Until now...

...I never personally knew someone who had been murdered. When I was in elementary school one of the teachers of the school where I attended lost her daughter due to murder by a pizza guy. When I was in high school I remember a boy getting killed by a gun, but if I remember correctly it was an accident.

Wednesday night Darrin's aunt, MIL's closest sister, Martha Greene who was affectionately known as "Mott", was murdered in her home during a home invasion. Her husband was shot as well but survived and is being hospitalized. The entire story can be found here.

I would ask that you all be in prayer for the family, especially Mott's husband, children, and Darrin's mom. Everyone is just really shocked right now since having found out today, and I don't believe it has hit them emotionally yet.

I'm thankful that the suspect has been caught, and I hope that justice will be served.

First Day of Preschool

The kids had their first day of preschool (or back to preschool for Rebekah) today. Amazingly, we got ready and arrived 3 minutes before the doors unlocked. (If you know me you know this is a pretty amazing feat in itself.) The kids were so excited to go this morning. As soon as they were ready they were eager to head out the door, especially Joshua. He is like that anyway. Once his shoes are on he is standing at the door ready to leave.

In over-anticipation of the day I unnecessarily packed Joshua a lunch. He will eat lunch on Mondays and Fridays prior to pick-up, but on Wednesdays they do not have lunch. Better to be over prepared than underprepared!

I took Joshua to his class first. Snack is the first activity along with their Bible story of the day, and when I saw the graham crackers on the table I learned that Mrs. Bridget is going to try to accommodate for Joshua's milk allergy. What a pleasant surprise! Funny thing was that I had brought him graham crackers for snack as well.

Joshua wasn't sure about the class at first, and we were one of the first people to arrive in his room. He wanted me to hold him, but when he saw the other children go to sit at the table he wanted to join them too.



Rebekah was next. When we got to her classroom she hung up her backpack then stood in the middle of the room and just looked around trying to decide what to do. She finally jumped right in with a couple of other girls and started playing.




It felt so weird leaving the building empty-handed. Sure, I've left the kids with my parents before or dropped the children off at their respective classes at church, but it was different leaving them both at preschool. It means my son is growing up and is not a little toddler anymore. It's still hard for me to believe I have two in preschool now.

Since the kids are attending on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I don't have an excuse for running late or missing my Wednesday morning Bible study, MEMs (Moms Encouraging Moms). Our church is only about five minutes from the preschool, and the Bible study starts 30 minutes after the preschool opens. We started back today for an introduction to the study we'll be doing and to socialize. We are going to do the Precept study for The Sermon on the Mount. I'm really looking forward to it.

After MEMs I headed back to the preschool to pick up the kids. Joshua was all smiles when I arrived, and I got a good report. Mrs. Bridget fills out a form for each child letting the parent know how things went that day (diaper changes, child attitude/behavior, how well the child ate, naptime, playtime, etc.). When I picked up Rebekah she was eager to see me as well. She also had a good day, but as soon as we got in the car she was clearly exhausted. I couldn't get anything from her about her day.

After we got home and she ate some lunch she perked up and with some coaxing she told me about her day. She had a really good time, and later she told me she was the line leader today. She hasn't learned the other children's names yet, but she seems to have a couple of girls she enjoys playing with, one of whom was a new friend she made at orientation (the dark-headed girl wearing red in an above picture).

Overall, the first day went well for all of us. It will be good for the kids to get a break every so often from each other and to spend time with children their own age as well as for me to have some time from them to do things I need to do, have OB appointments, and have some much needed time to myself. I feel especially testy this pregnancy, and some time to refocus, get in the Word, and to guard my attitude will be extremely helpful not only in dealing with the children but with life in general.

The Beginning of a New Pre-School Year

It's hard for me to believe that Joshua is starting preschool this year and that Rebekah is in pre-K 5. Yesterday we attended orientation at the school to meet their new teachers, for the kids to meet some new friends, and for the parents to become acquainted with the expectations of the school and the upcoming year. Since both our children are attending preschool this year Darrin and I split up to take them to their respective classes and then met back for the parent orientation.

Darrin took Rebekah to her class, and he said she immediately connected with a girl in her class. They introduced themselves to each other and went off to play. All of Rebekah's church friends who are attending the same school are going on Tuesdays and Thursdays while Rebekah and Joshua will attend on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I was sad when I discovered this, but I think she will really enjoy her class. I have heard wonderful things about Mrs. Becca her teacher, and I believe it will be a great year.

While Darrin took Rebekah to her class I took Joshua to his. He is in a pre-K 2 class, and some church friends of ours has a little girl in Joshua's class as well. I was impressed with Joshua's teacher Mrs. Bridget as well. She seems really sweet and able to relate well to the children.

Following the parent orientation we went to pick up Rebekah from her class. Mrs. Becca told me that Rebekah asked her all about her family among other things and that they got along really well. I think Rebekah is going to really love this class and her teacher and have a great year!


We then went to pick up Joshua from his class. I had a good discussion with Mrs. Bridget about plans for this year and his milk allergy. Before we left I wanted to get a picture of Joshua with his teacher. At first he didn't want her to hold him and she fussed and tried to scoot out of her lap. She got him to calm down and told him to say, "Monkey!" He did, and then he smiled! You can see his eyes are a little watery from fussing, but at least he smiled pleasantly. I told Mrs. Bridget that he must have a good teacher to get him to cooperate like that.


I believe this is going to be a great year for both the kids. I got really good vibes from their teachers, and I think they will get a good education, they will mature and grow, and they will learn much about God's Word.

In addition to Rebekah attending preschool I am homeschooling her. I attended the Homeschool Curriculum Fair about a month ago to learn more about the different curricula available, and I spent a great deal of time attending workshops. I discovered that the philosophy I want to use for teaching is most inline with the Charlotte Mason approach, which is about teaching the whole mind, incorporating the arts, doing nature studies, engaging the child in learning, instilling variety (doing something written, then something visual, then going outside, etc.), and keeping lessons brief to keep the child's attention. If you have ever seen "Anne of Green Gables" this approach seems to be illustrated in Miss Stacie's teaching style. Presently, I am using Math-U-See (which uses manipulatives for building the problem to discover the answer, writing, and speaking) and Explode the Code for phonics and handwriting. I would like to incorporate music and art as well as nature walks and such as I can fit them in our day.

I believe we have a great year ahead, and I'm really looking forward to my second trimester when I have a burst of energy. We are still unsure how we will balance things after the baby arrives. I truly believe the Lord will make things work if it is His will for me to homeschool full time next year.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

Grandpa's 85th birthday was a few weeks ago, so I took the kids along with my parents to visit for the day. Darrin couldn't join us since it was a weekday. Grandpa knew my parents would be visiting, but he had no idea that the kids and I would be there. He was really glad to see us, especially Rebekah and Joshua! I think it made his birthday.

Grandpa reads his card from us. Inside Rebekah had signed her name, Joshua's name, and "Baby Church" to announce my pregnancy.

It's Been Ages...

...since I have blogged. Well, it has been about two weeks, and that's longer than I've ever gone without a blog post. I apologize to all my readers for not posting in a while. It will take a few posts to catch you up with what we have been doing lately, but I do have lots of pics to share of all our adventures over the last few weeks.

About a month ago we met up with some church friends at the Creative Discovery Museum. Natalee is one of Rebekah's friends from Sunday school, and Sonya used to be their teacher until she had a baby last spring. Every few months the upper level is set up with a different theme. This summer all the activities are around the Curious George theme.


Joshua looks like he's not happy here, but he's actually trying to reach over the edge without using a step stool.


The kids got to participate in art time to correspond with the Curious George theme. They painted with yellow paint since that is most likely Curious George's favorite color. They used water to make lighter shades of yellow on their paper.


Even though Joshua has his own train table it's always fun to play with one at different locations.


Natalee's baby sister Lydia


Joshua LOVED Curious George!



Rebekah and Natalee play store.


While there Rebekah ran into another church (and preschool) friend Bing.




We also went out on the rooftop before finishing off our trip at the children's museum. We had never been out there before, and Rebekah particularly enjoyed the various activities. The first was a rope attached to a seat, threaded over a pulley, and was to be pulled until the seat reached the top and rang a bell.



Another activity the girls enjoyed was a merry-go-round that moved by pulling themselves around the wheeled handlebar.


Afterwards we spent some delicious pizza at Mellow Mushroom. Mmmmmm! I had never eaten there before, and even the pizza without cheese that I ordered for Joshua was really tasty.

I am convinced we'll have to get season tickets to the CDM now because it costs us for both children to go, and it would be worth our money. Both the kids had so much fun, and I think they would even enjoy visiting the museum again before Curious George is gone in September.

Meet Baby Church

Today, at 7 weeks 5 days, was my first appointment with Dr. Brody. We got to meet our newest addition to the family, hear the heartbeat, and solidify the due date. The baby measures almost 1 1/2 cm which confirmed the estimated due date to be March 17. Since I will have a repeat C-section the date will be bumped up to around March 8-9. Darrin's brother Derek was born March 9, so he may be sharing his birthday with his new niece or nephew.

Even though the shock is starting to wear off some I still couldn't believe that we were looking at a baby growing inside of me! It finally seemed real. After we got home I showed Rebekah the ultrasound picture. She is so proud! She carried off the picture to her chair, sat down, and just stared at it. She is going to do great with a new little baby in the house. She is always talking about the baby inside my tummy and asking if it's a boy or a girl. She's hoping for a sister, but I'm sure she'd enjoy another little brother as well.

I'm having some "morning sickness" again with this pregnancy. Some days I feel better than others, but the sickness has been worse this weekend. I now have some medicine to help fight the nausea, so I hope to feel better as a result. The main thing is to keep myself healthy and able to take care of the children.

Thanks for all the prayers! We are getting more and more excited about this baby. We are definitely entering another adventure as we prepare for a third little blessing.