Now that I've talked about vomit, I can proceed with the record of recent events.
Silas' Kindergarten Graduation
While the idea of a kindergarten graduation seemed undue at the time, when Silas walked across the stage in his white cap and gown, I could tell he was proud to have his family there to watch him. I realized how many reasons I had to be proud of him. He learned to read this year. He excelled in math. He struggled- really struggled- through writing in a journal every day. He made new friends; something I was anxious about. He learned to obey new authority figures.
*Further interruptions: Micah just fell off his scooter again. Children have also alerted me that Baby Big Chicken has knocked over the water. Again. This is an awfully naughty batch of chicks.*
Back to Silas... Finishing kindergarten turned out to be a bigger deal than I thought. In twelve years, God willing, we're going to see him do this again. And as we just celebrated my sister Katie's graduation from JBU this weekend, it's possible Silas will do that too. His potential is unknown at this point. What is known is he will not be with me forever. This beginning of his formal education creates automatic reminders to the number of years he's expected to remain at home with me, and a third of it is already gone. I'm really grateful for a school like Providence that allows me such a significant role in his education and so much time at home. Having a first grader and gearing up for another kindergartner will make the 2012-2013 school year just as fun, no doubt. Two school age children! It's like Joel and I are adults now. And speaking of the man...
Dr. Joel Fankhauser, Team Sectional Leader
That's Joel's promotion! He's now the liaison for the Mercy Health Big Boss and physicians for three primary care clinics. What does this mean? I'm not sure. Maybe more meetings, but so far it's pretty much the same. I'm so very proud of him! Way to go, Joel.
Comings and Goings of a Eventful Weekend
As mentioned before, sister Katie graduated from John Brown University on Saturday. It was 2 days after Abbie's birthday. Abbie is expecting her first baby, a son, in about 8 weeks so we also had a surprise baby shower for her. It was great fun to have all us 7 girls, a couple cousins, cousins' girlfriends, nieces, aunt, uncle, great aunt and grandparents in and out over the weekend. The kids did great with so many people to talk to and Micah and Liza had only a couple of minor kerfuffles (see below), but not in front of Grandfather, as per instructions. Everyone was so helpful in getting meals out, moving chairs around, being excited about the lame-o door prizes I pawned off on them, and being quiet after children's bed time. I'm thoroughly exhausted from the weekend, and now very lonely. I going to miss Katie and Sara!
Like WWF
And just so you know it's not all happy family farm around here, I have to write a note about how much Micah and Liza are fighting these days. With Micah being on the smaller size of 5 and Liza being on the larger size of 3, folks often ask if they are twins.
Liza is really mean to Micah. Micah, like anybody, doesn't like being pushed around. She's always "accidentally" bumping into him or taking his things when she swears she didn't know he wasn't done playing with it. They slap each other with blankets in the car. They steal each others bikes. They blow bubbles in each others eyes. They push each other out of the shopping cart at the store. It's exhausting. God give me a wisdom to deal with this pair.
And Millie: I'm purposefully leaving Millie out of this post. She's getting her own post next. Check back soon.
Update: it's been a week since I wrote this and I'm just now getting back to editing and adding pictures. I need another blog post just to catch up.
