Kelsey Anne is One Year Old Today!

Happy First Birthday, Kelsey!

Kelsey had a pretty routine day today. Until cake time, that is! We let her have at it...and she was all business! We could barely get a smile out of her she was chowing down so intently! It was quite the mess to clean up. We are so thankful to have Kelsey in our family. She is a little angel. I love watching her grow and learn new things everyday. And I love showing off all the new things she's learned to complete strangers everywhere we go! She is such a blessing to our family.

The First Day of School, Take 2! North Bay Elementary...

Yesterday was the boys' first day at their new school. To say that we're happy we made the change would be an understatement. It was such a good decision and one guided by the Lord. The whole family was there to take them to their classes and we were very impressed by the teachers. We were there for about an hour and no one, I mean no one, mentioned the MCT2 test at all. That is all we heard over and over and over again up here. The teachers at North Bay were more concerned about the children learning, and having fun doing it, than some stupid test administered by the state of Mississippi. Yet North Bay was still one of the highest scoring schools in the state without stuffing it down the kids' throats. Anyways, the best moment came when I picked the boys up after school. Henry got into the van raving about his day and all the fun he had. Mrs. Davis even called him "smart"! He would have never heard that at North Woolmarket. Jeff had a good day, too, but missed his old teacher. They are really going to do well at this school and we are all so excited for the school year now. I even had total cooperation at homework time and 0 tears! Yay!

A Celebration!

Happy 4th Birthday, Jenna Mae!

Now for the Black & Whites...

Jenna's Birthday Photo Shoot...Color First!

Jenna's Birthday Adventures

Jenna chose to go bowling and for a walk on the beach as her birthday activities. We went to the bowling alley on base after a quick trip to the BX where she chose the puppy toy also pictured. Daddy surprised her with flowers, too! So sweet! After bowling we headed down to the Biloxi Lighthouse and took a quick walk on the beach until sunset. So fun!

Waiting is just so tough!

Here is Miss Jenna somewhat patiently waiting to open her gifts!

I love the last one, especially. I had just told her she had to wait until Dad could watch!

Helmet Head

I couldn't take it anymore!

I just couldn't let her get one more bonk to the head!

So, yes, I bought our daughter a helmet.

You may laugh.

You may joke.

However, it's been a week and her head is healing up quite nicely!

Way to accessorize, Kelsey!

This is Kelsey's first favorite toy. She's been carrying it around for a few days now. She is so stinkin' cute walking around with her little arm up in the air so it doesn't fall off. I love how she is starting to mimic behaviors like this. She's been carrying it around for a few days now. She's also picked up on talking on her play phone. She holds it up to the back of her head and babbles all kinds of cute sentences. They sound like sentences in tone, but who knows what she's really talking about! She is growing up and it's so exciting to me. Some moms don't want their babies to grow up, but I think it's so neat to see their personalities blossom as they learn new things everyday. I am so glad Kelsey is a part of our family. On another note, her "helmet" should arrive tomorrow. I have a photo I took of her yesterday, but I can't post it because she looks so bumped up! So I ordered the helmet today. Hopefully she will be able to heal up quickly. Her birthday is next week and I would love to be able to post her photos of the big day! :)

Prayers are Answered!

Where to begin?
So, last night I prayed that the Lord would show me where the boys should go to school. At home, at another school, or tough out North Woolmarket? I knew when I went to bed that I was going to call a nearby school, Woolmarket Elementary, and maybe drive by and visit today. So, after we dropped off the boys we drove over there. It's an old school. They are celebrating 100 years this year. They had a very large play area and nice equipment so when we got home I called them. The secretary let me know that they were a "sister school" to North Woolmarket and that they ran things in the same manner (no fun). I said, well, the principal really sets the mood for the school and that the principal at North Woolmarket was very high pressure...she interupted me at this point and said be careful what you say- she's my sister-in-law. So I guess they really are a sister school. Scratch that one off the list! So I went to the district map. I looked all over their website trying to find a school nearby that would better fit our needs.
That's when I noticed a white area on the map only 10 minutes from the house. It wasn't part of the Harrison County School District. So I went over to the Biloxi School District Website and found out this white area was North Bay Elementary. I called the school and was immediately impressed with what she was telling me. I left a voicemail for the principal who was in a meeting and she called me back within the hour. She set up a tour for us today. To put this school into one term: AMAZING! I feel bad that we've wasted 5 weeks at North Woolmarket. Here are just some of the things we love about this school...

-Recess, everyday
-Full time Art teacher with her own classroom
-Full time music teacher
-Full time computer teacher with lab
-Fancy computer screens the size of chalkboards that the teachers use like a chalkboard
-A childrens' museum in the school with a Winn Dixie sponsored store and an Outback sponsored restaurant.
- A full kitchen for classes to use for special lessons
-An in house TV studio with closed curcuit TV where 5th graders prepare and deliver the announcements into every classroom
- K-5th grade
-Happy staff
-Happy children
- A progam called Boost, where 45 min a day they go to a special classroom. The advanced kids move ahead in small groups and those struggling get extra attention.
-Art everywhere!
-The grades are grouped in "pods" with a bathroom and common area
- a 5 zoned playground that they rotate through day by day
- still a MS star school which means high test scores across the board
- a new facility which Jeff thinks looks like an airport, ok, I do, too!
-classical music in the hallways.

I could go on, but I want to get to the book I am reading. I am so excited. I feel like I've been a rubberband all twisted up tighter and tighter and tighter, trying to figure out what we were going to do and now I feel like all the tension is gone! Ok, not gone, we still have to get past the school board. We were told that was a formality. They meet the 3rd Tues of the month which is this week (Yay!), but they like all the paperwork one week in advance (Boo!). We are going to jump on it tomorrow and pray for the best. Then there is the matter of tuition...either $500 a year or $1200 a year depending on where you live. We'll know more tomorrow. Wow! So happy!

It's Midnight...

...and I cannot sleep.

I am awake thinking (and writing out of control paragraphs on my blog) about my sweet boys and the education they are being subjected to at their new school. I use the phrase "subjected to" because that's exactly what's happening at their school. Data in/Data out. Do what it takes to make you pass the test. I never, never, never, never, never, never, thought I would be contemplating home school, but that is exactly where we are at right now. I went to a PTSA meeting tonight where I met the principal. She is not going to even bend on this recess thing, in fact she told us she can take away 80 minutes a week of gym time and still be within the guidlines. Is she nuts? And the teachers, well one teacher, honestly believes this school is one of the best in the nation and dares me to hold it up to any other school. I told her I was comparing it to other schools we've attended and it didn't hold up. I could go on and on, and I have gone on and on and on and on to my sister and my mom. I feel guilty sending my kids to school everyday. It's drudgery. They are tested on their library books for heavens sake and they have to check out multiple ones a week and score an 87% or better or it doesn't count. I am so sorry for my little babies. So, we are looking at k12. It's a home school program where all the curriculum and materials are already prepared and online teachers are available to walk the children through their day. Because we are technically Idaho residents we can attend the Idaho Virtual Academy and be right on track when we enter Idaho schools later on. And it's free. Am I really willing and prepared to home school my guys? Am I doing them a greater disservice by keeping them home? Am I setting them up to hate learning by keeping them in the boot camp school down the street? No recess, no art, no music, no talking in line, no talking at lunch, etc. Will they be socially wierd if they're home all the time? Will they be socially stunted at this school of their's anyways? Oh, what to do. I want them to love school, love learning, love reading, love trying things out, love creating. All of things are not available to them in Mississippi's public school system and that scares me. If anyone is out there, what are your thoughts?

Fixin' the Truck

You may remember that Dustin's truck broke down on our way to Mississippi this summer. Well, Dustin is finally getting a little bit of extra time to work on it and he and the boys are having a great time getting it done. So far, they have been able to remove the old engine, clean out the engine compartment, and clean and paint the old parts that are going back in. We hit a little hitch when the auto parts store sent the wrong engine, but a new one is on its way and now Dustin has some time to get the garage cleaned up and ready for it. It will be nice when it's running again, and maybe with a brand new engine it'll get more than 6 miles to the gallon! Dustin is hoping for 15...time will tell!

Here is a little video of Kelsey walking. I am so glad she's getting the hang of it! She has hit her head on these hard floors one too many times...my heart can't take it anymore! When I was pregnant with her, I was reading a magazine in the midwife's waiting room. It had an ad for a foam helmet. You know, so your baby wouldn't bump their head when they were learning to walk. I thought it was absolutely rediculous until I moved into a house with all hard flooring. I've been tempted for the last week or so to buy the stupid looking helmet, or make one myself, which I fear would look even more stupid, but now I think the worst may be behind us. Happy day! She's catching on! Hopefully the seemingly permanent knot on her forehead can finally heal! Yeah for Kelsey!

Labor Day on West Ship Island, MS

Where we you on your day off? We were HERE!

Today was awesome! I am sooooooooooo glad, I mean so glad, that we moved here! Mississippi is beautiful. We rode the ferry out to Gulf Islands National Seashore and spent the day on West Ship Island. Everything was perfect for a day at the beach. We had a great time playing in the water and building sandcastles. I was a little worried about keeping Kelsey entertained and happy, but I didn't need to. All the kids had a great time either digging in the sand or playing in the very comfortable water. You could jump right in! Another bonus...we saw dolphins on the way out to the island and on the way back home.