How to Ride a Pony.....and a Fire Engine.

In addition to our great church visit of Saturday, we also filled it with some other BIG activities. 


First, we started the morning with Morgans very first riding lesson. Oh yes, the horse obsession is still well and alive and I wanted to give her the opportunity to do something she really really loves. We found a farm close to our house and went for a visit about a week ago to meet the trainer(s) and horses. It is the most beautiful place - the whole area back there is and seriously reaffirms how much I too would love a farm of my own. 


She got to retrieve the pony, brush and saddle him, and of course ride -  her favorite part. She also learned her two-point position and did her first "jump" (the pony went over a poll on the ground). :-)  She is still in love and this week gets to promote to a horse to practice trotting. I love that she loves it and laugh at the fact that only a few years ago she would not go near a horse. And, I don't mind taking her because I love being around those awesome animals just as much. 

We had a lunch break and then were off to her Girl Scout troop fire station tour. They got to see the whole place, watch the fire"persons" slide down the pole, go inside the fire engine (and learn the difference between a truck and engine - I never knew either), and see one of the firemen dressed up in his uniform so they can see and hear what he would sound like if they ever see one in an emergency. 


I liked seeing fire"persons" at their station much better than at our house I must say. ;-)  And my use of fire"persons" is that our tour leader was a girl - named Sara too. She said it was fine to say firemen - but it still just feels wrong. 

ps - still wondering what the difference between a fire truck and fire engine is??? 


The fire engine holds water and the truck does not. Now you know (if you didn't already). 

Blessing Week Eight - The Generosity of Nice

Over the summer I embarked on what I like to call my "summer church tour". My goal was to find a church closer to our house than the one we had been attending, but also a good fit for us at the same time. Having found such a place - this weekend Morgan tried out her "new church" class.

At first she was hesitant and kept asking to go to our old church, but said she was okay to give it a try and if she did not like it then we would go from there. (I also felt bad realizing I had not thought about the unfortunate timing of the change - new school / new church...).  I was prepared to chaperone her in class that evening, but glory upon glory that was not the case.

When we entered the teacher asked how old she was and called over another little girl the same age and grade. She immediately said hi and asked Morgan if she wanted to play (which she did). I checked in with her to see if it was okay that I left to "the big room" and was given the yes. The end of service came (I had not had to leave to console and or visit my child) and I found her happily choosing a prize from some bins they had.

Upon talking to Morgan I found out that not only did this amazingly kind little girl offer her friendship, she also shared her bible with Morgan AND gave Morgan a couple of her coins that they earn during the month to get prizes with at the end, so that Morgan could have enough to get something too.

I just can not tell you nice it was to see and experience - true kindness just for the sake of it is always the most amazing thing!

Blessing Week Seven - Even When It's Hard....

This week the blessing is harder to pinpoint than normal - harder to see or define - because it is mired in things that absolutely seem not to be. 

This week a dear friend lost the love of her life. This week a good man died at an age that seems too early. This week a lot of people sat around an ICU waiting room asking why and hoping for a very different outcome. 

Was he a blessing to her and all who knew him - undoubtedly. Only a few years together, all of which are cherished but none of which seem enough.

I know there are blessings in friends who rally when there is absolute need to - because we have a friend who sees herself as just a half - we hope to show her in time she can be whole again.

I know there is blessing in knowing that prayer is always an option, and words of the hurt are always heard and answered. That even though events are not in "our" plan -  they are known before they happen, and always there is a greater plan in motion - even when we cannot see it right away. 

I also know there is blessing in things kids say... Morgan just happened to start talking about great-grandma - not because I told her what happened, just somehow she did. She said - I have a great-grandma, she's not here right now, but I still have one!" 

Little words that are SO big. So while my friend does not have him here right now, she still has him. 

xoxoxo

School Picture

I thought I would post a quick picture of Morgan on school picture day.... It was a windy windy morning!

Girl Scout Camp - Part Deux

This past weekend we had our second Girl Scout camp experience. The bonus this round was that we were only 15 minutes or so away from home AND in cabin dorms versus tents. Now, I by no means mind a tent but it is nice to only have to worry about setting up a sleeping bag and pillow versus an entire canvas shelter system. :-) 

The theme this camp was "go green - using resources wisely" and they got to do activities like making flip flops from tape and cardboard and using solar heat to cook food and take a shower. They also got to participate in a recycle fashion show where they took random materials and made outfits. I have to say this was their favorite activity and they looked great. They even won the "most creative" award. 

Part of the camp experience was also to receive a nickname - Morgans was / is "Pony" - not pony tail, but pony horse, because the horse is her new number #1 favorite animal. 

We had most of the girls from the troop attend and I think they all had a great time.  The only challenge - dorm sleeping - mainly because (as you can imagine) getting multiple little girls to sleep while all in one room, on top bunks, with lots of fun energy running through them is less than easy. They did eventually sleep - but I believe most probably had a very early to bed night on Sunday! :-) 

School Spirit + Weekly Blessing - Great Teachers (Week Six)

Just had to share this picture of Morgan sporting her school shirt! :-) 

Today we had a good morning. Today she happily went to school! This is a big deal for us because as of late she has not loved school. The exact reason I am not sure, probably because there is more than one. She has said she's bored, and without saying it exactly I think it has also been a HUGE adjustment to be in this large school with a bunch of new kids and without her core group of friends she has had for most her life. 


Some days she simply asks not to go, other days - like yesterday - she flat out cries. But luckily today she departed without any tears. At the end of the day she is always happy - this makes me feel much better overall. I know she likes her school, but I also understand what a major transition this is for her. 


I am SO thankful for her teachers. They are so kind. They are willing to discuss and come up with solutions to problems. This morning one of her teachers saw her (and I think knowing the morning she had yesterday) called her over and let her hold the door for all the kids going into the school. She was so happy - she had just talked to me about wishing she could hold the door a few minutes earlier - and she was able to after all. 


I wish I could speed up time / snap my fingers so that she could be as comfortable in her new surroundings as she was at her old school. I know this is just another good old lesson in patience and fortitude. I know that she will be okay. I may just have to say it to myself a few more times. :-)  

Blessing Week Five - Do Over's

This may seem a weird one, but this is most at the front of my mind today. I think it is a GIANT blessing that each new day offers the opportunity for "brand new" and good experiences regardless of what happened the day before - or even the afternoon / evening after a not-so-great morning. 


Right now I am happy to know this because Morgan and I had a "not-so-good" morning. I can have these moments of, well.... crazy stressball response. ESPECIALLY when we are running late. I hate running late to school. My response is to become like a military commander with my let's go - go - go commands. She does not respond well to these (I cannot imagine why). Subsequently she had a mini-breakdown, I had my own - we parted on un-fantastic terms. 


I drove away feeling funky - I don't like that we started our day that way, I don't like that I left her at school (in the nick of time) with a similar funky feeling. But, I DO LIKE that this afternoon we can have our own "do-over"! 

Toddlers and tiaras prepared me for...

... school picture day!  It's true - there was a marathon on of that show this weekend and in one episode the little girl is having her hair teased and I mean TEASED. While I did not want to recreate the pageant queen special on top of my child's head I did ponder the value of teasing. 


Morgan's hair is thin. Pretty and straight and a bit of it - but still thin. She wants long hair and swoopy bangs and straight hair. This creates a problem of staying power and some styling challenges from time to time. So today I thought - tease it. I brought out the back comb, uncapped my super freeze hair spray and went to work. It looked pretty good - but it was REALLY windy outside this morning  - I guess in a couple of weeks we shall find out if the super freeze hairspray did its job and that hopefully I did not put too much in. 


She liked it when she looked in the mirror - but did add: "I wish I had my front teeth" :-).  I promised her teeth or no teeth she would look cute in her picture. or, perhaps I should have taken another nod from the toddler show and bought her some false ones - just kidding! 

How is she otherwise...

I realize I have not posted many "general" facts lately - and I definitely need to take some pictures soon. In the interim - some things that have happened: 


Morgan is doing great at swimming lessons and not only is putting her face in but is also excited to go each week AND swam on her own last week.  I guess the answer is just to wait a bit with kids - because swimming at six is night and day from swimming at 4.  She LOVES her teacher and really trusts her which helps a ton.


She is also in gymnastics now! We started mid-August and she is loving this activity. a) She has one of her very good friends in class and some other girls she knows as well. This was perfect timing given the start of school since she had such a change going from a small school environment to a giant school where she only knew a couple of kids (who are not on her same track). b) She also just loves doing gymnastics and gives it her all in each class. I kind of guessed that independent sports would be more her style right now - this seems to prove that theory correct. 


She saw the eye Dr. last week. At her six-year check up she was showing 20/30 vision. We took a trip to see our friend Dr. Courtney and she is in fact 20/20. No glasses for her. At first she was worried she would have to have them, but when we left was disappointed because she had found a pair of pink frames she liked VERY much.


She's doing great in school and likes it quite a bit. She particularly loves the additional classes like music, P.E., computers, and library. Making new friends has been a slow road - but it's happening, day by day. Such is the journey of a shy"ish" child and a school with TONS of kids. 


She got her very first pedicure a few weeks ago. We met up with one of our very favorite friends - Ms. Brianne (or Auntie as the nail lady called her). Morgan LOVED the massage chair feature. However, she does not LOVE having her nails cut, filed, etc... So she pretty much just soaked her feet, had them scrubbed down just a bit, and got some pretty nail painting done (a couple of times since the lady made her a flower design on her big toes and she messed it up in the drying area on accident - she went over and checked and fixed it for her). 


Those are a few of our highlights - we are still getting adjusted to our new schedule, but I feel more in the swing of things than I did the first week(s). I have discovered I am absolutely a creature of plans and habit. So, I guess for me change is a day by day process as well. :-) 


xoxoxo

You down with O.P.P. - yeah that's me!

Ok - so "back in the day" there was a song from Naughty By Nature called O.P.P. (the lyrics have no similarity to my situation) and it's all that runs through my head when I think about myself - because I am O.P.P. circa 2004 - present, otherwise known as (OVER PROTECTIVE PARENT). ha ha ha


But - it's true - I'm okay with it - Morgan doesn't know any better yet, so it works for now. 
:-) 


Today she took the bus (and yet again I have an early 90s song by Kris Kross in my head - I can't help creating soundtracks to our life), in her case she did not "miss the bus" but she took the bus - actually that is grammatically incorrect because if she "took the bus" then she would be plastered on the 5 p.m. news.. I digress... Today, she RODE  the bus - for the first time - ever! 


When we arrived I realized that the street wraps around at two points and I was not quite sure which end was the bus stop - so we guessed. Soon some other kids arrived confirming our rendezvous location was correct. She had her backpack on - bright yellow envelope with bus permission form in hand - and the excitement only a small child can have over riding a big yellow bus (I promise I did not purposefully pick the yellow envelope to match). I could tell she was a tiny bit nervous when it came time to get on, but she walked right up, climbed those steps, and found her seat. 


Which seat I am not sure - dang blackened windows on the bus - but a seat.  So - sounding pretty normal, right? None too over-protective - I mean I let her ride it. 


Well....once the bus pulled away I went into special opps mode.  Into my car I went, followed the bus I did. I stayed back a few cars - and I parked across the street from where the busses let out - and did not receive any special visits from the parent patrol ("maam, can we help you  - we've noticed you sitting here with no child in your car" - ha ha).  Out she came and straight up to the line up line she went - just as she was supposed to.  


I am glad she got to ride the bus - now to see what she thinks of it and if she wants to ride again. The nice part is that hers is the last stop so she does not ride for very long - I like that too.  Less time for incidents and no opening doors until at school. :-)  


I used to scoff at parents who GPS chipped their kids (cars and such - not actual body chipping - I don't think at least) - now I think... hmmmmm - where can I get one of those??? just kidding... maybe. 

Blessings - Week Four (Giving and Receiving)

So for week four I am thinking about the thing most at the front of my mind - my birthday. Not because I am overly in love with having birthdays - I tend to just have them - they come, they go - I am left one year older than I was. :-) 


This year I felt surrounded by friends and family over the week and am not only grateful for the gifts received, but just for the thoughts.... This year I was actually open to my birthday and did not look at it as ughhh let's just get this over with. 


So, I am blessed to be in a place to feel happy about celebrating my birthday and to have friends and family to celebrate with. I also could not help but smile to see Morgan practicing the gift of giving. She was so excited for my birthday and made sure to do special little things throughout the day. There is something special in that - seeing a child able to experience happiness in giving and making others happy.  


A BIG THANK YOU to everyone... I really did have a great birthday and am equally excited to end it with a get together this weekend of friends! I feel overly spoiled and truly blessed for this birthday that is lasting over a week.