Thanksgiving

My baby boy is Four Years Old, November 19, 2007

Travel Back in Time with Me. (Grab tissues if you need to. I know I did.)

Jonathan, 3 Years Old! This was the year we celebrated football style. This boy loves to play ball, and he is incredibly coordinated for his age (always has been.) He's a left footed kicker and left handed thrower, but writes right handed.

Jonathan, 2 Years Old (Clifford the Dog, Kaitlin was Emily Elizabeth.) This was the year of the John Deere birthday party. It was his first West Texas birthday, and he was in awe of all the big green tractors!

One year old - My Rootin' Tootin' Cowboy!

My beautiful baby boy. This was at 2 weeks old. I love this picture because he is looking right at me. He has always been his mama's boy. I am truly the luckiest mother in the world.

This is after Charles cut the umbilical cord. This picture literally takes my breath away. Isn't new life incredible!

Charles actually delivered Jonathan. It was the most amazing experience of my life. I shouted, "It's A Boy!"

She has always been such a sweet big sister. I think I was about 8 months here.


Jonathan's First Sonogram Picture.

Thank you God for these past four years. I am infinitely blessed by this child. He fills my life with kisses and cuddles and laughter. He wants to rub my feet when I've had a bad day, and he asks his daddy to leave so that we can have a date. He melts my heart in a way that only his daddy before him has done. The way that he loves and gives has taught me to love and give better, and I thank God for him every single day.

Please forgive the poor scans. I am still looking for his actual 2 year old picture. I can't find his John Deere album.

Charlie Brown Skating Party

Couple Skate

Michael and Erin




Birthday Boy with Dad!



Make A Wish!



Having So Much Fun



Michael and Erin Skunk



Three Cool Girls!










Kaitlin and Jonathan before the party! So excited!







Dad, tying the balloons!







The Charlie Brown Cake.







The Birthday Boy!







Mommie and Jonathan







Saturday we had Jonathan's Charlie Brown Skating party. Here are a few pictures. Today (his actual birthday) he has fever and he's throwing up. Say a little prayer that he will get well very soon.

Sick Baby Girl

Kaitlin now has what her daddy had...fever, sore throat, headache, upset tummy, chills. Poor thing. She's had a nice shower, some sprite and lots of snuggle time, and I think she is starting to feel a little better at least.
I had to call in to work, because Tuesday is Charles' all day (and evening) school day. We've been reading from one of our American Girl books - Emily.
Send some prayers for her today. Also, let's pray that Jonathan and I don't get it. I don't want to miss anymore work if it can be helped at all. Charles is still not back to his regular self either.

Fun Family Weekend

Kaitlin's Thanksgiving Placemat.

Jonathan making a Christmas Tree ornament.

Kaitlin making a gingerbread man ornament.




A true Wild Indian



Fringing her Feather






My turkey place mat.



Jonathan's turkey placemat. (I took these with my point and shoot, and they didn't come out very well, sorry.)



Well it was a Fun Family Weekend for most of us anyway. Charles ran fever Thursday-Saturday. He's doing much better, but now he has the cough. Poor guy. Say prayers as he tries to finish strong this semester.






Friday night for family game night, we made Thanksgiving placemats and Squanto Indian headbands. (Poor dad moaned in the bed).






Saturday we went to a Christmas crafts show, went to Wally World to get supplies for Jonathan's party Saturday, to the Dollar Store to pick up items for Operation Christmas Child and then to a Paint Your Own Pottery Place (all with our friend Sue). (Charles laid in the bed at home and moaned.) The pottery place (which Sue introduced us to) was really fabulous. The kids each painted an ornament and I painted a vase. I took a picture of each kid at the first and then we were having so much fun, I never thought to take anymore. We go back in a week to pick up our finished product (glazed and fired) and I'll take pictures then.





I want to go back for a date night with Charles. They have coffees and drinks and snacks (for a donation) and lots of ideas to choose from. The atmosphere is so family friendly. I highly recommend it, so if you'd like to go - shoot me an e-mail for more information. Sue is planning to take her church children's department there for their Christmas party. Great idea.





Next time we go, I'd like to make a "Special Plate". We have a tradition in our family that every once in a while someone will get the "special plate" which is a plate that is different from everyone else's. Whoever has the special plate gets told nice things by everyone else at the table. We usually go around the table and say at least one thing or we do "I like you because...I love you because...I admire you because..." It has really blessed our family. Its especially nice when someone obviously needs a lift. Come to think of it, we haven't set the special plate in a while, so I should do that tonight. Anyway, I'd like to paint a plate that actually says "Special Plate" along with phrases like "God made you special" "You are wonderful" etc.

All A Honor Roll

Kaitlin made the all A honor roll again this 6 weeks. She is also now Advanced Reader 2. Kaitlin is the only first grader to have recieved Advanced Reader, so it is a big deal for her. Advanced Reader is the last award she recieved last year (also the only Kindergartener to recieve it, obviously). Her goal this year is Star Reader - she is well on her way. Go K Go!

edited: I started to post her picture with her awards, but you can see her whole name in the picture. You'll just have to imagine.

Education

So if you are reading this and you are in college and you have no children....STAY THERE, FINISH, GO FORTH AND EDUCATE BEFORE YOU GO FORTH AND MULTIPLY.

That being said, I wouldn't change the order of how I did things for anything. My children are so amazing, and I wouldn't give for exactly who and what they are!!! I do have to acknowledge that I am doing things the hard way though. When Kaitlin was born, 7 years ago, I dropped out of school for the meaningful job of "stay at home mom" and I haven't regretted it. I started to go back at least part time when Kaitlin was a little older, but then sweet Jonathan came and (along with other reasons) we put it aside again. And again, no regrets there.

For the last year I have been attending school on line, not seeming to get any closer to that coveted degree! I have wanted to teach (and be a mommie) for as long as I can remember. I never answered "What do you want to be when you grow up?" with anything other than Teacher and Mom!

So here are some plans. I could complete my BS in General Studies. I only have about 40 hours left there. However, I would have to go back and do a post-bac program of some sort which would tack on an extra year (at least). I could finish up online at SFA which would take about 2 years. However, I recently found out that if I go through them, I cannot student teach locally (all the approved sites are in East Texas). I'm looking into one other program that might allow me to do part online and part on campus classes and student teach locally, but that program has not even started yet.

I am a stay at home mom with 1 1/2 years before my youngest goes to Kindergarten (which is when I would ideally student teach). I live 60 miles from the nearest University which makes commuting a difficult (although obviously not impossible) situation.

I am blogging all of this, because this is what has been weighing on my mind the past two weeks. This has been a difficult semester. Charles is taking 15 hours (15 tough hours, I might add). I am down to just spanish until th end of December. Charles is also a GA (and let's not forget the obvious - Full Time Pastor!) I have started working for the after-school program here in town which takes up more hours than you can imagine. I only work on the clock for 31/2 hours a day (5 days a week), but I work on lesson plans many more in addition to that. Me working has caused some fairly major adjustments for us...including wearing dirty clothes and brutalizing the environment with our paper and plastic ware! Charles and I are busier than we've ever been, and it is taking a toll on all of us. Even Kaitlin and Jonathan seem busier! There is only one month left in the semester. Surely we can make it.

The kids are both doing great! They've been champs about all the adjusting (for the most part). Kaitlin is whizzing through first grade. Her favorite books right now are the Ramona books and Katie Kazoo Switcheroo. She also re-reads Junie B. and Magic Tree House a lot even though she has finsihed those series. Jonathan is in Pre-K. I am doing that at home as I did for Kaitlin. He has mastered all his letter sounds (except U some days) and is moving ahead in reading readiness. He has recently started coloring in the lines which makes for some beautiful artwork. He does everything in Rainbow right now! HIs birthday is the 19th. He will be four. He requested a Charlie Brown party at the skating rink. It will be a lot of fun!

Mountain View

A friend of mine e-mailed this picture to me today. I didn't even know she had taken it. I just love this picture. The only problem is that I can't tell if that is me or my mom there with the kids. Hmmm.....
Didn't she take a great picture. I can't wait to see more of what she took Sunday. She is the one that did our family pictures last Christmas. We still have big 11X14's up in the living room from that!

Mentos and Diet Coke

Yep, it does explode.

Climbing A Mountain

Charles and Kaitlin hiking up the mountain. My two adventurers.
Charles about half way up the mountain with his walking stick.
K, J and me at the top. Jonathan rode in a really cool jeep to get to the top:).
Charles at the top! This man still takes my breath away, I tell you. (Even if we did get seperated on the mountain, and I panicked thinking he was hurt somewhere. No wonder - the man actually hoped to find a snake going up the mountain. He was even looking under rocks!)
Here's Kaitlin and Charles at the top! This was right out on the edge. Made me very nervous!!!
Sunday we hiked up this mountain with our youth group. To be honest, some might call this a very large hill with a gravel path, but it was still a feat (and it's technical name is Mountain). It was a beautiful view. I wish I had taken more pictures, but as Kaitlin said, "Mommy, you have been very brave for someone that is afraid of climbing and high things." She also said, "Mommy, I am braver than you at lots of things...six flags, getting on the roof, climbing a mountain." Lol. Yep, she's right! She is a very brave girl!
This was our adventure weekend. We also experimented with Mentos and Diet Coke. I'll try to load up some of those pictures later today. There are only two that aren't great, but it was fun:)
I haven't kept up with my blog very well lately. At a minimum, I am slightly overwhelmed with everything going on here at the Glidewell house. The semester will be over in one more month, and surely we will all survive that long!

Halloween Party at Kaitlin's School.

I took Kaitlin to lunch Wednesday- I was one safe old lady with two Power Rangers to rescue me in case of trouble;)