First Day of School

Newest student to Rocky Heights Elementary.

Luke helping Easton put away his supplies.

Sitting in his chair all ready to go.

Poor Luke! (His face as we left Easton).

Such a handsome boy!

Easton went off to school today. He is such a big boy! We drove him to school, because the bus comes at 7:05 am, and that is just too early. We helped him put away his supplies, and find his chair, and then we left. Lucas cried. He said "I don't want to leave Easton. I'm going to miss Easton." I'm sure Easton is going to have a fantastic time in Kindergarten. I can't wait until he reads a big book out loud to his teacher. I wish I would be there to see her reaction. And I can't wait to hear all about his first day when he comes home on the bus at 11:15. We will definitely miss Easton during our morning hours.

Swim lessons

Easton and Luke finished 6 weeks of swim lessons on Thursday. During the summer they made great improvements. They were both able to move up a level. Luke, who wouldn't even put his face in the water and cried at the beginning of the summer, was learning how to actually swim, and go all the way under the water for dive sticks by the end of the sessions. Easton has greatly improved his free style stroke, and is starting to get the hang of side breathing. He is a natural fish in the water and loved every minute of swim lessons.

Swings

The perfect addition to our finished backyard, was the swingset that our neighbor gave to us. His kids had out grown it, but he thought he'd offer it to us before junking it. We gladly accepted. Easton has already learned how to swing himself (hooray!) and they love going outside and playing on it together. Max could go up and down the slide all day if I let him.

Kids are so smart.

Easton is a smart boy. And I think he knows he is smart. But I don't think he knows that he is spiritually smart. I was showing him a blog about a family who just had a perfect little baby, born without any arms or legs. He asked "Why does that baby not have any arms or legs?" I said "I don't know why." Then he said something very profound and it brought tears to my eyes. He said "Maybe because the mommy wanted a little baby without arms or legs."

Oh yes, my precious Easton, that mommy did want a baby without any arms or legs. It made me think about the things I must have known about my life before coming here to earth. That mother must have known that she would have to raise a baby with physical challenges. That tiny baby must have known that her life would be a little difficult because her body would not be whole. And yet, they chose this life, and they chose to face those trials. I must have known some of the challenges that I would face, and I am glad that I chose to go through them, no matter how hard they have been or will be.

I'm thankful that my children often remind me of my spiritual role here on earth, because it makes the physical role of being a mother much easier, and well worth it.

Triathlon

Easton's personal transition zone.
Done with the swim. Getting ready to ride.

Peddling as fast as he can!

All finished! Thanks for helping, Dad!

Easton participated in the Hermiston Kids Triathlon last Saturday. He swam 25 yds., biked 1/2 mile, and ran 1/2 mile. He had a ton of fun! He did so good too. He was a little hesitant when he started each portion of the race, and had a little melt down when he started the run because he was tired, but he finished and was so proud of himself at the end of the race. We were so proud of our little athlete.

We've got grass!

As of Friday evening, we now have a lawn. Our kids love it! They spent Saturday running around in the grass in the sprinklers. Scott wanted to take a nap on the grass. I just loved the feeling of grass under my bare feet. It is great! We obviously aren't finished with the yard yet, but we are done for this summer. The other landscape projects and garden will have to wait until spring.

Old things made new again

I have wanted a china hutch ever since the day I inherited my great grandma's china. My mom almost gave me her buffet, but she decided to keep it for herself. Then one day on craigslist, I found it. It is beautiful! It is a black, distressed, refinished, antique Drexel china hutch. I loved it the minute I saw it. I replied to the post and asked if she would come down another $50 from her price. She didn't want to, and someone else was coming to see it that evening. About a week later, she emailed me back, said she'd drop the price for me if I still was interested. I went over later that afternoon, and now it is mine. It fits perfectly along the blank wall of my dining area, and it isn't too fancy, which is perfect. It has a country look and goes great with all my rooster decor. Can you tell I am excited about my china hutch?

More progress

Over the last week we have accomplished a lot, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We have completed one entire side yard,

pulled the weeds from about 2/3 of the yard,

layed out most of our main sprinkler pipes including a drip line system,

and completely finished one of the sprinkler runs last night and now we have working sprinklers. We just have to finish up the sprinklers this weekend, clean up the yard, finish the other side yard and put up landscape barriers, and then we'll get to lay the sod. Our goal to be complete before Labor Day is on track!