Strange Bedfellows

I was just changing Josiah's sheets, and laughed when I considered what he sleeps with every night. How many kids do you know that sleep with (all at one time): 4 blankets (not counting the 2 that cover him up), 1 pillow, 5 dogs, 1 baby doll, and 1 caterpillar. All in a toddler bed. I am afraid of what he will sleep with if we get him a twin bed. :)

Josiah and Christmas Decorations

I was starting to put up the Christmas decorations on Tuesday. After I had hung the stockings on the fireplace mantle, he came in and looked at them very strangely. Then he said, "Mommy, why are there boots up there?"

Josiah encourages Daddy

This morning while getting ready for work, Josiah was talking to Jason. He decided he wanted to go downstairs, but that would leave Daddy "alone" upstairs. So he told Jason, "I am going downstairs now, but Jesus is up here with you."

Alyssa at Olive Garden

Last week we went to Olive Garden as a family for dinner. Alyssa had us laughing several times with her comments.
1. Out of the blue, she picks up her coaster for her drink, reads the writing, and says, "Mom, I want a draft beer."
2. We were discussing the fact that it was an Italian restaurant. She and Micaela wanted to know what made it Italian, so we were talking about pasta, and olives and peppers in the salad with Italian dressing. Alyssa says, "Is this Italian water, no wonder it tastes so good."

Micaela - "Mom, did you know that cars are bad for the environment?"

Alyssa - "What's the environment?"

Micaela - "You don't know what the environment is? It is the people who are in charge of our country."

More funny moments

Grandma Carolyn - "How do you get to heaven?"

Alyssa - "You die."

Funny Moment of the Day

Josiah- "Do you want to watch a movie? We are going to watch "Cob Webs."

Alyssa - "Cob Webs?"

Micaela - "Charlotte's Web."

Too funny.

Family News

Micaela had her first soccer game yesterday and they won 10-1 (or maybe 12-1) we sort of lost track. She scored a goal. She is doing well in 2nd grade. She has passed her 5 and 6's timed addition and subtraction tests and is starting on 7's.

Alyssa loves Kindergarten. Her appetite has increased by leaps and bounds. She comes home from school starving!

Josiah is doing pretty good with the potty. Occasionally we still have accidents, like we did yesterday, but for the most part he is doing well. He is a little lost in the mornings without his sisters. He follows me around from room to room, because he doesn't like to be "alone."

We are busy and busy and busy. Jason and I started taking Financial Peace University last week and while I am really looking forward to it, it is another commitment to fit around soccer and church and family. We have a full fall.

Family Pics

The last weekend in August, our extended family got together for the weekend at Camp Bethany. These were 2 of my favorite pictures that were taken on my camera. ( I only took 8 the entire weekend. I am a failure about picture taking at camp --I just let my brother take them.)

The pictures are my grandfather with my nephew (his great grandfather) and

my dad on the golf cart with my 3 cousins, my 3 kids, and my niece and 2 nephews.

We had such a great time, we hope to do it again next summer.

New Pet?

Sunday night (Aug. 30) I heard screeching outside. We couldn't figure out what it was until we saw a hawk in the front yard eating its catch - a squirrel. It quickly flew away, but now that we knew what it sounded like, we were watching. Tuesday night, it was back. We got a picture of it sitting in the tree outside the girl's window. It was amazing and beautiful to watch.

First Day of School

Monday, August 31 was the first day of school. Micaela started 2nd grade and Alyssa started Kindergarten. Alyssa goes AM only. Just because it was August does not mean it was hot. They both wore jackets and shivered as we stood in the driveway waiting for the bus.

They both really like their teachers and had a good first day. It is so hard to believe that my kids are this old.

(Josiah was absent from the pictures because he was still sleeping.)

Emerging from the tunnel??

We have 2 completely successful days of potty training - and while I hesitate to say that we are done with the training part, I know that if I say that, we will have some problems. So I will just enjoy the successes one day at a time.

Potty Training - Week Three

Today has been a successful day. He has been telling me all day that he needed to go and staying dry and clean in between. We had a very frusterating weekend on the potty training end because we were at camp for a family renunion and he was just distracted, I think. Today we were home all day and things have gone very smooth, so hopefully we are turing the final corner.

BTW, we finally made it to JB's last week on Tuesday and Thursday.

Potty Training - Thursday through Sunday

We are down to one accident a day. So usually just when I have the false sense of "we are starting to get this," he has an accident. I guess this is just really good reason to keep up with the laundry. I have promised him that we will go to JB's to get ice cream when he is dry all day, and I have yet to enjoy the ice cream cone I think I deserve. Hopefully we finally get it tomorrow. I have one more week before school starts, so I am hoping that if we focus on this again this week, we will have mastered the skill before school starts. If not, I may need more than an ice cream cone as incentive.

Potty Training Day 3 (Wednesday)

Went to the Columbus Zoo with Grandma, Aunt Mindy, and cousins. Shouldn't count this day as as a potty training day. Although he was dry the entire time we were at the zoo. It was the 2 huge accidents when we got home that made me shake my head. Maybe we aren't as far as I thought.

Potty Training Day 2 (Tuesday)

Still 4 accidents - no noticeable improvement :(

Potty Training Day 1

4 accidents
3 loads of laundry
2 packs of underware
1 Mom who is ready for bed time.

Dinner at Old Oyster Factory

V

Family vacation in Hilton Head was the first week of August. We had dinner one night at one of our favorite restraurants - Old Oyster Factory. Jason ordered his favorite "appetizer" the chilled seafood platter. Good food and a great view.

Josiah Quote of the week

Alyssa "I want chocolate milk."
Josiah "I want white milk...with chocolate in it."

Micaela's Boo Boo

Last Sunday, August 9, Micaela was playing during Sunday School on the playground at church. She slid wearing flip flops on the gravel and hit the 4X4 post of the playground. She has had a nice bruise as well as a swollen face. So far the cut seems to be healing nicely, but we are praying that she won't have a permant scar.

Back to the old Routine

I have now been home from camp for a week and a half, and it seems that my house is still in a state of dissaray. Maybe someday I will get it back into shape. Tomorrow is Josiah's 3rd birthday party - his birthday is Saturday, but we have too many things that day to party then - so hopefully the house will be semi-ready for the partiers. I started to make his guitar birthday cake this afternoon when I discovered that I was out of eggs. Some day, I really need to get back in gear.

To make matters interesting, we have an exterminator coming tomorrow to take care of the soccer-ball sized hornets nest in the back yard. Micaela noticed it at dinner yesterday, they sure were busy this summer to construct that huge thing. It is about 30 feet off the ground, but by the swingset, so I don't want to take any chances. Josiah proved to be rather attractive to bees this summer at camp, getting stung 3 times in one week.

As far as previous posts, we are still working on the driveway. We have so much firewood - anyone who wants some can come get it. It is going to be quite a project to get the tree stumps and mess out of the way for a new driveway. This is a project to be completed in stages. I'm afraid we will be working on it for a while.
The bathroom project is still in process as well. The sink is still not functional. I believe that I need to consult an expert.
More on the birthday boy later.

Alyssa's Artwork

These are two of Alyssa's paintings that she did in preschool. The first is entitled, "Noah's Ark" the second is "Mrs. Noah."

Bathroom renovation

Our Spring home improvement project was to renovate the downstairs half bath. The demolition went pretty smoothy on schedule. Josiah, was the helper, of course. Then like any home improvement project, we ran into snags. After 3 times, and almost 6 weeks, the part we needed was delivered to Menards. As of right now, the toilet works, the walls are painted, the mirror, light fixture and towel racks are all installed. The hang up is the sink. It is in, but the pipes are not connected. I leave today for camp, so I wonder when the sink will finally work.

Josiah's Prayer

Tonight before bed as we were saying our prayers, Josiah said this prayer all by himself:
Thank you Jesus for Papa and Mama,
Daddy in Africa
Come home soon to mow and saw trees,
Help Micaela's foot to feel better,
Help Alyssa's foot to feel better,
Help my toe to feel better,
Micaela, Alyssa, and me,
Amen

Tree Pictures

Here are some pictures of our yard during the timbering process. They have finished topping the trees around the driveway, but they won't be back until next week to finish cutting down the last 8. These pictures were taken a few weeks ago, but now that the trees have leaves, the woods doesn't look so bad. The front yard, is a muddy mess.

Helper

Josiah was helping me unload the groceries from the car. I went to the basement to put the extra milk in the downstairs refrigerator, and found that he had opened the kitchen refrigerator and "helped Mommy" put away the groceries. After a good laugh, I went to find the camera, cause words just don't say it all.

Voting Day

Tuesday, when it was time to pick Micaela up from school, Josiah was still sleeping, so I had to wake him up. I let him sleep as long as possible, then woke him up and threw him and Alyssa in the van to go get Micaela. When I got to the school, I remembered that it was voting day for the school levy, and I decided to go vote before I went home. When we got to the voting place, I turned around to get them out of their seatbelts, and realized that Josiah did not have any shoes on and Alyssa was dressed in her pink sequined "Cinderella dress" and crocs. We were already there, so in we went to vote. And of course I received several comments from people I knew about the interesting dress. Such is the day in the life of a mother of small children, I guess.

War Zone

Our woods looks a little like a war zone right now and it is going to get worse. We had some trees timbered last week, which means they cut down the trees, take the trunks, and leave the tops and the branches right where they are . As I write this, the truck is in the driveway starting to cut down some more. The whole purpose for all of this is to widen the driveway. We sure have a mess. Hopefully the driveway will be worth it! I will post before and after pictures soon.

Easter Family Picture

Micaela

We are more than half through Micaela's soccer season. Right now they are 4-2 with 4 more games to play in the next 2 weeks. She missed Saturday's game because she was sick. So far for the year, she has scored around 10 goals.

She also lost her 7th tooth this weekend. We have been teasing her that she is 7 and has lost 7 teeth, so she can't loose anymore until after her birthday! She already has another one loose, so I don't think she will wait until Nov.

Out of the Mouths...

Alyssa: We had bagels from Aspen this week - and Alyssa was asking to have a bagel for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Finally I told her that she was going to turn into a bagel if she kept eating so many. She said, "Mom, that is not going to happen, I am not even a circle yet!"

Josiah: If you ask him what his name is, he will say, "Bubba." If you call him "bubba," he will say, "me not bubba."

Alyssa Ready for Kindergarten?

Yesterday was Kindergarten registration - and Alyssa is officially signed up. I think I still have a cramp in my hands filling out all of the paperwork. Today she had 3 shots - one in her leg and 2 in her arm. We talked about it ahead of time, but she didn't remember what a shot felt like. She was okay with the first one, but then started crying for the last 2. It is so hard to see them cry. When we got home she ate 2 Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies - so that made it feel better. She is so ready for Kind to start, she would get on the bus tomorrow if she could.

For some reason, it is harder for me to imagine that she is 5 years old. Maybe it is because she is so tiny, but I think I will have a harder time letting her get on the bus the first day of school than I did Micaela. Luckily I have a few more months!

Josiah the Helper

Thursday after work, Jason was working on the garage door. The sensor wire had come out and the door was not shutting becuase the "eye" thought something was in the way. Josiah was watching TV when he realized that Daddy was in the garage. He went and got his shoes on all by himself (on the wrong feet), got his coat, then went upstairs to get his "ooos." He came down with his tools and went to the garage to "Help you Daddy." I was really sweet.

Josiah and His Guitar

Josiah got his first guitar for Christmas - and it is his favorite toy - hands down. Actually he will drop whatever he is doing to get it if his sisters decide that they are going to play. His favorite songs right now are "Jesus Loves Me" and 3 original songs: "No, no, no, no", "Mama Papa", and "2 Granola bars" - (pronounced blalalars)

On Sunday mornings we have to take his guitar to church becuase he has to play with the worship team during practice. He has his own chair, music stand with music, and pick. He watches the guitar players very closely and strums with them and stops when they stop. He also sings along, very loudly.

Our worship leader, Mark Staicer, is one of his favorite people. He regularly walks around the house and says, "Miss Mark." We had no idea that his guitar would be filled with so much entertainment, but it is so entertaining for him as well as us. We think he is pretty cute.

2008 Update Letter

Dear Family and Friends: January 2009

I hope the New Year is treating you all well. I had high intentions of writing this as a Christmas letter, and it just didn’t happen. So, we will just pretend they are Winter Cards and send them anyway. So much has happened this year, I really wanted to send a letter.

2008 was an exciting year. Last year, Jason was invited to join a National Grace Brethren Leadership Team and traveled to CA in January for meetings. I was able to go with him and we had a few days of meetings for him and rest for me. He is actually in California now for a week for more meetings

In July, we traveled to Florida for our National Conference. Jason’s parents went with us (all 7 of us in the van – with a full car-top carrier) for a week of meetings and Conference. Then we had a day at Sea World in Orlando before we continued to Hilton Head for a week of vacation. Friends own a condo there and let us use it every year. This was our 8th year to vacation there. We really feel like it is home away from home. The kids love the beach and the pool as well as riding bikes and watching for alligators.

In October, Jason traveled a bit farther, to the Central African Republic by way of Paris, France. He went to help teach at the Grace Brethren Seminary there. He was gone 2 ½ weeks and had an incredible experience. His journal detailing the trip can be read at http://pastorjasoncarmean.blogspot.com/. He plans to return for the last half of May this year to teach a 3rd year Seminary class on the book of Revelation.

Micaela is 7 this year and in 1st grade. She loves school and is doing really well. She loves to play with her Webkinz dog and is likes anything to do with paper – coloring, painting, writing, creating. She played soccer this fall and really enjoyed it. Her team did really well, and we had fun getting to know other families as we watched the practices and games. Alyssa is 5 and in Pre-Kindergarten - a 5-day preschool program at our church’s school. She loves school and can most often be found reading a book. She has paid close attention to Micaela’s schoolwork, and she can read just as well, if not better, than her sister. Josiah is 2 ½ and is into everything. We are trying to potty train, but so far he likes his diaper, I think. He has surgery in April to put tubes in his ears and had his adenoids taken out. This has made a huge difference in his speech, balance, and health. He got a guitar for Christmas and sings and writes his own songs all day long. All three kids have been taking swimming lessons at the YMCA this year. Josiah is in the parent/child class, so Jason or I (mostly Jason) have swimming lessons too. It has been a great time to get some regular exposure to the water. All of them have made great improvements.

My life is kept busy with all of the above. But I do manage to do a few other things. I have continued to lead a Women’s Bible Study at my house. This is our second year and I love it. I have two groups - one on Tuesday mornings and one in the evening. It is exciting to learn and grow together. I also take 5 weeks in the summer to move to Camp Bethany (about 45 minutes from our house) to be the head cook. My brother Kenton, is the director and lots of our family is involved in one area or another. We work hard, but we have so much fun. My kids can’t wait for summer to come so they can go to camp. Micaela is especially excited because she gets to be a “real camper” and sleep in the cabins this summer.

Things at the church are going well. This is our 9th year in Lexington and the church is growing. The church paid off the mortgage this year, and that enabled us to hire a full time Youth/Family Pastor. Jason has really appreciated having another person in the office to share and partner with. We have experienced the usual “growing pains,” but we see God working in a lot of ways and people.

I am not the best at keeping in touch, but hopefully this catches you up with our lives at this point. We ask God to bless you all this year.