HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Wow, how much I have changed in 6 years. The first and second Halloween for Cooper I was dead set against it, there was no dressing up, no trick or treating, no reference to it at all. (As if it mattered that young anyways!) Now, here I am sending out cards, talking John into taking a "Skeleton Crew" picture, getting dressed up for 2-3 parties and festivals, having numerous costumes for the kids to choose from and actually taking the kids trick or treating for 2 hours. I've come a long way, and it sure is FUN!

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Ok, the kids scored a ridiculous quantity of candy tonight. Look at this! Just look at this! We would all be sick if we tried to eat all of this. Good-ness, what a copious amount of candy!

Costume Parade

Cooper's school does a Costume Parade every year. This is no small feat! They encourage everyone to dress up. AND, all the teachers and staff dress up in 'themes'. It is a big secret as to what the kindergarten team is going to be, the first grade teachers, the office staff, etc. Then, about 10 minutes after announcements, the assemble the grade levels in strategic areas and begin playing Monster mash over the PA system. The King and Queen of the Gym were leading off the parade and it proceeded from there. Everyone in the parade made their final appearance in the cafeteria as they got to stroll across the stage and do a pageant wave, if they so chose. One of the cutest kids I saw was a kid dressed as an old man with an old man mask, sweater, black socks, high water trousers and pushing a walker. He was even doing the old man shuffle-walk. Very cute! I would say most of the school participated in it! The cutest teacher group had to be a tie betwee the box of crayons group and the group of teachers who dressed up as Girl Scouts, pulling a wagon with girl scout cookies and 2 of them, at one point, holding hands and skipping!

A Glass of Milk

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?" "You don't owe me anything," she replied, "Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness." He said, "then I thank you from my heart." As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was stronger also. He had been ready to give up and quit. Many years later that same woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor's gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to her case. After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words: Paid in full with one glass of milk. (Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly. Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: 'Thank You, God, that Your love has spread broad through human hearts and hands.'

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The good deed you do today may benefit you or someone you love at the least expected time. If you never see the deed again at least you will have made the world a better place. After all, isn't that what life is all about?

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Mainstay Farm

The kindergarten kids get to go on a field trip to a pumpkin patch. No, let me tell you this is no plain old pumpkin patch! They went to this place called The Mainstay Farm and it was quite a fun-packed adventure! They had every activity under the sun for kids. They had a huge barn that housed all the pumpkins and where we took off for the hay rides. The hay ride took the kids out and around the whole property (probably ~50-100 acres??). Along the way we encountered a 'hobo', some neon 'B's, some 'bats', and ended up at a 3 level tree house fort. The kids zipped down this slide that is really a culvert pipe and is smooth on the inside. They also ran through a maze, climbed a rope square, did a little rope swinging and played in the little 'town' that was there. After 30 or so minutes, the leader blew her little whistle and we loaded all the kiddos back up in the trailer and she pulled us with the tractor back to the main barn.

*Once we got back, we sprinted over to the 'Hay, Play and Jump Barn' and just like it sounds, played and jumped in this huge open barn of hay at all different levels. I got some GREAT jumping pictures! Every child loves to jump, I have determined that! Especially mine!!! *After that energy-zapping activity, the class headed over to the fire pit to roast marshmallows. I thought Cooper was kidding when he said they were going to roast marshmallows. Really? 5 and 6 year olds with sticks, fire and sticky stuff? Well, they did do it and only 2 caught theirs on fire and only 1 dropped theirs in the pit. Not bad with all the possible worst-case scenarios that could have happened!

*After the fire pit, the kids got to head back up to the main/master barn and pick their very own pumpkin. Not many pumpkins were left (since Halloween IS tomorrow!), but every child seemed pretty excited about having their very own pumpkin that they chose. We all wrote the kids' names on the bottom, just so there would be no confusion later on as to who's is who's.

*From there, we all ran back to the bus and they all plopped down in their seats to make the trek back to school. The adult chaperones did not ride the bus, so we all rode together and lamented as to how much fun that was and how much we truly appreciate our kindergarten teachers.

My mantra when discussing the kindergarten teachers:

Whatever it is that they get paid... it isn't enough!

A Yellow School Bus

A good friend of mine suggested 'books on tape' as a way to calm down the craziness of car rides. I went to the library to rent a few. And you know what? It works! The kids all quiet down and actually listen to the story. The latest one that I rented was a Junie B. Jones one about a Stupid, Smelly School Bus. The kids love it. (I like it for the most part, except that she uses the work 'stupid' and 'hate' a lot.)

Well, all the talk about a yellow school bus got Cooper so excited about riding a bus. Problem is, there are no buses that bus into his school. He will not be able to ride a bus until junior high. Until now. A Field Trip. To get to the field trip, the kids have to ride a bus. Whoo-hoo! Cooper was so excited to get to ride a school bus, he did not care about the destiny, just the bus ride to get there.

A lot of work and planning goes into a field trip for 100 kindergartners. First there is a 'lottery' drawing to determine which moms get to go on the field trip. Once you are chosen, you are assigned 5 children to take care of and not lose track of. For safety reasons, the teacher took a digital picture of each mom with her assigned 5 children, in case one did get lost, there would be a current picture of each child and the clothing that they were wearing. Thank goodness we did not have to use these to locate and children. They also wear little stickers with our school name, their teacher's name and our specific group number. That way, if they forgot which group they were in, any adult who could read could show them where to go. Wow, so much to know and do to keep track of 100 kindergartners!

The cutest part of the whole field trip? Seeing all the kids sleepyhead when they got off the bus back to school. The teachers told us that half of them took a little nap on the way back. Even Cooper, my child who never sleeps in the car, said he took 'a little snooze'!

Philosophy of Charles Schulz

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the creator of the 'Peanuts' comic strip.You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just read straight through, and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.

4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.

These are no second-rate achievers.

They are the best in their fields.

But the applause dies.

Awards tarnish.

Achievements are forgotten.

Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special!!

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?

The lesson:

The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials...the most money...or the most awards. They simply are the ones who care the most.
Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is Taken!

Boo at the Zoo

Boo at the Zoo is only for a select few days before Halloween, and luckily we remembered just in time to go the last day. We met Margi and her 3 cute little guys to have a 'spooky playdate'! It was a perfect temperature and was actually light most of the time, thanks to the time change not happening until this coming weekend. The kids remembered the Drummin' Monkeys from 2 years ago, and they were all excited that they were there and performing.

We also went to the Wild Wonders show, where they bring out various random animals to talk about and dispel myths. We got to see an owl (no, they cannot rotate their head completely around, only about 270 degrees), a opossum (spelled with an 'o', not possum), an alligator (no, it is not advantageous to run zig-zag if you are being chased by an alligator, they'll catch you if they want to) and 2 cute penguins (who are not polar bears' favorite lunch snack). Lots of cute animals, but I was not really close enough to get good pictures (besides this one).

Best of all, the kids get to 'trick or treat'. The zoo, however, does it differently. They give you 6 coupons per ticket. You trade a ticket in at a treat station to get 1, 2, 3, 4 or however many pieces of candy the person feels like giving you. No ticket= no candy, kid! Even when they were closing in 4 minutes and had 1/2 a barrel of candy left: no ticket= no candy, kid! SHEESH! Even when they look super cute and say, 'pretty please'...no candy, kid!



Oh well, we had a great time with Margi and her 3 boys and already cannot wait until next year!

Art Class

I help in kindergarten art class on Wednesdays. They do some of the funnest crafts, if you want to call them crafts. They are more like art projects; that sounds a little more in-depth than the word craft. Anyways, today they made bracelets. They started with a white pipe cleaner and then put on beads of varying sizes, shapes and colors. Once they were finished we (the adults) twisted them together and wha-la! They had themselves their very own bracelet! How about that!

Then, they each received a manila piece of paper and wrote their name on it. One at a time, they came over to me and dipped their hand in their favorite color of paint (choices were: pink, purple, brown, yellow) and made a hand print on their piece of paper for a future art project.

After that, they had a coloring sheet that they colored and cut out if they had time. Let me tell you, the art teacher is very efficient. She can make those projects happen lickety-split!

I still do not know how we managed to get 19 kindergartners to do all of that in 25 minutes, with only 1 teacher and 2 helpers.

Things I learned today after hand-printing 19 children:

*Hands vary dramatically. Some are short and squaty, almost small as a toddler's hand, others have really long fingers, almost as long as mine.

*Fingers are not all in the typical length order: pinky shortest, ring finger and pointer almost the same, middle finger the longest. There were a few that their fingers were almost all the same length.

*Some boys will choose pink as their favorite color.

*The art teacher's favorite color is orange. And every child in that class knew this little piece of trivia.

*Not all girls will choose pink, but they will choose purple over brown or yellow.

*Every one of those kindergartners knew how to write their name. (most of them legibly)

*The kids know what to do when the teacher says, "POPSICLE!"

*Most of the kids know that in art class there are 2 boys and 2 girls at each table.

*Every child wants to be a helper! (This one I already knew, but it is fun to see the excitement when she asks who would like to pick up the trash or clean the tables. "ME! ME! ME!", they all scream!)

Lunch with Cooper

Wednesdays are Cooper's day. I have lunch with him and volunteer in the kindergarten classes on Wednesdays, helping out with the art class and the computer class. It is so sweet to hear Cooper get excited and know ahead of time that I am coming up to the school just for him.

He really wants me to come on a Monday, because that is when his class does art and computers. I do not want to volunteer in his class, because his behavior will change and I do not want the teachers to see that Cooper. He has had such exceptionally good behavior at school, I do not want to be the one to jeopardize it. I would like to help, however I know Cooper and how he behaves to get my 100% attention and it is not good. Oh well, as long as he knows I am there, I think that is good enough.

Here's Looking at You!

Love,

God

A New Favorite Thing

John bought me a Dyson. A purple Dyson vacuum cleaner. I never thought a vacuum cleaner could be so fun! I am a vacuuming fool these days! And let me tell you, it really works... good. It is amazing and appalling at the same time when I see how much stuff is sucked up into the cylinder. The stuff is a mixture of dust, lint, human hair, dog hair and who knows what else. Quite disgusting and fascinating!

I accidentally looked behind our headboard and could not believe what I saw. YIKES! It took me a while to figure out how I was going to tackle the problem, but the Dyson solved it. We raised up the mattress to flip it, then moved it completely off the bed. I then stood on the box springs (carefully) and pulled out the extension to the Dyson to suck up all the dust/lint/hair/web stuff. I had to empty the cylinder twice. ACKKK! Oh, as a side note, the Dyson does not appreciate a person using the extension to 'pick up' things. I would try to aim it for something to pick it up to hand it to myself, but it just screams "AHHHHHH!!!!!" and makes a sound like it will blow up any second. Nope, I have to bend down to pick up the nasty-covered things if I want them off the ground.

After I did all the vacuuming under our bed I got seriously domestic and switched the box springs. There is a twin one under my side and a twin one under John's side. I thought that they may need a break, so I switched them. I'm sure the one that came from John's side is now saying, "OOOh, nice!" and the one from my side is exclaiming, "WHAT! Come on! Give me a break!"

Now I am off to vacuum the baseboards and corners! Whoo-hoo!

A Farmer's Advice

* Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.

* Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.

* Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.

* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

* Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.

* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.

* Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.

* It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.

* You cannot unsay a cruel word.

* Every path has a few puddles.

* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

* The best sermons are lived, not preached.

* Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.

* Don't judge folks by their relatives.

* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

* Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.

* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none.

* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.

* Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

* The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.

* Always drink upstream from the herd.

* Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

* Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.

* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.

* Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

Fall Festival

My mom's church always has a wackazooma Fall Festival that is just wonderful! All the games, activities, food and candy is FREE! Yes, free. Nothing costs tokens, tickets or anything else, they just welcome you in with open arms. Her church understands outreach and they are good at it. We went last year, and there was no way we could miss it this year.

The kids went as a gaggle of Power Rangers. Cooper was blue, Natalie was pink and Luke was red. They can be so cute sometimes (ok, a lot of times), but having them all dressed up as Power rangers was exceptionally cute. The boys have 'muscles' built into their suits, so they looked like we had just come from the gym. Natalie just looked long and slender in her outfit, because she is, well, long and slender. They had a great time playing the games, jumping in the bounce houses and riding on the hay ride. I think their favorite part is cruising down Bible Lane, listening to stories, collecting stamps in their passports and adding copious amounts of candy to the bag Gram and Grandad were carrying. What a great way to reach a community!!

The Difficultness of Bed-time

I think I just coined the term 'difficultness', but there really is no other way to put it. Right now, we are in a season of bedtime being excessively cumbersome. Seriously, there is no need for us to start with the bedtime routine and still be continuing it a hour later. We used to be good at it! The kids used to be good at it! However, at some point in the last month or so, we have lost the ease of bedtime. What happened? I am still trying to figure it out. I think we need to sign up for a course:

Bedtime Basics 101:

How to Get your Kids to Bed in 10 Minutes or Less.

Yes, they look really cute, here.

This is before the arguing, bartering and bargaining.

Ms. Mary's Halloween Party

Mary has a party for the children every year. It's The Official Halloween Party to go to. Last year she had over 100 people there. Whoa! I did not count while I was taking pictures tonight, but there sure were a lot of people. Let me tell, you she doesn't just invite some folks over and call it a party. No, she sends out an e-vite a month or two before so those of us who have crazy busy schedules can make sure it has priority. She then does all the little stuff that I would never think of. She cleaned out her garage (with Jamie's help!) and put up black plastic table clothes, so people would not have to see all the 'stuff' that is normal to be in a garage.

For the party itself, she sets up tables with crafts to do! How about that? The kids absolutely love it, because they get to paint, glitter glue, color and make all sorts of fun things. She also rents a bounce house, which is always a big hit, for the kids to burn off a little candy energy. On the inside of the house, there is food every 1.5 meters. Seriously, you cannot switch rooms without encountering some different sweet, salty and/or otherwise delicious, tasty treat. Her media room was set up with the screen showing 'safe' cartoons for the kids who needed to calm down after all the excitement. (I found a few of mine in there taking a break from all the action.) And right as you are about to leave, the each kid gets a bag and fills it with tons of candy PLUS a special treat!

Here were some of the characters who showed up: a blind date, a Scooby-Doo, Sarah Palin (and husband in tow), a few skeletons, Popeye and Olive Oyle, some Longhorn players, cheerleaders and fans, some Dallas Cowboy players, cheerleaders and fans, a chick magnet, a Cat Who Ate the Canary, Pocahontas (me), a biker girl, a fall festival, a Winnie-the-Pooh, an escaped inmate, and a slew of superheros. The superheros were the most adorable: 2 year old Wonder Woman, a Supergirl (Natalie), Batman (Cooper), Incredible Hulk (Luke), a yellow power ranger, and a few others that I could not readily identify but did look like they could save the day if needed. Overall, a great turnout. I am sure even more showed up after we left, but the kids needed to be in bed, so we left right at 9pm. Lots of fun to wind down from!

Random Running

I went to watch Natalie play her soccer game this morning. This is quite a luxury, because John and I switch off on who gets to go. Therefore, I end up taking Cooper most of the time and having to miss Natalie's games.

They have quite a few extra girls on the team, so 4-5 have to sit out, I mean 'rest' each quarter. Natalie sat out the first quarter and played the rest of the game! She played forward and defense. I think defense may be her best bet, because she gets a little wore out chasing the ball all around when she plays forward. She is chasing the ball, that's for sure, but it is more like random running with a few bonus kicks thrown in for good measure. :>)

In the last 3-4 weeks she has really acquired some spunk in her game! She did a few 'feet sweeps' and aggressively went into a pack to get the ball from another girl. Wow! This is quite a different player than the last game I saw. I think she is coming into her own sports personality! She is still at the stage of 'I'm just going to kick it and watch it go' instead of kicking it and following the ball to get a follow up kick or score a goal. I'm sure that is a skill that is soon to come. She is doing phenomenal compared to last season and even earlier this season. I am so proud of her!!

Gram came to cheer for Natalie!

GO Team!!!

Good Book Recommendation

I like to read. A lot. I am part of an 'unofficial' book club with Mary, in which we swap our books around, only if they are a good read. I made the mistake of taking a recommendation from Oprah, buying the book and handing it off to Mary before I read it. I think she is still cursing me for that mishap. Now, I know I have to read it myself before I give it away. Here is a list of some books that I have thoroughly enjoyed reading:

My Sister's Keeper
Mistaken Identity
The Lone Soldier
Kite Runner
To Kill a Mockingbird
Same Kind of Different as Me
Absolute American
Expecting Adam
Hope's Wish
Water for Elephants
The Red Tent
Delta Force
The Thirteen Juror

18,000 Servicemen

The picture was taken in 1918. It is 18,000 men preparing for war in a training camp at Camp Dodge in Iowa. A gift from our grandfathers . . . look closely.

Rocks, Twigs, Cacti and Thorns - BEWARE!

Natalie had soccer practice again this afternoon. It was such a beautiful day! I took the boys on an extended adventure walk, through the forest actually. Cooper loves this stuff! Luke gets excited too, just feeding off of Cooper's energy.

While we were in the 'forest', Cooper was explaining to Luke what to watch out for and beware of: rocks, twigs, cacti and thorns, LUKE! Watch out! Any of those could hurt you or cause you to fall down, Luke!

As we are walking on the trail, Cooper is chanting the 'Beware' song, while Luke is just trying not to fall. After safely clearing the forest, we walked down a drainage ditch for about a mile and then walked the normal, sidewalk way back to the park. I'm glad my kids like to be active!

From the depths of the forest,

we emerge!

Gus

My girlfriend, Cindy, got a new puppy ~5 weeks ago. His name is Gus and he is an English bulldog. He is only 30 lbs., so he is in that super cute phase. I went to visit this feisty pup today and can absolutely verify that yes, he is a cute-tee-pa-tootie. He (Gus) had these huge paws, little bowed legs and more wrinkles than he knows what to do with. When I was playing with him and stopped to chit-chat, he all of a sudden barked at me. LOUD. As if to say, hey, what about me? Back to the playing, lady!

We have Labrador retrievers, but I think if I were to get a pup, he might have to be an English Bulldog!

Childrens' Letters to God