ROLLING OF THE EYES HAS BEGAN..............

Me: Did you just roll your eyes at me?

Raelynn: No I was just pretending to be a Cheetah and looking all around me to see my surroundings and looking out for danger.

Me: Well if you roll your eyes at me again there will be no need to look around for danger as I am right here!

Raelynn: Ok but I am not, just pretending to be a Cheetah.



Oh and this is just the beginning!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!!!!!!

Today is Mother's Day and I am not really even sure where to begin with that.  Mother's Day has taken on a whole new meaning as the years have past.  As most of you know, being a Mother is the best thing I do every day!  It is the one thing that I never wish I didn't have to do.  I love everything about being a Mother and more so every day.  It is the most challenging and changing "job" I have ever had. There are no words that can describe how it feels to be a Mother; if you are not one you simply cannot understand it.  However, if you are a Mother, I truly hope you do understand and feel "it" because "it "does not get any better.  I often thank God not for making me a Mother but rather for giving me the ability to enjoy it and embrace it. My love for Motherhood is undescribably wonderful!  Equally magnificent is having a Mother.  I have a wonderful Mother who taught me so much about being a Mother myself.  Some of her teaching was through what she did do and some was through what she did not do, each of which were equally important.  She taught me to love and laugh and to be strong.  She taught me to be supportive and encouraging.  I learned to be open and honest.  Recently my Mom went through more than a trying and stressful time at work and to listen to her describe what was going on and how she handled it left me in awe.  She held her head high, she smiled and she continued being the best person she could be and accepted that the outcome would be what it was meant to be whether at the time it was what she wanted it to be.  What a true testomony to putting your life in God's hands.  This morning in church we discussed how God is the Light and if you focus on the light/the good then you will "be in the light" with God and darkness will not be a concern.  Focus on the light, the postive not the darkness and you shall always walk on the side of good.  I love this and it just makes "doing the right things" seem so much easier!  There is no need to worry about what you shouldn't do as long as you focus on what you should.  Ths is exactlty what my Mom did and taught me, or reminded me, through her actions how to live.  Being a Mother never ends as my Mother has shown, she is still teaching me.  I love you Mom, and thank you for teaching me lifes most valuable lessons and continue to remind me through your actions!  You are extraordinary!

A Week in Review

Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week which is a great celebration.  Our school does a wonderful job of celebrating teachers and we had the opportunity to take Raelynn's teachers flowers and bake goodies for them throughout the week.  It was a lot of fun.  In addition I visited the school library with Raelynn.  They have this wonderful program where for a small donation you can purchase a book for the library from a selection they have in honor of your child's birthday.  The book is put on display and a sticker goes on the inside of the book stating who dedicated it and in honor of what.  So Raelynn got to pick out a book and we bought it in honor of her 6th Birthday in July.  She thought it was awesome!  Raelynn also had Transition Day which is a day they get to go to the next grade and spend some time.  Raelynn thought it was pretty fun and already knows which teacher she hopes to get.  Tuesday she had her final Daisy meeting for the year which was a family picnic.  It was a lot of fun.  Daisy's has turned out to be a wonderful thing and we will definitely participate again next year. 

Friday night Raelynn says at dinner, "Mom do you think next summer the Daisy's could plant some vegetables in a garden and donate them to the Food Pantry?"  I commended her on a wonderful idea and told her we would try to get that worked out.  Luckily Lawrence has some public gardens so we should be able to make it work without digging up any of our lawn :).  I was just proud that she is understanding the desire to help others.  Friday Raelynn had her schoold field trip to the Topeka Zoo.  Terry got to take the trip with her and they had so much fun! 

Coop had kind of a long week.  First there is his new terror of something crawling on him.  We have no idea what is going on but occasionally he will completely freak out that something is crawling on him.  The first time it happened we stripped him down naked looking for something but found nothing.  It has happened several times since and he is uncontrollable terrified.  We have considered the idea that he is having tingling in his arms and legs but are hopefully that this is not the case as that would be an indicator that he has some circulation issues which would relate back to his heart.  Anyway, for now we are just watching him closely.  We have also cut back his nap time as he was not sleeping at night well at all.  It has helped so much but now we just have a winy tired boy after work.  We will find a happy medium soon.  Today however was a big day for Coop.  He now has a big boy bed!  Terry worked so hard this weekend to get his room painted and furniture put together.  It looks good but we are desparately in need of some decorations. 

My Mother's Day was filled with working working working as we cleaned and got Coop's room put together.  It was busy being a Mom so it was perfect!  The kids made me some cute gifts as well!

A WHOLE WEEK OF FIRSTS..............

This week has been quite the adventure.  Early this week I got a text from our neighbor that in her decorative wreath on her door a bird had made a nest and there were 4 eggs inside.  Throughout the week we checked on them and there are now 4 little birds in the nest.  It was fun watching them hatch.  It went right along with the eggs Raelynn has in her classroom that are also hatching.  It is such a wonderful thing for the kids to watch!  Both Raelynn and Cooper loved to watch them and Raelynn learned so much about the process at school! 

Both Raelynn and Coop had dentist appointments on Monday.  This was Coop's first appointment but Sissy made sure he knew how much fun it was.  By the time we got there I think Cooper was expecting a kids play land from the way Raelynn made it sound.  They both had glowing reports which was a relief in regards to Cooper.  With all the medicine, throwing up and milk that have crossed over his gums we were not sure what it would be like.  Luckily it does not appear it all has caused any damage. 

The funniest part of the whole visit was when the assistant said to Cooper "Ok, we are going to go take some pictures of your teeth." As they walk to the x-ray room Coop says, "Oh you take x-rays of my teeth, do you have tat ting that you put over me so the x-rays don't get in my body?"  I thought the assistant was going to crack up.  Obviously my son has had a few x-rays. :)

Thursday we started horse riding lessons back up for the summer.  Raelynn and Cooper were both so excited to ride.  Raelynn is getting much more responsibility in regards to the horse which she loves.  She will be doing lead line, showmanship and another class where she will walk and trot the horse (I can't remember what it is called :) )  Cooper will still just do lead line but he seems perfectly happy with that!



Coop got to help feed the horses too!

 On Friday morning the kids were getting dressed.  Raelynn was doing her hair and "putting on make up" (this consists of some brushes being swept across the face and a very pale pink eye shadow but makes her feel a little special once in awhile).  It was one of those days Raelynn was acting 14 and we were chatting away as if she were.  Then Coop walks into the bathroom; underwear on his head and t shirt around his waist as if they were pants.  With a little grin he announces he is dressed and ready to go.  Our little "class clown"!  I looked at the two of them and was reminded how very different they are but how much I loved them both.  We laughed and sent Coop back to try again. Then Raelynn says, "Mom, I think I am going to walk into school by myself today."  Although it killed me I let her know I thought that was a great idea.  It makes me so proud to watch her grow and mature but it also tears at my heart to know she is becoming less and less dependant on me.  We got to school and she walked in alone.  I gave her a hug and a kiss and she was off with a proud smile on her face.  I wonder everyday what tomorrow will bring but secretly wish I could just hold every day still in time and never forget a single minute of it!

This weekend Mom, Karli and Chandler were up for the March for Babies.  We had a lot of fun and managed to get flowers planted and rock beds refreshed thanks to all their help.  Coop helped Granny plant the flowers and loved being outside!

HAPPY EASTER!

What a wonderful family weekend!  We did not have a moments rest and I cannot believe it is back to work already but boy did we squeeze as much as possible into this Easter weekend.  Our weekend started off with a jewelry party Friday evening.  Raelynn and I hosted a Premier Jewelry Party to help out our sweet neighbor who was just getting started.  The party was a lot of fun of course and it was nice to just hang out and talk to friends.  Since it was a "girl thing"  Terry, Coop and Popo all went out for dinner.  From what I hear, Coop drew a lot of attention from the ladies :) It was a fun but hectic evening for all of us.  The party finally wrapped up around 8 or 8:30pm and we scooted the kids to bed.  As I was tucking Raelynn into bed she says to me, "Mom when I wake up in the morning will our house be all cleaned up?"  "Of course" I told her. "Do you not like it messy?" I asked.  "No I just like it the way it usually is".  Awe I love that girl.  So I hustled around and got the house back to the spotless way we like it.  I finished up and was absolutely exhausted.  I sat down on the couch only to spring back up remembering that we would want to decorate Easter Eggs on Saturday and I needed to get the eggs on to boil.  I got them started and then went back in to sit down.  I was soooo tired.  I decided to go to bed instead of staying up to work.....not giving another thought to the eggs that were boiling on the stove.  Around 12:30am I was awaken by Terry reminding me of the eggs I had left on the stove which he had been awaken by as all 12 of them exploded all over our kitchen!  The house was filled with smoke and smelled horrible.  We spent the next hour cleaning the kitchen from top to bottom.  Terry and I always ponder how long one should boil eggs before they are hard but Terry decided Saturday night that 2 1/2 hours was a little too long. It could have been much worse but it is Sunday and I can still smell burnt eggs!!!!



Raelynn and Tenley Eck at the Jewelry Party



So after a long night the alarm came way too early at 5:15am.  I literally drug myself out of bed and headed to the gym.  By the time I made it back home I was feeling a little bit better and it was time to wake the troops and head to soccer.  Raelynn played well again but they got killed!  From Soccer we ran some errands, headed home to decorate eggs, ate lunch, bathed, attended a birthday party and then rushed to Aunt Bonnie's to celebrate Easter.  We had the busiest day ever but it was so fun!  The kids were great all day and we had so many laughs.

Today the fun continued, of course the Easter Bunny visited over night so we had eggs hid all over the house and then a basket full of goodies.  We went to church and then dinner and then a movie, African Cats, that Raelynn had been asking to see for weeks.  I was a little nervous as to whether either of the kids would like it but they really did and watched it well.  By the time we got home we were all ready to be home.  The kids played and played and Terry and I got a few weekend chores done.

Raelynn understands the meaning of Easter and today we asked Cooper if he did.  His response was it was a day about getting Easter Eggs, so Raelynn explained the real meaning to him.  It is great to listen to her explain it as she doesn't leave out a detail.  I am not sure that Coop fully grasped the concept as his response was simply, "Oh."  He also humored us today as his new thing is to rub his chin and say "Let me think" every time we ask him a question.  It is truly funny and even though it can be ever so annoying when you are just needing a quick answer but I still can't help but crack up!  We are finding out that Coop is really good at making people laugh and it has led he and Raelynn to "time out" a few times already.  Terry is much better at disciplining the constant laughing at that dinner table.  Somehow it is just hard to correct them when you yourself are cracking up!  As Raelynn says, "He is going to get himself in so much trouble for being so silly!"  However he may just escape trouble with that smile of his!

SPECIAL PEOPLE..........

Every once in awhile I meet someone who intrigues me.  It doesn't happen often but when I do I think about them often and try to decide what it is that intrigues me.  Every since Raelynn started school there has been this lady who reads to the kids in the gym before school starts and then stands by the front door and greets all the kids that come in.  From day one this lady has intrigued me.  I was not sure what about her or why she caught my interest........that is until this week.  Every day this lady arrives as school around 7:30 a.m. and spends 20 to 25 minutes sitting in a gym full of kids that arrive to school early and reads them stories.  They all sit there listening intently.  Then as soon as the first bell rings she walks amongst the kids chatting with them and focused on their every word until she reaches the front doors where she stops and greets the kids still coming in.  This is where Raelynn and I see her every morning either walking in or as I walk out.  I think this is what caught my eye about her, although she always smiles and responds as I tell her to have a great day, her focus is not me in any way.  She is focused on those kids walking in the door, stopping them for a morning hug, or asking them something relevant to their lives.  She always calls them by name and it seems that those she acknowledges the most are those that might not receive acknowledgement elsewhere.  This week I learned that she is not a teacher at the school or really anything else.  She started doing this when her kids were going to school there and now that her kids are no longer at the elementary school, she continues her role before she goes on to work.  There is no doubt why I found her interesting and now I just find her amazing.  To think the impact she has made on some of the most needing children is more than honorable.  To watch her interact with the kids and now to know she does it "just because" gives me more than encouragement to better myself. She is a role model not only for the kids but for every parent that encounters her and her actions.  To the wonderful woman who greets our children every morning, thank you and thank you for giving me higher standards to reach for! 

Cooper is on the way to recovery but this has all been much more difficult than I expected.  Towards the end of last week we were teetering on calling Dr. Kelley because we had some significant bleeding and much pain.  However he is finally improving and we have actually been able to give him a regular bath without him screaming in pain the last couple days.  He told me tonight, "My peepee is better but not much! It get better soon so I go swimming?"  I assured him it would get better but might be another week or so before he could swim.  He has really been a trooper through it all but I think we will all be happy when he is healed.

Raelynn is becoming so sentimental on us.  As we are finishing the basement we are also going through some old things that we have held on to a little too long.  We are also trying to get Coop a new bedroom set since he is outgrowing his toddler bed.  Everything we try to part with Raelynn goes into a dramatic plea about how we need to keep it because is was her first so and so and she wants to keep it for her kids and on and on and on.  We picked out a new bedspread for Coop and when we got home Raelynn asked what we were doing with his Baby Snoopy bedspread.  I told her we would probably put all the baby snoopy decor in the garage sale we are having in June.  You would have thought I had burned her baby book right in front of her.  She plead with me to keep it and save it so her daughter could use it in her room.  It was crazy ridiculous!  The problem is I am the complete opposite so I have to constantly remind myself to be gentle and sympathetic to her feelings but it is hard!  On the flip side, today her sensitivity brought tears to my eyes.  In going through some things Terry had received after his Mom passed away, there was an old glass tea set in its original box.  It was very old.  Terry and I decided to give it to Raelynn.  As I showed her and explained it was Nanny's her face was serious yet sad.  She asked me if I thought Nanny played with it and I let her know I think she probably did.  Raelynn was in awe about it.  He disposition changed to that of a 10 or 12 year old and she began reminiscing about Nanny and then telling Cooper special things about her.  Coop says he does not remember her so Raelynn was intent on letting him know how special she was.  The conversation brought tears to my eyes and to see what that tea set meant to her was so touching.  As we pulled the set out to clean it one of the dishes had been broken and glued back together.  I was worried Raelynn was going to be upset but instead a soft smile spread across her face and she took confirmation in that broken dish that Nanny did play with it.  It was all very heart warming and made me realize that I just have a very sentimental little girl and the things that do not seem important to me feel like this to her.  It was more than enough to make me a little less aggressive about getting rid of "old" stuff.  Raelynn also informed me this week that she needed to learn to write more words.  "Ok, but why?" I asked her.  "Because I have all these songs in my head and I need to write them down so I don't forget but I don't know how to write them all."  I asked her to sing a few to me and although a couple were a little silly, a couple were scarily good.  She is always asking me who sings what and who wrote their songs and I have become an expert at googling singers and who writes for them, maybe she has a future in songwriting :)

We had another great weekend and got a lot of projects complete.  The kids enjoyed some fun time together here at home which they love.  Today, as Terry and I were working on the basement, the Kid's Rock Fest came down to entertain us.

Looking forward to another fun adventurous week!