This and That

~ Today is the first official day of summer break and I am super excited about spending my summer with 3 of the best children I know!
Yesterday they only had to go to school to pick up report cards and then we took off to the zoo for the day. It was so much fun and the boys told me thank you so many times and that just made my day!

~ Baby A is still learning new words every day. A few new ones are...... LISTEN, This is mine, STOP, Baby A is seepy (sleepy), Baby A do it, Baby A help, It's OK. For the record she doesn't actually say Baby A, she says her real name. "This is mine" and "it's OK" are probably the most used words she says right now.

~ I have spent the morning folding clothes. Our king size bed was covered with clean laundry ready to be folded and put away. As I folded the clothes, I was overwhelmed with thankfulness. I know that sounds crazy but so many things flooded my mind of how blessed we are as a family. A few examples:

~ Even though it is a HUGE task to clean and put away all these clothes, I'm thankful my family has clothes to wear. 
~ I'm thankful for my washer and dryer (if that sounds crazy, just wait til one of yours breaks and you will see what I mean)
~ As I put so many clothes in the "too small" pile, I'm thankful for healthy growing children.
~ I am thankful for my sweet children. The thought that God has trusted me to raise these precious precious children is the most awesome feeling in the world. It's an honor to be called their parents!
~ As I fold the sheets and blankets, I'm thankful for our beds and the warm blankets we have.
~ As I look at the furniture and SO much more that has been handed down to us, I'm thankful for our family who has given us more than we can ever thank or repay them for
~ As I spend the late morning folding clothes, I am thankful I am a stay at home mom! I have always dreamed of being a mom and staying at home with them to build wonderful memories. I am living that dream now!
~ I am thankful for a loving husband that makes me feel so appreciated and does anything he can to help me out.
It can be so easy for me to complain about so much house work, fighting kids or even the annoying allergies we can't seem to get rid of, but in the grand scheme of things....  none of that is a major problem and we are EXTREMELY blessed to have so much!

~ My babies are growing up WAY too fast. Scooter will be in the 4th grade next year. This means he has 2 years left in elementary school and then he will be headed to middle school! I am not really sure how this can be possible. Rascal just graduated Kindergarten! It seems like yesterday that our world was consumed with his extreme case of reflux or his never ending sleeping problems. Baby A is almost 2! That means she has been here in our lives for almost as long as I prayed for another child. It's kinda crazy to think that the 2.5 years I prayed so hard begging God for our 3rd child seemed like an eternity but the 2 years (almost) that Baby A has been in our arms has gone so quickly! My heart hurts to think of all this. If only time could just slow down a bit. It does help me to put unimportant things on the back burner (the reason we have loads and loads of clean laundry to fold and put away) and to just spend time soaking up these sweet moments with my kids.

~ Rascal is reading so good. The other night in church he kept whispering to himself despite the numerous times Tim told him to be quiet. Finally Rascal turned to Tim and said "But dad, I am trying to read what is up on the screen" meaning every time a new verse was on the screen he was sitting there sounding out the words to himself. Yeah, we felt really badw!

~ After Scooter's awards ceremony this past Wednesday (more on that in another post), he was a bit bummed that he didn't get an award for straight A's or all A's and B's. He is REALLY hard on himself with his grades. We never push for straight A's or even all A's and B's. We simply tell them to do their best. Well we got his report card yesterday and he came SO close to having all A's and B's. He had a C in math (his weakest subject) but even that was a high C. So once I pointed out just how close he was to having straight A's and B's he was very motivated to work hard this summer and start 4th grade ready to make a B in math. He did get the Citizenship award which in my opinion means so much more than great grades. The bible doesn't say you have to make great grades but it does tell us to show the love of God to people around you. The Citizenship award is awarded to children who make friends with everyone, are always on their best behavior, help anyone out when they see the need and are always very well mannered and respectful of everyone. That is showing Christ's love!