Elephant in the Room

"Elephant in the room" is an English metaphorical idiom for an obvious truth that is being ignored or goes unaddressed. (Wikipedia)

I have been having a hard time lately. And if I am being honest, it is because I am divorced. And when it comes to church that is hard to ignore. Especially when it's so obvious to me at times, but maybe not as obvious to other people. I stand out. And I get that. But lately I have been having some trouble with that.

I only bring that up to share an absolutely hysterical conversation with my 5-year-old daughter that is related to the hard time I've been having.

I was on the phone with Amy, discussing some of my issues with the situation to her, and I made the exact comment of: "I seriously felt like the elephant in the room."

She and I talked for a few minutes (the kids were close by in the kitchen because I was getting dinner ready) and then it was time for her to pick Jackson up from daycare. So we hung up and Gracie said, "Why did you feel like an elephant, Mama?"

Silence. I thought for a second and said, "Gracie, what are you talking about?"

"Well," she says, "You told Miss Amy that you felt like an elephant in the room."

I nodded, still not getting exactly what she was asking me. And then I forgot that children at her age are very literal. When you say something, they think you mean it.

"You shouldn't feel like an elephant in the room," she says, "because you aren't fat and you don't have a trunk!"

I seriously couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard. Thank you to my sweet big girl for that much needed laugh in a tough situation.

9.11.11

Ten years seems like a long time. And like everyone else who remembers that day, so much has changed for me in ten years. I saw the cover of People magazine the other day of children who were not even here when 9-11 happened. Their mother's were pregnant, and many of them lost their fathers in 9-11.

It is hard for me to forget where I was that day. Or the events of that day. Ten years and I still can't watch video of the airplane hitting the second tower. It makes my stomach turn.

We will never forget. We will remember. And we will be forever changed.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

It's hard to believe that Jackson and Gracie have started Kindergarten this year. Just a week or so ago I was telling Amy that I remember when we would watch them climbing all over the booths at Zaxby's when we met there for dinner on Wednesday nights.

So in honor of these two little buddies who embarked on a new journey a week ago today, here is their friendship in pictures!:

(Well, a few pictures anyway!)



Jackson, at Gracie's 2nd birthday party (he is about 15 months old here)



A scrapblog page I made of some photos from Zaxby's! They look so little!



Gracie and Jackson last year, at the fair



We were at the zoo and ran into Jackson and his Nana and Tata! I don't know why he wasn't happy about having his picture taken...



Gracie & Jackson at the museum this July


These two kids are so special and I love them to death. They are the best of friends, and Gracie told me once that she would marry Jackson...if he didn't love Auburn so much. But his mom is too stubborn to ever change that!

I hope they have an awesome year in Kindergarten and that they will be friends for a long time. Being from a military family I know how hard it was to move constantly and make new friends. Hopefully Jackson and Gracie will be friends for life!

Which means I have to put up with Amy forever!!!

Seriously. I'm only kidding!

Updates

Sorry for the lack of posting. We had a busy week!

Gracie had a wonderful first day of Kindergarten, which I got to hear all about in the car on the way home Tuesday. By Friday morning she was dragging. I am sure most of that had to do with the fact that they have PE and she's adjusting to all of the physical activity.

She said she slept during nap because Mrs. Beale wore her out! She is excited about going back this coming week.

We also signed up for gymnastics on Thursday night. I had wanted to find something outside of school and church for us to do, and this was the perfect opportunity. The class isn't too early or too late, so it won't interfere with routines at all. And I am hoping Gracie will enjoy it. We will have to wait and see! Her first class starts this Thursday.



James had his two year check-up right after we dropped Gracie off for her first day of Kindergarten. He weighed in at 28 lbs, 8 oz, and that ranked him 50% for weight. Of course his big head is in the 95%!

And speaking of his big head, the photo above is his eye one week after the accident. It had been almost a full second week and the black eye is almost gone. Most of the glue has peeled and come off and the wound is healing nicely. The swelling is completely gone.

Hopefully as he grows the scar will get smaller in size and not be as noticeable.

Happy Monday, folks!

Another First

We left the house at 7:15 AM today. The Princess began her first day of Kindergarten. I am so excited for her because I absolutely loved school. At the same time it's almost bittersweet because here we are at another milestone.

And I have a love/hate relationship with those. It is a blessing to watch my children grow and experience new and wonderful things, and another blessing to be able to share in those things. But once you have reached that milestone there is no going back. Only moving forward.

I look forward to hearing all about her first day of school and promise to share more of those details later this week!

Kindergarten Open House

So in between James celebrating his birthday and giving his mother a mini-stroke with a banged up head and a trip to the ER, Gracie was having her Kindergarten Open House.

We were lucky enough to get the first teacher we requested, at the suggestion of some very dear friends from church. Gracie received a letter in the mail that was from her teacher and we spent time buying school supplies, picking out a backpack, and shopping for school clothes.

I had started to wonder how nervous I might actually be the night of the Open House. When Gracie went to Victory Baptist, we had some experience with Open House for K4. But this felt totally different. And it really wasn't all that different. Okay so it's a new school, new faces, new teacher, new-WOW! I think I just made myself a nervous wreck.

And Gracie is not usually shy. She can talk your ear off if you give her the chance. So she's walking right beside me through all the hallways leading us to her classroom, and when we get to the door she freezes.

"I'm nervous." I hear her peep out. So to keep myself from getting nervous, I just shuffled her through the door and tried to help her find her seat. We were greeted by Mrs. Beale, who knew Gracie right away (which totally surprised Gracie!).






Mrs. Beale went through some information for the parents, and then took the time to sit down with the kids and talk about classroom things like rules, and activities, and then read them a story about the first day of school. She also had a surprise for the kids in their cubbies which turned out to be just a bunch of cute little things in a personalized paper bag. It also gave the kids a chance to figure out which cubby was theirs!

I explained to Mrs. Beale when we got ready to leave that I had to get her picture with Gracie so my family living so far away could meet Gracie's new teacher! She was happy to help me out.



Gracie really seemed to like Mrs. Beale. She had lots of fun things to tell the kids, and they really enjoyed the story and meeting their class pets. Mrs. Beale loves gardening and also told the kids that her parents loved science, so it's one of her favorite things to learn about.

Gracie said she liked her classroom.

And that she's excited about Kindergarten.

And that she can't wait to come back the first day.

And that Mrs. Beale was really nice.

And then we discovered that Mrs. Beale is an Auburn Fan.

Oh, well.

ROLL TIDE!!!

Birthday Party Post

We had James' second birthday party this Saturday at home. We had lots of fun spending time with family and friends, and enjoying the super-sized swing set that Mawmaw ordered especially for James!




And we also got to enjoy Aunt Kayla's present! It was a sand and water table that I was very surprised to see that even the older kids enjoyed it.






And of course there was cake and snacks! Since the kids were fairly young, I went with simple things like chips, dip, and Goldfish crackers. I took the advice of an old friend (by old I mean how long I've known her, not her age) and set up a craft table. The kids weren't quite old enough for games and although the craft table wasn't a huge success, it was a time filler.







The party was a lot of fun and I am glad that so many friends and family could make it to help us celebrate!