A Novel

I'm sure it will feel like reading a novel by the time this post ends! So much has been going on lately. Some good (or even great!) and some bad...like, seriously bad. The past few weeks have been exhausting mentally and physically. For memory's sake (and as always, to keep family up to date) I thought I'd summarize the recent events in our life.



Starting with the kids:

L continues to enjoy school. She rarely says a negative thing about it. Those closest to us know what we've been through to reach this point. School has been good for her. On the other hand, she is exposed to so much that makes me cringe. After living in our little bubble, and being a self-proclaimed overprotective mother, some days it feels as if I'm throwing her to the wolves when I drop her off in the morning! But it makes my heart so full when she comes out shining every time.



She has already encountered bullying. A girl was teasing one of Lauryn's classmates and saying some really mean things. She immediately told me about it after school, and it really bothered her. She quickly had a plan in place for the next day. Lauryn stood up for her friend who was being teased. She confronted the bully and actually convinced her to apologize, which she did, and THEN she said they all played together for the rest of recess. I couldn't be more proud.



She is ridiculously smart. (It's my blog, so I can brag.) And she's also hilarious. The most hilarious thing is that most of the time she isn't trying to be funny! She's a fantastic artist and is entering a drawing for the Reflections contest at school.

Allison. So much is going on with that little girl, I don't even know where to start! She is growing before our eyes in so many ways. She speaks like such a big girl and asks questions that come out of nowhere! Several times in the past weeks she has caught me off guard. I stop and realize she isn't the "baby" anymore...she's a big girl!



She also enjoys school. Her teacher said her attention span is remarkable and that she is very cooperative and eager to learn. I expressed concern over her being young (with an August birthday) and starting kindergarten next year. Mrs. L assured me that Allie will be just fine. That was so nice to hear.



She tries to sound out words everywhere we go. This is such a drastic change from just a couple of months ago! She loves to try and spell words, so we play that "game" each day while we wait in the parking lot at Lauryn's school. I'll tell her a word and she takes little letter flash cards and puts them together in the way she thinks it is spelled.



Drawing and art have become her favorite activities. She will choose to color a picture over watching a show on t.v. She loves going to gymnastics and is very good at it.



Not so good:

I was devastated last week when a life lesson was forced upon our household. Something I didn't want to have to face (or have my children experience) for a long, long time. A little girl in our Girl Scout troop was hit by a car and killed while she was walking to school. In the past, L has asked about death in great detail because she knows that several of her great-grandparents have passed away. She knows they are in heaven . But up until now, I know that she only thought people pass away when they are very, very old. I wasn't ready to explain to her that sometimes children her very own age pass away as well.



She didn't react the way I thought she would. Her school counselor said kids this age will react in so many different ways. She kept telling me she wanted to cry but kept finding an excuse not to (one excuse was she didn't want to cry because her face would be red when she went to school). But she has asked questions about S every single day since I told her the news, so I know she is processing it in her own way. We discussed S at our last girl scout meeting and all of the girls seemed ok. They drew pictures and made cards for the family and, at six years old, I think that helped them more than anything else could.



Happy News:

I have struggled for about a year with the thought of Allie going to school full time next year. It was almost 7 wonderful years ago that I officially became a stay-at-home mom. It quickly became my new identity. It was all I knew (know). I didn't (don't) want that to change. Time has an ugly habit of going by way too fast. And here I am, faced with the truth that my "baby" will be in kindergarten this time next year.

I want to be home for them after school. I want to volunteer and be a room mom and go on field trips. But what do I do with ALL of those other hours in the days and weeks? I figured I'd just work part time somewhere. But where could I go and expect to get to work at 9:00a.m. and get off work at 2:00 p.m. and not work weekends and take off as much as I want for field trips and class parties and to make copies in the teacher workroom? Not many places, that's where.

Obviously I didn't have an answer to my question (Brent never once said I needed to work part time somewhere, it was just a pressure I put on myself). Well, as I should've known (but somehow constantly remain surprised), God stepped in at the perfect time.

I got a call out of nowhere from our church asking if I would be interested in a "part time" job as co-director of the young children's ministry (birth-preK). This couldn't have been more of a shock than it was (and still is!) It is perfect for our family and for my personal situation. I will work from home and only attend a staff meeting once a week (on a day Allie is in preschool...hello, PERFECT!) I can be there for my kids at school as much as I want, and at the same time, feel that I am contributing something not only to our own family, but to so many families in our church.

I will be in charge of the large events at our church involving the young children (Egg Hunt, Trunk-or-Treat, Christmas program) as well as curriculum and teachers/volunteers in those young Sunday School classes. This opportunity is exactly what I didn't know I wanted. When I step away from it and realize the hand that God had in all of it, it overwhelms me.

Finally, Brent continues to be the constant in our family. He's always so supportive of me and everything I do, and the best daddy any kid could have. He has traveled a lot this year for work, and I am so thankful that not only does he have a wonderful job, but it's a job that he enjoys. We are blessed beyond measure.