So I bragged not that long ago about my daughter in this blog. Now to brag about my son.
My son has come a very long way this school year. I am so proud of him and loving the decision we made to move him to a different school. It paid off and it paid off well.
One big thing over the school year was his reading. He started the school year basically a year below grade level. Yet we were always told he was doing fine in reading at the old school. He was put in reading resource and the teacher talked to my wife on what she was going to do with him and what we could do at home to help. Timeline for catching him up was 18 months. By Christmas we got a letter home about his progress and he was actually slightly above where he should be. So much for 18 months. :) He reads all the time now and loves it. Still working on getting him to read more challenging books but otherwise I can't be happier.
We have also ended his speech IEP. He has made great progress here as well and the speech teacher said there was really no reason to keep him in it. Makes me happy that the fight we had to get the IEP was worth it.
Probably the biggest thing is that the tested and qualified for gifted and talented services. He has been doing the gifted pull out at his school. His school actually has full gifted classes in the grades below him but not in his grade up. Just the pull out. The principal said she is looking into keeping the gifted kids in those upper grades together as they go through school so they can possible do enrichment in the classroom as well in pullout. We do have the option to ask to transfer him over to the school his sister has been at but we have decided we are happy where he is at the progress he made and that her school is not a good fit for him.
Overall I just love his school. I like the staff and a good group of involved parents that hopefully was just get bigger as we go. Looking forward to the upcoming school year.
I just have to brag and say I have two awesome kids. :)
Friday, May 20, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Restarting blogging
So I am going to try to blog more. If nothing else try to just blog little things going on in my life or something that just strikes me.
Had a good time going to the Cardinals game last night for Social Media Night and picked up a free t-shirt. Which I am totally wearing right now. Had some good conversation with a good friend that went with me.
Bit overwhelmed at times with the various activies the kids are involved in as the school year comes to end. Ready for summer break for sure.
Spent a little time this morning searching for library blogs to start reading. Asked for help via twitter and got some good suggestions. So if you have a suggestion let me know please. Actually been throwing the idea around my head about writing a library related blog from a paraprofessional perspective. Granted in the next so many years hopefully I will turn into a librarian if all goes well. :)
All for now. Well sort of. Have another blog post in mind for later today or tomorrow. :)
Had a good time going to the Cardinals game last night for Social Media Night and picked up a free t-shirt. Which I am totally wearing right now. Had some good conversation with a good friend that went with me.
Bit overwhelmed at times with the various activies the kids are involved in as the school year comes to end. Ready for summer break for sure.
Spent a little time this morning searching for library blogs to start reading. Asked for help via twitter and got some good suggestions. So if you have a suggestion let me know please. Actually been throwing the idea around my head about writing a library related blog from a paraprofessional perspective. Granted in the next so many years hopefully I will turn into a librarian if all goes well. :)
All for now. Well sort of. Have another blog post in mind for later today or tomorrow. :)
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Growing up
My daughter is growing up way too fast. I know that we all say things like that about our kids but it is the truth. I have said it before and I am sure I will say it more but it actually feels more true than in the past. Just been thinking lately about how much she has grown up over the last several months.
For all of you that follow me on twitter and are friends with me on facebook(pretty much covers the readers of this blog), you know that she has been working on her service project for her Girl Scout Bronze Award. I don't think there was ever a doubt that she wanted to do something with Kingdom House. Last year they did something at school researching a charity or not-for-profit organization and she choose Kingdom House.
So our friend Kyle that handles family ministry took her down there to meet and talk to people and see what they wanted. He was thinking maybe she could do a clothing drive and something that stuck out to her though was staff said that no one does a diapers and wipes drive. That is something they always need. She latched onto that and that is what she wanted to do. Well first it was going to be clothing with diapers and wipes but it was decided to just focus on the baby care items.
She wanted her whole church involved with the drive. She has seen what we can do with a canned food drive for the pantry at Kingdom House and our offering at Christmas Eve that digs wells in Africa. She also wanted other churches involved. She definitely dreamed big and that is just awesome.
She worked hard and collected a lot items. Today we take those items down to Kingdom House and she can't wait to see what they have to say when she brings them in.
She also expressed some frustrations in her experience of doing this drive. She was very articulate in expressing her feelings on the matter. Not only did she express to her mom, she expressed in the paperwork she filled out for her bronze award. Just another sign of her growing up that she can articulate and express those feelings so well. Just didn't expect something like that from my 11 year old.
And of course she is growing up in other ways as well. Just last night looking a pic of her and two of her friends from the first day of school in 4th grade and wow she has changed so much. She is becoming a beautfiul young lady and yes I am biased. :)
I am so proud of her. She is just growing up way too fast for me. :) She will always be my baby girl though.
For all of you that follow me on twitter and are friends with me on facebook(pretty much covers the readers of this blog), you know that she has been working on her service project for her Girl Scout Bronze Award. I don't think there was ever a doubt that she wanted to do something with Kingdom House. Last year they did something at school researching a charity or not-for-profit organization and she choose Kingdom House.
So our friend Kyle that handles family ministry took her down there to meet and talk to people and see what they wanted. He was thinking maybe she could do a clothing drive and something that stuck out to her though was staff said that no one does a diapers and wipes drive. That is something they always need. She latched onto that and that is what she wanted to do. Well first it was going to be clothing with diapers and wipes but it was decided to just focus on the baby care items.
She wanted her whole church involved with the drive. She has seen what we can do with a canned food drive for the pantry at Kingdom House and our offering at Christmas Eve that digs wells in Africa. She also wanted other churches involved. She definitely dreamed big and that is just awesome.
She worked hard and collected a lot items. Today we take those items down to Kingdom House and she can't wait to see what they have to say when she brings them in.
She also expressed some frustrations in her experience of doing this drive. She was very articulate in expressing her feelings on the matter. Not only did she express to her mom, she expressed in the paperwork she filled out for her bronze award. Just another sign of her growing up that she can articulate and express those feelings so well. Just didn't expect something like that from my 11 year old.
And of course she is growing up in other ways as well. Just last night looking a pic of her and two of her friends from the first day of school in 4th grade and wow she has changed so much. She is becoming a beautfiul young lady and yes I am biased. :)
I am so proud of her. She is just growing up way too fast for me. :) She will always be my baby girl though.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Mission Trip to Nashville
So this past weekend I went along with several other people from church to Nashville for a mission trip. There is still a lot of work to be done for flood victims and we wanted to go help out.
It was an awesome experience for me. I have never done a mission trip or anything like this so I had been looking forward to it ever since I signed up to go. It was great to go and do something for someone else. It was also a great time to get to know people from church that I didn't already know while doing this.
We took away from it positive and negative things and we are going to use all of that when looking at future trips. As always you are constantly learning so you can always make the next time even better.
So we headed out Friday afternoon and drove down to Nashville. We stayed in some cabins at a campsite. It was like being at summer camp. Bunk beds in each room and the two rooms divided by the bathroom slash hallway. It wasn't a cushy hotel but it was it was a place to put our stuff down and sleep. Also gave us a place to bond when not at the work site. Only downside was walking up that sort of steep trail up to the cabin.
Hit the work site Saturday and started working. We started building a shed that went much faster once another volunteer came over. Obviously we were thinking about it too much and just had to wait and he made it look easy. We stained a deck and put some lattice around it to keep the dog from getting under there. We also did some other various duties that needed to be done including raking straw out of the front yard.
After calling it a day we headed back to camp and cleaned up so we could go out for dinner. Ate out a very cool restaurant and spent some time getting to know each other more. After dinner it was back to camp to play some games and spend some time to just bonding. Had a great time that night.
On Sunday we headed back over to continue doing work around at the work site. We were not able to get the shed done but we did the best we could. We were able to accomplish and finish other things that needed to be done though. We packed up and rushed back to St. Louis. We wanted to make it back to the six o'clock service and we all made it just in time. Heard a great sermon and then went out one more time to debrief and talk about the trip before heading home for the night and crashing since the next day was a work day.
Great experience and looking forward to being part of more trips in the future or if I am not able to go at least help out in some way. Made some new friends which is always a plus. And of course we were able to do some good for someone else which just warms my heart.
That is all for now. Later gators.
It was an awesome experience for me. I have never done a mission trip or anything like this so I had been looking forward to it ever since I signed up to go. It was great to go and do something for someone else. It was also a great time to get to know people from church that I didn't already know while doing this.
We took away from it positive and negative things and we are going to use all of that when looking at future trips. As always you are constantly learning so you can always make the next time even better.
So we headed out Friday afternoon and drove down to Nashville. We stayed in some cabins at a campsite. It was like being at summer camp. Bunk beds in each room and the two rooms divided by the bathroom slash hallway. It wasn't a cushy hotel but it was it was a place to put our stuff down and sleep. Also gave us a place to bond when not at the work site. Only downside was walking up that sort of steep trail up to the cabin.
Hit the work site Saturday and started working. We started building a shed that went much faster once another volunteer came over. Obviously we were thinking about it too much and just had to wait and he made it look easy. We stained a deck and put some lattice around it to keep the dog from getting under there. We also did some other various duties that needed to be done including raking straw out of the front yard.
After calling it a day we headed back to camp and cleaned up so we could go out for dinner. Ate out a very cool restaurant and spent some time getting to know each other more. After dinner it was back to camp to play some games and spend some time to just bonding. Had a great time that night.
On Sunday we headed back over to continue doing work around at the work site. We were not able to get the shed done but we did the best we could. We were able to accomplish and finish other things that needed to be done though. We packed up and rushed back to St. Louis. We wanted to make it back to the six o'clock service and we all made it just in time. Heard a great sermon and then went out one more time to debrief and talk about the trip before heading home for the night and crashing since the next day was a work day.
Great experience and looking forward to being part of more trips in the future or if I am not able to go at least help out in some way. Made some new friends which is always a plus. And of course we were able to do some good for someone else which just warms my heart.
That is all for now. Later gators.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Men's Retreat
Last weekend I went to a men's retreat. It was a bit last minute which I will get to more later but it was worth it. I had a meaningful experience and I am ready to kind of ride the wave and see where it takes me.
It was held a beautiful place on a small lake. It was like being back in summer camp though with 5 bunk beds in a room and eating at the dining hall at meal time and walking every where. Great range of ages of men from 18 to 89. Several first timers like me to go along with the men that have been coming over the years. Add that we never went without coffee and all was great. :)
So we had a main speaker for the weekend to do sessions and he did a great job. Young associate pastor that will be opening a new church with the next couple years. I really enjoyed what he had to say. He gave things to think about and we got to talk in small groups during the session which added to what was going on.
I enjoyed the various activities we did Saturday afternoon. Made me think about things I had not thought about like using fantasy sports as a mean to do small groups and maybe bring in men on the fringe of doing small groups into the mix or even just on the fringe of doing more in the church. The jam session on Saturday night was a lot of fun. Always enjoy singing songs I grew up listening to in the church or songs that I didn't know already.
I just had a good time getting know people and having time of fellowship. At the end of the night we would hang for a while and eat junk food. The younger crew played Wii Saturday night probably too late into the night for the taste of the older gentleman in attendance. You of course are looking at the Wii golf champion of the retreat. :D
We got see a great performance by a group called Sheltered Reality. You should go to youtube or their website and check them out. Drummers who bring a great message with the great music they play. Very interactive as well. I already passed on a cd and brochure to the director of family ministries and said book them. Hope he listens to me. ;)
At the end of the day I am just inspired to do more. I have felt like I have been called to do more and I wasn't sure what that was. I am still not 100% positive but I think I have an idea. I didn't know about this retreat until less than two weeks before it happened. I saw it in the newsletter said that sounds cool but I have something going on and just very short notice. Well then I was contacted about attending and checked into it more and got more info and things just fell in place and off I was to the retreat. I think I should take that as a sign. I have a meeting set to talk to our small group director about what steps I need to take to start and establish a men's group at the church. I feel that is something that we need and I want to make it happen. So wish me luck this coming week on seeing how that goes.
For now I am out though. Later gators!
It was held a beautiful place on a small lake. It was like being back in summer camp though with 5 bunk beds in a room and eating at the dining hall at meal time and walking every where. Great range of ages of men from 18 to 89. Several first timers like me to go along with the men that have been coming over the years. Add that we never went without coffee and all was great. :)
So we had a main speaker for the weekend to do sessions and he did a great job. Young associate pastor that will be opening a new church with the next couple years. I really enjoyed what he had to say. He gave things to think about and we got to talk in small groups during the session which added to what was going on.
I enjoyed the various activities we did Saturday afternoon. Made me think about things I had not thought about like using fantasy sports as a mean to do small groups and maybe bring in men on the fringe of doing small groups into the mix or even just on the fringe of doing more in the church. The jam session on Saturday night was a lot of fun. Always enjoy singing songs I grew up listening to in the church or songs that I didn't know already.
I just had a good time getting know people and having time of fellowship. At the end of the night we would hang for a while and eat junk food. The younger crew played Wii Saturday night probably too late into the night for the taste of the older gentleman in attendance. You of course are looking at the Wii golf champion of the retreat. :D
We got see a great performance by a group called Sheltered Reality. You should go to youtube or their website and check them out. Drummers who bring a great message with the great music they play. Very interactive as well. I already passed on a cd and brochure to the director of family ministries and said book them. Hope he listens to me. ;)
At the end of the day I am just inspired to do more. I have felt like I have been called to do more and I wasn't sure what that was. I am still not 100% positive but I think I have an idea. I didn't know about this retreat until less than two weeks before it happened. I saw it in the newsletter said that sounds cool but I have something going on and just very short notice. Well then I was contacted about attending and checked into it more and got more info and things just fell in place and off I was to the retreat. I think I should take that as a sign. I have a meeting set to talk to our small group director about what steps I need to take to start and establish a men's group at the church. I feel that is something that we need and I want to make it happen. So wish me luck this coming week on seeing how that goes.
For now I am out though. Later gators!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Fall is on the way
Fall is on the way so that means school will start soon for me and the kids. Which also means the busy season starts.
Daughter is entering 5th grade this fall and that is a busy year for students and parents at her school. The 5th graders do a lot more and they have extra fun raising to help pay for it all as well. So parents had a couple meetings at the end of last school year and start off this school year with a picnic/meeting right off the bat. Plus we help with the chess club and that group of parents is also meeting to discuss the upcoming year. We also will get to see how my daughter is doing with her medication since she was only in school for a week or so when she started it in the spring.
Son is going to be starting a new school. He really likes his old school so we are working on this transition. At the end of the day though we felt it was in his best interest to move him to a different school. Not going to knock his old school but we had a lot of trouble being involved parents and other things along the way to the point we just felt the need to move him. I am looking forward to this new school and seeing how I can get involved there.
So on top of all that above and work and life in general I will also continue to work on my bachelors two classes at a time. Going to take a class on the prehistory of North America and a class on Mesopotamia. I am sure there will be plenty of reading to do and plenty of writing to do as well. So for now I will keep reading the novels I am trying to get in this summer because it may be winter break before I get a chance to read for fun again. :)
Of course this also means time for school shopping for supplies and clothes. I see fun times ahead on that particular day...
Okay. Enough for now. Later gators.
Daughter is entering 5th grade this fall and that is a busy year for students and parents at her school. The 5th graders do a lot more and they have extra fun raising to help pay for it all as well. So parents had a couple meetings at the end of last school year and start off this school year with a picnic/meeting right off the bat. Plus we help with the chess club and that group of parents is also meeting to discuss the upcoming year. We also will get to see how my daughter is doing with her medication since she was only in school for a week or so when she started it in the spring.
Son is going to be starting a new school. He really likes his old school so we are working on this transition. At the end of the day though we felt it was in his best interest to move him to a different school. Not going to knock his old school but we had a lot of trouble being involved parents and other things along the way to the point we just felt the need to move him. I am looking forward to this new school and seeing how I can get involved there.
So on top of all that above and work and life in general I will also continue to work on my bachelors two classes at a time. Going to take a class on the prehistory of North America and a class on Mesopotamia. I am sure there will be plenty of reading to do and plenty of writing to do as well. So for now I will keep reading the novels I am trying to get in this summer because it may be winter break before I get a chance to read for fun again. :)
Of course this also means time for school shopping for supplies and clothes. I see fun times ahead on that particular day...
Okay. Enough for now. Later gators.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Slime and Camping
Decided to go ahead and blog for the first time in a while. I said last time I planned on getting back into a regular routine and it didn't happen. So I am not going to say that this time and just hope for the best.
The last couple weekend have been pretty busy in this household. A couple weekends ago we had a water party at church for the kids. The kids had earned the party over the last few months. The kids had a blast and I am pretty sure so did all the adults that helped out with the party. We used a huge tarp and it became a giant slip 'n slide. Add water balloons and water guns to that as well to see how much fun they had. After the second service was over though was when the big payoff happened for the kids. Not only did they earn a party but they got to slime Mr. Kyle who is the director of family ministries. While the kids played in the water my wonderful wife prepared 6 different colors of slime. After church Mr. Kyle and one lucky kid was seated surrounded by kids and as the church watched 6 adult volunteers poured slime all over them. I have to admit I was glad neither of my kids had their name drawn out of the bucket.
This last weekend was a family camping trip with families of girl scouts in my daughter's troop. This was the first every camping trip as a troop for the girls. We arrived late of course as it seems that is how we roll in this family. There was some hiking done and some time spent in and out of the lake. The girls did learn a lot and earned some badges. They also got to do all the cooking and cleaning up(mostly anyway). Saturday was a good time around campfire as the leaders, girls, and families all did skits or lead the group in song. Great experience for everyone but I think we all agree next trip in cooler weather. And we also learned to start fire to make coffee much earlier in the morning or the adults get cranky and start plotting leaving camp to find a Starbucks.
Enough for now. I have more to post about but I will save for another day. Later gators.
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