Last days of school

Wednesday was Anna's last day of school and Thursday was Ian's. The end of school is bitter-sweet. I miss the routine of the school year along with the set Wednesday I have to take care of chores, errands and volunteering. But I also enjoy summer because we can make our own schedule, explore our community via field trips with friends, go swimming, and just be more relaxed.

The last week of school was a fun one for Ian. His class got to have a pizza party, make a birthday cake and have a party to celebrate all the summer birthdays, and our favorite was Wacky Wednesday. He and all his classmates got to dress "wacky" for school. He picked his own outfit - mix/match shoes and socks, camo shorts, his super hero shirt with cape attached that says Super Ian (courtesy of his super crafty Gram this past Christmas) and his favorite Spiderman baseball cap. I was thrilled to get a photo of he and his best little girlfriend, JJ, on Wacky Wednesday before class started. We hope to see her over the summer break sometime. Ian's evaluation for this school year was that he was a sweet, thoughtful boy who made friends easily, was well liked and "mature". The teachers commented that they enjoyed talking with him because his vocabulary is wonderful for his age. And he and his teachers loved to share riddles and jokes with each other.

Anna enjoyed her last day of school and we enjoyed her final "report" (the teachers give the parents a slip each day that gives details about the child's day) that stated the teachers loved having Anna in their class because she has such a fun personality and they loved her dancing. That's Anna! She loves to dance and sing! She's going to be our performer and I wouldn't doubt she'll have a talent for song or dance or both as she grows up.

I can't believe Anna enters preschool curriculum next year and Ian starts pre-K this coming fall (his last year at his current school - then on to the public school for kindergarten). Ian actually asked me the other day if I would teach him how to drive when he gets older! I know we're going to blink and he is going to be asking for the car keys for real. Wow, how time flies but we're doing our best to enjoy each day along the way.

Monkey see...monkey do

We had Anna's second birthday party on Saturday and the theme was "monkey see...monkey do" with lime green and pink dots and girly monkeys.

The kids helped me prepare for the party on Friday by unwrapping Hershey Kisses (we tuck those into the chocolate cupcakes as a treat) and helping to bake the cupcakes and mini chocolate chip cookies. Anna took her unwrapping duties very seriously!

Her big gifts from us were a giant doll house with tons of accessories (thanks to a super Craigslist bargain) and a mini trampoline for inside the house. This girl LOVES to "hop! hop!" so we thought a trampoline would be suiting for both she and Ian to enjoy on bad weather days (or anytime they get hyper we can say, "Go hop!"). I know, we are absolutely NUTS for buying this for the kids but you know how parents are...our hearts rule sometimes.

Ian got Anna a Precious Moments figurine honoring her 2nd birthday, a Precious Moments music figurine that plays You Are My Sunshine, and a horse to go with her new doll house.

Anna thoroughly enjoyed her mini chocolate cake with loads of strawberry frosting on top! She ate it face-first.

Our baby girl turns two on Thursday and we can't believe what a "big girl" she is now. She's getting new words each day and starting to talk in two and three word sentences. She knows several letters of the alphabet by sight and a few numbers. She can correctly do her wooden alphabet puzzle all by herself. She loves to help dress/undress and likes to choose her own shoes, as well as attempts to put them on. She can partially undress and is showing initial interest in the potty.

At her 2-year well child check-up she weighed 30 lbs. (which puts her in the 75-80th percentile) and the only way they could get an accurate weight was to have me get on the scale alone and then I held Anna in my arms and we got weighed together. She will not cooperate for weight/height checks at the doc - she never really has w/o a fuss. They could not get her height but Mark was able to get an estimate as she stretched out in her bed. She is 35-1/2" tall which puts her in the 90th percentile in height. So if the old tail of their adult height being based on doubling their height at age 2, then she would be roughly 5'9" as an adult. She already rivals Ian in overall size and is as tall as some three year olds she encounters at the park. She's a solid girl!

As we watch her change and grow, though, we know she'll always be our little baby doll.

Her words (that I can think of) at age 2:

Mama

Daddy

Ian (she says "Ee-uh")

Anna (she calls herself "Abba")

dog

cat

pat (as in 'pat the puppy')

Puppy

cup

milk

eat

water

Nana

Papa

Coal

Braden (cousin)

Bryson (cousin)

pray

body

head

eye

ear

mouth

teeth

toes (as well as "piggies" for her toes)
foot

pretty

bag

monkey (what she calls her monkey lovie blanket)

deep / wide (from the song she learned at church)

baby

boy

girl

happy (one of  her favorite words!)

sad

messy

hands

belly
body

no

yes

brother / bubba

night-night

Bible

Jesus

noodles

blue

yellow

green

orange

pink

purple

boat

plane

up

high

swing

slide

bike

toss

catch

bye-bye

all done / all gone

diaper

wash

potty

bath

show (as in "tv show")

Caillou (her favorite show right now)

choo-choo (train)

car

truck

mine

please

thank you

more

apple

raisins

cookie

yummy

pappy (what she calls her pacifier)

bed
home
read
play
doll house
rainbow (pronounces it "nee-mo")
macaroni and cheese (pronounces it "num-neuhm-num")
pizza

Mother's Day



Ian and Mama at the Mom & Me Tea at school.

This was a great Mother's Day week.  I say week because Ian had a special Mom & Me Tea at school and it was so neat getting to attend that with him. The kids decorated cookies to share and even served punch to us moms at the table. The teachers made a placemat that was covered in photos of Ian at school with all his friends. His closest girl-friend is JJ and I was so excited that one of the photos had the two of them playing together. At the end of the Tea the kids performed a song about moms to the tune of Your Are My Sunshine and it definitely melted this Mama's heart!

Ian's class singing "Your Are My Mommy"

(Ian is third from the left in the gray shirt.)

On Mother's Day morning Mark and the kids made me breakfast in bed. Ian brought the plate in and Anna quickly told me, "Yum!" Anna and I danced together (she likes me to hold her as I sway back and forth to the music) as we got ready for church. Ian had picked out a cute card that had a purple silicon "Mom" bracelet attached for me to wear today. Mark traced each of their hands inside the card and Ian signed it. They also got me a really pretty white and silver handbag. Love it!

I thank God for blessing Mark and me with the kids and making me a mother. I have wanted to be a mommy since I was a little girl and there's no title I love more. As Mark noted the other day, "I love this life we've been given." So true - so true.

Mama and her babies on Mother's Day before church.

This is a cute video they showed at church during the kids sermon that I wanted to share. Enjoy.

The Mom Song - Go Fish
(mute the blog music to hear only the video)

May goes blue

It's hard to believe it's May 1st already. The month of May is exciting because of Mother's Day, the end of the school year, and family summer vacations are upon us all. But it's also National Foster Care Month.


I heard a local pastor put it very simply and honestly that 'foster children are our local equivalent to orphans'. Psalm 82:3 says we are to Defend the weak and the fatherless. You don't have to look across the globe to find children in need. They are in your state, your town, and possibly right next door. Our orphans are the children without fathers, without families - foster children.

A glimpse at the crowd.

Anna and I participated in the Walk A Mile In My Shoes foster care awareness walk on Saturday and it was a particularly moving experience. As we entered the parking lots we witnessed masses of people pulling their suitcases or carrying duffel bags, headed for the event. It was our first "walk" as Mother-Daughter and the turnout was phenomenal! They'd anticipated about 200 attendees and God really moved mountains to bring more than 2500 people into downtown - most were entire families with their foster children and even Grandparents along. We were excited to see and walk along with our friend Tammy and two of her children, along with several other familiar faces, who are passionate about foster children at the event.



Anna pushes her Baby and
Monkey with our duffels
in tow as we await the walk.



Brrr! It was a chilly, windy morning
but the sun was out in full force.





The purpose of the event was to bring awareness to the community about the desperate need for Christian foster homes for the more than 8000 children in the state's foster care system. Participants were also asked to bring a new suitcase or duffel to carry along with them during the walk to signify the multiple moves foster children face. It is estimated that a foster child moves an average of 4 times in 20 months in the system. Often these children leave home with very little. In most cases their necessities are put into a garbage bag. The act of putting a child's most treasured items and clothing into a trash bag sends a very negative message to these children that they are not valued, their belongings are "trash". So each duffel/suitcase brought to the event was donated to a foster child so they can at least carry their personal items in a proper bag of their own.

A snapshot of the suitcases/duffels brought to
the walk for the foster kids. Amazing!

Below are some links to local organizations that are actively trying to help foster children. This May please visit their sites to learn more about some unexpected ways your time and talents can help foster children and their foster families. Fostering isn't for everyone but there are many other ways you can serve these children with Christ's love. Some examples are praying for the kids and their foster families, making meals to be delivered to foster families upon placement of a child, donating baby items or clothing, diapers or necessities, as well as books, backpacks, school supplies, and gifts for birthdays or Christmas, or possibly opening your heart and home to a child or sibling group via respite (short-term) foster care or bridge (long-term) foster care, as well as adoption through the foster care system. God bless!

Fostering Hope - A 31 Day Devotional

Angel's Foster Family Network

Christian Services of Oklahoma

Circle of Care (Child Share)

Citizens Caring for Children

The Anna's House Foundation

The Bair Foundation - Christian Foster Care


And I'll close with a favorite video of mine right now. Those of you who follow the blog regularly have already seen this but I encourage you to send this out to your email lists during May. We forward jokes and silly quizzes, why not forward something of purpose instead?

True Religion from Christian Alliance for Orphans http://vimeo.com/13831236

God bless!