Swimming Lessons: Day 3

I'm so proud of my little fishies...

Sleepy Sunday Afternoons

Apparently, it's really tough on a little guy to wake up at 8, go to church and play in the nursery for a couple of hours, and then come home and eat lunch. Poor thing!

This thing went on for almost 5 minutes, but don't worry, I spared you the entire video. I did cut it down a lot.

After this he was immediately cleaned and put in bed.

(Just a note: You may hear an older sister whining in the background. I promise I wasn't starving her. She refused to eat the lunch I made for everyone and then refused to eat the sandwich that she requested. I simply told her she had to wait. )

Hot Days and Cold Pudding Pops

I just thought this was too cute. The last couple of days have been ridiculously hot and there is no end in sight. We've decided if we're not in the pool we must stay indoors. Today we went and joined the library, attended a puppet show, and made pudding pops. I hope you get a laugh out of Caleb's face.

I think Josie was a little overwhelmed by the library (despite that it is tiny!). We only picked out one book: Franklin's Christmas Gift. It was one of the first ones we saw that Josie actually recognized. We love Franklin at our house.

We were a little nervous at the puppet show because there were a lot of kids, but Josie warmed up by the second half of the story and actually sat near the other kids. The show was the Texas version of "The Three Little Pigs". It was pretty cute/cheesy, especially when the end of the story resulted in the invention of Wolf Brand Chilli. Anyway, it was a fun adventure I'm sure we will not soon forget.

Retirement

Last week one of the greatest art teachers in the world retired from the classroom after 31 years. My mom (and quite possibly my best friend next to Wesley) has chosen to enter the next chapter of her life. She's not exactly sure what that will look like, but she does know that it will include more time with the Lord, grand kids, and experimenting with her own art and creativity.

The school had a reception for her and later our family threw a surprise party for her at their home. We figured out that in the school setting alone she has impacted well over 4,000 students' lives! (That's not including all the kids she has taught in Sunday School for the last 10+ years--which she will continue doing!) Whether it was simply teaching kids how to express themselves through art or in a relationship with Jesus Christ, my mom has left a great legacy in the lives of students in her community.

My mom with her mom.

Josie's favorite part was the dessert table.

Isn't he just precious!?



The Superintendent giving my mom her plaque. Before he called her up on stage, he spoke about the importance of teachers and read a beautiful and inspiring essay on teaching. When he finished he held it up and announced that it was my mom's teaching philosophy from her application when she applied to work at RHS.

Our family.

These were the rules my mom had posted in her classroom for years. I remember as a little girl seeing her work on this poster before her time at RHS began. Now they're hanging in the playroom at my parents' house.

Surprise!

Another artistically talented teacher at school drew a picture of Mom (in the background) and it was amazing.

I was privileged to have my mother as a teacher for my four years in high school and enjoyed every moment. She was harder on me than any other student so no one could ever realistically accuse her of favoritism, but that's OK. I think I'm a better person because of how God used my mom in my life.

Honestly, I'm so excited about her retirement because I know we'll get to spend more time together, not only with my kids, but also working together to grow artistically. What fun we will have!

(And if you're wondering why on earth Wesley was in a suit and tie it's because he is an administrator at the school and had to "dress up" that day.)

Josie's Kids

Josie lined up all of her bath toys on the side of the tub last night and introduced Wesley to all of her children,

"Tommy, Annika, Love, Joy, Peace, and Lucy. But Lucy's first name is Monica and she goes by Monica for short."

(Monica, this was the day you and I were on the phone a lot. I am assuming she was thinking of you because we don't know any other "Monica".)

Our Newest Family Member...

This is the newest member of our family. We adopted him when Wesley "accidentally" injured him at the ranch over Thanksgiving weekend. He's been through some pretty intense rehab the last several months, but as you can see from the picture, now he's home and Wesley is thrilled.

The kids are a little nervous about their new brother, but felt better when we told them he was going to sleep in daddy's office. We felt that it was much more appropriate so Wesley and our new son can spend a lot of time bonding--so he won't have to go therapy someday complaining that his dad hurt him then ignored him. We have hope we can reverse the trauma he's already experienced.

Now our only dilemma is, what in the world do we name him?

First Swim

Here are pictures of the kids' first swim of the summer at Yaya and Pub's house. The water was a bit chilly, but that didn't stop 'em!