getting a hint of the different personalities in the class. David was so excited he could hardly stand it! I'm going to be helping on Mondays & Thursdays, so I'll be going back in a couple of days. I'm really looking forward to it.

Only 1 more day till Richard gets home! He's been down in Mississippi since Labor Day for training. Tomorrow is his travel day home. Unfortunately he won't get home until around 11:00 pm. His flight gets in about 9:00 pm, but he has to drive from La Crosse to Ft. McCoy to take a buddy home, the come back to the house. He does have Thursday & Friday off, however.

Why Is It....

...so dang hard to get the kids up at 6:00 am to get ready for school, but they're up and out of bed at 6:00 am on Saturday & Sunday???? Both David & Nathaniel are just like their dad. Hard to wake up & it takes forever to get them going in the morning.

Nathaniel didn't want to go to school this morning. I put his jacket on him & he took it off. Its wasn't until I had picked him up and was walking out the door that he wanted his jacket back on. Then he didn't want to get on the bus. Until it stopped in front of our driveway. But he won't give me a hug and kiss until he's on the bus. Its a good thing we're the first stop.

I put the kids to bed at 7:00 tonight. Well, it was actually 7:15 when I finally closed the door. But I had to go back up twice because Nathaniel was calling for me. He had to go potty. You can't argue with that. I think he's finally asleep now. It took David all of 5 minutes to go to sleep. Must be nice.

I think I'll take some pictures of my nice, clean (for now) living room tomorrow and give you all a look-see at our main living area.

The First Day

Did not start out well for me. I woke up about 3 am with a horrible migraine. It felt like someone was pounding spikes through my forehead & I was naueous as well. I took an Imatrex and after an hour took another one, which Richard went and got for me. I was finally able to fall asleep, and then Richard's alarm went off. Mine went off shortly after Richard's, but I stayed in bed until almost 6:00; my alarm was set for 5:30. I still had a migraine, but it was almost gone, so it wasn't horrible to get the kids up and ready for school. The nice thing is that I don't need to worry about breakfast, since Nathaniel eats breakfast at school instead of lunch, and new this year at David's school is a free lunch program, so the kids eat breakfast in their classroom. So with that, I think we can safely get them up at 6:00 instead of 5:30. Here are some shots of the big day.

This first one is my favorite. David sometimes says he doesn't like his brother, but this just proves how much he loves him!
I was hoping that they'd hold hands on the walk to the end of the driveway, but they didn't. But its still a cute picture.

Nathaniel insisted on putting David's hood up on his jacket before we walked out the door. It was cold this morning. Not more than 50 degrees. David wanted to wear shorts this morning, but I talked him out of it.

Here's another cute pose. The white square on Nathaniel's jacket is a name tag with his name & what school he goes to. The pre-k school sent it in the mail. Apparently they want them to get to the right place. :)

Here comes the short bus. The driver, Barb, seems really nice. She brings Nathaniel home as well. The red barn behind the bus is our landlord's barn. So we're really close to them. Shoot! Just remembered I need to take rent over!

Nathaniel had no qualms (great Scrabble word) about getting on the bus. In fact, he was so excited I didn't even get to hug & kiss him goodbye! I didn't realize it until after the bus was gone. (sniff, sniff) But I didn't cry like I thought I might.

And here's the 1st grader! Didn't get a hug or kiss from him, either.

I went back to bed after the kids got on the bus. I slept until about 9:45 am, and after cleaning up I went out to wait for Nathaniel to get home. He was done with school at 10:30, but didn't get home until 11:45! Its a first day of school thing. Making sure everyone is on the right bus & then getting everyone home. Barb the bus driver said that it'll most likely be closer to 11:00 to 11:15 when he's dropped off once she gets the route down.

When David got home from school he said that the day was too short! But he couldn't really remember what he did at school.

9 1/2 hrs and counting.....

till I have to get the boys up to get ready for school. Because their bus will come about 6:30 am, I'm getting them out of bed about 5:30ish. Itsn't that horrid? Last year David was the first one on the bus in the morning. This year I'm not sure if the boys will be first on or not, but we'll find out soon enough.

It was difficult getting Nathaniel to settle down tonight for bed. He's so excited to go to school tomorrow and see his teacher. Since he's in AM pre-k, he'll eat breakfast at school instead of lunch. He's not one to eat really early in the morning, so I doubt I'll be able to get him to eat something before he gets on the bus.

I plan on taking pictures tomorrow morning, so watch for them tomorrow.

An Outdoor Service

We had our last outdoor worship service at church this morning. It was beautiful out. Sunny, a light breeze and COLD! I'm not sure what the temp actually was, but it wasn't any higher than 60 degrees, probably closer to 55 degrees. The worship team was set up in the shade of the church building, but by the time church started, we (us singers, anyway) were in the sun. The congregation was in the sun from the beginning, so they were relatively warm the entire time. We had a potluck afterwards, and had lots of yummy food to eat. It was a lovely close to the summer.

Two days till school starts! Yippee! I mean, oh, I'm so sad that my kids will be going off to school and leaving me at the house by myself. (sniff, sniff) :)

And So It Begins...

the last weekend before school starts. I have all the new school clothes washed & hung up, school supplies in backpacks & ideas for lunches for David since he won't eat hot lunch. Both boys are excited about school starting, Nathaniel more about riding the bus than anything, I think.

Today was pretty uneventful. Ran a couple of errands, took a nap, made salads for dinner & now here we are. The kids are having their snack before bed & I just finished a huge grocery list for Sam's Club.

My allergies are killing me. We mowed for the last 2 days, and the cut grass is making me all stuffy. I walked out to the mailbox and back and within a half an hour I was sneezing up a storm. After sneezing for about the 6th time in as many minutes Richard asked if I was ok. No, I'm not ok! I can't stop sneezing!

FPU Preview & An Open House

I was so excited about this evening's FPU preview. I baked for about 3 hours this morning so we'd have snacks. The boys and I went into town about 2:15 so I could spend a hour or so setting up tables & chairs before going to David's school's open house. Then it was time to grab some dinner & finish up at the church before the preview started at 6:30.

David had a blast at the open house. We were the first ones in his class, so we got about 10 minutes of chatting with his teacher without interruption, which was nice. I found out her 4 year old twins will be in Nathaniel's pre-k class, so that'll be fun. David was excited to see some classmates from his Kindergarten class last year, a friend from pre-k that wasn't in his class last year & we also went and said hi to his kindergarten teacher. Nathaniel was at a friend from church's house during this, so I could concentrate on David.

The FPU preview. Where do I start? Well, first, it was definetly a Monday. We had problems with the sound system, couldn't find the needed cables, and only 6 people (not including me and my other small group leader) showed up. I had set up 6 tables that would seat 8 each, so needless to say I was a bit disappointed. I forgot, however, that we have at least 2 more couples coming for sure. One didn't plan on coming to the preview, and I really didn't expect them, the other couple was going to come, but circumstances changed & they weren't able to make it. One of the ladies that came tonight was in my first class, but she came to sign her daughter & son-in-law up. (yep, they know, they were just out of town) When I commented afterwards that I was expecting more people, she told me of something that happened to her. She started a Bible study, and the first day, only 1 person came. And the next time, and the next time. Always the same person. She said she asked God why there weren't more people. He said not to count the people, but to feed His sheep. It doesn't matter how many there are, but that they are hungry. Thank you, Karen, for your words of wisdom!

To my cousin, Nancy - I hope you're feeling better!

The Countdown Begins

We're finally home! And so begins the countdown till school starts. 10 days and counting! (including today) David's Open House for 1st grade is tomorrow. Nathaniel's for Pre-K is on Wednesday. Our Financial Peace University Free Preview is tomorrow night. Tomorrow is going to be way hectic, but I have a list! A to-do list, that is.

I have to go get the kids ready for bed, I'll post more tomorrow.