Back to School

Whew, I made it before the end of the month!
September 28, 2010

The school year is finally in full swing. Mark’s trudging through his “managerial accounting” course which is requiring a tremendous amount of individual and group work. He’s learning and can envision the applications, but coming from a purely health care background, the concepts are a bit complicated and certainly foreign to him.

Both of the kids are at Mother’s Day Out one day a week. I’ve been impressed with the preschool program where I feel Lydia is being challenged and provided with unique learning and development opportunities such as individualized computer time plus a whole lot of fun and love (she’s been such a “hugger” this year!)

Lydia is also attending preschool two days a week in the 3-year-old class with “Franklin’s Friends.” The atmosphere there is so warm and caring and she has a blast with her buddies.

Tobias is the shocker above all shockers. When I dropped him off the first day he said, “Bye mom, I love you.” And I walked out. That was it. No tears. No screaming. No reaching for me while wailing. Polar opposite of last year. His teachers LOVE him as he is the in-class entertainment. He provides songs at lunch (ABC’s, Happy and you Know It, Happy Birthday…) and disciplines the other kids at naptime (“Lay down. Be quiet. Listen to the music. It’s time to sleep.”) After giving out those instructions, he does follow them himself and naps well there. It’s such a blessing that he so enjoys and is enjoyed.

The kids also got haircuts last week. Lydia got hers chopped and it was Toby’s first one. They did amazingly well. See the smiles?
Lydia before...



We’ve had some great fall outings including an afternoon at Wheaton Regional Park with Grammy & Papa at the carousel & train ride,


Celebrating G-pa’s birthday with a picnic & creek-walking (and fish-catching!)

Apple picking,

Cheering on daddy in his first Sprint Triathlon. He came in 2nd in his age group and 9th overall. We’re so proud of our hero!




We also spent a bitter-sweet day with Mark's whole family celebrating lots of birthdays, but also bidding farewell to Laura and Nick who will be moving overseas for a few years. They accompanied us to the park where we shared lovely frivolity on the carousel and train, laughing at the kids, and chatting about life. We sure will miss them, particularly upon remembering days like this…



And some sweetness in our lives…

• Lydia sang me this original song to me at dinner this month:
“You look beautiful.
You look precious.
You look wonderful every day.

I love your heart.
I love you the way you are.”

• The pretend play in our house is developing at rapid speeds, particularly on Toby’s end. A couple weeks ago he “dipped” us ice cream from the top of the banister and delivered all sorts of flavors to us. Yesterday he had a whole imaginary playtime at breakfast with the “fish” in his empty cereal bowl. And at dinner, caught "fish" (ice cubes) out of his water cup requesting that we "say goodbye" to the fishies as he crunched them. The kids are coordinating their imaginations in a much more civilized, peaceful manner. Music to my ears.

Life'e moving along at rapid speeds. I'm thankful for this reflection on God's blessings and faithfulness. Praise Him with me! :)