Kindergarten

Connor started Kindergarten this year!  He's doing well, likes it.  He's always been pretty social so this is one thing he's had to grab onto -- learning when it's time to talk with friends and when it's time to listen.  He has an amazing teacher and we love her!  She's so patient and has been great with him. 

I love to volunteer in his classroom and I'm fortunate that he loves having me there.  All the kids know me now and have gone from calling me "Connor G's Mom" to Ms. Goheen.

We even got to do a little presentation in his class about Guatemala and adoption.  The kids & teacher loved it.  It was cool to share it all, and Connor was excited about it, especially about showing pictures of the volcanoes! 

He never ceases to amaze me with his curiosity and energy, asks questions constantly and ready to learn all the time.  His gears are always turning.  He loves being outdoors, running, swinging, role-playing (super heros, ninja, etc), playing with his cousin.

Kindergarten Round-up!!

Connor is starting Kindergarten this fall!!  We went to Kindergarten Roundup a few weeks ago and he makes me so proud!   He is so ready... 

He's my little peanut but powerful in his own right.  He stands up for himself.  Every day he & his cousin, Gavin, become closer. They're like brothers.. one minute they're playing well together, sharing.. the next, they're fussing with each other about whatever the case may be.  They resolve things pretty quickly.

So it was a no-go on soccer for Connor.  He wouldn't go out even for practice, clenched onto the fence.  That's okay.. he'll get into whatever activity that he desires to excel at.

Speaking of activities, he loves playing like he knows martial arts.  We were going for a walk tonight and he said, "Hey, Mommy.. watch my karate slices!" No, no... not karate CHOPS, karate SLICES.  It was soooo adorable, I laughed sooo hard!  I'm so proud of him and at the same time, he cracks me up continually!

Connor starts soccer this week!!!! Soooo exciting! :) He's been excited about it for a while... before I got him signed up.. but it was wayyyy more exciting for me when I actually got him registered and he got assigned to a team... I was squeeling :) hehehe He gets all serious about it though; he'll say "I need to practice." haha I got his shin guards last night.. pee wee size.. so adorable! I wonder what color his team will be. 1st practice Tuesday night and I have to work.. also have to work the day of his 1st game but I'll make every single one that I'm not working on... :)

Connor took his 1st Communion!

We are visiting my best friend, Chris, and her husband, Eric, in Connecticut... went to church with them today and they happened to be doing Communion in service this morning. Since Connor had asked Jesus into his heart in May, he took communion this morning. I explained it all to him as the pastor explained. He took it all pretty seriously :) I am so proud of my boy!! He's becoming quite the little man! And recently, my parents mentioned how they notice a difference in him over the past few months and I said it's likely because of his decision to live for Jesus... he's changed so much! He was such a good boy before, but now he's much more conscious of decisions he makes, how he treats people, the way he talks, acts... and he apologizes differently too... is more empathetic :)

You are awesome in this place, Mighty GOD

Tonight as I put Connor down to bed, he asked Jesus into his heart! What a JOY & HONOR to bear witness to this amazing boy of mine asking Jesus to be his friend! He was very serious about it. I am at a loss of words to describe really how blessed I am to be his Mom, and how proud I am of him... especially in this moment! My prayer has always been that God would use me as his Mom to point his feet toward the cross, toward Jesus... to know Him! WOW! What an awesome night!

My entire family when on vacation including Connor. They left early this morning... it was soooo sad seeing Connor leave. I HATED IT! I cried all the way to work... and when I got home. Not getting the time off to go with them... speechless. They all miss me being with them too.... it's so odd not being on vacation with the rest of the family. :( It's a long story behind this, but I'm less than 24 hours from the time they left and it doesn't feel good to be home. He's absolutely having fun, I know he is... but we've never been away from each other for this long before.. and I'm going to go ahead and say that we will never be apart for this long again. This boy of mine is amazing and words cannot describe the love I have for him, and how much I miss him... even though I talk to him on the phone, it's just not the same.

Prayers, Boogers, Brown and Smoquitos!

Connor: 'Can I have some spider juice?'
Me: 'Huh? What's spider juice?'
((He was thinking....))
Finally he says 'Ya know... spider juice... apple spider...' ((read: CIDER)) hahahahaha :) I laughed soooo hard!!

I read the Easter story from the Bible this past weekend. When I read about how badly Jesus was treated, Connor commented with a scowl, "That's not nice!!"

I love Connor's prayers! Sometimes cute, sometimes serious... always honest & sincere. A few of his recent prayers: "Thank you, God, that we are people" and "Thank you, God, for taking my headache away." The second, he was thanking in advance, which is soooo amazing to hear :)

Connor: "Mommmyyyyy..."
Me: "Yeah?"
Connor: "I'm in here going poop, so don't come in here, it stinks.." (LOL hahahahaha)

Connor was picking his nose (haha): "C'mon, boogers! Come out of there! I don't want you in there.. you're all scratchy.." OMG! LOL!!

One night when it was a nice day, we went outside to jump on the trampoline, only the mosquitos were out and were starting to eat me up. Connor called them "smoquitos." hahaha... Spanglish right there... hehe

Last week, I was working on Sight Words with Connor and the word "pretty" came up, he said it and I said, "Hey.. pretty.. that's me!" He said, "Yeah!" A few words after that, the word "brown" came up and he said, "Hey.. brown.. that's me!" We both started laughing... he's really so proud of it. It was so cute that he commented like that :)

We pray before bedtime... Connor does most of the praying, then he'll say "Okay, your turn." :) So one night, his prayer was very short, then we said Good Night, I shut the light off and walked out of the room. Within a few minutes, I hear him say, "Mommy, I forgot to pray.." I said, "You did pray." He said, "Oh.." I said, "Want to pray more?" So I went back in, laid down next to him and he prayed this: "Thank you, God, for giving me good rest tonight and for giving me energy to play with Kaiden tomorrow. Amen." Kaiden is his new buddy in Nana's daycare... sooooo sweet!!

Easter - the real meaning

So after I got home from work, I sat down and read the Easter story from the Bible to Connor. He listened intently... I've read it to him before but tonight, he listened with a serious face :)

When I got to the part about how badly Jesus was treated, being arrested, made to carry the cross and then being nailed to it... Connor said "That's not nice!!"

And then, oh his prayers! I love love love his prayers! They are sometimes cute, sometimes serious but always honest & sincere. Tonight he said, "Thank you, God, that we are people" and then "Thank you, God, for taking my headache away." Love that he is thanking Him in advance.. before the headache is gone, he believes in His power to make it better. :)

Watching him learn & absorb!

It's been so absolutely amazing to see Connor learn God's Word, lessons in it, memory verses. I am blown away each time he recites back to me this weekly sunday school lesson and he applies it throughout the weeks and months following. Some of my favorites were when he told the story of Paul & Silas and how the jailbars "wiggled" and how he relays details of the story of the man who was paralyzed, and his friends carried him on a mat up onto the roof of the building Jesus was in, dug a hole in the roof and lowered him down so he could have the chance to meet Jesus. And further how Jesus told the man to "pick up your mat and walk, and he did!" He speaks about it all with such excitement and enthusiasm, it just impacts my heart... how blessed am I to be this child's Mommy? That God chose me, He chose him... and there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that Connor will choose Jesus to be his Lord & Savior one day :) It makes me melt beyond words to watch this boy learn, absorb & grow every day. Now, he's a typical rambunctious 4 year old boy, but his heart for God is so amazing already and I am blessed to be one of the many to water him and see him grow in his love for Jesus!

For the past few months, Connor has confindently requested prayer for his "tummy mom" (what we call his birth mother, it makes sense to him) on a daily basis. It's so sweet of him, he is just embracing thinking about and praying for her regularly. It just blesses my heart so so much to see him gaze at me with a big smile as I pray for her. Those who have also adopted know the treasure in moments like these :)

Also, he continues to remain passionate for & thirsting for more of the Bible, reading together. It's just been awesome to see him grow and hunger for more of Jesus!

My boy is such a treasure!

I had a rough day at work yesterday so when I went to lunch, I called my Mom as I always do. She put Connor on to talk and she went on to tell me about his day, watching Caillou, playing, riding bikes.. and so I said to him, "Connor, can you pray for me? I'm having a bad day." He said, "Yeah, we will pray when you get home tonight." I said, "No, can you pray now? Tell Nana." So he stays on the phone while saying to my Mom, "Nana, we need to pray for Mommy." I hear them praying and then Connor says, "AMEN!!" :) What a blessing my boy is!!

Also, seemingly since he turned 4yrs old, he has become very peaked & excited about God's Word, reading the Bible, telling me all about his Sunday School lessons & memory verses! It's so amazing for me to be his Mom and to see him grow & learn about the Lord and be excited about it! As I was in process to adopt, I remember reading an article from a magazine wherein a missionary talked about our goal as parents is to "point their feet toward Jesus." That is sooo true and it's been one of many prayers all along so to see him now .. sooo excited & passionate about God and prayer is indescribable & joyful for me!

Summer 2010

It's been a very very very busy summer! Lots going on!

Connor just turned 4 years old last week! This summer he began 2 big things: swimming on his own, no arm wings (!) and going across the big-kid monkey bars completely on his own!! I am floored!! He seemingly does new things all the time, adds to his vocabulary continually, amazes me constantly... and I love him more each day! He's so sweet, but also tests me continually... but isn't that what kids do to their parents? Press the limits, see what they can get away with.. Psh! He's overall a good boy though. :) This summer, he revealed that his friend, Sara, "split up with him." HAHAHA! They're the same age, 3 weeks apart.. and have always been close buddies. So then just last week after having a playdate at her house, on our way home Connor says to me, "Yeah so me & Sara didn't split up." Guess it's an on again, off again relationship? hehehe... too funny! I'm telling you, he keeps me on my toes and laughing all the time, comes up with the funniest things!

I started my Bachelor's of Science in Nursing degree program this week. So far so good, lots of reading! Jumping back into school after 6 1/2 years is a little rough but it'll be fine. My sister is also in the same program as I am so we're going at it together.

Connor is such a busy boy, keeps me busy, keeps me & everyone else laughing hysterically all the time...

He loves to tell stories always... will replay things, retell them as they happened or as he thought they happened in some cases... he'll tell me about his dreams or nightmares. He expresses gret enthusiasm when telling stories, or telling about a certain situation that took place. He's overall.. very expressive, says exactly what he needs to say.

We just got a big trampoline once the snow melted so he's been having fun on that with his cousin & friends.

His love for God is amazing! He loves to share with me what he's been learning in Sunday School, gets so excited about it! His eyes light up! It's so great seeing & hearing his enthusiasm for Jesus Christ! He said to me the other night, "Mommy, Jesus says he wants me to be his buddy, one day I will be his buddy!" How simple & amazing is that statement? :) LOVE IT!!

He tells me all the time, "You're beautiful" or "You're cute." LOL He cracks me up! So funny!

He's joined in prayer time... he used to not want to, but now he does and I love every single prayer he prays. Typically it is something like, "Jesus, thank you for Mommy and thank you for our family. Bless my Mommy. In Jesus Name, Amen." Other variations exist... and they're just precious! He will oftentimes pick up on others' moods, things he may hear us talk about in passing.. and pray for those people or situations. Once he saw God answer a prayer directly, and he was so amazed and it was shortly after a Sunday School lesson about how God hears us when he pray to him. :)

This morning he was watching PBS Kids and I overheard Dinosaur Train : "That is dinosaur feces... what's feces? Feces is poops. All Dinosaurs poop, and the more you eat, the more you poop.." OMG!!! LOL hahahaha Way to encourage toddler to laugh at the word "poop" hahaha... because Connor was just giggling away LOL

A few weeks ago, I was sorting through pictures and came across many many pics of when Connor was little little.. like just home! :) So he & I sat down to look at them.. we giggled & smiled at them all.. seeing how little he was and how much he's grown.. and then found some of when we were in Guatemala! He goes, "This is when I was adopted in Guatemala!" :) Such a proud boy he is...

Recently, he went in his room and shut the door (so young for this, right? haha) because we lost the remote, hence cannot play his new Plant 51 DVD because we need the remote to switch over to the DVD player... *sigh* drama sometimes.. haha...

He wakes up some mornings telling me about what "The Bible tells us..." and "God tells us/God says.." What a blessing to hear this 1st thing in the morning.. then he gets up and says he wants to keep telling me more, and when I said I had to use the bathroom, he said, "Okay, you go pee and then I'll tell you more..." :)

Once, he came running up to me, held up his pinky, said, "Mommy! Pinky Swear!" I said, "What for?" He had no explanation, must've heard/seen it from an older kid. hahahaha so cute! :)

Another time, he was telling me a story, and he led to this: "Don't worry Mama, when I get your age, I will buy you a 'puter.."

Last month, I took Connor to ER after he was coughing soooo bad, wheezing.... while in the exam room he asked me, "Mommy, am I being very brave?" Awwwww!! :) YES! definitely!! He also added, "I hope I don't have to get a shot.."

So it's been a good 6-7 months since I last posted/updated here. I know, such a slacker :P

A lot has happened... I have a new job. I am now back at the hospital I used to work at for 5 years, only on a different floor. It's been wonderful going back to acute care, from home care. Home care just was not for me, in the long run and I was just meant to move on at that time. So I've been back at the hospital since November. I love seeing everyone again, home care was so lonely & quiet... not what I'm used to. But I did learn A TON and gained alot of knowledge & experience in a vast array of demographics.

Connor is doing wonderfully! He's 3 1/2 years old now, learning alot, such a smart, sweet boy! There are so many of his quips & sayings that crack me up!! He cracks us all up! HAHA! :) He's always been my little water bug. We recently went on a weekend getaway to Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky, OH. And he is now an avid underwater swimmer with his cute goggles in place... sooo funny!! Of course, in the shallow.. not yet in the end he can't touch on, still wears arm wings but he was cracking me up swimming underwater, nose unplugged. HA!

Also, he recently wanted to write a letter & mail it to his closest friend, Sara. I tried soooo hard not to laugh.. it was sooo precious the things he wanted to tell her like "I want all your dreams to come true" and "I will wish upon star." Where does this kid get his material? haha! And so then he got a letter back from her in the mail. So funny!!

I will add pictures in the next few days... :)

Good quote:

"Feed the thing you want to live, Starve the thing you want to die." ~Beth Moore~

Today was a close call, held onto my angels surrounding me on all sides, and at all times! I was approaching my 1st patient's home this morning, proceeded to turn left into their driveway and a truck behind me sped around me on the left (???) and hit my front left bumper with his passenger side rear tire. He spun a little, almost hit a mailbox and here I went sliding cleanly right into the driveway to which I was headed. I wasn't hurt at all, but he proceeded to continue to drive away without stopping! He finally stopped, turned around and came back to see that I ws okay. In the meantime, the patient's mom came out after hearing the collision, carrying the phone out to call the police. The guy got out of his truck to look at the damage. I proceeded to call the cops and he became frantic, "No, whatever you do, don't call the cops, please.. I'll pay for whatever damage to your car." I asked if he had a warrant out, he said he does. The patient's mom insisted, so did I. But he said, "I'll leave before they get here." I said we at least needed to switch insurance info and names, numbers... he wrote his full name & number down but said he couldn't find his insurance info so he left. I called dispatch and gave them the report of what happened, although I couldn't wait until they arrived because I was done seeing the patient and had others I needed to get moving onto. So in the afternoon, I went to the Sheriff's station to file the report and give them the guy's name & number. So basically it was a hit & run and the likelihood that the guy will fess up and admit he hit me is slim, I'm sure, being that he has some kind of warran out....

But the important thing is that I came out of it unharmed. No aches and pains, and praying none pop up... It was totally the hand of God holding onto my car easing it into the driveway without spinning! HOLY MOLY!! I don't know if the guy was under the influence of something or what, but he was quick to leave the scene and move on about his business. Thank GOD I'm okay... it could very well have been much worse. Who knows why He spared me... I know He's not done with me yet and I'm sure there's much more for me to do here on this Earth. Thank You, Lord!!!!!!!!!! Makes me appreciate each moment, to take a step back & re-evaluate things... and be thankful for the Lord's blessings in my life!

Connor's latest new word added to his vocabulary --- diarrhea! OMG!!! He keeps saying things taste like diarrhea!??? HUH?? Seriously? LOL I finally asked him, "How do you know what diarrhea tastes like, Connor?" No answer... haha... Oh goodness.. the things kids say...

I just melt..

... to hear Connor sing songs he's learned like "B-I-N-G-O" and any variation of "3 little monkeys..." [jumping on the bed or swinging from the tree, or combine the two and switch 'em all around LOL].

... when Connor runs to be screaming, "MOMMYYYYYY!", hugs & kisses me!

... when he goes for a walk with my Mom & his daycare friends, walks past our house and when asked who loves him, he says "My Mommy." Awwwww!

... when he reads from repetition to read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?" [hehe] Too funny!

... when I peek in on him fast asleep in his bed all curled up & comfy :)

... seeing him in the rear-view mirror sitting in his carseat. I remember his carseat being empty and dreaming of the day he'd be in it, now it's hard to really imagine him not there. I smile big when I see him sitting back there.

Riding his tricycle and swinging on swings...

I guess I don't know exactly how long he's been doing this really well but I just notice it last night after dinner... we were playing outside and I'd taken his tricycle out for him to ride in the driveway. I watch him and he takes off on it, pedaling very well! He used to be able to just push the pedals around once then couldn't get them around numerous times to keep going, so at the time I went out & bought a Radio Flyer trike that has the extended handle on the back that allows me to steer for him & push. So my Mom now mentions to me, "Yeah he's been doing that for a while.." :D Soooo proud of him. Every achievement, big or small, make me swell with pride in him as he grows, discovers, learns, becomes more confident in his abilities & strengths. :)

Also, in the past few weeks, he's done better with catching on to pumping his legs to swing himself on the swings!! Ahhhhh!! It's so cute to watch him because he just has more & more assurance & confidence when we praise him & clap & encourage him to try new things, to be brave! :) Now after one good push, off he goes. And he's able to hold the chains on either side & jump his little booty up on the swing himself. HA! :)

In a way, it's sad because this all means he's getting bigger, older, more independent... but it's a good thing, really... cannot avoid him growing up and I do encourage his independent, bravery, courage... I just think every Mom gets a little sad inside on a small level as they see their kids grow up, realizing they're not babies anymore. I just treasure every moment, every day.. enjoy it & start the next day ready to see what else he has up his sleeve. :)

Last night at dinner [we went to our favorite place for fish], he was drinking his water... wanted lemon in his just like I have in mine so the waitress had brought a little dish with 4 slices in it so I put one slice in his & two in mine. The one left in the dish, he said he wanted to eat... Ok. So he picked it it, bit off pieces of it, sucked on it... then came the pucker face! Wooooo!! He puts it back in the dish & says, "That was not a good idea..." LOL!! hahahaha!!