Time goes by

With Christmas already passed and the new year just a few hours away, I am filled with joy to have such a wonderful family. I miss Bud. He's in school for a few months. It makes home life complicated. However today was an exceptional day. Pa Pa is here visiting. He made an effort to go outside with Faith today and help her chisle away at a talc brick filled with rocks and gems. Faith found a total of 9 gems. She chisled through the entire brick and was excited with her finds. She never gave up nor complained of being tired. She continued to say that it was hard work. But when she found a stone it encouraged her to continue. The investment was $13 but well worth the time and experience for her. She discovered something new that she enjoys. Pa Pa says that we are going to take the gems and make a bracelet or necklace. I agree. It will be a beautiful piece of jewelry.

The Day and Night Before Christmas

I can't believe that it is here. I can't believe that we are all together this year. Both of my parents and Bud are all here. It is going to be a wonderful day tomorrow. We have so many friends and family that care about us. Today Faith and I were glued to each other as we baked sugar cookies and frosted and decorated them. The spoons and bowls were delicious as we are both known to love cookie dough and icing. We danced to some fun Christmas music; must be Santa by Bob Dylan. Such a fun song. We worked together on a hard GeoPuzzle she received at school. We read a few stories including our favorite story for tonight's occasion; The Night Before Christmas. I wish that today didn't have to end. I love this time of year. Everyone is happy. Faith has since retired to bed for the evening. She is excited for Santa's arrival. She only asked for one thing and that was a Zhu Zhu Pet. I hope she is happy when she receives it. I can't think of any other times I am as happy as when I am with her doing mommy things. I can't do those types of things with Champ yet. He has no interest in them. I remember when Faith was his age for Christmas. We were in Motown and there she was up there on the stepstool licking the spoon just like she was this afternoon. The joy of Christmas time makes me realize just how little our children are and just how precious they are. They believe in miracles and magic. They believe that nothing will ever happen to them as long as they have their mommy and daddy. The world has not yet made an impression on them. To have them little forever would only be a dream. Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight.

Angels we have heard on high...

And an angel fell from the sky on Saturday. Her hair was a light as the sun. Her eyes were as blue as the forget me nots. She fell for the love of snow. And when all was said and done, she made a beautiful snow angel in the driveway. The first snow of the year came and went. But Faith made they best out of it by making snow angels, a snow castle for her princess and lots of snowballs to throw at the front door. Oh what just a little dusting of snow does for a child. To see the world through a child's eyes is to realize that life is too short to not live life to the fullest.

The missing pocket

Faith notices such fine details. When we were reading a story to Champ the other night Dora was trying to find her mother's shopping list for the store. It seemed that it had been misplaced along their trip to the store. As the story wrapped up the second to last page said that Boots had put the note into his pocket. When they crossed the river he didn't want it to fall into the water. "Mommy, that is so silly. Boots doesn't have any pockets. He doesn't wear pants." I thought for a moment. "Your right. He doesn't have pants." Why did the story say anything about a pocket when he doesn't wear any clothes. I just love her so much. I wonder how Bud and I raised such a pleasant enjoyable little girl?

Storytime live

Tonight Faith and I opted out of the usual storytime and ventured into town to visit a local church. What a beautiful sight. Neither of us had seen anything like it. There was the manger. A lonely donkey grazed in the hay. A sheep and goat stood next to each other grazing on grasses and a talk oxen stood ever so quiet in the corner. Faith quickly went to pet the animals. A live nativity just like the one Jesus was born in thousands of years ago. Just as it was to begin a large camel came walking up draped in the most beautiful red sequence that the eyes have seen. The Magi's camel had arrived. Everything was set. The speaker began reading the story from the Bible and Faith was intent on listening. It was a blistering 25 degrees out but her snow pants, coat, mittens, hat and scarf kept her warm. The small choir sang songs such as Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Go Tell it on the Mountain, Silent Night, etc. It was beautiful. Baby Jesus came swaddled in a leather skin while the shepards came with there shepard's hook. I wish I could have seen the birth of our Savior. It would have been a sight to never forget. But I supposed that it was Christians who made it seem possible for us to be there today as we watched in awe the miracle that happened on that Christmas night.

Score!!

Faith's teacher approached me yesterday at school. I knew that any day Faith would be having her reading evaluation. There were 52 words on her list to read and Faith read an amazingly 49 correct. Her teacher said she remembered the rules taught to her and even remember most of the sight words. A few just didn't follow either rule and those were hard. I know that she is going to become a great reader. She shows interest in trying to read bigger books now. I love our school. I worry about the day we move to another school in another state. Will that school program recognize Faith's special abilities or will she get lost in the crowd? I hope that after just a few weeks they will notice her and enjoy her as much as her teacher's do now. She was introduced to subtraction yesterday at school and that seemed easy enough for her. I just can't get it into my head that she is only 4 and not actually supposed to be in kindergarten yet. She missed the cutoff my 6 months. She definitely belongs in this class. Any other would not do her learning any justice.

Christmas caroling

Faith's first opportunity at Christmas caroling came last weekend. We visited town hall in our small town and caroled on a small stage for local town folk. Only a handful of her friends made it. It was very cold outside. However they sang three songs which consisted on "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth", "Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer" and "Santa Clause is coming to town" It was too cute. Champ and I watched from the sidelines. Santa made a surprise visit in the police car. Faith wasn't too excited about him. She informed me that she had already spoken with him. So she said hi to him and received a candy cane but not much conversation happened between the two. I love Christmas time but I do have to say it doesn't quite feel like Christmas this year with Bud leaving on Monday.

Mary and Joseph

Tonight is the night of our Christmas celebration in which Faith is Mary while her chorus of kindergarteners sing Silent Night and We Three Kings. It is exciting as she gets to wear a costume to portray the mother of Jesus. What a priviledge to be asked to play this part. I'm a little bummed that she is not singing the two songs but she rejoins her class to finish off with Go Tell it on the Mountain and the finale of Go Light Your World. I am totally stoked for this evenings performance. Even my class did a run through yesterday and I got chills just listening to them all. I love our school. It really has to be the best school imaginable filled with the best teachers one could find to nurtur and love their children. I will be so sad the day we say farewell. Until then, "Go Tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born." I love Christmas time and singing.

What the...

The entire phrase "What the ________" came out of Faith's little mouth the other night. My jaw dropped. I knew where she heard it. Bud says it all the time under his breath. Thinking that the kids don't hear it, we found out that they do. Upon speaking with her teacher I discovered that someone was saying that in her kindergarten class. So Faith was taken to her room for a discussion and upon further investigation we decided that she did not realize the severity of the phrase that she had said. However had someone not spoken to her about she would have continued to say it. I had to tell her the story of myself when I was little and had to bite a soap bar for having a dirty mouth. "Mommy, did you have to wash it out because it was dirty with words?" I said, "Yes Faith and this is your warning on that phrase. If I or your teacher hear from you again your mouth will be washed clean with some soap." "ooo yuck!" and our conversation was ended. I sometimes think that she would never say stuff like that but children say what they hear.

A ripe jolly ol' elf

His name is Santa Clause but we call them Santa's specially picked helpers in the store. When it came to Santa last year, he was everywhere. But what really pushed my button was when were at the mall and Santa was the overall casual one, then we went to the grocery store and he was fat, white and in his red suit, and lastly we went to Walmart and he was black, skinny and in a red suit. Faith immediately picked up on this fact because she is a bright little girl and since then it was explained that the real Santa is at the North Pole working as hard as he can for Christmas. She believed it. Saved....this time. So when we went to the garden center we first enjoyed all of the colorful trees, ornaments, cookies and water fountains. Santa arrived a little late. Said he got caught in the wind outside and his sleigh almost went off course. Such a nice little elf this time around. Last year I thought that I would be scarred for life with the Santa at the fire station but he saved the day this year. He was so long winded but he made Faith feel special. Did she remember that he was Santa's helper....probably not because her stare was intense and she talked with him like he was the real thing.

I'll be home for Christmas

Faith of course understands that Bud is going away for school this winter and won't be home for Christmas. When that specific song came on the t.v. yesterday she went on to make Bud feel even worse than he already does for being gone. She stated, "But daddy, you won't be home for Christmas. I'm sad just thinking about it. Let's stop thinking about it because if we don't think about it it can't make us sad. Okay, daddy?" She is a sweet heart and very aware of things that are going on around her. She picks up on things that a normal four year old wouldn't. We are celebrating early this year before Bud leaves and Santa is still going to visit Christmas Eve. She has been playing with Bud a lot recently. Two weeks till Christmas here at the mountain and we still don't have a single present purchased.

Like sister, like brother

One minute Faith was putting lip gloss on and the next minute she is telling me to come look at Champ. Champ had made himself a little cozy reading spot within two baskets. His books were thrown out and he was in the middle of enjoying all of his stories. Well, Champ decided to come to the kitchen and when I had turned around to talk to Faith, she had decided that Champ had a good idea. She moved herself into the living room and into the same corner. She opened up her new Dora story book collection and started reading. It is interesting that she decided to do this. Her growth in reading has grown tremendously since the start of the school year. Upon closer examination of test scores from other children in her class, I discovered that Faith had the third highest scoring on her PALS. She is not only the youngest in her class she is one of the smartest. Thank God that we fought for her to attend Kindergarten this year.

The last picnic

It was a beautiful Fall day and probably the last nice one of the year. With the temperatures in the mid 60's Faith and I ventured out into the leaves to play for awhile as lunch was cooking. Just some hot dogs sizzlin' and some corn spinning in the microwave would make a fine meal for a picnic. After playing leaf monster and hide and seek we brought the picnic table outside for the final picnic of the year. All of the trees have said goodbye to their leaves and now the ground is covered in a beautiful array of Fall colors. Part of me loves Fall and then another part hates to see Fall because I know that colder weather is on the way. So goodbye Fall, I know winter is just around the bend even though the calendar says differently.

Stinky things

Faith cracked me up laughing last night. I tried my best to not laugh at first but then she added the kicker at the end. We had turned off the lights and layed down to sleep when out of no where she started talking about farts. "Mommy did you know that some big farts are stinky and some little farts are not? And did you know that some little farts are really stinky and some big farts are not? And did you know that my friend Evie's farts are the stinkiest of all?" I wish that I had a quote book full of things that she says. I could make some money with that one. They are precious and unforgettable.

Lions, Tigers, and Bears

Two months ago, Faith was placed in the lowest reading group. Knowing fair well that she did not belong there I placed my emotions on hold and knew that her teacher would place her where best fit in the long run. Two weeks ago she came home and said, "mommy, I'm a tiger now in reading time." That is wonderful I told her knowing that now her teacher is seeing her true abilities as she begins to open up and become more comfortable. Yesterday we came home and her little voice cried out. "Mommy I am lion now." Wow! I exclaimed. See, Faith is not supposed to understand reading groups and how they are separated but she learned this and recognized it the very first week of school. How can millions of books and millions of hours later turn such a young one into such a vivid reader? I know how. She strives to do her best at everything. She is the youngest in her class and at the top already. Even her math is similar. Her teacher does not mind if she misses a math class once a week to take Spanish lessons because she does not worry about her. She catches on quickly and retains information like a sponge. My little lion is about to "roarrrr". Watch out!

The great artist

Faith has always enjoyed art however recently her coloring has just exploded. Last Spring I noticed the attention to detail that she was using but now she is coloring because she loves coloring. She chooses her colors well. She stays in the lines. She tries her hardest. I stayed a minute in her class the other morning and noticed that the first thing that she went for was the coloring book. She knew which one she liked because she dug right to it on the cubby shelf. She was all about wanting to color until her teacher asked her to write her morning sentence. She hurried up and did it so she could color in her book. This is what she brought home. The blonde hair, mismatched socks and wearing of pink tells me that it is her.

The solo

Thanksgiving Feast

Bud is coming to Faith's Thanksgiving Feast at school today. She is excited because it is not everyday that her daddy comes and visits her at school. His work schedule is from sun up to sun down and mostly Friday, Saturday and Sunday are time with the family. Today's menu consists of turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes, pie, green beans, cranberry sauce and hopefully some good stuffing. I love Thanksgiving time but most of all I love the closeness that this time of year brings for our family. I am hoping to enjoy lunch with her also. We will see how my classroom behaves and how long we stay in the gym. I am hoping to sit with her for a little bit for I am not sure what we are doing for Thanksgiving this year as a family.

Far far away

In a land far far away, a mother, father and their 2 children have moved away from their families. Their families meant the world to them but life moves us where we have to go and we look towards the day to return and be together again. The families are a tough 13 hours away but somehow they still manage to get together atleast three times a year. One of those days is quickly approaching as the holiday season begins full swing. The ticket is bought and not soon enough will mother, father and daughter be hugging again. Faith loves her Andma. That is what we call her.. When Faith was 18 months, she couldn't pronounce the G sound so with Andma pushing for a name to be called we decided to give Andma a go and it has stuck for years to come. Same thing happened with Pa Pa. The G sound was difficult so we dropped it and just stuck with the ending. It has stuck for years to come also. So life moves on and changes here in this far far away place but we are grateful for the random visits several times a year. I long for them. Just when I start to feel down in the dumps, Andma calls and says it is time to come out.

The journal

So we are encouraged to journal our lives for the ones to come. Do you think that Jesus would be excited to see Blogger? I think about how much time it must have taken to write the books of the Bible and how more time effecient we are now in our journal writing through blogger. I can't sit and write. I've tried. My hand tires. But do you know what Blogger offers. It is called SharedBook in which it takes my blogs and puts them into a book form. Faith's book was started at 18 months when we were in Motown. I put my blogsite into the program to see what would come about. Her journal consists of 175 pages complete with a soft or hard cover of my choice and color pictures throughout. I know what my Christmas present is going to be this year. Also, what a lovely story time for Faith as she grows and wants to remember her life as a little girl. They all forget you know.

Happy Halloween

Today is Halloween. Although we will not be doing anything today because it is Sunday, we did do festivities on Friday. Friday was our school's Halloween party and Trunk or Treat. Faith and I love Trunk or Treat. Although this year brought some crankiness due to lack of sleep, we made it. Faith decided that she was to be a woodland fairy for school and changed into her dancing talent fairy outfit for the party. Of course their was dance party which made her choice of outfit perfectly acceptable. We colored, explored the gross boxes, facepainted, danced and enjoyed watching myself do a parent limbo contest. Faith didn't get too much candy but enough to enjoy. Happy Halloween.

Falling down

Faith and I have a favorite time of year. It is by far, Fall. I like it because it is so beautiful. It is like God has painted the Earth for two weeks and it slowly becomes more beautiful until the bareness is shown for the winter. Faith likes it for a whole nother reason. Like all children, she enjoys the leaves. I remember when I was a little girl, spending hours outside in the leaves. I suppose if Faith were born 30 years ago she would have been similar to me. I can't help but imagine. She throws the leaves in the air, dives into the pile, rakes it up again, and dumps them on her brother's head all the while giggling in delight. She loves to drive a local mountain road here to see the nature and animals. Right now it is a beautiful drive. I would like to drive it one day and get some pictures taken against the wood fence. But Faith and I are really like two peas in a pod, can't have one without the other.

Asleep in her arms

I wish that those nights would never end. Faith asks me each night to curl up with her in her bed as she falls asleep. I don't mind. I've missed her throughout the day and ache for the moment to relax in bed. Her little body curls up and she puts her knees into my belly. Her head tucks into my chest. She is content and happy to be with me. She wasn't happy to get ready for bed but happy to be there with me when she was ready. The morning hours come fast and Bud is up getting ready for work. He wakes her with the light and she can't go back to sleep. Mommy, I want you to lay with me in my bed. OK Faith, but only for a little bit. I need to get ready for school. What makes Faith so special? Little moments like this make me love being a mom.

The Fairy Realm

Step inside to the magical world of the Fairy Realm as magical horses, gnomes, trolls, fuzzybears, fairies, sprites, and Jessie head off on adventure after adventure. Faith and I have reached book four entitled the The Last Fairy Apple- Tree. We have found our books. I'm not sure what we will both do after we complete number 10. It has become our ritual book at bedtime and our topic of conversation in the car. Some books about fairies can be really intense as magic is brought in but these books remain child friendly and they don't leave me wondering whether the next page will be ok to read with my four year old. Faith has the attention span at story time of a child who is much older. We've been reading together every night since she was born. Her love of stories has grown over the years and now she is reading herself at a kindergarten level. She loves these stories so much she asked everyday when her books would be arriving in the mail. Finally they both arrived the same day and she wanted to read them both at the same time. She is so cute. I love the Fairy Realm. Even I want to read it each night and become disappointed if Bud reads a chapter because then I'm not sure what happened until Faith tells me detail for detail.

Wanna play?

After a week of Faith in school and me back onto my 8-5 schedule for the time being, she is becoming clingy and needy. Now as a mother I do not mind playing with her. I feed her imagination so in turn next time she has something that she can imagine. This weekend brought nothing but her wanting attention. Maybe she is fighting for attention from her brother. How can I give her more without taking away from Champ? I often feel like I am pushing her away but in reality I am trying to help her become more independant. The best part of yesterday was when took her pet dog for a walk. I helped her dress it up in a swimming suit and headband but she took the initiative to put her in the stroller and take her for a walk. They stopped at the fish store, the laundry mat, and the restaurant. As an only child for three and a half years it was easy to play with her all the time but with another child and more responsibilities she needs to learn how to be patient and wait.

Yes!! She did it!

The cartwheel was landed on Saturday not one time but several times. She decided that she was going to keep that left foot in front and practice hard. Practice paid off because she did super. She not only did her cartwheel, she kicked her handstand all the way up complete with straight legs. It was a great day at the gym. Next session she is going to be enrolled in gymnastics twice a week for the winter. Hopefully that will help her get a head start going into the Spring session and then we will play it by ear as to whether she would like to stay in class. Go Faith!! The cartwheel was just awesome to see. I'm so proud of her.

Oh God!

Oh God! Why is a four year old doing spelling tests? Why is my schedule so demanding at school that I can't find the time in the evening to make Faith sit and complete her work? Why are there so many meetings for school? Whatever happened to being able to leave work at 3:30pm? When will things look better? When? Until then I guess I will go to the meeting tonight and Bud will prepare for the spelling test with her for Friday. They are hard words too. Sight words which don't follow the rule. Good luck Faith. This test will be hard. I'm not sure why there are so many sight words to learn at one time but I suppose if she if being prepared for 1st grade next year here goes the push.

The four stages of weather

Faith's drawing has improved drastically since entering into the child's garden. Here is her rendition of the phases of weather.

I Can Only Imagine

Faith has encountered a new song that she just loves to sing. I am not sure as to the reason she loves it so much. It could be that I started singing it and then she decided that she was going to learn it also. So now each time we are in the car she requests her favorite song to played. "I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me. I have yet to video record her but I will record it. She is so precious as she sings what it would be like to see Jesus one day and what she will do. Will she sing Halleluia? Will she bow down at his knees? Will she be able to speak at all? She can only imagine. I love having family friendly radio on in the car. These are the songs that children should learn to sing at the top of their lungs. It makes the car ride alot more enjoyable.

The child's garden

Kindergarten is officially off and running and Faith is following along wonderfully. She is enjoying everything that the child's garden has to offer. Of course her school is doing something they have never done before; co-teaching. Faith has one teacher 1st semester for Math/Science and another teacher for Reading/Language Arts. They then switch roles 2nd semester. What makes this so nice is that the ratio is 1:8. Her teacher has no more than eight children in her group at one time. She can really focus on learning with them. Faith is about to enjoy a new music program called Octaves where they teach her the history of music and the 8 steps to understanding music. I am excited to see her grow. I find Faith excited to be in class and I find her teacher expecting more out of her. She has known Faith since she was two and we first started at our school. She knows what Faith is capable and will hold it to her. Two thumbs up for Kindergarten.

She's back!

Yes, Andma is back but this time for my birthday. Andma and Pa Pa both arrived just in time to watch the children while school was closed for end of year transistions. Faith had lots of fun. Her and Pa Pa painted with water colors. Faith and Andma played the new Diego game and went for a walk to see the horses. Faith is excited to start Kindergarten on Tuesday. All of us went to the elementary school and played today. Faith enjoyed swinging on the monkey bar upside down by her knees. She loved swinging on the swings with Pa Pa and having a swinging contest. The birthday party is tonight for me. Faith teacher and family are coming along with another friend of mine. Should be loads of fun to have all this company over.

Summer come and gone

I can't believe that summer is one week from being over. I can't believe that Faith is on her way to Kindergarten. Summer has brought many new and exciting things. Faith has learned to read a lot better. She is confident in sound out words that follow simple rules that she knows.

Last weekend we took a trip to Ocean City, MD. It was a great trip despite the tired and sick baby that came along also by the name of Champ. Faith loved the sand; not so much the ocean because of the waves and salt water. She loved the hotel that we stayed at even more. Hilton Oceanfront had an awesome swimming pool that was very kid friendly. She could go down all the slides by herself which made her very confident to leave mommy and daddy's side and just have fun.
Monday I took the day off and just us girls went and spent the day together. We enjoyed a cucumber at a local food market followed by a morning in a secret garden at the Oatwood Plantation. What a beautiful place. We hid among the statues and flowers, pretended we were in a Fairy Realm with trolls on the other side of the hedge and climbed a big tree with branches to the ground. So much fun and a perfect way to end the summer.
But summer is not over for another week and a half. All my family is set to arrive for my birthday next weekend. How fun to have everyone here in the house. So as we get ready to say goodbye to summer and hello to a new school year, I say it was a great summer filled with lots of happenings.

VBS

Vacation Bible School has started this week and the theme is Heroes. Andma came to visit. She is taking her to and from church for the week. Faith enjoys it very much. She is making lots of crafts and doing art. They play games, sing songs in the chapel, and of course learn about a not so well known hero of the Bible. The weather has been hot (98 degrees). Last night we enjoyed ice cream at church followed by the singing of the song "I want to make a difference." Faith knew the arm motions but non of the songs like last year; probably because they are long and more complicated. Faith enjoyed chocolate ice cream with sprinkles. I enjoyed strawberry. Champ, he didn't enjoy any of it. Faith and him pushed a chair around most of the evening. But it was fun. We love ice cream no matter where it is at.

Let them be little....

So I can't help but think of the Lonestar song, "Let them be little" the last few days as Faith prepares for changes at school and the move to Kindergarten. Am I right to send her a year early or am I pushing too much and should just "let her be little"? I don't know.

Just let them be little. For they're only that way for a while. Give them hope, give them praise, give them love everyday. Let them cry, let them giggle. Let them sleep in the middle. Oh, just let them be little.

Little fish

Faith started swimming lesson yesterday; the first of it's kind. She was in a class with one other child which was really nice because she received so much attention. At first thought she said she wasn't going to blow bubbles in the water let alone go under water but she has proven herself to be very brave. Her teacher had her laying on her back and floating around the pool, hand walking the side of the pool, singing songs, popping up from the water, blowing bubbles, and so much more. Swimkids was definitely a good program to place her in as they already had her placed in the appropriate class before she even arrived. Today she does a lesson too all the way till next Thursday. No gymnastics this week as the gym is closed for cleaning. This is probably best as she would be tired from having both activities. What is even nicer was that I was able to take her to swimming lessons from school and not even have to clock out. Woo! hoo!

The little imagination

Faith's imagination is still quite active. When given a suggestion, like today, she just ran with it. We were playing with Winnie the Pooh and friends and I decided to make one of them get sick from the birthday cake. She took it even further and decided that he needed to go to the hospital. Then almost immediately after he was examined by My little Pony, Tigger's friends all came in sick also. Then all the stuffed animals were laying on the floor sick from food poisoning. Faith's brother was in there and she would not allow him to enter into the hospital area. So she picked him up and escorted him out of the hospital. He seemed pretty happy that he was finally allowed to leave. She had him blocked in for the longest time.

More cars?

Yes, three days later Faith has now learned to recognize the Lexus, BMW, Chevy, Acura, Toyota, and Honda. She is so funny. I can't believe that she loves this game so much. I can't drive down the street with her anymore without her shouting the names as we go along. We come to a stop sign, she watches the cars go by and shouts out the names. "Did you really just say Lexus, Faith?" I literally just spoke about the Lexus one time with her. I guess she is more like her Pa Pa than I realize. How many will she be able to learn? I guess the question is, How many can I teach her? So tomorrow will start another day of car shouting I guess.

FORD!

Faith has become aware of vehicles around her and has discovered the word FORD written on many vehicles. At first she was calling all 4X4 trucks FORDs but then I explained the significance of 4X4 and that it wasn't only on FORDs. She has her Pa Pa's blood in her. Now as we drive down the road she spots a FORD and she is shouting it from the back seat. If we are walking in the parking lot she spots and yells it out. But after realizing this was fun for her I decided to introduce her to the Chevy, Honda, and Toyota too. Now she has four vehicles that she looks for and when she doesn't know what type it is she is asking me to tell her so she can learn that one too. I wonder, is that how my dad learned his vehicle types when he was little? Maybe, but whatever interests her I just go with the flow. Today...naming vehicles. Tomorrow...maybe naming star constelations :-)

My little gymnaste

Yes, Faith has turned into a mini gymnaste. I love it when she asks me to help her and teach her. We have turned the living room into an all out gymnastics center. If I could only get a cheese mat I would be all set. Bars, mmmm, that is sort of hard to have in the front room but we use things around us to make a somewhat decent obstacle course. Eight weeks ago I put her in class and she could only do a small donkey kick and a jump over cartwheel. Now she down a cartwheel by kicking over the top and lands on her feet. She can do it on the floor now also. Her handstands are so high often she kicks herself right over. She backward rolls down a small incline and holds a chin up for 10 seconds. This girl is going to be a special little girl here. She tries her hardest. She aims to please. She does what she is asks and watches the big girls because she wants to be like them. Whenever she tries something new she always says that the big girls do it. I then have to explain that they have been doing it longer. No fear she has. Will be doing backhandsprings next year if she continues where she is going.

Ready for kindergarten

So since Faith has graduated from her PreK class and has went into summer fun I realize just how much she knows. She knows how to read clocks, count to one hundred, count by 5's and 10's. She recognizes all letters of the alphabet including their sounds. She recognizes blends such as "th", "sh", and "ch". She sounds words out and most of the time gets them right including if they are simple and don't follow the vowel rule. Her writing skills have improved tremendously. She is a great listener and follower of directions and really cares about learning and having fun. Last night we read "Countdown to kindergarten" and after that book she was so excited that kindergarten was going to start soon. However, once again, being a step ahead of other children I have immediately started thinking, what about the following year and where and what will she do. I know what I would like to do with her but it is convincing Bud that that is the best route for her. We will see what this year brings us and I will prepare for what is to come. Research, research, research.

Puddle fun!

Faith is not afraid to get muddy, especially after a rainfall. It is not uncommon for us to play outside in the puddles or even in the mud. We clean ourselves up and go to another activity. I have countless pictures of her in the rain playing and splashing. She loves it and has so much fun. We love to feel the mud in our toes and the rain on our head.

And success

Faith after working hard for 9 months has completed her 100th book. These books at first consisted of sight word books but eventually grew to level 1 books and BOB books. We had a sticker chart that she would continuously stick stickers on and after each 25 she was allowed to go shopping for something small at the store. However her 100th one was to be special. She could choose whatever she wanted. After explaining to her that a Barbie wouldn't be much fun I helped her decide on a swimming pool. When we were in the Midwest for summer vacation she played with a little girl one day and they splashed in that pool for 2 hours and still wanted more. I blew and blew this pool up by mouth but it was worth it. She loves the pool and will still read in the car. Night time reading is too hard for her as she is completely exhausted from her learning at school that day. This summer however we are going back to more sight word books as we enter into Kindergarten a year early in the Fall.

Taking up photography

Faith has learned to work the digital camera and boy does she take some good pictures. Today we stopped at a local flower farm on the way home and I gave her the camera just to see what she thought was pretty or atleast worthwhile to take a picture of. Of course her pictures turned out beautiful. This was her second attempt at taking pictures. The other day before school we had some time to kill so I told her to go photograph what she enjoyed or thought was pretty. These are so of the pictures that I enjoyed most.

A climber

Faith has shown the need to climb both at school and at home. So we decided to remove the tire swing from the back yard, cut the rope in half and make a rope swing in the front yard. Now she can run and grab a hold of the rope to swing. When she gets really strong she can shimmy up the rope. The other half of the rope made a new tire swing in the back yard. She definitely loves to climb. I not only hear about her climbing on the shelves and tables at school, she now seems to call herself Spidergirl as she climbs up the doorway. Yes, that is right. The door way. She gets half way up the doorway and then jumps down. Sometimes I think that if I were as crazy when I was her age that is probably why I was placed in gymnastics too.

Fire girl

What do you get when fire girl goes to Antartica? A beautiful little girl dressed like this.

Happy birthday daddy

Tuesday was Bud's birthday. When Faith called him up on the phone on the way to school she said, "so what should we do for your birthday?" "Do you want to go out and eat or something?" She picked her favorite restaurant, one with a huge fish tank filled with huge fish. So that was the plan until 3:30pm when I realized that she is tired when she leaves school and Champ falls asleep or cries because he has had a long day also. So I called Bud and asked if we could do it on Saturday instead. Then we don't have to deal with that particular city's traffic and everyone is in super moods. Bud's birthday went well. Couldn't find a candle and sure couldn't get the kids in a good mood but the cupcakes were wonderful.

Silly Milly

Faith is learning to read and this was her next accomplishment. After reading it in class and then looking at it herself she decided to read it to me the other night. I told her "you can read that all by yourself?" She said she could because she was practicing. This in addition to her sight word books and BOB books have set her in the right direction for becoming an early reader. Now she is tired when she comes home from school so getting her to read is getting harder and harder. We have tried to incorporate it into our morning drive to school. Some days are easier than others. She did read a story from her BOB collection on her own with zero help. I was so proud of her.

Sing your heart out

Have you ever noticed how your children can be just like you? Are they like you because they are around you so much and take what you like or are they instinctivily born with it. I ask myself that about Faith. So much of her reminds me of myself. I don't know what Bud was like growing up but I know what I was like and she is a spitting image. She quietly hushes me when I sing too loud but then I catch her singing a song under her breath that I had just taught her on the way to school that morning. She brings home 5 drawings a day from school because she loves art and I catch myself making a fairy book for my class and drawing in it. She loves fairy books and wants me to read to her every night and then I catch myself reading her fairy books when I want something to read for a little bit. I drove my parents crazy flipping and doing gymnastics through the house when I was small and she drives me crazy climbing everywhere she can image, including the van door, couch, table, sink, crib or shelves. Look at what I can do mommy. "Oh no, is what goes through my head at first thought." Is she like me or am I like her? Which is it? Or do we just make each other full.

Spring warm up

Today, 86 degrees, was a perfect day to turn on the sprinkler in the front yard. Faith put on her swimming suit and her and her brother played and splashed for about 15 minutes. She would splash Champ and he just squealed with delight. I think that she really enjoyed making him laugh. They have a great relationship right now. Faith ran and jumped back and forth over the sprinkler and once again her brother enjoyed every minute of it. It was all fun and games until she bumped her toe on the sprinkler and then she was all done. I tried to convince her to shake it off but she was tired and hungry also. So we dried off. I turned around and she had stripped naked in the front yard and wrapped herself in the towel. Then she headed in. Nothing like being comfortable naked; anywhere and everywhere.

Kindergarten shot down

So I am on the war path to get Faith into kindergarten in the Fall where she belongs. I just want them to give her a chance and she will do the rest. I have her future teachers pulling for her including both pre-k teacher and kindergarten teacher. School is concerned that she does not meet the age requirements. Well, no duh. We've discussed this the last two years with our focus on the present not the future. What is best for her and where will she thrive most. Now if I can only get over the concern that "if we let the young one's into our class we won't be taken seriously" statement everything will be great. We love our school and don't want to leave. My prayer is that God will show us the way that he wants us to go. Until next time, happy hunting.

Memorystick

Faith is like a walking memorystick. This memory of hers is so awesome. She learns something and recalls it within seconds. Her paper told me the other day that she must have been paying attention at learning time because she was able to recall some of the seven continents. She recalled all of them for me after school. The following day it was all four oceans. Another day she told me the entire story of her friend's disobedience in climbing the slide. She told me exactly what his teacher told him and how many times she told him. Then she proceeded to explain about his time out and the conversation that the teacher had with him. When I told her teacher about it she claimed that Faith sometimes has a better memory than her. If her teacher can't remember what she just said, she asks Faith. She has learned how to add and subtract. She does it in her head and makes up silly little math problems with her food. What a girl!

Empathy

Faith has finally learned what empathy is. I love her so much for it. The other day I dumped the vaccuum cleaner dirt on the floor by accident. I then followed it by placing Bud's eggs onto his plate because he said they were going to burn. However it was at the same exact time he was emptying the dirt holder into the trash can and the dust poured into the air. Bud yelled at me, I was trying to help so I left to go to the room to cry. I was only trying to help. Faith followed me in there and layed on the floor beside me with her Lamby. "Mommy, do you want my Lamby to feel better?" No thank you Faith you can keep it. Thanks though. So as I was telling her that I just wanted to help, she came up to the bed where I was sitting, put her arm around me and proceeded to tell me that it would be okay. We would get through this problem. She kissed me on the head and hugged me again followed by laying back down on the ground. Does a child learn this from her parents? How can one day it just appear? I mean she has always had a caring heart but this was different. She really wanted to be there for me. If I could have hugged and kissed myself and told myself it was going to be okay, it would have sounded just like Faith that day.

One hoppin' Easter

What a wonderful way to end a week learning about Easter. Faith has made crosses, Easter baskets, Easter eggs, and cards to celebrate our Savior Jesus Christ. It has been a full week that started last Sunday with Palm Sunday. Faith made her own palm tree with paint and paper. Learned about Passover on Tuesday and Good Friday and Jesus's crucification on Friday.With her bunny ears on and beautiful Easter dress on today, Faith couldn't be any more ready for Easter this year. What is different about Easter this year? She understands the story of Jesus. She understands the story of the empty Easter egg and the story of the Easter bunny. She has her eggs all colored which she did all by herself this year. She was even more excited to put them onto the porch last night for the Easter bunny to pick up and hide this morning. The Easter bunny doesn't bring her treats though. We have told her that we do the baskets and plastic eggs. It is so much more fun for her to know that there is this little curious Easter bunny that comes out Easter Sunday and sees all these eggs. He decides it would be funny to hide all of them for the children to find. A most exciting day is coming today as we get ready for a day filled with eggs and fun. Happy Easter.