Student of the Month!

 Today Tobin was chosen as the Bluejay Student of the Month.  We are so proud of him!

When school started this year, we had several days of getting on Red at school.  What is Red?  Well, every day the kids start on Green at school.  Green = good Blue = great Yellow = Excellent.  Red = note home to parents.  You get the picture?  I thought you would.

After the "red" days, I had several conversations with Mrs. Abbott (his amazing teacher) about his behavior.  I told her that even thought his home burned down (1 week prior to school starting) that I didn't want bad behavior from him to be justified.  We have really worked on getting into a routine, planting roots at home, and encouraging, and praising him for good behavior at school.   If he got on Red, we just didn't talk much about it.  We didn't want the attention given to the bad choices/behavior.

One of the great things that makes Tobin different than most kids is he is very selfless and compassionate, most days.  He is very sensitive to other kids around him and makes sure everyone else is okay.  When he earns prizes or candy, he always half's it, or gives it to his sister instead of him keeping it for himself.  He has such a sweet heart.  Once he got over the scared, insecure, and sad stage of grieving after the fire, he really focused on doing good at school. The highlight of my day every day is picking him up from school. I love seeing his sweet face when he comes out in the hallway to greet me.  His highlight of the day is telling me what color he got on each day!  Today we celebrated his achievement by bringing and eating lunch with him at school and going to recess with him and his friends. 

Tony is "Mr. Popular" on the playground!  He goes every Friday to eat lunch with Tobin.  All of his friends LOVE Mr. Tony! 

He received a certificate, and on the back was written:

"Tobin has shown compassion towards his classmates and is a very loving friend.  Tobin loves to be my special helper and I know I can always trust him to do the right thing! Way to go Tobin!!!"


We are so proud of our sweet boy!

My Baby Started Kindergarten

Yesterday was Tobin's first day of Kindergarten.  We woke the kids up and I had breakfast ready for them when they got in the dining room.  Tobin's favorite breakfast is pancakes, scrambled eggs, and sausage.  He was so excited!   Caroline, on the other hand, was not happy to be awake.  Please ignore the look on her face.  She is not a morning person! Ha!

Look at my handsome boy!  I cannot believe how big and handsome he is.

I had to get a photo of the "pair".  I wondered how Caroline would react when Tobin was gone all day...

We get the privilege of walking to school!  His school is one block away and the road we walk down is covered in big shade trees.  It was such a nice, pleasant walk. 

His Teacher's name is Mrs. Abbott.  She is so sweet!  He is in school from 8:00 to 3:00 every day.  What a long day for a 5 year old!

Aunt Carol got to walk him to school with us and see him to his first day in his new classroom. It was so special to have her there!

Mrs. Abbott told the children to pick a table and work on some puzzles.  There were 3 other children in the room and Tobin chose a table by himself.  If you know Tobin at all, you know that is not his personality.  He is such a social extrovert that I was worried what kind of day he would half.  We prayed as a family and left our big boy at school.  I cried as we walked away, but knew that God was going to take care of him.  I'm not sure where the last 5 1/2 years went, but they flew by!

Caroline was so sad when we dropped him off.  I had to get a photo of her face.  I don't know if I've ever seen her that sad before.

I quickly distracted her with a new tea set that Aunt Carol brought. It worked like a charm!  She had a picnic of animal crackers and marshmallows with her babies. 

I"m not sure who gave her this princess vanity/piano but she LOVES it!  She quickly forgot Tobin was gone and had a great time playing.  Later in the day, she went with me to some thrift stores and an antique mall.  We found her a little wooden high chair for her dolls.  What a prize!

I'm looking forward to the structure of full day school every day. I'm hoping it will force our family into some sort of normalcy.  Tobin had a great first day of school!   We can't wait to see what this year will be for him, for Caroline, and for our family as a whole.  Please continue to pray for us as we start a new routine. 

It's gettin' HOT in HERE!

Summer is keepin us super busy! We have been in the car a lot, going to Frontie! On the few days that we ARE home, we like to play board games and watch movies :)

It has been over 100 degrees here for days and days and days. You think I'm exhagerating? I AM NOT! Today,it was 109, at 7:30 pm! CRAZY HOT! So, if we are outside, we are IN THE WATER! We have been spending at least one day a week at White Water Bay (a water park here in the Metro area). We have season passes, and are getting our money's worth!

Tobin is growing up, right before my eyes. I cannot believe he will be starting Pre-K soon! Caroline is still our princess, but oh ... so ... much... drama! She is sweet, but sassy. Oh my, we are in TROUBLE when she become a teenager, I can feel it!

(yes, that is chinese food boxes. Our church is serving popcorn in them for At The Movies this year, it is Kung Fu Panda themed lobby. Another reason we have been super busy)

We spent the 4th of July in the Heat, inviting people to church. It was one of the best "4th's" we have had as a family! We all wore matching green t-shirts, yes I said GREEN. We stood out, that's for sure! We LOVE our church, and it just opened a new kids wing this weekend! Another reason we have been somewhat busy lately. The kids wore their patriotic stuff the whole week before July 4th, since we weren't going to wear it on the day, itself :)

The t-shirts were only in adult sizes, so I made caroline a dress, and Tobin a shirt in his size. They were a hit!

My health has been better. My Thyroid is very disfuncitonal and my hormones are all very low. They are trying to figure out why I am still not normal. Prayers for continued healing on my body are greatly appreciated... as are prayers for Tony- he is the one that has to put up with my moodiness ;) Regardless of the heat, and health issues, medical bills, etc...we are counting our blessings! I made it to 29 this year(a week ago, to be exact)! Tony and I lost a bunch of weight this year, and I battled another rare disease. We are so thankful for God's blessings and provision for our family. So, I will leave you with this song that my mom used to sing to me as a little girl. I have been teaching it to our kiddos. Have a super weekend, and a fabulous week ahead!

The Lord is good to me

and so I thank the Lord,

for giving me, the things I need,

the sun and the moon and the appleseed,

Oh, the Lord is good to me!

He made me a Mommy

This week I can't help but think about becoming a Mommy for the first time. I grew up dreaming about being pregnant, and having a baby, and being a wife and mommy. I feel so blessed to have my sweet Tobin. Only God knew he would come so soon (less than 2 years into marriage), and only God knew what a blessing he would be to us!

Tobin, in the Hebrew language, means "God is good". Oh, how good God was to us to give us our sweet Tobin boy. He is so smart, he blows me away sometimes. His memory is ridiculous! The kid can remember things that even I can't remember. It seriously amazes me- the things he remembers. He is so sweet and kind and loving towards his friends and family. Last night at church, Caroline was throwing a HUGE fit! I mean, a stomping her feat waving her arms fit. I said, "Come on Tobin, let's leave her alone". He immediately burst into tears as if I meant we were actually going to leave her at church. ugh... No, not ever. He is so protective of Caroline. He always makes sure she has her snack or juice or sticker before he does. He helps her on and off he trampoline, and in and out of the car. He really does take good care of her!

Tobin Loves Jesus! He never ever lets us eat food or go to bed, or take a road trip without praying. He always prays when he hears sirens down the street. The other night at bedtime prayer he said, "Lord, please help me ask you into my heart one day so I can get baptised for mommy and daddy" Sheesh, talk about the water works! Lately with my health issues he always prays that God will "heal mommy". He seriously believes God can do anything! I'm so thankful for that!

I guess I could go on and on with how great he is. I'm sure all you "Mommies" out there thing your child is the best child. But seriously, I can't imagine what my life would be like now without Tobin, my sweet Tobin, the gift that made me a mommy.

Thank you, Lord for using Tobin to make me a Mommy! I am so undeservedly blessed!

God Keeps His Promises...

... and the Bunny is fun too :)

Waiting...

So happy to be home from the hospital AGAIN! I was in the hospital another 4 days. They removed a polyp from my colon, and took several biopsy's for testing. As we wait for answers from tests and scans, and blood work, and biopsy's, I am thankful to be home with my family. We are so, undeservingly, blessed!


"Say Cheese!"

"Look at this picture bubba!"

Jeremiah 33:3 Come to me and I will answer, and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

Please keep praying for me. For complete healing. For wisdom for my doctors. For my pain to go away. For my body to be "normal" again. In all things, His Glory will be shown! Thanks for all the prayers and support for my family!

Daffodils

ME: "Look, Tobin! The Daffodils are blooming! "

Tobin: "Mom, don't say that word!"

ME: "What word? Daffodils?"

Tobin: "MOM! That's a bad word, don't say that, you are in trouble!"

ME: "What? Daffodils are flowers."

Tobin: "That's it Mom! I'm tellin Daddy on you!"