The Value of Christian Radio

You know your kids are always listening - probably hearing a lot more than you give them credit for. Well, Joel (age 5) asked about the lyrics to a song he had been singing, because they had confused him a little - though he did find them catchy. What he heard (and had been singing) was, "I've got a couple ants in my tenders - and I've got some grits in my jeans..." If you've heard Francesca Battistelli's song (I didn't know her name either, I had to look it up) Free to be me you'd agree that it is catchy, and you'd be thankful that those are not the actual lyrics...

Medical Updates

1. We just saw Kristin's doctor - 28 weeks and 4 days - due Nov. 5. The little guy is healthy and growing, measuring ahead of schedule. Strong heartbeat, good position. Likely C-section date will be Tuesday, Nov. 3, unless she goes into labor early.
2. I got out of my cast a week ago and everything feels much better. I've started PT, basically doing flexibility and strength exercises all the time. I started at -30 degree range of motion - basically a toe point position (I've been compared to a ballerina), moved thru -20 and now am around -10 degrees (approaching vertical). I should be walking normally in another week or two, and get the boot off another week or two after that.
3. All three boys are healthy and doing well. Seth got a strange rash two weeks ago that turned out being "5th Disease" or slapped cheek syndrome (because it looks just like you've been slapping your kid on the cheek). It didn't bother him, or the other two boys who got it during family camp. But it caused a little scare for us since it is dangerous for a pregnant woman to be exposed to this virus if she has not had the disease herself in the past. Thankfully, Kristin had it in the past and so is immune.
4. Bella is fine too. And she is much more active when her puppy cousin Donde comes to chase her constantly, nip at her heels and try to grab and hold onto her collar - constantly.

A New Day

So the boys went off to school on Monday. For the first time ever we loaded up backpacks, straightened school uniforms (navy shorts, white polos) and outsourced our children's education. Kristin was definitely the most affected - thought the boys were also quite concerned about how long they would have to be there. Seth's question was, "how much longer than VBS will this be?" Joel still isn't super clear on the difference between an hour and a year (so each day feels like a year to him, I imagine). And Caleb - he's just as carefree as ever - started doing backbends as soon as he sat down on the gym floor with a bunch of strangers (oh, and his best friend is, of course, a girl - named Lilly). Kristin and I held it together fairly well. She said the strangest thing was just how quiet the house was (we need a stereo on the main floor it seems). But she held it together ok until she picked the boys up and heard that they had all had a fantastic first day - then she broke into sobs driving out of the parking lot, so thankful it had been a good experience.

All in all we just feel very blessed to be able to send the kids to this great little Christian school. It's the prefect place for each of them right now. Seth's class only has 6 kids total (4 boys, 2 girls) - so he'll get plenty of individual attention. Joel's class has 14, and he'll love the commotion. And Caleb - well, he's Caleb, so he'll just enjoy each moment (and probably miss half of the assignments as he daydreams). Maybe we should all be a little more like Caleb...