Playing Catch Up

Tomorrow we leave for a bit of a trip.  First, we're off to see our China friends (families we traveled with to China when we adopted Grace).  It'll be great--we love these families!  And, we're staying at a hotel.  With waterslides and a splash pad.

Then, we're staying in Gypsy Wagon outside of a castle.  But, there's heat.  And, it's a B&B, so it comes with a great breakfast.  And a private bathroom.

And, then, we're staying in a tipi.  On the ground.  Without even a toilet.  I'm not sure Bret knows about that last part, so I thought I should post a couple pictures and updates, just in case I end up dead left in the forest, you'll have some recent pictures until I return.

Grant
Grant continues to LOVE kindergarten.  I went for his parent-teacher conference tonight, and nothing came as a shock.  Grant is an exceptional reader (they want kids to exit kindergarten at a level C; Grant is already at a level I), but the drawing and coloring skills are so, so, SOOOOO weak.  They try to encourage story telling through drawing, as most kids aren't ready to write entire paragraphs, and you almost can't even tell what anything is on the page!  It looks like a bunch of crazy scribbling.  He has some really weak fine motor skills (and has to get some extra help in that area), so it's hard to know if these fine motor skills are the contributing factor to these pictures... or a bit of laziness (which Grant suffers from plenty).  But, he's expertly behaved, a fine little mathematician, and kind to his friends, so I think we're doing okay.

Just recently, he came home with an assignment based on the book Officer Buckle and Gloria, a book we have at home too (thanks, Kathy... I can read this book in my sleep).  The assignment was to write or to draw a family rule.  I asked Grant what others put on their paper.  He told me that many kids wrote about bike helmets, brushing teeth or washing hands.  Grant's paper read: Stay clear of sigarets (cigarettes).  He cracks me up!

Oh, and in case you didn't know, Grant is a tad bit near-sighted and sports these new specs!


Grace
Grace--is without question--the most helpful child God ever created.  She loves to help.  She will do anything I ask her to do, with a smile on her face, and a "I'd be glad to do that for you, Mommy" comment on the way.  I couldn't be more spoiled by such a hard worker, and my days will get infinitely more difficult when she heads off to kindergarten next year.

Grace loves preschool, and she is sooooo confident now that it's hard to believe.  She loves to talk to strangers, to run tasks for me all over town, and she does it all with seldom a whine!  She's something special, that one.  She spends most of her day coloring, painting, taping, cutting and doing other crafts.  She almost never plays with toys, as she's just too busy being crafty.  She self entertains for hours (the sheer opposite of Grant), and I almost feel guilty that I don't "plan" more for her to do!

She draws the cutest things (doors that walk, octopuses that juggle, and unlike her brother, I can tell what every single one of them is... well, okay, the door that was walking was tricky... because it looked--well, like a door walking).

Here are some pics of Grace from this mornings pumpkin patch field trip (it was soooooo cold that I wanted to cry, but I thought that made me look pretty weak in front of four-year-olds, so I held in the sobs).

Trent
Trent is one fussy baby--except for his mama, who he adores.  He's finally warming up to daddy, but everyone else in the known world can "take a hike" (and he'll give you the look to prove it).  He's the only child of mine where I am regularly greeted at the door to his childcare room (at church or BSF) with the "he had a rough morning" speech.  But, for me, he's pretty easy.  He just went to the doctor on Monday, and he's officially short, fat and big headed (percentiles: 34%, 65% and 80%, respectively).  But, he makes up for it all by being really cute and pretty darn sweet!

He has no tricks yet, and I think he's going to be slow to master the gross motor skills (sitting, rolling, crawling) like his big brother.  He loves his jumpy thing and exersaucer for a bit (not long enough... ), and he seems to enjoy being outside more than anything... yeah for that!

Recently, we've started heading to a local nursing home to visit residents there.  My parents have been great about this for years--often with the kids tagging along--, and I've been looking for a service that my kids can do now, not when they're all grown up, that will teach them to care for others.  And, they are simply amazing, even with the memory patients who ask the same question 15 times.  The kids are so patient, so loving, so thoughtful, and I get teary to watch them bring such joy to these people (or "old people," as the kids call them).  I have prayed that God would make my kids' hearts soft for the forgotten people of this world--and now, once a week, we all get a chance to put that into practice!!  Here is a picture of Trent making Eddy's week (maybe her month--she LOVES babies), followed by a picture of Grant doing the same... even when he was a baby (he already has five years of serving these people under his belt!).

 

Okay, that'll have to do for a bit.  We're going to be out of commission for a bit.  The places we are going don't even have cell service (haven't told that one to Bret either), but we'll make sure to post pictures and updates upon return!!!