Owen Reading

** Yes I am aware that he's not *actually* reading. It's called emergent literacy, folks! :)

Rough Days

This is one of those posts that I hate to write because it reminds me that I don't have it all together, that things aren't perfect...

Last Tuesday, I went to pick Owen up from school and I knew immediately that something wasn't right. His teacher came out to talk to me prior to bringing him and T out to the car. She informed me that Owen bit T that morning right before they headed to the classroom and that he was sent to the principal's office to talk to Mrs. Keith and Fr. Kevin.

The principal!?! The priest!?! GAAAAHHH.

I was seriously devastated. He's had such an incredibly good year, and then this bomb dropped. They informed me that he has been hitting too, not so much in a mean way, but in an impulsive way.

I didn't know what to do. I called Matthew, I called T's mom, (who was afraid that T might need medical attention based on my sobbing confession of what had happened... She did not- she barely even had a mark). I called Sar, I called my friend, Joell, I called my mother-in-law, I called our pediatrician.

Yeah. I was probably overreacting, but my heart was broken! It was like the "N" on last year's report card all over again x100,000! It is unbelievably difficult to hear something like that about your child. All day long, my head was pounding. I was at a total loss as to how to handle the situation. Why, oh WHY don't these little people come with instruction manuals??!?! I sometimes feel that I am so unequipped to handle my kids, (namely, Owen). Why did God entrust ME with these precious little lives when I am so clearly inept? What did I do wrong to cause these problems? It was a rough day to say the least. I'm so thankful that my mom friends/mentors were there to pick me up and dust me off that day, because I don't think that I would have gotten up on my own, I would have rather have crawled under the table and hid.

I'm quite aware that most of you reading this are thinking that I am crazy, that this wasn't that big of a deal, and maybe you're right... But it WAS a big deal to me. You never know what's going to come along and blindside you in regards to your children. You never know which straw is going to break the so-called camel's back, because as mothers we carry such enormous loads everyday. So this "thing" that happened? Yes, it's just a "straw" in the grand scheme of things, but that day?? Well it was one freaking big straw.

One more to go!

So we are now 3/4 of the way through Baby Spree 2010. Nolan, KaeLynn, and Cooper have all graced us with their presences, and now Little Miss Walroth is going to be here any day!! Possibly Wednesday or Thursday! eeeekkk!!!

It's hard to believe that we've gone from this,

to this!!!!

This massive steroid-pumping zuchinni is actually from a couple of weeks ago. This week is WATERMELON week. Watermelon? Really? Where have the past 39 weeks gone? You can truly appreciate what a miracle life really is when you look at what takes place in only 40(ish) weeks.

I can't wait to meet my final little love of this summer.

Love you Sar, and I still think that you're a total pregnancy rockstar :)

Welcome to the World Cooper!

Another bundle of baby boy joy entered the world this past Monday. Cooper David was born on September 13, to Jodi and Brett, and he is, of course absolutely perfect! I got to go see him on Tuesday afternoon, and he is a total doll. I could have loved on him all afternoon, except for the fact that I had to go teach a class at church. Boo.

This is the little sweetie and his mama at his first birthday celebration, (Where's his dad?? I have no idea why he's not in this picture.) Doesn't Jodi look totally fabulous for having just had a baby?

My first time holding Cooper. He's not quite one day old yet.

Uncle Matthew holding Baby Cooper- 2 days old

The boys are excited about a new baby cousin.

This weekend, Grandma and Grandpa Gessner came up to meet little Cooper and see the other kids/grandkids. Here is a picture of Grandma holding 1/2 of her grandsons. Can you believe that she has FOUR grandSONS now?!?!

The verdict is that he looks like a Gessner baby. We compared him to my boys' newborn pictures and there are definitely some resemblances (no nose wrinkle like my boys though). No wonder I think that he's such a cutie :)
I can't believe that I have TWO nephews now. I'm thrilled. It's going to be so fun to watch these boys grow up together. I think that we can agree that there is going to be some R-U-C-K-U-S in the years to come!

Lord help any future girl babies that might come along!