Some T-Ball pics

I really like this picture but he looks older in this picture....but look at the focus. 

Man this was a good hit....cleared the dirt and a ways into the grass.  Way to go Cameron!

Sports

So excited!!!!  We signed Cameron up for TBall for this spring. 

We were gonna do soccer but then my mom reminded me about tball so we looked into the registration and it is still open and the same cost as soccer so we gave Cameron the choice and he decided to give TBall a try.  I am actually really excited.  I think he will like it and he still plans on playing soccer just not till fall so now he has a spring sport and a fall sport.  Plus I can't wait to see him in those cute baseball uniforms. LOL 

So anyway, I will post a game schedule as soon as I get one but the season doesn't start till April 5th so it will probably be late March before I know what team he is on and when his games are. Hopefully some of our friends and family will attend his games and cheer his team on.

 We got him a mitt and ball yesterday and are going shopping for a bat and some more balls so that we can take him down to Morris park (it's only a couple blocks from our house which is really nice) and start working on him so he knows a little bit once he starts practices.  I figure there will most likely be quite a few kids on his team that have played already so I want Cameron to know something so he doesn't get frustrated.  I researched drills that coaches do with the kids and the skills they work on so we plan to go down to the park on the weekends and work on some of the skills and start running the bases so he can learn the bases and start getting used to running since it sounds like they run at every practice. 

Anyway, just wanted to share my enthusiasm.  Makes me want spring to get here that much sooner. Bring on the sunshine!!!!!

Melt my heart.....

So the writing station at Cameron's class today was to write about Bad/Sad News......

In case you can't read it...." I had a bad dream and it was scary it was with my gramma and with my grampa was in it."

He's doing really good at phonetically sounding out words other than his slang pronunciations...lol. and he's doing really good on his spacing so that you can tell there are separate words.

So i thought that was cute.  Didn't really ask him what the dream was about because the next page made me choke back the tears.  Amazing what kids remember and think about.  For those of you who read this regularly you will remember that my Uncle Hal passed away in September.  Cameron has mentioned him a couple times and more so in the last week or so then he has since September.  So here's the picture that made me cry.....

I didn't include the writing part because it is partially erased and very hard to read and scanned in even worse but I am pretty sure you can tell that this is a grave with a headstone for Uncle Hal.

Oh my goodness!  I left his room after he confirmed what i thought it was and just sat in a chair and cried.  Out of all the sad things that have happened to him in the past year or so (getting rid of our pets, moving away from nene, etc.)  he chooses to write about Uncle Hal.  It warmed my heart to know that he remembers him and misses him but then it melts it knowing that he is sad because he knows that Uncle Hal died and went to heaven.  The other day he told me he saw a rainbow and wished on it that Uncle Hal could come back alive.  Where does he come up with these things?????  I love him to death but it breaks my heart to know that he thinks of such sad things.  But I know he is old enough now to understand what happened and it makes me smile to know that Uncle Hal will not be forgotten.

And just to clarify, this is the first time I have seen a Bad/Sad News writing come home so this not an often thing thank goodness.  It varies in subjects such as sports, Happy/Exciting news, animals, school, etc.  Last Thursday he wrote about how it was baby Kayleigh's birthday and that she was gonna be one and that uncle Brandon and Aunt Jessica were gonna be there.  So it's not all sad but this one struck me and I needed to share it with my closest friends who have kids and can understand why it pulled at my heart strings.

Where has the time gone?

So I found a disc that I had made for my grandma when Cameron was a little baby and for some reason never sent it to her. Which is a very good thing because all the pictures from the time Cameron was born until he was almost 3 are on a disc that we can't access because the program that created the disc only runs on Windows 98 or older which we don't have. So needless to say i am heartbroken that I don't have many baby pictures of Cameron. So to find a disc with baby pictures was awesome. On the flip side it made the tears start rolling. What happened to my baby? He is 5 1/2 years old now and going to start kindergarten in the fall. WOW!!!! Where did his toddler years go? Anyway here are a few pictures I wanted to share.



Cameron's 1st smile

Daddy's hair tickles


3mos old and already trying to hold his own bottle. So big!

Such a ham right from the start.

"Tellin' stories"

Cameron's 5 year pictures. He was such a ham. It was by far one of the best portrait sessions we have had. The lady was awesome and Cameron listened to her and did exactly as she asked. Brad and I laughed because he already has a picture smile. You know a smile that you paste on your face the minute someone gets their camera out. It wasn't his natural smile but it was still cute.

Comments

So I am a little disappointed in responses to my plea for opinions/comments/thoughts. I asked for everyone to give me their thoughts and ideas on the private school situation and I got one comment back. Albeit it was a terrific comment although I am not sure I would recognize God's answer even if it was right in front of me. So I just thought I would share with you all that I was bummed that when I needed responses I didn't get them. Oh well I guess we are all dealing with our own lives and I guess this is a subject that will have to be between Brad, the boys, myself and God. (I know that's how it should be regardless but the comments/opinions and thoughts of my closest friends matter to me too.) Anyway gotta go for now....P.S. Rachel, her kids, me and my kids and not sure who else are going to go up to the Ceramic place in chelan tomorrow around noonish and want to invite whoever wants to come to join us. The more people that come the more willing the shop owner is to accommodate on the day before thanksgiving. So let me know if anyone wants to go with us. Sounds like it will be really fun. So call me and let me know so we can let the shop owner know a rough head count. Later.

Which school to choose...

Okay so Brad and I are really kicking around the idea of switching Cameron to a different school for kindergarten. We still REALLY want him in a private school which really surprises me due to the fact that we both went completely through public schools and never even thought about putting our children through any type of private schools until it was time for Cameron to start preschool. But we really like the idea of smaller class size and better student to teacher ratio. Plus for him to learn about God is surprisingly becoming very important to Brad and I.

So here is our dilemma. We have been looking at Cascade Christian Academy (where he currently attends preschool), The River Academy (classical christian school) and St. Joseph's (catholic school). I have heard really good things about CCA and St. Jo's but not much of anything about The River Academy. Cost wise it would be cheaper per month for us to put both boys through St. Jo's and my brother in law and a friend both went to St. Jo's and totally recommend it. When I talked to Andy (my brother in law) about the difference between Catholic and Christian schools he said there is not really anything different that is taught.

I want to give Cameron (and Ethan too when it's time) the best foundation I can when it comes to school and his future. Not that public schools are bad but they have bigger class sizes and no biblical teachings. I like the idea of Cameron learning about God and the bible and biblical history and I look forward to the challenge of researching and learning with him when he comes to us with a question that we don't know about God or the bible. I want him to succeed and I want him to like school. I agree with Andy about sending the boys to public school once they get to the 6th grade so we are only looking at private school for K-5th grade for both boys. I want to make the right choice in Cameron's schooling (and Ethan's too when it's time) and I am so scared that we may not make the right choice in schools but how do we know? It feels like such a big decision and I don't feel like we get to know if we made the right decision or not until it's too late. Argh!!! Parenting is sooooo hard sometimes. I really want my boys to succeed in school and get good grades and not settle for barely passing like I did. I want them to feel like a 3.0 is barely acceptable not a 2.0 like me. I don't want them to struggle through school like Brad and I did. I want them to strive to be on the honor roll and be proud of their achievements and be popular and outgoing. I want them to like sports and do as many as they can through school. There are so many things that I regret about my school years and I really don't want my boys to have those same regrets. So how do I decide the best school to send them through to set them up for success? I look at my sister and brother in law and am sometimes jealous that they have Matthew's schooling already planned out for the most part and they aren't worried about their choice. He will be starting preschool next year at St. Joseph's and will continue there through 5th grade. He will then go to whatever middle school their house is in the zoning for and the same for High School. They feel it's the right path for them and Matthew (and any other children they may have some day).

Anyway enough rambling and venting.......the reason for this blog is I would like feedback from you guys PLEASE!!!!!!! If you would please tell me anything and everything you know about any of these schools or what you think about it all I would appreciate it very much. We are going to have to make a decision soon so we can get him registered and secure a spot in which ever school we decide on. So PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR FEEDBACK/INPUT.....Thank you.

Getting ready for horse show saturday.

We went to appleatchee today and work with Poco and Topper. I rode Poco (it was so great....I haven't ridden in 8 years I think.) and ponied Topper after Grammy worked with Cameron on turning and backing on his own. So then we just rode around the indoor arena and him and I talked about the show on Saturday. It was so great. To share one thing I love with my son and for him and I to have time just the two of us was so awesome. A memory I wouldn't have had I not quit my job. Just one more blessing. To follow my statement from my last post....it was a moment that took my breath away. Cameron did great and Topper was a great sport too.

We were telling Cameron that he would have to tell the judge his name and age and his horses name and Cameron asks what his number is. So i tell him that we won't know that till Saturday and they will give us his number to pin on his shirt when we sign in. So he tells me his number should be 295 because he can say that and remember that number. I laughed and told him we would have to wait and see. I am glad he is excited for this show and so thankful for Susan letting us use Topper so Cameron and Matthew can both show. I will post pictures and let you know how it goes.

He makes me laugh!

Okay so Cameron just got up from his nap and came out and sat in the green chair next to me. Here is the dialogue that followed....
Me: So did you have a good nap?
Cam: Yeah. (still kinda sleepy)
Me: So...are you ready to go clean the bathroom for me?
Cam: No
Me: why not?
Cam: Because I am not the bathroom cleaning guy and I don't work in the bathroom. (then grinned really big.)

Oh he makes me laugh. I totally expected a "yuck" or "I don't want to" or something along those lines not "because he isn't the bathroom cleaning guy." Anyway just wanted to share. He made me smile and I wanted to pass that on. Later.