The Joys of Homework in Kindergarten

Just before Spring Break, Carson brought home a note telling about a dinosaur project that would be due the following Thursday. We have had a hard time with what little homework he has had this year because most of the time it comes on Tuesdays. We leave for church at 5:15 or as soon as Chris gets home from work. It makes it really hard to get these assignments all completed for the following day. I was so glad to have about two weeks notice for this project as well. We did not find out about his last project until two days before, so this was a HUGE help, as well as having Spring Break to work on the dino. I asked my mom to brainstorm ideas of a fun and creative display of something dinosaurish. Low and behold, she remembered Kaylee's kindergarten dino project (completed and turned in about sixteen years ago.) She told me that she knew she still had the paper mache bone somewhere, but I never imagined her finding it after all this time. Amazingly, the first place she looked, she found the bone. This was going to save us a ton of time. I couldn't believe it.
We repainted the bone, mostly because it had Kaylee's name written on it. We painted a paper box lid brown, filled it with dirt, and semi-buried the bone. Carson added some moss to the top of the dirt, I wrote out a label for what kind of bone it was, and Carson copied exactly what I wrote plus added his name so everyone would know whose display it was.
He was super excited about taking his project to school. All his other friends had made a dinosaur model out of balloons, cups, paper and all sorts of things, but he was the only one with a giant bone. I was super excited that we didn't have to break out the icky paper mache and make our own. It was lots of fun to work together on a project as a family. Carson and I picked out a project for Olivia while we were at Hobby Lobby gathering supplies. She worked quietly at the table, Carson and Chris shoveled up the dirt, we painted, stuffed moss, laughed and had tons of fun. If only homework could be this much fun for the rest of their lives.

Fish Out Of Water

The first day of Spring Break started with a bit of cleaning. I was picking up the living room and dusting. When I came to the table with the fishbowl on it, I was a little puzzled when I didn't see our fish, Geico, swimming around. I waited until Chris got home for lunch to make sure he hadn't seen it floating and flushed it before the kids noticed. He searched the bowl, as well, to make sure I wasn't crazy. After he confirmed my discovery, we called the kids in to ask if they had any idea what had happened to Geico. Carson said he had no clue while Olivia's eyes roamed the ceiling and she would not answer me at all. I finally made eye contact as she mumbled something. I asked again, "What happened to the fish?" She said, "I dropped it." I replied, "So, you were playing with the fish and you dropped it?" She said yes. I then asked what happened to the fish when she dropped it. Her reply, "I lost it." I can only imagine the poor fish flopping around on the carpet until our sweet little dog, Jackson, decided to have his first taste of seafood. Poor poor Geico. This is our second fish since Carson received the first one for his birthday two years ago. I guess we could have had a lot more pet loss in that amount of time, but I can't imagine the trauma Geico went through from the first time that little four year old hand entered his bowl all the way until a big hairy creature gobbled him up. What a way to go.

The Bible Tells Me So

On Tuesday, I had my third ultrasound. It was no surprise when the technician and doctor both told me Emerson is really big. I have about eight weeks to go, and she's weighing in at 5 1/2 lbs. They were concerned that it's because of my diabetes, but my sugars are under control and have been for a while now. With Carson, I had diabetes, and he came on his due date weighing in at 8 lbs. 14 oz. With Olivia, I did not have diabetes, she was a week early, and weighed in at 8 lbs. 14 oz. If I would have gone full term with her, she could have weighed between nine and ten lbs. My Nanny Bonner had three kids. Her lightest baby was nine lbs. Second lightest was 9 lbs. 8 oz., and my dad was a whoppin' 10 lbs. 15 ozs. Nanny Bonner's dad was born in the early 1900's and weighed 15 lbs, so obviously big babies run in our family. I am not concerned at all that she will be a big baby. I have had two previously, and everything turned out just fine. They are healthy and not suffering any effects from being born big. I just really need the doctors to have wisdom in decision making and the information they give me. I trust in the Lord to protect Emerson and to have a healthy delivery, but this is the first time I have experienced doctors who, to me, seem to be overly cautious. They have said things that make me feel like I am a horrible person for even getting pregnant in the first place. Because I know that Emerson is a gift from the Lord, I can rest assured that he will guard her from all of these things that are spoken over her and automatically assumed to be wrong with her because of my health. I know that she is fearfully and wonderfully made because that is what his word tells me in Psalms 139:14. I also know that, "Every good and perfect gift is from above"(James 1:17.) No matter what the doctors' reports might say, I believe the report of the Lord. Emerson is healthy and strong and all that God has promised us that she will be.

With her arm covering her face, I can tell she
takes after her daddy in the area of shyness.

Still Alive and Kickin'

My 82 year old great uncle was diagnosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma about a year ago. His last doctor's appointment was very grim because the cancer was found all over. The doctor only gave him a few more months, but said they could try to remove some of the effected areas including some teeth and part of his jaw so that he might have a little longer. About a week ago, he woke up and told his wife of 62 years, Virginia, that he was feeling a whole lot better than he had in a very long time. They are sweet Christian people who were praying earnestly for an end to his suffering. My great aunt was so very glad to hear that he wasn't going through the same pain he had been for almost twelve months. That same day, he returned to the doctor's office. There was no cancer anywhere in his body. The doctor was so baffled that such a vast amount of cancer could just disappear. Praise the Lord that he had a different plan for my Uncle Coot's life. Even though 82 is a pretty long age to live to, God just isn't ready to see Coot in heaven yet. We still get to keep him and his oneriness for a little while longer. It's so amazing how God's plans are so much more than we or any medical professional can predict and plan for.