The Graduate!

Isn't he the cutest little graduate!

This has been a rough year for my sweet Preston. To start off, he started school in Portland in September. It was only "half day" but it was more like "we'll babysit your kids for a couple hours and send them back". 8:30 to 11 am was a total joke. Not to mention he NEVER had any homework of any kind. I had to come up with my own homework for him. I think the last thing Preston needs is me in charge of his higher learning! :)

Right before we moved, I had a parent/teacher conference with Preston's teacher. She told me that he's doing really good....a little behind in his reading and sight words but he's catching up really fast. Okay. Sounds good.

Fast forward to our move to Arizona. We get him enrolled in his current school, which we have to drive 20 minutes to get to since we were living with Erik's sister for awhile, and he's immediately at a disadvantage. Not only is it a full day, which I love by the way, but they started in August....a full month before Preston. But I was told that he was doing good, right?

Wrong. The second day he was there, his teacher comes up to me and says "I'm concerned". Uh-oh. She then proceeds to tell me that he's not even registering on any level. He doesn't know anything. Now I feel like a total failure as a parent but I'm also ticked at his teacher in Portland. What the heck was all this talk about doing great and catching up?

Okay. Get over it and work on the problem. Preston then had homework every night. Books sent home with him. A lot of tears of frustration. A lot of high-fives for his successes. One very sad call from school begging me to come and get him. So many prayers for him.

It's hard to watch your child struggle and all you can do is push and pray.

At the end of the year all the kids are given a test to see where they are for the next year. We were all nervous. Me, Erik, Preston, and his teacher. He took the test.

Here we have Preston starting school not even registering at any level in reading, phonograms, and sightwords to not only surpassing the benchmark in all the areas but scoring the highest in recognizing phonograms! We were all so excited!

Preston has worked so hard and came so far in such a short amount of time. He's reading so well is doing first grade work like a pro!

Congratulations Preston! You are a force to be reckoned with and you have proven that there isn't anything you can't do!

Bryce's "Friends"

So Bryce has a few "friends". I'm not opposed to Bryce having his "friends" but they can be a very bad influence at times.

Like when I ask him to clean up his room and his "friends" decide to take all the clothes out of drawers and mix them with dirty clothes and then jump in and throw clothes around.

Or when I hear Makayla crying. There is no explanation other than "Bryce being mean" and Bryce saying his "friends" did it.

Or maybe when I find him in the family room with DVDs and video games scattered around because his "friends" want to watch something.

They even make Bryce hit kids in his primary class sometimes.

Do you want to meet these "friends"?

Here's Bryce with his "friends". What? You want to see them up close? Okay.

Meet Tenney. He is skin colored, mischievous, short spider.


Meet Razey. He is also a skin colored, mischievous, short spider. He is Tenney's twin.


I'm hoping these twins move away soon.

For You

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.

I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;

so I love you because I know no other way in which there is no I or you;

so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand;

so intimate that when you fall asleep it is my eyes that close.

~Pablo Neruda

Happy 8th Anniversary. I love you!

31

That's right. Erik turned the ripe old age of 31. And let me tell you I poured my heart and soul into this cake. Can't you tell by my awesome cake decorating/bakery skills? :)



And the kids got really into buying him presents. They put a lot of thought into what Dad should have. And this is what they came up with:

Makayla said "Numenem's". I had to translate but I think I got it right.


A blue tie from Preston.


And Bryce HAD to get him this Star Wars t-shirt. I think it was more for Bryce than Erik.

Happy Birthday Erik! Know that this little family loves you more than anything!