First day of Kindergarten--take two (Cameron's turn)

Today was a big day in the life of Cameron.

He started kindergarten.

I remember the day Colin started like it was yesterday. (I remember how Cameron was such a goofball all day, making me laugh at every turn.  Even at three years old, he knew Mommy was sad--and he knew he was just the boy to cheer me up!)  I know all parents say that about every milestone, but I really feel like I blinked and two years have passed.

Though I shed several tears yesterday, and quite a few (in hiding) today, I did much better today than I did with Colin--but, in all fairness, Cameron was only gone for an hour and a half. Monday is the first full day--so, we'll see if I'm singing the same "I'm okay!" tune then. *grin*

To start the day, I grounded myself with my normal morning quiet time. I knew I would need it, and it was amazing--my daily reading was from Jeremiah, where I came across some of my favorite verses of all time: verses 11-14 of chapter 19. They read:

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good, and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days, when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me; I will be found by you," says the Lord.

It was very moving and comforting to me to know that, even in what would be considered a very mild trial of 'losing' my child to school, God's promise was for good things in my life, and in Cameron's....and that He was listening.  Even when there was no audible speech--He was listening to the sound of my tears hitting the bathroom floor when I couldn't muster any words to pray. He knows all of our griefs, and promised to carry us through--the big ones and the little ones.

Speaking of good things--I decided the first day of school should be celebrated with some donuts. *grin*

After a yummy breakfast (which I did not feel guilty about in the least, knowing they would be back home before the poor teachers would experience the sugar crash) we snapped a hundred few pictures. 

I can't decide if I like this one....

....or this one the best. Either way--I'm pretty sure I have a framer on my hands!

{Seriously--I am one incredibly blessed Momma to have these amazing gifts!}

The boys had to show off their Bears backpacks!

Cameron....oh, Cameron. How I will miss your goofiness and your wise cracks all day long!

I can't get over how big Cameron is--almost as big as Colin!

My two little men

Then, it was outside to snap a few pictures in front of our special tree.

I love this one.

First stop at school? Dropping this little man off at his second grade classroom! I did alright--until I hit the doorway to take him in the room. Good thing there was a box of Kleenex right in the entry way! I was able to dab the tears away before he saw them. We snapped a quick picture, and then I was off....

....to the K-5 room! We were greeted by an 'Old West' theme.

Cameron immediately searched out and found his desk.  

It is in the very back of the room...and I'm fairly certain that that won't last long! *snicker*

We are so fortunate to have Mrs. W. again! Colin had her--she is an answer to my prayers! A wonderful woman. I'm looking forward to another year with her! She made Cameron feel welcome right away.

He found his hook....

....and his supply box....

....which he immediately began loading. I have to admit, it was very cute--he was so excited.

Pausing for one last shot before Mrs. W. called things to order!

The children met on the rug. As excited as he was, 

you can still see the uncertainty on Cameron's face in this picture.

But he quickly got into gear, answering some questions....

....and even introducing himself when it was his turn.

I quietly hugged him goodbye, told him I would be back in an hour, and slipped out of the room. As much as I thought it would get easier with each child, today proved just the opposite. Good thing I kept that Kleenex from before handy. I needed it.

Just as I was composing myself, I got a glimpse of this:

and I realized that it would be another blink before both of these two were walking these halls as well.

We got back home. To the mess from the scurry of the morning; to the dark of the house from the cloudy day; to the quiet.

Too much quiet.

And I shed a few more tears.

And then? 

In that moment, I realized....then, there were two.

Lord, please give me the strength to get through the tears. Through these days adjusting to missing my two oldest babies....and give me the courage to continue on, knowing You are right beside me; beside Colin; beside Cameron. Thank you for this special time with my two youngest babies--and please, please help me to use it wisely.

I love you, Cameron! Immensely. I miss you already. 

But I am excited for this year, and excited to see how God uses you to bless so many 

others--the way you have blessed me for these last five years while I have had you at home!

The gift that keeps on giving

Last Friday night, Shane surprised me on date night.

Well, surprised is putting it mildly....truly--he blew me out of the water.

He took me out to dinner (normal) and then he pulled into the Best Buy parking lot (not normal). He informed me that we were going inside, and that he was buying me a new camera.

Not just any new camera--our point and shoot is not that old, and still works well--but the camera I have been drooling over for several years now--a Canon Rebel.

I nearly died from excitement, and have spent the last several days getting to know some of the basic ins-and-outs--reading about aperture, f-stops, ISO, and shutter speed on Pioneer Woman's photography section. I bought a Canon rebel for dummies book (oh yes I did!) from Amazon, which should be arriving any day now. I can't wait to learn more, but for now, I am having so much fun taking a zillion and a half shots each day. I thought I'd share some of my favorites from yesterday.

Ethan, helping out in the garden

Showing off his 'prize'

Marigold in our garden--natural pesticide {bugs dislike the smell}

My favorite seven- and five-year-old tomato unloaders!

 Out of focus....but something about this shot makes me love it anyway

 Colin, showing me his favorite of the treasured 'special rock' collection

Cameron, so proud of his garden helping abilities

E Ry, looking so sweet I can hardly stand it!

Colin, who is missing more baby teeth every time I turn around

Lola, fresh out of the garden (with dirt still on her nose....)

Photography experts would tell you I have a lot to learn--but I can't wait to!  I am thinking there are going to be a lot of posts like this in the coming weeks.  Thank you, Shane--I truly love my camera!!

Mommy's naptime accomplishments

Done:

7 bags at 6+ cups each = over 42 cups of carrots preserved!

{I used my Food Saver for easy freezing--I love this quick and user-friendly storage method.}

Working on:

{Mixed peppers}

Coming up:

{Roma tomatoes}

Yes....again. *grin*

Garden haul of the day--carrots

This morning, we got quite the yield of carrots from our garden!

The boys got right to work pulling the greens off.

It was a bit more difficult than they thought it was going to be...

...but they got the job done!

We found some VERY interesting looking carrots--you sure don't see these in the grocery stores!

Carrots are determined to keep growing downward, and will go around whatever is in their way or do whatever it takes to get there. Even if it means sprouting another root or three!

After we beheaded them all *grin* we brought them to the sink for a good cleaning.

I let these soak for a little while to give the dirt time to loosen up a bit.

You can see how dirty the water got--and this water had already been changed a couple of times.

But they came really clean! No need for peeling. Many of the nutrients are in that outer layer--you don't want to peel that away! A good scrubbing is all these guys needed.

Did I mention....that....we had a bunch!?

As I washed, I enjoyed the peace and quiet and the scenery out of my kitchen window...

...this little guy was keeping me company. 

(Well, him and three of his buddies--but I never had my camera in hand when they were all there together!)

{*Dear Shane--Have I told you how much I love you AND my new camera?!?*}

After the carrots were all clean, I got to lopping--the icky parts off of the ends, that is.

See that green circle? That's not ripe. Want to get that off!

Same carrot. Much better.

I chopped the really large ones in half....

...and then the chopping blade of my food processor got to work.

It did this for me....

....in a matter of minutes!!

After all was said and done, I was left with a giant bowl full of carrots!

I put the bowl next to a pint of tomato sauce, so you could get an idea of how large the bowl really is.

(It holds a whopping 32 cups when the lid is on--let alone overflowing like this!)

That is a LOT of carrots--they'll be going into the freezer tomorrow! All in all a great day in the preserving department!

Lesson FAIL: Those less fortunate and keeping things clean

I try. Really...I do.

But sometimes, lessons we teach (or in my case, apparently--try to teach) our children just don't seem to be grasped the way were were hoping for.

This past week, we--and by we I mean all three boys and I--have been working on two things: counting our blessings and keeping our room clean.

We've talked about those who are less fortunate than we are, and how we need to help people in need.

We've thanked God for the big things: our home with a roof over our heads; cooler days so our van isn't so hot when we ride around in it; the money we have to buy our necessities; and the fact that Daddy has been kept safe on all of the jobs he is currently working on.

We've thanked God for the small things: bike rides; unlimited books we can check out from the library and read for free; finding Indian beads at the park; zucchini bread; new (and very cool) boxer brief undies to wear to bed at night; nunchucks for the Wii; and Mt. Dew frosters from Circle K.

{Okay...maybe that last one was me.}

AND, we've also been cleaning up the boys' room each and every day before rest time.

I've been stressing to them the importance of keeping things neat and tidy (one day, their wives will thank me....of that I'm quite certain....) which has meant quite a bit more picking up and straightening than they are normally used to.

Apparently, all the extra work finally got to Cameron, because the other day, while in the middle of picking up yet another pile of toys, he said in a quite irritated tone:

"We need to give some of this junk away to some poor people so that we don't have to pick it up all of the time!!"

*sigh*

I guess we'll keep working on those lessons....