Jen's MOPs Convention

Last year, MOPs International (Mothers of Preschoolers) invited Gary Chapman to again make a presentation at their annual convention. This time, he declined but kindly suggested that they invite me. I agreed, made my plans to travel to Nashville, lined up the Thomases to hold down the fort (thank you Gamma Beth and Pa!), and made the trip. I enjoyed participating in their conference at Opryland. I gave two talks about The Five Languages of Apology . It was a great experience for me and a nice little breather from changing diapers and wiping up things at home.

Russell From His Ultrasound Pics to Preschool

Russell was my first baby to get the fancy new 3D Ultrasounds (in April 2006). It really looked like him!

And now he's a big Preschooler!

JT's Birthday

The Bishops celebrated with us at the bowling alley off of Wendover Ave.
JT got his favorite kind of cake: German Chocolate (from Maxie B's)

Above: Lydia made a fancy picture frame for JT
Below: Ross made a list of completed marathons for his Dad

Fall 2009

Craft day at Home Depot and Russell is, as usual, the boss.

Above: The first day of Russell's school career.
Below: We had our date night at a new restaurant that overlooks Russell's preschool.

When I dropped Russell off for his 5th day of preschool, he asked me, "why do I keep going there???" He seems to like Ms. Barbara and Ms. Sandra. In the car drop-off line, one lady helped him out of the car and then he stood alone, turning in a circle while waiting for the next hand to walk him inside. A pretty young woman came and he took her hand and they walked away from me. Through the glass of the car window, I saw how he is sturdy and could carry on without me. He's off to succeed at his own things. My statement of gratitude to the Lord this morning is: "Lord, thank you for letting me live this life. Thank you that I get to hold my kids' hands and care for my husband. I love this precious, fragile, wonderful life that you've given me."

I often prompt the kids to pay attention to the traffic while we are crossing the street. I often ask them to decide if it's safe to cross. One day, I forgot to do my job so Russell offered this assurance while we were in the crosswalk: "There's not a car running over me."