Gosh, Jake looks so grown here. We are on our Second Annual Scavenger hunt on Memorial Day
Jayden and Sherman are Rachel's best friends at nursery school. She will miss them!
You can't see me! I just love this picture of her.
My princess!
So pretty you are!
Please take the picture!
We have very little patience and the fiestiness is showing here! LOL.
Catching the wind! LOL.
Jake loves basketball!
Here we are at a park on 4th of July! How appropriate to take a picture with a statue of a soldier?
I LOVE LOVE the pigtails! Can you see, they are getting longer!
Love this picture of the two of them.
Pool fun in the backyard.
Jake cathing during one of his games.
Can you see the ball right in fron of him? He smacked it!
Jake pitching. He has power! We are still working on control.
He looks like a professional! LOL.We are finished with baseball and we are in full swing with two summer basketball leagues. He started the first one about a month ago already and the league has been a little challenging for him because he is playing with 9th and 10th graders. I attended my first game last week because the games are so far away and they don’t start till either 8 or 9 o’clock at night… way too late with a little one. I couldn’t believe the size of these boys! I mean, Jake is big for his age, but HOLY MOLY, some of these boys were even a foot taller than Jake! I kept thinking “is Jake going to be that big when he’s in 9th or 10th grade.” He’s definitely heading in that direction since he’s already 5’7” and he’s only going into 7th grade. Oh, I have to add, Jake’s very proud that he’s taller than me now! Anyway, I could sense Jake’s intimidation and his confidence was lacking, but he was a different kid playing with kids his own age with the second league that started last week. He really does enjoy basketball and hopes to be able to play for his middle school next year.
Jake started camp through our township. I believe this is his fourth year at this camp and it is probably the last year. I walked in last week to pick him up and I thought he was one of the counselors. All the kids are so tiny. Seriously, I think Jake is at least a head taller than every single child there. He does seem to enjoy it more this year than in years past. Apparently, the kids who caused a ruckus last year and the year before are no longer there. We do need to find something more challenging for him next year. It would be nice to find a part-time summer job, but I think he will still be too young. We shall see what happens.
Rachel finished her first year of two-year old nursery school at First Baptist Nursery School. I don’t know what it is, but life just seems to fly by, especially when you have kids in school. My year doesn’t go from January to December, but rather September to June which is the school’s calendar and every year, it seems to get faster and faster. We are going to miss Mrs. Melito and Mrs. King since Rachel won’t be back in the fall. It was so neat that Rachel had the same teacher Jake did 11 years ago! Rachel has learned so much this past year and one of my favorites, is that she learned how to say the blessing during meal times. It’s so cute to watch her through slitted eyes, but she’s watching us making sure we have our eyes closed. So very cute! She can count to 10 and surely knows her alphabet. I love when she rattles off shapes and colors she’s learned a long the way as well. In the fall, Rachel will be starting a Christian pre-school full-time. I know she will continue to flourish in her new setting, but it’s all bittersweet. She’s growing up so fast! We are now in a big girl’s bed too and she thinks she is such a big girl. A big girl bed was her incentive when potty training, which she did in no time flat. Rachel is such a quick learner.
We are in a second year of Petite Feet dance and we even are doing a summer session because Rachel LOVES to dance. A woman who works there, was kind enough to give Rachel a used pair of tap shoes. Rachel was in her glory when I gave them to her. She constantly talks about getting bigger so she can do “tap tap.” She puts the tap shoes on and goes to town on my kitchen floor. I’m sure the linoleum won’t like it soon, but hey, she’s tapping and she’s happy and that makes momma happy. In September, Rachel will start ballet and tap. The tap won’t start until after the holidays depending how they do with ballet, but Rachel will feel like such a big girl. She watches the big girls every week when they are tapping and when we leave, that is all she talks about. I love watching her dance and sing. I’m telling ya, she’s going to be on stage someday!
The kids are enjoying the pool at my in-law’s house. They are both fishes and Rachel is becoming so comfortable in the water with just arm floats on. She isn’t afraid to put her face in the water, but screams like a girl when Jake splashes her. Seriously, I thought with almost 11 years between the two of them, there would be no sibling rivalry! Boy oh boy, was I wrong. The two of them harass and pick on each other. Jake tends to be an instigator at times and Rachel gives him the reaction he wants. LOL. The other day in the car, Jake was being is usual silly and sometimes annoying self, and Rachel screams “enough Jake, that is enough!” Hmm, I wonder whey she’s heard that from. Made us all laugh. Bottom line, you have to laugh sometimes and have a sense of humor…if not, you can drive yourself crazy.
We are leaving for vacation shortly and we are looking forward to getting away. Believe it or not, we are headed to Kansas City, Missouri. I know, how many people do you know go to Kansas City, MO for vacation? Well, Dave’s, Uncle Donald, moved there about 10 years ago now and we have yet to visit and we’ve never been and I figured what a great way to spend time with family and enjoy a vacation. Uncle Donald has a boat and a pool, so we definitely shouldn’t be bored. We plan on seeing a Kansas City Royals baseball game and there is an amusement park not too far from his home. I believe we are going to visit Branson, Missouri as well and may even stay a night there. Should be fun! I’m just excited to be on vacation and get away from the monotony of life and work.
In August, we are going to the Great Wolf Lodge for Living Hope’s Adoption Agency reunion. I cannot wait to go there again. I think I might be a tad more excited about that weekend getaway then my week away. We were fortunate enough to go there shortly after bringing Rachel home and we had a blast! The kids were so incredibly good and had such fantastic time. This time we are staying 2 nights and we’ll get to use the indoor water park for 3 full days. I’m looking forward to seeing and meeting new families and connecting with the girl’s that work at the agency. They do such a wonderful job in planning the reunions. I’m hoping next year that I will be able to help them a little, especially with forming a reunion committee where parents will do a little more of the planning. The planning is taking up more and more time which takes away from them helping families to grow. The agency would love the help and would appreciate getting more ideas in making the reunions even more successful in the future. In September, I’m attending the Women of Faith Conference in Philadelphia with a group of women from my church. I’ve never done anything like this before and hope to grow spiritually as I learn to grow my faith. I heard that these conferences are fabulous and that you will go home a different person in every aspect of your life. I can’t wait to share this journey with the women of my church. We have a great summer planned and I’m looking forward to everything about it.
It’s been a little trying at work because for the last three weeks, we’ve been working with NO air conditioning. I know this is such a luxury compared to what others deal with around the world. I try hard not to complain, but let’s face it, we are spoiled here! We are and I will be the first to admit it. We are told that the air conditioning should be working in the next day or so, which will be great since we have embarked upon a heat wave this week.
I’ve been purging up a storm in my house. I don’t know what it is, but it feels good to unload all that stuff. I don’t know why we accumulate so much stuff. Where does it all come from? Most of what I’ve been purging are clothes, toys, baby gear, home décor, etc. It feels invigorating to get rid of it all. Do you ever feel like getting rid of almost everything and starting over? I don’t know why I feel like that sometimes, but I do. Anyway, I love giving to those who could use them or those who are in need. Clothes are expensive and I’m glad to pass them on to someone else who can use them. I was such a snob when Jake was a baby because I didn’t want any hand-me-downs for him. I grew up with hand-me-downs or clothes from thrift stores and I vowed that I would never put used clothes on my child. Well, let’s say I grew up and realize how silly it is not to share things that can be shared. I mean, you spend full price for something that your child is going to outgrow in a matter of a few shorts months. So, I’m not too proud to take hand me downs for Rachel and believe me, she looks fabulous in them! Unfortunately, since Jake is the oldest among most of my friends, we are usually doing the handing down and I love that I can give to a friend to save them money.
Did I tell you yet that Dave is going to China?! I think I did, but we are getting close. My dear closest friend is getting so close to her referral, actually we are hoping to hear this week, which means they will be most likely heading to China in August. I’m so excited. I almost feel like I’m waiting on my own referral. Andrea has been waiting over four years now. She is so incredibly brave to embark on this journey as a single mom and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. It will be so cool to be on the other side of this journey and how cool for Dave to witness the whole family uniting across the world where he will get to witness it all first-hand. We had a lovely baby shower for Andrea on June 11th where about 30 of her friends joined us as we ate, laughed, and watched Andrea open gifts and cry doing it. It was so much fun and I’m thrilled that I was able to be a part of it all. She has been a tremendous friend over the last four years and I’m so blessed to have her be a part of our lives. You can follow her adoption journey at www.meisnowwe.blogspot.com. I am asking that you please keep her in your prayers too. Please ask God to give her peace, strength and security as she embarks on this amazing journey of motherhood.
Can I also ask you to pray for me? I’ve been struggling with my back terribly. I have horrible pain in my back which radiates to my legs. Thankfully, after many tests, x-rays, an MRI, etc., they have found nothing serious. This is bittersweet because I’m glad nothing is seriously wrong, but it’s frustrating to be experiencing this kind of pain and discomfort and no one is able to tell me what it is. I’m seeing a chiropractor and rheumatologist and they are leaning towards fibromyalgia at this point. This scares me because it means I might have to live with pain for the rest of my life. I do know that I need to makes some changes personally including losing weight, eating healthier and just taking care of myself. Mothers tend to not take care of themselves and then we pay for it later. I want to be around for my husband and children for a long time, so hopefully, with God’s help, I can lose weight and start exercising. So please pray for me? I would be ever so grateful.
I hope everyone is enjoying there summer. I will post when we return from vacation with some photos which is all people really care about anyway. LOL! Hey, I get on my blog at least once a day to look at my beautiful family. It reminds me how blessed I am.
No comments:
Post a Comment