Have you hugged a firefighter today?

Allison did! She hugged a police officer too! The kids and I were eating lunch in the kitchen when we smelled something burning. The smoke alarms didn't go off (we know they work) and there was no smoke to be seen. My mind went through a mental checklist: I hadn't been burning any candles, I keep the matches out of reach of the kids, we were in the kitchen/family room all morning playing games on the Wii. Would could it be? It smelled like it was coming from under the kitchen sink. I walked around and sniffed all the rooms and found the same smell in Allison's room, which is right above the kitchen. Should I call the fire department? Nah, I'll call Shane. So I called Shane at work (duh! what could he do from there?). Then I swallowed my jitters and called 911. A friendly police officer met us outside. She took a look around and talked to us while we waited for the fire trucks to come. It was cool to hear the sirens from a long way off and know that they were coming right to our house. There were two fire trucks and an ambulance -- I guess the ambulance typically comes as a precaution. The firefighters went in and used their thermal camera to see inside the walls and found everything to be okay. They also used a "sniffer" to check for a gas leak. I appreciated their coming out and checking things out. I sure have a huge respect for everyone who came today. One of firefighters emphasized that it's okay to call them again if I need to and it would be no trouble at all for them to come out again.
So, about 30 minutes after I called 911, we went back in and finished our lunches. I still smelled the smell but it was less. I'm glad to say it was a fun adventure.

School Pictures

We finally got Allison's preschool portraits today. Here it is, alongside Isaac's Kindergarten portrait. My two precious babies...my, how they're growing! Click on the picture for a larger image.

A Few Things I'm Thankful For

1. A safe trip to Indiana and back. We just got back this evening.
2. Shane put Allie on the potty when we got home tonight and she actually pooped in it!!! I made a huge deal of it and even took a picture of it, which Allie was excited about. (Her pooping on the potty has been a rare thing so far.) Don't worry, I won't post the picture. :)
3. We got our car fixed the day after Thanksgiving and were able to drive to New Castle, IN and Fremont, IN on Saturday with no problems! It nearly broke down on Wednesday only half an hour from Shane's mom's. I thought it was the transmission but it was only an ignition coil. It wasn't cheap but it's better than paying for a new transmission!
4. A wonderful time with Shane's mom Kay and her husband Bill; Shane's dad Bob, wife Jo, and sister Reba; Aunt Shirley, Uncle Bill, and extended family on the Bentz side; my Grandma and Grandad Sieber and extended family on my mother's side; my dad, wife Diane, and brother Chris and sister Kayla.
5. The life of my uncle Don Mapes, who passed away Saturday after a long illness.
6. Those of you in Indiana who faithfully read my blog. I'm grateful you're there and I'm flattered you come back again and again.
7. The new Newsboys greatest hits CD. We listened to 900 miles worth of it this weekend!
8. Zicam!!! I felt yet another cold virus coming on yesterday. I've been taking Zicam, which is Zinc, and my symptoms are much less severe. Oh, praise God. I have a lot of work to do this week, including babysitting, and I was wondering if I'd be up for it.
9. My gym membership starts this week. Now that the Thanksgiving dinners are over, I'm more than ready to slim down. My current body shape is a lot like my Grandma Mapes': normal arms and legs but a round belly and a double chin. I don't actually mind that too much. When I was a skinny teenager, I wanted to be a homemaker like Grandma and I decided I wanted to look matronly like her too. Now that I'm a homemaker, I'm finding it not necessary or healthy to be (even a little) overweight.
10. Christmas is coming!! I'm looking forward to putting up the tree again with the kids and experiencing the wonder of the season through their eyes. I'm making a nativity advent calendar for them. I'll post pictures of it when it's done.
11. God's watching over us and providing for us and speaking into our hearts through His word and for fellowship with other believers and for contemporary Christian music.

I'm finally posting something! Can you believe it?

I have a good excuse: viruses! Ever since September, it's been one cold after another. If we're lucky, we get two weeks of good health in between. At this moment I'm suffering with a stuffy head, cough, and an ear infection. My voice still sounds raspy -- towards the end of a sentence I'm lucky if I have any voice left! :) Next time I'll try to remember to take that zinc stuff I've heard so many good things about. Zicam, is it called? Whatever it is, it's supposed to shorten the duration and lessen the severity of cold viruses.

So, Saturday, Sunday, and today I spent in bed. When I wasn't sleeping I was reading. Such good stories!! I can't get enough of books. I read two books by Maria von Trapp, the Austrian woman whose life "The Sound of Music" was based on, finished the last novel in the Hornblower series by C.S. Forester, and began a historical book about Napoleon and Josephine. Fascinating stuff!

I'm glad I had those books to keep me company, because being sick is so isolating! I've been missing Shane and the kids. Tomorrow I'm planning to resume babysitting and we're going to the library for storytime and crafts. I'm eager for the busyness of life to resume. I'm sure my poor husband is looking forward to going back to the office again also.

Starting the week after Thanksgiving, I'm getting a membership to a tiny fitness center here in our little village. Tiny though it is, it has all I need: a toy-filled nursery for the kids, workout classes, a few treadmills, stairclimbers and whatnot. The best part is that membership is free if you spend two hours a week supervising the nursery. So that's what I'm going to do. Another benefit (and this is what really pushed me over the edge) is that there are bookholders on the treadmills and stairclimbers! Joy! I can read to my heart's content and not even be aware of the passage of time or of how much my glutes hurt. It's a brilliant plan. I hope I can stick to it. The prospect of my muscles hurting in protest after years of non-use is enough to make me say, forget it, you'll never have the same body as when you were 20; it's too much work! But on the other hand, I've seen what happens after years of a sedentary life: heart disease, stroke, diabetes. Maybe I can't have my 20-year-old body back, but if I can make a few positive changes and live a healthier lifestyle, it's bound to be worth it.

Happy Halloween!

Isaac and Allie enjoyed Trick-or-Treating tonight for an hour and a half! Most houses had lights on in our family-friendly neighborhood. A third of the way through, Allie's bag started dragging on the ground from the weight. Then she wanted me to carry it for her. Gotta go put them to bed. Wish us luck!

Kids in the Pool

We've had hot weather this week in Southcentral Wisconsin. Temps in the high '80's. All three kids, Isaac, Allison, and Brock (read below for his introduction) enjoyed the pool for about 30 minutes today. They were good and worn out for naptime.

The bugs have been terrible around here. The moment you step outside, you get a dozen mosquitoes, grasshoppers, and bees swirling around your head. The spiders must be having a field day with so much to eat. The grasshoppers are the size of my little finger. I can hardly stand to take the kids outside at the moment. I wonder how long it will be until it frosts...a month? Right now our overnight temps are in the 50's. I'm SO ready for Fall! A small number of trees are already showing some color at the very tops. Mmmm... I can almost smell that Fall air already.

We had a cricket on our carpet last night. It was almost funny watching Shane attempt to swat it. If you've ever tried to use a flyswatter on carpet, you'll know what I mean. It wasn't working. He swats, it jumps; he swats, it jumps; etc, for five minutes. Looking back, it was funny, but at the time, I was really squeamish. To me, crickets are worse than spiders. They kinda look like spiders, but they jump unpredictably. That freaks me out.

First Day of School

Here they are....the much anticipated first day of school pics! Allie looks as happy as a clam in her photo with her teacher, Ms. Katie. Isaac's photos show him getting off the school bus. One of the first things he told me was, "I'm tired." He sure looks it. Both kids had a good first day of school. Isaac especially liked riding the bus home with his friends C.J., Megan, Emma, Chloe, and Ethan who are all close neighbors. (You may click on the photos for a larger version.)

Note Allie's haircut: I cut it myself. Good thing her hair is curly, 'cause it ain't perfectly straight across the back. I love the ringlets on both sides of her face! She wasn't too keen on sitting still long enough for a haircut so she sat on Shane's lap facing him. While he distracted her with his charm and wit, I worked as quickly as I dared. I even gave her long layers. Not bad, eh? Maybe I should look into Cosmetology as a profession when I return to the work force in a couple of years... I would think that cutting an adult's hair would be way easier and less frustrating.

It sure does feel good to have the kids in school, although it's strange having Isaac gone all day ('til 3:30pm). The last couple of weeks before school, they drove me nuts with their fighting and rough-housing. They really needed to be out of the house and away from me, home, and each other and into a more structured environment. The kids are growing and learning so much and so excited about school that it makes my heart well up in my chest. Gosh, I'm proud of them.

Oh, I forgot to mention... Some of my friends asked me if I cried on Isaac's first day of kindergarten. In case you were wondering, I didn't. I knew I wouldn't because I had such a strong feeling that he was ready. What's more, he knew he was ready and was looking forward to the adventure. It just "felt right." Like when I got married, I wasn't nervous because it just felt right. There's something so beautful about a rite of passage when you're ready for it. What a blessing!! (Besides, I already cried last semester when Isaac rode the bus for the first time to Early Childhood.) Still, it is strange to think about your kindergartner eating lunch without you, playing without you, finding his way to bus number 5 without you. I remind myself that there are teachers and helpers everywhere in his school and they're especially looking out for the kindergartners.

Introducing...the adorable Brock

Here are some pictures of Brock, the adorable 2-year-old I babysit full-time. We played with the doctor kit while Allie went to preschool. He especially liked the stethoscope and hearing himself say, "boom-boom, boom-boom" through it.

Shane interviewed by Local TV News Crew

On Friday afternoon, a Channel 3 TV (my favorite, yay!) news crew came to our door and wanted to know our Sump Pump Story. So I told them, and they wanted to interview me on camera. But I said, sorry, I'm too shy, but my husband will be home soon and you can talk to him. I'm sure he won't mind. He's an extrovert and likes to talk. :) Click on the play button and enjoy!

And the Rain Came Down...

These pictures of our basement were taken this evening. The mattresses in the top left of the first photograph are a loss and a few boxes were soggy on the bottom. Read on for details.

The weather here in Southern Wisconsin has drawn national attention as two towns about 100 miles west of Madison were evacuated due to heavy rains that caused flash floods and even a mudslide that pushed a house onto a highway. The governor has declared three counties to be in a state of emergency and has dispatched the National Guard to help. Here in our village of Oregon (7 miles south of Madison), residents a few blocks from us worked alongside volunteers putting up sandbags to keep out the rising water which already has flooded some homes here. You can read about it here: http://www.channel3000.com/news/13927169/detail.html. More rain is expected tonight and tomorrow. Even as I type this, the rain is pounding loudly on the roof!

Earlier tonight Shane was chatting with his friend Greg online (who also happens to live next door) who asked him if his basement was dry. Shane said, "Actually, I don't know. Let me go check." It was a good thing he did because we had seepage coming up through the cracks and some areas had 1/2 inch to an inch of standing water! We brought our shop vac out and tried sucking the water out of the sump pump area but it just kept filling up as fast as it was leaving. After a while, I encouraged Shane to ask Greg to come over since three minds are better than two...and between the two of us, we didn't have any ideas. So...Shane and Greg took out the sump pump, inspected it, determined it to be in working order and discovered a clogged pipe was the cause of our predicament. Everything is fine now. I'm so thankful to God for sump pumps, friends willing and able to help, shop vacs, dehumidifiers, and a hard-working husband. I'm even thankful for an unfinished basement. It could have been so much worse!

Isaac Loses Second Baby Tooth

Isaac ran up to me just before bed and said, "Mom! Guess what? I twisted my tooth and it came out!" It had been barely hanging in there for a week. No amount of well-meaning advice or offers to "help yank it out" would sway him from his determination that the tooth should fall out on its own. My guess is that he was absentmindedly playing with it while Shane read him a bedtime story. I gave Isaac a big hug and said, "That's wonderful! Congratulations!" As he walked to his room to put it under his pillow, I heard him say, "I'm going to see the Tooth Fairy when she comes!!"

Isaac gets glasses!

Isaac is very excited about his new glasses. I have to keep reminding him to take them off because he's only supposed to wear them for an hour or two a day in the beginning. They sure do make him look older, don't you think? I'm tempted to call him "little professor."

At his 5-year checkup the nurse estimated his vision to be off. When we took him to the optometrist, sure enough, he was found to be farsighted and to have an astigmatism. While I miss the way he looks without glasses, I'm glad he's farsighted because it makes his eyes look a little bigger, which is way cute!! Also, he's not supposed to wear them during recess or while playing outside or playing sports. They're mainly for school. Isaac and I picked out these frames. They're super bendy and won't break.

By the way, Isaac found two more loose teeth in front the other day. One on top and one below. I wonder if he'll have anything in front come Christmas!!

Funny Things Kids (& Husbands) Say

Isaac: I got fixed today!
Shane: There goes our lineage.

What Isaac meant to say, of course, was that he fixed something.

I just love Shane's sense of humor!

Isaac Loses First Baby Tooth

We were just finishing supper tonight when Isaac showed us just how far he could push his loose tooth with his tongue. Shane said, "Gee, that looks like it'll come out any day... or even any time!" When Isaac pushed it again, it fell right out into his lap. We all laughed in delight and amazement. While Shane retrieved the camera, Isaac went to his room to put the tooth under his pillow. What a small but momentous occasion! I'm so glad we were all there when it happened!

We got to be in a parade!

Yesterday afternoon we rode on a float in the Summerfest Parade in the village of Oregon. The float was for the kids' preschool, Little Angels Christian Preschool. All the kids are in pajamas because the theme of the float has to do with dreams. We tossed candy to kids and handed out flyers along the route. Except for Allie having a temper tantrum at the beginning, it was fun! Halfway through the parade, she decided she wanted out of the borrowed stroller and into the float. She was so tired! After the parade, she took a good long nap.

Allie: Teletubbies and Jesus

I love Allie's imagination. This morning she picked up one of my Bibles, opened it to the middle, closed it, and said, "I'm done." As if she had read the whole thing. I got a chuckle out of that.

Then she opened it again and looked at the pictures and maps. When I asked her what it was about, she said in all seriousness, "Teletubbies and Jesus." I wish I had a camera rolling!!! It was so CUTE!!

The Kids with Cousin Dakota

Isaac, cousin Dakota, and Allison at Grandma and Pa-pa McAbee's (Shane's mom and stepdad's) in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, early June 2007.

Potty Training Successes and Discipline

I find it interesting how potty training and discipline are intertwined. Since I made the potty chart, it's been easier to communicate to Allison what's expected of her. If she goes pee, she gets a sticker, if she flushes the potty, she gets a sticker, and so on. I even made a "Bonus" column to reward her for having a good attitude. If she grumbles or stomps her foot when it's time to try to go potty, I draw a sad face in the square and she gets no bonus sticker. Allison is actually staying dry for long periods finally! One night last week she stayed dry all night.

Last week was a good week for potty training and discipline. Reading "The Strong Willed Child" and "Parenting Isn't for Cowards," both by Dr. James Dobson, has really helped. I've been able to stay calm instead of get irritated when my kids disobey or have tantrums. I've been able to be firm and mean business instead of being a pushover. I've also been able to see that if I treat them with dignity (instead of anger borne out of irritation), that they actually respect me more.

This week hasn't been too great in part because Shane is out of town and because I've let our schedules get lax these last couple of days. I didn't put Allie down for a nap on Sunday or Monday and she was cranky at suppertime. It's hard not having Shane home at 5:45pm every day -- not just as a parent but as a spouse. The evenings are boring with no one to talk to and I have no energy to do the dishes!

To make things more difficult, Isaac has been peeing his pants. He's been totally dry for a good six months or more. Then last week he started putting stickers on Allison's potty chart whenever he went potty and talking baby talk. (Total regression, I know!) I think things will improve drastically in the Fall when he starts kindergarten and she starts preschool and they're around their peers. Till then, I'd like to start enjoying this summer instead of just trying to get through it!

Not that I'm down about all this stuff. There is joy in the Lord!

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12

Potty Training the Strong Willed Child, Part 2

Yesterday was a bad day for potty training. In the morning, she pooped in her new underwear. Then she pooped twice in her pull-ups. Just getting her to sit on the potty is a major pain! In the afternoon, we battled wills for 45 minutes while she begged to go outside and I kept telling her to sit on the potty first and then she could go outside. When she sits on the potty and actually goes and then puts her reward stickers on the chart, it's a beautiful thing. If only she was always so agreeable!!!
Maybe I waited too long and she's too set in her ways. Hindsight is always 20/20! But saying I waited too long doesn't help in the present. What do I do now? Does anyone know how to potty-train the strong willed child??
By the way, I checked out the book, "The Strong Willed Child," by James Dobson. If this book helps me to parent her better, then I can train her to use the potty. Know what I mean?
Your prayers and advice are appreciated! (Just don't tell me that your kids were trained at 18 months. That's depressing!)

Potty Training the Strong-Willed Child

I stepped up the potty training a knotch with Allison, our 3 1/2 year old this past weekend. I put her on the potty every hour, bought her The Little Mermaid underwear (her favorite character) and had her put stickers on a potty chart. She stayed dry all day yesterday and even pooped in the potty last night before bed. She pooped in her underwear this morning, but I made her stand up while I cleaned it up. No more lying down on the floor while her bottom gets wiped. We still have a ways to go but after 9 months of no progress, I feel more encouraged! I keep reminding myself that she and I need to work as a TEAM!! Being consistent with this is exhausting, and it's embarrasing to have a 3 1/2 year old not potty trained yet. Maybe later I'll post a picture of her in the new underwear she's so excited about.

My Story, Part 1

I have always admired good storytellers. I SO envy the talents of writers like J. K. Rowling or the Bronte sisters. Creatively, I can’t write my way out of a paper bag. Back in high school (which was, sadly, half my life ago!) I could whip up a five-paragraph essay quicker and better than anyone in my class. But when it’s time to share an anecdote, or tell a joke, or explain the plot of a movie, I usually go into too much detail or worse, give away the ending. Like when I told a friend that “The Shawshank Redemption,” was about a jailbreak. Oops, there went the surprise ending! Shane and I still laugh about that one. Oh, well. So I’m not a born storyteller. But I do have a story I want to tell. It’s for my children, and their children, and anybody else whose lives have been turned upside down by mental illness. The story is about my childhood, my mother, and about how it has shaped me as an adult – both for the better and for the worse.

I can’t remember exactly the last time I saw my mother, but I know it’s been about six years. The summer she ran away, I became pregnant with her first grandchild. This may sound strange, but I never told her about the pregnancy. The daughter in me longed to confide in my mother, but the mother in me chose to protect my baby first and foremost. That first year, I often cried over my mom’s stubborn refusal to get treatment and mourned the loss of our relationship. Many questions I had about motherhood have gone unanswered: What was I like as a baby…was I calm like my son or fussy like my daughter? Or, did you carry me in the womb compactly, like I carried my babies? Was your childbirth experience as quick as mine? How long did I take to potty train? At times when I feel her absence acutely, I wonder if I’ll ever see her alive again. I also wonder, is there anyone out there with a situation like mine or am I the only one in the world whose bipolar mother left home to live out of her car? (See what I mean about giving away the surprise ending? I’m way ahead of myself here.)
I never realized there was anything wrong my mom until I was 15 years old. Before then, I thought it was normal for mothers to call the Suicide Hotline and talk for hours or to stay in bed for days. She spent so much time talking on the phone or talking to herself in the mirror that sometimes I would remind her to make supper. She was a good student who earned an Associate’s, a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree while raising me. But in some ways I was like her parent. I would coax her out of bed or sit and talk to her in her room. I never dared to tell her my problems because she seemed so fragile that I thought she would break if I shared my burdens with her. She had enough of her own and besides, I didn’t think she was competent to help me. So I spent a lot of time alone with my thoughts and my movie posters and my radio. More later.

Happy Birthday to Meeeeeee!!!

I am 35 years old today. I feel funny about it. You know those product registration surveys you find in packaging? They usually ask you to check a box next to your age range: under 18, 18 to 34, 35 to 49, 49 to whatever else. I have a problem with being in a new bracket. I'm not totally comfortable with being lumped in with the 40-somethings. (My apologies to the 40-somethings on up.) I'm just saying. I'm not ready to be 40 yet. But hey, when it comes down to it, life is a gift to be celebrated and treasured, so I won't complain too much.

Tonight we're going to Pizza Hut for dinner as a family. It's my favorite restaurant. I have some great memories of hanging out at the Canterbury Green, Stellhorn, and Coliseum Pizza Huts in Ft. Wayne when I was in college. Some weeks I was there three times a week. Things have changed -- now I know how to cook. But it's still a treat to go out, that's for sure.

A Tale of Two Cities

I just finished re-reading A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens yesterday. What a powerful story!

Background: It takes place in London and Paris during the French Revolution. The story shows how the French Aristocrats oppressed the common people in shocking ways. The common people, who after a time, were so beaten down that they had nothing more to lose, united and beheaded ("exterminated") the Aristocrats and anyone who didn't sympathize with the Republic. Both sides committed horrible atrocities against the other.

Plot Summary: This literary masterpiece begins with the famous quote, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." As the story opens, Lucie Manette travels from London to Paris to retrieve her father who was wrongly imprisoned and left in jail for 18 years. On the way back to London, Lucie meets her future husband, a Frenchman named Charles Darnay. Charles was from an aristocratic family -- the likes of which treated common people like dogs. Charles, however, wanted nothing to do with his inheritance and with the continued oppresion of the commoners. Therefore, he left France, denounced his name, changing it from Evremonde to Darnay. Upon entering London, Charles is charged with treason but acquitted. The lawyer's assistant, the rough, hard-living alcoholic Sydney Carton, is secretly in love with Lucie, who's in love with Charles. After Charles and Lucie are married, Charles receives an urgent letter from a former servant who implores him to return to Paris and help him out of prison. Charles goes back to France and finds things much changed. All the Aristocrats have either gone into hiding or been murdered by the guillotine. Immediately upon arriving in Paris, Charles is sent to prison and after a travesty of a trial, is condemned. Lucie and her father hasten to Paris to try to free him, but fail.

***Spoiler alert: don't continue reading if you don't want to know how it ends!*** Enter Sydney Carton. He comes to Paris, unknown to Lucie or Charles, and unexpectedly visits Charles in his jail cell a mere hour before his execution by guillotine. He knocks Charles out and switches clothes with him and fixes his hair like Charles' and vice versa. (Early on the book, it is mentioned that the two men happen to look a lot alike. The main difference being Sydney looks haggard and Charles is well-groomed.) He goes to the guillotine not so much for Charles, but for the happiness of the woman he loves but could never have, and for the chance to finally do something good after wasting his life and talents. On the way to the guillotine, Sydney doesn't think of Lucie, but of Christ. He meditates on, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will never die." (My paraphrase.) That's why the book ends with, "It's a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done. It is a far, far better rest I go to than I have ever known." The end. (sniff! sob!)

I first read this book in high school in Mrs. Bentz's (no relation) AP English class. I was so moved by the character of Sydney Carton. When we watched the movie version in class -- oh how I wanted to cry like a baby at the end!! I couldn't look at anybody. For all I know, there may not have been a dry eye in the classroom. I wouldn't have been surprised.

How beautiful, the sacrificial love of Sydney Carton. What a picture of Jesus' sacrificial love. Sydney paid the price for someone else's sins (Charles' father and uncle's sins). Jesus paid the price for our sins. Sydney willingly faced death for Lucie's life to be full and happy. Jesus willingly faced death for us, his beloved children, to live life to the fullest and for us to spend eternity with him. There is no greater gift than that. Can I get an amen?

Wow. I love that book!!! If you have read it, please post a comment! If you haven't read it, go to your library and get it! (Don't forget the tissues.)

Happy Easter!

He is risen!

He is risen indeed!

Thanks, Jesus, for showing us the way, for being the firstborn, for making a way for us to be with God, that when we die, we don't vanish into nothingness.... You love us too much for that! We get to enjoy eternity with you, our Creator and Redeemer!!!

I've had lots of opportunities to explain the meaning of Easter to our children this week. What a privilege it is to point a child to Christ and a personal relationship with Him. Please pray for Isaac and Allison to understand and receive Him into their hearts. Christ has made such a difference in my life; may He bless theirs as well! And that goes for you, too!

My latest card

I made a card for the new neighbors across the street. Shane and Allie went over and introduced themselves last night. I stayed home with Isaac who had a fever of 104.7. It was his highest fever ever! No fever today, thank goodness! I made him take it easy anyway. It must have been a reaction to the four immunizations he got the day before.

To Complete the Set

Another silly picture. It seemed wrong to only put silly pictures of Allie, Shane, and me. :) Don't we look like a family of looneys!

Pictures of Allison

So far Allison has been underrepresented in my blog. My apologies, Allie! Here are the highlights from the last few months. She is so CUTE!!! I can't help kissing those rosy cheeks several times a day.

Isaac and Tyler

Isaac and Tyler. He comes over two mornings a week while his mom works. Isaac calls him "my little buddy." Don't know what Allison was doing at the time. Probably on the computer playing games at www.pbskids.org.

Another pirate card & learning to read

I love this stamp set! This card is a belt buckle card. I'm going to have Isaac write his thank you notes himself. There are about a dozen to do, which is a lot for a 5-year old. We'll see how that goes.

Right now he's not as excited about writing as he is about reading. He just read his first Dick & Jane book recently. He was so excited and felt so empowered he could hardly sit still. It was almost like I could see the lights go on in his mind as he understood the written words. What a privilege it is to teach another human being to read!!!

Speaking of learning to read, I bought Isaac "The Electric Company" on DVD. Remember that show on PBS in the 70's? It helped me learn to read and now it's helping my kids. I love that show!! What a walk down memory lane it was, the first time I watched it with them. Anyone remember the segment called, The Adventures of Letterman? "Faster than a rolling o, stronger than silent e, able to leap capital T in a single bound! It's a word, it's a plan, it's Letterman!!" They don't make shows like that anymore. What a shame! Thank goodness for DVD's!

Isaac's 5th birthday party was Friday, March 30, 2007 at our house from 3:30 to 5pm. We had it a week late (his b-day is 3/23) because we were sick with sinus infections, influenza, and bronchitis. Shane and I had the worst of it, thankfully the kids fared better.

I stamped the invitations using one of my new and favorite stamp sets, Ahoy Matey, shown above. We had 12 boys come! (14 kids including Isaac and Allison.) A great turnout! There was Eli, Ryan, and Dillon from preschool, Tyler and C.J. next door, Zach down the street, Ethan and Conner across the street, Jared and Kaleb a couple blocks over, and Peter and Anders who Molly babysits two doors down. It was a full house!! Notice the picture of a tired mom holding Isaac's cupcake. hehe. Thankfully, Bonnie (Jared and Kaleb's mom) offered to stay and help out. What a blessing she was! We ate cupcakes, played "Find your treasure" -- a game I made up by hiding everyone's party favors behind furniture and having them find them as they arrived, played "Pin the Flag on the Pirate Ship," ate cake and ice cream and opened presents. That was just the first 45 minutes. It went so fast! I didn't know what to do with them after that. We still had another 45 minutes left! So some of the boys went upstairs to the play room and some stayed downstairs and watched the first half of "Pirates of the Caribbean." It was a good time!

Isaac's 5th Birthday Party