Monday, August 24, 2009

Turn the Page...

I knew it would be somewhat torturous to do this, but as Kindergarten began looming, I started a trek down memory lane. I read some of the journal that I started for Kelton while I was pregnant with him, considering some of the hopes and dreams I had for this baby and this family before we even knew if he was a He. I'm so glad we've packed the past 6 years with so many memories and lessons... mostly lessons he has taught me!

Over the past couple of weeks, he and I have gone through the 9 scrapbooks that hold those memories since our minds fade too easily. Lots of Gut-Laughs throughout those books! I am so grateful for each day God gives me with these 2 precious kiddos! They have created so many dimensions in my life I never knew could exist.


Kenlee's 1st day of Third Grade, and Kelton's 1st Day of Kindergarten!



It was this moment at Meet The Teacher Night where my eyes started burning... seeing his name on his desk, and seeing him sit in that tiny chair. So independent. I was biting my cheek trying not to cry and embarrass him. I'm sure these hormones are compounding the emotions!


God really answered my prayers, though! I prayed that God would give Kelton the Kindergarten teacher he needed... one who would have a loving way of teaching him to channel his focus and energy without breaking his spirit. And one who would make him feel comfortable and special and yet push him outside his personal limitations to reach the heights God has set before him.
Mrs. Jobe is amazing~ Kelton knows her from church, and she volunteers with the children's department there, so she knows him as well ;-) He is friends with her son, and Mrs. Jobe is a friend of mine, so I feel like partnering with her in his education will be easy. She is a godly woman and mother who prays for her students and her mission. And hey, if she has the patience of Job, we're in good shape ;-) AND she has a classroom blog with pictures and updates, so I feel like I can peek into the window of his day.

Mrs. Jobe is a good sport, too--- when I asked about getting a photo on Meet the Teacher night, she asked Kelton where we should take the picture. When he chose to stand IN the power point, she didn't even hesitate to smile for the photo he wanted.




But, of course, then I had to get the traditional shot.


By 5:30 AM the next morning, she had emailed me the following family picture to commemorate the night. Scrapbooking his Kindergarten year is going to be so easy.


Seeing it all fly by will not be so easy, though!


Of course there's a lot of emphasis on the Kindergarten year, but it has been equally overwhelming to realize how quickly Miss Kenlee is turning into a young lady before our eyes. She is excited about 3rd grade because this is the 1st year they get to have a homeroom teacher and rotate classes between three 3rd grade teachers.

I could tell she was a little nervous when she saw her name on the list under Mrs. Logan's name. Mrs. Logan grew up in Stamford, but she is new to Anson this year, so Kenlee had no frame of reference, no familiarity. In 1st and 2nd grade, Kenlee had teachers she knew previously from church. However, as soon as we got to the room, Mrs. Logan put us at ease. She is very friendly, and she had Kenlee's desk next to her workstation by the Prometheum Board. Of course, to Kenlee, that meant that Mrs. Logan purposefully put her there because she knew she would be a great helper... I love her confidence! Random tidbit: Kenlee thinks Mrs. Logan looks like her favorite meteorologist! LOL! The KTXS field trip last year had an impact!

As I think back over my 21 years of school, 3rd grade was my absolute favorite year. I loved high school and the many opportunities I had, but 3rd grade stands out as a year of many firsts, and it is the 1st year I had so many distinct memories of learning something. Oddly, it is the only year I ever got paddled... talking too much... imagine that! From my favorite elementary teacher, too! I think she went easy on the swat, but it sure hurt my pride. It's hard to imagine that my daughter is at that place in her life... that place where I got to decorate a set with tempora paint, use colored macaroni noodles to practice multiplication & division, (I learned cursive in 3rd grade, but now they are tackling that in 2nd), and also the place where I got that "check yes or no" note passed to me from across the classroom... and confiscated! At the Disney store this weekend, I bought her a gown just because I was hoping she would still wear a gown. In our world we are into Hannah Montana, HSM 3, and Camp Rock pj's; so I was relieved when she agreed to the gown. At least for one more year...

It was a successful first day for us all. No tears from the kids. No tears from me (well, not until the parking lot). I got to have lunch in the cafeteria twice to check in and see how the day was shaping up for each of them. Then they overloaded my car with friends after school. Kelton had 2 friends over and reported that his favorite part of the day was "all of it. I can't pick." Kenlee had 1 friend over and said that her favorite part of the day was getting to know each of her new teachers. They were both exhausted and ready for bed without negotiations. We have begun a new chapter.

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"One Love! One Heart! Give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel alright!" ~ Bob Marley

What happens when you have several hundred pictures from vacation? It's takes a while to find the drive to upload, edit, sort, condense, and post ;-) Here are some photos from our 9th anniversary vacation in Jamaica with the kids.




Our hotel was the Iberostar in Montego Bay, and the staff there were phenomenal! The food was amazing! Kenlee was interested in trying the many different tropical drink concoctions, but Kelton found an old faithful on Day 1 and never deviated: The Miami Vice (pina colada, strawberry daquiri swirl).


Kenlee had a good time trying new things and learning about the culture. She discovered guava jam! When asked about her favorite things from the trip she says, "the beach and the resort and shows there" (the resort had nightly entertainment. Kelton even joined onstage performing The Chicken Dance ;-)


Kelton just loved that there was so much water and that it was so accessible~ he didn't care if it was the ocean, the lazy river, one of the resort pools, or the water falls, he just loved to go head first! His favorites are: "Snake, lizard, macaw, stingray, shark, dolphin, and Miami Vice!"


Here are some pictures from the many wild things the kids came into contact with~ Kelton even snorkeled with the stingrays!




Rick's Cafe in Negril is a place I have been wanting to go to for years. It boasts amazing Cliff Diving into the most unreal water~ Although locals were showing off their spectacular dives from 75 feet and 95 feet, visitors are limited to 55 feet and less. Justin went for it, taking the plunge from 55 feet up! Then he jumped with Kelton from the 15 feet ledge, and Kenlee took the 15 foot ledge with a running leap!


Rick's Cafe was also the site where we told the kids about their new baby brother or baby sister. We told them we took them to a memorable spot with a famous sunset to tell them exciting news about our family... God had answered our prayers and is sending a baby to our family!


In July on the day we told the kids we were taking a family vacation in August, Kenlee wanted to go eat at China Star. Her fortune said "You will step on the soil of many countries." (Of course, I kept that for the scrapbook), so we got a picture of the family's feet in the Jamaican soil/sand. We hope to add more to that over the years.



We also went to climb Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios, one of Jamaica's National Treasures. 600 feet of cascading falls, and also a location shoot for the movie Cocktail. The water was so cold! This was one of the kids' favorite ventures.

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Saturday, August 8, 2009

A Valentine's Gift from God

Justin and I decided that the world famous Negril Sunset on our 9th anniversary would be a memorable setting to tell the kids about the little brother or sister they will meet in 6 months.
They were so excited! Of course, Kelton then asked me approximately 76 times on the remainder of the trip "How is baby doing?", which reiterated to me why we kept the secret for so long! They currently are both requesting a brother, but Kenlee changes her mind pretty frequently. I keep reminding them that we get to ask God, "Please send a baby to our family" and He gets to pick Boy or Girl. Boys and Girls are so different, and I love that we have been blessed with one of each, so we are content with whichever He chooses to send our way... though I am sure I will learn that all 3 are so different and unique, even if 2 share a gender.
Official due date is 2/5/10, which is amazing, since Kenlee's due date was 2/5/01!! God's plans are perfect! I definitely won't repeat the 10 days post-due that we had with Miss Kenlee who showed us up front who was boss with her 2/15/01 arrival!
We had a sonogram at 5 weeks that revealed a healthy little blob :-) Another sonogram at 7 weeks apparently showed the doctor more (???) but we were happy to see the little blob once again with a flutter of heart tissue pulsing on the screen. How Amazing is it that tiny blobs have functional hearts????

Our 12 week sonogram was in response to a scare. I had an ovarian cyst rupture the night of July 29th which caused pain and bleeding and some unsettling thoughts. The next morning, though, the nurse found a good, strong heartbeat of 150 bpm (girl range if you believe the wive's tale). The sonogram showed no problems whatsoever, and we got a cute little wave from the baby, who was very active and was flipping around showing us his/her tricks. We got a wide open shot of the gentilia area, and the technician said she could see no appendages poking out, but she assured us it was still too early to tell, so no gender shopping yet.

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A Hearty Laugh from the Second Row...

The last weekend of July the kids & I went to Waco to visit Sandra, Darren & Daniel. The weekend kept me giggling as I remembered one of the things I love Very Mostest about childhood... that mirth that wells up from your toes and leaks out of every orifice.



Whether it was a game of basketball, slurping on popsicles or taking a car ride to Waco, Daniel was very vocal about his amusement with Kenlee & Kelton. He conjures up this belly laugh and holds nothing back as he twists, writhes, and shows his belly to express his glee. I love it!!


El chico de muchos sombreros.... one of Daniel's favorite past times is gathering up as many hats from his dad's hat collection as he can carry in 3 trips and stacking them on someone's head. He is very intent in that work, and hiding the hats from him is a quick way to ruin his day ;-) I wish I could see the honey again this week, but we share a bond across the miles... he is one guy who gets my amusement with K2!


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