The second day

We are to day 2 of school. Yesterday went WONDERFUL. Thank you all so much for your prayers and for the comments you left on yesterday's blog. I am going to do my best to recount to you in Gabe's words his thoughts and feelings from yesterday. The following conversation took place inside the van just after I drove through the pick-up line to get him:

Mom: HI GABE!! I am sooooo proud of you!! How did your day go?

Gabe: Great!! I love school...hang on...I...(struggling to get his backpack open) have to....show....you something....

Mom: Did you bring something home? I can't wait to see it!

Gabe: trying to....get it....out... TADA!!!!!! My assignment NOTEBOOK! (Gabe holds his new notebook in the air, beaming from ear to ear)

Mom: WOW! That is super exciting! What is it?

Gabe: Every day Miss Verfail (supposed to be Verfaillie but he is having trouble remembering the last "e" sound) writes assignments on the board and we copy them into our assignment notebook!

Mom: That sounds so fun! You must have been SO excited when she gave that to you!

Gabe: yep

Mom: So Gabe, what did you do all day? I want to hear all about it!

Gabe: Well, we really didn't do any learning things, just talking a lot about all the rules.

Mom: Oh I see...well, did you get to eat lunch?

Gabe: Yes! But I didn't eat it all...I am saving it for a snack. I loved my fruit gushers.

Mom: Did you go to the bathroom?

Gabe: I don't know...well, maybe...yes I did once.

Mom: What time of the day was it when you went?

Gabe: I don't know Mom (sigh)...they don't have clocks in the bathrooms!!

Mom: oh ok....well, how do you like Miss Verfaillie?

Gabe: She is the GREATEST teacher ever!!

Mom: Really! That is good to hear! What makes her so great?

Gabe: She treats me really nice and helps me (then later added to this answer when Dad asked him the same question at dinner) and she has a lot of wisdom and loves God.

Mom: So Gabe did you do gym class today?

Gabe: yep! but I didn't understand the objective of the game...it was pacman tag and you had to run around in lines and stay in your line and not get in anyone else's line but I didn't understand what the point was.

Mom: oh...well that sounds like fun! How did you like your new gym shoes? Did they feel ok?

Gabe: not at first, they didn't feel great but then at the end I liked them a lot

Mom: and did you get your other shoes back on ok?

Gabe: Yep! I did it all by myself!!!

Mom: Wow Gabe, I am just so proud of you!!

Gabe: I missed you a lot today Mom...I wish you could have been there.

Mom: I missed you too Gabe. (then Zoe piping in: I miss too Gabe!)

Gabe: I didn't like the bell...it rang at random times and I didn't like it...I had to cover my ears.

Mom: oh was it loud?

Gabe: Not when we were in the classroom, but in the hallway it was REALLY loud and ANNOYING.

And so the conversation continued...overall he loves school and was really excited to go back this morning. I was proud of myself as I let him go into the school building all by himself and just stood at a distance and watched him struggle to get his backpack into his locker all by himself. But he did it and I didn't intervene. It was so hard to just stand there and watch!!!!!!

So there you go...a glimpse into Gabe starting school. We are confident that he is going to have a great year.

Gabe's first day of school...an amazing journey

Today is an amazing day. 7 years ago today, my little newborn son was in the NICU at U of M. Today, he is at school all day, in SECOND GRADE. I am totally in awe of the grace, mercy, love and healing power of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by HIS work alone that Gabe has made it to this day. I have been a nervous wreck all day, thinking for sure that the school is going to call, but things have been so quiet today. I leave to pick him up in just a short hour and a half. I love my son so much. He truly is one amazing kid. We will post another blog later today or tomorrow full of all his first day stories!! I just had to put these pictures on here. To God and God alone be ALL the glory. Thank you Lord!!!!!!!

Shopping With Boys

I made a discovery yesterday. We took Gabe school shopping, part of which was getting some new clothes. For all you moms of infant or soon to be born boys, here is a warning. Little boys do NOT like trying on clothes. :-) It just isn't the same as shopping with girls. But that's ok...there are so many great things that boys do that girls don't like to do. It was just a funny discovery...something I probably already knew, but just hadn't experienced.

So the door lady called me yesterday. She didn't sound happy, but I happily passed her on to Agent Super Schoeb so hopefully all will end well. Thank you Jayson!!!

The backpack is filled, the new shoes have been bought, the lunchbox arrived in the mail, parent orientation is tomorrow night. All seems to be in place...EXCEPT MY NERVES!!!!!! My mind just keeps endlessly spinning thinking of all the things that could go wrong as Gabe starts school. I am so nervous for the small things that the other kids will be able to do better like write and cut with scissors. He does so many things really well...you all know that!! We think he's a genius!! I think what I am afraid for is teasing for the things he's not good at yet. Do all moms go through this? I have to imagine that they do. Well, only 5 days to go. Here's to my wonderful little boy and his BIG new adventure.

What a Weekend!

Goodness...these last 3 days have been so jam packed I just don't know where to begin. I will give you the highlights as best as I can...hope this doesn't get too long, and if it does, oh well!

Friday we left around 6am to drive up north. We met Matt's parents at their camper, had breakfast and then went out to this spot on Lake Michigan where the Platte (sp?) River empties into the Lake. It was a VERY cool spot. We would have stayed longer, but it was really windy and the kids got really cold really fast. The funniest part of this part of our adventure was when I crossed the river. You could cross at this shallow part and get up on a sandbar as to be closer to the lake. Well, what I didn't know is there was QUICK SAND! Hello! Yep, you guessed it. I sank right in up to my waist. That was hilarious. Never had that happen before. So we leave the lake and the Maibergers and head to Traverse City to go to Great Wolf Lodge. We couldn't check in until 4, so we stopped by our favorite pillow store there in town and all got new pillows. It was so grand. I of course got a body pillow and it is HEAVENLY. So then off to GWL...we had a little fiasco checking in. Apparently the kind of room I reserved only came in handicap accessible form, so long story short, we ended up with a handicap room. Oh well. At least it was cheap! The kids had a blast at the water park. Matt's parents joined us the next morning and Gabe and Zoe both loved that. All in all, Gabe loved his birthday celebration. We got home last night and were exhausted, but we had a great time. Fast forward to this afternoon. We went to the late service cause there was NO way we were getting up early! :-) After, we had lunch with one of our graduates who is going back to college tomorrow, and then Zoe and I headed to Target to do some shopping. I had been there about 10 minutes when I needed to look into my purse to see if I had a pull-up coupon. No wallet. Oh no. For those of you who know my brownsville wallet story, anytime I lose my wallet I get panicked. Anyway, I had my checkbook with ONE CHECK, but I wasn't sure if they would take it without ID. I went up to the checkout and talked to the manager who ran my check and said if I kept it under $100 I would be fine and wouldn't need id. Whew. So I did the rest of my shopping and checked out, explaining to the cashier what the manager had told me. Well, unfortunately, she had made a mistake and I DID need id. AAAAA. Who memorizes their driver's license number?? Well, not me, BUT, I asked if I could call my husband and use his. They said yes, so as he read it to me over the cell phone I dictated it to the cashier. Haha! What would we do without cellphones, eh? So, all is well. Now I am on my way out to the car to see if my wallet was for some unknown reason laying on the floor of the van. And it was. My crazy day had almost come to a calming end when BAM! My passenger side door caught the wind and SLAMMED into the driver side door of the car next to me. Ugh. It TOTALLY dented their door, so I had to leave my name and #. We'll see if they call. So thankfully I am home now and off to clean before the youth sponsors get here. Gabe starts school a week from tomorrow. WOW.

1. What is your occupation? stay-at-home mom and part-time piano teacher
2. What color is your underwear? usually white
3. What are you listening to right now? morning cartoons and leap pad
4. What was the last thing you ate? cheez its (last night...haven't had breakfast yet)
5. Do you wish on stars? no
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? some shade of blue...I always liked all the blue colors in my crayon box
7. How is the weather right now? sunny
8. Last person you spoke to on the phone? my husband
9. Do you like the person who sent this to you? of course....Mandi rocks! :-)
10. Favorite drink? iced mocha
11. Favorite sport to watch? golf
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? HAHA oh yes. There were the college days of the "black cherry" hair or the more recent mom days of highlights
13. Do you wear contacts or glasses? both
14. Pets? A hamster, Binky
15. Favorite month? September or October...I love the fall in MI
16. Favorite food? anything that is cooked well
17. What was the last movie you watched? Ladder 49
18. Favorite day of the year? I agree with Mandi...Christmas
19. What do you do to vent anger? Get in the shower and cry...haha
20. What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbie perfume maker
21. Fall or Spring? Fall
22. Hugs or kisses? hugs
23. Cherry or Blueberry? most def. cherry
24. Do you want your friends to email you back? sure
25. Who is most likely to respond? n/a
26. Who is least likely to respond? n/a
27. Living arrangements? manufactured home with 3 bedrooms...trying to figure out where to put the baby!
28. When was the last time you cried? last week sometime
29. What is on the floor of your closet? oh my...some clothes, our laundry cart, suitcases, our file cabinet, a rolling dresser thing, a mirror that we have never hung since we've lived here, some framed pictures, my saxophone.
30. Who is the friend you have had the longest? Amanda Jensen
31. What did you do last night? Had d-group then took the kids back home and tried to install Gabe's new computer game
32. Favorite smell? Victoria's Secret vanilla bean lotion, coffee
33. What inspires you? Jesus of course and people who walk out their faith
34. What are you afraid of? the dark...haha
35. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Cheese
36. Favorite car? Any kind of 7-seater suv
37. Favorite dog breed? Labrador
38. Number of keys on your key ring? 7
39. How many years at your current job? 7 yrs mom, 7 yrs on and off piano
40. Favorite day of the week? FRIDAYS!
41. How many states have you lived in? Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Tennessee, California, Kentucky, Michigan...so I guess that's 7
42. How many cities have you lived in? 1 in each of the first 6 states and then 3 in michigan, so 9.

I won't tag anyone in particular, but it would be fun to hear from you all! We are going up north this weekend for Gabe's birthday to Great Wolf Lodge. Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Gabe at Famous Dave's Barbeque at Cedar Point. In the battle between Texas Roadhouse and Famous Dave's, we surrender. Famous Dave's wins!!

Song Tag

Ok, ok I give. I will do the "tag" and list my top 10 songs. But, I gotta tell ya, this is going to be a stretch. See, you would think someone like me who loves everything about music would have lots of songs I am listening to. But in reality, I hardly listen to any songs at all!! I hardly own any CD's that I listen to, I don't have radio or CD in the car (not by choice...they just don't work), so I can't really say what I am "currently" listening to. So instead I will give my top ten that I have liked in the recent past. These are not in any particular order...just as they come to mind:

1. "You are the Vine" by Ken Ferguson. Love Ken's music...he needs to make more CD's!!!!! Ken I hope you read this. haha
2. "You are Good" praise song...I like the version by the Lakewood Church choir.
3. Anything David Crowder
4. "Lord Have Mercy" by Michael W. Smith
5. "Find Me in the River" by Delirious
6. "Come to Jesus" by Chris Rice....this is just beautiful.
7. Well, this isn't just one "song" but I would currently be listening every week to any song that my piano students are playing .... haha
8. "I need you Jesus" by the passion band. This is my cell phone ring
9. "Willy Wonka theme song" this is my cell phone ring for Matt
10. "Larry Boy" the cartoon theme song. Ironically, this is currently my daughter's favorite video.

Oven Stroganoff

So nothing too special today. Just catching up on some cleaning and doing a little bit of cooking for the upcoming week. I thought I would share a recipe from Matt's mom that is FABULOUS. We are making it for dinner tonight:

Oven Stroganoff

1 lb. or so stewing beef...the better the cut the more tender it will turn out.
1 can french onion soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 small can tomato sauce
1 can sliced mushrooms (you can use fresh, but this is just easier)
Sour cream

Brown beef lightly on all sides. Combine with all other ingredients except for the sour cream in a big dutch oven. Cook at 325 degrees covered for 3 hours. In the last 10 minutes, add enough sour cream to make the flavor to your liking. Serve over cooked egg noodles. Yummmmm.

Enjoy!

just me

In a lime green funk

Ok, so I am trying to not have this be an endless day after day complaining about the first trimester, but holy cow. I am tired. So very tired. And I am getting more sleep than ever before. My head is pounding. I even succumed to trying to wear maternity clothes because everything is just starting to be not tight, but uncomfortable. But then I look at myself in the mirror and see the shirt that looks more like a dress and just laugh. Just for the record, kid number 3 is hard. Thank goodness I have a lot of time to prepare for his or her actual arrival. I can't even tell you what I have done in the last week. It is all such a blur. Well, all except one thing. Scrabble. The game my husband will NEVER play with me we have played every day for the last week. He always wins...remember Canasta? Yeah. I just don't get how he always gets the good plays worth like 40 points. And it's with easy words like "event." So my pursuit of beating matt continues, just like everyone else who plays games with Matt. To his credit, he is a really good game player. So I know that when I DO win, I will have EARNED IT!!! :-)

Gabe the comedian

Overheard as we are driving down our street around 9:30 pm:

Gabe: "Mom and Dad, what are those kids doing up just a few hours before midnight!!?"

Dad: "Well, Gabe, you are up too...so doesn't that mean you are up late?"

Gabe: "Yes, but I'm nocturnal"

Third time a.....charm?

So this being my third (well, really fourth) time around being pregnant, I figure, I've got this pregnancy thing down, right? HA! Today the first trimester came in like a lion. I fell asleep twice this morning, then took a half hour nap once matt got home this afternoon. Even folding a simple load of laundry felt like lifting bricks. I go from feeling so full after only a few bites to ravashing hungry just a half hour later. And even though my baby is the size of one of these letter o's, I feel like my clothes have somehow shrunk and I am balooning! So Mandi, you being the mother of 4 among us, did the same thing happen to you?? Did you feel 15 weeks pregnant when you were only 5????????? I guess that afterall I am happy about how I am feeling. As one who's had 2 out of 3 pregnancies not be normal, having normal pregnancy symptoms feels good somehow. At least I haven't had morning sickness yet....knock on wood!