Our Last Skidamarinky Doo

Friday was the girls' last day of school. Normally, it is a day I welcome. I usually don't fall into too much sentimentality (oh boo-hoo, it's my child's last day of kindergarten,) but this May 25th, the sentimentality fell into me. It has been THE BEST year. Kami's teacher, Mrs. Zemanek, has been challenging, sweet, fun, interesting, organized, encouraging, and engaging, a fabulous 3rd grade teacher. She's irreplacable. And Ellie's teacher, Mrs. Swaim, is just a jewel. So sweet and laid back and amazing with those kiddos. The pied piper of kindergarten teachers is she. The whole class can be in an uproar, and she begins quietly singing... and no kidding, I have witnessed this several times... within 30 seconds they are all sitting around her singing too. Here she is sitting on her new rocking chair that the class gave to her (you can see another picture of it below) surrounded by Ellie's classmates. As the class stood in line at the door, singing their final song together, I found myself wanting to capture the moment forever. It hit me hard that it was Ellie's last Skidamarinky Doo with Mrs. Swaim. It is a song that she ended her days with all year long. Here are the words:

Skidamarinky Dinky Dink, Skidamarinky Doo, I Love YOU!

I Love you in the morning and in the afternoon.

I Love you in the Evening and Underneath the Moon,

Oh, Skidamarinky Dinky Dink, Skidamarinky Doo, I Love You!

(Yes, I do!) I Love You (See you Tomorrow!)

I LOVE You, Doo, Boop-Boopy Doo, Yeah!

A Beautiful Birthday

What to do for Nana's birthday? Kim and I had planned a fancy schmancy dinner and cake. But Mom suggested going to Granny's house. Granny would fix up her usual brown beans with ham, skillet potatos, and cornbread. We didn't have to be asked twice!!! And truly, it couldn't have been a better way to celebrate Nana's birthday than being at Granny's cookie cutter shoe box of a house. The weather was perfect.... we spent a lot of time outside on her green lawn, just playing, nothing fancy of course. But that is part of the magic of granny's house. The sheer simplicity of it all. The old swing next door which all of us kids grew up playing on. The backyard that, while darling, can withstand any kind of digging and rooting around that the kiddos do. The porch swing in front that we played endless games on growing up. The red dominos in the Christmas tin that look just as shiny as they did 30 years ago. The box of white dominos, and the black ones too. Used to play countless games by Granny and Grandpa Ernie. And after all this time, not one of those dominos lost. The warmth and love that blanket you right when you walk in the door. The hugging arms and infectious smile of this amazing woman. Her giggles. Her cakes. The memories. The garden. The flowers. The old garage out back... filled with carefully stored toys and other old stuff. But she knows exactly where everything is and, I tell you, that is not a musty garage. So, although this started out as a blog about my mom, it turned into one about my Grandma Ida, who a stitch of years ago, gave birth to another amazing person, my mom. But I know my mom won't mind, because she thinks as dearly about her mother as I do. Mom, I am so thankful for the mother who raised you and made you into the wonderful, caring, thoughtful, sweeet and fabulous (See, I did not mention bossy) person that you are. Happy Happy Birthday! Your children and grandchildren love you deeply!!!!

Little Miss Determination

Whatever this girl does, she works her hardest to do her very best. What more could a parent want? This is Kami at her gymnastics performance where she got 2 blue ribbons and 2 red ones. Great job, Kam!!!!

Kami and her friend Nicole

3 Pushing 95

We spent a precious evening at Grandma I's house for Mom's birthday. I took over 200 pictures. Many of them are bound for the trash bin, but there are some fun ones. I'm just posting this one tonight, but I'll post some of Mom and her birthday festivities later this week. I'm tired. This picture just captures such an amazing moment for me. Here we have my 3 (almost 4) year old son pushing his 95 year old great-grandma on the swing. They were having fun together. It was a moment that I'm sure few get to witness, and it is a moment I do not want to forget.

Popcicles: $2.00, Scooter: $25.00, Swingset: $500.00, Summertime Fun: Priceless

Random thoughts about June just being days away:
*The treats on the ice cream truck aren't quite the deal they were when we were little.

*You can never have too much sidewalk chalk.

*Ditto for popcicles.
*Ditto for bandaids.

*Peer pressure works when it comes to taking off training wheels.

*Except if you are Ellie.

*You may see the fashion princess Hadley in 4 or 5 different outfits on any given day.

*Our cul-de-sac is like a huge playroom.

*15 kids in a cul-de-sac is a great number.

*Luke MUST HAVE a nerf gun for his birthday... before he drives the neigbors crazy trying to use theirs!!!

A Special Day in Ellie's Life

The Christmas of 2005, I was reading to the kids from a devotional book that my friend Dawn had gotten for us. The particular devotion was about Noah. I talked about the people's sin, God's sadness, and Noah's faithfulness. When I looked up, I saw tears running down my 5 year old's cheeks. I said, "Ellie, what's wrong, honey?" She responded, "Nothing's wrong mom; I just want to become a Christian." So, we prayed the prayer with her, but decided to wait until she got a little older to let her get baptized, or bap-uh-tized, as she says. During that year and a half, she never went more than a few days before she asked when she could be baptized. And so now, about a year and a half later, she was finally able to show the world that Jesus is in her heart! Our pastor, Deron Spoo, baptized her with great kindness and gentleness and with the prayer that she will remember this day in her life. We pray the same and dedicate our little girl's life to the Lord!

A Day in May

Top 5 things to do at the park if you are Luke:

1) Ride your bike at full speed down the pathways.

2) Pretend any type of ridge in the path is a bike ramp, and jump it.

3) Try the monkey bars.

4) Look for a cool kid to play with.

5) Ride your bike at full speed down the pathways.

(I couldn't get any good pics of the bike riding because he was going too fast!!!)