A First for Our Family

Today I did something that I have never ever done before and really never thought I ever would!

I enrolled my baby in daycare.

I've never been anti-daycare, I just didn't think we would ever need it. We've had family around to watch the kids when needed and really I just haven't worked outside of the home for about 10 years.

I have, however, been very anti-"school" for 2 year olds. It drove me CUH-RAZY when people would tell me that their baby was in school. Really, it isn't school, it's daycare people!!!! Just call a spade a spade.

But as usual, my judgements come back to bite me and here I am prepping my 2 year old for a few days a week away from me by getting her all excited for S.C.H.O.O.L.

Really, they do offer a variety of school activities so I guess all these years it wasn't just people trying to make themselves feel better, it really is, school.

So, I repent.

But stepping into this new phase did not come easily.

There is guilt. And doubt. And trying to seperate our emotions from her emotions. And trying to really figure out what is best for H&G.

And after talking and processing and especially PRAYING...

She's enrolled. Two days a week.

And I am really really excited for her.

It's a school. It's a farm. And it's right around the corner from us.

I know she's going to love learning and playing and talking with others and will especially love playing outside and seeing all the animals. And talking, did I mention talking?

I took her in last week for a visit and while 15 kids ran around the room playing, H&G sat at the table with the teacher and talked a mile a minute.

So this will be good for her. And will help her learn some good social skills with kids her own age too.

But there is always a seed of guilt and doubt. I think it's always there for parents.

And I hate it.

Blogging

I've been reading back through my Myspace posts and am so thankful that I was able to blog about that time in our lives. While those years were so incredibly hard for Management and I both financially and spiritually, they were some of the best years of our lives as well. I'm so thankful for the beautiful pictures, the numerous updates, and the relationship that I had with my precious Savior during those years. What a gift that blog is to our family!

I've been trying to figure out how to get it printed since I don't post there anymore. I've seen sites for making blogs into books but it seems to just be for blogspot? I may just have to bite the bullet and cut and paste the entries myself?

Looking through those entries though sure does inspire me to blog more. I know, I've said it a hundred times, I don't want to miss these years and I really do want them documented!!

Ugh, I need to quit "saying" and start "doing"!

Anyway, I was originally looking through my posts trying to find the exact date that WeeklyAd asked Jesus into her heart.

July 9, 2008.

With her daddy helping her.

Again, I'm so thankful that I blogged and recorded such meaningful (and sometimes trivial, just silly things as well) times in our lives.

One Month of Home

When Management comes home on Friday we will mark the end of another busy season of traveling. He will be home for one month before he leaves again for his next trip. In some ways, having older kids makes his traveling easier and in some ways, much harder. I've often lost track of what city he's in or what day he is leaving or coming home but I'm always thankful that he does come home. His life is here with us and not out there on the road. It's the moments in-between the trips, our tedious days at home, that we have learned to cherish and I'm happy to say that after 15 years of marriage and navigating this crazy schedule, we are finally settling into it with greater ease.

Unplugged

We've been having a dilemma lately with HomeAudio. He's always loved video games (like his dad) and is quite good at them. We've tried to be wise with which games we let him play, when we let him play, etc. and it really hasn't been too much of a problem until recently.

We finally allowed him to purchase a game that most of his friends play quite often. He logs on and can play with or against his friends on-line and can also communicate with his friends through the headset. He loves it, his friends love it, all are happy....except the rest of us.

He yells at his sisters to be quiet. His friends yell at his sisters to be quiet. And HomeAudio has become a bit addicted to the game and tends to take over the main tv which is in the center of the house and so therefore takes over pretty much the entire house while playing his game.

I've been ready to pull the plug on the game for a very long time. However, the dilemma has been that it is a way for HA to connect with his friends socially. I know he feels left out when he can't play, I know he enjoys interracting with them on-line, and I know they challenge each other, tease each other, and everything else boys do when playing games.

But in the end we had to put an end to the game. At least for a season. There were tears and frustrations and claims of us not understanding (since he didn't have friends in the neighborhood he needed to have friends on-line) coming at us but we held strong.

We are taking our boy back. Our home back. Our sweet brother needs to come back. The peaceful afternoons in the house need to come back. And good old-fashioned face-to-face playdates will have to come back too.

It's been 2 days and though we may see some withdrawl today after school, we all seem to be so much happier! So thankful!