Celebrating 100 Days of 1st Grade

 For their 100th day of school, 1st graders were supposed to come in dressed up as elderly people, trying to look 100 years old.  We were not sure what to do, but Grandma Bumbaugh had an idea.   She had a dress in storage that was Ava's Great-great-great aunt Molly's dress worn in the early 1900s so Grandma decided to alter the length and do some "minor other adjustments" as she called them ;) so Ava could wear it to school.  It was a great hit and she loved it too.  however, she almost didn't wear it for school the next day cause she was kind of embarrassed.  Then when she got to school and everyone else was crazily dressed, she didn't feel so weird and then she just enjoyed it.  Grandma's always have great ideas! :)  She carried a little paper in her pocket explaining the dress.

 

 

Super Bowl Bash!

We had been looking for an excuse to all get together and hang out. . .so we found one.  Super Bowl Party at our house!  Matt & Courtney, Nate & Carole, Jason & Kim and our family of course.  We had coffee, beer, conversations, food, more coffee and lots of fun time.  As you can see from the picture above,, Carole was EXTREMELY excited about the game!  ahhaha and as you can see from the picture below, Micah and Nate have COME SO FAR in the past 10 years, or have they?  hahaha. Kim and Jason were still in the newly in love part of dating ;) so they hung out watching it together as the rest of us women oooh and awwd over how sweet and cute that was, but  decided for ourselves we would rather sit in the other room and talk. :)  The kids had a lot of fun hanging out and playing together. 

This was the night Ava met Jude, Nate and Carole's nephew.  I don't want to embarrass her but I do have to document this sweet moment in time.  Sorry Ava, if this is embarrassing.  Okay, so as the night progressed, the kids were all running around and playing and I could see in Ava's eyes that she thought Jude was cute. I know my girl, cause she is a whole lot like me. I liked boys early too.  :)  So, watch out world, here she comes!  Anyway, after they all left, I was getting Ava ready for bed and we got to talking.  She was so funny as she relayed the entire evening and its events to me. I love when she gets in those moods to do that because it is so sweet how she does.  As she was talking she told me how much she thought she liked him and she thought he must have liked her too.  Supposedly he was showing off a little and having the kids all jump into his arms off the toy kitchen in our basement.  She said she could tell he liked her cause when she jumped off she hurt her leg and he was all worried and he kept looking into her eyes for long periods of time.  She could see it in his eyes she said.  Then she persisted to tell me that he and her got to talking while the other kids were playing.  They were talking about how they sort of liked each other, then he asked her if she had Jesus in her heart and she said yes.  Then she asked him the same and he confirmed that he did too.  As she was telling me, she stopped and interjected. . ."so see mom, he would be a good guy for me to marry because first he has Jesus in his heart AND he goes to my school!" Then she went on to say how he asked her if she liked him and she said she did.  Then he asked why and here were the reasons she gave him, "because your face looks like Ty (her cousin Ty) and because you are strong like Titus (Titus was her first heart throb.)  I loved that her reasons she gave for liking him was because he was LIKE two other boys she knew. ahhaha.  We have some work to do on her complimenting area.  Anyhow, this was a fun party and the kids had as much fun as us adults did. :)

Spirderman Spotting at LBC

We were invited to LBC for a photo shoot for Christian. I will blog of that later, but the time at LBC hanging out with the Smith Kids all grown up was a lot of fun.  They showed us around and we even took a trip to Panera for coffee.   The best part was when Christian pulled out his AWESOME Spider Man suit he had been given for Christmas by Uncle Kevin and Aunt Amy.  :)  He had insisted on bringing it to show Danielle, Nate, Evan and Shiny Bug.  Hahhaha. . . .so he kept bugging me to put it on. . .and surprise them.  Of course they all made over him so sweetly, like they always do and he was in his element.  He will remember this day forever.  They did this little trip around campus and posted pictures with the caption, "Spiderman Spotting at LBC".   hahaha.  Here is his fun photo shoot.

 

Two Damsels in Distress that he has to save and then stop for a quick photo opportunity with them???? This is every Super Hero's Dream Come True!  He must be an extra Special Super Man to have snagged these beauties!

 

 

 

 

This guy was a really cool guy with a GREAT Spider Sense. . . .he knew where to go and how to get there.  He was super sneaky and clever.  I wonder who he is. . . lets see Spider Man Revealed . . . .

Snow Tubing At Whitetail

 

 

 

 So we decided to do a night of snow tubing since Ava and Christian had FINALLY reached the age they would enjoy it.  The kids were very excited and they thought this was a great idea. My mom had won a few tickets years previous and though we had set up many different times to use them, it never worked out, so the tickets were a wonderful blessing that allowed our family to go for free.  I stayed inside with our little Johnny 5 since he was too young to go himself.   Scott, Lori, Kelsey, Grandma, Pappy, Johnny 5, and our family of four headed up to Whitetail.  Johnny screamed the entire way, and though it was a little annoying, the kids seemed to handle it well.  Micah. . . . not so much.  I later texted a friend that I was thinking of stopping in to see her (our famous Erin Berry Friend) and that we ended up not because Johnny was throwing a fit.  Micah later texted her that Johnny was not just throwing a fit but actually SCREAMING like a MANIAC.  Guess just difference of perceptions?   :)  Anyway, while we were there, the kiddos had so much fun and they were flying down those hills in super speed.  :)  A little shy of the two hour segment, Christian decided he was done and far too cold so Uncle Scott ( or pappy Scott as some refer to him) brought him inside and got him some Hot Chocolate to drink by the fire.  While they were out tubing, Grandma, Pappy and I stayed inside and ate, chatted and chased Johnny around.  :)  He was a busy little guy for sure.

 

First Time Offense

Tonight, when sweet Ava came home, she was really acting out.   She was Extra loud and Extra irritable and just seemed as though something was bothering her.  She told me three different times that her brain wasn't working right that day.  I was busy and we had lots to do to get ready for the valentines thingy the next day.  Finally, after dinner, her and I headed out to the house for some last minute things we needed to pick up at the store.  She was quiet and finally I asked her what was bothering her.  She immediately got that all too familiar high pitched about to cry but trying to talk voice, as she informed me that she lost a stick and five minutes of her recess that day.  Little bits and pieces kept coming out through the evening and our talk.
 Finally, the pieces came together as follows:  she was on the class rug and two boys were poking her.  Just as the teacher was saying the next person to talk would lose a stick and 5 minutes of recess, she told them to stop.  She got caught and called down in front of the class.  To make matters worse, earlier in the day she joined in with another friend and went into the BOYS bathroom.  A class mate told on her so she lost another stick.  The day before, she lost a stick for something else too.  So I guess the teacher then called her over to her desk and asked her if something was wrong.  Her teacher said that Ava was not usually like this, so she was wondering what was wrong. 

To back this story up, Ava is very sad about the upcoming goodbye for Johnny.  He is supposed to leave us Friday and she has been so sad for the past week, just thinking of it.  She cries a lot already, because she knows how it goes and what happened with our last little guy, so she is preparing herself. :(  I think this is def. playing a big role in this acting out, but she is still really upset about getting into trouble. 

Tonight, as we were having devotions, I looked over to see her eyes very sad.  I stopped what I was doing and she asked if she could stay home from school tomorrow.  I told her that no, she had to go.  She started crying and basically, long story short, she is very anxious about five minutes off her recess tomorrow.  It has been bugging her all night.  She kept trying to reassure herself it wouldn't be too bad, just has to get through the first five minutes.  Supposedly they have to walk a line for the five minutes and everyone can see them, so embarrassing for someone that tries SOOO hard to not get into trouble.  She kept telling herself that at least some of her friends were in trouble too, so she would at least be safe.  Poor sweetie.  We did discuss if it would be less embarrassing if the weather made it an inside recess because less people would be watching her and notice her missing her five minutes.  She said yes, so we prayed for snow and inside recess, then I held her for awhile and just comforted and hugged her and prayed quietly over her.

I want to call and make this right.  I want to fix it for her because I know her anxiety is over the top tonight and tomorrow too. It breaks my heart as I am sitting here typing this, knowing what it is taking for her to get up and go to school tomorrow and face her consequences.  However, I know I MUST allow / encourage her to face them.  She has to learn to face life even when it is tough.  Why is this so hard for me?  I seriously am emotionally tied in with this event.  I pray God's peace and love over her tonight and tomorrow and I know she will be okay. I also, just now, said a prayer for snow. :)

Coffee Date / Photo Shoot At LBC

Pappy Sweetheart, Christian and I headed up to LBC to visit with OUR SMITH KIDs and for Christian to have his debut in his modeling career.  Nate was in a band and they needed a Super Hero for the cover shot and they wanted Christian to be on the shot!   So when we first arrived, Danielle and Evan met us and we headed off campus to get some coffee at Panera and chat.  Danielle bought Christian a sweet cookie that said I LOVE YOU in order to celebrate that Christian had asked Jesus in his heart the day before!!!! :)  It was good to hang out with these two amazing young adults.  Christian had the greatest time with them too! 
The day was really cold and Christian was freezing.  He had his little super hero cape on and he tried his hardest, but it was a tough photo shoot for him. Danielle was his very own cheering fan and she warmed him up between shots and loved on him and encouraged him.  She got the only smiles out of that boy that day.  He loves his Danielley.  They got some good ones and I posted my favorite. :)  The bands' name was Cities and though they are no longer together, it was a very cool experience. :)  In the end, we stopped at McDonalds with Pappy and had some good ol' grub.  Good day in the modeling career. :)