The First Day of First Grade!

I can hardly believe it, but Ivan is now an official First Grader!  Today was his first day back at school and from what I've heard so far, all went well.  He is clearly tired and is presently in his room working on a jigsaw puzzle.  He loves to "work" a puzzle when he is decompressing.  It used to be building train tracks, but recently it has been "puzzling".  I'll share more later...

To the BEACH we go!

Ivan and I are off for our annual beach week with my family!  Good times ahead!!  See you on the flip side.

I don't know why I love you but I do...

Oliver's favorite place in the house...the fridge!

I'm about to admit something that I am not proud to share: I didn't want to love Oliver. Sure, I wanted to like him. I was planning to like him a lot, but love him? No. The pain when we lost Sherman was so awful I was convinced that I did not want to go through that ever again. However, as always God has a better plan for us than we have for ourselves. In short, I have fallen so hard for this sweet little guy. His antics make me laugh out loud daily. I love to watch him explore the house and yard. I enjoy playing with him, except when he nips me...not loving that. I enjoy watching him nap too. In short his presence here has been more than just a balm for my soul, he has shown me that my heart can (and has) grow.

Swimmer of the Week!

Today Ivan was awarded Swimmer of the Week at our swim club! The coaches award this honor once a week in each practice level. Ivan is in the 6 and unders this year and he was recognized as the Boy Swimmer of the Week in his practice. This is Ivan's second year on the swim team and he is doing great. The coaches announced what makes someone swimmer of the week and I think that is what makes it such a wonderful recognition.

The Swimmer of the Week is described as follows:

*The swimmer comes to practice every day

*The swimmer works hard during practice

*The swimmer has great sportsmanship

*The swimmer has a positive attitude

I must say that when they were describing what makes the swimmer of the week I thought to myself "that sounds like Ivan!" I'm his mom I know, but he's a good kid who works hard and really does stay positive! He is not one of the top swimmers, but he goes to practice every morning and works on whatever the coaches are instructing about that day.

Ivan was really excited about the whole thing. He got a new QHST Swimmer of the Week backpack to keep and carry. He took it to Nana and Papa Wayne's last night as his overnight bag.

I'm so proud of who Ivan is becoming.

A New Addition...

Today we added a new member to our family. Welcome Oliver Twist the Cairn Terrier! Oliver turned 8 weeks old today. Here's to many happy years in our family!

This That and The Other...

This is as they say a "catch-all" entry.

Tomorrow Ivan finishes Kindergarten. What, how, when? This blessing of a year has gone by SO fast that I find that I am rather shaken by the speed of it. How did we get here so fast? I am so proud of how well Ivan has handled the intense academics that have been handed to him this year as well as many new social situations too. He has handled everything with a maturity and grace that really is rare in a six year old boy. J likes to say that Ivan is an old soul...I think he is really on to something there.

Last weekend I was so fortunate to spend a night away with my best girlfriend, S. We went to a large city that is kind of half way between our two homes. We laughed, shopped and ate until we dropped the following afternoon at the time of our departure. We usually like to have a "mission" when we shop and this time it was to find me a new handbag. I found one alright. The black and white one on the left. Notice the price? Yeah, me too. I'm just too darn practical to spend that kind of money on a handbag. I could justify it in that I typically keep a handbag (and use it everyday) for three or more years. My current one has been with me since I left the diaper bag behind 4 years ago. However, I just can't spend that much on something for me. No way. So, I will look on ebay and call the Coach outlet stores every few months just in case it should lower by more than 50% into a range that I MIGHT consider. For now though, I found a wonderful bag that is similar in shape and size and was only a fraction of the cost of THE bag.

Ivan and J are out fishing with my Dad right now. Ivan has never fished before, and I can't wait to hear all about it. He has been into "man time" since my absence last weekend. J planned a jammed packed weekend of fun while I was away, so it came as no great shock when Ivan asked when I would be leaving again. I always tell J that "I can't teach him how to be a man, that's your department." So far he's doing a great job!

We should be getting the puppy in just a couple of weeks. We are all SO excited! It will be an adjustment for sure, but the good times will far outweigh the bad times. Sherman's life was proof of that.

Life here is good. We are blessed to have a lovely home, a great school for Ivan, each other and of course an ever growing relationship with God. Life is good.

Puppy Blues...

Poor Ivan. He is just devastated at the news we received last night. The puppy that we thought was going to be the new member of our family is not doing well. Our breeder called and said that she is not comfortable allowing him to come home with us since his health appears questionable.

We are trying to remind Ivan that things happen in God's time and not ours, but it is a hard lesson, no matter how old you are. I'm just praying for Ivan to continue to be patient. We are the first in line for the next litter that will be ready to come home in about a month.

Poor kid.

Moms and Muffins...

This morning Ivan and his class hosted Moms and Muffins. I totally forgot about it since we were at Disney last week. However, God did not forget. He placed it in my mind as I was in the line at the bank. I raced over to school and was 15 minutes late, but I got there and this wonderful little gem was waiting for me when I arrived.

Mothers are special...

This is how my mother looks...her is really tall. Her has brown eyes, like me.

Her age is...37.

She really likes to...read with me and play games.

She likes to cook...pizza...but she buys it! She cooks french fries.

My mother does not like it when I...draw on something I'm not to.

I make my mother happy when I...clean up my room and do my chores in one day!

My mother is special because...her is my mother!

Ivan's teacher read all of these out loud (the part I missed) then the children served us a muffin, some wonderful strawberries and a drink. Then they cleared our plates and we were able to visit and enjoy the rest of the day together. What a blessing and to think that I almost missed it! Praise the Lord that I did not!!

When you wish upon a star...

We are off to the house the mouse built for a week! I'm sure that there will be plenty to share when we return. We are all SO excited!!

TTFN!

Happy Birthday!

Today is Ivan's 6th birthday! Wow, time flies when you are having fun!!

I wanted to say no...

This afternoon I was feeling a little blah. Not sad exactly, but not my usual self for sure. I was on the couch in the den when Ivan came in from his playroom. He climbed right onto my lap and we were face to face. He asked me what I was doing and I asked him what he was doing and then he asked me if I wanted to go out and play basketball* with him. I wanted to say no. I wanted to say no way, I am sitting here feeling all blah and I don't want to get off of the couch and go outside where it is cold. But I didn't. I looked into those wonderful, brown eyes and said "Sure, that would be great". I knew it would lift my mood and that those are the moments that memories are made. I was right. We had a great time, a ball in fact. J joined us about halfway through and it became a family moment. Life is good.


*Basketball at this time/age is passing the ball, dribbling the ball and very little shooting. He loves it though and that is enough for me.

Another First...

Tonight Ivan read ME a bedtime story. It was book 1 from his summer enrichment program that we purchased from school. He saw it in our room and wanted to practice a little and voila! I got a bedtime story. Love that kid!!

Losing my mind!

It's been a long couple of weeks around here. Niece sleepovers two parties at school in as many weeks and hardly anytime for me to breath. I am gratefully looking forward to this weekend with no commitments whatsoever. I'm so zapped that I just tried to hand J Ivan's juice complete with lid and straw. Calgon take me away!

All over the place for 10 minutes...

I write in here so rarely. What a pity really as I was planning on using this as my "memory book" for Ivan one day. There are several unfinished posts in my drafts folder with thoughts jotted down that were intended to become entries at one time or another. Some may most won't.

I'm slowly but surely turning the corner on my grief for Sherman. March 4th will be one year since I was last able to rub my favorite ears in all the world. I am slowly opening myself to the thought of another dog in our home. Decisions, decisions.

We have been blessed with the opportunity for another trip to Disney World in April. Thanks to a monetary gift at Christmas and the use of a friend's timeshare we will be heading to "The World" a whole lot sooner than we ever thought possible. This trip will be SO different from the one we took last year. We are travelling with my sister and her family for starters. We are driving and staying off property. We will be on a major budget with no dinning plan to splurge with. However, it's all good...we are going to get to see Ivan at Disney World while he is still unaware of "coolness" and worrying about others. Blessings abound.

That's ten (very interrupted) minutes. I'll try to do this again when Ivan is not home and my niece is not here too!

The Second Quarter...

We had reading night at Ivan's school a few nights ago. It was a time for his teacher to brief us parents on what the children have been doing and what they are about to start doing. It was one jam-packed hour of information. The least of which was the receipt of his second report card. Ivan is continueing to do well in school...verse, counting, respectfulness/polite, interest in their daily Bible story all being excellent. I'm so proud of him...I could just bust! Now things get a little more dicey...more independant work and I fear that time managment may be an issue. He is one deliberate person in all aspects. We will see!

The Christmas magic...

Christmas at 5 rocks! This year marks the first time Ivan spoke to and touched Santa! Christmas morning he was excited to look for and find all of the Baby Jesus' around the house. Ahhh...bliss.

The First First Quarter...

Wow, how can this be? Ivan has already completed an entire quarter of Kindergarten? So far he is doing very well in school in all areas. He is excelling at his weekly verse memorization and his counting skills. Next stop college!

A Week of Firsts

Ivan started Kindergarten last Monday. Today he broke his arm on the playground at school. What a week! More to come...

Always with me...

Last night I was blessed. I fell asleep quite quickly considering my prior post. Then the blessing occurred. I dreamed about Sherman ALL NIGHT LONG. God is so good. He sent me the presence that I was longing for the most through the entire night. I slept well and awoke this morning feeling relaxed, refreshed and reconnected to my little man. Thank you for that blessing.

Alone

I sit here tonight in a completely empty house for the first time in almost 13 years of marriage. J and Ivan are at J's parent's house for the night. His parents live about 2 1/2 hours from us and I sent the boys there without me for once. It's been a wonderful, busy and somewhat stressful summer and I needed a little time to myself. Dad's surgery was tough and his hospital recovery was even tougher, but thank the good Lord he is home now and on the mend. He is getting stronger by the day. Ivan participated in swim team for the first time this summer, so many of my days were filled with swim practice and Tuesday evenings were full of the swim meets themselves. Not to mention two sessions of VBS (both execellant). Now the count-down to Kindergarten has begun. Just a little over two weeks until my little man is off to "big boy school". That, however, is for a different time.

Tonight I have enjoyed the silence, the selfish TV time and a good dinner from one of my favorite resturants (and my favorite pino griogio too!). Now, I am off to bed...alone. This is the part of the evening I have not been looking forward to. Not only is J not here to snuggle with but there will be no Sherman at the side of the bed to make me feel safe. When J used to travel for business and I spent many an evening alone, I always had Sherman with me. He would typically (in the old house) stay not under our bed as he usually did when J was home, but he would sleep in his chair that sat right by the front door. Therefore making me feel safe...since no one could get to me without encountering Sherman first. I know that God is in this house protecting me and in a way Sherman is too. However, it still feels a little weird as I am about to crawl into bed knowing that I am totally alone for the first time in my entire married life.