Casanova Colin

Once again, Mommy's heart is breaking!!! I was paid a visit by our Kids Klub director at IBC on Tuesday and was told that Colin and his very good friend, Emma, have been kissing and hugging on each other!!!! AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!

Now, I've heard Colin talk at home about how he and Emma are going to GET MARRIED one day! I can totally hear Sheridan's influence when he says this. But then, come to find out that he and Emma actually talk about it and act it out...WHOA!!!!!

So, Greg and I had to have a talk with him. You could tell that he knew that he had done something wrong, but at the same time, he doesn't completely understand why it's wrong. I mean, Mommy & Colin kiss all the time. Sheridan & Colin kiss each other good night (a very sweet insistence on both their parts). Colin also kisses his aunts, grandmothers, and cousins! So, you could see the look on his face of "why not Emma!" I did explain that Emma is not family and that they were too young to be doing this. I think that he actually understood it!

So, for now, I have another child that is growing way too fast....and of course, a husband who is proud of his son for going after the girls! I just hope that this isn't a true taste of what life will be like with Colin as a teenager!!! AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!

Success to a 4 Year Old

What is SUCCESS to a 4 year old???

Being able to drive to a nearby hospital to see the much ANTICIPATED helicopter that he has been patiently waiting for!

We finally saw the helicopter, and Colin was very excited and satisfied! Yes, we were late to school on Monday, but he didn't care! He got his helicopter fix! The hospital has it fenced off for safety and security, so we can't get too close. But Colin is satisfied with just seeing it. Again, so easily entertained!

So Easily Entertained!

My kids really make me laugh and bring big smiles to my face!

Yesterday, our family ran some errands together. While Greg was trying on his new suit, Colin and Sheridan managed to entertain themselves! They were so cute that I couldn't resist pulling out my camera phone and taking some pictures to share.

Of course, Sheridan had to pose for us!!

Again, goofing off...they take pictures just fine, no problem! But tell them to stand still, look at the camera & smile...that's another adventure!

Kids & Pictures

Why is it that kids are so hard to photograph?!?!

The kids received a package in the mail today from their Mimi & Papa V. They opened it to find a Pirate t-shirt for Colin and an Aggie Cheerleader outfit for Sheridan. Both wanted to put them on immediately!

So I thought that I'd take a "quick" picture of them to email to Mimi & Papa and to say thank you! Do you know how many pictures I had to take?!?! Too many! And I didn't even get what I think is a good one! I finally gave up and decided to send what I had.

These are what's left after deleting a few!

Sheridan NOT smiling

Still not smiling

Colin looking off!

Seriously...my kids DON'T have bug eyes AND I asked Sheridan to get the hair out of her face!
But she smiles great for this one!

Yes...I would NEVER make it as a professional children's photographer!!!!

The 1st Six Weeks of the 2nd Grade

Sheridan recently finished the 1st six weeks of this school year. Every year after the 1st six weeks, LCA holds parent/teacher conferences to discuss the student's progress and answer questions, etc. We could have a conference with her teacher anytime we wanted, but this is a day dedicated for these conferences and the elementary students don't have school!

We were shown Sheridan's report card and once again, enjoyed hearing that she made the "A" Honor Roll! This, actually, was no surprise to us because ALL of the papers she brings home have A's on them! I did also like seeing on Thursday that every paper she brought home that had a grade on it was a 100!!!

Sheridan is doing EXTREMELY well in her schoolwork. It almost makes me wonder if the work is too easy and if she's bored??? I did ask her teacher, and she says that she does have to challenge Sheridan and a few other students in other ways to make sure that they can apply what they've learned and not just do it on paper....Good to hear!

We are very proud of Sheridan and her accomplishments! She definitely keeps us on our toes!

A Colin & Mommy Weekend!

Sheridan and Daddy are off on a Daddy/Daughter camping trip with some of our friends. We'll blog about that later...hopefully, Greg is getting some good pictures! However, since I sent the camera with Greg for Sheridan's 1st camping trip, I had to take pictures with the camera on my phone. But hey, at least I got pictures!

So, Colin and I had the weekend all to ourselves, this is a first for us! First, we spent Friday evening with the ladies and some of the kids from our home group. Afterwards, we ran to Target for a quick errand. Colin really is ALL BOY! While looking at some clothes for him, he decides to climb on the garment rack to hang or swing off of them! I told him that he's my "Monkey Boy," to which he just laughs and starts climbing MORE! I tell him to be careful (typical mom) and he always responds, "I won't get hurt because I won't fall!" Gotta love boys!


Then, today was the busy/fun day for us. After a leisure "special" breakfast, Colin and I headed to Michael's to make craft pumpkins. I let Colin do whatever he wanted on HIS pumpkin. It actually turned out pretty cute!


Then, a friend told me about an open house at the Central Fire Station in Flower Mound. So, Colin and I drove to Flower Mound in the hopes of seeing some firetrucks up close and more importantly, a HELICOPTER. Of course, we got there past the scheduled helicopter time! However, we found out that the CareFlight helicopter was called to an emergency and was hoping to come later. Colin & I saw a ladder firetruck with the ladder fully extended, a HAZ-MAT simulated treatment "area," a mock rescue extraction from a car (they cut up the car to peel back the doors and top), an ambulance, and a safety house that simulated what to do in a house fire. There was also the chance for kids to use a fire hose to put out a fire, but Colin didn't want to stand in the long line to do this. I was curious why, and he said "No, thanks, if I hold the hose, I might get wet." Of course, no arguments from me, you should have seen the LINE!!!

By the time we left the fire station, the helicopter still hadn't shown up, so I told Colin that we would come to the nearby hospital (close to our house) to see the CareFlight helicopter that's usually there and was there earlier this morning. By the time we returned from Flower Mound, the helicopter was gone. We went back to Michael's to finish our pumpkins (we ran out of time trying to make it to Flower Mound for the scheduled helicopter time). After Michael's, we went back to the hospital before heading to my nephew's football game. Unfortunately, still no helicopter. While at Elliott's football game, we saw the helicopter fly over and head back to the hospital. So I told Colin that we would stop by the hospital before we went home. Of course, STILL no helicopter! I guess that it was a VERY busy day for CareFlight!

Still my Monkey Boy, Colin was climbing all over these bleachers at Elliott's game and wouldn't even sit still for this picture!

We spent a quiet evening at home. Since it was just us, I gave Colin the FREE choice of having whatever he wanted for dinner. At first, he wanted pizza. But last night and all day today, he wanted only mac 'n cheese, even asked for it for breakfast and lunch! I love having such a simple family! So Colin enjoyed mac 'n cheese for dinner, had a bath, and fell quickly asleep in bed!

Tomorrow, we get to go to church, and hopefully, Daddy & Sheridan will be home shortly after we return. Even though Colin and I had a wonderful time together, our family isn't complete without Daddy and Sheridan, and we miss them both!!!

LCA Chapel

One of the great things about Sheridan's school is their chapel time. Every Wednesday, from 9:00-9:30, the preschoolers through 4th grades gather in the Children's Theater at Sheridan's school for their chapel time. It is usually led by Ms. DeeDee, and the kids say the pledges to the American Flag, Christian Flag and the Bible; sing praise & worship songs; and hear a great lesson.

This week, the 2nd grade at LCA led the chapel time and gave the lesson! There are 3 2nd grade classes, and each child read a line from a script about Moses and how God used him to free the Israelites from Pharaoh (they've been studying about Moses & Joshua so far this year).

This first video is of the kids singing a girls vs. boys song. They usually can get pretty loud! However, Ms. DeeDee changed things up a bit, and I think it confused them. This is the quietest that I've heard the kids with this song. It's kind of dark in the room, so hopefully, you'll be able to see Sheridan!

This next video is part of the Moses "re-enactment" by the 2nd graders. I took Sheridan's picture with the same camera, so I didn't get video of her reading her part :-(

Sheridan was very excited about being on the stage, and very excited that we were going to be at chapel to see her and her grade (I was supposed to be at MOPS and Greg was supposed to be in bed). Sheridan & I really like this school. I love that Sheridan still wants me to be around and involved, and I love that this school encourages and allows parental involvement. I'm not looking forward to the day when Sheridan doesn't want us around, so I'm hanging on to every opportunity we have to be there for Sheridan!

New addition to the Kemper family

We are proud to pass on the news that Steve and Amy have a new addition to their family: Elaina Mae, their 3rd girl! She was born today, October 2, 2008 and is 6 pounds 10 ounces, 20 1/4" long. Congratulations, Steve and Amy!