Our carrot crop

I know it is small, but we are very excited! They are finger carrots so they are supposed to be short. These are the second things we get to eat from our garden, the first were the strawberries.

Our Classroom is ready

Last night I finally finished our classroom. It was a huge undertaking and I could not had done it without my parents here. The first thing we did was take everything out of the classroom so I could start from square one.

Then we cleaned. We vacuumed, did the windows, wiped down every surface, and scraped sticky stuff off the table. Once that was done I could start moving stuff back in. But I didn't just bring it back in, I went through everything and reorganized and sorted through it all. I also have some new items that my parents brought me: a marker board, framed poster of the United States and a bulletin board. It took me a few days but I am so pleased with the results.
Walking into the classroom

This is my storage closet where I keep all my supplies and curriculum.

And this year I am trying something new with Naomi. She will be in preschool 3 of the days but on the days she is here I set up her own work area with a big variety of activities for her to do.

Naomi starts Preschool

Originally we did not plan on sending Naomi to preschool. But when we found out about Darrick's deployment things changed. We thought it would be good for her to have something really special this year to help the time pass and to give me a bit of a break. We knew right away we would send her to Everett Christian School because a lot of the kids from our church go there and so does her teacher.

She was so excited to buy her own school supplies, her own backpack and pencil box!

Today was orientation and she got to bring me along. It's so nice that my parents are here so they could stay with the boys. She could hardly wait to get dressed in her preschool clothes and go!

Time for a picture by the school sign!

Her classroom door and her teacher, Mrs. Vandenbosch.

She did great and played a lot with the play dough. Then they heard a story, had snack time, learned how to line up, had a tour of the school and got to play on the playground.

She will be going on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:45-11:45. I think she will have a great year!

Meet Yoda

For a few weeks, Micah has been trying to catch a frog. When we went to the park to pick blackberries, we saw a few by the pond, and the boys tried to catch them but were unsuccessful.

Then yesterday,out of the blue, in front of our stairs that lead to our front door, Micah spotted and caught a little frog. He was so happy and came bolting in the house with his find. With Nana and Papa's help they set up a temporary home for our frog.

Today we researched him on the Internet and found out he is a Pacific Tree Frog. We read all about how to make a habitat for him and headed off to the pet store.

Then it was time to assemble his home. First step was cleaning and putting the rocks in.

Then a plant and a water bowl.

Then some large rocks.

All done and moved onto the buffet in our dining room.

Micah then gently caught the frog and placed him in his new home.

We decided on the name Yoda. He seems to really like his new home!

One year and counting!

If you notice our ticker today, it marks one year until Darrick returns! One year from now we will be anxiously anticipating Darrick's Homecoming!!!!

Dream

Last night I had the strangest dream:

I was sleeping and our house alarm was going off. ADT was trying to call me to see if we were ok. I knew I needed to get up and check on everything but I couldn't move. It was then that I realized that it was Naomi's birth mom and she was standing next to my bed. I tried to scream and I couldn't. She told me that she was there to take Naomi back. I was trying to get Naomi to run away from her but I couldn't talk...

then I woke up.

I really have not spent a lot of time since we adopted Naomi thinking about her birth mom. I know the facts that we know about her but I don't like to think about her. I will talk with Naomi about her. Naomi knows that she grew in her birth mom's tummy. But the other day she was asking me if I held her when she was a baby. I told her that I didn't but I wished that I could had. She asked me who held her and I said her birth mom. I have pictures of Naomi with her birth mom and I told Naomi that she looks like her birth mom. Then she asked me what her name is. That took me by surprise. She is becoming more curious and trying to start to understand her story.

Send in the Reinforcements!

Yes! They are here! My parents arrived today to help me out with the kids for a few weeks. They are so wonderful and I am so thankful they are here. They are always so full of love and support for us as a military family.

Kayak Point

Wednesday we were able to spend another day with Jen and Len. We packed a picnic lunch and headed to Kayak Point. It was a warm 86 degrees and a perfect day to spend at the beach. The water was pretty cold but that did not stop the kids from getting in after lunch.

Most of the time, the kids were looking for crabs. They were so cute and little.

We also rolled an old piece of driftwood into the water, like other kids were doing, to use as a boat.

Naomi and Len had a great time playing together while Jen and I talked and caught up with one another.

The last thing we did was walk out on the pier to look at all the people crabbing. Crabbing is totally new to us and so I was looking for someone to explain it to us. We found a group of three guys who told us about it and it was all so interesting. They also showed us some crabs they caught and how to tell the difference between a male and female.

We will miss you Jen and Len and will be looking forward to your next visit!

Gymnastics Class Today

Naomi learning to swing on the rope

Micah tried out the rings and really liked them.

Park

I had big plans today to clean the house and get caught up on laundry but the kids were going stir crazy. Micah was in a bad mood and grumping at everyone. Jacob and Naomi were bugging each other. I was losing my patience. So I made some sandwiches, grabbed some water bottles and we headed to Jennings Memorial Park. For some reason when we get out of the house everyones moods change and we have fun.

We ate our lunch and played on the playground. We toured the garden where they grow food for the foodbank. We hiked a trail, walked around the lake and relaxed in the shade. It was a nice way to spend our afternoon.

Heart Stones

If you know me well, then you know that I LOVE hearts. Red is my favorite color, Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday and my kitchen is decorated with hearts.

Last year, when my parents were visiting, the kids and I took them to Kayak Point. It is a beach, but instead of sand, it has rocks. It just so happens that for a few days the boys had been asking me to buy them some new LEGOs. I was so fed up that I said, "If you can find me a rock that looks like a heart, then I will buy you some!" My Dad and I chuckled thinking I was so brilliant!

Micah bent down, picked up a rock and said, "You mean like this one?"

We were shocked! How did he do that? There are millions of rocks on that beach! So I said if Daddy can guess on the first guess what it is then we will get you the LEGOs. In the meantime, Jacob was frantically looking for one too. And sure enough, right before we went home, he found this one.

When we got home, the boys showed Darrick and he guessed "heart" on his first guess. So the boys got some LEGOs...

I kind of thought it was a freak thing. But then when Darrick and I went to Salish I found this book in the gift shop.

It is a book filled with pictures of heart stones. So I have now started collecting heart stones. While I was working in my garden last week I found another one.

So now I have 3!

So while you are out on your journeys or hanging out in your back yard look at the rocks lying around and if you see a heart stone send it my way and help my collection grow!