Decision 2008

I stood in line today for 2 hours to cast my vote (I'm not complaining, it could have been much worse! My sister waited for more than 4 hours at the same voting place.)! 1 of those hours I had my two precious angels with me. I was thinking "oh, it will be great for them to witness a part of history". By the end of the first hour, and about the time the batteries in Drew's GameBoy died, I was thinking differently! Thankfully I had previously talked to my mom and she had planned for them to stay with her. She came up to the school where we were in line to pick them up. I'm sure they had much more fun playing at Mimi and Poppi's house while mommy stood in line another hour!

I was supporting McCain and Palin, and I am a little sad to hear (just a moment ago) that they will not be leading our country over the next four years. I am not sure what these next four years hold for any of us. I am sure of one thing, though. My God is in control! He knows exactly what is in store for us over the next four years, just as He knows everything. This is all part of His plan! I am thankful that I have that assurance, and I lean only on Him!

Conferences, Report Cards, Awards, Oh My!

Last Monday and Tuesday we held our Parent-Teacher conferences at our school. I was able to meet with both Drew and Mikayla's teachers on Monday and get their report cards. These were both great conferences, where both teachers bragged and bragged on my angels! I can't get over the changes I have seen in Drew this year - he has always been a smart boy, but he has never really had a "love" of school. He has said repeatedly before this year "I hate school, I hate to read, I hate to write". Every time he would say these things, this "teacher mama" would cringe. He has not said those things this year, and I am thrilled. His teacher, Mrs. Turner, has been fantastic and she had such nice things to say during our conference. I was thrilled to see that he got straight A's on his report card! Way to go Drew!! Mikayla has also surprised me this year. She has always been a good student - one who loves to please! I was worried a little about her bossiness though. She is definitely her mother's daughter. Her teacher had such great things to share about Mikayla and I was thrilled to see that she got straight S's on her report card. Her teacher, Mrs. Batson, also let me know that she is quite the dancer. She said that Mikayla is always the one you can count on to get the dances to their "wiggle songs". After 4 years of dance she ought to be!

Our school had our Award's Day on Wednesday, October 29th. We did things a little differently at our school this year. One of the differences is that kindergarten has never participated in Award's Day and this year we did. Another difference is that all of the Award's Ceremonies were held in each teachers' individual classrooms. Drew's ceremony was at 9:30 and then Mikayla's was at 12:00. My classroom's ceremony was also held at 12:00, but Mikayla's teacher, my assistant, and I worked it out so that I could be there to see Mikayla get her awards! I am soooo proud of both of my angels and all of their hard work!! I hope that they both always do this well in school - they are very capable, that's for sure!!

Drew accepts his Perfect Attendance Award from his teacher!
All smiles back at his seat!!

Drew receives his dog tag for Principal's Honor Roll! He also got to go to the Principal's Pals tailgate party last Friday afternoon to honor this fantastic accomplishment!

Drew's shows off all of his awards!! Keep up the great work, my sweet boy!!

Mikayla accepts her award for "Miss Manners" from her teacher! That's my girl - manners are very important to mommy!!

Mikayla walks back to her seat after accepting her award for Perfect Attendance!

Mikayla and her friends recite a poem that they had been learning in class for the parents! I love the look she is giving me here! She couldn't stop smiling - from the time I walked into the class until the time I left to go back to mine!Mikayla shows off the awards that she earned! Keep up the great work, my sweet girl!!

"Socctoberfest"

On Sunday, October 26, Drew, Mikayla, and I headed to our local park to participate in AYSO's "Socctoberfest". Even though this is Drew's second year playing soccer, this is the first time we have participated in "Socctoberfest". It was a very well organized event, and I'm glad we participated! The children could wear their soccer uniforms or they could wear their costumes. Drew wanted to wear his costume, and because of this, of course Mikayla wanted to wear hers. All I can say is I'm glad they have gotten so much use out of their costumes this year!!

Mikayla waits for the "Parade of Teams" to start!

Drew walks in the "Parade of Teams" with his coach Christ, and teammates Zachary, Micah, Connor, and Harrison! When the parade was over, Drew told me he was embarrassed while walking- I reminded him that with his mask on most people didn't even know who he was!

Drew participating in the "scariest costume" contest.
My dad surprised us by showing up after we had been there about an hour. Drew and Mikayla sure were happy to see their Poppi! Mikayla even wore Poppi's hat for awhile so she did the only natural thing - she let him wear hers!

AYSO had vendors there and also inflatables. A local martial arts school came to put on a demonstration for the players and families. There was even a soccer game between the coaches and the referees from this season! Drew and Mikayla wanted to play on the equipment at the park more than anything. They especially loved Poppi pushing them on the swings!! Drew played in the last regular game of the season this past Saturday, and the game ended in a tie. He does, however, have the chance to play in a soccer tournament this coming weekend. We can't wait to watch the outcome of that!!

Happy Halloween x2

Drew, Mikayla, and I had been invited to attend a fall festival on Saturday night that was being held at the church where they play Upward. So we went home after Jadyn's party, and got ready to head out the door again! They had "trunk-or-treat", games to play, hot dogs, balloons, and more! We had so much fun, and we were able to see many friends!

My "Raggedy Ann", and Black Knight "Ninja" wait to play a "spin the wheel" game!Mikayla and Brooke pose with their "flowers"!

Happy Birthday Jadyn!

Last Saturday, after Drew's soccer game, we headed to Jadyn's house to get ready for her birthday party. She was having her party at the apple orchard (the same one that Mikayla and I had visited the week before). It was great to see the difference in my friend, Amy's house since the last time I was there. Her brother is remodeling it and he has worked very hard!

We looked like a caravan as we all followed Amy and Jadyn to the orchard. I thought having a party at an apple orchard was a fantastic idea - one that I never even thought of! One of the guys that was working even recognized me. He said "weren't you here on a field trip?" When I told him I was, he said "now you are back for a birthday party", and he asked what school I had been with. When I told him, he said "oh yea ya'll were here last Friday in the rain". Now that's a pretty good memory!! Drew and Mikayla were so excited, and we all had so much fun. We hope you had a wonderful party Jadyn!! Thanks for letting us be a part of it!

Drew and Mikayla smile as they ride the "hayride" - a trailer pulled by a tractor through the orchard. Drew

Drew has fun petting the bunnies. He wanted to buy one of these - I was just glad he didn't see the "for sale for 10 dollars" sign! There was a very cute brown and white one, but I thought what will we do with a rabbit?

Mikayla and Brooke feed the goats. They were so fun to watch because they would get so tickled when the goats would eat from their hands!

We also had a chance to go through a maze, pick apples, and take more pictures!After picking their apples, Mikayla and Drew even posed for a picture just to satisfy mommy!

Jadyn, Mikayla, Brooke, and Drew wanted their picture taken together before we left.

Happy Halloween!!

The kids and I have been going, going, going since last week all in anticipation of Halloween. Last Thursday, we met my friends Nanda, and Wendy and their kids at McDonald's for supper. The kids (all 9 of them, when all was said and done) had a ball playing together on the playground while the mommies talked! After they played for awhile, Nanda, and I (along with Tracy and Carol who had joined us at McDonald's) took our little ones to The Enchanted Trail in a neighboring community (Wendy was not planning to take her three). Carol is the one who heard about this, and invited the rest of us to come along. We couldn't wait to see what this would be like, and the best thing was we didn't have school on Friday so it didn't matter how late we were out!

The Enchanted Trail was a neat fall festival held at The Pavilion in Taylors - one that I recommend visiting if you live near here. We got to pet animals, play games for candy, play on some inflatables, go through a trail in a "forest" where Disney characters gave the children candy, and ride on a train. There was also a costume contest, balloon animals, and much more. This was the best 10 dollars I have spent in awhile. Drew and Mikayla had so much fun - they have already asked to go back. This may become a yearly tradition for us!

Mikayla and Drew finally pose for a picture, just before we rode the train. Please notice my daughter's "bunny bucket". I didn't think to take their Halloween bags, so Nanda let us use two they had. Mikayla didn't think a thing about it!

Mikayla and Bre pose for a picture. Can you tell they are dancers?

All the girls...Mikayla, Emily, Breanna, and Brooke

The boys...Drew and Bryson (just a little out-numbered).

My 2 precious angels riding the train. Mikayla sat with me and Drew and Bryson were in the car in front of us. Nanda and Bre were in front of them, Tracy and Emily were behind us and then Carol and Brooke!

All of our children were very well behaved (that says a lot when there are six of them), and everyone had a great time!

Another Soccer Game

Drew gets ready to play goalie in the first quarter. Drew kicks the ball off the line - this has gotten to be one of his favorite parts of the game!

Two weeks ago, I did not have my camera with me at the soccer game, but it was probably best. We played the hardest team in the league (in my opinion), and we lost. Our guys still played incredible well together, though and we are so proud. Last week, we played a team that is similar to ours. In fact, the last time we played this team the game ended in a tie. Last week, however, they beat us by one point. Drew was goalie for 2 quarters, and I was nervous the whole time. But he loves it so who am I to keep him from doing something he loves. Especially right now, while it is only "playing goalie". This was a GREAT soccer game, played by two pretty equal teams. We had several opportunities to score and tie the game, but goals were missed by what must have been centimeters (from where I was it looked like we scored twice). Those are fun games to watch, I just wished the score had been different at the end. Again, though, we were proud by how well our guys played. It was funny to hear the assistant coach of the other team yell "YES" when the ref blew the whistle to signal the end of the game. Everyone there was holding their breaths. We have another game tomorrow, and Drew (and mama) can't wait!

Thinkin' like a Butterfly!

The past three weeks have been a wild ride. Many, many things going on, both at school and at home.

October is always a busy time at school as we are getting ready for the end of the first nine weeks with report cards and parent conferences. We have also had a Puppy Party, our first ever PTA Movie Night, Fundraiser orders have been delivered, etc. Drew and the other second graders went on their first field trip this month to see The Jungle Book on stage, then they had lunch from Chick-fil-a. Mikayla and I and the other kindergartners went on our first field trip of the year on Friday, October 17. We went to the apple orchard where we got to get some apples and a small pumpkin.

Two weeks ago, I had Spartanburg Writing Project's Fall Renewal Conference, and a Junior League of Spartanburg meeting where I was presented my grant check. I wrote a mini-grant this summer (the beginning of July) to help fund Literacy Centers in my classroom. I have always had centers in my kindergarten classroom, but now I have begun two separate center times, math centers and literacy centers. I wrote the grant (the first I've ever written) thinking that I didn't stand a chance of getting it funded. I was shocked when I received the congratulatory email in September saying my grant had been selected for funding! They were able to fund 24 grants out of the 120 that were submitted. I am grateful that mine was one of the ones selected!

This past week, I went to Anderson on Thursday for the Region 1 Teacher Forum workshop. Teacher Forum members are teachers that have been selected as Teachers of the Year all across the state. Region Forum and State Forum is made up of District Teachers of the Year across the state. I had so much fun at this workshop (it is always great fun when I'm with these incredible people), and I learned a lot as well! That's where my title comes from - "thinkin' like a butterfly"! This year's theme is centered around the book Wings of Change by Dr. Franklin Hill and a classic line from the story says "Thinking like a caterpillar does not work for butterflies." I love this line, and from now on, I strive to "think like a butterfly"!

In addition to all of these "school things", we have had a lot going on at home as well. Drew has soccer practice every Monday, and Mikayla has dance. Monday is also the day of my Weight Watchers meetings. Nothing like the first day of the week being so hectic. Mikayla also dances on Fridays, so we try to leave school earlier during the middle of the week so that we can play at the park for a little while. Drew has also had soccer games every Saturday, and one Saturday we were at Harvest Fest and the next we were at Fall in the Park. The fair has also been in town this month, so we went there too. I have pictures coming from our trip to the fair and also some of Drew's past soccer games. He is supposed to have another on in the morning, but we will see how the weather holds up...

Things should be slowing down soon so that I can get back to my daily (or at least weekly) blogging! We will see...

Fall in the Park!

Saturday afternoon, the kids and I went went to our local walking park for our annual Fall in the Park. There was not as much there as I remember in past years, but Drew and Mikayla had fun in the "kiddie area". The first thing they rode were ponies/horses. I couldn't get any pictures of them riding because I was walking with them! They loved riding them though - as usual!

Mikayla's favorite was the train - this is the only thing she went on!
Drew rode this spinning ride for the first time ever. One of the workers was on the opposite side and as they pumped that handle the faster the ride would go. Drew loved it, but looked a little sick at the end when the worker started making it go extremely fast. There was another worker "manning" the break so he stopped it at that point. Drew got off the ride smiling - I don't think he was scared, just dizzy!

We also walked around and Mikayla picked up ducks and Drew threw darts. We had so much fun - I love fall!

Another Soccer Game!

My dad is hobbling around right now with a hurt back. Before Drew's soccer game last Saturday, he decided that he would show Drew how to stay back in the goal when he plays goalie. While he and Drew were playing, all of his teammates joined them and Drew said "try to make it past my Poppi, he is good". So, daddy had about 6 little boys kicking balls to him and he was blocking them. When he straightened his back to walk to his chair he knew something was wrong.

Look at my daddy go! Drew had so much fun playing soccer with Poppi!

During the game, Drew and his teammates played awesome! We were playing the number one team in the league and we beat them 9 - 0. Drew scored three goals in this game - one on a free kick. Connor also scored a goal during this game, and Israel almost did! One of the parents on the other team asked the ref if there was a time when he could ask the other team not to score. The ref reminded her that these were 6, 7, and 8 year olds, and he couldn't very well do that! We were all excited for our guys, and we can't wait to see how well they play this week. They are really starting to work together and I can't get over how much they have all learned this season!

The other team is taking a corner kick and our guys (red) are guarding the goal. I loved Drew's intensity here!!

Drew takes the free kick - he scored one of his goals here!

Drew played goalie during the third quarter. I was so worried, but he did awesome. He even blocked a hard kicked ball and ended up with a strawberry above his knee. He never got upset (he rubbed it a little - okay a good bit), but mom was a little worried! The crowd was cheering for him, so he wasn't about to show any pain! That's my little athlete!!

Too Funny!

Thursday afternoon, I took Drew and Mikayla to the park after school! As soon as we walked through the gate, Drew read the sign that said "NO PETS ALLOWED". He sat with me on a bench to study for his tests on Friday, and Mikayla ran off to play. It wasn't too long before Mikayla said "mommy, can I ask her if I can pet her dog?" To which Drew loudly responded "ooohhhh, it says no pets allowed!" I was about to crawl under the bench, but instead reminded Drew that he needed to take care of himself. I told Mikayla I didn't mind if she asked to pet it, and of course Drew needed a turn too! The next thing Mikayla said made my day! She yelled out (loud enough for several others to hear) "mom, it's a cute chicahuahua"! I lost it, and the mother sitting at the picnic table beside us (and the owner of the chihuahua), burst out laughing as well! Oh, from the mouths of babes...

Fall Puppy Party

Drew waits in line at the slide - his favorite was the basketball throw. You can tell how the wind was blowing by looking at the orange cord on the left of the slide...
Mikayla and her friend Breanna slide together! This was Mikayla's favorite!

Thursday, September 25th, our school held it's fall Puppy Party (fall festival). Drew and Mikayla had been looking forward to this all week, and to be honest, so had I. I had to sign up for a 30 minute slot to work, and I was fortunate to get an early slot. Drew and Mikayla stayed in the after school program and when I was relieved, I went to get them to join the fun! Daddy joined us at the school and we had lots of fun. With the exception of the wind blowing making it feel colder than it really was, it was a wonderful evening!

Whew!

Have you ever felt like you were running in quick sand? I'm feeling that way about every week now. Every time I start feeling that I'm caught up and can relax, something else comes my way. Please don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining! I am very blessed - I have a fantastic husband, two beautiful, healthy children, a terrific family, and a wonderful job. I have to remember new school years are always like this, and things will settle soon (I hope!).

With other responsibilities comes less time for "fun stuff" and this blog (oh how I love it), counts as "fun stuff". Thus, the reason I have fallen behind with my posting!

Drew will have another soccer game tomorrow and I have yet to post about the previous two...

At his game two weeks ago, his team won 6-1 and Drew scored two goals. One of his goals he scored on a kick-off from mid-field! We couldn't believe it - I think everybody was a little shocked, even Drew!

I love this picture - Drew looks so intense!This is the kick-off where Drew scored a goal. The ball went from here into the goal!!Drew throws the ball in to his teammates.

And, Drew playing goalie. He loves to play goalie and it tears my nerves up. Almost to the point that I can't watch! Here it looks like he's adding up the score instead of watching for the ball. Hence why mom is scared to watch!

At last weeks' game I forgot my camera. It was also silent Saturday where the parents and coaches could not talk/cheer/yell. You could clap and that is all - do you know how hard this is for me? Drew was goalie two of the quarters in that game and he did not score any goals. Our team also lost the game 4-3. We are anxious to see how our little guys do tomorrow - Drew can't wait! Go RED (we don't have a team name...)!!

2008 Dance Season

Breanna, Jadyn, Mikayla, Anika, Emily, and Elana pose for a picture after their first tap/jazz class!

It's All Coming Up Dance is the theme for this year's dance season at Rising Star Dance Company. Classes started the week of September 8th and it couldn't have been soon enough for Mikayla. She asked at least twice a week during the summer "is it time for dance yet?". I had to remind her that dance would not start until after school started. She is taking ballet, clogging, tap, and jazz again this year. This is a lot for a five year old in addition to full day kindergarten, but Mikayla would not have it any other way. It has not negatively affected her in any way - she LOVES dance! Right now, she is able to take combination classes so she dances 2 hours per week - one hour on Mondays for clogging and ballet, and one hour on Fridays for tap and jazz. Once she turns seven she will not be able to take combination classes anymore, and she may have to choose her favorites at that point. We want to expose her to as many different types of dance as we can so that she can choose her favorites when the time comes - hopefully - at this point they are all her "favorites"! Another reason Mikayla is excited about this year's dance is that Breanna, her best friend, and Breanna's cousin, Emily, will take dance this year too! They are in Mikayla's tap and jazz class on Fridays. We can't wait to see how much Mikayla grows and learns in her fourth year of dance!

Grits for Grandparents!

On Friday, September 12, our school hosted Grits for Grandparents for our kindergarten students and their siblings. Our PTA took care of breakfast for the grandparents so they could come and eat with their grandchildren. Drew and Mikayla could not wait to invite Mimi and Poppi to their school to have breakfast with them! Mimi and Poppi wouldn't have missed this for the world and met us at the school at 6:45 on the rainy Friday morning!
Mimi and Poppi move through the serving line with Drew and Mikayla - Poppi offers his assistance. Drew and Mikayla do this every day, but it has been awhile since my mom and dad have been in a school cafeteria.
Drew and Mikayla enjoyed having breakfast with Mimi and Poppi while I headed down to my room to get ready for the day. After they ate, Drew and Mikayla had the chance to show Mimi and Poppi their classrooms and they got to meet Drew and Mikayla's teachers! To get to Mikayla's classroom they had to go right past mine so they also stopped and visited a minute in my room!
Thank you mom and dad for coming to have breakfast with my children! All they could talk about the whole day is "Mimi and Poppi came to our school", and this is something that they won't soon forget!

Drew's 2nd Soccer Game

Drew played another soccer game last Saturday, September 13 (I am one week behind - look for this week's game coming soon). We were scheduled to bring snacks to this game and it started at 1:00. I was worried about our children playing in the heat of the day, so I slathered sunscreen on both Drew and Mikayla and we headed to the fields. Craig wasn't far behind us with the cooler for the snacks and drinks. We were playing the number one team in the league, and Drew's friend Josh was on the other team. Drew and Josh were on the same soccer team last year and they were also in the same class at school. It was a hard fought game with our guys scoring 2 goals right away. Then the other team came back and scored 3 goals so they were up by one. Then, Drew scores a goal to tie the game! I was so proud of Drew and all of our boys for playing hard in this game. They could have given up, but neither team did. They kept playing hard. Drew only scored one goal the whole season last year (that might have something to do with him always wanting to play goalie), but this year he has already scored 2 goals, one in each game we have played!

This is what Mikayla likes to do when Drew is sitting out. Everyone on the team takes a break during one quarter of play. Drew (and all the other guys) needs this break! Mikayla makes sure Poppi gets his exercise!

Drew hustles most of the time to get in there and get the ball. Sometimes Craig wishes he would play a little more aggressive.

Drew (as goalie) kicks the ball - this has some special name, but because I still don't know a whole lot about soccer I'm not sure if it is called a "goal kick" or something else...
Drew gets a hard kick in on kick-off! I think he has the form to be a big time kicker someday - what do you think?
The guys take a break during half-time and enjoy some snacks.
Mikayla and Poppi run some more!

This was such a great game, and it was a nail biter to the end! With AYSO, rank is based on a point system. You get so many points for a win, so many for a tie, none for a loss, but your team also gets points if your coach or another parent volunteers as a ref. I was happy with a tie because our team was able to get some points! Go Drew - keep playing hard! We are still trying to come up with a name for our team...