- Sam is kicking kindergarten's butt and I often hear him in the backseat or downstairs in the playroom quoting scripture or singing his phonic songs. Or any other combination of [sometimes inappropriate] songs such as "Shake your groove thang" or "Pants on the ground". Don't worry. It's the Alvin and the Chipmunk's version. His mid-term report said we still need to work on identifying color words, but I have seriously been blown away by all that he is soaking up.
- Charlie is wading in the depths of 3rd grade which includes times table tests, reading maps (which oddly enough he has struggled with...surprising, with his love of maps) and the beginning of book reports, but his mid-term boasted his lowest grade at 96. I'll take that. He has a diorama due in about a month and he was so excited the other day as he tried to explain the concept of the project to me. After several attempts, he told me, "Mommy, I have to put my imagination in a shoe box!!" Well, okay. That works. Excitement often muddles our attempts at finding the right word. Okay, well, all the time.
- Can I complain about our potty situation for a second? I love our house. It has its faults, but the pluses outweigh the minuses. Kenny would disagree. It is an older house and the one thing I'm having a hard time getting past here lately is the unalterable fact that we only have one bathroom. And I'd really just like to flat iron my hair without dodging toothpaste spit and reminding a certain little boy to remember to "hit the water" all at the same time. And short of adding a port-a-potty to the backyard, I don't see a remedy to our solution in the near future. Bigger house hunting may be necessitated by adding a 5th person to the mix. We shall see how that all pans out.
- Kenny and I welcomed ourselves to the world of smartphones a couple of months back (remember, I'm cheap...er, thrifty...making spending money on a phone almost painful) and on one hand, I can honestly say it has made life way easier. On the other, I feel like I have too many distractions now, only at my very finger tips. I've had to make a conscious effort to step away from those distractions. But I'm loving Pandora...why am I just finding out about that?? And Instagram. I've added "Life via Instagram" to our sidebar. So while I may not update the blog as often as I'd like, there should always be a picture or two over there to document what's going on with the Cook family in the wild metropolis of Elk Creek.
- We are kicking off fall this weekend with a ridiculous schedule of events that seems to almost be non-stop for the next two months. All promise to be fun and provide us with fulfilling and lasting memories (what we are all after, right?), but next time, please remind me to spread the love out over more time. Like maybe a year. I'm tired and we haven't even started.
- In adoption related news, we've hit a road block or two. Well, maybe not a road block so much as a speed bump. Turns out, we need background checks from every state we've lived in since 18 years of age, instead of just Kentucky. And while I'm fairly certain I'm criminal-activity-free in Alabama too, they simply won't take my word for it. So now, the timing of things lies in the hands of a government employee in Montgomery, Alabama who refused to give me a time frame on how long it may take them to process our background checks. Only reassuring me with, "Honey, we've been awful busy since that whole Sandusky incident." Great. Just great. We also need to have additional medical paperwork (read as: bloodwork) done. Fantastic. I was hoping to be jabbed with numerous needles to prove that I'm relatively healthy. Needles and paperwork....whatever it takes to get our baby girl home faster. My sweet husband just reminded me that this is all part of God's timing. Yeah, yeah. I know. (Smiles.)
- On a field trip to the zoo the other day with Sam, they had a little mini class where they learned about the different types of bears. One of those being a panda. I really wish you could have seen his face when they told them that pandas live in China...you could actually see the wheels in his head spinning as he made the connection, and it was all he could do to not burst out, "Hey, that's where my little sister lives!!!!" Now I just need to make sure he knows I'm only bringing a baby back home with me. No pandas allowed on the plane.
- I have a post brewing in my head about our church. Until I get around to posting it, let's just say God is blessing the effort and our children and student ministry have almost doubled in the last two months (part of what is keeping me so busy). I get so excited just thinking about it and I'm so glad that God has given us the opportunity to be a part of Redemption Hill!
- Have I mentioned this year that Fall is my favorite ever?? Cool weather, sweatshirts, open windows, soup and cornbread, fun leaf colors, hot chocolate and fabulously flavored creamer, corn mazes and pumpkin patches, football, camp fires and things that smell like apples. I think Fall is the time of year that God likes to show off. I mean, who else can make the whole world change colors and make me be in a perpetually good mood all at the same time?? Okay, so don't call me on the good mood thing...maybe, most of the time in a good mood.
- Speaking of good moods, I've officially made my kids not want to believe half of what comes out of my mouth. Apparently I am so sarcastic and joke so much of my waking hours, that something as simple as "Hey, we're gonna have spaghetti for dinner" is met with unbelieving shakes of the heads and expressions of "You are just joking us". Ha. I don't know whether to laugh or be concerned that my kids think I'm "joking" them all the time...Charlie thinks I laugh too much. I don't see where that's really a problem...
- And can I get a little "Roll Tide"!! I won't bore you with details, mainly because I am often bored with them myself, but it's exciting to see the Tide kicking butt and taking names. Plus, good Alabama football puts Kenny in a perpetual good mood!
If you're lucky, you'll get pics soon from the Cook's Fall of Chaos. Cross your fingers and hope I don't need a nap on Sunday afternoons and maybe you will...
