MJ Preschool graduation

How cute is he really?!?!
The preschool graduation was a long one, but very cute. They sang songs,
recited poetry, and other things they had memorized. One of Michael's parts was to say the first 10 presidents, and our current president. They also did "Little Red Riding Hood." The funniest part was that there were 5 girls who wanted to be Little Red Riding Hood, so we got to see the play 5 times! Michael was the Wolf twice! Their teacher had very sweet gifts for them as well, including a bag FULL of really nice books. It was amazing to think how much he has changed in five years. He is VERY excited about going to "Daddy's school" in the fall,, and I think he is definitely ready.

5 Year Appointment

Michael had his 5 year appointment today. Here's the report:
Height: 45 inches
Weight: 49 pounds
BMI: 17
About 85th percentile overall. She said he is in the "at-risk" category for weight, but we already knew that. He is NOT in the "overweight" category, and that made me feel more at ease. He certainly doesn't look it to me, but he is mine.
BP: 90/62
Both eyes: 20/20
Ears: passed all levels
Tubes: working their way out
no concerns for him at all
To quote the doctor, "This is the best handwriting I have ever seen from a 5 year old . . . really." We'll see if that continues in his life! Neither Mom or Dad have super handwriting! He was very talkative, open, curious, and fun. We had a great time. NO SHOTS TODAY! That was super exciting!

Just for Courtney

Updates:
Michael is 5 today! I just can't believe it has been that long . . . certainly has flown by. He is currently taking swimming lessons, which are a hoot to watch. We registered him for Kindergarten. It is all happening so fast! But, he is ready. He is a total sponge, just loves to learn and do. I have high hopes for next year. I think he is going to completely love school.

Cayden is 2.5! It is amazing how different these two boys are. Cayden is FIERCELY independent. With Michael we were never sure when he was ready to do something, like dress himself. With Cayden, he wants to do it all himself. And if he can't---oh the temper! He thinks he is the same age as Michael and wants to do exactly as his brother. We are pretty certain we will be able to say goodbye to diapers this summer. He is the only child in his class trying underwear so he is spending time in the class above his age. Oh how we look forward to that day!

Us . . . we celebrated our 7th anniversary in April. While the stress of the two houses has been crazy, we are blessed to be very happy with one another, very in love.

Please keep the prayers for the house coming!

"Cause You Gotta Have Faith . . . "

It's been awhile . . . but in case anyone still checks, we are still here, still a family, still strong. The other house not selling has taken a toll on our finances, but it has not taken a toll on us as a family. We are still holding hope that all is what it needs to be, that there is a REASON that it hasn't sold. We are still holding on to God provides what we NEED, not what we want. What we NEED is each other, and we still have that. Our minister said that there will be trials, and that we should be prepared. I'm not sure we were 100% prepared for it to take this long. But, what has happened in the interim is that we have really seen who is there for us, who we can go to, and WE ARE SO BLESSED! You know me, I like to be in control. Maybe that's the lesson here. We don't regret our decision, we LOVE our new house. We know that SOON the other house will sell. When it is time, it will sell. When there is a family that needs it, it will sell. Our church family is focusing on hope during Lent, and I KNOW that is God at work. Lessons on hope---just what we NEED.

A Weekend Away

For the first time since April Bryan and I were without children all weekend. Know what we did? PAINT and PAINT and PAINT some more. But you know what? We LOVE the colors! We are SO looking forward to being in our new house. We know that the next few months are going to be a bit rough monetarily, but we also know that we have great family and friends to help us through. Keep praying for the house!

Goodbye to my Baby

This is Luis. Luis is now, as far as Michael believes, the proud owner of all of Michael's baby blankets. We decided that when Michael turned 4, that he would officially give up his blankets . . . a real Big Boy. We also decided that we were going to Columbia Zoo (which we did last year as well) for Michael's birthday. We were going to go on his actual day, but it poured rain that day and we ended up going swimming at a local workout facility. So, since Gramma was in town today, we decided to make the trek to Columbia. Michael packed up his blankets in a little box, stuffed them in the bottom of the stroller, and off we went. When we got to the giraffes, Michael went to grab the box and said he was going to throw the blankets in to the baby. I told him that we had to talk to a zoo person first. I went and talked to the lady selling lettuce to feed the giraffes and explained the situation. She was definitely willing to play along. Michael excitedly carried the box to her and told her, "These are my blankets for the baby giraffe. He can snoodle with them." The lady told him that Luis would love them, and thanked him for being so sweet. I just about lost my stuff! We then got to feed a giraffe, not the baby, but still, HOW COOL IS THAT!?!? Bryan then went and threw the blankets away. Yes, I kept one for sentimental sake, but as far as Michael knows---no more baby blankets!

Donkey Tales

Today Michael participated in his first church play, Donkey Tales. We were pretty nervous because he had to do the 9:33 service and the 11:00 service. But, to our surprise, he did great! We videotaped it and will be sending a few videos up north for the family's viewing pleasure (it is quite amusing!). Here are a few pictures from today:

Tomorrow our baby boy will be 4 years old! We cannot believe it!!!! We were planning to go to the Columbia Zoo, but we aren't sure the weather is going to cooperate with us. We'll let you know what kind of fun we find. Happy Memorial Day!