Action-Packed

This week has been action-packed, exhausting, and awesome!  Tomorrow is the last day of school for our school system (yipee!) and there have been many opportunities for fun.  Yesterday morning Hope and I went to Kyle's class to make slime with them.  We had so much fun with a great group of kids. 

 

The kids made slime with a little direction from me and this little girl had a blast with Kyle's awesome teacher, Ms. Roark. 

Kyle did not get to stay and make slime because he had to get dressed in his civil war gear to be apart of the Civil War Camp at his school.  Here he is dressed like a Yankee soldier.  It was hot in the civil war camp, but Kyle enjoyed it. 

This morning I headed to Kyle's school for field day.  This is the highlight of my little sports nut's school year.  Here he is with Caroline before heading outside. 

One of the funniest events at field day is the dress-up relay.  He looks cute with a dress, purse, and shower cap:)

Grace, Caroline, and Kyle.  He has had some great friends in his class this year. 

Another favorite friend-Andy!

After field day in the morning and a quick Mommy lunch at the Mexican restaurant, I went to David's second grade show.  The theme was Broadway tunes, and David rocked a Grease song. This kid loves to perform!

Check out his moves!!

"We'll always be together" song from Grease.  This is a very bittersweet year around our county.  David attends a K-2 school and Kyle just finished at the grades 3-5 Intermediate School.  Kyle's school is closing down because a brand new school (Oak Point Elementary) has been built that will open next year!!  Staff and kids are being split up to attend either the brand new school or stay in the newly renovated and beautiful Marion Elementary School. 

Mike as the Superintendent has been working (along with his awesome school board) since I was pregnant with Hope on these school projects.  He and his staff and school board have put bazillions of hours in on this project in a very tight budget time.  I am so excited to see their plans come to fruition when our kids will attend a brand-new school next year!!

After David's show, I headed back to the high school gym to watch Kyle play in the teacher/student basketball game.  Kyle was SO EXCITED to get chosen to play in this game.  The whole school came and watched and it was really a fun, loud, and awesome event. 

The teachers dressed crazy and it was a competitive game.  I laughed and cheered so loudly for the kids!  Teachers ended up winning but a great time was had by all.

 

Kyle played against his competitive and awesome teacher Ms. Osborne.  Kyle had her last year and her son is a friends of Kyle's and they play baseball and AAU basketball with us.  This girl has got game and she was out to win!!!  This game will forever be one of the highlights of his career at MIS. 

 

Tomorrow is the last day so this tired Momma is logging off to rest up from our action-packed day with the boys at their schools.  We are so blessed to have so many great educators that give so much to help these kids make some great memories.  Well done!

Memorial Day Weekend 2013

Memorial Weekend 2013 turned into a Robinson staycation.  We did not plan for it to happen but we truly did not leave the town limits.  I did not wear makeup except for Monday and we just played and worked outside.  It was exactly what two weary parents needed. 

Each Memorial Day our town has an awesome parade.  Our courthouse lawn is decorated with flags representing all the fallen heroes from our county.  It is a beautiful sight that reminds us all what this holiday is all about.  GG and Pops came down for the day to go to the parade with us and then we went to Hungry Mother. 

Dave insisted on a boy picture at the parade:)

After the parade, we headed to one of our favorite local treasures, Hungry Mother State Park for a picnic and day of fun.  We are so blessed to have this beautiful park in our town. 

Hope and David rode a million miles on their bikes.  I know because I had to walk  beside them each step of the way:)

They threw rocks in the creek and looked for creatures. 

Kyle was dying to go swimming, but it was too cool to swim.  It was a perfect day for a picnic, but not quite warm enough to get wet.

We ran into several friends out at the park and here are Kyle and David fishing with the help of our buddy, Owen Armbrister.  No one caught a fish, but it was fun to try for a while. 

Dave and Pops in their matching sun hats fishing.  This picture is precious to me. 

 

This girl loves a good playground and she and David played for hours.  We spent most of the day enjoying family time and the beautiful weather at our awesome local state park:) 

Last Week of Preschool

The 2012-2013 preschool year is over.  I amd tired and weary from all the fun,  but with my heart happy and full of memories.  This last week of preschool has been busy with two parties and a graduation ceremony last night.  After the last party this morning I came home and crawled into bed. 

This little girl has had a blast partying it up with both classes.  Yesterday in her three-year old class we were suppose to have an outdoor party at one of the student's homes, but it rained (of course) so we had it in the classroom.  The kids still had fun!

We decorated visors to wear for the summer.  Soo cute!

Last night we had the graduation ceremony.  The culinary arts students at the local technical school made these adorable (and super yummy) cupcakes for the reception.  I drove soooo slowly and carefully transporting 150 cupcakes in my car.

Me and my sweet girl.  I am so thankful that I get to teach my own daughter at preschool.  We are making such sweet memories together and I am soooo thankful I get to have her for one more year. 

She has loved every minute of preschool this year.  She has made sweet friends and she has learned so much. 

Last night watching her sing I was bursting with pride.  Back in November for the Thanksgiving program she would not even get on stage.  At the christmas program she got on stage, but did not utter a sound, and last night she rocked it out with all her friends.  Here the students are singing a hilarious rendition of Singing in the Rain with their thumbs up, heads back, knees together, bottoms out, eyes closed, and tongues out. 

One of the preschoolers favorite song is Awesome God and when both classes were on stage singing their hearts out, I got cold chills up my arms.  I am so blessed (along with two great friends) to teach these children each day.  To sing songs about Jesus, pray each day, and read bible stories along with all the necessary ABC's and 123's is a privilege that I cherish. 

This time next year my baby will be one of the students on stage in a graduation cap.  That thought hurts my heart a little to think of teaching without her. 

Big brothers as well as GG and Pops came to the program to watch her sing.  Mike got to watch the program before heading out to a local high school graduation.  I can still remember sitting in the same sanctuary watching Kyle's graduation from preschool.  He will be heading to middle school next year-how can this be????

This morning we had our last day with the four year olds that are heading to big school next year.  My friend and fellow teacher, Misty had the BEST idea for today's party.  We both have been following a blog (www.superty.org) about this little cancer warrior who is now with Jesus.  This blog has touched us both and of course childhood cancer is near and dear to our hearts due to David. 

This little boy, named Ty, may have lost his battle with cancer but he touched many lives.  His parents have started a foundation to raise money for cancer research.  One of the things that little Ty talked about doing after he beat cancer was to jump in mud puddles.  His treatment left him unable to walk on his own before he passed.  To raise money, his parents have started a muddle puddles project where children get to enjoy being children in his honor.  Today on our last day we had a "mess fest" where we had day full of messy activities and fun and each child brought in a donation for the foundation.  As you can see, this little girl loved it!

We had bubbles, feet and hand painting, shaving cream, slime, and seed planting in the dirt.  The children wore old clothes and we had lots of parent volunteers who helped make this day successful.  Our class raised $150 for childhood cancer research!! 

Sadly I know what cancer can do to a child and a family.  This "mess fest" today was so special because we got to raise money for something personal to me and our students had a ball. 

The shaving cream was a hit as well as the slime!

Here is our class and  few extra friends in front of our sign.  Tonight I will be sending this picture and our donation to the muddy puddles project online. 

I am ready for a holiday weekend to recover from all this fun!!  Thanks FUMC preschoolers and families for a wonderful year. 

Our week

After the exciting news from the scan I now feel like I can inhale and exhale fully.  I am also now super excited to plan some summer fun for this family. 

I think it has rained the last four weekends in a row.  Baseball season has been a wash out literally, and Hope has been anxiously awaiting to wear her new summer clothes.  Finally Sunday it was warm up to break out a summer dress for church. 

It had rained so hard Saturday night that Kyle's double header ball game was cancelled Sunday afternoon due to wet fields, so I loaded up Hope and david and to head to the lake.  David was THRILLED to get back on Pop's boat. 

This picture makes me smile-David is so healthy and happy!  Glory to God! Last Summer he got to ride the boat a few times, but he was so sick and pale.  We had to keep a big sun hat on his bald little head.  I was overwhelmed in thanksgiving seeing him enjoying just being a boy on a boat. 

Hope was not too thrilled with the boat but we went very slowly.....

Handsome Dave!  He was so excited and silly to be on that boat again. 

 

This week I have also been in a cooking mood and I found an easy chicken and dumplings recipe that you make in the crock pot.  Kyle had thirds it was that good:)

 

This week I have been busy at preschool finishing up my classes for the year.  I am always excited for summer to be with my kids with a more relaxed schedule, but it is always hard saying goodbye to my little students that are heading to kindergarten.  When you teach, these little kiddos wiggle into your heart and it is hard saying "see you later" but they are ready to move on.  Tonight is our big graduation and tomorrow we have a "mess fess" planned for childhood cancer.  I am so excited!!

UVA Visit

We are finally home after our overnight to UVA.  We are so thankful to report that David's scan was CLEAN!!!!  We praise God for this wonderful news that will buy our family three more months of "normal" family life.  Poor David was so sick last summer that he missed out on all the summer fun, so we are excited to have some sunshine fun this summer. 

David handled the sedation for his CT scan well today. It seemed to take longer than usual, but it is a long process for a scan that only lasts a few minutes. He has to have a bolus of fluid to pre-hydrate his kidney, then he gets the contrast dye via IV which takes a while.  He was gone from us for almost three hours.  I wish I could say this whole process gets easier, but it simply does not.

We left Thursday night to head to Charlottesville because a local Walmart was having a fun fair for Children's Miracle Network.  We got there before it rained so David could have some fun.  Mike also personally thanked the Walmart employees who help raise money for UVA children's hospital through the balloon campaign.  Walmart employees have been enthusiastic supporters of Children's Miracle Network and have raised many thousands of dollars to support the kids at UVA hospital.

David also had fun hanging out with another Miracle Child, Savannah.  She is precious with these sweet little blonde curls. 

David loved all over her-it was so sweet!  I enjoy meeting other Miracle Families because though their journey has been a little different, we have UVA children's hospital in common.  We have all had sick children fighting for their lives within the walls of that amazing hospital.  We are so honored to be included in the group of Miracle Families. 

No trip to clinic is complete without David giving Dr. Belyea a checkup.  They have their little routine down where David listens to Dr. B's heart, while he checks out David.  We love the entire staff at clinic and it is always so nice to visit with our UVA "family" while we are there. 

This evening we are praising God for the good news from todays visit to UVA.  It was a long ride home as we anxiously await the news from the scans, but we both were at peace.  We trust in God's plan for our family and we know that whether the news was good or bad today, He would with us.  God is the reason that we can have peace on these yucky scan days.  Thank you to all who texted, messaged, emailed and most importantly prayed for our Rockstar today. 

Mother's Day Weekend 2013

This weekend has been awesome.  We have had fun adventures, church, and lots of rest and downtime.  I am a truly blessed and rested woman. 

Yesterday Mike and Kyle went to a travel ball tournament for Kyle.  I was sad to miss it, but we had tickets to Princess on Ice!  Our sweet little friend Sydney was turning three so a group of us went to watch this amazing show for her birthday.  Hope was so excited and she chose her Belle costume to wear.  She wanted her hair done, makeup on, and she even requested some glitter spray for her hair. 

This picture makes me belly laugh, because Hope was trying to master the "princess pose" and David was trying to make her laugh.  David was just as excited about our day as she was. 

The show was put on by Disney and so of course it was magnificent.  It was over two hours which is a long time for little ones, but all of our kids were glued.  Here is princess tiana kissing the frog. 

Mickey and Minnie were there too of course, and it was so exciting!  My two are going to love disney this summer!!! 

Beautiful Cinderella in her carriage. 

Hope and Sydney!  Sydney is hilarious and she made me laugh all day long.  "Bring it on Grandpa" is hilarious coming out of a three year olds mouth! After a stressful week last week, spending the day with friends laughing and watching a magical show was perfect. 

David LOVED the show and Belle (our favorite princess) did not come out until the Grand Finale and I happened to catch his expression when Belle and the Prince came out. 

Cancer stinks but it has made me enjoy the precious moments of life even more.  I got very teary-eyed yesterday when Rapunzel and Flynn sang I See the Light and my very own little beautiful princess was sitting on my lap belting it out.  The last year and a half has had it share of drama, trauma, and stress, but yesterday surrounded by friends and watching this magical show overwhelmed me in happiness. 

No Disney show is complete without Mickey and Minnie! 

The highlight of the show for my two-Belle!!!! 

During the finale all the princess were on stage dancing with their princes, and Belle happened to be right in front of us.  My shy little girl started shouting "Belle" trying to get her attention to wave at her.  Oh Disney is going to be so exciting this summer!! 

Fireworks at the end. 

When we came home there was a huge storm.  After the storm we looked out and saw this beautiful and vibrant rainbow.  This is scan week coming up and to see such a visible reminder of God's promises will carry me through this stressful week.  Scan weeks make me want to throw up worrying if David has relapsed, but God is faithful and his promises are true. 

As we were taking pictures of the rainbow, I got this picture on my phone.  Kyle and his travel ball team won the tournament championship!!!  This is a first for Kyle and he was so excited. 

Today on this Mother's Day I thank God for the downtime that we have had today.  My favorite present today was the two hour nap that I got while Mike took the kids outside to play. 

I thank God for the three babies that I was blessed to birth and raise.  Motherhood has not always been the easiest road (whoever would think that their baby would fight childhood cancer?) but God has used motherhood to teach me about Him.  This control freak Momma needs to be reminded that I can do nothing without Him and that He loves my babies even more than I do. 

We covet your prayers for this Friday.  We will head to UVA Thursday evening to we can be at the hospital by 7 a.m. on Friday.  These scans never get easier, but we know from experience that God will indeed meet us there.  Happy Mother's Day!