School Starts

On the evening after the first day of school we ate sandwiches for dinner at my aunt & uncles beach house. It's tradition for my parents to do this (my mom's a principal). They usually eat on the beach, but the views from the house are spectacular especially when the sun is setting. It was a beautiful night, crisp and clear.  Here they are on the hammock.

Koah was not a big fan of the hammock… sitting on the hammock would mean he would have to stop moving for 30 seconds… and I knew that wasn’t happening.

He would rather climb the railing of the deck 4 stories high.

We were eating our dinner when my mom spotted something in the ocean. Dolphins and lots of them. It was as if they were performing for us. They were everywhere. I have seen a school of dolphins swim past as I am sitting on the beach. This was different. They weren't swimming past. They were circling right out in front of us. Some were even jumping out of the water. Jeff tried to capture a few pictures. It’s not great a pic but it is the best we got. It was an unexpected treat.

School Year’s Eve- Korben

My oldest, off to kindergarten tomorrow.

He is ready. I am ready. We are ready.

I hope I don’t show too much excitement.

I will try to contain myself from dancing in the streets.

An update tomorrow on how it goes.

 

Weather Change

It dropped below 80 degrees… it is time to break out the sweatshirts. 

Meet Your New MOPS Coordinator

ME!

This is what I wrote to the moms in the group when I decided to take on this role.

Dear MOPS Moms,

I am writing you to introduce myself as your new MOPS coordinator.  When I was informed that we were without a leader for our 2009-2010 year I immediately felt something pulling at my heart to fill this role.  I waited, assuming for sure that someone else would fill the position.  After lots of prayers and the support of incredible friends and family I made the final decision to take on the role of coordinator.  And to be honest, I am really nervous but I know that God will equip me with what I need to lead this group.

I have been attending MOPS now for 5 years but have only attended MBC's group for the past year.  I am passionate about this organization as it has ministered to me as a new, inexperienced,  scared mother.  I have laughed and cried with other moms at MOPS.  And my vision is that our MOPS environment is one where all moms feel welcome and safe.

I am excited to kick off our MOPS year on September 22nd.  This year's theme is "Together on Planet Mom".

Peace,

-Jill

Kenzie’s Kids

Kenzie loves her kids. Yes, she has kids. Ask her, she will tell you all about them, in detail. What they look like? The things they enjoy. She is sad when they are sad but she takes very good care of them. She brings them along on errands with us (they are very well behaved) and on occasion we have left room for them in the cart. Last week she taught them what she learned at VBS.

These are her imaginary kids but to her they are as real as real could be.

I recently asked her how many kids she has and their names.

Here was her response:

Kenzie's 10 kids

TuNu

HuTu

Hairy

Painty

Turtle

Balloony

Makeup Magnet

Planets Galore

Soapy Pineapple

Mr. Pecker

Vacation Highlights

Kenzie loved her bubble baths.

The one and only fish caught the whole week.

Koah stuffing his face as per usual.

Our first kid free hike since becoming parents. Thanks to my brothers.

Project Complete

Five and half years ago I enrolled in a quilting class when we lived in Seattle and when I was 8 months pregnant.  I began with a small project, a wall hanging. 

Three children later and 4 moves later that wall hanging is complete!

Thanks to a local group called the Sewing Sisters (which I found out about through MOPS) who guided me through this project to its finish and has encouraged me to keep with quilting which I love.

The finished project: