a letter to my kindergarten graduate

Dear Caedmon, You've just completed your kindergarten year. Your last day was Friday, May 28th 2010. I remember your first day of school like it was yesterday. {first day of kindergarten - August 19th 2009}



It was a very BIG day for our family because your new baby sister was born on that day. I was pulled in two directions. My son's first day of kindergarten...first day of being at school the whole entire day...first day to eat lunch in the cafeteria...first day of what the next thirteen years will be like.

It was also the birth-day of your second sister. Luca Bella arrived early that morning, before we even sent you off to school. We didn't find out until that afternoon. You were so grown up that day...seemed to grow up overnight. It seemed fitting to watch you become a big brother again on your first day of kindergarten. You were so proud and excited when we picked you up and told you the news.
{holding your new baby sister for the first time}

I talked with the mom of a first-grader early in your kindergarten year. She reminded me what a sweet year this year of kindergarten is and how quickly it goes by. She encouraged me to soak it all in...go on every field trip...to take lots of pictures.
{zoo field trip - May 2010}

It was a challenge with a new baby sometimes, but I did go on every single field trip with you. I took lots of pictures and tried soaking it all in. It still flew by.
{up close and personal - zoo field trip May 2010}


I'll never forget the trip to the pumpkin patch...your first kindergarten field trip. I hesitated to hover too closely...wanting to give you your space and letting you enjoy your friends. When you took my hand on your own, I knew you were glad I was there. It was a special day just for you and me. Then in December we got all dressed up and went to Warsaw to see a play...The Sound of Music. I loved our little date.

{more zoo trip photos}
When you started school, honestly I was a little scared of what kindergarten would be like for you. Would you be able to stay focused and pay attention to your teacher? Would you struggle with continuing to learn to read as you did in Pre-K? And most of all...Would your teacher be able to see just how amazing you are? ;)

You listened to my prayers each morning in the van before we drove off to school. "Lord, give Caedmon a desire to learn. Help everything to work properly in his brain so that learning comes easily for him." "Be with his teacher...give her wisdom to know the best way to teach Caedmon...give her patience and love for her students." "Give Caedmon joy in learning." "Help him to be a loving and kind friend to others and a good example...not easily influenced to make bad choices." "Surround him with your angels of protection."

{tincaps game - May 2010}You worked hard at reading. It wasn't always easy for you. We met with your teacher and she gave us ideas of areas where we could help you. We were so proud of you when you earned free tickets to a Tincaps game for participating in a special reading program. We watched you develop more confidence by the end of the year and it was a joy to watch you pick up books on your own and read them to your sister.

{well deserved ice cream treat at the game} {fireworks after the game}
I really would have never had to worry. You've had an amazing year...and an amazing teacher. You have flourished in so many areas. You received several special notes sent home and written by your teacher of how proud she was of the good choices you had made that day. You earned the Beary Good Behavior Award many weeks for not having any warnings or discipline issues for that particular week.
Your reading, writing, adding, and subtracting have improved tremendously.

And here you are...your graduation night and we couldn't be more proud. Two days later, we watched my oldest nephew graduate from high school. I remember his kindergarten graduation. He stood on the very same stage as you...I know just how very quickly those years have gone. Your next graduation will be your high school graduation and I will look back at these pictures and wonder just where the time went. I’m so excited at how you’ve grown over this past year (in more ways than one). This year of firsts. This year of Kindergarten. I’ve grown too. God has helped us both to grow in many ways. Congratulations graduate.
Love you always and no matter what,
~your Mommy

{with grandpa & grandma B}{with grandpa & grandma S.}
We made a DQ stop afterwards for more celebrating. {Graduation gifts from grandparents}
{last day of kindergarten - May 28th 2010}

the joys of fall

John 1:16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

Our days and weeks are so full these days. They all seem to run together...it's a wonderful kind of busyness though. Luca is growing so quickly right before my eyes. She started sleeping through the night a day before she turned six weeks. HALLELUJAH!!

Baby's cheek's are really filling out. They get kissed a lot these days.Baby's tummy is getting bigger too. =)

I never thought I would have a blue-eyed baby. I love God's little surprises.Kaiya has shown more of an interest in her babies lately. She hasn't been much of a doll person up to this point. Lately she's been changing her baby's diapers. I found three of Luca's dry diapers in the trash the other day. She brought her baby's swing and sat it right next to Luca's. She imitates a lot of what I do with Luca...I love it!


Kindergarten Pumpkin Farm Field Trip I was so privileged to accompany Caedmon on his kindergarten pumpkin farm field trip. What a treat to watch him interact with his other classmates and have one on one time with him. It was sweet to see his excitement to have me there. He reached out for my hand a couple times...he doesn't normally do that...I loved it.

Here he is sitting next to his teacher, Mrs. Moore, on the hayride.
Watching cider being made the old-fashioned way.
Mrs. Moore's Kindergarten class learning about pumpkins.Time to pick out a pumpkin to take home.

This little girly smiles so much these days...I tried and tried to catch it on camera. OK, not gonna happen this time. Makin' caramel apples. Yum.Caedmon quickly became interested when he saw what the finished product would be.
Soccer games continue with only one more to go. Caedmon has shown so much improvement this year with his skills and attitude. So proud of him. Saturday morning games start at nine and it's been bitterly cold for October. I dressed Kaiya in her snow pants, hat & mittens for this game. Caedmon stayed pretty warm from all the running...the long underwear helped too. =)
Goin' for the goal! Our little brother, Immanuel, spent the night and joined us for the game.
I've decided it would be best at this time to take my blog private...which means in order to view it, you need an invitation from me via your email address. I love sharing my journey with all of you and would love to continue. If you would like access to my blog in the future, I will need your email address to be able to send you an invitation to view my blog. You can leave it in the comments, or send me an email (organizermizer@gmail.com) or facebook message. I'll probably take it private at the end of this month. Thanks.

new babies...kittens that is

Our kitten had kittens...is that possible? She's barely six months old...well, maybe closer to nine months. The plan was to have her spayed before this happened. Now we have learned our lesson. Kittys can have kittys. Two weeks ago, Kevin woke up around 4am because he heard a rattling noise. He investigated the hall and came back to bed. At 5am the dog started barking which isn't uncommon if he sees an animal...we didn't think much about it. About an hour later we were all up...a little sleepy...and getting ready for school and work. Twenty minutes before it was time for us to leave for school, Kaiya asked if she could feed the cats in the garage. I said "sure"...having no idea what the next twenty minutes would entail.
She was back in shortly stating that there was a "rat" in the garage. I said "no sweetie, it's probably just a dead mouse." The cats will occasionally leave them around for us to dispose of. I asked Kevin if he would get rid of the "mouse" before he left for work. As you have probably guessed by now, it was not a rat or a mouse...it was a baby kitten lying cold and stiff on the cold garage floor. Abby (the mama cat...well, kitten) had three kittens tucked inside a small little shoe cubby and there wasn't any room for this one I guess. Kevin told me to take it inside and warm it up. I freaked out a little "you want me to do what?" "how?" So I took the cold kitty inside, put it on a heating pad and dried it off until it started to move and cry a little. Meanwhile, while investigating the birthing scene outside, Kevin found two more stiff cold kittens on the driveway. In the house they came. By this time I was feeling a bit more confident and was in rescue mode doing all I could to help the poor little helpless things.

The kids were beyond excited and soaking in every little detail. By this time, it was time to go to school...so Kevin put together a box and we put all six kittys in it with their mama...not sure if they would all be alive when we returned. All six survived and are doing well. It has been fun watching the kids experience the whole thing, and for that reason alone I have to say it has been worth having them. Despite her age, Abby has been taking exceptional care of her babies. Caedmon commented "She's the bestest good mom just like you, mom!"

Kaiya is definitely our animal lover around here. She carries the adult cats around like they are babies themselves. She's always concerned about Abby being with her kittys 24/7. If Abby goes outside, she carries her back in the garage. I've explained to her that she needs a break sometimes and it's ok if she's outside...but, I'll still catch her carrying her back into the garage...sometimes even through the house. Oh dear. I'm not an "animals in the house" kind of person...although my mom will tell you I was the same when I was that age...sneaking a whole liter of kittys into the house while she was at work many times.

When disciplining the children, we try to explain that despite our disappointment in their behavior we will never stop loving them...that there is nothing they can do to stop us from loving them....just like God. This week I heard Kaiya telling the cat "I love you so much...even when you scratch me". And to the dog "I love you so much, even when you bite"...although Barkley has never bitten her even once.

We've explained to the kids that the kittys will need to find new homes when they don't need their mama anymore. They're free if anyone is interested. =)

Since school is out, we're always looking for things to do to breakup the week a bit. This week we traveled to Middlebury for a lunch at Grandma's house. There were other cousins there to play with and the kids had a great time.

Sister-in-law, Sarah was there with her boys. My cousins Jenny and Rachel came with their children and Aunt Dot joined us as well. So fun to catch up with them...thanks for having us mom!On the way home, the kids and I made a couple stops. I like to stop by the Fork's store in Middlebury for popcorn and odd items I don't ever see in Ft. Wayne. We also stopped by the cheese factory which was PACKED. The tour bus in the parking lot should have been a clue to me. We shoved our way in, sampled a few cubes of cheese and grabbed a bag of assorted cubes to purchase on our way out. Unfortunately they were not making any cheese while we were there either, but it was fun to stop by anyway.