Future blackmail #58

Ladies and Gentlemen, I would just like to publicly acknowledge that, even though I do the actual publication of this website, much of it would not be possible without the supporting skills of Cindy. Her camera work requires a keen eye, constant observations, and the willingness to capture any moment, even if (or perhaps especially if) it might embarrass your child in the future.

Poor dude just decided to relax a bit.

Temporary Home

Kenzie sings Temporary Home by Carrie Underwood. It was quite touching...this was in front of a room of 40 people. Afterward five of them came up to tell her that they cried. I got a note from one of those people. It said, by the way, this morning when I told her that I loved her song so much that it made me cry – her response was a deep sigh followed by the resignation that only comes from hearing something over and over again…”oh, ANOTHER person who cried…”) That's our sweet girl...




Little boy, 6 years old
A little too used to bein' alone
Another new mom and dad,another school
Another house that'll never be home
When people ask him how he likes this place
He looks up and says with a smile upon his face

"This is my temporary home
It's not where I belong
Windows and rooms that I'm passin' through
This is just a stop, on the way to where I'm going
I'm not afraid because I know this is my
Temporary Home."

Young mom on her own
She needs a little help got nowhere to go
She's lookin' for a job, lookin' for a way out
Because a half-way house will never be a home
At night she whispers to her baby girl
Someday we'll find a place here in this world

"This is our temporary home
It's not where we belong
Windows and rooms that we're passin' through
This is just a stop, on the way to where we're going
I'm not afraid because I know this is our
Temporary Home.

Old man, hospital bed
The room is filled with people he loves
And he whispers don't cry for me
I'll see you all someday
He looks up and says "I can see God's face"

"This is my temporary Home
It's not where I belong
Windows and rooms that I'm passin' through
This was just a stop,on the way To where I'm going
I'm not afraid because I know this was
My temporary home."

This is our temporary home.

Hula

Not the best angle, but Kenzie's new skill.

Silly in front of Roslyn Cafe

 

Holy song

I missed the first part of this presentation, but this was Mason's talent show entry at the church retreat.

grandparents couch

 

T-ball begins…

First t-ball practice. Mason is in the light blue shirt.

more teeth

They’re popping like popcorn now. Kenzie has two more loose teeth that are just about to come out. She is not winning any corn-on-the-cob eating contests this summer as there is still little evidence that the top two front ones are imminent. Last night she was so excited about pulling one that she couldn’t sleep. The only reason she eventually went to sleep is because she decided she wanted to lose it in class today. Then she couldn’t brush it this morning. Then it made eating difficult. How many more are there to lose? Will they all be so exciting? (I’m a little worried because we’re going to a retreat this weekend. I hope the tooth fairy doesn’t have issues with more complicated logistics. We all know she hasn’t been fully reliable lately.)

Jack-o-lantern

Here's the action in all its gore. I don't think she even flinched.

Duck train

Mason is the duckling closest to the teacher.

duck feeding season

bread

Mason’s Campfire group made bread last night. He had a blast as he gets to run free and be part of “Boys Club” with Josh and Luke. And he got a Campfire vest (thanks Liz). He is so happy with it.

hanging at the park

 

Report card time

MacKenzie’s report card came out and she got all 3’s and 4’s! The one two from last quarter—“Respects the rights and feelings of others”—had been upgraded to a three! We are celebrating this milestone.

The comments say, “Getting better at letting others solve their own problems. Is a positive contributor to class discussions. Has sophisticated reading skills and is able to comprehend complex reading texts. Communicating her thinking is becoming a strength.” Yah Kenzie!

Mason’s conference was also very positive. Here are some excepts:

How thrilled we are to have Mason and your family in the Garden. Mason has a bright twinkle in his eye and a fun sense of ‘boy’ that he brings to our class. The children enjoy Mason, and he works well with both the boys and the girls. There are times that the kids argue over who gets to sit next to him at circle time. He comes willingly to do his projects and is usually full of news and stories while he is completing his tasks.

Mason is a bright and sensitive young boy. He is a ‘deep’ boy who understands the underlying themes and emotions of group discussions. He is anxious to grasp the concept of letter sounds and putting words together.

Yah for Mason too! We’re proud of these kiddos.

88 degrees (minus 30)

Actually..it was 58 degrees. All the other kids were bundled up with winter coats and Mason stripped to his skivvies and went for a swim. We stayed for an hour plus, and he was in the water most of the time. At least the sun was out.

Mommy’s new eyes, by Mason

Mommy had surgery on her eyes so she doesn’t have to wear any eyes. I mean glasses! She said it didn’t hurt, it just felt weird. After that she came home. I did not come to the egg hunt. I was staying at my Grammy and Grampy’s.

(Yes, I did get LASIK and now have 20/15 eyes, woo hoo!)

First swing

T-ball starts soon! Here's the first swing of the season.


Even Kenzie is getting in the spirit!

Nets and headlights

Reading the newspaper this morning Mason saw a picture of Osama bin Laden. He pointed and asked me who that was. Trying to be honest, I described the 9/11 attacks and the fact that this was perhaps the person behind all of it. He’s not a nice man and has done some really bad things, including killing thousands of people by convincing a few to fly airplanes into a building.

He thought and thought. I could see the wheels turning. Finally the question came out, “so if we took our shirts off, would he squirt us with water?” Um, maybe. Okay, perhaps that topic was a bit too deep for him. He asked where the bad guy is now. We talked about not being able to catch him. He seemed to comprehend that much more. Pakistan, Afghanistan…at least we got some geography in there. I asked him how he thought we should catch someone who hides in caves and villages. He perked up and said definitively, “nets and headlights.” Seems reasonable, have we tried that approach?

Maddie

Mason says he only plays with Maddie at school. Every recess, they play “kitty” where he is the cat and she is the owner. I asked him what this meant and he said, “you know, she puts me in a cage and then says, ‘bad kitty.’”

A couple of weeks ago Maddie’s mom called and asked if Mason could come over for a play date on Saturday morning. Maddie’s big sister was having a friend over so Maddie got to pick who she wanted. She evidently only has eyes for Mason too as he was her one and only pick.

He was thrilled beyond belief. That morning he got up and his first question was, “can I wear a tie?” He couldn’t quite find the words to describe the new feelings he was having. He said, “I’m so embarrassed,” which wasn’t the right word, but he was so nervous and just couldn’t wait!

I dropped him off at Maddie’s house. He ended up wearing play clothes as she lives near woods. They had a great time. When I picked him up he said, “Mom, I love her so much. I love her as much as I love you guys.” 

Today he came home with this art project that he made with the assignment, “draw what you love.” (Maybe it’s just an oversight that Cindy and I didn’t make the list. I heard him say that he loves Maddie and us equally.)

Basketball moves

In honor of Casey's 40th birthday today, this proves the experienced girls still have moves. Cindy (in long blue shorts) passes down low to Casey, who scores. They are currently on a winning streak (they won game number two in as many years last Monday).

Grandparent dinners

Marissa turned 21! We went to dinner in Puyallup. We were sitting at a booth and Bob was stuck in next to the wall. He climbed out…under the table…and I have never seen such a look of surprise on MacKenzie’s face. It shocked the living daylights out of her to see her grandfather climbing on the Red Robin floor.

We also tried out a new restaurant in Covington with Grammy and Grampy. Once they found it we had a yummy meal!

 

George

George's favorite trick is standing on the 1" ledge of the back side of the headboard, wedging himself between the headboard and the wall, and dragging himself across. It's not so fun to wake up to the sound of claws against wood and metal, but it's still cute.