A very sad day

Yesterday we lost our sweet kitty cat, Serafina. She was hit by a car up on the big road. The older kids saw her remains on the way to school but hoped all day that it was some other cat. I cried all day missing my buddy around the house, worrying about the kids and stressing out about telling them the sad news.

Serafina is and will continue to be sorely missed. She was a member of our family, and it is our hope that when we are in heaven she will be with us too.

Here are some of our favorite pictures of her.

Update

1. My class is going great so far. There is a lot to learn about the program itself. That is what we are focusing on right now. I feel like I am making it okay so far. I have been assigned to a Learning Team, and one of my peers lives in Japan! How cool is that!

2. Eliza had a bike accident today. She got scraped up a little, and she hit her head on the pavement. She had a massive headache at first. It got better throughout the day, but she went to bed with it still aching. No, I don't think she had a concussion. Her stomach never felt sick, and she didn't get dizzy or anything.

3. Luke told me yesterday, "Mom . . . I LOVE SCHOOL! Today we had Cheetos for snack." This week Luke learned to identify cylinders, spheres, cubes, cones and rectangular prisms. A couple of his older sisters couldn't identify the shapes as such, but Luke could. Watch out sisters!

4. Leah remembered which way to write her letter P on her spelling test, and she made a 100!

5. Friday the kids dressed up for spirit day at school. Since the school is small, even the elementary kids participate in school spirit stuff and pep rallies. This week the theme was "Accident Prone." My girls got really into it. They borrowed crutches, a sling and a wrist brace from my mother-in-law. The mother of one of Sarah's friends said that Sarah's fake bruises were pretty convincing. Sarah's grade won the spirit stick at the pep rally.

6. Paul continues to work hard. His employer has increased production! This is wonderful considering that in the last year half of the employees were laid off. They have also begun hiring people back. Paul also continues to play guitar everyday.

School days

I should have posted this a couple of weeks ago, but here they are now. What cute kids! They were up and ready to go bright and early. I'm still not used to getting up before 6 p.m. I was really enjoying sleeping in over the summer. Oh well, at least the sun is still shining in the early hours. I hate getting up when it is dark outside. It just seems wrong.

For the record they are: Luke, Pre-K; Leah, first; Sarah, third; Eliza, fifth.

Luke and I at his school. I will have to get pictures of his classroom. It is the coolest ever!

Gap-toothed Leah! And yes that is a potty chair that no one has used for a very long time. It was drying on the carport. It is all clean and ready to be owned by someone else:)

Sarah has this thing about wearing her hair in a ponytail with a headband. I think it is overkill, but it's her head. Whatever! Plus she's cute regardless.

This one is growing up way too fast! Are any of you other moms freaking out that their children are growing up faster than you ever imagined. Everyday Paul looks at me and says "they are getting big, aren't they?" or something to that effect. Scary! Eliza is ten. In another ten years she will be 20 (I'm good at math, see?) She could be married by then, and I could be a grandma! AHHHHHHH! Surely those thoughts cross someone else's mind too.

Here I go

I found out today that I was accepted into the online master's program through the University of Phoenix. I am relieved and anxious. It is a 23 month program and in the end I will have a master's degree in education and a K-8 teaching certificate for Arizona and Alabama. Everyone please bear with me. I'm not exactly sure what the next 23 months hold, but I am sure it will be challenging and rewarding. I am so grateful the Lord has guided me to this point. I wouldn't have imagined this a year ago, and yet here I am.

Home alone!

Yes, it finally happened. I had my first day home alone. No children. No husband. I didn't even get emotional. It was just blissfully peaceful. I listened to good music and worked around the house doing "whatever" all day. Ironing was even enjoyable for the first time. Crazy, I know. Oh, and my husband took me out for Chinese. What a sweet guy!

As for the children, they started school today. Luke is attending a Pre-K class all day, and my girls are in 1st, 3rd and 5th. Everyone had great first days. Eliza gets a locker this year and changes classes. Sarah's teacher reads Junie B. Jones every afternoon, and Leah was excited because her teacher reads Bible stories to them everyday. It delighted Leah to no end. Hurray for happy children and a great first day of school!

Summer veggies

My generous neighbor shared a little from her garden this week. She shared enough that I got to prepared these veggies for the freezer. Blog worthy? No, but they looked so yummy I had to snap a picture and share. Enjoy or ignore. Your choice.

Teeth business and the last week of summer vacation

I wasn't joking when I said Leah had more loose teeth. She lost another this week. Now she can stick her tongue out at you with her teeth clenched. Two more are loose on the bottom.

The rest of these photos are just some from our week. My children are growing up so fast.