The last day of summer

The boys start school tomorrow - a fact that I'm happy about, and they're not. I'm happy for many reasons: the boys will have their school friends to hang out with, and not having to pay for daycare is a plus. The biggest reason I'm ready for school to start is the routine. I love the routine we have during the school year of having to get them to school at the same time every day. It's a comfort to me to have a routine. A comfort that I need to carry over to other areas of my life, but that's a whole other blog. :)

I took Chris to his open house tonight to meet his 3rd grade teacher for the first time. She seems very nice, and Chris seemed pretty comfortable around her. He had a hard time remembering her name tonight, but I encouraged him that by Friday, he'll have a hard time not calling me Mrs. Miller.

Chris is getting so big, and it's an odd adjustment for me. I realized a week ago that this is the year that he'll be learning to write in cursive, and he'll be mastering his multiplication tables. With him being my youngest, it hit me harder than when Jake was learning the same skills. I shared with Chris my shock in how much he's grown, and he wasn't fazed by it. He just figures that's the way things go, so "what's the big deal?". Tonight, when we walked in his classroom and his name was written on his desk in cursive, he realized what the big deal was. He felt pretty grown up to see his name in cursive.

We stopped by his 2nd grade classroom so he could say "hi" to his teacher from last year. Mrs. Neff was very happy to see him, and greeted him with a big hug. She went on to share with me that she has the same feelings that I have about how fast the boys are growing. You see, she had Jake as a 2nd grader as well. She said that having taught 2 siblings, and having them both out of her classroom has made her feel pretty old. At least I'm not alone in my feelings. :)

The boys are both enjoying their last day of summer to the fullest extent. Michael was able to come home early and work from home today, so the boys have been outside all day playing with the neighborhood gang. As I type this, we have 2 extra kids in our playroom, and one more just got called home for dinner. They're fitting in as much play as they can before the official end of summer.

Something tells me that they're not going to let the start of school get in the way of having fun - I expect to hear these giggles for a long time to come!

I know....It's been a while......

Dana informed me the other day that she was disappointed every time she checks our blog - because she was hoping for an update.....well sis - here ya go. :)

I really, honestly, don't know where to start. It's been a chaotic summer, to say the least. Here it is, August already. I just got done pouring over the boys school supply lists in preparation for shopping for backpack filling tomorrow. The boys start school in 2 weeks! Where has the summer gone?

I've been a bit silent of late, wanting to write on here, and have had every intention to do so. Several things have been keeping me from converting intention to action. One major obstacle I've had is my laptop went through a couple weeks of misbehaving. I got to know the infamous "blue screen" too well. Michael has done some tweaking, deleting, reinstalling, and just touching the laptop (he has a knack of walking by something, and it works), and things have been running smoother. I also have been getting most of my inspiration for things to write late at night. I really need to get a note pad for my nightstand so I can write down my thoughts. I think the biggest reason I've been absent, however, is that I've really been dealing with internal issues these last few months. Pray for me, if you happen to think of it. I've struggled for years with some issues, and I'm finding them creeping up again. I'm praying that it's just God working in me, trying to clean me out - and not the enemy trying to discourage me. Either way - it's been a rough couple of months personally.

On the family front - everything is going wonderfully! The boys are busy being boys (and let me tell you - they STINK after playing outside all day in the summer!) Michael is adjusting to his new work environment (although his work situation is still quite fluid), and the summer is almost over. We are constantly amazed at how much the boys are growing and changing. Chris is really starting to stretch out and get taller. Jake is now having to get his shoes in the Men's Department (and he's so very proud of that fact). Where did the time go???? They were babies just yesterday!

The boys manage to make us laugh every day with their unique outlook on life. Jake told us a couple weeks ago, that he's been thinking about what to name his kids. He thought that one of them should be named Pace. His logic is that when his toddler wants to be picked up, he can teach him/her to say "Daddy....pick up the Pace." Christopher's mind amazes me, his logic and common sense is well developed for a boy so young. I had to laugh the other day when he was telling me about one of the lead Lego guys in the city he was building is "an engineer and construction worker." I'm thinking he may be predestined for such a position in life.

Well, this blog is a little more random that usual, but that's kind of how my mind is working at the moment. We're off tonite to do a family night. Gotta love the cheap theater!