Thankful

On Sunday night, Al got a text from a friend from the Lowe's he had been working at. What it said gave me shivers and made me super grateful that God has a plan for my family and that He had already provided for us.

What we learned was that the man that was hired to take Al's spot (and he moved here, too) was told that effective immediately, his job had been eliminated. He wasn't fired, they had made the decision to simply eliminate Zone 2- not Zone 1, 3 or 4, 2- the one Al was manager of. This man was now unemployed- that is unless he wanted a huge demotion and would be willing to move, again, and even then, they couldn't even guarantee a job. Scary.

I am so thankful that God protected us from this sad situation- and that He gave Al this new job, which is just thriving. His timing is perfect and I am beyond grateful. My heart breaks for the man who lost his job- and he and his family are in my prayers.

Pumpkin Patch!

Even though the temps were in the upper 90's this weekend, we decided to celebrate "fall" and check out our local Pumpkin Patch- and much to the kids surprise, their bff, Hannah was there to have fun with them!!

Ready to check everything out!!

First up, Pony Rides!! Good thing Alden went first- the next little girl who rode this horse got bucked off- she didn't get hurt, just badly scared...

Addie loved riding the little white pony!

Moon Bounce!! They had it to themselves and had a blast bouncing all over!

Next up, farm animals! They fed them some food and enjoyed seeing (and hearing) them up close and personal.

This neat contraption is how you could feed the goats- you had to really work to crank the food all the way to the top- Alden LOVED it and the girls, after a few turns, were more than happy to turn the rest of the cranking, over to him.

Yes, this is a "train" ride for even the adults!! Addie wanted to ride with Daddy.

Alden wanted to ride with me- and so did Hannah! Aren't these 2 cute??

After that, the hay-maze was fun- the kids were not fooled but figured it out in no-time flat (and no, there was no cheating by climbing over the bales).

Pig Races!! The kids thought these were hysterical!! I would run fast too for Chips Ahoy!!

To keep up the competitiveness, the Dad's helped the kids in the duck races! Hannah won!

Keeping the kids busy, we did the barrel train next. Alden cracked me up, he took his steering wheel VERY seriously- he turned it correctly to keep up with the direction they were actually going!

In Delaware, the Pumpkin Patch we went to had a large sandbox filled with dried soybeans. It was the kids favorite- and I would be finding dried soybeans for week- but here, there was a Corn Pit! My 2 were in heaven!! And when they got out, they were FILTHY! Good thing it was towards the end! Here they are making "corn angels"- once they started doing this, all the other kids plopped down and started copying them!

Now we were off to the actual pumpkin patch to get pumpkins!!

A rare pic to prove I WAS there!!

Wowzers! So many pumpkins to look through to find the perfect ones!!

Alden showing me that he has found "his" pumpkin!

Addie showing off her excellent choice!

Since it was approximately a million degrees (I may be slightly exaggerating...) we ended the day with ice cream!

Yummy!

It was a great day- fun experiences, great friends, and happy memories!!

Addie's New School Skills!!

Addie has really started to love school. She often cracks me up with what she tells me on our way home... Here she is, Princess Addie, sharing some of what she's learned.... I couldn't be prouder of her!!

Fun Kid Pics

I know, it's been ages since I put pics of the kids on- so, here ya go!

Who says we need a bigger house? Turns out my kids just need a shelf!!

I am not above bribery- after the first week at school, I told the kids that once they had 5 cry-free days at school, I would take them to Target and they could pick out a toy of their choosing (within reason....). Here we are, coming straight from school on Friday- yup, once this was offered, they were all smiles when I dropped them off! This may possibly be the best $20 I have ever spent!

One night Al was at a business dinner and Mike was with a client, so Karen and I met at our favorite place, Chick-fil-A and had dinner together! I just love living so close to friends and being able to do this- and I love the fact that the Wasch women are so wonderful!!

One of my old students, who happens to live in China, mailed this beautiful dress to Addie- how special!! She thinks she's Kai-Lan now!!

Once we come home from school, they love to play outside some. They set this up- they are shredding leaves into these buckets- very important work!

Showing off their "work."

A Three Hour Tour...

During teacher work week, each grade level was sent to spend a day on the James River as part of a grant. It was interesting and I learned some interesting things- it would have been more enjoyable if it hadn't been 100 that day....

Our boat looked a bit like the one from Gilligan's Island...

The view of the Honeywell Plant from the River

This is for my Civil Engineer sister- this bridge is one of the only ones that the middle lifts straight up for the boats to pass underneath...

This was my favorite part- we actually went crabbing!! We didn't get to eat them, but we did learn how to know if a crab is male or female, how to pick one up without loosing a finger, etc.

Here is a good hunk of the 7th grade team working on a team-building exercise- pulling in a huge net- gross!!

Even though it was HOT and there was a ton of stuff just waiting for me to do, it was fun spending time with all my new co workers and learning some facts about The James!

The Greatest Challenge....

(Warning- this is mostly for my own sake- when the kids drive me crazy in the future, I need to come back and read this....)

Way back before we had kids, I knew people who had amazing kids- kind, out going, spunky yet respectful, creative yet modest, etc. I asked the parents what they did- and I'm still asking parents who have kids I admire, what they did/do. What's neat is that I get the same answers time and again... Be consist, demand respect/obedience at all times, and be the parent, not their friend. Sure we love them- and we show them love by having these high expectations for them!

That's a tall order!

Because my kids are sinful people (if you doubt that, spend an afternoon with them!), they will test every boundary Al and I set. But because we are the grown-ups and can see the big picture, we stick to our guns and insist on our desired behavior. It could be anything from not leaving their room at night, to always saying "please" and "thank you" or even to not tolerating unkind words towards or about anyone. Tough and super high expectations for them? Yes. But the Bible calls us to "train them in the way they should go" and we take that seriously. Everyday life is crucial training for the rest of their lives. Little battles that we must win since we are the grown-ups and can see The Big Picture.

Lately, the kids have been whining, fighting, not obeying- and they have had not-so-fun consequences. There are times I would much rather just turn-up the music and pretend I didn't hear them not being nice- and sometimes I do, but not often. God entrusted these 2, amazing children to Al and myself- and we need to do our gosh-darn-best to love them- and in turn, punish them when they are wrong, encourage them when they are waffling, and praise them when they are right and good.

To the outsider, it may look picky that we refuse to acknowledge our child as she whines and whines for a toy, but she knows that we only "hear" her when she uses a happy voice. We all know some adult that was never taught this lesson- and we don't want that to be our child some day!

Asking our kids one time to do something and expecting a respectful and prompt response is seen as ludicrous by some. Obedience is a all over the Bible- and thus important. Sure they can disagree with us, but they must do so respectfully- another skill we are teaching them. Hard- yes. Valuable- yes! God-honoring- yes!

It may seem ridiculous that we don't let our kids have total freedom in their clothing- we want them to know that certain things just aren't appropriate to wear any ol' time. If we showed-up at work wearing a swimsuit and winter boots, we would be sent home.

Asking our 3 yr old to put away the silverware and our 4 yr old to put away all the toys in the toy room may seem a bit extreme. The reality is that we all live in this house and need to work together to keep it clean and functioning. Hopefully they will be adults who appreciate the value in team work and a job well done.

Al and I have set the bar high for our kids- and we are confident that the bar is where it should be. We are excited about the changes we see in our kids- we had a fantastic day with them- whine free, kind and encouraging words to each other, and they even offered to help without being asked! They aren't perfect- but these little battles certainly are worth fighting and winning!

We know that they "get it" based on a conversation overheard just the other day:

Addie: (in a sweet tone) Now Buddy, what's the matter? I can't hear your words since you are whining. You know what the Bible says about that, right?

Alden: Make joyful noise!

Addie: That's right! So we need to use happy words! When you use happy words, it makes my heart and God's heart happy! Plus you know that if you are naughty, since I'm your Mommy, I'll have to spank you. I only spank you since I want you to learn to be good. If you are bad, it will hurt- so think about it, and don't do something that will make your fanny hurt!

Alden: Oh.... Ok. I be happy not want pankin'. Make Mommy and Jesus happy!

Parenting- one of the greatest challenges we've been given and yet the most rewarding challenge as well!

Whirlwind Week

(WARNING- Long post and no pics)

Whew- it has been a VERY busy and eventful week in the Perreca household!! After Tuesday, the rest of the week seemed like a piece of cake....

In a nutshell- Tues included:

1. Lisa starts her new job teaching 7th grade math

2. Al sets-up his new office- buying furniture, interviewing and hiring his assistant, interviewing and setting-up the new installers, all while showing his new boss around the area

3. Alden gets sick and needs to be picked up

4. Lisa starts a college class she needs for her teacher license re-certifiction

It was crazy, but God is good and He provided our needs!

The First Day of School is a big deal- but sadly my camera was in my filing cabinet at school, so the other first day pics I posted will have to do for the First Day of School! And no, I did not take a self-portait of myself heading out to school... Pics are coming of my new room all decked out!

I am busy teaching Tue morning, when my phone rings (how cool is it that I have a phone in my room?? A real phone, not just my cell phone!!). It's Al- Alden's teacher had just called- Alden had a fever 102.1 and needed to be picked up. It just killed me that my baby was sick, less than a mile away, and I was in the middle of the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!! Thankfully 1)my principals are awesome and they fully supported me if I needed to drop everything and go get him BUT 2)Al's boss (who was riding around town looking at furniture with him) was also fully supportive of getting Alden and letting him spend the day with them. This was great since it meant that I could stay at school- but I did need to use my planning time to drive to the school, drop off the carseat, DVD player, and Motrin. There, in the front office was Alden- sound asleep on his mat- cheeks flushed with fever- he didn't even wake-up when I came in! Being this mellow was good considering he would be spending the rest of the day with Dadddy!

Since Alden was SO sick, I made plans to have a sub for 2nd day of school- not ideal, but if Alden was sick, I needed to be with him!

Once I picked up Addie and got home, it was time for dinner. After that I help start to get the kids ready for bed, but I can't finish since I have to leave and head to the local community college for a class I needed to take to get my teaching license re-certified. The class, which will be interesting and minimal work, is over and I am home, Alden starts fussing in his sleep- when I check on him, I discover his fever had broken- yay!! It looks like I may NOT need that sub- if I can find a friend willing to watch Alden since he can't go to school until he's been fever-free for 24 hours... I decide to not rush it- but wait and see how he feels in the morning.

6:40am Alden comes bouncing into my room, happily asking "Go school, Mommy?" I didn't want to disappoint him, so I started calling some friends to see if they are willing to help me out... Then a dear, dear, friend answered her phone and was happy to mean what she said when she offered to help me any time I might need it.... Elsie, you are, and will be for a looooooong time, my hero!! I quickly got everyone ready and out the door- and I made it to school/work, only 30 min late! Thanks to another good friend, Lindsey, I had a Dunkin Donut gift certificate so I didn't even need to fix the kids breakfast- but fed them sugared donuts- it motivated them to get ready super fast! (And don't think I was negligent as I called my school at 7am and they canceled my sub and told my co-teacher Block 1 that I would be late- it wasn't a big deal since Wed was her day to teach- see how God works out the details?!).

After that craziness of Tue- and a little into Wed- Thur and Fri have seemed almost boring! And for the record, I like "boring" and would like to live that for at least a little bit!!

The bottom line- God is Good- He provided supportive bosses, gracious and generous friends and amazing co-workers!!

Trial by Fire

Whew- we survived!! Actually, we did rather well- and I think it's all thanks to the many prayers that went up for us, friends that called and texted, and the Grandparents who came to help!!

The kids have come to love their school. Addie still insists that her teacher Miss Monica does not have good manners since she tells her what to do.... Poor girl- I mean Miss Monica.... Alden now adores his teacher, Miss Tamara.

We had some great conversations going to and from school (see earlier post). The kiddos always had stories to share about who they played with, what fun activity they did at school (there was a petting zoo, a carnival complete with cotton candy, a book sharing day, a bouncy-house day, etc).

Friends helped make this week run smoothly- from meeting us at Chick-fil-A for the free Kids Meal Night, to watching the kids while I had training so I didn't have to drive and extra trip to Chester, and even a perfect stranger to me- offering to take over my job at Orientation Night so my kids didn't have to hang out at the school until 7pm.

At night, once home, the kids played nicely together and I was actually able to clean the house, do laundry, fix dinner, etc.... It is always good to have my appreciation for the Single Parent refreshed....

We missed Al greatly- and are so glad he is back home!

Now that this Trial By Fire is over, we look forward to what the rest of the year has for us!!

Flooring Specialists

Part of our new routine is a 20 min ride to the kids new school. We have had some interesting conversations during this time- which I was hoping for and why I chose to put the kids at a school near where I work- but I digress.... Here is a sweet conversation we had on Thursday.

Background: We drive by some new construction and Addie was asking me if God or women made them- observant little girl! I started waxing eloquent about the process of building- how people dig the foundation so the house doesn't sink into the earth, etc. We eventually got to how a part of the process of where you have to choose the kind of floors you want and that is Daddy's job!

Addie: When I grow-up, I want to be a flooring specialist (her wording!). This way I can work all day with Daddy!

Alden: Me work Daddy, too! Me fouring (flooring) pecialis (specialist), too!

Me: That's great- but why?

Addie: I want to spend all day with Daddy. I'll work with him from 14-45 and then stop working.

Alden: Me, too! Me work fourteen forty!

Addie: Yeah, Alden and I will be flooring specialists and work every day, all day, with Daddy 'cause we love him. And we like flooring, too. But we love Daddy more.

I love that my kids love their Daddy and understand that what he does is important! This is just one of the many special conversations we have to and from school!