Fall is Here...

...and with that comes the beginning of school! Kailyn is now a 2nd grader! Oh my gosh! I just don't know how that happened so fast. After only a week, she's doing great and proving she's the class whiz. She was the first to move on to level 2 in Mad Minute Math (a timed math activity where you must complete 35 math problems correctly in order to progress. You repeat each level until you pass it.) Did I mention this was only on the second day of school?? Her new teacher, Ms. Renteria, seems super sweet and Kailyn loves her already.
Emma is now a kindergartener! She got a wonderful teacher named Mrs. Troxler who has experience with sensory disorder children and has been very helpful in helping Emma transition well into the first week of school. She had one asthma attack the first week, and the nurse gave her the inhaler I provided as I asked. (Sidenote: This is the same nurse that put ICE! on Kailyn's burn last year after she accidently burned herself on the burner at school...bad cafeteria ladies for leaving it uncovered. All that to say, I didn't ( don't?) have the most faith in her, so prayers here are welcomed! )
I took L.E. the (old) wonder dog went for a walk yesterday and we made it to the end of the street! About 6 houses! That's great for her lately...she looked like she'd run a marathon when we got back to the house. :)
Jason and I are doing well; nothing new to report there. Oh, did I mention I am teaching Couponing Classes? I have learned how to use coupons matched with the stores sales and I now save abotu 80% on our household food, toiletries, cleaning supplies! Amazing! And it's been fun to teach others and see them start saving money too!

Summer Happenings 2010

So it has been a long time since I updated this blog, my apologies for that. Life has gotten crazy and we've been along for the ride. So here's the latest on our family!
Jason is still working for two departments, one as Chief (volunteer) and one (career) as a Captain. They have moved him to a new station in the last few months and he has settled in. Although it was a culture shock at first. Going from a 2 truck station, to a single truck station, it cut the number of people around in half. Plus, this new station is really big (really big!) and so it seems so empty. He has a much bigger office at this station though. Life has been fairly quiet on the Islands, no major fires in a while. So that's been a plus! He is enrolled in online school working towards his bachelors degree!
I am still working at Childcare Network (a child development school) and loving it! I am the Full time infant teacher and I love having an awesome curriculum to work with. I've recently gotten a few new babies as a few kids moved up. This is always hard, as a lot of them have been in my care since 6 weeks old and they stay with me till at least a year old, sometimes more. My sweet little Ella (Ella-belle as we call her) was such a challenge; she was very much like Kailyn was as a baby and kept me constantly asking for patience from above. Today she is a happy, healthy, walking! toddler who can't stop kissing me She has even learned to call my name "Sissa!" and somehow all the crying just doesn't seem so bad anymore.
Kailyn completed 1st grade having stayed on HIGH HONOR ROLL all year long! Way to go Kailyn. She's reading at about a 3-4th grade level and has really made a switch lately to being so grown up. She spend two weeks with her daddy this summer at the beginning of July and after a slip off the monkey bars, has her first cast! (It's a medial buckle fracture in case you were wondering) She's been excitedly getting friends and family to sign her cast; grandma even had a silver metallic sharpie that looks super cool on the hot pink cast.
Emma is doing well, she completed Pre-Kindergarten the beginning of June. Her teachers report that she socializes very well, and they actually notice a lot that she is the "manager." "She can always be found in the middle of people encouraging them to work together, share and play nicely," says Ms Erin, the lead teacher. She believes she'll have very little trouble adjusting to real "school", despite her sensory disorder! This is such a great thing to hear! Love that all the early intervention and her hard work paid off! She has been busy learning her letters, the sounds they make and how to write them! She is super excited to start Kindergarten this August.
Our sweet black L.E. (stands for Law Enforcement) celebrated her 15th birthday in June and she's still doing well! She has had a few surgeries to remove some cancer spots but the doctor says she's otherwise healthy. She seems to be pain free, happy and very loveable. She is still very much the center of attention in our home! :) She's the sweet, pampered pooch!

Asthma and a Clean House...

So a recent trip to the pulmonologist this week provided mommy with (another) lecture about ensuring Emma's environment is clean, dust and mold free. The problem is that my favorite cleaner...409....sets Emma off with an asthma attack.
So I have been researching various "green" ways to clean. I can't stand the smell of Vinegar so that's out. But I've found this line of products by Clorox called "Green Works" that are natural and have friendly scents. The wipes are my favorite...like Clorox disinfecting wipes, but asthma friendly. :)
My biggest problem has come since I moved to Savannah. No one felt the need to tell me that if you let a DROP of water from the sink touch anything it will leave a buildup. And I've yet to remove this crap...even with the harsh chemicals. Enter another favorite...BAKING SODA. Call me crazy, but I dare you to prove me wrong. You know that old orange box in your fridge that has baking soda from like 5 years ago? Well, it's smell absorbing properties are gone, but it's still okay for cleaning. Pour it into a small bowl, add water to make a soupy, messy paste. Then smearm onto surface. Let sit 5-10 mins, scrub lightly (this is usually not even required on glass) and rinse. Yes, it's messy, but it's work free. No scrubing required.I cleaned my whole tub, toilet and sink with this today while Emma and Kai serenaded me from the bathroom floor and not even a cough from Emma!
Thanks Arm and Hammer...so far you make my fridge smell good, my laundry softer and my bathroom clean while keeping my girl healthy and wheeze free!!

How to We love our Papa...Let us count the ways...

1) He takes us to the pumpkin patch and lets us buy as many as we can fit into the wagon.
2) He has a super wagon...it's an all terrain thing.
3) He plays his guitar so we can dance.
4) He takes us to McDonalds.
5) He plays wild with us, like momma won't.
Oh yeah and this....
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Growing Big...Bigger...

So yesterday in the car I over hear Kailyn talking to her sister about a picture Emma made at school. It's a bear card that Emma made for her daddy for Father's day. And Kailyn says "So, your teacher drew this bear and you colored it or what?" Emma tells her she did it all herself. And Kailyn replies, "WOW! Good going girlfriend! This is like such a good job girl!" and gives her baby sister, who she has dubbed "Missy Poo" a high five.
And I can't decide who has made the most dramatic change in getting big lately, Kai-girl or "missy Poo." All I know is my babies are growing up and I just can't stop kissing them. At least they still let me do that. But those days are numbered. The other day at summer camp, Kailyn's class was having a "fashion show" and as she walked the runway for her peers she caught me smiling through the window.She got red and ducked her head. Then all her peers looked at me as one little boy yelled, "Look Kailyn! It's your mom!" Oh, no, my baby is embarrassed of me already!

SleepWalkers....

So it's 10:34 pm and Jason and I hear a noise in the hallway bathroom. We'd just checked on girls and they were both asleep. I open our door and this is what I see.....


Sigh. Emma's sleepwaling again. It's a new trick...the last few weeks or so. It's hilarious, but it's sure creepy! Apparently, she'd wanted a drink. So she'd found this unused IN THE BOX oil filter (for a car) on the couch in the living room piled with other random items and decided it'd work better as a cup than the stack of Dixie's on the bathroom counter. Hard to tell in the picture, but when I picked the box up it was soaking wet and falling apart.

I blame it on her Aunt Carolyn and Grandma Carol...apparently they were sleep walkers too!

Still LOL

Grandmas are so Special

I got a phone call this morning that my Grandma Rachel died, my mom's mom. And once the initial waves of tears passed, I began to recall all of these things that she has said or done that have touched my life.
When I was a little girl I LOVED baby dolls; Cabbage Patch dolls were really popular. So my grandma made me a doll, one by hand. She named him David, and to this day I still have him. In the same outfit that she first dressed him in. It's a real baby sleeper, blue and yellow. My girls have heard the story of David a million times, and they've played with him once or twice. Just like I played with, once or twice, the doll she made my mom. Rosie, is her name. And to my knowledge she still has her.
When I hung up that phone I ran into the attic to get that doll. Somehow holding onto that doll, I was holding onto my grandma.
Nothing replaces a grandma's love. Nothing. I was looking through pics today and saw this one of Kailyn and my Mom. I don't know who is holding who tighter, or who looks happier. But one thing is clear, grandmas are special indeed!
I love you Grandma Rachel, and I will see you soon in heaven!

A Promising Future...

Things are well in the Waterfield/Keeton household. We left for church excited about the ground breaking ceremony that would take place this morning...we're building new buildings to help reach all the people that God is rounding up on these islands and sending to the church. It was a wonderful service, and the pastor even arranged to have each person given a wooden stake. On the stake we wrote the names of four people we hoped to be able to reach through the church with these new buildings. Then after a prayer, as a congreation together we all drove our stakes into the ground. Even Kailyn and Emma did one, with names of friends from school.
While there the pastor announced the beginning of some new "Dive" classes starting in April...they're our devotional classes that are offered on Sunday nights. The girls both said they wanted to join the kids choir!
And Emma taught us a new song...one she learned in sunday school last week. "The fruits of the Spirit is love, joy, peace......" on and on she sang. "...Galatians 5:22" I couldn't believe my four year old knew all the fruits and it sparked a fresh flame in me to really start hammering home bible verses with them.
Even Jason seems to enjoy the church, discovering last week he enjoys our pastor's speaking style. And since he's lived on the islands (a fairly small community of it's own) he knows many people at the church, sure to make a smooth transition.

One of Those Days

Have you ever had one of those days where nothing went right? When every decision you make seems to be the wrong one? When you just can't seem to please anyone, let alone anyone? When you crawl into bed at the end of the day and wonder why you got up? It's been one of those days, actually it's been one of those weeks.
And while talking with a girlfriend yesterday ( I love you Courtney Joe!) I remembered a passage that I used to turn to when those days came.
Nehemiah 9. In this passage you will find the story of the Israelites. The crew from the old testament in the Bible that seemed to mess up everytime God tried to hand them something good. In this passage they are gathered together and the Levites begin calling out to God. What follows is my FAVORITE passage in the entire Bible. I'll let you read it yourself, for it's powerful. They basically confess that they disobeyed God, blatantly didn't do what He asked. And hardship followed. And in spite of that he continued to pour down his blessings. He continued to provide for them. "You came...you spoike..you gave...you made...you gave...you told...BUT they, our forefathers, became arrogant and stiff necked and did not obey your commands....But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them...you did not abandon them..." On and on this story goes, it's like hittig copy paste on that section above. They continued to disobey, and He continued to stick by them. He forgave, protect, provide.
The reason I love this passage, the reason I love studying the Israelites is that this is the running theme in their story. The absolute relentless pursuit of us by God.
There isn't a day,or week, no matter how badly we mess up that can make God give up on us. We won't stop loving us, He refuses to. I have those moments when the shame is so bad, making same mistakes over and over where it's almost embarrassing to go to Him AGAIN and ask for forgiveness. Like I'm expecting him to be like "Seriously!? YOu haven't learned this lesson YET?!" But He doesn't. He's always there with open arms, waiting for us.
Hebrews 4:16 says "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." I love this wording. "Receive" mercy. I read that and it makes me think that we receive it, because at the end of one of those weeks, we ask and receive. But "find grace" - it's like who, at the end of all that, would have the audacity to ask for his grace. Isn't mercy enough? We have the audacity to ask for his forgiveness AND blessings?
The forgiveness He gives...it's merciful! The relentless pursuit of our hearts...it's grace. Sweet amazing grace.

Polka Dots

Thank you for all the prayers this month, it's been a crazy one.
Kailyn had another field trip at school...they went to a local art museum where they got to learn about different mediums used. They also learned to recognize these mediums, and about how artists create are diffent ways- paintings, scupltures, etc. She even got to make a clay bowl at school, which got fired in real kiln, then painted. She brought home and it is proudly displayed on our kitchen counter!
Emma is doing great at school and when I asked her what she wanted me to put on blog for everyone to know about what she's learning she replied " I want them to know that I got polka dots. First they were pink; then they turned purple and went away." The polka dots she refering to started out as what dr thought was rash assiciated with virus. By following day her entire body was covered in hives and she was diagnosed as having a allergic reaction to a Sulfa antibiotic she'd been taking. A few doses of Benedryl and a steroid later, she was much better. And the hives faded in color "to purple" then slowly went away. She's very proud of her "dots" for some reason, so I put a picture on here so all can see. She's happy now. LOL
Even L.E., the "wonder dog" had some kind of injurt that had us rushing her to Vet er. She's much better now and is back to her frisky self. And we just thought she was a pampered pooch before! She's much more so now!
For now everyone is happy and healthy...knock on wood.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

This Christmas was a lower key one that we usually enjoy, everyone in our home has had Bronchitis so we were all still on the mend. Since Jason had to work on Christmas, the girls let him open their present to him on Christmas Eve and they opened their stockings. Then off to bed. On Christmas day we visited Station 7 for a little while and the girls enjoyed playing with some of the other firemen's children. After a wonderful meal of fried turkey, smoked ham and all the fixings...some of the guys headed behind the station to play horseshoes...while the batallion chief rode down a nearby hill on a cardboard box! LOL The girls enjoyed playing on the rescue truck for a few minutes and then Jason took Emma on top of the truck and while she loved it,mommy almost had a heart attack. It is nice to see a fun side to these guys and after all the families left the girls and I hung out for a while to visit with the firemen. It's nice to get to know them better, helps me understand Jason's connection to them and puts me more at ease knowing he's got a great group of guys looking after each other when they're out working.
Thanks for the hospitality Station 7, we enjoyed it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving around our home. The girls were over the moon excited to get to go up to Atlanta and spend time with their father and his family for the holiday weekend. They enjoyed playing with their big brother.
Jason and I spend our first holiday together at his mom's house with his brother Eric and Eric's wife and daughter. Everyone was super sweet and it was nice to start understanding Jason a little more. We laughed, we ate, we cried...well only tears of hysterical laughing as Susan (Jason's mom) told the story of him almost falling our the side door of the car when he was an infant. Tori, Jason's daughter was sick so she only visited with us for a few minutes, but it was cute to see her playing with her cousin Olivia.
I'm thankful for new beginnings.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

October Fun

We had a whirlwind of fun this October that began with daddy coming and continued thrugh Emma's birthday on the 23rd! Emma turned four and celebrated many times. She took cupcakes to school and got "to wear a special birthday hat." She also celebrated with just the immediate family and got so many presents. I've been telling both girls that once Emma turned 4, they could try chewing gum. So when I took Kailyn shopping to buy presents for her sister, gum was at the top of her list. She also bought her a barbie for the bath tub, bubbles, craft papers, a jump rope etc.
Check out the cute pics of Emma's birthday on the Birthday slideshow!
THEN....GRANDMA CAME!!! Grandma came down the weekend of Halloween and we took her to our church for the Fall Festival. They had a wonderful, free program including bounce houses, trunk or treating (which was so cool!) and a comedian entertainer man. Emma wouldn't stop dancing the whole night which was hilarious when the man on 10 foot stilts walked by, cuz he was trying to dance too! And Kailyn just couldn't get enough of her Grandma. She is such a grandma's girl! They both enjoyed face painting too, done my the husband of my best friend Amy from high school...she lives her too now...small world. :)
To complete our month we went to a local wildlife center called Oatland Island where they did a nighttime, slighly lit, creepy trick or treating trail. We could hear the wolves howling, which was only slightly creepy. But the girls loved it and Jason's fire department was out there with the trucks so the girls got to climb all over them again, which they adore.

Daddy's Here!

Daddy came to visit for the weekend and both of the girls were excited to see him. The first day he was here we went to a fall festival at a local church where the girls BOTH rode on a white pony named "Rainbow" (they dyed her mane colorful like a rainbow) and also rode on a hayride with Daddy. Emma didn't like this too much...was "itchy and poky" but sat on Daddy's lap. The girls also got their faces painted...a butterfly on their cheek and got to play games, jump in a Moon Bounce and even got cotton candy!
On Sunday they enjoyed the b-e-a-u-tiful weather we had and played outside with daddy flying their kites, playing ball and coloring with chalk.
Thanks for coming daddy!

Friends

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Poor Baby Grace

Please keep Emma in your prayers...we had to go the the PEDS ER last night because the poor thing just cannot fend off this horrible cold...after a chest x-ray we learned she has Bronchitis. She's such a trooper, and is still full of smiles, but is obviously not her normally happy self. Hopefully the meds the Dr prescribed will knock this thing out and she'll get back to feeling like herself soon... she's counting down the days till daddy gets here...

Settling In

Hey to all! So our Angel Baby Kailyn started school last week and is doing great. Her teacher Ms. Collins said that she is super sweet and is using great manners. She has talked about a new friend she has made every day and she seems to be loving school. Mommy is glad to see that her once, oh so clingy baby girl, is growing up to be an independant little girl. Chalk one up to Dr. Sears...the attachment parenting works so far!

Emma has been attending a day care part time and is enjoying the structure time with friends her age. Her best friend, Taylor, is a sweet little brunette. She and Emma can't get enough of each other and are constantly hugging each other all throughout the day. :) Her teachers (mommy is one of them) are all very hands on and active with the children. They have a very structured day and this of course is great for Emma.

Both girls are loving their new home so far and have adjusted far better than mommy ever hoped.

The past two weekends we have taken a family trip to what is called "River Street." It's a walkway with stores and restaurants along the Savannah River. There is a ferry that will take you across the river and that has become the girls favorite thing to do. (See picture to right.)

We miss everyone and welcome visits anytime!

Kailyn and Emma Grace

So Kailyn met her teacher, Ms. Collins yesterday. She was greeted by the super sweet Para-pro Ms. Parnell, who quickly told her that the first day of school Kai and the rest of her class were supposed to bring their favorite teddy bear. Kailyn is over the moon excited to share her pink bear with her class and cannot wait for Kindergarten. The previous day, as we left the office after registering her at school, she looked at me and said, "Ok, mother, that's it. I'm a big kindergartener now."
How is it they can make you want to laugh and cry at the same time??? It's so unbareably hard to believe that my little angel baby is going to school...without me.



And Emma got to meet her teacher today, for her 3 year old class at the childcare center here on the Islands. Emma was excited to see that her class was having a birthday party for someone and now wants to do the same. I spoke with her teacher about my concerns for Emma, specifically how she'll handle the chaos with 13 other children in the same room with her. The teacher took her hand and walked her to a corner of the classroom with a kid size couch, fluffy pillows and a bookshelf. That's her calm down corner and the teacher also said they're totally willing to work with her to help her learn to tolerate the environment. We've also gotten a good lead of a program here that could send a special needs teacher to the day care once a week or so for a little while to spend time with her and help her learn to adapt and cope with the craziness that is a preschool toddler room.

Many of you are still asking for more info on her condition, Sensory Integration Disorder. Check out this website....http://www.spdfoundation.net/aboutspd.html

New Beginnings

We arrived in Savannah yesterday with hearts full of sadness for the family and friends we've left 300 miles behind us, but hearts happy and excited for what the future holds. And we're all glad to have Jason so close, the distance has been so hard.
Kailyn will start school at Marshpoint Elementary the first week of September, a kindergartener already! Hardly seems possible. She's becoming quite the little grown up. Her newest phase is this little head tip to the side and a spoken "mother..." It's borderline sassy, and full blown hilarious.
And Emma is excited at the mere thought of attending a preschool so she can interact with other "3 years old like me." She has been released from her occupational therapy and we are hopeful that mom has the smarts to continue to help her make great progress at home without our beloved Ms. Colleen, PT.
Mel will be interviewing for a position as a pre-k parapro soon, so fingers crossed! Jason is excited to have us here....guess the reality of having 3 women in the house hasn't hit him yet. lol Such a sweet patient man!
And we can't forget L.E., jason's black lab. The sweet "pampered pooch" was so excited to see us walk through the front door, but isn't sure what to make of the thousands of boxes piled up in the corner.

So now that we're here, we're overwhelemed at the to-do list that comes with moving to a brand new city...dr's, schools, church, etc. We've all been working on getting over a sinus infection the last few weeks and I told Kailyn last night that she might have to start an antibiotic to get rid of hers. She got a panicked look on her face, and cried "but how will we get it? they don't have pharmacies here, mama!" I laughed, then composed myself and reassured her that even though this is indeed "podunk" in comparison to big city Atlanta that we're used to, they have all the modern day conviences...On that note....hold on gotta go see if we have running water too.....Be right back...

:)