Thankful Thursday

Today is the first day of school, Caleb's first day of high school!  He was happy this morning, Dad fixed him sausage for breakfast and went to get Titus (and me) a chocolate donut too.  We took pictures and then dropped him off.  I'm so excited to hear about his day!

Today I am thankful for...
~ my husband and the way he works to take care of things for our family.  For example, he got the repairman here Monday and took care of making sure we had A/C again quickly!

~ my big boy beginning high school!  He seemed excited and a little nervous this morning.  He's grown so much since last year!

~ reading books with my little guy.  He loves books and always enjoys going to the library and reading before nap.

~ our A/C being fixed.  We heard it dripping inside on Sunday afternoon.  We had a repairman come Monday.  It was fixed but he also told us the unit is getting old so who knows how much longer it will last. 

~ a wonderful book I got to review called Choosing Marriage.  I had started reading it and then found the audio version on Hoopla so started listening to it.  It is very helpful.

~ a phone call from a sweet friend.  It blessed my day to talk to her.

Have a day of blessings! 
   Bethany

Thankful Thursday

We've had a nice week.  Next week will be busy too for us I guess from looking at the calendar.  Today I am thankful for...

~ a fun getaway with my hubby.  We like to go at the beginning of December which is 6 months till our anniversary.  It has sort of become a tradition I guess!  We had a nice time shopping and eating good food and resting. 

~ my boy competing in school events and doing well.  He did not advance in his all region tryout on Saturday for band.  Today was UIL competition and he placed first in Modern Oratory. I was so excited when I saw his name on the board.  I thought he sounded amazing when he practiced one last time for us last night but knew I might be biased.  I think he has a great ability to speak in front of people.  We are proud of him for trying out for both events and the hard work he has put into both.

~ my little guy sleeping better for the most part this week which meant I got more sleep. 

~ my Mom being able to help watch/pick up the boys so I could volunteer at the school to help with the UIL.

~ having our chimney cleaned and using our fire place this week.  It is nice to watch it and sit by it.  It was like 80 a couple days and now in the 30s.  Texas weather!!

~ signing up to go to a marriage retreat in January that our church is hosting.  We were excited to find out about this at our new church and look forward to attending.

Have a day of blessings!
   Bethany

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Did you watch the solar eclipse? Your thoughts? Sun Chips, Moon Pies, Starburst candies, a Blue Moon beer, a Sunkist orange, or a Milky Way candy bar...what's your favorite eclipse related snack on this list?  We watched some of the coverage provided by NASA and did briefly go outside to see it with our glasses we were given at our local library.  Caleb first checked to make sure the number on the glasses matched the number on the approved list on the NASA website.

I'll pick Moon Pies....it's been a long time since I've had one though!  

2. What are you 'over the moon' about these days? What's something you enjoy doing every 'once in a blue moon'?  
Well I'm NOT  'over the moon' for it to be our last week of summer. I like having my son home with us. But I am excited for him to begin 8th grade and to get to watch him play football again. 

I like to take a nap 'once in a blue moon.'  It's a treat for sure. 

3. Tell us about something in the realm of science that interests you. How do you feed that interest? I will say hummingbirds right now. I always feel amazed as I sit and watch them at my Mom's new place. 

4. What are a few things you remember about going back to school as a child? I was always excited to go check the signs posted on the door to find out my new teacher. I always got new school clothes. I loved (and still do) school supply shopping!  

5. I've seen several versions of this around the net so let's make one of our own...share with us five words that touch your soul and briefly tell us why.
thankful--It is important to have a grateful heart no matter what you are facing. 
sons-- I am so happy that I am a "boy mom."  My life is so wonderful with them both. 
husband--There is so much wrapped up in this word for me.  When I think of my husband and all he means to me, I am so so grateful.
forgiveness-- We all need to be forgiven and to know that I have been given this gift is something I don't fully understand.
joy--Certain people bring joy to my life just with their presence.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.
Today would have been my Peepaw's 88th birthday.  He was 50 years older than me so the "ones digit" of our age was always the same.  When I would have my birthday in February, he would tell me every year "look what you started" because the next month my Mom would be 20 years older than me and then in August he'd be 50 years older. I continue to miss him and am so thankful for his love for me.

Have a day of blessings!

    Bethany

5th Grade

The first six weeks of 5th grade passed quickly for my boy.  We are in the routine now and have quite a busy boy!

Each morning when he arrives he puts up the flags.  This was his job last year at the end of the year. Then he has been running the school store with another boy on Mondays through Thursdays.  They have fun pencils, erasers, etc., and the kids love shopping there. On Friday mornings he helps me sale spirit ribbons.

After school he takes down the flags.  Last year he did this in his last period class, but this year he has math last so he does it after school instead. Since I pick him up each day, I have figured out when to go so he will be done with that!  He also gets the mail for the secretary.

The classwork has been busy too! He seems to have more homework this year than in the past.  It is mostly studying for quizzes and math homework.  Math was rough for us both for the first couple of weeks I'd say, but he is doing great.  (I will say some of the questions on those math papers confuse me so much.  The wording of the story problems makes it seem like they want to trick the student. It is definitely different than what I had.)

Now the past couple of weeks we've added something new after school!  They are starting a robotics team for 4th and 5th graders.  He is really excited to learn about this.  Also, he made the team for UIL Number Sense (which did surprise me that he tried out for this one!) and is practicing for the UIL Picture Memory team (they haven't picked the team yet).  Number Sense is a test that they have to answer as many problems as they can in 10 minutes I think without doing any work on paper.  They are learning some tricks to do them in their head.  Picture Memory is the one he did last year....they have 40 pictures to memorize the title and artist's name.  It is the same pictures for two years in a row, and he remembers most of them from last year.  This year we can focus more on the spelling of the words.  Those practices are held after school each day.

He is also in 4H and the club president.

Also a few weeks ago he made it to the 1 million word club through the AR reading program.  He was the first one to get there.  :)

He is a busy boy and seems to be doing well keeping up with things.

Have a day of blessings!
 

5th grader!

The end of summer is here and we are to the first day of school.  Our summer was fast and fun, filled with trips, new memories, and lessons. Good-bye to our days of sleeping late. Good-bye to our errand days together. I'll be heading to do errands on my own. I know I'll miss having you along....because you were so helpful and because of the funny things that always happened to us. Good-bye to pajama days and chore lists and swimming and library visits and snow cones and out of town trips and cooking together and watching our game shows.

I'm not like other Moms who jump for joy when their kids return to school. Sure, there are things I will do when you are in school that I haven't done this summer (like eat lunch when I want or listen to audio books!). But I truly miss having you around.

We'll drop you off for your last first day at this intermediate campus. It feels different for me this year, knowing it's your last year here before junior high. The last year at the place where all the teachers and staff know who you are (and know me). We will be starting over I guess next year and that leaves me with a lump in my throat.

This year the theme for your school is "Be a Star."  When we went to meet your teacher, several classrooms had used the theme of shining like a star. That is what you do, and I have no doubt you will continue to do that this year.

You'll be the oldest on the campus. Make the younger students you know feel special and acknowledge the ones who know you.

Make a new friend. It's easy to hang out with the ones you already know, but think back to when you were the new boy here.  Be a friend to someone who doesn't have a friend.

Remember that it's okay to be different.  You've never been one to go along with the crowd, and I hope you will continue to shine in your uniqueness.

Some things may be hard for you. Don't give up. Keep trying. As you learned his year with your ham radio test, you can succeed when you are dedicated to it.

Take a stand for what is right. Do the right thing even if others don't.

Your Momma and Daddy (and a bunch of other people) support you and love you. We want you to succeed and will help you any way you can. We will be praying for you always.

I have such fond memories of my fifth grade year and teacher.  I hope this is an amazing year for you.  You've got a great group of teachers!  I look forward to seeing how you grow and learn this year.

Love, Momma



Have a day of blessings!