Thursday, December 30, 2010

BAD

This is a little 30 second video that Adam put together of the boys dancing to Michael Jackson. It is hilarious!!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Christmas 2010


We've had a great Christmas this year!! Sabrina's parents came out on the 15th to celebrate a week early. We had fun celebrating Christmas, shopping, bowling, and playing lots and lots of games. Wes and Grandma played for hours each day I think! They love to trash talk each other too.

On Christmas Eve we spent the evening at Adam's parents house for dinner and presents. On Christmas Day Jenna, Zach, and Chloe came over for a few hours to exchange presents. It was a very laid back year and we loved it!!

The boys' big gift this year was a trampoline. Adam and his employee assembled it on Thursday, but they did it on the side of the house so the boys wouldn't see it. Adam and I thought it would be easy to just turn it vertical and roll it in between some trees and into place on the evening of the 24th. Umm, we were wrong. Really, really, really wrong. From about 11:30 at night until about 5:30 Christmas morning, we worked on the trampoline. There were times that we felt we may have to call Zach or Jim in the middle of the night to come help us. It was awful and we honestly didn't know if we were going to be able to save the trampoline or even move it. At 3 in the morning, Adam and I even discussed cutting down a tree. It was that bad. But, we made it. The trampoline is in place and is in perfect shape! And throughout that stressful night, Adam and I both remained incredibly calm and avoided any battles and tears. :-)

We were asleep by 6 a.m. and the boys woke us up 2 hours later to open presents from Santa. We were tired, but we had a great morning. In addition to the trampoline, the boys got other gifts such as transformers, legos, Criss Cross Crash (Hot Wheels), scooters, Wii games and GI Joe/Iron Man/Batman toys. The boys played outside for hours and hours today. It was such a wonderful day!!

This is also the first year that we had the boys shop for each other and me and Adam. We quickly learned that Calvin can't keep a secret. He gave Wes huge hints about his gifts (several minutes after wrapping it) that Wes knew exactly what it was. Then, when Adam asked Calvin what Calvin bought him, instead of saying "I can't tell you" -- Calvin just said "oh, we bought you blue shoes." Silly boy. He told us that he just kept forgetting it was a secret.

I hope you and your family had a great Christmas too!! 25 days until we head to Ethiopia -- the countdown begins! We received a second video of Allie and she was wearing a Santa hat. The video showed her nanny giving her a picture of our family and pointing to her "mommy, daddy and brothers". It was great to hear how the nannies pronounced her name too. I have watched that minute video about a thousand times!

Calvin's new "cheese" face

Early Christmas with Sabrina's parents and niece, Chloe

Calvin and Wes with Great-Grandma Fischer

Christmas Eve

Criss Cross Crash - Wes wanted it so badly for Christmas

Our new trampoline

Learning how to ride on the new scooters


Christmas Eve photograph with Allie (sort of)

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Allie's Room

We have finished painting Allie's room!!



Sleeping by the Tree

Every Christmas season, we take a few nights and sleep by the Christmas tree with the boys. Here is a picture of our nap the other day.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Wipeout!




This weekend, the boys went to the Festival of Cheer in Peoria. They had so much fun playing games; seeing Santa; playing in the snow; playing on inflatable toys; and getting their faces painted. This was the first year that they went up to Santa and sat on his lap by themselves -- and even told him what they wanted for Christmas!!

What a great day --- but wait, there's more! When playing in the snow the boys were each slipping and sliding around. Wes even announced how slippery it was. Adam laughed a lot -- and then Adam fell down. :-) If you'd like to see his "wipeout" watch the video below. This is our gift to you! Merry Christmas!


Sunday, November 28, 2010

Turkey Award


Cal's teacher gave each of her students an assignment - they must decorate the paper turkey she provided with their family. The class was going to vote on who had the best turkey.

A few days after Cal had taken his turkey back to school, I asked him if his turkey won. Real nonchalantly, he said, "Why yeah" (his new phrase of the month "why yes" "why no" "why ok"). I said, "Really? The class thought you had the best one?" Again, without any emotion, "yep".

We had pretty much the exact same conversation a few days after that. I told Adam that it is cute that he thought he won. I assumed that if Calvin had actually won the award, he would have come home so excited and wanted to tell me all about it.

Sure enough, last Tuesday he brought home his turkey and the award for "most happy and creative". I felt horrible that I hadn't believed him. I acted super excited for Calvin, and I said, "I didn't know you won the award!" He said, "I told you that I did already!" Well yeah, he did. But at least he was acting super excited about the award now. Go Calvin!!

Another lost tooth!


A few weeks ago (Nov. 6th) - Wes lost his first tooth! Adam and Calvin were brushing teeth in the bathroom while I secretly pulled Wes' tooth. Adam heard Wes say "Ouch", and so Adam yelled from the bathroom "Sabrina - stay away from that kid's tooth!" But seriously, it was such a quiet "ouch". Wes wasn't hurt that bad. After Adam yelled, I whispered to Wes "Do you want me to try again?" He nodded yes, and the tooth was out within a matter of seconds -- no "ouch" at all. A few minutes later, Adam and Calvin came back into the room, and Adam is just talking up a storm about how I need to stop getting in Wes' mouth and stop torturing our kids through manipulation of the teeth pulling process! (joking of course) I said, "okay, I won't." With a big smile Wes showed his daddy that his tooth was already gone. Shh -- it was our secret. :-)

Just last Sunday, Wes lost his second tooth. He woke me up in the morning and said, "Mom my tooth is really loose." Half asleep, I asked if he wanted me to pull it. He said yes. So there I was, barely awake, and I pulled Wes' tooth out quickly. No "ouch" at all. Now both boys have 2 missing bottom teeth. It seems like the only one squeamish about pulling teeth is daddy!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Court Date!

Our agency called us yesterday with great news -- we have a court date on January 25, 2011!!!

Next week, we should find out if this trip is a 3 day or 5 day trip, and then we can book our tickets. Right now we are talking with travel agencies and trying to make airline and guest house arrangements. There are 10 other families from our agency that have the same court date, and so we will be traveling with a big group.

We are so excited to finally have a date! Once we appear in court, we should be able to bring Allie home 4-6 weeks later. Until then, we keep watching her videos and looking at her new photographs. I see something new each time I watch the videos, and I feel like I am already starting to bond with her.

We would like to take a suitcase full of donations to our agency's House of Hope. Right now they are in need of baby/child vitamins; playtex drop-in bottles and drop-in; and children's clothing for ages 5-12. If you would like to help, we would certainly appreciate it (as would the House of Hope).

Friday, November 19, 2010

Love from Ethiopia!


Another adopting couple went to Ethiopia on November 9th to see their son and appear in court. They were so gracious to offer to take pictures and video of Allie. I wasn't expecting to see anything until after Thanksgiving, and so I was shocked when I got a CD of pictures, video, and a letter in the mail today. Before I even opened the envelope, my eyes just welled up with tears.

We got 11 new pictures, and 2 videos!!! We had also sent (with the adopting couple) a new outfit for Allie and a little blanket that Grandma Sherree picked up for us. The above picture shows her holding onto the blanket. The outfit, size 3-6 months, is still a little big. Allie just turned 5 months last week.

Allie continues to look so healthy. She has big, beautiful brown eyes. Everyone always talks about her big eyes. In our first pictures she didn't have any hair. It is customary for the orphanage to shave their heads, but our agency's House of Hope lets the hair grow. In these pictures, she has quite a bit of tight, curly hair. It is great to be able to see how she has changed!!

Anyway, I will leave you with the letter we received:

Your kiddo is super cute! She seems to be doing great from all I can tell. In fact, she is in the same room as our son, just one crib between them. She loved the blanket and outfit. They will keep the blanket with her, and I think she will have to grow into the outfit. :) We loved the caretaker in that room. She smiles often with her caretaker. Her nurse is doing a great job at caring for her, so be assured that she is in great hands while you are waiting! It was a privilege to take photos and video for you. I apologize for any quality issues. The light was low and we have a new camera. But I think we got some super cute pictures in here! May God Bless you on your journey!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Update on Allie


While we don't know any new information concerning Allie, I have received quite a few questions from friends and family about when we will travel.

In May, Ethiopia passed a new law that states families must appear in the Ethiopian federal court personally stating that they would like to adopt the child. While I don't like the idea of having to go twice within a short period of time, I do understand the need for the law. Prior to May, a representative from our agency would appear on our behalf, and the only time the family would travel to Ethiopia was to pick up their child.

So right now we are simply waiting on our court date. It appears that it takes 6-8 weeks to get a court date from acceptance of referral. We are on week 4 right now. Our agency is estimating that our court date will be in January because their most recent date given was already December 20th. You normally receive a court date several weeks before you travel. When traveling for court, we will stay in Ethiopia for approximately 3 days (5 days totals for trip). During this visit, we will get to meet our daughter and spend lots of time with her. Once we appear in court, she will be ours (assuming all other required persons and documents appear), and unfortunately, we will then have to leave her there. That is not going to be easy. While she will officially be our daughter, the US will not allow her entry just yet. It takes them approximately 4-6 weeks to process her visa and citizenship documents.

Once those documents are complete (4-6 weeks after first trip), we will travel to Ethiopia again to meet with the embassy and then bring our daughter back home. During this trip, we will be there 5 full days (7 days total for trip), and we will be able to see some of the sights. We will also get a chance to visit the orphanage. You normally only have about a week's notice (sometimes a few days) before traveling for this trip.

In the meantime, we are getting vaccinations, getting Allie's room ready, getting more documentation ready -- and just patiently waiting. :-)

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Chloe!!

My newest niece, Chloe Kathleen Batsche, was born this afternoon. Wes was too nervous to get close, but Calvin was really curious about her. He asked if he could touch her. Then he started lightly poking her in the nose. He told me later that he just loves touching Chloe's nose. He was just really inspecting her all over. We are so happy for Jenna & Zach!!!!




Sunday, October 24, 2010

We have a name!

Adam and I love thinking of baby names. We really enjoyed it with the boys, and we enjoyed doing it again this time. Over the past few months we have made a list of about 15 names that we really liked. One of the first names on the list was "Allie". This was also at the top of our list when we were pregnant with the boys (before we knew they were boys).

This time, we have a few other names in high competition with "Allie", so we wanted to wait and see our daughter before finalizing a name. However once we saw her photos our decision was easy. Our daughter's first name is "Alemitu". The way it was pronounced to us was "all--eee-me-too". So picking the name "Allie" out of the list was a pretty easy decision to make!

Our daughter's full name will be Allie (Ethiopian family's last name) Fischer. Her Ethiopian family's last name is pretty, but I just can't post her full name on this blog until we have passed court.

Changing her name was a tough decision even though it is pretty much expected with international adoptions. We want to preserve her background and cultural, but we don't want to single her out either. Changing her name completely seemed like we may be trying to erase her past, but on the other hand, to have her go through this life, in America, with the name "Alemitu" could also be cruel. Every single day of her life, she would have to repeat her name so people could understand it. We fear that she would feel singled out when she was in school. We also fear that she may be discriminated against when submitting a resume if the interviewer can't pronounce her name. I could go on and on listing more issues that she would come across daily.

To us, it seems like the every day issues she would have with her Ethiopian name outweigh the few times in her life that she may regret having her name changed. And when she is older, if she ever desires to have her Ethiopian name, we would not hesitate to take her to the courthouse to get it changed.

We hope that she will grow to love her name "Allie" and that she will take pride in keeping her family's last name as her middle name.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Meet Our Daughter!!!!!!!

We have a little girl!!!

We are so excited! We were number 10 on the list, and the referrals were coming in pretty slowly. I received a call today from Missouri while I was cutting hair, and since I didn't recognize the number I just ignored it. Never did it cross my mind how many times I have reminded Adam that if he sees a Missouri number come through, he must answer! I didn't think about it once.

In fact, I didn't check my phone for several hours -- after business hours for our agency. I received a message that said they had a little girl for us. My agency was wonderful, and our consultant had given me her cell phone number. After calling a few times, I finally got in touch with her. The director stayed after hours and sent us paperwork and two pictures.

She is beautiful. She is 4 months old. She is healthy with a little respiratory infection that is currently being treated. Did I mention she is beautiful??

I can't post a picture or forward by e-mail until we pass court. And that will probably be in December or January. But, I have been told that I can print out as many pictures as I want to show people. I plan on doing just that!

I have more details, and I'm sure you want to know "what is next", but I am just too excited and shaky to type right now. So give me a day or two, and I'll fill you all in!

Thank you for all of your prayers and support!!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

First Tooth!!


Both boys have had some slightly wiggly teeth for a little while now. After school today, Cal tells Wes that his tooth is really wiggly. Cal kept playing with his tooth all afternoon. When we were at Home Depot, he kept wiggling the tooth, and I told him to try and wiggle it as far as he could. He pulled it down and said a quick "ouch". Normally, Cal steers far away from anything painful, but today he was pretty determined to get that tooth out.

I then told Cal to see how far he could push his tooth. Again he tried, ending with a quick "ouch" -- but no tears or fear. As we were checking out, Calvin told the cashier (yelling and jumping) "My tooth is wiggly!"

Walking out to the car, I told him to just keep pulling, pushing, and twisting and the tooth would come out. He asked "Twisting? I didn't know you had to twist it!" I knew I was pushing a little, but Cal was so determined he kept trying. When we got in the car, he told me that he couldn't twist it but he wanted me to try. I told him I would stop if it hurt. I twisted the tooth once, and he says "ouch!" I quickly pulled away to see his tooth hanging by a thread. I told him that it needed to come out because it was just hanging by a thread, and he told me to twist it again. One more twist and the tooth was out! He wasn't scared at all!

I don't know if we have ever seen him so excited about anything. He called the grandparents and Aunt Jenna. He kept starting the conversation out by saying, "I have something really 'excited' to tell you." He is on cloud 9, and I am so proud of him for being really tough. He told Aunt Jenna that he didn't even cry and that he is a really strong boy because he can open doors that are heavy.

Congratulations Calvin!! One down and like 20 more to go.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Super Fischer Brothers World

We decided to redo Wes & Cal's room into a Super Mario Brothers World theme. Wes and Cal are all about the Mario Brothers, and so they were SO excited. We packed them up and moved them into their baby sister's room and we have spent the last 1 1/2 weeks painting their room. Painting every day, all day, painting, painting, and more painting. Adam designed and drew the pieces, and I painted. It was tiring, but Adam is going to be gone for almost a month and so we wanted to finish it before he leaves on Friday.

We also bought the boys their very first bunk beds. They are solid wood, completely sturdy, and we paid very little for them (thank you Craig's list). They just needed some painting -- that's right, more painting. Wes & Cal didn't even know what bunk beds were, so they were ecstatic when they realized the beds were coming home with us.

We aren't completely finished with the room. We still need to add some details on the clouds, tubes, and other minor pieces. However, since Adam won't be able to do anything with it until late October, he agreed to go ahead and let me post the pictures that we took tonight. Enjoy!!


Friday, September 3, 2010

"Lying" Mothers & Unexpected Shots


My mom tells a story about when Jenna was younger and had to have a bunch of tests done for unknown hives. She was getting a CT scan (I believe), and this time, mom swore that Jenna would not have to get a shot. Mom was wrong. They had to inject dye into Jenna. Jenna screamed and screamed and screamed. She told mom that she had money (10 cents) and she was going to call dad from a pay phone. My mom stood outside the room and cried because she felt so bad for Jenna and the broken promise.

Well, this year it was my turn. The boys had their 5th year well-check. When the nurse told us no shots were needed, we celebrated as we waited for the doctor. However, at the end of the appointment, the doctor asked to check Cal's hemoglobin level since Cal doesn't eat meat. Poor kid. Not only did he have to get a shot when I told him that he wouldn't, but he had to do it by himself without his brother getting one too. He was very brave and didn't scream or move away, but he cried a little and kept saying "But mommy, you said I didn't have to get a shot . . . " Next time, we'll celebrate AFTER the doctor's appointment. :-)

Other than that, the appointment went very well. Cal is in the 75th percentile for height and weight. (45 inches & 46 pounds) Wes is in the 75th percentile for height and 90th percentile for weight (45.8 inches & 56 pounds). Yep, there is a 10 pound difference between the boys now. The doctor told me that Wes has big bones and big muscles, and he isn't worried about the weight at all. He said Wes was really healthy, he is just built bigger (like mommy & grandpa).

We love their doctor for so many reasons, but it is so important for us that when he comes in the room he never has to ask who is who. He treats the boys as complete individuals. This time, he told me that he has never had a set of twins where one looks just like his dad and the other looks just like his mom. We too find the similarities shocking when looking at old pictures of us.

Here's to another healthy year!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Shift Happens

Jim named this blog post, and I think it is perfect for it. He also talked about the old saying, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans."

Our plans are shifting and changing. We don't know if we are just indecisive flakes, or if God is sending us on a wild goose chase. The only explanation we have to offer is simple - we are trying to do what is best for our family and carry out what God has planned for us. Making plans is a great thing, but making them in pencil is even better. We are open to change. We want to keep moving forward and never stand still.

For a multitude of reasons, we never took our names off of the Ethiopia waiting list. We couldn't bring ourselves to do it, especially before we received our foster care license. Something as easy as paying for a pool fence to obtain our license has taken much longer after many other things have unexpectedly come up.

What is also unexpected is that we are number 11 or 12 on the Ethiopia waiting list. We are much lower on the list than we thought and are probably 2 months away from a referral of a child. The changes in the Ethiopia program have happened (i.e. higher cost, travel twice, etc.), but the increase in wait times did not happen. It actually decreased. We thought there would be plenty of time to get our foster care license and make sure it worked out before removing our names off of the list. That is not the case. A decision has to be made.

This has been probably the hardest 2 weeks of my life. I don't think I have ever cried so hard in my life. If you ask close family, they will probably tell you that they have never seen me so --- I can't even think of a word to describe it other than different. Full of anger, bitterness, anxiousness, jealousy, depression, etc. It has been a rough two weeks, and it doesn't help that the boys just started full day kindergarten.

Deciding between foster care and adoption is not easy. Our hearts are in the foster care program, but I dream of my little girl. However, we decided to finish what we started and continue to pursue foster care. That was the hardest decision ever. We just wanted to talk with our social worker one more time before taking our names off of the list. After talking with our foster care social worker about our issues, she suggested we adopt first. She stated that she believes it is God's plan for us to foster, but maybe not right now. We live in a more affluent zip code, and there are not many, if any, foster kids available. DES places kids according to zip code. We knew our zip code would be a hindrance from previous conversations with our social worker; however, when we asked her if she could tell us that we were needed, she said no. Other families in our area are getting a sibling set after waiting more than a year, and more families are just dropping out after waiting with no placements.

Even with that knowledge, it is tough to make this decision. We began praying about it on Thursday night. We have had some miraculous things happen (i.e. letter from immigration -- first letter in 9 months about the adoption came in the mail on Friday; we found a way to cover the adoption costs but yet we could never find a way to cover the small pool fence expense; etc.) There have been miracles, signs, and just a sense of peace. My mom even suggested that maybe God is granting our desire to have another child in our home, and either option is okay. Just because we choose one doesn't mean the other would have been a mistake.

Anyway, I'm rambling. The bottom line is that we are withdrawing from the foster care program for now. Helping kids is still a huge priority for us, but there are so many ways to do that such as working in a local shelter. We hope and still plan to foster in the future, but right now we have decided to continue with the adoption.

We feel at peace. We are happy, and we aren't ashamed by being open to a change in plans. This is the route we are pursuing, and we hope to see it to completion. Grandma Jones, this one is for you!

Friday, August 20, 2010

And you thought I don't sing in church . . .

Check out this video from 1986 (ish). Recently, our pastor was just giving people (like me) a hard time for not singing in church. A few days later, I found this video. Getting the nerve to sing in front of the church has to at least make up for many years of not singing with the church. :-)

(For the people who get this blog through e-mail, you'll probably have to go to the blog to view the video -- www.thefischerfamilyonline.com)

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Words that I never want to forget

One of the main reasons I do this blog is to be able to go back and remember these stories years ago. So I'm sorry if this is a boring post, but I wanted to write down some Wes & Cal words so I never forget them.

Bampire - vampire
Ganks - thanks
DisCappeared - disappeared
Casplode - explode
Bam you - means hitting something
Elligator - elevator
Chick a Flack - Chick Fil A
Mickey Donalds - McDonalds
Each Uddy - each other (Wes)
Each Olly - each other (Cal)

Jesus vs. Vampires

In the car the other night, I heard Calvin talk about Bampires (aka vampires). Wes asked what a bampire was, and Cal said that Bampires are on the Batman and Joker movie. "Ya know, they have sharp teeth and they chomp people's necks and slurp their blood. Then the people die and become bampires." Okay, so I guess Cal has learned was a vampire is. His grandpa Fischer must be so proud. For a few minutes, they were playing with their toys and pretending they were vampires.

However, Wes had a different story. He was talking about how the sun was "shotting" through the windows. It "shotted" the bed and "shotted" the guy. But then, Jesus came down in a hurry just in time to save the guy before he dried up. To Wes, Jesus is this amazing super hero action figure that wears a cape. It is so cute to hear his Jesus stories.

The boys have a great imagination. They have recently been asking where bampires, dragons, tigers, and Batman live. We just say things like "in a cave far away". We don't want to crush their world and tell them that these things are pretend. On the other hand, we don't want to scare them either. Today, Wes asked why bampires slurp blood. I just said I didn't know. He then asked where they lived and if they do that to real people. I said that they live super far away. Wes then asked if they lived in "our world". I said no. Calvin then interjected and said that they live on a different planet like Batman and Spiderman -- not on our planet. Okay, I'll go with that. :-)

Monday, August 9, 2010

First Day of School


I have been dreading this day for a while. I am just not ready for my boys to be gone all day. I cried hard in January when they started preschool -- just two afternoons a week. I am not ready for a quiet house.

I have done a lot of soul searching recently. With the boys starting school, I feel like I am losing part of my identity. There are always things to do during the day to fill the time. I even switched salons 2 weeks ago so that I could work more hours if I wanted to. I know that in a few days, I will begin my new routine and this will feel normal. It will be a new phase in our lives, and each phase has always been better than the last. I am excited about working more on my business. I am excited about being able to go running in the mornings after I drop them off. I am excited to have a cleaner house, and more time to spend on cooking dinner. However today, in this moment, I am just sad. Today, I am allowing myself to have a pity party. Today, I am eating ice cream for breakfast.

I have been thinking back to a little over 5 years ago. I had been in labor for almost a week and had no clue. I thought it was just back pain (never heard of back labor). Shortly after this was discovered, I was on a helicopter flying to a Phoenix hospital that specializes in preterm labor. I labored for a week, and I begged the doctors to deliver the boys because I was in so much pain. The doctors, rightfully so, kept telling me they needed to stop the labor. It was too late though, and a week later I delivered two premature little guys. For the next 2 years, we spent that time praying that they would grow and be healthy. Especially during the first 6 months, we were praying that they would get big and we could get past the point where they would stop breathing several times a week. By the time they were 2, they were finally caught up with other kids their age. We got excited for them to learn to walk; learn to crawl; be potty trained; sleep in a big boy bed. And today, I want it all to stop. I don't want them to get bigger, older, smarter, etc. I want them to remain 5 years old. It seems silly, but I think I have shed more tears over them starting kindergarten than I did their first 2 scary years of life.

Like I said though, Wes and Calvin were super excited to start. They are going to Dreaming Summit Elementary which is a school in our neighborhood. They are in separate classes, but the classes are right next to each other and they will spend lunch and recess together. The school mandates that twins be in separate classrooms. We didn't want this at first, but the principal explained that normally one twin is more dominant than the other. By having them in separate classes, the non-dominant child will flourish and be able to celebrate his successes better. This made perfect sense, and is so true with Wes and Cal's personalities. The boys were fine with being in separate classrooms with only slight apprehension.

Dreaming Summit is a K-5 school. The good news is that the kindergarten classes are in a separate building. This made us feel so much better as they transition into the "big kid" school. Their teachers, Mrs. VanDeCar and Mrs. Field, are very nice and the boys were so excited to meet their teacher and look at every detail in their classrooms on "meet the teacher" night.

Wes had trouble sleeping last night because he was so excited for school. He told me that he was going to wake me up when it was 7:00. I agreed to this, and we even put a clock in his bedroom so that he could watch for 7. However, inside I was laughing because Wes and Cal sleep until 9:30 on average. We have been slowly getting up earlier the past month, but I have to wake them every day. I knew that Wes could think he would wake me up at 7, but in reality, I would be waking him from a deep sleep.

I was wrong. My alarm went off at 6:40, and at 6:45 I heard Wes and Cal talking in their room. What? At 7 on the dot, Calvin came in and said, "Mom, we see a 7 on the clock. Is it wake time?" I was pretending to be asleep, but I told him that he was right. I asked if Wes was awake (surprised he didn't come in our room with Cal), and he said, "Yeah, but Wes is guarding the clock." Oh, okay. The boys ate their breakfast, got dressed, and we took our first annual school day picture. We drove to the very crowded school, and Adam took Cal into his room and I took Wes. We held back our tears until we got back into the car. The boys were a little nervous, but didn't hesitate to go into their classrooms and sit down. I can't wait to hear about their first day.

For those reading earlier posts, Wes made it clear last night that he wanted to "drive" to the school and not ride his bike. I understand. He then made it clear that when he turns 6 and has to go talk to the teacher before it is time for school, he wants me to drive then too. :-)

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Bad Idea



Last week, the boys went to their new school for the first time to have a kindergarten assessment. My dad had just arrived in town for a few days, and I thought it would be fun to ride our bikes to the school (it is in our neighborhood). The weather was "only" 100 degrees which is actually pretty cool for this time of year, and it was pretty overcast which is also rare.

We take off on our bikes, and Wes immediately crashes at the bottom of our driveway. He gets back on his bike, and starts riding again . . . very slowly. About halfway to the school, he crashes again. I realize that his training wheels are a little bent, and it is causing his bike to lean. I fix it as best I can, and we take off again. By now, I'm pretty nervous because Cal has to be at the school within a few minutes while Wes' appointment isn't for another 20 minutes.

Because of the two crashes, Wes is barely moving on his bike. I ask my dad to stay with Wes and slowly ride to the school, and Cal and I take off on our bikes fast so that we aren't late. Instead of that nice, leisurely ride, I keep telling Cal "faster, faster, keep moving". We get to the school with red faces and all sweaty. We ended up being about 2 minutes late. Whew. We made it though. Cal goes back for his assessment.

15 minutes later, Dad and Wes walk in. Wes' face is as beet red, almost purple, that you can imagine. His head is all sweaty. My dad asks for a bandaid because Wes had crashed again right in front of the school -- this time leaving a big gash in his leg. Blood is dripping down his leg. The teacher raids the nurses station, and she brings gauze, band-aids, and alcohol. Wes has never had alcohol on a cut, and so it was quite an awful surprise when my dad was cleaning Wes' leg. You have this poor kid who is all hot and sweaty, and injured, and now crying because of the alcohol. Once Wes gets cleaned up, they take him back for the assessment.

As we are sitting in the waiting room, Cal tells me "Hey mom, I don't think you had a good idea about riding bikes. I think taking the car would have been a good idea." I could only agree.

Memory Loss

The boys are very curious about Jesus and God ever since they started pre-school at Trinity Lutheran last January. They ask so much about things like "Mamma, why is God STILL making it rain?" OR "I know someone in Heaven --- grandma & grandpa's cat Ramsey" OR "Jesus loves kids, but he is too busy for big guys." They have also learned a lot about kindness, except they don't sound out the second "n" and just tell me how I am "being kindess". It is really cute.

This past Sunday, when we picked the boys up from their class at church, the teacher told me that Wes had a lot of stories to share in class about how he is a good helper. Wes is a big talker (by "big", I mean "non-stop, never takes a break" talker), so this isn't a surprise. On the way home, I asked Calvin what he learned in class today. I got a quick "Don't remember." Cal likes to give the "I don't remember" or "I don't know" answer lately. I then asked Cal if he learned about Jesus. "uh-huh" he said nodding his head. I then asked if he learned about God. He said, "Uh . . . who's God?" My dad and I couldn't help but to laugh.

Later, I asked Wes what stories he shared about helping. "I don't remember."

Questions about Daddy


This is a little late, but I never posted what the boys got Adam for Father's Day. They had made him a few things at school, and then we did another question/answer session about Daddy. Here it is:

1. What is something Daddy always says to you?
CAL: We don't do whatever we want to do
WES: We have to go into time-out sometimes

2. What makes your Dad sad?
CAL: When we do bad stuff
WES: When we fight

3. What does your Daddy do to make you laugh?
CAL: When he tickles me
WES: From he farts

4. What makes Daddy happy?
CAL: When I do funny things
WES: From "I love my boys"

5. How old is Daddy?
CAL: 50
WES: 30

6. How tall is Daddy?
CAL & WES: Tall as you (referring to me)

7. What is Daddy's favorite thing to do?
CAL: I don't know
WES: Go swimming with us

8. What does Daddy do at his work?
CAL & WES: works

9. Where is Daddy's favorite place to go?
CAL: Restaurant
WES: To the place we don't want to go to eat

10. I love my Daddy because . . .
CAL: He always lets me play Spiderman
WES: He's hairy

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Hilton Head

We recently went to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina with Sabrina's parents, sister (Christina), and her two kids. We had a blast! Hilton Head has bike paths everywhere, and we rode for miles every day. The ocean was warm, the weather was great, and the fresh seafood was tasty! We can't wait to visit Hilton Head again!!

Grandma & Wes eating a snack at the pool


This alligator was right by our pool.



Cousins & Best Friends


Fishing for sharks









Our tiny, tiny plane from Charlotte to Hilton Head Island

We rode tandem adult/kid bikes. There was lots of racing.