Who Are You Voting For In '08?

He gets my vote!

School Has Begun!

Monday began our first week of school!

After all the stress of our previous school having to close, last spring we began the hunt for a new Christian school. After many interviews with different schools, lots of testing (9 hours worth) we are thankful to be enrolled and active at our new school: Christian Heritage.

As I sat in one of the little desks in Jonathan’s fourth grade classroom on parent’s night, I thought back to my own fourth grade year. It was one of my favorites. Mrs. Traub read aloud to us The Bears of Blue River and Charlotte’s Web. I learned multiplication, made a large cardboard cutout of the state of Indiana decorated with corn, and was first introduced to the Little House books, which I subsequently devoured. When the entire class colored pictures of "Casper the Friendly Ghost" to hang above the chalk board, mine stood out starkly from the rest in a multi-colored bikini—I guess that was the 60's child coming out in me. Our student teacher did comment on my creativity.

That was 35 years ago and I still vividly remember my classmates, the smell of the coat closet, the gentle, loving sound of Mrs. Traub’s voice and the joy of getting lost in a good book. On April 3rd of that year a tornado completely leveled our high school. We then went half days for the rest of the school year as we had to share our school building with other students who no longer had a building of their own. I wrote little notes to the girl who shared my desk in the afternoon. Though we never met personally, we wrote back and forth for the remainder of the year. I hope Jonathan will someday look back on his fourth grade year and remember it as fondly as I remember mine.

Ashley is now a seventh grader and Cole is in Kindergarten (although our school actually calls it “Reading Class” as reading is it’s primary focus). Because our new school doesn’t do uniforms, I spent two entire days, with four kids in tow, shopping for school clothes. I really hated having to say goodbye to uniforms (they make life so much easier), but the kids are very glad to be able to add their own personality to the way they dress.

Nicholas is quite sad when I drop the kids off each morning. He is learning how to play by himself and I’m loving the one on one time with him. He is pure joy!

Happy Birthday Ashley!

Today Ashley is thirteen—a teenager! Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday she was a little squirt in pigtails.

We have some fun things planned for this evening, but because her best friend, Megan, is on vacation in San Antonio . . . we’ll do a belated birthday bash sleepover when she gets home.

Please indulge me as I travel down memory lane. This is a little pictorial of the thirteen years. We love you, Ashley! May your thirteenth year be filled with much joy.