Big Firsts

Well, we've had some big "first" events this last week.

First, Jacey started school! She is loving Kindergarten. She is in a good routine of getting up, practicing the piano, and then getting ready for school. Here is a picture of the outfit she chose for her first day - love the color coordination ;) - and her getting onto the bus for the first time...





Her friend is our neighbor next door, who also started kindergarten and ended up with the same teacher!



Janae started reading several new words too. She knows CAT, but now with the help of a new easel with magnetic letters (thanks Grandma Lemon!), we put together other -AT words like MAT, BAT, FAT, RAT, etc... She's so excited to start her preschool group tomorrow! Here are some pictures of her enjoying the easel...





One of her favorite activities is to paint!



Eric is crawling!!! I could tell he was just dying to be mobile, and now he's pretty content crawling around and getting into places Mom doesn't want him to be! Just tonight, he was playing a game with me. I would peek around the corner, and then he would crawl away laughing as he went. It was pretty darn cute! Here are some cute pictures of him... This is him crawling



And these are some cute faces to melt your heart!







Oh, and the girls went riding horses this weekend too. Here is Jacey, and Janae...in that order





Giddy-up cowgirls!

Another funny

So, the other day we were waiting at the bank's drive-thru window. I was busy filling out a deposit slip, and Janae was talking away. Finally she asked, "Mom, can we watch a movie when we get home?" I said, "No." Then Janae (with a BIG sigh beforehand) says, "(sigh) My temper is losing!" :) As I was trying not to laugh outloud, I was humbly reminded that I must choose my words VERY carefully! :)

The Hurricane

Since moving to the DC area, we've experienced tornadic weather, blizzards, earthquakes (yes, two of them), and now, a major hurricane. Why do you all keep asking for us to move back to the west?...we're the ones who live in an exciting part of the country!!! :)

We fared pretty well during hurricane Irene. Our power went out about 3 times in the middle of the night, but came on within a few minutes each time. Even the kids slept through the whole thing. Dane and I went out on the porch at about midnight so that we could say we "experienced" the hurricane. Then at 2:00 we woke up with the wind howling pretty constantly. I didn't dare go out on the porch this time! I couldn't sleep for quite a while. Later after checking the news, it showed Germantown having gusts up to 63 mph! It was kind of fun/creepy/interesting/unnerving all at the same time. I told Dane that if there were another hurricane in our lifetime, much bigger than this one, we would pack up and head out! Gratefully we're all safe and sound - including our van! :)

Jacey will start school tomorrow. She and Janae received a father's blessing tonight from Daddy. It was a memory I will always treasure! It will be weird having a schedule to keep each day, and I'm predicting that Janae will become bored quickly. I'm looking forward to some more one on one time with her. Eric is almost crawling. Tonight he got his arms and one of his legs going. Once he gets the other, he's going to be one happy champ!

Thanks for all your prayers on our behalf! Have a great last week of August!

Bloggers please...

Hi family and friends,
As you can see, I'm trying to update my blog. I have a few blog addresses, but I lost many of them when our computer was down. Could you please send me your blog address so that I can include the link in my own blog?
Thanks!

A funny

Here's something to make you laugh. At dinner the other night Janae was putting water in her cheeks, making them puff up a little. Then she said "Mom, I drank like a chicken-monk" (a.k.a. chipmunk)! :)

An update - finally!

Hello! We're back! I thought you might like to see some updated pictures of the family. Enjoy!!

The first picture is of Eric's baby blessing day. Note the beautiful trees in the background
There's one of Janae eating an ice cream cone - the tricky way.
Jacey has a noteable gap in her teeth from losing both of her bottom teeth during our vacation week.
There's one of all the kids in yellow - my three sweet lil' lemons!
And of course, our growing buddy boy, Eric.

Exceeding my expectations

Okay, once again, Eric has exceeded my expectations. I took him for his check-up the other day, and I was estimating his weight to be somewhere close to 15 pounds (maybe 14 lbs. 7-10 oz.) Well, he weighed 15 lbs. 9 oz.! No wonder my arms are getting pretty buff! He's doing great in every way - such a cute little chunk!