Quotes

Little Man is doing very well in Kindergarten and having lots of fun! Here are a couple of quotes from him recently:


While waiting for me to pick him up after school one day, one of the Kindergarten teachers, Mrs. J (not his), told him "hi" and that she hoped he had a good day. He responded with, "Thanks! I hope you had a good day of teaching!" She said it was like talking to a little man!


While drawing on his chalkboard at home and pretending to be a newscaster, he said, "Something my Kindergarten teacher would tell us: 'Try your best.' Just 3 little words."

In Remembrance

Today is the 10th anniversary of 9/11. At that time, Little Man wasn't even a glimmer in our eyes yet. Hubby and I had only been married for 9 months. On one hand, it seems like a lifetime ago. On the other, I can't believe it's been 10 years ago! I can remember exactly what I was doing when I first heard the news; it seems like it *just* happened yesterday! Even the emotions are still as fresh! 


I was driving to work when I heard about the first plane on the radio. I thought, "Oh no! What a horrible accident!" At that time, the radio announcers believed it was a small airplane. I was pulling into the parking lot when they announced that the second plane had hit. My thoughts then changed to, "That was NO accident!" I ran inside to our conference room and turned on the tv, which the 4 of us in the office stayed glued to the entire day. Absolutely no work got done. I remember vividly seeing the people jumping out of the burning buildings and thinking, "Surely there's a net down there for them!" At some point I realized that there was, in fact, NO net saving those people. I was devastated. :( 


In the days following, I remember the sky being SO empty due to the grounding of all aircraft. It was a very odd thing since I'm used to seeing airplanes...both large and small...flying over this town quite frequently. 


Hubby and I made a trip to Ground Zero in July 2003. At that point, it looked like a large construction site. It is my wish to take a family trip to see the new memorials. 


Today, September 11, 2011, I am preparing to go on my first trip to Europe. I will be leaving on Wednesday, September 14 for Belgium. I'll be there for 7 days and then will go to Paris for 1 day and London for 1 day. I'll be returning home on Sunday, September 25. It's a trip that I'm very much looking forward to! Our family has come quite a ways in the last 10 years. From newlyweds struggling to being married almost 11 years with one child. I'm curious to find out what's in store for us in the next 10 years. As for the victims of 9/11 and their families... I will NEVER forget and will ALWAYS be grateful for them!

First Day of Kindergarten

Little Man had his first day of Kindergarten on Monday, August 15.  We woke him at 6:10 and had plenty of time to get ready. On our way out the door, Shad and I took a few First Day of School pictures with him. We arrived early enough to go to the gym where we waited until the first bell. From there, the Kindergarten kids and parents were led down the hall to the Kindergarten wing. I had to remind Little Man which room was his. Once in the classroom, the kids sat in their seats and worked on a coloring page while the parents put away all supplies. A note from one of last year's Kindergartners was sitting at Little Man's place. It was a fill-in-the-blank note handwritten by the little boy welcoming him to Kindergarten. Little Man's teacher, Mrs. B, took pictures of each child with their family. They'll be used in a Kindergarten portfolio that he'll get at the end of the year. After pictures were taken, all the kids sat on the carpet while Mrs. B read the book, "The Kissing Hand." The book is about a little raccoon going to school for his first time. All he wants to do is stay home and play with his mom and toys. At one point while reading, Mrs. B asked the kids why the little raccoon went to school at night instead of during the day. Christopher raised his hand and, after the teacher looked to see if anyone else wanted to answer (he'd already answered other questions), was called on. He stated, "Because raccoons are nocturnal!" Hubby and I had a good laugh! How many Kindergartners use the word "nocturnal"? 


After the story, Mrs. B gave each child a baggie with a surprise for their parents (a note from her, a package of tea and a cotton ball) as well as a heart sticker for each parent. We then said our goodbyes and left him there. I'm happy to report that I did NOT shed any tears! Mrs. B sure tried to make us, though, by reading that book! Also, the note she included in our little goodie bag almost made me cry. I went home to enjoy a quiet house for a little while and then went grocery shopping ALONE!


His first 3 days are half days with half of the Kindergarten class. Day #4 is also a half day, but with the entire Kindergarten.  Day #5 (Friday) will be his first full day. It's also School Pride Day, so he'll wear his school colors and have a class picture taken on the front steps of the school. I guess we need to find an outfit for him to wear since we don't have any school clothing yet! 


Pick-up went much smoother than I expected. I got there about 10 minutes early and enjoyed just sitting and waiting. That school sure does have dismissal down to a science! Once the kids were released, we were in and out of there in about 5-10 minutes! I was impressed! Of course, that was only half the Kindergarten, so we'll see how Day #4 (entire Kindergarten) and Day #5 (Kindergarten plus Grades 4 and 5) go. 


When Little Man got into the car, my first question, of course, was "How was it?" He said it went BETTER than he expected, that he LOVED it and that he couldn't wait to go back the next day! When he got home, he re-emphasized how much he enjoyed his first day by holding his arms out and behind him and saying, "I enjoyed it THIIIIIIIIIIISS MUCH!" I'm so happy that he enjoyed his first day of school so much! I hope and pray that he'll always love learning and school, even on the roughest days!


I'll end here and leave you with a few First Day of School pictures:

Little Man and his teacher, Mrs. B

Mrs. B reading "The Kissing Hand" to the class

August 1-14, 2011

Highlights from the first half of August:

- I attended the 2011 MOPS Convention in Nashville. It was LOTS of fun! Speakers included Lisa Harper, Lauren Dungy and Mary Beth Chapman. Worship Leaders included Travis Cottrell, Mandisa and Steven Curtis Chapman. Such a wonderful experience and I highly recommend it for any moms of preschoolers!

- Little Man is starting Kindergarten this month! Will update more when that occurs. His first day is Monday, August 15. He'll go half days on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with half his class and a half day on Thursday with his entire class. His first full day will be Friday, August 19.

Here are a few pictures:

Mandisa leading worship

Lauren Dungy spoke about life with 7 children, some of which are adopted

Lauren Dungy

Travis Cottrell leading worship

The MOPS stage

Steven Curtis Chapman did a small performance before his wife, Mary Beth, spoke on the loss of their little girl, Maria Sue.

Little Man standing outside his soon-to-be classroom door while at the Back to School Bash/Registration evening

July 2011

Highlights from July:

- We went with our friends, Bill, Jenn and their kids to a nearby drive-in movie theater to see Cars 2. SO much fun!

- Instead of hosting our annual 4th of July party for friends and family, we attended a party at a friend's house. We had a lot of fun shooting off our own fireworks and watching the show from the neighbors.  Little Man had lots of fun swimming in their above-ground pool and playing on the Wii.

- We added Josiah, a beautiful blue Beta fish, to Little Man's tank.

- Casey Anthony was found Not Guilty of murdering her daughter, Caylee. It was a sad, sad day!

- I read the book, "The Help" and LOVED it! I was excited when I learned that it was coming to the movie theater!

- I teamed up with my friend, Renee, of Batter Bowl Designs, to sell cupcakes to raise money for my mission trip to Belgium.

- Started getting e-mails from Little Man's principal, which meant school was right around the corner!

- Watched the US Women's soccer team play Japan and lose in the World Cup.

- We spent 3 days and 2 nights with some friends on Dale Hollow Lake. We were completely cut off from the world thanks to AT&T not having ANY signal out there. Frustrating! Other than the lack of news and the extreme heat, it was a fun few days with friends, boating, night fishing for Crappies and swimming.

- While on our lake vacation, I attempted to go night fishing once. We left at 9:30 pm and returned around 4:00 am for a total of about 6-1/2 hours of fishing. There were 7 of us on the boat. Everyone except me caught at least a few Crappies. I caught absolutely NOTHING! I didn't give up easily; I fished for all but the last 20 minutes. I then determined that, while it's nice to try it once, I won't be doing that again!

- Little Man lost his first tooth on July 27 as he was getting ready for bed! The Tooth Fairy (Flossie) came and left him a certificate and two $1 gold coins. Now, we're down to 3 loose teeth left. :)

- Little Man quote: "The clouds are crying."

A few July pictures:

At the drive-in movie theater

Little Man and his other best friend at the drive-in movie theater

My attempt at photographing fireworks on July 4th

June 2011

Highlights from June:

- Cicadas were in FULL force!

- Both Little Man and I signed up and participated with our library's Summer Reading Program. He had to read 20 books (!) and met his goal with NO problem. He even read them ALL on his own! I had to read 6 books and it took me a bit longer. We both met our goals, though, and received a goodie bag as well as a new book.

- True story: I got stung by some kind of bee-like insect INSIDE Wal-Mart!

- We finally bought a motor for our boat and were able to really take it out for a spin! Yahoo! We found ourselves a nice little rocky beach to bank the boat and swim and relax. We would like to camp there sometime.

- VBS 2011 theme was Big Apple Adventure and was lots of fun! My friend, Jenn, and I were in charge of getting the Pre-K kids to their classes. I'm now looking forward to the 2012 theme of Amazing Wonders Aviation. Shad's looking forward to it, too, since that's his department, so he should be able to help in some ways.

- Finished the spring t-ball season with a tournament, but lost the 2nd game.  The kids all got a medal in the ceremony after the game. The coaches had a team party a few weeks later and gave the kids each a trophy.

- Bonaroo was held for the 9th official year (not counting the year of Itchycoo back in 1999).

- Took Little Man to his dentist for a regular check-up and learned that he actually had FOUR loose teeth!  Also, two of his 6-year molars (bottoms) are extremely close to breaking through. The tops still have a while.

- I started spreading the word that I would be going on a mission trip to Belgium in September.

- The exhibit at the Discovery Center was Microbes, which Little Man LOVED!

- Little Man lost his first pet...a beautiful red Beta fish named Jacob. :(  We soon replaced him with a beautiful blue Beta named Josiah.

- We spent a LOT of time this month at play dates with friends, swimming in our pool, at the city pool and at the lake.

A few pictures from June:

Microbe exhibit at the Discovery Center 

Father's Day 2011 gift 

RIP Jacob :(

VBS 2011 Big Apple Adventure set 

VBS skit by Pastors Dave and Mike

Our first trip on the lake

Posing with Daddy on "our" little beach

The campsite at "our" little beach

He LOVED the water!

BLAH! 

May 2011

Highlights from May:

- On May 1, President Obama announced that they had killed Osama bin Laden!


- Some of my favorite "Osama Bin Laden's dead" comments include:
  * "Ding Dong bin Laden's dead!"
  * "The press conference is running late while they look for President Bush's 'Mission Accomplished banners."
  * "George W. Bush may have had a bad habit of speaking too soon, but at least I would have been in bed now."
  * "I think we should all get the day off tomorrow...National Bin Laden ate it day."
  * "One day our grandchildren will ask us what we were doing when we found out that Bin Laden was dead and we can say that we were on Facebook."
  * "I knew my vuvuzela would come in handy again."


- The 13-year Cicadas made their appearance this month. We saw our first one in our yard on May 8.


- Little Man quote: While showing him a video of a tornado in Auckland, NZ, I pointed out that they spin the opposite direction as the tornadoes around here. He responded by saying, "Do people in the Southern Hemisphere speak backwards, too?"


- We attended the Great Tennessee Air Show in Smyrna. We enjoyed seeing the Thunderbirds this year!


- Little Man quote: Little boy: "I'm gonna play football some day." Little Man: "Well, I'm gonna be a weatherman some day."


- Little Man declared that he figured out what life's all about...he says it's about learning and Jesus. :)


- Little Man graduated from Pre-K on May 17.


- Harold Camping predicted that May 21 would be the Rapture. He was wrong again. 


- I took Little Man to our Discovery Center for World Turtle Day to see Farmer Jason who performs on our local PBS station. 


- While waiting for a VBS meeting to start, Little Man flipped through the Bible. He turned to his favorite book, Matthew, and asked me to pick a chapter. Out of the blue, I chose 15. He found it and then asked me to choose a verse. V3 was at the top of the page, so I chose that. As he read it to me, I LOL'd! It's the scripture that says to "Honor your father and mother"! That was a very appropriate verse for him to see at that particular time since obeying had been an on-going problem.


- Yet another Little Man quote: "Dear God: Thank you for the cicadas. They're such cute little fellas with their red eyes, wings and stuff."


- I took Little Man to our Discovery Center later in the month to see a one day only NASA exhibit. He wasn't as nearly impressed as Mama was! Lol!


- Regular season of t-ball ended at the end of the month. His team, the Braves, ended up 8 and 2. They won the last 8 games in a row! 


- We bought our new 8 ft diameter inflatable pool. It was the first one for us that needed a pump and chemicals to keep it clean. 


- DFIL and I took Little Man to the Healing Fields in town. It was 1500 U.S. flags (7 ft tall) on 2 acres of land. 


Lots of pictures from May:

The first Cicada in our yard 

Thunderbirds 

Little Man and his Pre-K teacher, Ms. Brenda 

Little Man and one of his best friends. Little did we know his friend would be moving in just over 2 months. :( 

Little Man's Pre-K graduation picture 

Flags at the Healing Field