Vacation Bible School is something that I did not experience when I was young, growing up in England. What a great way for kids to go into a church and get covered in some love and fun while planting some seeds . This year I was lucky enough to be part of the music. Energy is usually the theme that I try to go with; it is no use trying to teach preschoolers and 5^th graders something at the same time that requires technical knowledge. Children our like sponges if you can spark their imagination then you are on the right track I was looking at photos from our VBS and remembering the wonderful kids and all the joy that they gave me.  

I also like the fact that I can be involved in something and not have direct contact with my children but be in the same area to observe how they act around other adults and children, sometimes you beam and then others you make a mental note to talk later !!!!

Terry helped me out at VBS, jumping in a couple of days when I had to teach and I know that the girls really enjoyed getting to show off their dad. 

Well looking at the last time that I sat down to contribute to this blog I must have been very busy or avoiding it. I think a little of both we have like everyone had school and pets and parents thrown into the mix. But now that school is out for the summer and we have 7 week old kittens, because mom could not make the appointment fast enough to get Miss Ella fixed!!!! ( I don’t like that word)  But they are such a great addition to our family and the girls get another opportunity to learn responsibility.

The Treetops sisters have been out and about performing on the pre-school circuit and we have been learning about our new PA system. Once we work out the kinks it should be great but that leaves me being sound tech and I don’t know how prepared I am for that. The girls are getting bigger, it is funny how they do that without you noticing and then one day you turn around and they are 10, 8 and 7. Miss Jade is still cashing in on being little and making people believe that she is about 5 and not the responsible 7 year old that she should be. I think this is going to be the summer that the game is up and she is going to have to handle the chores and the responsibilities that are assigned to her.

We have been working through various ways to get our chores done….. Some days it takes us 20 minutes and someday is can take 6 hours of painful reminders from mom. Where are merry maids when you need them….. I have in the back of my mind that next summer we are going to get a gig at the beach and just sing and have fun the whole summer long. Ok well back to the dishes and the bathrooms for me.

Hard lessons to learn.

 

 

 

Last weekend we went through what many probably have,  the loss of a pet. This as a parent is a time when you want to be able to comfort your children and tell them that everything is going to be alright. And yet you know that this is a valuable life lesson for them.Life does come to an end and that this is something that can be unexpected and sudden.

We found out that our new kitten Tom had been knocked down in the street as we were on our way back from a dance competition. We had won medals and had a great time watching others as well as dancing and bonding with our team mates. I had the job of telling the girls and bringing them down from their time of excitement. Immediately following the tears and the uncontrollable sobs began to come. I like everyone else I am sure, find it so hard to just sit and not try and fix the problem when your children are hurting. But this is something that everyone has to go through; it is truly a painful thing to have to see your children go through.

On the brighter side we also have the sister to Tom and we have showered her with love and kisses, on the hour! And after a few days we have been able to look at pictures and reminisce about our lovable kitten that we lost.

You have to grieve but you also have to go on and live life! Hopefully this is what the girls have learned as well as their mom. We love you Tom.

Treetop Sisters promo picture

Just when I start to think that summer is ticking along nicely my kids throw me a curve ball. This summer I am working fulltime and Terry, when home is the children’s activities director. I have gone to  what I think is the extra mile to schedule play dates and Church camps, Dance Camps, swimming and all other kinds of super-duper fun things to do, yesterday when I asked how summer was going I got the reply of OK a little boring though! I don’t know about you but when I hear the B word it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I then had to go into my “when I was a girl in England there wasn’t any camp and even swimming pool blah, blah, blah and if they were bored then I could find many more things for them to do ex. Chores, chores chores. I want them to find that inner self that never lets them feel bored. But how as a society  do we foster that!   After that  there is a need in me to just overschedule everything and I get out my  markers and just go crazy, scheduling everything down to snacks and bathroom breaks ( well maybe not that bad). Do you let them be bored and see if that inner sense kicks in and they become interested in something or do you have to have more of a schedule to things? Most of the time I am able to answer my own questions when I can take a step back and give it a little time, switching off the electronics and have some books or paper and pencils available. Then given a few minutes we are into being detectives or scoring gymnastics at the Olympics that is when I am amazed at the creatively in children. I also  try to make a mental note not to have a knee jerk reaction to  the next thing to come out of my children’s mouths.  

Creative moment !!

 As I have mentioned before, I like awards when all my girls get them but think that they are not a terrible idea when one of them does not receive the accolade. We once again did not have to cross that bridge as all girls got a chance to get a pat on the back at their school. A & B students got to stand up and in front of their school and parents be told that they had done a good job. Daddy got to go this time as I was working, and I am glad that he got this opportunity.  But as with last time I don’t know where the certificates are after a week or so and know we are onto another 9 weeks! 

Jade getting her A's & B's Award

Pearl Getting her A's and B's Award

Ruby  doing a great job

 

 Still struggling with that balance of school and homework and dance and practicing instruments. Yet I know that we are not as heavily scheduled as friends. I cannot tell you the last time that I posted on Facebook and forget about Twitter…… if it were not for the camera on the phone I do not know if I would take any photos of the girls, but I do love to look at the camera sometimes as Jade gets hold of it and starts taking random photos of herself and her sisters some are just the funniest things that you have ever seen and once again I remember, that the most important thing is too be able to laugh at yourself, ha ha ha.

Christmas Cheer

The Christmas Season flew upon us and as ever I am not ready to enjoy the season! We have Ruby's Birthday which she decided that she wanted to have a sleep over with good friends from school. This is something that we survived , the girls where great and hopefully they had a good time and I know that Ruby enjoyed her Birthday experience and felt that 9 is a great age to be.I hope that she keeps this great feeling the whole way through the year.
 We then had our Christmas production at Church... this is something that I have been in charge of the for the last couple of years and it  so much fun to see the kids have a great experience on stage. We picked a musical  called Back to the Manager and has the kids traveling through time to experience all different musical era's. They traveled to the 1940's and also the 60's it was a hoot seeing their reaction to all the different costumes and styles of music.

Jade wanted to have nothing to do with any of the rehearsals but when it came time to get on stage and put on a costume then suddenly she was present and starstruck. Which so  nice for mom who was in charge and her own little one did not want to toe the line!
In the end everyone had a great time and the kids where wonderful. Ruby had one of the lead roles and Pearl got to sing a solo, Jade I think thought all the solo's should be hers.
But the best of all was the fact that we managed to surprise Terry's family and turn up on Christmas eve and I think that was the best present of all. We had  opened up gifts before we got to Grandma's  and so the girls got a chance to let others open presents and enjoy what others had been given rather than focusing on themselves. It was a wonderful teachable moment and something that money and Christmas presents could not buy!.

The one gift that the  girls got that has been keeping us busy since we got home is the Wii, "Just dance" is  the most fun, and we even got Terry to try his hand. This was funny beyond words and I don't think that I have laughed this much in a long time.
I just looked back at last Christmases blog page and the girls have grown so much. where did the year go and does this mean that I have gotten older also. No way!

Fall pictures

Fall is such a beautiful time and we have tried to seize more outside time, after the very hot and humid summer that we had it has been a very welcome change. I took advantage of the photo opportunities and the girls had fun also. I just love the fact that other than Jade who decided to cut her own hair, that the girls have let me keep their hair long. I can remember from my childhood having very long hair and just bugging my mom  to let me cut it because all my friends were doing it. So she let me have it cut,   I hated it and spent the rest of my teen years trying to grow it out. Not to mention the perm I made my  mother give me ,oh that just makes me shudder thinking about that.Well let me not get off track from the great pictures that the girls let me take and the fun that we had that day.