It finally happened...

Noah wrung the chicken's neck!!!

What could it be?

Well, it's a Build-A-Bear box.

But, what's inside it is a long, long story!!!

There's nothing like getting a phone call from your husband on a Monday morning like this:

Me: Hello.

D: Hey. What are ya'll doing?

Me: Oh, nothing, just straightening up around here.

D: Well, I need you to come to me, I have a baby in the truck with me you need to come get!

Me: A baby?!?!?

D: Yep. A baby.

Me: Wait a minute, a baby what?

D: A baby squirrel!

Me: Okay, tell me where to meet you.

So, Noah and I met him with the Build-A-Bear box, and picked up the squirrel, and the adventure began!!!

The poor little guy was scared to death, but I do believe I was even

SCAREDER!!!

But, after Derrick came home and the neighbor loaned us a cage,things got better. Our neighbor actually has a friend who has had squirrels before as pets, so he was a lot of help.

When Noah and I first got the squirrel (name yet to be decided!) Derrick and I were discussing what squirrels might eat. Noah then answered:

Squirrels eat corn mom!

He knows this because Grammie has squirrel feeders at her house with corn cobs on them!Well, we couldn't hardly catch the crazy beast, let alone feed it.So, long story short, we finally found out he can eat out of a medicine dropper, and he likes....

Grapes!!!

My niece surprised me the most. She was not the least bit afraid of him.Aunt T on the other hand was a little skiddish at first, but I got over it!!!

We asked Noah what the squirrel's name is and he said, "Ho-Ho's sleigh!"

Derrick wants to name him Alvin (like Alvin and the chipmunks.)

Felicity (my neice) wants to name him Honey because of his hair color.

I'm still undecided!!!

Vitejte v Ceske Republice

Our church's childrens' ministry had a fund-raiser after church today called, "A taste of the world." Everyone brings a dish from a different country, and for a donation of any amount, the people from the church get to eat a serving of food from each country, therefore getting "a taste of the world." Well, all of the easy countries were taken soon. America, Spain, Mexico, Italy, etc. so, I after careful consideration, picked the Czech Republic. (Czechoslavokia). My husband's family is from Czech. My mom's family is from Germany, but not enough that we cook their food. But, all of Derrick's family can speak and cook Czech. So, I e-mailed one of his aunts and asked her what she thought would be good. I ended up making Kolascky. They are little cookies that are filled with a fruit filling. I cut them in half so every one would have plenty (I only made about 50 of them). I was a little nervous at first, but I only brought a few home!!! I had people of all ages telling me how great they are. Even a little baby who just turned one was addicted!!! I owe a big thanks to Aunt Barb!!! THANKS! And, when she comes home....I'll be learning lots of other cool things to make! Since my husband's sister doesn't cook (literally), I'll have to carry on the Czech tradition for my mom-n-law. I thought it was really neat to be able to represent the country where they are from. I even had one lady make the comment, "Oh, Derrick's Czech....is that why he looks like that?!?!" I guess she was talking about his dark complexion, and maybe the dark brown eyes, but I told her that I didn't think that came from Czechoslavokia!!! All in all, the fundraiser turned out to be a success!!! Potato Dumplings and Houska, here I come. Aunt Barb and/or Jenny.....I'm coming your way too! Thanks one more time Aunt Barb!!!

An update on Noah's school week...

This was the first week that Noah went to school full days. He still only goes 3 days a week, but he stays until 2 pm instead of 11:15 am. What they do is after lunch, they all come back to the room and lay down for an hour, then they get up, have another snack, do one more activity, then come home.

Tuesday, she said Noah would not lay down at all....he didn't throw a fit or anything, surprisingly....but he just wouldn't lay down. He said, "Noah went to lunch, now Noah go home. Noah's mom comes." His teacher, Mrs. Jen, explained to him that he'd be staying longer at school, and not coming home after lunch anymore. So, she let him quietly sit and watch a movie.

Wednesday, he was the first one asleep, at 11:45 am (they typically lay down around noon), and the last one to wake up at 1:15 pm. Hahah!

Thursday, he didn't go to sleep, but he layed down real still and calm. That's good enough!

All week, he got all smiley faces on his little progress sheet she sends home.

This morning, I woke up, and Noah was standing by my bed saying, "Good morning Mom. Can I go to school today and see my teacher?!" So, all in all, he loves it!

Mrs. Jen says he's doing really good, and he is so smart and mature from the last time she taught him. He started in March 2008. He had her from March to May 2008. Back when he didn't talk at all, wasn't potty-trained, etc. She said he could go to regular preschool somewhere, that she thinks he'd do fine with typical peers, but I still think maybe not. And, I'm sorry, but Momma knows! But, I guess that was a compliment from her, and her saying he is one of the smartest kids she has ever had. That was nice.

Everyday, Noah comes home so excited, telling me all about his day. He shows me all of his work from school, and tells me all about what he is learning. He told me yesterday, "Mom, I work at school. I have to work!" Haha.

Couple of funnies

A couple of funny things I have heard lately!

• Our pastor: "He who findeth a good wife findeth a good thing. He who findeth a bad wife, well, he's just found a thing!"

• Me: "What are you watching Noah?"
• Noah: "Mr. Roger's Hood."

• Derrick: "Noah, do you want a knuckle sandwich?" (Playfully)
• Noah: "Daddy, do you want a butter sandwich?"

• Me: "Noah, it's time to lay down now, pick out the books you want me to read."
• Noah: "No thanks Mom, you go read the books to Daddy now! I'll stay awake!"
• Me: "Noah, you know it's time. Mom will read to you first then Daddy."
• Noah: "Okay Mom, maybe, sometimes."

Chuck-E-Cheese

This past Monday, Noah and I had the honor of being treated to a day at

CHUCK-E-CHEESE!!!

Grammie (my mom) took us!!!

Noah had a blast, and between the three of us...

He won 700 tickets and a bag of cotton candy!

Plus he had a pizza!

We went in and I took a few pictures, then I said I'd go put my

camera up, because I didn't want it getting messed up.

Well, a while later...

Chuck-E-Cheese himself came out!

Noah ran right up to him and hugged him.

And Chuck-E-Cheese loved Noah too!

Chuck-E gave Noah five, a thumbs up, a hug,..........

and even played a basketball game with Noah!

Then Chuck-E-Cheese had to go see other boys and girls,

in the meantime, Noah went and put his money in the basketball

game again, and said, "Chuck-E-Cheese, I'm over here!"

It was priceless!

Thanks Grammie!!!

Here's a picture of Noah playing his favorite game!And here is his favorite part!
He and Grammie played the race car game!
And Noah's other favorite...the monster truck game!

Thanks again Grammie!

Hermie and Wormie

Some of you may remember reading about Hermie and Wormie the caterpillars.

Well, thanks to Noah, who everyday made sure they had fresh grass,

flowers,

and sprayed their jar with a water bottle

everyday,

Both Hermie and Wormie changed into

beautiful Moths!

So, we let them go, outside of course.

Noah did not want to let these little guys go.

It was very hard to convince him that they'd be better off.

Now, he wants to find more caterpillars.

He liked holding them and watching them crawl around.
The above picture is Noah wondering when they will

ever be butterflies.

Below is Wormie, after "the change."

Hermie "changed" one week later.

It was kind of sad to see them go.

They lived with us almost all summer.

Noah was their main caregiver.

Be free Hermie and Wormie.

Be free.

To train up a dog?!?...

As many of you who read this know, and from previous posts:
~We have a Golden Retriever Puppy.
~He will be one in October (and we are having him a party!).
~He was Noah's Christmas present.
~He is a mess.
~He runs, jumps, and tears up everything!

So, I have been trying to teach him to be calm. We haven't had him neutered, and may not, because he is pretty and might want to be a daddy one day....if he finds the right girl. Anyway, I have taught him to sit, and finally to shake. And now, I am in the process of trying to teach him to be calm while we walk on the leash. I have taken him several times on his leash. Mainly just down the road a bit, and back. But I'd love to take him to town to walk on the sidewalk, and little things like that. Right now though, he walks me, or runs me I should say. This morning we went from my house to the little sewer plant down the road. It's a pretty good ways there and back walking with a maniac dog, but I nevertheless made it. By the time we were coming home though, he did really good. Just walked straight rather than running all over the place. We have to stop when he smells something good. And when a car comes, we go over to the grass and sit and watch it pass. He did real good with this. I actually think he is afraid of cars. After having dogs all my life who chased cars, this is new to me!!!

All of this reminds me of training Noah on stuff. Obviously my dog is not a drop in the bucket when compared to Noah, but it's quite similar. When children are born into the world, they know pretty much nothing. My kid probably knew everything, but ya know! In truth, they know nothing. He had to be trained to do everything. Eat, play, crawl, sit up, walk, just to name a few. Now he's being trained to read and write. Training the dog is a fun thing. Training Noah is a serious one. I'm not going to just leave that to grandparents, sitters, and teachers. That's my job. Not only do I have to train him to function in the world, I have to train him up in the way of the Lord. HUGE responsibility. What if I mess up? If it's on the dog, that might be alright. If it's on Noah, I can't take it back. I have to make sure, starting October 22, 2004, that Noah knows right from wrong and real lessons of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. Those aren't individual fruits (although that is commonly misquoted Galatians 5:22-23), rather it says the FRUIT of the Spirit. That means all 9 traits go together to make up one fruit. Like an apple is made up of a core, seeds, the juicy fruit you eat, the peel, and the stem. An apple would not be an apple if you left on of those ingredients out. A Christian isn't effective either without all of those traits. In other words, you need all 9 in order to have the fruit. So, it's apparent that I would be responsible for showing my child ( along with the rest of the world) the love of Jesus. It's not always about rules, but about a relationship. I don't want to feel bound by the rules that man has made up and scared people away from a church with. Instead, I want them to know I am a Christian by my love!!!


In conclusion, hopefully I can teach Buddy Boy to be calm. To walk around like a big boy dog!!!

This is a picture of me, Noah, and Buddy Boy on the night we brought Buddy home!

And this is the beast now!!! Haha!!!

The first day

So, August 11, 2009. First day of second year at Preschool. Next year, August 2010, my boy will be in regular kindergarten!!! When I woke Noah up, I said, "Good morning Noah, it's time for school." He popped up and said, "Good Morning Mom, I'm going to school today!!!" He ate his breakfast, got dressed and ready, then allowed me a few pictures. He was so sweet. He was so happy too. Notice the brand-new lunchbox! He was so proud.




Then we got to the front of the school, and Noah then knew it was for real! He got mad because at meet-the-teacher we made him leave. He wanted to stay that day! Anyway, we got to his class, he was super happy. I thought this year would be different and I would be strong. I thought I'd be ready for this because he'd be so happy. When it was time for goodbyes, the conversation went like this.


Mom (the strong one): " Good-bye Noah."
Noah (While starting to cry): "No, mom, Noah not go good-bye!"
Mom (starting to tear up too): "Noah, you are going to stay, and Mom is going to leave."
Noah (No more tears): "Oooohhhhhh, Noah stay and you go. Okay, bye mom."
Mom (trying not to lose it!): "Bye Noah. I love you."
Noah (the cute one): "Bye Mom. I love you Mom. Noah play games and have fun."


I didn't just boo-hoo cry like that first time I left him (he went from March to May one year). I cried an entire week about that. Then last year, I didn't do so bad. It wasn't until about day 3 of school (for him, he only went three days a week, half a day!) that I realized I missed him terribly bad. This year, as much as I thought it wouldn't bother me that bad, I was a little misty-eyed when leaving. He didn't want to say bye because he thought he was leaving. He was fine telling me bye though!!! He was ready for me to go, and to let him be a big boy!!! He's growing up on me, too fast. So, I guess I'll have to stand back and let him. Yesterday, I was told that I can just drop him off in the car-rider line instead of parking and walking him in everyday (lots of parents walk in their kids). But, the car-rider line? I insisted that I didn't mind walking him in, but his teacher said it would help him be more independent and ready for Kindergarten (which is what this class is all about!). Talk about a big boy. He had a good first day over all. After being told something that he didn't want to do, he told his teacher, "No ma'am." How funny! Not that he told her no, but that he used manners! She said when they get back after the summer, they just want to play every thing, and do their own thing, but she also tries to get them into routine as quickly as possible. Hopefully today, he won't say "no" or "no ma'am." We talked to him about that, so we'll see. I am excited for him, and happy for him still, I just hope I survive the car-rider line!!! I'm proud of you Noah, very proud of you!

Mixed Emotions

Noah will be going back to school next week!!! Last year, he went Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:00-11:20. This year my big boy will be going Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8:00-2:00!!!

What am I going to do?!?!?!?!?

A very big part of me is so sad. The summer has flown by. We have had a lot of fun.

The Florida Vacation, The weekend in Tennessee,...

that right there is more than most people do in a full year!!!

Plus the little things we've done,

Burris, Splash Park, Summer Reading Program, Beach, Noah having his

cousins over, Kids Krusade, etc.

I am thankful for all of that, because we also had:

Two transmissions go out,

A master cylinder go out,

The air conditioner in our house to go out,

One set of brakes messed up (but easily fixed!),

A freezer full of a month worth of meat quit working,

Ya know, life happened to us in more ways than one!!!

Either way, on Tuesday, all of that will be behind us, and my boy will be back at school!

I'm going to miss him so much this school year! From August to May is a long time!!!

On the other hand, there's a golden band....no, wait a minute.

On the other hand, Noah has asked me every day this summer (literally) if he

can go to school today and see his teacher!!!

Noah has missed school as much as I will miss him!

He's missed that controlled enviornment that has helped him so much.

He's missed his friends.

He's missed his teachers.

He has missed school!

And.....

turns out I am human.

I know, shocking.

But, as much as I will miss my sidekick,

I am looking forward to:

walking every day,

"free time",

more time to read,

more time to pray,

two big bags of cross-stitch stuff in my closet (thanks Aunt B.),

and how happy he'll be at school!

In conclusion, I like to ramble on!!!

And I will miss my boy so much, but I am so happy for him to be happy.

He just needs more than I can give.

Unfortunately, public schools can give him more than me right now!!!

But,

"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens."Ecc. 3:1

*~Turn turn turn.~*

So, I feel that Noah going to special education pre-k

will be a huge part of his testimony.

When he can say, "My dr said I wouldn't,"

he can say, "My God said, OH yes he will!"

That helps me wash away some of the guilt of leaving him.

So next week, be ready for pictures of that first day!

An old treasure rediscovered!!!

Rice Krispie Treats!!! Friday, I had my niece over and we had plans to go to our cousins' pool. We got rained out, and Noah wasn't feeling well. So, after taking Noah to the dr. and going to Wal-Mart for some essentials, we decided to make Rice Krispie Treats (Felicity and Noah's first time!) Rice Krispie Treats are something that I had somehow forgotten, but just out of the blue, I decided this would be fun and easy!!!

Miss. Felicity did a great job of stirring.
Mr. Noah was good at measuring 6 cups of cereal!

They both added cereal as Mom/Aunt T stirred.

And, the first bite!!! Mmmmm! Noah was so excited. He couldn't believe we made these

yummy yummy things!!!

And we even got Daddy/Uncle Derrick to smile with his first bite too!!!