A birthday cake for Jesus, Josiah reading the Christmas story from God's Word, 
and the excitement of giving . . . oh, and getting I guess~
Finally, only because I got an extra hour of sleep last night am I crediting this "catch up" with posting pics on this pityful blog. Seriouly, confess that I am a horrible blogger as I cannot seem to make it a priority, but I'm gonna keep pressing on - especially for the few of you who actually keep up with watching my kids grow up. Thanks for being patient and checking back in every now an then when you rarely see something new. You'll want to scroll down for 3 slide shows. Josiah's mile run. He still would rather hang with friends than beat his last time. He'll make a fantastic short distance sprinter one day. Josiah's soccer season is going great. He's really catching on and it's actually quite entertaining to watch a 7 year old soccer team play. Below are pictures out at my friend's dad's place. He had heart surgery a few months ago so some of the guys went out to help him put a roof on his barn. The kids had a blast and the women had a pretty good time just hanging out. It was a good Saturday.
Beware, I'm gonna post more this week on all the fun fall festival times we had. Stay tuned. Gotta hit the sack for now.
God did give us two outgoing, outspoken, strong-willed, fun-loving children. This past week has been quite the example of that. Lately, it is not a normal week if Josiah doesn't come home without a note that he has written explaining why he pulled a card. He has to explain what he did to get the card pulled, how it effected others and what he could have done to prevent it. There have been so many lately (bless his heart) but I recall one sounded something like this.
Why: druming in the lunch room. how it effected others: I was proving that I was a drummer and could play the drums. (I'm certain this isn't the answer the lunch lady was looking for!)
On a serious note, Josiah has been struggling with paying attention during class. He is being assessed, however, he is keeping up with his grade level studies and makes good grades. He is a good speller, has just moved up in his goal for A/R reading, and is sharp as a whip in math. He simply beats to a different drum and his little mind wanders a lot. By the way, his drumming is getting more impressive everyday.
Now, on to Ana Mei. Can you believe 8 time-outs and 1 office visit in one week (that's a 5 day school week!). Ana Mei goes to a strict christian school. We love it. She loves it, but they do expect much of a 3 year old. In the midst of coming home quoting scripture along with the reference (she amazes us daily), her time-outs are because she won't stop talking during Bible class, she has a tendency to not stay in her seat and occasionally, disrupts everyone else during nap time. That's our girl! They continue to tell us she is very bright and fun-loving. She's got such a sweet spirit, is nurturing, and the teachers actually have a hard time being upset with her - that obviously doesn't stop them from giving those time-outs. Ana Mei's latest line when I pick her up is, "I only got 2 time-outs today!"
Oh the joys of parenting! I wouldn't trade it for the world. Life is good. If only I weren't so tired!
Two years ago, Daddy and I met you for the first time! First pic is 2 years ago. We celebrated again with our friends, the Chesbros and Meili, Ana Mei's crib mate in China. We all had so much fun eating chinese food, watching videos and looking at photos.
