Ty Meets His Teachers - Gustav Update!

Ty met his 4-year-old class teachers today and he loves them! It's been a crazy morning of preparing for Gustav (now expected to arrive on Tuesday), and a few other things going on, but we made it to the meeting and only a few minutes late. We spent last night making sure the boat was tied up properly and the boys helped dad load the "little boat" in to the back of my truck so it wouldn't blow away. This, of course, led to more drama this morning as it was the reason I knocked over my friends' neighbors mailbox on my way to the preschool. We were the last meeting of the day for the teachers and as we were leaving, they starting packing everything away for possible flooding of the preschool again. They've just announced that school is definitely closed for Tuesday and several friends and family members have already begun to evacuate. I'm hoping we make the trip to Tennessee, but we're still not sure what we're doing. As I was standing outside waiting for Sam's bus, I could hear several chainsaws at work removing loose branches and dead trees in preparation for the worst case scenario. I'm just going to pray that we wake up to good news tomorrow, by then we'll have to make a decision about what to do. In the meantime, Sam made this picture to keep Gustav away. I told him to make a sad face at the bottom...he looked at me strangly and assured me we'd be OK, so he made a happy face.

New update (9pm Sat night) We're leaving at 5am w/ mom and GG for Nashville

New Update (6am Mon morn, Labor Day) Didn't sleep at all Saturday night. The traffic was totally backed up at 2am, so we decided to leave right away. We were on the road by 3:30am, Sunday and it took 14 hours to get here (it normally takes 8). The news is saying Gustav will be hitting NO within a few hours. I'm so glad we're here. The weather is beautiful!

New Update (6:30am Sept 3, Wednesday) Well, we made it through Gustav! As far as I know, all family and property is fine with this exception of some minor damage and alot of downed trees. The only person in the extended family (mine and Mike's) with power is GG. We're heading back today and will stay with GG if our power in not up by tonight when we arrive home. A neighbor did see electrical trucks in our area last night, so we're expecting to have it very soon. Mike has to get back to work, so he's picking up a generator here and sleeping on the boat. There's a post on the church website that said they had no damage and neither did Sam's school. They will start back on Monday unless there's is a major issue with the power.

New Update (8am Sept. 4. Thursdsay) We made it home, and we're one of the few lucky ones with power, phone and cable! It took about 11 hours to get home, but we did have to stop and get some groceries about halfway (nothing is opened yet here) and drop GG off in Mississippi. Mom's still here with me and we're waiting to see who else will be coming from Baton Rouge to stay. It could we weeks before they have power.

STAY AWAY GUSTAV!!!

Here we go again!!!!

Ty's 1st Tennis Lesson

Well...it's really not his 1st. At age 3 he wanted to take lessons with Sam, but he wasn't old enough. After he showed so much interest in playing, I was able to convince Sam's coach to let him try it. It did not go well. At that age, he was just not ready to listen. So we decided to try again now that he is four. We couldn't get on the schedule with Sam's coach, so Ty and a couple of friends from his class went to a local Country Club for the lesson. They had a great time and it looks like we'll be making this a permanant thing. Why can't he like a sport that's air conditioned! It was probably one of the hottest days of the summer today!

Now that Sam is in the swing of things at Kindergarten, I'm getting Ty pumped up for his big first day of Pre-School coming up next week as long as Hurricane Gustav cooperates. So, I guess my next post will depend on the weather.

1st Day of Kindergarten!!

After months of agonizing over being ready for "big boy school"; hearing hundreds of opinions from friends and family; and sending in about 15 typed pages of information to the school....Sam finally started his first day of Kindergarten this week. I've been preparing him for months. All summer we've played "school bus", practiced letters and numbers, and read lots of books about making new friends....then it was time for him to get on the bus. We promised him we would follow the bus and be there when he got off. To be honest, I never thought he would even set foot on the bus....but as the big yellow, giant pulled up to our driveway....he squared his shoulders, grabbed his booksack, climbed in, and drove off into his future!

As I'm writing this, tears are pouring down my face at the thought of him being so brave. I will never forget the sight of that bus driving away...and I'll never forget the feeling at that moment that life would never be the same (for either of us). As promised, we were there when he got off the bus and was shuffled onto the kindergarten playground. To him, it was just a sea of unfamiliar faces...a great big new place to get use to...and totally unknown experiences ahead of him. In an attempt to distract them, his teacher (who is wonderful) gathered up her children and began showing them around the playground, then lined them up to go inside. That was it...we didn't even get to say goodbye (OK, that's a little dramatic...we could have said goodbye, it was just easier not too). As I walked back to the car, his whole life was flashing before my eyes (which, of course, were filled with tears). How could my baby possibly be in Kindergarten already?

I had an empty feeling in my heart all day...and I'm still not really sure why. He's been at preschool for the last two years...but it's just not the same. I just knew he would exit the bus that afternoon feeling sad and not wanting to go back, but he had the biggest smile on his face instead . I know I sound like I'm being negative...but I really thought this was going to be difficult for him. Realizing that I was wrong about the whole situation was actually the hardest part. And, yes.... Amy...you were right!

Today was day 4 of school, and every day he has come home happy (tired, and hungry...but happy!). Last night at open house, he wouldn't leave until he showed us every detail of his classroom, and he was sooo proud of everything he could barely contain his excitement.

Since last year, the mom's in his preschool class said we were going to get together after the first day of kindergarten to see how everyone did. For the most part, we're all at different schools...or at least different classrooms, but the experience was similar for all of us. Going to coffee took our minds off of being sad...but still, at some point during our outing, most of us cried. Being with this group of mom's (I call them the preschool mom's) that I've become close friends with over the last two years was a little bittersweet. I thought about them at open house last night as I was meeting the new kindergarten moms and wondered "will these people become my new best friends? Will I lose contact with the preschool mom's who have been my support system for the last two years?" I couldn't bare to think about it anymore...and went about with the small talk you carry on with strangers. They all seemed very nice...I just felt like I needed my preschool moms at that moment. After all the drama, tears, late night phone conversations and prayers...more than anyone, we all knew exactly what the rest of us would be feeling.

I keep telling myself that even though it's the end of a chapter in Sam's life...the next chapter looks like it going to be pretty exciting!!

And as much a I hate to admit it...the next chapter of mine (new friends and old friends) might just be OK too....

BTW...the BEST part of open house had to be when I saw an old friend. She's always wanted childen and has been fostering and trying to adopt for years. She's now in the process of adopting two beautiful sisters the same ages as my boys. I don't want to jinx it...but I have a good feeling about this one. Please say a prayer for her and her new daughters that everything goes smoothly!

Hot Air Ballon Championship !

We decided to check out the Hot Air Balloon Championship yesterday and it was a blast! Admission was free and there was tons of things for the kids to do and lots of great local bands. We did end up spending a small fortune on water but it was well worth it. It was extremely hot, but perfect conditions for the balloons. Of course, we had to stop at Cabella's before heading home so the boy's could check out the elephants and other wild animals, but Ty's favorite thing for some reason was the mannequin dressed in camo. Enjoy the pic's!