Week 39, part one

Monday, Sept. 23rd

Just another day at ELCA.  (Trevor!)

Rocco was in the corner for disobeying.  Renna's new thing is to join him and fake cry.

Tuesday, Sept. 24th

Walking back in from the mailbox, I was surprised to see the change beginning.

Wednesday, Sept. 25th

Bright and early I drove C4 to school.  The night before he'd ask me to take him early.  It wasn't til we were pulling in that I asked, "Why did you need to be here at 7:00?" He said, "For See You at the Pole." I had totally forgotten about the event that students from across the nation go to their school's flagpole to pray.  To make a stand for Christ and to pray for their school and the upcoming year.  I was so proud of him.  My heart skipped a beat and I pushed back the tears as I watched him walk by himself into the circle.  May he always stand up for what he believes in, even if he stands alone.

Back at home I finished cleaning and packing and tried to tie up all loose ends before leaving that afternoon for Germany.  I made the kids this chain so that every morning they can rip a loop off and watch it get shorter and shorter until we're together agin.  Thirteen nights is by FAR the farthest we've been away from them.

It didn't take long for Ninny to text me a picture.  I guess they settled in with her quickly.

At the airport, we had a good little giggle at the scale.  It bounced around...49.5, 52.0, 49, 51, before finally landing on:

Guess where our layover was.  Those are legos!

Let the adventure begin!!!

 The rest of the week will be blogged from Europe!

Week 38

Monday, Sept. 16th
GOOD MORNING!!!

Madison began enforcing a dress code for school.  Oh, and she also named the school- Emily Lane Christian Academy.

What's that you say?  I've already mentioned 100 times the MANY deer near my house?

I went upstairs at 8pm to tuck the kids in.  They had already been up to brush teeth and get ready.  When I got to the top of the stairs all I could hear was water.  I looked into the kids bathroom to see the toilet spewing water.  Not like regular overflow, more like a bubbling fountain.  A LOT of water.  Renna was standing stiff as a board on a bath mat in front of the sink like she was stranded on an island.

I screamed for Colombo.  He quickly came and turned ofF the water.  We began throwing towels everywhere.  By the time I got back downstairs, it was pouring through the light fixture and flooding the countertop.  Awesome.

This was the scene as Colombo walked out the door for his hockey game.  

But you want to know the bright side?

• Renna was o.k.  Kids are top heavy and just the right height to lean over and fall into the toilet, but once their feet leave the floor, there's nothing they can do.
• The toilet was fine.  At first I imagined a toy stuck half way down to the septic and a $20,000 repair, but it was actually just a 'normal' clog.
• It was 'clean' water.

An hour later I had a sparkly clean kitchen and bathroom...and a kitchen ceiling in need of repair and paint, as well as a few basement ceiling tiles in need of replacement.

Tuesday, Sept. 17th
Renna's more and more into baby dolls.  She pushes bottle and pacifiers down their mouths, carries them around patting their backs, and pushes them around in the little stroller.

She is also way into drawing since school started.  Specifically screeching for someone's pencil and drawing all over the page they're working on, but she doesn't want to miss out on any of the fun.

New uniforms again.  See Renna scooching around the back?  Doesn't want to miss out on any of the fun.

That's better.

Trevor tried a jazz class.  Madison convinced him.  She's the assistant teacher for it and there are two other boys, so she got him to give it a shot.  He ended up really enjoying it.  Surprise, surprise.  We'll see if it lasts, but for now, I'm glad he likes it.

Our church hosted one of the "40 Nights of Worship Connecticut".  Wow!  What a powerful service.  Incredible music, moving prayer for our state, and a huge spiritual boost to be at an event like that.

Wednesday, Sept. 18th
Dressed, ready, and looking especially handsome:

C4 had a half day, so we picked this day to make our annual pilgrimage to the Big E.  We had gorgeous mid-70's weather.  We started out in the Better Living Building before making our way over to the circus.  That was a let down.  It's usually impressive, but this year, the clown was dumb, the ring leader was lame, and the acts were eh.  The best one was the opener, the Olate Dogs from America's Got Talent.  Then the show dragged until the last act which was quick-changers.  I'd never seen anything like it before and was speechless.

We enjoyed the usuals- the parade, Maine baked potatoes, fresh-squeezed lemonade.

We made a deal with the kids that if they wanted wristbands for the rides, we'd split the cost with them.

Thursday, Sept. 19th
Morning devotions.  Me and my boys.

Renna enjoying the beads.

Renna not enjoying the beads.

Friday, Sept. 20th

We dog sat for Woody.  It was nice to have him for the weekend.  It was nice to see him leave.  The hardest part of letting him go is knowing how much Renna LOVES that dumb dog.  They are tight!

I went short with my hair.  I'm NOT loving it.  I feels like it's always just in my way.  I *think* I'd like to go a little shorter to take some more of the top volume oFF, but I'm afraid to go any shorter if what I really should do is just start growing it again.  Whatever.  It's just hair.

Saturday, Sept. 21st
Game 1 of many for the season:

That's right, Little Girl.  Sit back and relax.  You'll be here a lot!

Sunday, Sept. 22nd
We had the privilege of having Amanda spend the weekend with us.  She was sweet, kind, helpful, and polite. We enjoyed our time with just her.

Meeting for kids interested in being in the Christmas program at church.  Picture by Rocco, from the floor.