Matthew's Trip to Africa

Ok, you've probably guessed that Matt didn't really get on a plane and goto Africa. This was something fun that happened in Sunday School a couple weeks ago. They were learning about how God always with us eerywhere we go. Well Matt decided that God would be with us in Africa. So he lined up chairs in a row, with each chair facing the one in front of it, like a train. He sat in the front seat as the conductor and anounced they were going to take the train to Africa. Well all his classmates loved it and piled on the chairs behind him. After a couple minutes their teacher asked where else they could go that God would be with them. Matt gave each child a turn to drive the train and off they went (with God!) to places like the zoo, the carnival and grandma's house. And while he wasn't the conductor, Matt sat on his teacher's lap. She was really touched by this because she said he hasn't been willing to do that before. He is improving so much!

Also did I mention that I officially registered Matthew for kindergarten? Yep I turned in all his paperwork and got him schedule for his screening in August. Our district brings in each new kindergartener to see what they know already so they can make up classes that are balanced rather than having one class full of kids that are having trouble learning the alphabet and one class full of kids that are reading already. It's so hard to believe that my baby is going to school in the fall!! The kids are growing up just so fast!! Matthew does drive me crazy fairly frequently but I have loved having time alone with him this year while the other kids are in school. I love how creative he is becoming. He enjoys playing pretend and will gather action figures and ask me to play pretend with him. It's fun hearing what he comes up with.

He and David are also starting to play together nicely. Poor David has been sortof left out the past couple years. The girls share a room and play together really well (usually) and David tended to be the odd man out. But now I am loving watching he and Matthew wrestle, sword fight and play chase together. I think Dave (he likes to be called Dave, not David these days) likes having a chance to be in charge. When all the kids play together, Rose is always in charge; she thinks up the games and directs how things go. So playing with Matthew is a great chance for Dave to be creative and do what he wants.

In other news, the kids got report cards kindof recently. I can't remember if I mentioned this or not. Rose came home with all A's again. Yeah!!! She is very creative and imaginative and enjoys art class and math.

David came home with very positive comments on his report card. He doesn't get letter grades yet so it's kindof hard to really tell you how he's doing. His teacher commented that he is very creative and very sweet. She enjoys reading what he writes about because he has a great imagination.

Rachel also had a great report card. Her teacher said that Rachel likes to write poetry and read books but has trouble sitting still for at-her-desk work. For anyone who knows Rachel at all, you won't be surprised to read that. She has more energy than almost anyone I know and is continually bouncing and jumping around at home. If I had a dime for every time I've told her to stop jumping on the couch I'd be a rich woman!

As you can tell (if you're still reading this anyway) I LOVE MY KIDS and am tremendously proud of them!!!!

Matthew's "Bed"

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but Matthew sleeps on the couch. He's been sleeping on the couch for at least a year. Possibly 2, but I don't remember exactly. This was originally his idea and since he was good about actually sleeping and not wandering around the house, we let him sleep there. We figured it was a phase he'd outgrow. Recently we got rid of the bunkbeds in the boys room and installed an actual twin bed. The bunk beds were really old and didn't have a proper mattress so they weren't too comfortable to sleep on. David loves having a bed to sleep on! But it's just 1 bed, so now Matthew is stuck sleeping on the couch indefinitely. I was feeling guilty about that until we visited my parents last week and spent the night with them.

They have a 3-bedroom house so Phil and I get a room, 1 kid sleeps on an air mattress in my parents' room and 3 kids share a room. The kids' room has a double bed so 2 share the bed and 1 gets another air mattress on the floor. So Thursday after we arrived the usual fight began over who would sleep where. Everyone wanted to sleep on an air mattress in grandma and grandpa's room. There were fights, drama, tears and pleading worthy of an Oscar nomination! But finally we settled it all. Matthew ended up on the bed alone with Rose in a sleeping bag on the floor and David on an air mattress. Rachel was the birthday girl so she got to sleep in grandma and grandpa's room. We thought Matthew would be excited since he usually sleeps on the couch at home. He was in an actual bed! Little did we know what would happen next. . .

So after reading stories and making sure each kid had a pillow, blanket and the appropriate stuffed animals required for sleeping, we got them settled down. 20 minutes later as we grownups were collapsed on the couch, Matthew came out complaining that the bed wasn't comfortable. He wanted to sleep on the couch instead! So we tucked him in on the living room couch and he fell right to sleep! I just had to laugh! But at least I don't have to feel guilty that he doesn't have a bed at home. Apparently he prefers the couch, even when a bed is available :-)

It's Me Again!

So I was working on MOPS stuff earlier today, making plans for a leadership training day I'm helping coordinate in Columbus and Cleveland. And while I worked I was mentally thinking about what to write on my Facebook status. Yep, I'm a Facebook junkie! But as I thought back over my day today, I realized there was too much to include in a Facebook status. Hence, my return to my blogging. Not that I'm gonna go through everything that's been happening in our lives the past 2 months.

So how are we doing? Well it's been 8 months since Phil lost his job and there is nothing on the horizon. He has had a couple interviews in the past 6 weeks or so, which is more than he had most of last fall. Unfortunately the companies decided to hire someone else. Phil is getting frustrated and a bit desperate to find a job. He says he's tired of being at home all the time and I can't blame him. I remember how tough it was for me to transition to being a stay-at-home mom after Rose was born. Anyway please keep praying for us for a job. Life is just really stressful for us right now. We are still getting unemployment, which helps, but doesn't pay all the bills.

The kids are doing great though. In fact, it was today and them that prompted me to blog. Report cards came out today. So I just have to brag a bit here. Rose got all A's again, just like in the fall. Her teacher commented that she is "a learning sponge" and eagerly learns everything she can. That's my girl! She loves math, which she obviously gets from her father, because that was my least favorite subject in school, next to science.

David also did really well, although it's harder to quantify since they don't start giving letter grades until 4th grade. He is an eager learner, likes to read and is very creative. His teacher says he writes very interesting and creative stories. Unfortunately they don't always make sense. Personally I think that his brain moves so fast that he can't get it down on paper quick enough to make sense.

Rachel also got very good comments from her teachers. She is reading very well, spells excellently and enjoys writing poetry. Her teacher said that Rachel is having trouble working quietly at her seat though, which doesn't surprise me in the least. She is a bundle of energy. She never walks when she can run, never runs when she can jump or bounce. She leaps on people, gives giant, squishy hugs and loves to tackle and wrestle her big brother.

And speaking of Rachel, she turned 7 today!! I can't even believe my baby girl is 7 already! She has grown up so fast. Tonight we went over to celebrate her birthday with Phil's parents. Mom cooked pizza and got a cake. It was so WONDERFUL to hang out with them and to not have to clean my house. Tomorrow we are headed to Sunbury to see my parents and celebrate Rachel's birthday with them. Then on Friday the kids are out of school so we're taking a trip to see my grandma. She's 95 now and we want to see her while we can.

Well that's enough of an update for now. It's getting late and I'm getting tired. Good night all!