The other night, Lydia wanted to climb into bed with Braden, so I let her. He read to her from a "funny book." It was really a children's science almanac, so I think Braden was ad-libbing. It makes me so happy to see how much they love each other. They play so nicely together, even though Lydia is obsessed with Barbies and basically anything pink, and Braden is all boy, and always wants to play with cars and trains. They love to pretend together and giggle together. Their latest past time is finding little things around the house like pennies, rocks from Braden's collection, plastic rings from Lydia's jewelry box, etc., and wrapping them up to give to me. They always make a card to go with it. Braden is getting very good at writing "I love you Mom." I find the notes near the computer and by my bed, and it always makes me smile.

They have been kind of sick lately. Lydia is going through her second round of antibiotics for bladder infections, and Braden was just diagnosed with strep throat today. But they still have energy to spare, and are happy.

I have been keeping busy with the Young Women at church. Right now we are working on a service project -- collecting items and putting together hygeine kits for the hurricane victims. We are also planning a fall "Hoe Down" at the church, and we are inviting all of the youth in our district. We will (hopefully) have a hay ride, bobbing for apples, country dancing instructions, etc. The youth all have assignments and are working hard on putting together a fun activity.

Morgan will be home in less than 40 days. I am finding it difficult to be patient during this last stretch. When the days we too numerous to count, I didn't pay attention to time, so it seemed to go by much faster. But now that we are numbering the days, they just seem to drag on. But we are keeping busy, and that helps. We are just praying for his safe return.

Braden Turns 6!

We celebrated Braden's 6th birthday on September 22nd. It was a Thursday, and public schools were off for the day, so we got to do lots of fun things. Every year, right as his birth minute approaches, we get out his baby book and look through it together. Then, I give him a kiss during the exact minute he was born. He loves looking through his book, and I love to reminisce over the memories of his birth. The children's birthdays are almost as special for me as they are for them, because they mark the anniversary of some of the most special days of my life as well. Lydia still had Joy School that day, so Braden and I got to go to Wal-Mart together and buy last-minute items for his birthday party the following day. After we picked Lydia up, we had lunch together at Peter Piper Pizza. It is a restaurant kind of like Chuck E. Cheese, but much smaller. But he has been wanting to go there for ages. The kids played for hours.

The next day we celebrated with his friends at a local park. Braden decided this year he wanted an airplane birthday party. So I made invitations on the computer that looked like airline tickets, and even made a special logo for "Braden Airlines". He and I arrived at the park an hour before the party started and decorated the pavilion together with blue tablecloths and blue and white balloons and streamers. He also picked out some of his favorite toy airplanes and taped them to the columns. When his friends arrived, they made foam gliders. Then they played and ate lunch (home made sub sandwiches -- Braden's favorite). Then they played with our parachute, ate cake and ice cream and took turns swinging at a jet-shaped pinata. I made a simple cake with blue icing and I wrote "Happy Birthday Braden" in white to look like sky writing. Then I put a toy airplane on it. He had a lot of fun.

News from IraqMorgan has been moved to a new office, where he has access to a computer with internet. So we have been able to use Instant Message the past week. I have been able to send him some pictures through IM, and he sent this one to us. He is pictured (in the middle) at the Education Department in the town he works in. He has been trying to help them improve their schools.

Greased Lightning!

Saturday evening we had a really fun activity at church. They set the gym up like a drive-in movie theater, complete with a wide screen TV, movie theater popcorn maker, and a parking lot for our cardboard cars.

Friday night, I stayed up late and cut out our little mini van, and then, after soccer on Saturday, we painted and decorated it. We had some leftover blue paint from painting the trim in Braden's room, so we used that for the body of the car. I knew that the kids would end up getting the paint everywhere, so I spread plastic drop cloths all over the garage, and told them to take all of their clothes off. Then I draped them in plastic art smocks, and we got to work. They did a great job painting the car blue. We then added handprints in different colored paint, headlights (made from push lights attached with hot glue), and a New Mexico license plate. They had so much fun! I spent the rest of the day giving them baths, cleaning the garage, and rinsing out paintbrushes, but it was all worth it.

At the activity, we set up our car and ate hot dogs, popcorn and punch and watched "Swiss Family Robinson."

First Soccer Game!

Braden and lydia had their first soccer game of the season on Saturday morning. They really had a great time. It was Lydia's first soccer game ever, and her team was so cute to watch. They just looked like a big gang of three- and four-year-olds running after the ball en masse.

Braden has become more aggressive in his playing. He really gets into the game.

Lydia Starts Joy School

Lydia started Joy School last week. Joy School is a co-operative pre-school that is run by the mothers of the children. We subscribe to the on-line program, and receive rights to print out the lessons, and music CD's that accompany the lessons. The mothers take turns teaching each week. We meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 until 11:30 a.m. Last week was my week to teach, so I did both days at my house. For the next four weeks, Lydia will be attending school at her classmates' houses in rotation.

The philosophy of the school is that children who are well-adjusted and happy will be ready for kindergarten. The lessons all center around finding the joys in life. We learned about the joy of our bodies last week, and the children made gingerbread men, played with play dough, danced, learned songs, played "Simon Says," and many other fun activities. They all really enjoyed it, and I did too. She is becoming good friends with the other children in the group. I really enjoy the program because I get to be so involved in her pre-school experience, but I also get a break for a couple of mornings most weeks. And then, when it is my turn to teach again, I feel ready to put all of the work into it that it requires. We also have a wonderful group of mothers who I trust implicitly. For more information on Joy School, please go to: www.valuesparenting.com

Braden's Trip to the Dentist

Last month I took the kids in to the dentist for their six month check-up. I was so proud of them because they actually opened their mouths for the dentist to look in. Granted, I had to sit in the dentist's chair so they could sit in my lap, but we are making progress! They found a cavity in one of Braden's molars, so they set up another appointment for us to come in and get it taken care of.

Last Monday, Braden had his first cavity filled. I knew that they were going to have to use the nitrous oxide (or "happy gas" as they call it at the pediatric dentist's office). I was a little nervous about that but I knew that he wouldn't last through the procedure without it. When they first put the "nose" on with the strawberry scented air, he got kind of silly and wouldn't sit still. He kept saying, "I look like a pilot, don't I?" over and over again. When the dentist came in, he settled down, and the gas really started to take effect. He lost some of his inhibition, and became really chatty. He said, "I feel tingly all over. This is great! I wish I had cavities every day!" I am really happy that it was a positive experience for him, but somewhat disappointed that I can no longer threaten him with cavities if he doesn't brush his teeth.



I just had to share this picture with you, because he looked so cute for the rest of the day after the appointment. He is trying to smile in this picture. The novacaine made half of his face numb for the rest of the day. Even when he tried to spit his toothpaste into the sink that night it dribbled down his shirt.

Soccer Starts!

This is Lydia's first season in soccer. She has been so excited to play. Her coach is my good friend, Kimberly, who has played soccer for 12 years. She does a great job with the 3 and 4 year olds. Right now they are trying to decide on a team name. This evening, as they were discussing it, one little boy said that he likes monkeys. I thought that would be an especially fitting name for a team of 3 and 4 year olds. They are constantly swinging from their goal post, and Kimberly has to coax them away to go and practice dribbling.

Braden's team is the Broncos. This is his third season, and I am amazed by his progress. He really loves soccer, especially because he knows his Daddy played, and his Papa used to coach. Lydia's practice goes from 5:30 to 6:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Braden's goes from 5:45 to 6:30. Their practices are on exact opposite sides of the big field, so I get a workout going back and forth as well.

Cottonwood Festival
Last Saturday we spent part of the day at the annual Cottonwood Festival. It is a big art festival, where local artisans come and sell their work. We enjoyed walking around and looking at the different works of art. Braden and I had Bratwurst and Lydia had a hot dog, and then we all shared a snow cone.

We spent most of our time there at the Boys and Girls Club booth, where they had set up a small corral made of painted boards, and let the kids draw on them with chalk. The man that was at their booth really liked the kids, and made soap carvings for them: a heart for Lydia and a bear for Braden. They really had a great time.

Braden Makes the Grade!

Braden worked very hard all week long doing practice quizzes with me and practicing random words at spontaneous moments. He caught on to the words ending in -ack really quickly, but struggled a little with the words they and what. So we practiced those words over and over again, saying each letter in rhythm while clapping our hands. He was a little embarassed when I tried to practice with him one last time outside of his classroom when he arrived at school. But he was so proud of himself when he got home. He made me close my eyes as he pulled it out of his backpack, and then he proudly presented it, with the biggest grin! He is such a smart boy, and is working really hard. At his Open House, his teacher said that he is very motivated.

We are still counting down with our Kisses from Daddy jars, and the kisses are rapidly diminishing. I might have to remove a few when the kids aren't looking, because Morgan thinks he will be arriving in Maryland at the beginning of November. We have been counting down to Thanksgiving, so I get to eat chocolate AND I get my husband back earlier than expected! It's a win/win situation!

I had strep throat this week. I have been blessed with almost perfect health for the 13 months that Morgan has been gone so far, but I was always really worried about what I would do if I got so sick that I couldn't take care of the kids. I shouldn't have worried. I was well taken care of by my friends from Church. My Home Teachers (men in the church are assigned families to visit at least once a month and watch over) came over and vacuumed, swept, and took my garbage out. Then one of them came back with his wife and brought me medicine and Gatorade, and took the kids overnight. The next day I went to the doctor and was prescribed antibiotics, and I have been steadily getting better since. I am so grateful for the wonderful people who watch out for us here. I was so nervous when Morgan first left, because I didn't know anyone, and I had only been here for 6 weeks. I wished that we had stayed in Maryland close to family. But I have learned a lot being out here on my own -- mostly that I am never alone. I know the Lord is watching over us, as was made evident by the wonderful people he has sent into my life.