Erin Gabrielle

Erin's photos were taken by Makenna

Makenna Grace

Ty David

What just happened?

Tuesday night at bedtime the director of Lauren's school called and offered Kate a spot in the 6-9 class. We were on a waiting list that was so long we doubted we'd be getting this call until third grade at the earliest. The catch was that we had to start today if we wanted the position. Given how well Lauren is doing and how strongly I wish we could turn back the clock for her to have had more years learning in this environment, we took it. Kate started school today with a huge grin on her face. She literally hugged me as we approached her studio, said a quick goodbye and tried to walk away from me prior to me making eye contact with her teacher! She was welcomed by a group of smiling girls and a warm, friendly teacher. She is sure to have a great day and year. I wasn't prepared for this so soon and have found myself tearing up frequently this morning. This is an amazing opportunity for her and we know she will thrive socially and academically. Makenna and I will have a lot of time to spend together. There is one person ahead of her on the waiting list but the director seems confident she won't be placed until the fall. Until then, we have a few projects we'd like to get into during the boys' nap times.

"Louisville Bridge is Falling Down"

Kate was singing, "Louisville Bridge is falling down, falling down....." as she drew cracks in the bridge in our sidewalk chalk town today. If this weren't so frustrating, it might be really funny. We are looking at a six month minimum closure at this point. Trips to Lauren's school, church and Greg's job are taking anywhere from the typical 20 minutes to an hour and a half. You just can't plan because there is no way to know what you will run into until you are out in it. Life this winter will be interesting and a true test of patience. Our gas budget will have to double and that means we will be eliminating our trips out of town and quickly wearing out the nine year old van. Yes, Kate's little song would be funny if the situation wasn't so frustrating.

Ty says Pa Pa will be moving into the new house across the street. That would be nice! Kate says it is a castle.

The stop sign is more accurate than she realizes!

And a quick bath time shot from last night.......just because it's cute.

10 Years Ago

Ten years ago life as America knew it changed. I was glued to the TV all day, everyday. I was working part time for our church and we even had the TV on there for some new conferences. It was difficult to pull myself away. After about three weeks, I couldn't do it anymore. I empathized too strongly and felt the pain too deeply. I turned off my TV. I still refuse to have the local news on in my home. There simply isn't much on that is newsworthy. The negative far outweighs the positive.
Our church did a memorial service last night that included Todd Beamer's father sharing his testimony of losing his son ten years ago today. He said Todd was a hero on September 11 but more importantly he was a Christian on September 10. The reality is that we all have a "September 10" because we all have numbered days on earth. I was sobbing as our pastor did an altar call at the end of that service and multiple people rose to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior. There was a large biker looking guy and younger tattoo covered man within my immediate vision and I just couldn't pull myself together. Seeing even the toughest of the tough with tears in their eyes submitting to the Lord is an amazing thing to witness.
Ten years later, the impact of that day's events is still raw within me. Having the president of the United States, George W. Bush declare our enemy as "evil" spoken as a noun, not an adjective defined what we as a nation and Christians are honestly fighting. Satan is on a mission to destroy all that we love. Our families, our children, our churches, our finances, our walk with Jesus, our country's values... it's all fair game.You don't have to look far to see someone struggling.
I continue to pray for so many in my life to come to know the Lord before their personal September 11. Seeing that great big biker guy gave me hope.

Festival Fun

Our neighbors invited us to join them at a local festival today. We've never gone before but thoroughly enjoyed the day. It was the first time Ty has ever been on rides and he took a little while to warm up to them. Once he decided rides were okay, the cars were his favorite and he had a blast. Makenna enjoyed riding the larger ones with her friend too. The rest of the family hung out around the house finishing homework or playing with friends. All in all, it was a good day.

Hey Ya'll, Watch This!

Colby turned 10 months this week. He is as busy as ever and has become quite the risk taker too.....we are back into baby gates and child locks. Did we ever leave that phase? Not sure it matters. He is a happy boy and pretty noisy too. He loves to be heard, especially during school. If I am teaching Kate, Colby is yelling over me with a big grin on his face. I can't even get aggravated with him because he is so stinking cute.

Colby brought his mom, Robyn over today for the community garage sale. We scored a few bargains and enjoyed the beautiful morning. I sent Lauren and her friends back over to the neighbor's sale for a computer chair I debated all afternoon. It was $10 and in much better shape than ours but I still had to think about it awhile. I noted that Lauren and company were gone longer than anticipated so I stepped outside to investigate and found her riding the new chair down the hill. Very fast. With an audience. Ahem. Greg says there is a red neck joke in there somewhere.

Kate helped the neighbor kids run a lemonade stand for the garage sale today and they made $50! I assume there was a cuteness factor driving sales but they've already decided that coffee will be added to next year's product line!

Lauren is thriving in her new school. We are thrilled with her teachers and the school in general. The Montessori style of teaching and discipline techniques have challenged me a bit but learning and growing are good things, even for mom.

Erin had to write a paper for English class. We just found out she made up a story about Greg and I lying to her about Santa until she was 6 years old when we sat her down over ice cream and told her the truth. No part of that story is true and she has appropriately titled the paper, The Lie. Nice. Ever wonder what others think of you?

My sister called this week. She was working on a phonics book with Mason who is 4. She said Mason drew a butt for "B", a fat guy for "F" and icky stuff for "I". We'll all remember that phonetic lesson! Little boys! Our niece on the other hand started preschool this week and isn't yet interested in schoolwork. It's all social for Lizzie who is 3. She was supposed to make a self portrait but opted out. Her mom tried to aid a do-over and was only able to get the circle for Lizzie's face onto the paper before Lizzie declared that it looked just like her and hopped down, pleased to be finished. Does it get any cuter?

The bridge we use to cross into Louisville was shut down yesterday because inspectors discovered a crack in the structural support. It was being worked on the last few weeks, closing one of three lanes. That lane closure created a 50 minute commute to Lauren's school. (It is only 12 miles away). With the total closure, we have no idea what to expect Monday morning. There are no real back road options so a lot of people are pretty stressed as they attempt to plan for the weeks ahead. Greg is fortunate enough to work an unusual shift so his drive Friday night was an hour instead of the typical 25 minutes so I cannot imagine what this will look like for the 8-5 crowd. I am grateful it was discovered prior to a tragedy but pray they are able to secure the bridge and re-open it quickly.

I had to take an alternate route to church this evening because the expressway was at a standstill and passed a church sign that said, "if the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, the water bill is higher". In this case, I'd say if the boot are brightly colored animal prints, they are most likely your sisters!

I'll leave you with this photo Colby's dad hoped I wouldn't publish. I'm nice like that.

Brian's on the phone with Robyn saying something along the lines of "there is this picture you may be seeing..."

Labor Day Weekend

Kate made a mask and is quite proud of it.

We snacked.

This old boy appreciated having Lauren around for four days. He has been going through some doggie depression with her new school schedule...we seriously had an appointment with the vet until we realized what was going on with him!

Does this grin not say it all?

We built a few "castles".

Can you get enough of the new fall jacket? Hand me downs rock.

Kate is quite the monkey lately and practices her flips and climbing skills regularly.

These two are together as much as possible. Kate misses Mabry when she is in school all day.

We hosted a few extras......I think 9. They ate well and enjoyed the 40 degree temperature drop.

God showed off a bit....beautiful sunset tonight.

Bedtime tickles wrapped up our weekend. It was good.

September?

The calendar says it is September. The thermometer says it is 100 degrees!

I won't let that stop me from decorating or buying my first bag of candy corn!

Pumpkin scents are still welcome but with temperatures like this, chili, hot cocoa, bonfires and freshly baked pumpkin bread are not. I won't yet light one of my candles either.
I always look forward to fall. It is my favorite time of year and this year I pulled my large pumpkin candle out a few days prior to September 1. I couldn't help myself! That scent refreshes me. I crave the coziness cooler temperatures and warmer colors bring. Rumor has it we will see highs in the 70s next week and I am ready. Jeans, sweatshirts in the evenings and comfort foods....bring it on!

Welcome fall. Feel free to stay awhile.....like until Spring!

I added this little cutie to my collection today but quickly realized Ty would "bounce it" so it is tucked safely away on the counter. Simple pleasures....mine, not his this time!

It's the cute ones you've got to watch out for!

This little boy is so busy! He is on a constant seek and destroy mission! If it isn't the dog food, trash can, bookshelves or entertainment center, it's the stairs and buddy does he ever watch for the gate to be moved for one of the other kids! He makes a bee line toward them as soon as he thinks I am distracted. And distracted I am....all the time! I had the pack n play up for a while to occupy him while we accomplished school or I started dinner. I kept it positioned so he could see me and he was never in it more than 20 minutes or so but he quickly grew to hate that thing. It confined him. So my latest plan of defense includes food and the booster seat! Thus far, he hasn't realized I am getting things done while he snacks. Didn't I just wrap up this phase with Ty?

Pa-Pa Needs A Time Out!

We went to my sister's new house on Saturday to celebrate my nephew's 7th birthday. Ty's favorite person was there. He calls him "Pa-Pa". Ty was pretty busy the entire day checking out the train table and all the big boy toys Theresa's house has to offer. He attempted dribbling a basket ball for an hour and has spent countless hours at home since trying to "bounce it". The highlight was likely the cake he tasted prior to the candles being lit. You've got to be on your game with this little guy around! Anyway, in a field not too far from the house were "loud cows" that Ty just had to find. My dad took him to see if they could find the cows but quickly realized it would be too far to walk. He told Ty they were hiding in the tree line in the distance. Ty immediately repeated "cows hiding in trees". Dad thought this was pretty funny and started looking up into the trees for cows. Ty was absolutely adorable as he searched up in the trees for those cows right along side Pa-Pa. Fast forward four days and we were in an area today with a lot of trees and Ty was once again searching for "loud cows hiding in trees"! I called my Dad. He still thinks he's pretty funny.