Shelly Says...

Shelly has her own way of saying things, she makes me smile when I hear her intrepretation of the world...

She loves to sing:
     Baa baa black sheep, have you any won't
     Yes sir yes sir three bags four
     One for my master, one for my James
     One for the little boy who lives down the lane
     Baa baa black sheep, have you any won't
     Yes sir yes sir three bags four.
(This reminds me of when Archer used to sing "Twinkle twinkle little car")

She tells me often that her teacher says (fill in the blank here...). This was cute (good imagination, right?) until what her teacher said was contradicting what I said. Now I tell her that's fine if her teacher said that, but in our house MY rules stand, and she needs to do what I say. This doesn't always go over too well.

She now refuses to sleep in her crib and instead sleeps on her mattress on the floor. She especially likes having at least seven or eight blankets piled on top of her. She's like the princess & the pea, except in reverse or something.
She says to me, "let's take a kiss" and then we kiss each other's cheeks and she says she loves me, or tells me I'm the best, is there any better moment than this?

I can't believe my baby girl is about to be 3 years old. Have I mentioned before how time flies?!

Shelly Bell

My lovely little girl. The one who runs outside with no shoes on because she wants to keep up with everyone else. The one who pulls her dress up over her head to play peek-a-boo. The one who tells me that I look pretty when I just wake up and still have bed-head. She's so sweet and kind, loving, sharing, affectionate. She offers to help me and sometimes just wants to watch and all along I hope she's absorbing something useful.

She tells me stories and gives me advice with such a serious expression that I can't help but smile. Remember how she's only TWO? I can't wait to see what she has to tell me in the days to come!

Progress Report

Archer's off to a good start with school, only minor hiccups to report so far...

First Day - He lost his milk money and his teacher had to buy milk for him. Shelly talked a lot about going to school with Archer, even carrying her lunch box with us when we went to drop him off and pick him up at the bus stop. I was afraid she'd be upset when she spent the day at home, not at school, but she was fine.

Second Day - We almost missed the bus in the morning, but he ran while I cheered him on, he made it! Shelly realized that she wasn't going to school and had a tough time with being left behind. It made me think of the picture of Denise and I on my first day of kindergarden.

Third Day - I waited for him to get off the bus in the afternoon. The bus came and went and NO ARCHER! He had gotten off at the wrong stop but we tracked him down and everything was ok. Thanks to the staff at the school for helping me find him, and the friendly neighbor who walked him home. And all the glory to our Father who kept Archer under his wing and brought him safely home.

He will not let your foot slip -
He who watches over you will not slumber
~ Psalm 121:3

There is a time for everything...

Summer has ended and school is now beginning. I'm feeling so many different things. Sadness that the summer is over and another season has passed so quickly, anticipation and nervousness for Archer's next adventure at a new school with new friends, and so on... I was just looking back at the pictures we've taken over the last few months and WOW! We crammed a lot of stuff into those short months!

- A couple of small gardens that have turned into a jungle that's threatening to take over the yard (we DID ask God to bless our garden, and did He ever!)

- Adventures with friends at the beach and in the water fountain downtown

- A magic show and ballet lessons and bike rides and State Fair and did I mention meeting the fire fighters?

- We've made progress on our basement and made our own kites and even found a little time to fly them!

We ended the summer with a great trip to Argyle to party with family and today I finally let the kids flag down the ice cream truck for one last summer treat.

Once again, I'm reminded that time just keeps marching on and here we are on the threshold of a new step forward. And now, I have to get to sleep - its a school night after all!

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven

~ Eccl. 3:1

Firefighter Archer

Summer is Here!

Summer has arrived, and I know this because:

1. 1. Archer is done with school
2. 2. The pool is open
3. 3. I smelled it... Sunscreen, Sweat, Melted Icecream running down their faces (ok maybe I just saw that last one, not smelled it)

They're sticky and dirty and they both already have playtime bruises, the bottoms of their feet are perpetually black from running without shoes, and they are already tan! Thanks to yard work and pool work and bike riding, they've got a great start on the summer. I can't wait to see what adventures come our way in the next three months!

PS - Remember this? Has it already been two years since I wrote this?

http://archerandshelly.blogspot.com/2007/05/summer-is-here.html

Graduation

Archer has graduated from 4K. I'm one of those people who scorns these kinds of things. A kid graduating from Pre-Kindergarten to Regular-Kindergarten? Come ON! Seriously!

Now that I've got that out of the way, my son has graduated. I nearly cried as I sat there and watched him singing with his class, then walk across the stage and receive his diploma, then endure the emotional slide show of pictures from throughout the year. My boy has graduated! That was Wednesday. The official last day of school was Thursday and that's when it hit me. I won't be coming back to this school. I won't see Archer's teacher ever again (she's retiring, this is her last year). My boy survived riding the bus, going into the world on his own and learning to write his name, know his address and phone number, and countless other things. My boy is getting so tall I hardly think he can only be a little 5 year old boy. Actually, he's NOT a little 5 year old boy anymore, he's growing up and its going too fast. Some days I forget he's so young, I expect so much of him. But I do think my expectations are in-line with what he's capable of acheiving. Yes, I expect a lot. But I know he can do it.

He's learned independence, self-control, following the rules in the classroom and respecting his classmates and teachers. He's learned writing and knows all the letters and numbers, days of the week and seasons and I could go on. He's made friends. He's not so little anymore.

Way to go Archer, I'm so proud of you!

To see a few pics, click here...
http://seafar199.blogspot.com

Look to the Lord and His Strength

Its been awhile. Hi everyone! On one hand there have been big changes, and on the other hand its all just the regular daily family stuff.

So here's the rundown. I'm a stay-at-home mom now, maybe short-term or maybe not. For now I'm loving it, its up to God how long it lasts. We're just finishing up Spring Break and its back to the regular schedule tomorrow. Somehow I've managed to maintain a normal schedule and keep the kids entertained, with something a little different planned for each day. Mondays Shelly and I run errands. Tuesdays I join Archer's class for a little while in the morning, other days we have friends over or go visit friends. We're keeping busy with bike rides thanks to Mom and Dad and their handy trailer for Shelly to ride.

Archer's doing fantastic on his two-wheeler without training wheels. On the day of our 7.5 mile ride he had his first major spill. I didn't see it happen but heard the cry and looked over to see him in a heap on the ground under his bike. The scrape under his chin and on his hand are now scabbing over nicely. When it happened he said he'd never ride again. But he loves it too much to quit. In fact, he talks about it constantly.

Shelly's counting to ten, singing lots of songs and coming up with her own games to play without big brother. She's definitely becoming more independent. Her latest favorite is lining up pillows on the floor and then lying a doll on each and wrapping them up in blankets. She fights nap time and bed time harder than ever by coming up with more and more ways to call me back into her room. She wants her socks on, then off, the blankets on, then off. Her baby doll in her crib, tossed out of her crib, on and on. After it goes on for a few minutes I ignore her calls and simply go in my room to read.

We're making progress and then we're not, two steps forward and one back. Three forward and one back. I think its all rolling along predictably and then they throw bumps into the road. I should know better than to expect them to just go along with it all without testing, pushing, looking for the loophole that might be there. They're not sitting still, so why do I think I can? A beautiful, wonderful, interesting challenge that God keeps putting in front of me. And keeps giving me the patience, endurance, energy, and love to make it to the end of the day. Each and every day. Sometimes one minute at a time.

Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.
~1 Chronicles 16:11

Made That Way

Last night Archer and I were cataloging his scrapes and bruises from a visit to the playground earlier in the day. He showed me his scuffed shin and then I asked about a spot on his knee that looked like a bruise. He said "Don't look at that. Its just a red spot. I was made with it." And then he added, "God just made me with it." I'm pretty sure God didn't make him with it, I don't think I'd ever seen that particular bruise before. But it made me happy to know that Archer was clear on who made him.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you...
- Jeremiah 1:5