Recap

Technically, a recap implies a, well, a “cap” (I don’t think that’s actually a word but pretend like it is, and that it means “an initial telling of a story”.). So since I haven’t been blogging lately, I guess this couldn’t really be a recap, but more like the Reader’s Digest version of the last few months. So (deep breath) here goes:

Matthew was suspended from school for a day for threatening to kill a little girl at school. Yeah. That was a fun day. And then they moved our next ARD up from end of May to RIGHT NOW (actually was a week or so ago) and we had to decrease the amount of time Matthew spends with his class, which is not a good thing, but necessary. And that’s all I have to say about that.

My sister-in-law, Meredith, lost her mother a little more than a week ago to a very aggressive brain tumor. Meredith has been as solid as a rock through it all, which has been very awe-inspiring to me. I don’t know how you lose your mother with so much grace, but she has done it.

Tomorrow will be the 3 month mark from the day my aunt Susie left her earthly shell for her permanent home in Heaven. Still can’t wrap my brain around that. I just know that I miss her terribly, and wish to goodness I could see her one last time. I know I will see her again but there are days when I am overwhelmed with how much we all need her now.

Actually, aside from the sadness in our family, life has been pretty fast-paced and we have spent the last few months just racing to keep up with all the end-of-school activities and such. For instance, last week Samuel graduated from Preschool:

Samuel's graduation Day

Graduation Party

And we had a little party to celebrate. Obviously it was a pretty casual party. My other two boys protested that we didn’t do that when THEY graduated from preschool (like they remember) but I had to admit that actually, we didn’t. Because they weren’t my youngest baby about to fly the nest…from preschool to Kindergarten! Okay, so it’s irrational. It’s only going to get worse so better get used to it.

Mother's Day Pic

Necklace

Prior to that, there was Mother’s Day. I had a great day hanging out with all my boys. Peter gave me the necklace you see pictured above. The Fourth Grade made one for each of the mothers! Isn’t it adorable?!! I wear it all the time. Also, Brad bought us all lunch, and then the boys all went together and bought me the gift I asked for, which was a really big piggy bank used to collect all the loose change I find around the house. This piggy, however, is for a specific purpose – the puppy fund!!! Yes, you heard me, we are getting a puppy! Not just any puppy, but a Vizsla/Weimaraner mix. The reason we want that particular mix of breed is due to this sweetheart:

Daisy

I’ve never loved a dog as much as I love sweet Daisy, my parent’s dog. I know that it’s only partly because she is so smart and sweet (the other part is because she has been such a great companion for my parents), but there are so many positives about her breed.

She is a big dog. We agreed before we were ever married that if we ever had a dog, it would be a big dog. Like a Lab.
She has a very menacing bark and is extremely protective – but has never bitten anyone or even come close.
She is truly the smartest dog I’ve ever been around. I keep trying to think of examples and for the moment, they’ve all flown from my brain. But I guess what impressed me the most was that she was house-trained with very little effort. When she needs to go out, she goes and stands by my mom and gets a particular look on her face. My mom says “You need to go out?” and if she does, she heads to the door and waits patiently for my mom. When she’s done, she comes back to the door and barks – one bark – to let them know she’s ready to come back in. If they don’t come after a few minutes, she goes to a different door and barks again.
She has short hair and hardly sheds.
She’s big – I think around 100 pounds – but will still jump up into my dad’s lap and stay there as long as he lets her. Such a sweetheart.

Okay, so here is a pic of the last litter the breeder had by the same two parents:

Puppy

Isn’t she adorable??? We already have claimed our puppy – she was the only female in the litter – but she’s just a week or two old so we haven’t seen a picture of her. We will be able to go pick her up about the middle of June, when she’s six weeks old, and then watch out! Because this blog will probably be more about the dog than my kids! At least for a while.

Pillow Pets

Oh yes, there was Easter. We spent the weekend with my family in College Station but had a little egg hunt at home before we left. Only it was a total surprise. I walked around with this big bag over my shoulder hiding Easter Eggs – some of which had clues in them that led them to these Pillow Pets. They had a blast and I think the Pillow Pets have been one of the best gifts I have ever bought them. Who knew? I didn’t even know what a Pillow Pet was until I was at the mall one day and they saw a kiosk with them and went bananas. Apparently they had seen them on TV.

Aggie Game

Then we went to College Station where we couldn’t spend the weekend without taking in some sort of sporting event! This time, it was an Aggie Baseball Game at Olsen Field. I hadn’t sat in those bleachers nigh unto twenty years. It was as much fun as ever!

The Jenkins

We sat next to the Jenkins and Meredith is sitting in the row behind, chatting with Bethany. Dad was there but not in this pic. That girl there – the one with the cheesy smile – she’s going to a student at A&M in just a few short years. I really can’t believe how time flies.

Samuel at Big Church

Speaking of time flying, did I mention Samuel graduated from Preschool this week? Oh yeah. Well he has also started sitting with us in “big” church (as opposed to staying in his Sunday School class for the second hour). So now we have all 3 boys with us in the service. Again, hard to believe this day has arrived.

Alamo

Don’t know if I mentioned it, but earlier this year, Peter had to build a replica of the Alamo. It was a big project worth quite a percentage of his grade, and he and his daddy put a LOT of effort into it. In fact, the funny part of this story (if you are anyone but Brad) is that the only points the teacher counted off were for “parent involvement” – as in, too much. I guess it looked too good to be the work of a Fourth Grader.

Mr. President - Take One

So when the next project came due – this time to build a famous Texan from an empty Coke bottle – Brad and I were very hands off. And this was what he built (see above). Only I couldn’t stand it so I stepped in and fired up my glue gun and we ended up with this:

Mr. President - Take Two

You may be wondering who this famous Texan is…why it’s George W. Bush, of course! We haven’t gotten the grade back yet but I’m pretty sure parent involvement won’t be an issue this time.

Finally, I couldn’t end this post without a funny story about the kids.

The other day, the boys were riding scooters to school and Samuel stops to take a break. As I walk up next to him, I see him digging around in his shorts pocket, until he is able to pull out a container of mints that he has apparently brought with him. Dumbfounded I ask why he brought mints along (mind you, it’s not even 8 am). His answer? “In case I need to freshen up!”

Of course.