The equation of life

I'm sitting back thinking about the changes in our lives and how everyone plays a part in our lives. How I don't remember a time without Faith. Bud said while in conversation with a friend about being a new father, "80% of your life it getting ready to turn to crap. 10% of your life is getting ready to get better, but the 10% that gets better is more than going to make up for the 80% that turns to crap." I guess Faith is the 10% that makes all things better. Something so small and precious makes everyone's life better and happier. She not only makes our lives happier she makes everyone's lives around us happier. How does she do it? Is it because she is just so innocent and knows every day is a new day. I wish I could take some of her enthusiasm for life and spread it. I never would have imagined myself where I am five years ago when I was starting at the doctor's office. I knew we would never stay in the midwest but sometimes I miss the simple life. I love it here. But I love it where home is also. Maybe as life moves on we will come back or maybe life and home will come to us. Faith has a way with doing that with her family. They can't stay away. So the equation of life would be family + love = happiness. It doesn't matter what curveballs get thrown our way.

The perfect house

After searching the area for the perfect place to live Bud found it on craigslist. A ranch style house renovated into a duplex. One side, two bedroom, the other side, three bedroom. We are going to look at the inside today however after looking at the outside yesterday it was beautiful. Residing in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains it is everything I have wanted. What's even better is that it has a huge back yard with the mountains as a backdrop. It is on a horse farm where people rent out the stables for their horses and then ride them and let them graze in the field right across the lane. Faith even fed the horses yesterday as we checked out the place. They are putting a brand new kitchen in this week and next which will be wonderful. What is even better is that if the three bedroom ever comes open, we will be the first to know. Bud says that he could see himself staying here for a long time. The yard is filled with big old trees that give lots of shade. Perfect for entertaining and grilling out. I really don't even need to see the inside. I already love it.

It's crazy here!

My goodness. With the weeks fast approaching to having to move again I feel like my house is in chaos and I am not home to do anything about it. Boxes need packed. Things need cleaned and stored. I need to play with Faith and I just need some more sleep. With Bud gone last week I could atleast sleep till 6am. It's back to 430am again when the alarm goes off. Faith is doing wonderful in her new school. She loves the art time. She had sensory time yesterday in which they smelled garlic, cinnamon, basil and nutmeg. When I asked her about it she said that the garlic smelled yucky. All the teachers who have been in her class seem to think that she doesn't belong in that room with the other children. She is way too far advanced. They are concerned about what she will be learning too. I guess she will be learning what we teach her, right? Yesterday I was so proud of her. Her paper said that she told her teacher thank you after she helped her and one of her friends. Despite the fact that she is having a hard time realizing that I am always around and she will see me, she continues to cry when she can't be with me. She loves me. What can I say? As for me, I will be glad when I am not working till 530pm. I need 430pm. Maybe next week they will fix my schedule. It makes all the difference in our evening. We are probably going to start boxing stuff up again this weekend. Bud will be home next week only to leave for Puerto Rico the following week. We have so much to do. AAAHHHHH!!

Funny saying of the week

So I decided that every Tuesday will be Faith's funny saying of the week. She is becoming ever so aware of her surroundings and sometimes what she says is not really what is going on. Sometimes she just doesn't make sense and other times I want to hit the floor laughing. So I am going to start writing them down. This week's saying is...

"Mommy there is steam coming from that man's fingers." (he was smoking)

Go Go Go!

She did it. Faith rode her big wheel bike all by herself. Thanks Uncle Carl for that bike you gave her back when. We started at the top of the hill and she kept her feet on the pedals and all. When she came drove off the sidewalk I put her back on and she pushed her feet to make her go. Did we cheat by putting her downhill? No, just like in gymnastics, a little incline makes learning easier. As she was rolling down the hill she was yelling, "I doing it, I doing it." She is getting to be such a big girl. Where does time go? I had told her that if she wanted a BIG GIRL bike she would have to show Bud that she can pedal her big wheel and is strong enough to pedal a bike with training wheels later this summer. She is working hard. Those of you who want to see her pedaling, check out our snapfish account.

It's storytime

It's storytime. Grab your pillows and find a spot on the carpet. Faith is going to read us all a story called the Three Little Pigs.

School has started

She ran out of the house this morning with Grace's pink cowboy boots on. Faith, I'm sorry, you can't wear those today. "Mommy, yes, want to wear cowboy boots." So we had to talk about being able to run and climb at school. The special blanket stayed home. The big pillow stayed home. Until I can sew her napper together she'll just take a small blanket from when she was little. Cheeseburgers for lunch. Yuck!! Does she have to eat those greasy things. I see her arteries clogging now. Ummm, I think that I will drop off a chicken patty here in a hour or so. She took right to her classroom although she was nervous. Thumb in mouth, Lamby in hand. She agreed to put Lamby away in order to play. Hopefully she'll stay in the cubby where she belongs. She started to play with the peg boards and willingly let me go. Hugs and kisses and they shooed me off to home to rest.

Happy Father's Day

It's Father's Day. A time to rejoice and reflect in what wonderful fathers we have and all the things they have taught us. Mine has taught me how to drive a lawnmower. Despite the fact that I run over the bushes, he continued to allow me to cut the grass. He taught me how to check my vehicle to make sure it was running ok. I still call him to this day the first time my vehicle starts acting up. He has taught me how important it is to teach my child religion. That I will be held accountable for their learnings which is so true. He has shown me that love can last a life time with just a little hard work from both ends. Did you read that mom, both ends :-) He has shown me that no matter how many fires a child starts in the bushes in the front yard with gasoline, he will still love me. No matter how many times I mess up he loves me. No matter how many times my brothers mess up. He loves them and is always there for them. He has shown me that you are your own parent not what your parent was. The most important thing he has taught me is to drive fast in old cars with the wind in our hair. To love the golden oldies including music and cars. I love those trips to the car shows and drag races and they will be a memory I will always treasure. I love you dad. Happy Father's Day!!

Zoo much fun

We went to the National Zoo in D.C this morning. I thought we would never get out of the house with Faith crying all morning. She was ok at the zoo. Her favorites were the gorillas eating cardboard boxes and orangutans walking on ropes from tower to tower about 100 ft in the air. It was nice to be able to put a face to the many animals we've read about. She had fun running in the misting water machines however she wanted Bud to go with her. So both ended up wet. Her shoes remained off through most of the trip despite countless efforts to keep them on. I would have liked to stay longer but Faith needed to have her nap. She needed a nap so bad that she was asleep by the time we got to the gate to pay for parking.

Getting closer

With the opening of Rainbow Station just around the bend, Faith is becoming ever so excited to begin. She talks and talks to all the staff and informs them that she is going to be in the big yellow classroom. Everytime we go visit she wants to use the bathrooms. They are here size. Short and small. She told one man that she was going to play with the building magnets on Monday. Although the school is set to open on Monday, there are some minor setbacks that may push it till Tuesday or Wednesday. I am excited to get the kids in there and even more excited to have sprinkler day once a week and fieldtrips once a week. What better way to see Virginia than to see it for free. If my camera was working I would have pictures up on here so you could see how cute it is. Bud is leaving again on Sunday. This time to Texas for two weeks. Faith is growing so close to him. When he comes home now I am old news. Daddy is fun. She can jump on him and he just loves it. Anyways.... all is well here.

I think I need a dictionary

Yep, I told Faith that the Royal Guard in her princess story was similar to the king. Bud corrected me on the phone last night. The Royal Guard is the queen's soldiers. Sorry. I really don't have a huge vocabulary. I guess that is why God gave us dictionaries. From now on I will just look it up if I can't tell her. Some words in kid's books are just crazy. I do love reading though. Recently this week that is all I've been able to do with her because I can't get home before 7pm with her.

Mommy, what's that mean?

Yes, Faith is now asking questions and getting a better idea of what is going on around her. As I was cooking in the kitchen she came in and asked in her little sqeaky voice, "mommy, what are you doing?" Then in the car she asked, "mommy, what are you doing in the front seat with daddy?" As we settled in with books last night for a storytime I pulled out The Jungle Book. We have read this one over and over and not once has any questions arose. However last night it was different. It must have taken 15 minutes to read through it and I do stop for comments during the story. "Mommy what does village mean?" "...pleased mean?.....terrified mean?....pounce mean?... horrified mean? This excites me because I know that #1 she is building her vocabulary with words that are usually not used by a 2 year old and #2 she is not just assuming anything in a story. She is working through it and understanding it. Reading is such a wonderful thing to do with a little one. However I can quickly see from going back to work how parents can loose reading time. I will slack on other areas and cut them short but when it comes to reading she gets a good 30-40 minutes every night. And she still cries when it is time to put the books away. She always talks Bud into one more and then me one more and then me one more short one before the lights go out. Sometimes I wonder how long she would really read. Probably until she fell asleep in our arms like when Grace read to her.

Who loves the creek?

I do! I do! says Faith. We packed up a picnic yesterday and headed back to Prince William Forest Park. With the temperature exceeding 95 degrees and heat index at 105 degrees we must have been crazy to be out. However once down at the bottom of the valley the temperature dropped 10 degrees and was wonderful for an afternoon of splashing in the water and digging in the sand. Faith loves the sand. We walked the sandy shores and found lots of clam shells. Who would have thought that they would live in a creek. Faith burried everyone's feet and even fell into the water face first only to be saved by Bud. She laughed it off. We walked with no shoes and managed to not hurt our feet on the rocks. I love the creek and I love being outside. I think I can vouch for everyone else too when we say we all had a blast.

We made it

With the week coming to a close I am grateful that Faith made it through the week with little crying. She had so much fun with April and Mackenzie this week but she became very upset and emotional when I had to leave. It will get better. I know her teachers will welcome her into their arms upon entering the classroom which will make drop off easier. I feel like I have not been talking about what Faith has been doing recently. Besides talking up a storm and giving directions, she has been just having fun. Thursday afternoon we spent in the water table outside. It is a 18 gallon tub. She kinda grew out of the water cooler from last year if any one remembers those pictures. She tells the neighbor girl what not to do. Faith loves going on walks to the creek. Last night we made it almost the whole way down the walking path. She reminded me of Grace because she had to pick up every rock, look at every flower, check out every puddle, and run as fast as she could. I thought we would never get home. Bud made it home safely from San Diego last night to enjoy both of us running up to him in our high heels and hat to give him hugs.

I was at Rainbow yesterday to get the classroom put together. Faith is going to have so much fun. Just to tell you some of the things they get to do. They have a ball pit, an art center with rubber and sponge stamps, a wonderful astroturf playground, magnetic building blocks, a huge puppet collection including many multicultural people, a wonderful library to start off with, a huge kitchen with everything you could imagine, baby dolls of all colors and race, and a wonderful dress up collection where she can pretend to be a doctor, police man, fire man, a ballerina, or just mix and match. She is just gong to love it.

This is going to be hard

It is day two of training for work and I already feel like I can't spend any time with Faith. We get up in the morning and are lucky enough to eat breakfast together, get dressed, and talk about what it going on for the day and then we are heading out the door. I just don't know how moms do it. How it is possible for them to be away from their children for such a long time. What gets me through is knowing that this time next year I will be done working and will be home with another little one. I picked Faith up at 5:45 this evening only to drive home, fix some hamburger helper and sit down to talk again. We did play for a little bit but when she goes to bed at 8pm it is hard to spend time together. The time we know we both can count on no matter what is storytime in bed all cuddled together. It is a big change from being with her all day. No more hour storytime in the middle of the afternoon in the closet. No more afternoons in the mud. No more it's Tuesday and raining so let's go get french fries. And no more let's just go to the library by ourselves to read and play all morning followed by a trip to the dollar tree. It leaves Saturdays open for that. I just feel like my time has been taken from me and as much as I know she is going to learn so much this year and be exposed to so much and have so much fun my heart sinks. Why is that?

A nanny?

Well Faith has a nanny this week while I go to work. She is a lady from church who is a nanny for a family of 3 girls. One girl is almost 3 so Faith will have someone to play with. It is so hard to find someone. Part of me didn't even want to look. After our bishop and 1st counselor both recommended her to us I knew that she would be wonderful. How can I meet with someone for an hour and know if they are a good person. I thought that with Faith's classroom last year and it turned out a nightmare. The nanny seemed nice and willing to take on the challenge of two 2 year olds for the week in addition to her household responsibilities. I am anxious to start work. Rainbow renegotiated their offer with me after I brought up some concerns. So I am going to be a Recreation Counselor in charge of the half day preschool class room and the dance and movement program (soon to be implemented). I was ecstatic yet nervous. I've never had the responsibility of actually teaching preschoolers; just assisting. So it will be a challenge but Bud reminds me how well I have taught Faith and all the things that she knows above and beyond what she is supposed to. Cheers... to a good week with new experiences for everyone. Bud, in San Diego for work, Faith with someone other than her Andma to watch her all week, and me, a new teaching opportunity.