bigger hugs

I awoke this  morning with a smile in my heart and on my face.  My baby girl is 5 today.  I could hear her already running through the house making the precious beautiful “noise” that she makes.  It was 6:00 am.  usually my medicine doesn’t allow me to be awake yet, but I took it early last night hoping to be able to wake early, and Praise God it worked.  I got up and there before me was my beautiful child with a smile and a gleam that said, “well Mom, I’m 5 what do you think?

I gave her a huge hug and she just stood there in all her 5 year old proudness.  Then her Daddy came looking for a hug.  He asked for a hug from 4 year old Teagan.  We looked but couldn’t find her.  Daddy was “sad”.  Teagan in her delightful voice and personality says, “It’s ok Daddy cause I’m 5 now and bigger and stronger and can give you better hugs than just a 4 year old.”  What a precious gift.

Teagan Hope Anastasia Martin born at some point in the afternoon on March 11, 2005 weighing 8 pounds and a few ounces was just beautiful and with a head of black hair we knew that this child was already staking her claim and declaring her spot in our family.  Beautiful hope of the resurrection is the meaning of her name and she has on so many occasions been there to remind us of God gift of Hope and his love. 

So today celebrate with me the joy that is life.  The joy that is being 5.  The joy that is getting a princess leapster before 7 am on your 5th birthday.  I will selfishly and happily reserve the joy that can only be mine as her mother. 

Thank you God for Teagan.  Thank you for life, for hope and for birthdays.

Proud mom of Teagan and kri too and woj,

kt

eyes

Everyone know the secret of mothers.  We have eyes in the back of our heads.  They can’t be seen.  Then can’t be found.  But on the day that our children are born or adopted or put in our care we grow these special eyes. 

So this afternoon my kids were running around doing something, but I didn’t know what it was.  I couldn’t use the “back eyes”.  Know why?  Because Teagan kept coming up to the back of my head and using her tiny hands she was covering my “back eyes”.   I was trying with all my might to hold very still and not look because obviously it was important. 

I still don’t know what exactly they were doing, but I notice that the kitchen trashcan is very full and looks like the upstairs trash has been emptied into it.  Since we just had a little talk about working together to take care of the house, I”m wondering if my secret little helpers were busy being trashmen. 

I’m overwhelmed by whatever act of help they were offering, but I’m more moved and excited that Teagan had to cover my back eyes.  It brought a smile to my face and a joy to my heart that hasn’t been there in quite some time.

Thank you God for simple pleasures and special treasures like the belief of little children. 

Momofkrit and woj,

KT

observation

Yesterday My hubby and I helped out during the Sunday School program at church. We were with the 2nd - 5th graders and I made a few observations.

#Boys always migrate toward each other especially if there is a ball anywhere in the vicinity!
#Girls sit and talk and are constantly looking around to see who else is coming in and who might be looking at them.
#When sitting in a large group on the floor, girls always sit in the front.
#The boys group together in the back and find it impossible to keep their hands to themselves.
#Popcorn in a syrofoam cup is eaten politely by girls and then the cup is placed beside them till it is time to throw it away.
#Popcorn eaten by boys is consumed in massive handfuls or rather "drinkfuls" from the cup with the goal being to finish the snack so the cup can destroyed. Then the fun begins. The boys compete to see who can make the coolest weapon or cartoon character with the styrofoam cup pieces.

So I ask you, if that group had been a group of adults, would anything have been different?

The things that make you go hmmmm....

blessed to be momofkrit and woj,
KT

July 31 update

An overview of our life for the past few days:

Rhiannon has spent the week in MD with her cousin Aubrie. Although having a wonderful time, she announced last night, (THursday), that she would like to return home before Friday. You see, Friday night is her snuggle night with Mommy! :-) She has been promised a snuggle night whenever she returns...
***********************************************************************************
On Tuesday I took the 3 kids and drove down to school first thing in the morning. We were hoping to get some deals at the uniform resale. Alas, there was nothing left as we arrived 20 minutes after the start time. I drove home empty handed and feeling as though I had just wasted 2 hours. Later that afternoon I took the 3 kids and drove to West Chester for a dr. appt. After a little difficulty finding the building we arrived and went into the building. Upon finding suite 203, however, the door was locked. After several phone calls to find the dr number I called and was told that the appt was On Wednesday in Exton. I was a day early and at the wrong office. UGGGG....

We left again feeling a bit like we had wasted time so I decided to take the kids out for a treat. In the process I got lost in and around WC and when I finally did find a McDonald's there was a sign posted saying this: "No Loitering allowed. 20 Minutes allowed for dine-in customers." Alrighty then. KIDS: eat fast and don't dawdle cause we might get kicked out of here! :-) A few wrong turns on the way home and finally we arrive back at home sweet home 3 hours after we had departed. A 3 hour trip to McD eh?
*************************************************************************************
Wednesday we traveled to Exton at the right time on the right day and arrived at the right office on time! :-) Teagan was not much interested in being at this appointment and when the nurse suggested she sit in the big patient chair since she was the queen, she politely declined. Iain, however, asked if he could sit there. When the nurse playfully questioned him saying, Well are you a queen, Iain properly responded, NO, but I am a King! Suffice it to say, Iain occupied the chair for the remainder of the appointment.
*************************************************************************************
Yesterday I helped Kyle with his laundry. I folded 6 pair of Pj's, 3 pr pants, 8 pr shorts, 12 shirts, 2 pr sweatpants, and 1 pr underwear. hmmmm......
************************************************************************************
As an update, Teagan is having her tonsils taken out on Tuesday morning. I have a dr appointment on Wednesday re: my shoulder. Only 3 weeks left till school starts. WOW....

Blessed to be momofkrit and woj,
kT

finding a sitter

One of my least favorite tasts as a mom is finding a babysitter. I have avoided this for most of my "mom life" by finding 1 wonderful person at a time to be our "nanny". At this point in time, however, we no longer need a "nanny" and so we are back to finding sitters.

This past weekend I was invited to go on a date with my husband and another couple. This offer brought 50% excitement and 50% dread. Yay, a date. Drag, a sitter. I don't mind having a sitter. I don't mind leaving my kids with a sitter. I just dislike the process of Finding a sitter.
After a few calls and no luck here is what happened:

"Kyle, please go and get my cell phone so I can think of someone to call to watch you kiddo's tonight."

Shortly thereafter I hear Kyle coming down the steps on my phone. "Yes, this is Kyle. Hi how are you? My mom is looking for a babysitter for tonight and I was wondering if you were free and if we could come to your house. Tacos? Perfect. Ok, well, here is my mom."

At this point I am standing in my kitchen in shock looking at my 9 year old son with disbelief and I could only ask 1 question: "WHO IS IT?"

"Oh, it is Barb Irwin, Mom." Barb Irwin? She is a wonderful lady from church who has helped me fix my screens and brought me meals when I was sick and 1 time even took 3 of my kids for the evening so I could rest. She has 4 kids of her own who are all in high school and college. Barb Irwin?

"Hi, Barb....Uh..how are you?"

At this point I hear Barb tell me about how nice and polite my son is and how she would love to have them over for dinner and she was planning to make them taco's one night this summer anyway and they don't have any plans and what time is good?

So my children went to Barb's house Saturday night. They took their bikes and their Pj's. They ate taco's, managed to convince Mr. and Mrs. Irwin to get their bikes down off the rack and ride with them, went out for ice cream and were all in Pj's mostly asleep on their bed when we returned from a wonderful date to pick them up.

The funny thing about this little story is that if Kyle had asked me, as he should have, to call Mrs. Irwin, I would certainly have said NO. We wouldn't want to impose on another family! However, my children had the time of their lives. This morning Teagan asked if she could go there again tonight.

So many thanks goes out to the Irwin's for loving our family and especially our kids. And much to my shock and inital horror, much thanks goes out to Kyle for taking care of finding a babysitter!

If you need help managing your household, let me know, I'll send Kyle over for a few hours! :-)

Blessed to be momofkrit and woj,
KT

(momofkrit - mom of Kyle, Rhia, Iain, and Teagan, and wife of Jamie(Aaron))

random

The rumors are true: I did in fact wake all my kids at 12:45 am Thursday morning and take them to the drive through of McDonalds. WHY??? Well because that is when it opened of course. It has been closed for rebuilding for several months and they did a "soft" opening from 1-5 before the official opening began at 5. For fun we went for fries. Fun Cheap memories.
The cost of fries? $5.24
The memories? priceless

Yesterday Rhia went to go outside to play and I called out, "Get your shoes". She said, "Oh, but mommy, I'm and Indian and they don't wear shoes." Looking at her in confusion, I realized she was wearing her Indian costume. My response? Oh, well, you are right. Ok, go and play.
How can you argue with history?

Today is Teagan's last day of her 1 and 1/2 long preschool adventure this year. WHat a blessing that has been for her. Because I was so sick a friend was able to enroll Teagan in preschool and she has gone 3 times a week and LOVES it. I'm not sure how we'll be able to send her next year, but boy has it been fun for her! She can write her name and loves that she has her own school.

Today just for fun I will be acquiring 2 additional dogs for a week. My mom and sisters are going on vacation together and I"m watching dogs. Should be fun here!

Other than that, we've been visiting the library every week and the Y every now and then and reading books together and practicing our laundry skills! :-)

Loving being able to be a mom again,
Momofkrit and woj,
KT

New Bible Story

"Teagan what was your Sunday School Lesson about today?"
Well, Mommy, is was about Saul and he was on a big boat.
"Are you sure it wasn't Paul"
Nope, Mommy actually it was Saul.
"Oh, OK and what happened to Saul/Paul?"
Well, actually he was on a big boat and it got broke and fell apart in the water. And all the people fell into the water and they all got into a whale. except Saul actually.

"OK, so your story was about Saul on a boat that crashed and all the people except Saul got into the belly of a whale?"
Yes, Mommy, that was my story.

Daddy - Teagan it was Saul and they landed on an island.

NO, Daddy they didn't for real!!!


This reminded me of the stories that my sister Erin used to after Sunday School. Stories about Noah playing with Gorilla's and Moses and the big boat etc. We all used to laugh and my Mom would patiently listen to her stories. I was my Mom today as the rest of the family kinda quietly chuckled.
Too cute.

Unlikely blessings

Easter Day

No pics, but, great day. Kids all went to church with Daddy and although they were wrinkled and a bit dishelved, they looked nice and well, we did the best we could.

After church we hung out and did some stuff around the house. (I say we, I said, "kyle move this here. Rhia pick that up and put it away. Iain please return this there. Teagan ok, exactly. thanks honey) :-)

Later in the afternon, the Stovers came over. I awoke to a delicious smell of pork and potatoes in the oven. An egg hunt with the kids, dinner, strawberry dessert and watching the masters with dear friends. What could be better. I have NO interest in golf. I've never watched the master in my life. But, being with friends, and watching my kids play and enjoy themselves, make watching the masters fun! :-)

Now, I'm back to loopy and even now can barely see staright, so I'll go. Happy Easter all.
kt

I'm alive

I'm alive and well, HIS Spirit is within me, because HE died and rose again!..

Happy Easter! HE is risen, HE is risen indeed.

I have always loved Easter Sunday. The weather is always beautiful, doesn't matter if it is cold or warm, wet or dry, windy or calm, it is always beautiful.

I remember getting up WAY TOO EARLY to go and sing at a sunrise service when I was a teenager.

I remember the Easter I had the flu and had to go to the ER. They gave me a shot in the you know what and I fainted on the floor.

I remember the year we came home from church and our dog had destroyed our Easter Basket and eaten all the candy. I really thought Zach was going to die and not from the chocolate!

I remember the MASSIVE coconut eggs which my grandmom Rahilly always had on her table.

I remember just spending the day with my family enjoying the freedom to worship and the freedom in Christ which has set me free.

Once we had children, I remember the fun of making up baskets and doing Easter Egg hunts.

I remember the chore of finding clothes and then having professional pictures taken to justify the cost of the clothes. :-)

I remember the year I hosted Easter at my house on mill road and made cheese fondue with ham and I was the only one who enjoyed it.

I remember 4 years ago when Easter was a few days after Teagan was born and I had just returned home from the hospital.

This year: I am on bedrest. After 2 months of a somewhat confusing and undiagnosed injury, I have, they think, a torn shoulder muscle and a misplaced rib. Around the clock pain meds, make me loopy and unable to drive. Mandatory rest and no use of my arm, makes me unable to care for my family as I normally would. However, this Easter, I have had the privilege taking time to pray. I have opened the window and felt the breeze and listened to the birds sing their praises. I have watched the flowers open and demonstate the beauty which God has given us here on earth. I have listened to the beautiful sounds of my children playing outside. I have watched in amazement as the meals and help have poured into my home. The family of God has been to me the hands and feet of Jesus ministering to me in my time of need.

What a Saviour, we serve. The amazing sacrifice he made by taking my sins and dying on the cross to allow me access to heaven and the right to be called a daughter of the kingdom is really unfathomable. And in addition, he surrounds us with beauty, with singing, with children who have faith like no other, and His Spirit moves within us enabling us to serve one another.

I am humbled. I am convicted. I am saved! Around me is pain and confusion. Around me is strife and discontent. This world is fighting against the very creator who made made us and offers His free salvation. BUT: my soul is quiet within me. I am calm, resting, truly RESTING, in the arms of my Saviour.

So, what will I remember from this Easter? I suspect that I won't soon forget the inconvenience of being on bedrest with 4 children, or the unease I experience every time I take a pain pill, or the extreme pain I am in when it is time for my next dose. I hope I won't forget the beauty of the family of God serving one another and taking care of me and my family. BUT, what I really want to cherish in my heart from this Easter is the quiet I have experienced beforehand. The glory of the birds, the beauty of the flowers, the cool of the wind through my bedroom window. God has revealed himself to me this year in a way which I would not have experienced had I been going about my normal duties as a wife/mom/working woman.

While, I truly pray this bedrest and pain end soon, I am thankful for the time of rest and reflection. He is risen? Oh yes, He is risen, INDEED!

Happy Easter 2009,

Blessed to be woj, and momofkrit,
KT

finally happened and I need your help!

So we've joked about it for years now. My husband likes to push the envelope. He has taken on the judges, the courts, the state and he's usually won too. But we knew one of these times he would push too hard and find himself in contempt.

Yup, contempt and sent to jail!! I was silent when he called me and I finally told him to use the time wisely and try to find some good clients while he was there because there was no way I had the money to bail him out! :-)

So I packed up the kids, put some ice on my sore shoulder and we went to the Big House to visit him. He gave me the name of a good attorney to call and of course when I called Joe Shark, his office said he was away on Spring Break, fishing probably!

Here is where things stand right now. My hubby is scrounging for clients during yard time and I've got the kids counting change trying to collect enough money to make bail. If you feel inclined to help please send a few dollars in an envelope to the address listed below. Thank you for your support and I will keep you posted.

Bail Out Money
c/o Katie April Fool's Martin
123 Fooled-you Street
Laughing, PA 40109

Mom Quiz

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Kyle - I love you
Rhia -Sorry we don't have any food
Iain - Go do stuff for me
Teagan - Clean up the toy room

2. what makes mom happy?
Kyle - When she know we have a clean car/house
Rhia - When she takes a nap
Iain - When we clean up the toy room
Teagan - When I give her a kiss

3. What makes mom sad?
Kyle - When we don’t obey her
Rhia - When the house is not clean
Iain - She's never sad
Teagan - When we don't obey her

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Kyle - She doesn’t usually
rhia - she raps
Iain - She raps
Teagan - when she giggles me

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Kyle -Umm…a show off?
Rhia - I have no idea, little?
Iain - she liked playing

6. How old is your mom?
Kyle -53 no no no, 34
Rhia - 35
Iain - 35
Teagan - 35

7. How tall is your mom?
Kyle - 4 feet
Rhia - 5 feet, no I think 7 feet
Iain - 10 feet
Teagan - BIG

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Kyle - Be with us
Rhia - take naps
Iain - color
Teagan - lay down

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Kyle- Go to starbucks
Rhia - Take naps
Iain - work
Teagan - clean up the toy room

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Kyle -Giving me most of the money
Rhia - being funny
Iain - getting rich
Teagan - singing

11. What is your mom really good at?
Kyle - Baking
Rhia - coloring
Iain - cleaning
Teagan - doing the "puter" (computer)

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Kyle - Making good food that we like
Rhia - following instructions for the road - like maps
Iain - sports
Teagan - I don't know

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Kyle - Takes Talks to mrs. Baumann and rejoices when she gets a phone
Rhia -Helps the school
Iain - Helps the school
Teagan - dishes

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Kyle - Gross stuff
Rhia - quiche
Iain - chicken
Teagan - pizza

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Kyle - When she helps us
Rhia - I don't know
Iain - Because she's my mom
Teagan - she likes bears

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Kyle - Gray matter (ben 10 alien)
Rhia - sleeping beauty
Iain - Handy Manny
Teagan - Cinderella

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Kyle - Fight, argue and have fun.
Rhia - We talk and watch TV
Iain - Play games
Teagan - Go to sleep and take naps

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Kyle - We’re both humans and love each other.
Rhia - we both have red hair
Iain - We have the same skin
Teagan - We like McDonald's

19. How are you and your mom different?
Kyle - I’m a boy
Rhia - She likes different food than me
Iain - she has red hair and I don't
Teagan - I don't know

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Kyle - She takes care of us
Rhia - She says she does
Iain - She does stuff for me
Teagan - She makes me happy


21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Kyle - Anywhere, but is has to be with us.
Rhia - go to school
Iain - to the store, probably Walmart
Teagan - Pizza Hut

My baby

So...after arriving at the hospital on march 11, 2009, I was given a bed and heard the best words ever...WE'RE KEEPING YOU...I was so relieved. My baby was finally going to be born.
Epidural was great. Slept till morning. Hooked up the get me going drugs and then I met the DR. It was not my dr. but rather the on call lady. She was NOT nice. In fact, she was mean to me. She yelled at my Mom (who yelled back), and she told me I couldn't hold my baby's new bear (which I kept holding) and she told me to stop breathing the way I was breathing (which had helped me deliver 3 babies already). From that moment on, I relied on my nurses, my mom and my sister, and just trusted in God for the rest of my delivery.

Teagan Hope Anastasia Martin was born on March 11, 2005. She was around 8 pounds and somewhere between 19 and 21 inches long. It was early afternoon.

Here are the important details. SHE HAD BLACK HAIR! Uhh...there was no switching she hadn't left the room. How did my baby get black hair? My previous 3 babies had unmistakable red hair from birth on. How did the 4th come out so different?

A true blessing from God. The black hair was just the beginning of Teagan saying, hey I'm here and I'm different and I'm going to let you know that I am here. She is wonderful. Her personality is so charming, and her love of life is contagious. Unless she is hurt, that girl always has a smile on her face. She was the easiest baby and she slept through the night at 8 weeks. My other kids didn't sleep through the night till after they were 1. She didn't walk till she was almost 2 and she didn't talk till she was 3. But that child has completed our family in a way we never imagined. God was so good to send her to us and allow her to be so different and unique.

Teagan is the smile of our family. I pray that she will grow into a woman of God who is always able smile and is able to share her joy with others.

So Very Blessed to be,
MomofTeags,
KT

Teagan is 4

We started the day by heading to her favorite spot:

STARBUCKS...she loves the buck. When she was a baby, I used a trip to starbucks as my escape. I'd grab the baby and head out for a break. When you have other kids, taking the baby with you is a break. Go figure.

After a drink and a snack we headed to Build-A-Bear. While she has a bear, she was just a baby when she "built" it. Just Teags and Mommy building her bear! Wow...we had fun. She immediately picked the panda and quickly chose the outfit to match.

Step on the pump and fill the bear. Add a heart and sow it up. We love build-a-bear!

After we got our new bear, Julie, we stopped by those rides in the middle of the mall. I've entitled this picture WOW...they move! You see, I never put money in these things so she didn't really know they move. (Hey, at 75 cents a pop, I can't afford to let all the kids ride on these things!)

Another specialty...a normal size cookie from the food court WITH a princess castle on it. (IF we get cookies, I get the buy 3 get 1 free of the mini size!)

Then off to school where we had a party with her friends!

After a delicious meal at her favorite restaurant, McDonald's, we headed home to open gifts. Thanks for the book Iain!.

Sisters, Sisters, Rhia gave her a Max and Ruby DVD. It doesn't get any better than that!

My big brother, Kyle. She loves her big brother. Kyle gave her the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse book!!

My precious babies.

Blessed momofkrit,

KT

March 11, 2005 Part 1

Baby Teagan just an hour old. Don't I look amazing for just having given birth! Got to love modern day deliveries.

March 11, 2005 Part 2

Ok, ok so I'm the half/awake one in the back and the beautiful lady holding my baby is my sister Erin. The other beautiful lady is my mom who is holding Aubrie who was 3 at the time. Rhia was 3 and Iain was almost 2. Kyle is sitting on a bed reading...shocking...he was 5. The handsome guy is my great hubby!

sorry, no beds

YIKES!!!!

4 years ago today I woke very early and very excited to have a baby. I'd been waiting for 9 months for this day. My induction had been scheduled a month earlier and the bags were packed, the nursery was ready, the kids were taken care of, the relatives were in town, and I WAS READY!

So at 6:00 am, I'm dressed with make-up on, my nails done, and my hair fixed. And I waited.....and waited...check the directions...."PLEASE BE READY BY 6:00am. THE LABOR AND DELIVERY ADMISSIONS OFFICE WILL CALL YOU WHEN IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO COME IN. so I waited...and paced...and waited...started to worry. After all, I'm 9 months pregnant and ready to get this baby out! Oh, and by the way...I'm hungry and can't eat.

8:00 I give up and called... just to check. Sure enough, I was on the list and they would call me when they were ready for us to come in.

9:00 still waiting...still pregnant... and still hungry...

10:00 THE PHONE RINGS! "Mrs. Martin, I'm sorry but there are no beds available today. We have moved you to the list for tomorrow. Please follow the same directions you received for today's scheduled induction. Have a nice day."

HAVE A NICE DAY???

Let me ask you... Exactly what is a 9 months pregnant lady supposed to do on the day of her scheduled induction when the induction will now not take place? Seriously, I've already done the false labor get sent home from the hospital thing 2 days before. How can I wait till tomorrow morning to even get started on this delivery process? I thought I was going to meet my baby today...

That was a long day. A very long day. My Mom and sister Amy were great at keeping me occupied. I still remember walking through T.J.Maxx trying to stay busy and glaring at the people who looked at me and were pointing. After all, this was my 4th baby and I was full term. Large doesn't really describe it and waddle is a nice description of my gait. After shopping, we went to Wendy's. I ordered chili and asked for several extra hot sauce packets to add to my lunch. They say spicy helps! Then that afternoon, I added a few drops of the desperate woman's guide to induce labor: blue cohosh. There was NO way I was going to not make it into that hospital the next day.

That afternoon with spices and blue cohosh and raspberry tea swirling in my stomach I crawled into my bed to try to sleep away some of the long hours till 6:00 am. By evening my plan had worked. I was contracting! Yeah...I was really having contractions!!! Between 8:00 and midnight I had contractions and tucked my kids into bed and called Miss Lindsay to come and help.

At midnight I called the dr...and we all crawled into the car headed for the hospital. This time, with contractions coming and my induction scheduled in less than 8 hours I was determind that 1 of those beds WOULD BE MINE!!! Finally this very long day that was supposed to be my child's birthday had passed.

momofkri,
KT

random

One of these days I'm going to write down all my grand thoughts on my 3 week break from life.

Ok so as for today:
*Tonight, Rhia went with her grandparents to Crosslands (a retirement home) for a monthly Vespers service. They sing songs and tell a Bible Story and do various other things. Tonight Rhia actually said her poem for all the older people at Vespers! I am so proud of her.

*Yesterday, the kids were putting on a play. Rhia was the director for a change. (I'm not sure where Kyle was or how Rhia managed to be the director.) Anyway, she was trying to convince Iain to participate and it wasn't working. She finally suggested that Iain could be a shark. Iain looked somewhat interested, but when Rhia said that he could be a shark that scared Teagan, Iain took off like lightening. What is it about little boys and scaring their sisters.

Proud moment: tonight the kids all got a special treat from their grandparents. Kyle - skittles. Rhia - peanuts, Iain - peanuts, Teagan - a pacifier lolipop. Teagan, who is in a growth spurt and keeps tripping, and dropping things, and missing the potty because she doesn't recongnize her own body, dropped her lolipop and it broke into pieces on the floor. Immediately the tears erupted from her eyes and the cries came from her mouth. Rushing to support her were ALL 3 SIBLINGS! Kyle immediately started helping her clean up the mess. Iain and Rhia both rushed in offering pieces of their candy to replace Tegan's great loss.

Wow...once in a while my kids will do something that makes my heart melt and shows me that my kids do love each other and at least some of what I am teaching them is getting through. Praise God!

I worked for the first time today in 3 weeks. I'm pooped and grumpy and hurting and want to go to bed but know I won't get comfortable...so...I'm blogging instead. I think I'll go raid my frig for some very yummy leftovers from all the delicious meals friends have brought for us. Of course that won't help me fit into my pretty purple bridesmaid dress in August. Oh..the age old dilema...to eat or not to eat....

Pondering,
momofkrit,
KT

Kyle does Fine Arts

In traditional form, Kyle performed his poem at Fine Arts this year with passion, and clarity. This is his 3rd year reciting a poem for the annual Fine Arts Festival at Tall Oaks Classical School. For a child who loves the stage, this particular requirement comes quite naturally for Kyle. Still, each year the poems increase in difficulty and and length and require more stage presence and better articulation and performance skill. This year he recited Armies in the Fire by Robert Louis Stevenson. A tough poem to bring to life, but he did a great job!

Proud momofkyle.,
KT

Rhia does Fine Arts

Little Miss Rhia, so shy, so quiet...YOU GO GIRL.
This is the girl that managed to get through the entire first year of preschool without talking. During her second year of preschool she actually talked a few times.
In kindergarten she learned to stand tall and actually speak words out loud. She did really well and was a great leader. This year was a big step for her. At the ripe old age of 7 she was asked to memorize a 90 word poem and recite it on a stage with a microphone in front of an audience!!

She memorized The Swing by Robert Louis Stevenson. She did a great job. You may not understand every word, and you may not be overwhelmed with her stage presence, and you may not say she has a future in public speaking; but you can't deny that this girl has overcome many of her fears and has accomplished a great feat!!

Proud momofrhia,
KT