Tanner's good-bye

May 5, 2011

While we were packing, Tanner was at school. I went to pick him up on his last day. I walked in just as the entire class had gathered for one giant group hug. Tanner was in the middle. This picture was the end of his hug. He's been with great kids for the last two years and he will miss his friends.

Moving Days

May 4, 2011

The movers came right on time to pack us up and move us to Alaska.  I have never had professional movers before and I was terribly nervous. They came in a big semi filled with crates and a large van full of packaging supplies.  All of our personal possessions would be loaded into these crates.  The crates would be sealed, driven to Washington or Oregon, then put on a ship.  Estimated travel time is 42 days.  Then the crates would be stored until we arrived some 4 or 5 weeks later. 

Six very-rough-around-the-edges men showed up and took a walk though our house.  After scoping things out, they split themselves into 3 groups of two and began to wrap EVERY-SINGLE-ITEM we own in brown paper.

Even the fellas doing all the packing complained a bit about this tedious task.  I soon came to understand that a normal "PCS" move (Permanent Change of Station") in the military does not require crates or brown paper over everything.  But because we are going "overseas,"....... literally, it is protocol to wrap everything in brown padded paper wrap.  This was supposedly to help keep moisture out while it was on the boat/barge.

My mom flew out to help watch the kids and drive with me to Utah.  I couldn't' have done this without her!

Here's my kitchen.  Well, at least most of it.

We were advised before the movers came to put everything we wanted to take with us on our own journey to Alaska in a separate room.  I cleaned out Lexie's room and began dumping our possessions in there.  Then when the movers came, we just locked the door to keep them from packing it all up.  The plan was to take a trailer with us.  Which we did, but not after a handful of trials with getting the trailer hitch mailed to us and then trying to put the silly thing on.  It all worked out in the end and as you can see by the likes of these pictures, the trailer was FULL.  As a matter of fact, so was the car. 

Living like this was hard for me.  I've never felt so unorganized in my life.  Sheer Chaos.  I vowed any future moves, no matter how many kids I have and at what ages, I'm not going to be this unorganized again.  Well, at least now I'll know what to expect!  And since we're military, there's going to be a few more moves. I guess this means I'll get awfully good at it!

When the packers came through to look at the house and all our possessions, they found 3 shelving units FULL of mason jars out in the garage.  Also out in the garage was a large chunk of our stuff that had been in storage while the house was on the market.  They took a look at the mason jars, then the piles of stuff, then back to the mason jars.  Audible groans were heard while they glanced at my beloved mason jars.  As I watched the process over the course of the three days it took them to pack us up, the mason jars just sat there.  Everything got packed except the mason jars.  Until the bitter end when probably the fella LOWEST on the totem pole got the job of individually wrapping each and every mason jar.  Poor guy!

Here's our garage.  I couldn't believe they wrapped all of my Rubbermaid bins (full of kids clothing and fabric) in brown padded paper!

On the last day, they came and put everything in the truck.  I somehow lost my pictures of that day, which is so sad, but suffice to say, we didn't fit in one semi.  Ugg.

We left the following morning for Utah. I pulled away from our beloved Breezewood home and took one look back just for memories sake.

Ready or not. Alaska, here we come!

We're moving to......

We're moving to Alaska! 

In early February Derek walked in the door from work.  In his hands were three BEAUTIFUL orange Gerber daisies.  "What are these for?"  I asked as he handed them to me. (I hadn't called him crying from a bad day.  Birthdays and Anniversaries were still months away. )  He held up his phone and began to read me an email he had received from Colonel Allen. She noted that Derek had put GERMANY and ENGLAND down as his 2nd and 3rd choice for location preference. These two places did not have openings, but as they were "OVERSEAS" bases, she wondered if we might consider ALASKA as a possible location for moving.  It was that or Wright Patterson in Dayton Ohio.  The fact that she was actually giving us an option was a big deal we found out later.  In the military, they just don't do that.  You move where they want you to go.  Sure, you can SUGGEST....(which is what we did.)  But we didn't suggest Alaska!

According to the Air Force, Alaska is considered "overseas" even though it is part of the United States.  And rightly so, since you have to go through Canada to get there or take a boat through international waters.

So, Derek was on cloud nine.  His bags were practically packed. He just needed a wife to go along for the ride and he was a little nervous she'd say OHIO instead.  HENCE the FLOWERS!  He didn't even need to spend the money on the flowers.  As soon as he read the words "ALASKA" in the email, I was screaming and throwing my hands in the air.  We were going! Though, I'll be honest, I did pray about this later that evening just to be sure.

The answer was ALASKA.

I had NO IDEA how involved the process would be to move my 4 children 4,000 miles. (I'll document much of this journey so you too can enjoy the ride.)  And when we told our friends and family we where we were going, I was shocked by the replies. From my observations, MOST of the family took it fairly well.  Amongst our friends and associates, 100% of the men we told were thoroughly jealous.  1 out of every 10 women actually expressed excitement at the prospect.  The other 9 were fairly horrified at the idea.  After all, Alaska is known for long, cold, dark winters and lots of ferocious wildlife.  This was a little disheartening.  That is, until we set sight on Alaska.  But in the in between time, we knew this is where God wanted us, so we went in faith.

A mother's fight

May 28, 2011

Sending Tanner to school was a tough decision.  I’ve “sat on the fence” as a good friend of mine once described me, about whether or not I should send him to public school or homeschool him.  This has been a HUGE inner battle for me. Tanner is a sponge.  He absorbs anything and everything in the intellectual world. We present a concept to him, and instantly he gets it.  The trouble is, in public school, they teach “horizontally”, not vertically.  Horizontal is good for the average kid.  I’ll be honest, I’m a big fan of horizontal.  I’m a horizontal learner myself, but for Tanner, he gets the concept, then gets bored with all the extras.  He’s definitely a vertical learner. 

They also have 26 kids in a classroom where Tanner goes to school.  It is one of two best schools in the district, but that’s too many kids for a teacher to allot much time at all to individual attention.  So why did I put him in?  I wanted him to be exposed to other kids, cultures, disciplines, and well, the world.  I knew he already knew the curriculum, but I could supplement at home at his level with curriculum and he could still benefit from “the social stuff” as we like to call it.  That and when he entered Kindergarten I was pregnant with baby number 3 and worried it would be as tough a go as it was having baby number 2. 

Tanner went into kindergarten  reading at the end of a first grade level.  He knew how to add and subtract into the double digits.  By the time he left Kindergarten, he was reading at a 4^th grade level and doing multiplication and division.  Every day Tanner and I would do some sort of education time at home before he went to school.  But his behavior at home was tough.  

By the time he went into first grade, his behavior was beginning to reflect at school too.  Since Tanner doesn’t read my blog, I’ll just say it, but Derek discourages me from using it in front of him:  Tanner was BORED!!! I toughed out the first three months knowing that they were doing a lot of review at first and things would hopefully pick up.  When they didn’t, I met with his teacher for Parent/Teacher conferences.  I asked her to do a specialized test put out by the District called the Math Inventory.  This is an exam that tests their math skills beyond the grade level they are enrolled in.  I knew Tanner was doing higher than 1^st grade math and I wanted us both to know where his skills were. She agreed to meet back in three weeks’ time after she administered the test.  

Three weeks later we met up only to find out she administered a different test.  It was a test that she had created over the summer and it only evaluated him at a first grade level.  I went home and fumed for a few days, then called the Principal.  She backed the teacher up whole heartedly until I asked her, “What do you do when you have a child who is reading beyond their grade level?”  She said they had a test they give to evaluate the reader’s grade level. “So, what do you do if you have a child who is doing math beyond their grade level?”  She confessed, “I don’t know.”  So I committed her to finding out about the Math Inventory test.  A day later she called me back and said that the test did indeed exist and that it would be administered to Tanner.  Progress!

They took another month before they administered the test.  When the results came back, I was given a note in Tanner’s backpack that said a third grader would come three times a week to meet one-on-one with Tanner to do THIRD GRADE MATH.  This was a turning point for Tanner in his behavior.  Though it never completely improved, it was better at school. I was a little disappointed that the School, and/or District didn’t step it up a little more, and I felt like this was all they could think of to appease us, BUT it was something and something is better than nothing at all.  Honestly, the District nor the School has much at all by way of flexibility in how they choose to teach children at different learning levels.  This was all they had to offer, so we grabbed it and were grateful.  

Tanner LOVED his time with his new tutor, Garrett.  He idolized him.  He, a lowly first grader, got to hang out with a third grader. Seriously amazing stuff!

Tanner was never graded on his math time with Garrett.  Neither of them ever received any teacher instruction on how to do the math they were learning.  It was understood that Garrett was a smart kid too and this 3^rd grade math was easy for him.  So all of Tanner’s “instruction” came from Garrett. Tanner was still expected to complete the 1^st grade course work given him in class and this is what he was graded on.

At the end of the school year, I caught the two of them and took this picture.  Thank you Garrett for taking the time to teach Tanner math.  You made his year at school so much better for him!

As for the mother’s fight?  Well, the next time I met for Parent/Teacher conferences, the teacher was calling Tanner “gifted”.  Little did I know that this one word would completely change Tanner’s life.  And since I’m writing this post a year behind, just wait and see what unfolds with my sweet boy!  As for my thoughts at the time of this picture: This battle of mine will continue on to the next school.  Or maybe I’ll homeschool.  But somehow we’ll make things right for him.

Tanner's Recognition

April 28, 2011

Each child at Two Mile Prarie is selected at one point throughout the year to receive an award.  They give these awards out at the assemblies they hold once a month.  Last year, Tanner was awarded in the very first assembly of the year.  This year it was the last. 

In a sea of children, being singled out and recognized can feel really great!

The Principal calls them up to receive a certificate and a new pencil.  She then reads the words that the child's teacher has written on the certificate.

Congratulations Tanner!  We're so proud of you!

After all the children's were excused to go back and sit with their classes, Tanner came back and stood with Lexie while the assembly finished out. These two are such good friends.  They really miss each other when school is in session.

Colin turns THREE!

April 26, 2011

We made it!  We survived the twos with Colin and we're so glad to be embracing the threes! Phew!  Colin's second year of life kept us all on our toes! 

It is no surprise Colin's birthday had a BIG train theme to it.  With the movers coming in just a few days, I'm just grateful we had a little paper available and my Cricut still out to make this cake fun!

At our house, it is all about the CAKE. I surprised Colin with his cake and well, you can see, he LOVED it!  I've been so preoccupied with all that is involved with moving that Colin probably thought we had forgotten about him.  I think it made this birthday all the more special because we stopped life and just focused on our sweet, sweet boy.

Third birthday are just so fun.  it is really the first birthday that they REMEMBER and LOOK FORWARD TO.  They enjoy it so much because they know what to expect. 

Some things we LOVE about Colin:

It takes a phD in linguistics to understand him.  If there's a consonant in the word, Colin replaces it with a "K" sound. It's tough at first, but give him a try and before you know it, he's grabbed your heart and BOTH of your ears!

He captivates you.  Colin has a charisma that captures your attention and keeps you listening for hours.  His eyes widen and he just loves to tell you all about whatever it is that he just experienced. 

He is the best cuddler in the family.  Colin can never GET or GIVE enough HUGS!

He loves TRAINS.  I love that he has found something all his own.  He is our third child and he spends a large chunk of his time trying to be just like his older brother and sister. If he only knew how much his personality holds its own in our family.  I'm so glad that he has found train play as something that is solely important to him!

Happy Birthday Colin!  We love you!

Farewell Breezewood!

April 23, 2012


Later Saturday evening, our neighborhood threw us a farewell BBQ.  I remember the first time we went around and delivered cookies to each neighbor's home to introduce ourselves 4 years ago.  We felt like people stuck to themselves and knew of each other, but never really interacted.  A few months later, we threw the first Breezewood Block Ice Cream Social.  Talk about going out on a limb!  But people came.  They introduced themselves to each other.  They ate little ice cream, but talked much.  And when they left, they asked if we could do it again.

In the winter we got some snow and a lot of ice.  We shoveled walks together and and drank  hot chocolate in our garage.  A couple of the families began having dinner groups together. The widows gathered for Christmas.  And the following summer, we held another Breezewood Block Ice Cream Social!  Before long, our children longed to play together.    We called each other when our cars broke down and we needed a lift.  We shared dehydrators, kids clothes, toys, holidays, advice and laughter.  We looked after each other.

Breezewood Drive became home and the people who live there became family.  Oh, how we will truly miss this little spot of heaven.  We thank the Lord for crossing our paths with such wonderful people.  You will forever be family to us!

Easter at Bass Pro

April 23, 2011

It is Easter weekend and there are so many family friendly activities to do in Columbia.  We made our way over to The Bass Pro Shop for their Easter egg hunt.  They hid the eggs throughout the store amongst the merchandise.  They had employees/volunteers everywhere re-hiding the eggs as you walked by!  They kept an eye out for the little guys who just couldn't find an egg.  You could find 5 eggs, then go to the back of the store to trade them in for 5 pieces of candy.  For the older child, this kind of Easter Egg hunt might be depressing, but for the younger child, this was perfect.

After the cash in on candy, they had a cute craft foam project the kids could each do.  Then we went out onto their dock and devoured our candy.  The day was perfect.

Sleeping Porter

April 23, 2011

It was Saturday mid-morning and Porter went into his room to play for a while.  Derek and I were fast at work trying to get things ready for our move.  I hadn't heard from Porter in a while, so I went in to check on him and this is how I found him.  Fast asleep on the floor!  He LOVES his nite nite blanket!  He's ALL cuddles if you're holding it too!  So much for nap time.

April 21, 2011

Each year around Easter, Derek likes to do the Passover meal as a family.  Mostly, he wants to teach our children about other religions and to be respectful, but there is so much symbolism and history in this meal that it is really an interesting experience.

I'll outline the meal here in as basic a form as possible.  My reference source is Judaism 101

To start, the Jewish people rid their homes of anything Chametz.

"Chametz includes anything made from the five major grains (wheat, rye, barley, oats and spelt) that has not been completely cooked within 18 minutes after first coming into contact with water. Orthodox Jews of Ashkenazic background also avoid rice, corn, peanuts, legumes (beans) and some other foods as if they were chametz. All of these items are commonly used to make bread, or are grown and processed near chametz, thus use of them was prohibited to avoid any confusion or cross-contamination.

The process of cleaning the home of all chametz in preparation for Pesach is an enormous task. To do it right, you must prepare for several weeks and spend several days scrubbing everything down, going over the edges of your stove and fridge with a toothpick and a Q-Tip, covering all surfaces that come in contact with food with foil or shelf-liner, etc., etc., etc. After the cleaning is completed, the morning before the seder, a formal search of the house for chametz is undertaken, and any remaining chametz is burned." 

While I LOVE the idea of "spring cleaning", sometimes it just doesn't happen!  It did happen this year since we had already done a big number on it for selling purposes.  Though, I don't think I rid our home of everything Chametz!

"Pesach lasts for eight days (seven days in Israel). The first two days and last two days of the holiday (first and last in Israel) are days on which no work is permitted."

"The grain product [eaten] during Pesach is called matzah. Matzah is unleavened bread, made simply from flour and water and cooked very quickly. This is the bread that the Jews made for their flight from Egypt. We have come up with many inventive ways to use matzah; it is available in a variety of textures for cooking: matzah flour (finely ground for cakes and cookies), matzah meal (coarsely ground, used as a bread crumb substitute), matzah farfel (little chunks, a noodle or crouton substitute), and full-sized matzah (sheets about 8 inch square, a bread substitute).

On the first night of Pesach (first two nights for traditional Jews outside Israel), we have a special family meal filled with ritual to remind us of the significance of the holiday. This meal is called a seder, from a Hebrew root word meaning "order," because there is a specific set of information that must be discussed in a specific order."

Since we had little ones at the table, we didn't follow this meal exactly.  It would have taken too long.  We also made some alterations, like the wine we did a berry juice instead, etc. I was extreemly nervous we were going to loose the attention spans of our little ones while Derek was in the heart of his special dinner.  The meal is broken up into so many parts and pieces and there is a little game (see below) that the kids were well entertained.  We had a fun time with it!

Here's the order of the Seder:

1. Kaddesh: Sanctification

A blessing over wine in honor of the holiday. The wine is drunk, and a second cup is poured.

  2. Urechatz: Washing

A washing of the hands without a blessing, in preparation for eating the Karpas.

  3. Karpas: Vegetable

A vegetable (usually parsley) is dipped in salt water and eaten. The vegetable symbolizes the lowly origins of the Jewish people; the salt water symbolizes the tears shed as a result of our slavery. Parsley is a good vegetable to use for this purpose, because when you shake off the salt water, it looks like tears.

  4. Yachatz: Breaking

One of the three matzahs on the table is broken. Part is returned to the pile, the other part is set aside for the afikomen (see below).

  5. Maggid: The Story

A retelling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt and the first Pesach. This begins with the youngest person asking The Four Questions, a set of questions about the proceedings designed to encourage participation in the seder. The Four Questions are also known as Mah Nishtanah (Why is it different?), which are the first words of the Four Questions. This is often sung. 

 

The maggid is designed to satisfy the needs of four different types of people: the wise one, who wants to know the technical details; the wicked one, who excludes himself (and learns the penalty for doing so); the simple one, who needs to know the basics; and the one who is unable to ask, who doesn't even know enough to know what he needs to know.

 

At the end of the maggid, a blessing is recited over the second cup of wine and it is drunk.

  6. Rachtzah: Washing

A second washing of the hands, this time with a blessing, in preparation for eating the matzah

  7. Motzi: Blessing over Grain Products

The ha-motzi blessing, a generic blessing for bread or grain products used as a meal, is recited over the matzah.

8. Matzah: Blessing over Matzah

A blessing specific to matzah is recited, and a bit of matzah is eaten.

9. Maror: Bitter Herbs

A blessing is recited over a bitter vegetable (usually raw horseradish; sometimes romaine lettuce), and it is eaten. This symbolizes the bitterness of slavery. The maror is dipped in charoset, a mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine, which symbolizes the mortar used by the Jews in building during their slavery. (I highly recommend it -- it's the best tasting thing on the holiday, and goes surprisingly well with horseradish! My recipe is included below.)

 

Note that there are two bitter herbs on the seder plate: one labeled Maror and one labeled Chazeret. The one labeled Maror should be used for Maror and the one labeled Chazeret should be used in the Korekh, below. 

 (Jello with quinoa and fruit.)

 

10. Korekh: The Sandwich

Rabbi Hillel was of the opinion that the maror should be eaten together with matzah and the paschal offering in a sandwich. In his honor, we eat some maror on a piece of matzah, with some charoset (we don't do animal sacrifice anymore, so there is no paschal offering to eat).

 

11. Shulchan Orekh: Dinner

A festive meal is eaten. There is no particular requirement regarding what to eat at this meal (except, of course, that chametz cannot be eaten). Among Ashkenazic Jews, gefilte fish and matzah ball soup are traditionally eaten at the beginning of the meal. Roast chicken or turkey are common as a main course, as is beef brisket. 

12. Tzafun: The Afikomen

The piece of matzah set aside earlier is eaten as "dessert," the last food of the meal. Different families have different traditions relating to the afikomen. Some have the children hide it, while the parents have to either find it or ransom it back. Others have the parents hide it. The idea is to keep the children awake and attentive throughout the pre-meal proceedings, waiting for this part.

( This was fun for us! We passed some matzah under the table back and forth and tried to keep it away from dad.)

13. Barekh: Grace after Meals

The third cup of wine is poured, and birkat ha-mazon (grace after meals) is recited. This is similar to the grace that would be said on any Shabbat. At the end, a blessing is said over the third cup and it is drunk. The fourth cup is poured, including a cup set aside for the prophet Elijah, who is supposed to herald the Messiah, and is supposed to come on Pesach to do this. The door is opened for a while at this point (supposedly for Elijah, but historically because Jews were accused of nonsense like putting the blood of Christian babies in matzah, and we wanted to show our Christian neighbors that we weren't doing anything unseemly). 

 

14. Hallel: Praises

Several psalms are recited. A blessing is recited over the last cup of wine and it is drunk.

 

15. Nirtzah: Closing

A simple statement that the seder has been completed, with a wish that next year, we may celebrate Pesach in Jerusalem (i.e., that the Messiah will come within the next year). This is followed by various hymns and stories.

 

Two Peas in a Pod

April 19, 2011

These two have had one amazing year of friendship.  Every Tuesday and Thursday Emma comes to our house while her mom drives Tanner and Noah to school.  Then on Thursdays Lexie goes down to Emma's for a long playdate. They play Groovy Girls and dress ups.  They talk clothes, accessories, and anything princess.  Emma's grandma always serves them a plate full of delicious and nutritious goodies as a snack that Lexie brags about when she gets home. And of course, it takes me an hour to pry her away to bring her back home.

We LOVE you Emma Rose!  We will miss you terribly!

Porter is WALKING!

April 15, 2011

i went to a playdate today.  There were two other moms there and one of them just randomly bent over and stood Porter up to showed him where mom was.  5 minutes later, he was walking!  Simple as that!  Wow!  It all happened so fast and so naturally. (If only it would have happened at the age of 12 months instead of 16!)   When Derek came home from work I said, "Quick!  Get the camera out and film some of his crawls because they are nearly gone!"  So we did, and he did crawl at first, but most of this video are some of Porter's very first steps!

Hooray Porter!  We're so proud of you!

Shooting kisses

April 11, 2011

We have a family rule in our home that we shoot KISSES not BULLETS.  With three boys in the family, we're hoping this rule sticks for as long as possible! 

Every morning as dad leaves for work, the kids RACE to the window to catch him as he pulls out of the garage.  They peg the glass with their shooting kisses in hopes that dad will catch some of them and perhaps even shoot back at them.

We loves you so much dad!  We miss you already and will have more kisses for you when you come home!

Truck Show

April 6, 2011

Every year the Parents As Teacher's organization here put on a big "Truck Show" for the kids.  Rain or shine, if it has wheels, it's there for the exploring!  I've been wanting to take the kids to this each year, but one thing or another has kept us.  This was our last year and we definitely didn't want to miss it!

Here is our neighbor Tim.  Better known at our house as Noah's dad!  Tim manages a whole fleet of these big MFA trucks.  He was our first stop at the Truck Show!

if only I had some handcuffs to go on these little mischief makers! 

The Truck Show was terribly noisy because the kids knew right where the horns were in the vehicles.  The horn was half the fun mom!

Maybe someday Derek will get his dream of owning a farm and Tanner can take his dates out on our tractor or riding lawn mower!  This picture is so classic Missouri!  When we lived in Kirksville people would drive their riding lawn mowers to work.  Ahh, the memories!  Missouri, we are going to miss you!

Colin and Nate hooked up to try out this tractor for size.