For a Spell

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Katrina’s just learning more & impressing us with every passing day!  Of course, we knew she loved school, even prior to this year.  But, it seems with first grade, you get to learn some new skills & one of her favorites this week has been spelling!  She had a list of ten words that they brought home & we got to practice each evening.  She loves playing the game of putting together cards with each of the letters on them to spell a word, especially.  Even though she got them all correct during our “practice runs”, she missed one on the actual test they had on Friday.  But, 9/10 isn’t bad for someone who’s just learning!  She’s happy about it & excited to continue learning more.  They have 10 more words this week – 2 which are from last week & the rest are new.  We’re so proud of our eager little scholar!

Run Ragged

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Well, I’m just about as worn out as I can be, these days, although I don’t have a seriously good reason as to why. It’s partially due to the fact that we spent most of the week running around to different vendors who sell materials for home building (countertops, flooring, appliances, etc.). It seems like any “free” time I might’ve gotten was instead spent helping to decide what look/texture/etc. would be best for what room. I’m not complaining, because it has been fun, so far. I just wish I had the energy that my children have, at times… Another couple of things that have affected my mood recently are the weather, for one: it keeps raining here. In my locale, we don’t seem to get a little rain, here & there. We get a “rainy season” which is typically in-between summer & fall. I’ve known this for years, but it still seems to depress me, a little more each time. Not that we’ve just had downpours, or anything. We just keep having dark, cloudy days with no sunshine. Again, not trying to complain, because it has caused cooler temperatures to set in, which is a bit enjoyable, if it wasn’t for all the humidity, at least… What I *will* complain about, however is the second thing that is affecting my temperament dramatically & that’s my allergies. They are driving me crazy these days! The itchy eyes & runny nose that know no relief, especially! I can take a pill, but the help it provides doesn’t really last long enough to give me peace about them. All I can do is suffer through & try not to pass out asleep from my eyes being so dry & itchy that they are constantly wanting to shut… *sigh* Perhaps they will get better when fall finally settles in, for good. At least that’s what they’ve done in the past. Here’s looking forward to then…

Home Design

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We’re enjoying the planning of our next home.  We began this adventure at the beginning of this summer.  We are hoping to have the house all built & ready to move in to around the beginning of next summer.  We have the floor plan all done & signed off on.  Now, the next step is what our builder calls “the design phase”.  We met with their design center rep. earlier today & had a nice appointment.  We made a lot of decisions, but some are still up in the air.  The nice thing is that Jeremy & I pretty much know what we want.  The not-so-great thing is that most of it is not included “standard” & therefore, we are going to have to shop around at each of the vendors they use a bit more, in order to nail down our exact choices.  The two of us have been very agreeable, when it comes to the colors, textures & things that we both would love to have in the home, so that makes it a bit easier, at least.  We probably got about half of the decisions taken care of today.  Now, begins our fun “homework” of picking out the rest, shop by shop, before we meet with the design center rep. again in a couple of weeks.  Wish us luck!  🙂

Little Eyes

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Although Alyssa’s not even 2 years old yet, Katrina’s eye doctor wanted to go ahead & check her eyes & make sure that she does not share the same condition Kat has, because it can be hereditary.  So, this past Wednesday, both girls had an appointment.  Aly did surprisingly well, for someone her age, anyway.  She sat still on her Mommy & Daddy’s laps, as the doctor looked in her eyeballs.  The only part she didn’t like was having eye drops put in, so that her pupils could be dilated.  She laid down on the table, but I had to hold her hands, hugged around her, so that she wouldn’t rub her eyes.  She fussed a bit, but once they were done, I was able to hold & comfort her.  She enjoyed the wait to see the doctor, since they have some good toys in the waiting room.  It turns out that she might be slightly nearsighted, but there are no signs of Amblyopia, so we are remaining hopeful that her vision will stay that way, or even improve, with time.  The doctor wants to see her again in a year.  It will be easier to explain to her what’s going on by then, at least…  🙂

Vision for the Future

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Katrina had a regular check-up with her eye doctor this past Wednesday.  She has grown accustomed to them over nearly the past 2 years.  For those that may not know, she was diagnosed with a condition called Amblyopia, when she was 4½ years old.  It is more commonly known as “lazy eye”.  We took her to the eye doctor on the notion from her teacher at the time, who noticed that Kat would color slightly to one side of the shapes on the papers she was given & that she tended to look at things further to one side than they actually were when they were pointed at.  Neither of her eyes ever actually “wandered”, so it was difficult to even notice, really.  But, the eye doctor, after screening her vision, one eye at a time realized that the left one was seeing things extremely differently.  At that first visit, her eyesight was 20/70.  So, we began using a patch over the “good eye” (her right one), in order to make the vision in her left one stronger.  She also got her first prescription for glasses at that time, as well.  We have been back every couple of months & Kat has grown significantly & her eyesight has improved a great deal, since then.  At this past appointment, we were pleasantly surprised to find that it is now at 20/25!  Her prescription lenses were changed once more, but she is still wearing the original, cute, purple frames she picked out almost a couple of years ago, now.  We feel blessed that she has shown so much improvement & continues to go on.  She has such a great personality & attitude toward the whole thing, too.  She has never had a negative comment about wearing glasses & she is very good about keeping them on, during her waking hours.  Here’s keeping the faith that she will continue to progress toward 20/20 & that her next appointment, in 6 months will be even better!  🙂

It’s Official

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Well, I’ve been back to clogging practice for a couple of months now & am really enjoying it, again! I’ve learned several new routines & have enjoyed dancing some of the “oldies but goodies” as well. So, just recently, our instructor asked if I would like a t-shirt, so that I can participate in exhibitions (shows) with the group. And, I just got it on Thursday night. It says “Turtle Creek Cloggers” & has a cute painting of a turtle in clogging shoes. It also has my name on the back, so I feel truly “official” now! I haven’t participated in an exhibition yet, due to some scheduling conflicts, but I plan to join them soon & I’m really looking forward to it! Yay for performing & sharing something that I love to do, once more!!! 🙂

Sunday Gathering

We had a nice time on Sunday, the 4 of us.  It had been a couple of months since we saw some of our friends that are in our small study group from our church, better known as the Bridge.  But, the hosts gave us a meeting time & we all got together for about an hour & a half.  It’s a nice group of people in their 20s & early 30s, many of whom are married & have young children.  Katrina is the oldest kid in the group, but she still enjoys seeing & playing with the younger ones.  Alyssa’s best friend is the hosts’ daughter & she is only 10 days younger than Aly.  It was great for Jeremy & me, learning a new Bible-study technique & catching up with the adults.  But it was also a special treat, seeing how much the kids are growing & meeting one of the couples’ newborn daughter for the first time!  Those that weren’t able to make it were missed, of course.  But we feel blessed to have such great friends & it’s a pleasure to know each of the members of our Bridge Journey Group (and their kiddos)!

 

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Plugin test:

Song of Solomon 3:5

Genesis 1:1

Exodus 2:1-2

at 9:17

Genesis 1:2

John 1:1

Genesis 1:5

Genesis 5

John 1:2

 

Too Big for Her Britches

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Alyssa just thinks she’s so big, it’s cute!  She got in trouble a little, just recently for something she didn’t realize she was too young for, though…  It’s kinda’ funny, so I thought I’d share…  Katrina has a small, kid-size table that she typically sits at, to eat her meals & to do art projects, & things like that.  Since Aly’s not quite old enough for that sort of thing, just yet, she still eats in her high chair.  But, just a few days ago, when her Big Sis was in school, Alyssa decided she was going to climb into Kat’s chair & sit there for a minute.  It was sooo sweet & funny, she didn’t really get into trouble then.  It was the next day, when she decided she was going to get out her Sister’s markers, crayons & other art materials that she was told, “No-no!” about.  Thankfully, she only dumped them out, onto the floor, rather than trying to use them, but still…  I think we’re going to have to put them up, out of her reach, pretty soon, until she understands a bit better that those are Sissy’s things, not Aly’s.  😉

Our Big Biker

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Well, Katrina’s been making more progress on becoming “mobile” this week!  Her Dad took her to the schoolyard to ride her bike the other day.  They had a great time!  She was turning corners & going all over the place on that thing like a pro!  So, we decided it was a good idea to go ahead & take her training wheels off.  This was a much harder thing for us, than for her, it seems.  She was all excited about it, we just weren’t sure if any of us were quite ready.  So, we took her to a local park that has a little walking/biking trail around it.  The whole thing I’d estimate is only about ¼ – ½ mile, or so.  Jeremy & I took turns, helping her balance while riding.  Whichever one of us was not helping Kat at the time was pushing Alyssa in the stroller.  She got to pedaling rather well & got up to speed where her Dad & I had to jog to keep up, but the entire time, it felt like she was leaning one way or the other, rather then balancing on her own.  We each let go a handful of times, but only for a second or two, before we felt the need to grab on & let her use us to lean on…  She’s getting there, though.  A couple more times & she’ll probably be going around on her own, with no training wheels.  We’re proud of her for trying her best & for trusting us & not being apprehensive at all!  It’s a great first step!  🙂

Taking on a Strange Shape

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Ok, so I’ve recently come to a realization which I was hoping wasn’t true: I’m not as “in shape” as I thought I was! Ha-ha! My Mom & I went to a scrapbooking convention this past Friday & as much fun as it was, getting to spend some time with her & to just hang out & shop for crop stuff, I was truly worn out, when it was all said & done! We walked around, browsing & buying for about 6 hours, well, 5 hours, since we took a break for lunch, actually. I really didn’t buy much, but got some great ideas & enjoyed seeing all the cute items there were. Mom bought a few things & even a couple for me, which was sweet. It was a great day. Then, when we took Katrina to ride her bike without training wheels, I took turns with Jeremy, helping her balance. She got to pedaling so quickly that each of us needed to jog, in order to keep up with her & sadly, even though it was only about 1/8 mile, if that, each time we took a turn, he & I both got “winded”! I’m glad we at least had each other there, to take turns with! I can’t imagine just one of us doing it, on our own… It makes me wonder how I keep up with clogging for a couple of hours each week, though… Hmmm… Hopefully, getting that exercise in will help keep me active enough that I have the stamina to endure other activities w/our kids, in the near future!