I know it won't last...

but J loves his sister. I know that in a few months/years, they will fight like my sister, brother and I did. But for right now, it melts my heart to see how wonderful J is to M and how she laughs at him almost instantly.

(I know he looks like demon here but it shows her smile)

This is not a sideways picture. She was actually laying on him.

My babies......

So thank you J for being the best big brother to M! Thanks for getting her binkie when she needs it, for telling me when she is awake at 5:30 AM.....for dancing like a fool just to make her laugh and for knowing how to stop her from crying when we are in the car and mommy is busy driving! I love you kid!

Thank HIM

Very rarely do I get a forwarded email that is worth sharing, but this prayer hit me. I was feeling sorry for myself this morning and forgot to remember my blessings.
Thank You

DEAR GOD:I want to thank You for what you have already done. I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me; I am thanking you right now.. I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears ; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed;I am thanking you right now. I am thanking you because I am alive. I am thanking you because I made it through the day's difficulties. I am thanking you because I have walked around the obstacles.I am thanking you because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and do better. I'm thanking you because FATHER, YOU haven't given up on me.God is just so good, and he's good all the time.

Boy has Talent!

My boy has talent!

(note: please ignore the messy house and my voice that sounds like I'm on drugs. I have had a really tough allergy issue for a few days and my nose was really stuffy!)

He is on his way to the big K!

No, I don't mean K-Mart! KINDERGARTEN!

J "graduated" from Pre-Kindergarten this week. I am not big on calling this event a graduation....however, for the sake of it, I will.
He had a great first year. His teacher was wonderful. J is quite impulsive and active so he takes some patience. She certainly has it! He knows almost 30 sight words and reads to me. As a mother and a teacher, it melts my heart to hear my son read.
I took off for the hour to see J's big event. Mom-mom, Grandmom, aunt Ju-Ju, Uncle Tim, Mommy, Daddy and Miss M all attended the event. J was thrilled to say the least. (BTW- Uncle Tim has come a long way. When J was born, he was afraid he would break J and now, he takes time on his day off to see his nephew at school.....he is turning into a softie! :)) As soon as he came into the room, he looks for Miss M and kissed her.


Then he got his certificate or Pre- K "diploma" from the principal and Mrs. Mac.


Here is his class holding their certificates. It was quite humorous to watch! The boy in red next to him is W, his best friend in the class. A little bird a.k.a. the principal told me that J&W will be in the same class next year, but SHHHH...don't tell....Most are not privy to that info!

After they sang a couple of songs, they handed out attendance awards. J only missed 3 days this year and that qualified him to excellent attendance award!

The last song was about leaving Pre-K and moving to Kindergarten. They all pulled out their Kindergarten hats and said, "Kindergarten here we come!"
I am very proud of my boy!

Stick a fork in me....

I'm done! I am a temorary SAHM....pray for my sanity for the next two months.....:)

A heavy heart

I don't think any of my "Readers" live in this area. Well, a tragedy happened this weekend.

Two boys were at a graduation party. They went out on a boat ride with an adult. They were celebrating their recent graduation from high school. Both boys went for a swim and drowned in a nearby river. One boy is an alumnus of my school and the brother of a fifth grader. His mother worked in the cafeteria. 17 years old. dead. High school graduate, and gone. I have no words to describe the sorrow. The thought of losing a child is indescribable. Now, a mother has lost a son, and a boy has lost his brother. Here is the story if you are interested.
http://www.wbaltv.com/news/19683229/detail.html
The weirdest thing is that I saw the boy on Friday. Normally, we don't see many high school kids around school, but he was at a reading celebration that his brother attended and he came to cheer on his brother. Since he had graduated, he was around school more visiting his mom in the cafeteria and such.
These families need prayers right now. I know the bloggy world is full of people who can pray for these families.

Countdown

This school year has flown by. I am not sure if it is because my whole life has been in warp speed since Miss M was born, or if I had a nice class so each day wasn't pure torture (like last year). But alas, my 12th year is coming to a close. My classroom is looking quite bare, the kids are extra chatty and excited and I have a million things to do before we call it a year. This year is a little different though. This is the first summer that I won't be working. I have taught summer school for the past 10 years and before that I had other little summer jobs. This year, I didn't get hired. I wonder if it is God's way of telling me that I need to take time for me and my family. I am excited about it thought, a little nervous, but excited.

Since my last post, J and I have gone to see the Orioles play B-ball. My bro-in-law got great seats behind the home plate. J was a little bored but we still had fun. I saw my first major league grand slam---so cool!This is how close we sat. I could see the numbers on the player's jerseys without looking at the Jumbo-tron.

There was a rookie catcher, Weiters, who was all the talk that day. Cannot remember his first name (Maybe Matt?) but when he went up to bat the crown went wild!

There was a huge storm before the game and it was still raining a bit as we arrived but a little bit into the game, we saw a rainbow right over the stadium. How cool!

Bad picture of me, but cute picture of J. I had literally been at work all day and came home, changed and drove to Julie's house. I look like Friday night---tired!

Then J got the camera....here are his shots.......Ju-Ju and Tim......

Lemonade man......
Feet.......

Needless to say, my little man was exhausted by the 7th inning. Julie and Tim were gracious enough to agree to leave after the 8th inning. J slept the whole way home and I could hardly get him into the house, he was so tired.

I'll leave you with a precious picture of my baby girl........
and a picture of my babies......can you tell J loves him little sister?