Oops, there IS going to be writing Tammy, sorry

So the school thing has been hard for me. Letting him go off into the great unknown. Trusting that he'll be watched over, protected, stretched, taught etc... I just really like control. I like knowing what's going on with him.

ANYHOW, he came home from school and was telling me that one of the kids in class had cried all thru lunch and most of the day, because he missed his mom. I asked Bu if he'd been able to help the kid. Nope, you can't just go over and talk to them during class MOM! Ahhhh, ofcourse. So, I asked, well what's something you CAN do, even if you can't go over and talk to him? What's something you can do no matter where or what that will help the situation?

His answer, "OH, I could pray for him! And God will help him out! He always says yes to that stuff"

And NO I did not burst his little 5 year old bubble about YES to prayers.... I figure the 5 year old probably has a better line on the heart of God than me, and perhaps his purity will lead him TO prayers that fit inline a bit with God. Well, until he prays for a puppy... :)

On the Sissy side of things, we started her memory verse this morning and its a RIOT. The girl cannot do it, UNLESS its a song...sooooo, well you know where I'm going. But DO NOT stop by in the 8 am breakfast hour, its verses sung by the two of us. And the beautiful part, she'll still not get it down, but I will. Hilarious!

There's my writing...

LOOK OUT BELOW!

I found a card reader (well stuart did) soooo, uploaded a ton of pics. So NO WORDS MISS TAMMY...

Peruse at your leisure.

Just cause she's so cute

What do we do with Bu not around?

Welllllll, Bu is in school all day.
That leaves Sissy asking ALL DAY LONG, "where's Bu?"

She misses him SO much, she jumps up and down and yells "BU BU" as we wait to pick him up each day.
He comes out ready to play and with all kinds of PLANS for the two of them. Needless to say, Sis is NOT getting the naps she needs, but she IS getting brother time.
Which, other than the obvious behavior issues at hand, I'll take. I love to see the two of them play.

MEANWHILE, when he's gone we: take walks to the pond, find stuff, "TALK" all kinds of animals/dolls etc...., build lego stuff, paint, draw, "TALK" more animals and such (this is a big one right now. the talking thing and it cracks me UP), dress up as a cat and go out and about (too cute), playdough, and the horrid one: run errands like the grocery, ugg.

Momma's Little Helper

The chore, the dreaded chore, has been officially passed down.
Its now Sissy's job...SILVERWARE!

Summertime Eats

We love corn.

Fresh, yummy corn...
Can you tell????

Julia's Outfit

I scammed this off Julia, I believe it was her 3rd birthday party and I saw this unwrapped. True to my understated nature, I asked Lins for it right away, something along the lines of, "I WANT that when you're done with it! I'll even pass it back if you need!" (she does).

And Lins, in really GREAT memory and great friend mode, remembered and set it aside for me (em). Its a wee bit big, but I plan on getting a LOT of wear out of this one...LOVE IT.

The First Day of School

...and MY CAMERA HAS JUNK ON IT!!!!
UGG, now you may want to know what pictures were on the memory card right before this shoot. Lets just say I did NOT take a picture of MY lego creation. HMMMMM, Cam?

Oh well, it cleaned up now.

And here's the kindergarten boy...so big...with sissy.
So sweet!

I do love how she can barely stand to wait in line to pick him up...jumping, yelling, "BU!"
And he bubbles over for about 30 mins with all sorts of information, none what I'm looking for, but he's talking!

So there it is...the worst first day of school pics ever.
I'm gonna take some later this week in the same outfit and pretend...with a CLEAN lens.

VACATION - the respective gangs

Kids...parents...families...
it was a beautiful week! Thank you...(the card is NEAR the mailing point...written, sitting awaiting a stamp...so next year sometime it will arrive!)

VACATION - fishin' and bluberries

The blueberries were UNBELIEVABLE! I picked about 10 lbs in less than an hour...the bushes were LOADED and all I could think of was BLUEBERRIES FOR SAL...ahhhh...

Cam actually enjoyed picking them, Em managed...
Shea and I got away alone and went for an hour, it was WONDERFUL!

And the obligatory lake fish! Stu only went fishin' once, the water was calling "kneeboard, kneeboard" and who are we to deny it?

VACATION

Oh yes, Cam also enjoyed the thrill of the kneeboard, totally impressed that he did it!
Emmy went Tubing!! Wow! (Cam too)

Love Em and Daddy having a "dance" in the water!

This last pic of Em makes me think of Aleah, I think I've seen this expression before....

VACATION

We headed up to Michigan for vacation...on the lake with the Hanna fam.

It was ... bliss!

Here's the evidence of our two water bugs...and let me just say that Stuart and I discovered the joy of knee boarding. Even with my "spectacular" wipeout, I still LOVED it!

The Reaction

So, he did well in school.
The official word when I picked him up was, "I liked it a little bit"

Now, at prayer time last night I asked him what he wanted to thank God for and it was school, so that's a good sign.

However, this morning he was "too sick to go"

And Emmy informed daddy that "bu does not go to school today. He goes on Thursdays and Sundays"

Its good they love each other!
Its also good that Cam loves to be at home and misses us a bit. Makes me feel good and yet, he DID enjoy school, so that's good too!

All in all, the getting up early is the hardest part...

How to tell is you're lazy

This is how I know I'm lazy:

Em begins to "lose her breakfast" this morning and I hold out my hands for her to "spew" into.

WHY?

Because the thought ACTUALLY ran thru my head, "I don't want to clean the floor"

That my friends, is Laziness.

Kindergarten begins.

It starts tomorrow.
Bright and early.

We are NOT excited.
I am nervous.
HE is nervous.

But, the beautiful...
...tears tonight at bedtime led to a wonderful snuggle, a heart to heart chat and a serious prayer time with my boy.

It hurts this letting go.

And this is the tip of the iceberg.

So, I will pray.

God made him.
He belongs to God anyhow.
I will pray and TELL God to take care of my little boy.
God will smile and say, "I know, I know"

He will give me a peace. A peace that surpasses any understanding I have.
And kindergarten will begin. And kindergarten will end.
And so will jr. high, high school, college, etc.... And someday life here will end.

I know I sound morbid, and like I'm reading WAY too much into all this.

But here's the thing...all these beginnings lead to endings.
And there is one big ending here.
And then there is an amazing beginning...
and then there will be NO letting go...and that is a beautiful thing.

So selfishly I'm having to think a bit long term :)

Meanwhile, tomorrow awaits my boy. And it WILL be wonderful and exciting! Doors will open to him, he will learn things, meet friends and love more!

THE HEALING CHOICE By: Brenda Stoeker and Susan Allen

Another book review you say??? Yup, and a give away as well!

This book is about the power of God to help you heal, specifically it is geared towards women who have experienced betrayal in the husband area, whether thru an affair or porn. However, the first section of this book is Brenda's story of her mother's death and how it affected her relationship with God. This first part of the book anyone can identify with and it was EXTREMELY insightful! There was a specific part where she talked about having a skewed view of God and life. She tackled the mindset of if I follow God and obey, then ... perfect life. I loved the way she gave steps to overcome this kind of thinking and the practical advice she gave. Plus her story was very intriguing and this section of the book was SO easy to read. I gained so much from this part!

The second half of the book is much more specific to betrayed women. It is PACKED with resources for the hurting woman. Most importantly this part offers real HOPE to any woman in a betrayal situation or any situation where she feels worth less than God's design.

This book and workbook combination are, I believe, a starting place for so many women trapped in a place where they feel alone. Its a way out.