A life full of changes

Our kids are growing up so fast! James started preschool yesterday. He was SOOO excited he could barely contain himself :-). His teacher got pretty freaked out when I explained the epi-pen and his allergies to her. I had told her about them twice before, but for some reason yesterday it scared her. Oh, well. The assistant seemed calm and cool about it. I've noticed that people tend to freak the most when I'm done explaining the epi-pen and then specify that they need to call 911 right after administering the epi-pen. I didn't used to clarify that point, until one of the childcare workers at the church told me that she would page me if she ever had to use the pen. Um, yeah, AFTER you call the paramedics, since he wouldn't be breathing!!! To be honest, the older he gets and the more social he gets, the more I start to worry about it. I have less and less control over his world (ok you guys with teens. You can stop laughing now.).

He loved his first day at school. He showed me who his new friend is (a boy this time. Yay!). He doesn't know his name though :-). They made a really cute sunflower out of a paper plate, construction paper and real sunflower seeds. He also worked on matching like pictures and using scissors. I think this preschool will be a great fit for him.

Gabby starts gymnastics on Monday. She can't wait! She's been showing me her tumbles around the house and she is certain that she is going to be in the olympics when she grows up. We were watching some gymnastics clips on YouTube since we don't have tv and she saw a picture of the women during the medal ceremony, holding their bouquets of flowers in the air. She informed me that "someday I'm going to have flowers like that!" :-). It reminded me of my brother Mark who was convinced after the 1992 olympics that he was going to be in the cycling olympics in 1996 :-).

Both kids are out of diapers now (YAY!!!!). Gabby is using up the last of her pull-ups simply because they are princess pull-ups and she likes them :-). We've been washing a lot more bedding, but not every night. It's definitely nice to have the extra grocery money.

As you all know, life is full of changes. I know I am always evaluating and re-evaluating my priorities and goals. Lately, Jason and I have been really focusing on getting our financial affairs in order and we decided that we would not return to Oregon until Winter 2009 because of the extra expense. This past month, however, as we've seen how much the children have changed and grown and have been reminded of the value of family and friends, we have modified our debt plan to include a trip to Oregon this winter. We are planning on coming up Tuesday December 9th to Friday December 12th. We will be driving up again, which means we have to come before January because of the pass conditions. My work doesn't allow us to take any time off in November and December, so we have to fit our trip in on my normal days off. My boss is willing to work with me a little, but I have to be back for my weekend shifts, hence the weekday trip. Another factor that affected our decision was James. He told me this week that what he wanted most for his birthday was to have his birthday party at Nana's house.

Well, I'd better go. I promised Jp I would read some of his book on the Solar System to him and I promised Gabby that we would make some Black Bottom Bites, so I'd better get moving. I can't wait to see you all soon!