it's here... the first day...

School started today... I am still not sure how ready I am for it.  I have very mixed emotions. I am ready for summer to be over, but I am not ready to give up the extra helping hands of my kids.  Grabbing me diapers, getting TImothy out of bed, emptying the dishwasher, (okay that one will still be left to them). It has been a crazy summer.  Lots of frustrations and also lots of good times. But through it all, the kids were almost always super helpful!  It is going to be a whole new world of me doing it all on my own again... :\

It will be good.  All in all, the kids are overjoyed to be at school. And i did shed a tear or two. Here's the break down!

Jaicie started 5th Grade today with Mrs. Strong.  She is excited about all the boys in her class. Matthew, Pierce and Mitchell she knows are in her class.  We will see who else she is happy about after school today.  She picked her LOL t-shirt to wear today, because it 'really speaks her personality.' and if you know Jaicie at all, she is absolutely right.  The jeans were a bit of a mis-purchase. We picked up skinny jeans unintentionally. She hates skinny jeans (and I don't like them much either) but she looks really cute.  Gosh her shoes are dirty, and you probably hadn't noticed that yet and now you did! Oh well.  We didn't buy new shoes this year...I am the mom who makes my kids wear the shoes they got in May last year to the new school year, even if they are filthy.  Jaicie is really excited about this year though.  She really wants to  be on the Dolphin Safety squad. We will see if that happens or not.  Upcoming this year: Jaicie is getting published in a book of poetry, she 'graduates' 5th grade after this year and she grows up too much...but that happens every day. Hope you have a great day Jaicie. I love you!

Felicity started 3rd grade today with Mrs. Riser.  She is ecstatic, but really worried that she will forget her teacher or which classroom to go to.  Jaicie promised to walk her to class and make sure she got there okay.  Felicity is excited about learning more multiplication and learning handwriting better.  She picked her 'Smile' t-shirt, because it makes her happy and it is what she wants to make every body do.  She is really excited to begin a new year and can't wait for all the new things.  This is going to be a good year for Felicity.  She is ready! UPcoming this year: Felicity will hopefully master hadnwriting, memorize all her multiplication tables and learn to enjoy reading.  It will be a great year for her and I can't wait to see all the changes she will make this year!  I love you Felcity and I hope your day is as awesome as you wanted it to be!

Collin started Kindergarten today with Mrs. Stanley.  He was overjoyed at the idea of going to his sisters school and that is was now his school too.  He loves the idea of school.  This morning though, he told me that "I'm scared for new new friends today. Kaleb won't be there and I want him there." Kaleb is his friend from church and school last year.  He was in his class and they had a great year and became great friends.  He was really scared to go to school today and now have him there.  Kaleb went to Frontier this year (the new elementary school).  We got to school though and found out his friend Gabbie from last year is in his class, and he is really excited about that.  I think he was ready for school once we got there. He Found his name on his cubby. He Put his lunch box away, and he grabbed a book and sat down to read.  He is so super excited about school and I was so excited to take him there.  Its going to be a new world with him gone at school all day long, but I know how excited he is for the new changes.  Upcoming this year: Collin should get a little better grasp on reading, he will be gone all day M-F from 8:30 to 4:00, and he's growing up to fast!  Collin you are a joy to have around and I miss you already! I love you little guy!

Timothy had a lot of fun taking the kids to school today.  We walked them there, took Collin to his class and then we went and enjoyed the Boo-hoo Yahoo breakfast in the library.  We had some donuts and juice and shed a couple tears.  All Timothy of course, why would I shed tears.. :) Then on the way home he crashed!All the excitement of the day wore him out.  He is excited for the time for just the two of us and I am sure he will celebrate and/or miss them later today when he wakes up.  Upcoming for Timothy: Timothy turns 1 THIS Saturday.  I can hardly believe it that a year ago I was still pregnant and in pain... now he is almost here.. Its hard to believe.  Also, we will be doing a smash cake photo shoot, and having a family party and he will start walking, talking and who knows what else.  He is all boy and an adventure to have around.  Its gonna be a great year for him.

Really it is going to be a great year for all of us.  I think I am ready for this.  Now, I should make better use of my time with Timothy sleeping and do some of the sink full of dishes I have...or maybe just put my feet up and relax!  :)  I am not sure which debate will win out.  Hope you all have a great day and I hope your first days went well.  I know ours did...hopefully our second days will go just as great! :)

Already running of with friends.

Collin

I love this picture. I think it is one of my favorites that i have ever seen. Maybe it is his pre-k smirck i just dont know, but it is. So cute.

This is Collin's school picture for Pre-k. We are lucky enough thst he gets to attend within the public school. He has an amazing teacher and is doing so well at school. It has been so fun having him coming home and teaching me new songs he learned at school. He has learned his shapes really well. And by the way it isnt a diamond it is a rhombus. Yes. My four year old identifies a rhombus whenevr he Sees one. He has started counting really well and knows all of his letters. He is growing up so much. I just can't stand it. He was my baby for so long and now he is growing up so much. Guess it is good timothy took over as the baby. He loves school and thinks it is the greatest thing ever. He is also an amazing big brother. He loves his baby timothy and is so watchful of him. He gets out of bed at night to give him his pacifier if he cries, and just cares so much about his baby. I love it. They are so cute together. I look forward to getting some good family pictures done so that you can see these two together more, but here is a fun picture of the two.

Happy birthday Collin!!

4 Years ago today, I couldn't have known that in less then 20 hours I would be lying near death, trying to have a baby. I also didn't know then how much that little baby could change my life. Collin joined this world in a bit of turmoil. The morning I went into labor happened to be the morning that I developed an infection, Chorioamnionitis, essentially an infection in my uterus. At first, it was just a mild fever and contractions. We arrived at the hospital about 2. I was dilated to a four, and never progressed much further. However my fever progressed far beyond the mild fever it was to 105 degrees. By 8 that evening, I was still stuck at 4cm, and they couldn't get my fever down at all. Collin was suffering late decels where his heart rate would drop to about 30 at the end of every contraction. I was completely out of it. Most of what I 'know' about that day is what I have heard recapped since then. I remember the doctor coming in and telling me that if I were his mother, or sister, or daughter he would tell me to get a csection. That did it for me. By 8:55 Collin was in the arms of the NICU staff and I was being pumped full of more drugs than I can count just to stabilize me. I remember the CRNA that was doing all of my anesthesia (who was also a friend from church) telling the nurses to show me my baby as they rushed him over to the warming bed to resuscitate him. I remember seeing a blue blob. I don't remember much else from that night. The NICU staff did send up a little photo of Collin so we could see his beautiful face.

From Collin William Clayton

Sometime around the middle of the night my fever broke and I was moved from the maternal fetal unit to the recovery floor most new moms go to, the following morning. On the way from one room to the other, I was wheeled, with all my meds attached to me, to the NICU to see my sweet little boy. Collin was amazing. He spent one day in the section with the sickest babies, and two days in the mid level, and the remainder of his week was spent in the lowest level, where they take the babies to grow. The infection never crossed from the uterus into the placenta. So thankfully, Collin was never in danger from the infection, however, they had to keep him for one week to treat him as if he had because symptoms don't show up right away for the infection in newborns. He was treated and did marvelously.

From Collin William Clayton

Since that day Collin has opened my eyes to a whole new world. Having had two girls before he came along, I didn't know what to expect with a boy. But man I love that little guy. He can usually put a smile on my face in just about every moment of the day. Even when I am upset he will turn things around so quickly. I am forever grateful for the little treasure the Lord blessed me with. There have been struggles as with any child, but he is one of a kind. I can't imagine this next little boy coming out any different, but I am sure he will be another new world to experience. Collin loves everything about life. He is my little architect and builds houses and bridges and robots and anything else he can come up with to build. He loves to play with his sisters and hates when they are gone. Collin is a joy to have in our home. Collin turns four tomorrow. 4! I still cannot believe that it has been four years. And at the same time, I can't believe that it has been only four years. It feels like he has always been with us.

From Easter 2012

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY VERY FAVORITE FOUR YEAR OLD!! I sure love that little guy!