FYI

I am loving all of your holiday stories, memory-making moments, lazy day crazy anecdotes, etc. Keep writing and sharing and know that Jayne is reading, laughing, praying, getting good ideas, and everything else.

Also, due to getting new custom cabinets in our kitchen (which are going to be marvelous by the way!) we have had to push back our moving date until the first week of January. For sure a little frustrating here, but 24 hours later, I'm almost done fuming!!! Hehehehe! We'll slow down the moving process and enjoy more of the holiday season instead. The smiles are still on the upswing here!

Small town parade

Although we don't live in a small area, our Christmas parade definitely has a small town feel to it. We had some snack foods left over from Thanksgiving, and it will be the last year that we live ON the parade route, so we hosted a few of our friends for a chili-snack-food dinner and parade festivity. It was a great time chatting, eating, watching The Grinch and then making it out to the curb just in time for the first floats to arrive. We love the parade...all the fire trucks, boats, marching bands, dance troupes, etc. Grayson's does not in the least love the sounds that accompany a parade as we had to go inside to retrieve him as he escaped the sidelines to not be so near to the sounds of the drums and horns!! We had a great time, and the weather was perfect! Thanks to all of you for the "roasting" you gave me afterwards for my birthday, especially for Dave's comments about my "shoes"! Love all of you and your friendships that we cherish. Hope ya'll had a great time too!! Next year it's tailgating, and parking early like everyone else!

Santa finally came, and on a space ship no less??!! I love the excitement of a child!!

Another "First"

Yes, we have been bowling before, but only ever in our hallway in our home. We bought Grayson a play bowling set at the consignment sale a couple years ago and pull it out every now and again. We love to bowl!!! In fact, a couple weeks ago we bowled at home and kept score and Grayson actually beat me!! Those pictures are posted here as well.
But the big news is the first real trip to the real bowling alley!! Trevor works with a group of middle school boys and they were going for an event with church. I met up with Grayson at the alley after church. Trevor said he was absolutely beside himself so excited. Apparently he was so excited, he didn't even take his jacket off at church all morning!!! When I arrived, he was talking so fast I couldn't keep up. He gave me a wristband, took me to get my shoes, helped me pick out a ball, and showed me where to put it. They were already in the middle of the game and I had missed his first and only strike!!! Oh well. Besides the bumper guards so no ball is a gutter ball, they had this metal contraption that Grayson would put his ball on and then push it down the slope to let it roll down the alley. Needless to say, he scored better than me. We all had a great time!! Too bad bowing is so expensive, or we would be tempted to go again really soon! Maybe a special treat for an afternoon out of school! Anyways, it was a huge hit!!

Aren't bowling shoes awesome??!!

Countdown for the Company

Yes, we are in the middle of 2 countdown's at our house: Christmas and moving day!! The company is scheduled for 2 weeks from today...aaaaaagh!!!! So thus it has begun. Not only the single busiest time of the year, but the single busiest thing a person/family undertakes, and yes, we're doing it all at the same time. Here's to the lovely decor that has begun to take over our home, and no, it is not of the red or green variety!!

Christmas Countdown

One of our favorite memories from childhood was having a way to count down the days until Christmas. When we saw this tree calendar in a catalog we both had to get it ordered for Grayson. We hung it after he went to bed on Sunday night and filled it with goodies, ornaments, gift cards, etc. When he awoke Monday, December 1 morning, he noticed it right away. I explained to him what it was and that only once a day and only one day at a time, we were going to get to remove something from the tree. Day 1 was a penguin jingle ornament for the tree, Day 2 was a chocolate star and mini Santa, Day 3 was an "arches" gift card which he promptly enjoyed for lunch today.

It is fun to share old traditions with our own families!! Here's to only 22 more days until the jolly one arrives!!

Visions of the Parade Danced in his Head

That's about as close as Grayson was getting to the parade tonight!! This little guy was having visions of the parade in his sleep as this is the way he looked at 6:50, even before the start time of the parade!!

He has never had a hard time adjusting to fall or spring time changes, but this time he has never recovered from the clocks setting back. We have been dealing with a 6:15 riser for weeks now, and we are tiring of it on so many levels. Today was just the culmination. We knew we wanted him good and rested, so we tried to let him stay awake even later than normal last evening (8:30) in the hopes that he would sleep good, sleep in a little, so we could stay awake longer and be pleasant tonight even way past his bedtime. Absolutely no luck!! He was awake singing, and I mean it literally, this morning at 6:05!!!!!! The singing means he was fully awake, no chance for a snuggle to lull him back to another hour of sleep.

By 4:30 this afternoon, the departure for the parade time, we were all exhausted, and had a glossy-eyed little boy on our hands. It was all we could do to get dinner in him and get him into bed at 6:40. Afterall, it had been a 12 hour for him, and with a 4-year old needing his 12 hours of sleep, especially with a typically busy Hoare family Sunday, parade was out and sleep was in!! Yeah for mommy and daddy to get to have some alone time and an early bedtime too!! May we all have visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads tonight with the excitement of the holiday season here, parade or not!

Homeowners!!

It has been a very busy couple of months at our house. With all the usual stuff going on we have been trying to do some house-hunting. We have loved our place, but you know when it's time to move on...and it is definitely our time. It's a great time to be buying right now and because of that it made our hunting actually a little bit harder! Sometimes too many choices is not a good thing. I wasn't really picky: we needed more space, a yard for Grayson, a laundry room for me, a dishwasher for Trevor, a garage to store outside bikes and stuff, 2 bathrooms, 2 floors...you know all the stuff a family hoping to grow needs!! All of that and we wanted to be close to the church/school.

Well, it isn't our dream home (which we found many of!), but we found a place that has a lot of equity built into it already, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a small yard for Grayson, an upstairs laundry, an open floorplan downstairs, and a neighborhood pool across the way. Oh, and best of all, the train tracks are right in our backyard practically! Dream home or not, I'm ecstatic to be moving!!!!! I can't wait to decorate, paint walls, hang curtains, pick out flooring and countertops, etc.

More than all that, I am thankful to be this blessed to be able to buy a home and be "upgrading" our lives at a time that is trying for many. I am truly grateful for my new space, my new place to hang my hat, a home that will allow Grayson to have a 'real' childhood, a place for our families to visit, a place where Trevor and I can entertain and cultivate relationships. We're hoping to be in to celebrate our first Christmas "at home" truly at our home!!

WV in October

We made a trip to WV in October to see Trevor's parents. The leaves had already started to change and it was a beautiful drive. It is always great to visit WV but this trip was extra special. The boys took in a Mountaineer football game and the the girls took Grayson to a country Fall Festival celebration. The highlight of the trip was the "real" train that we took through the mountains on Sunday afternoon. It started off a little hectic with Trevor getting a plate of food dumped in his lap, but then we got settled, enjoyed a good brunch onboard, got off the train to enjoy some of the Fall colors and scenery, got back on for our trip back down the mountain, and enjoyed some cards on the way. It was a great experience. One Grayson will not soon forget. Thanks Papa and Grandma for a special treat for all of us!!

Make a Smilebox photobook

No Tongue Lashing Necessary

I know we haven't updated in almost 2 months, but that doesn't mean that there hasn't been a lot going on. As the day progresses, I will organize my thoughts and pictures and add a few new posts. Gotta have everything documented for that good 'ol blog book that someday I'll get around to ordering!!

Catch up real soon!

Time to Change

I know, I know, I'm jumping ahead of Thanksgiving, but there's something about being in a family that has been talking about Christmas, planning for Christmas, shopping for Christmas, playing Christmas music for a month now that puts you in the holiday spirit. Like the song says, it truly is the greatest time of year, and I think Thanksgiving and Christmas are just extensions of each other. And as Trevor likes to point out, we could play Christmas music all year long as it celebrates Jesus and the gift of Himself in our lives each and every day.

Here is a picture that Grayson painted weeks ago. It is hanging proudly on his bedroom door in hopes of good things to come. I did have to help the underlying sketches, but he did a great job painting!!

Fall Fun

We love this time of year so much...the changing colors, long-sleeve t-shirts and jeans, Fall decor, Fall-scented candles, extra time with family and friends, and knowing that Christmas is right around the corner. Here are just a few stories and snapshots of our Fall festivities as we celebrated Hallelujah Harvest / Halloween.

Hunt Club is always a family favorite. We spend way too much money taking a hayride, choosing our family pumpkins, and doing a few of the carnival rides, but it always a huge hit for us. Some year Trevor and I will actually get back there to enjoy the nightime scare-fest, but again this year passed by and we didn't make it!!

Halleleujah Harvest was interesting this year as Trevor did a trunk with his 8th grade boys, and with me "working" we tried to juggle Grayson. He came home with tons of candy and rode a horse so that made the evening a success. He hung out with me as I helped out with set-up. He helped me pull wagon-fulls of candy from the Life Center out to the trunk-or-treating lines. He pulled as much as me and was an awesome servant that day. I only wish I had taken a picture of him pulling a wagon! He had all of his weight trying to pull that heavy wagon, and of course he wanted NO HELP!!

Halloween was so much fun. Grayson and I always have a blast carving our pumpkins. This year we did 3: 2 regular faces and one Grayson/Mommy creation. If you can tell, the one large pumpkin has Mickey ears for the eyes and the nose is the sail of a boat linked to the boat that was the mouth. I wonder where he came up with that idea???!!! We proudly put them on our front porch along with our candy buckets. I got my idea from Sue as last year we toured their neighborhood with them and all of the families had their buckets sitting on their front porches for the children to just take some candy on their own because everyone was out with their kids. I was even surprised to see that we had a little left-over when we got back home!! We had a great time just doing our own neighborhood this year. Grayson's bucket was so full I had to take some out and put it in my pockets so he would have enought space for the last few homes!! The funniest part about all that candy is that it is still sitting here at the house. He likes the thrill of the "hunt" and really could care less about the actual goodies. So needless to say, I am donating a lot of it to my candy bucket at church!

This is close as Grayson will get to sticking his hands in to clean out the pumpkin!!

This house in our neighborhood is always decked out for all the holidays so we amde sure to stop and trick-or-treat there! It was a Fall/Halloween wonderland inside!!

The return from "Magical Land"

No, I haven't been working myself to death so much so that I haven't had time to blog. Actually the opposite. I told Trevor 2 weeks ago that I needed a vacation. Being a working woman was taking it's toll, and now that the Fall semester had gotten kicked off, I was ready for one relaxing week. We've been dying to return to Disney, and do it our way this time...less crowds, cooler weather, maximized family time!! We literally planned a last minute trip, told next to no one and off we went.

We didn't even tell Grayson!! As we woke him up last Tuesday, he did have to trip over the suitcases, so I'm sure that was his first clue, but we acted as if nothing was different and we were taking him to school for the day. As we drove over to the Norfolk Airport, he asked why we weren't going to school. We told him we were going on a trip. He asked if Mrs. Williams, his teacher, would miss him today, adn we assured him that we had already talked to her and that she knew he would be gone.

As we proceeded to get our bags checked and board the aircraft, he still had no idea where we were going. Several people had remarked that we were going to Orlando, but that means nothing to Grayson. We knew we had better tell him so that we were the ones to catch the excitement and not someone else. We had him guess, and he never got it, which I was kind of surprised. Here is the picture I took as we told him on the plane...

More stories and pictures to come. The highlight of the trip was meeting Cinderella face to face in her castle at the Magic Kingdom. It was a surprise for me too! It is so funny that my last blog was about just that. Who knew I would get to write a follow-up to the story?! I have read all your blogs to catch up on what happened while we were gone, but no comments were left. Keep writing about all your moments..I'm reading them in my "spare" time!!

Fireman Prince Grayson

Oh sweet Grayson, my little four-year old who is in love with Cinderella and being a fireman...

You have such a keen interest in being a fireman. It is the one thing that has remained for a couple years now. You love to dress up, get your siren blaring, and ride the Little People Fire Truck all around the house. You are way too big at this point for that truck, but you are loving it more now than you did when you were 2!! I love how you want to help people, and I swear that fire engine siren follows you to school each day as I'm convinced that I hear it in my Office as I'm working!! Maybe someday you'll actually grow up to love the fire service as your Daddy and his Grandpa H. did. Regardless, being a fireman has been good for you because apparently firemen can do anything!! Now that we must call you "Fireman Grayson" all the time, you have this courage that you muster up because firemen aren't afraid of anything. For example, we were riding in the car the other day and you said that we could take our car through the car wash, the one with the big brushes that pound that car, the one that has terrified you since you were small. You said that you could do it now "because I'm a fireman and firemen aren't afraid of anything"! Well, firemen do get scared sometimes Grayson, but with God on your side, you can do anything without having to be afraid.

As for Cinderella, the other woman in your life right now...I am not sure why she has captured your heart as she has. The Cinderella song by Steven Curtis Chapman came out at the same time as you grew to love her in the movies. Short of buying a Cinderella Barbie doll at the Disney store, which mommy refused to succumb to, you are in love and pretend with her all the time. For a while, Cinderella came with us on every outing and grocery trip. She would ride in the backseat with you and you would help her out of the car when we arrived at the store or wherever it was we were going. Now she only comes out at certain times and even I have been given the privelege to BE Cinderella. What are you going to do when you get to meet her face to face at Disney World!! Oh it's going to be a priceless moment!!!!!

The other day, we were playing together and you said that you were the Prince and I was Cinderella. You proceeded to take my hand and ask me to dance. You bowed, and I followed suit with a curtsy. We danced around the living room, you the Prince and me Cinderella. Every now and again you would lift onto your tiptoes and raise my arm and then proceed to tell me that it was time to twirl. I would crouch as low as I could to twirl but still hold onto your hand. As we contiued to dance together, you told me that with my free hand I needed to be holding out my dress so that it wouldn't get stepped on!! You were a very charming dancer.

Prince Fireman Grayson, I will dance with you anytime because as I like to tease you (and you can't understand!), all too soon the clock will strike midnight, and you'll be gone too. Except there will be some other sweet Cinderella girl holding your hand, holding your heart, and holding her dress so it won't get stepped on. Oh dear God, protect my little Prince's heart. Allow him to continue to grow in You and be nurtured in such a way that he keeps this innocence, this sweet gentle spirit. Help me as his mom, the first Cinderella in his life, to foster that in him, to nurture those qualities that a girlfriend and wife will someday admire and cherish. Sweet dreams my Prince Grayson!!

Amateur Photographer

Grayson actually has a pretty good eye for taking pictures. Here are some of his recents shots.

Another "First" (sort of!)

Today was the big day for Grayson and Mommy! I know it's not real school, as in Kindergarten, but it was Grayson's first day away from mommy and home routines. Grayson is going to Pre-K 4 this year and he was so excited this morning. I awoke early, when the clock still had a 6 on it, and got ready first so that we wouldn't be late. I had a few practice runs for school mornings when Grayson did Summer Camp at the church and I had to be at work. I learned that in order for us to be on time for 8:30, I had to get up and be ready first. I knew this day was coming, but I've put it off as long as possible. Did you know that you can stay in your pj's long past noon some days if you schedule it just right?! I'll miss those days, but they are replaced with excitement and new adventures.

I had set his clothes out the night before, all ironed and ready to go. The snack and plastic yellow cup for water was in his new lunchbox. The backpack was loaded down with his new supplies. His "homework" man was dry and ready to be taken in. As he watched one cartoon this morning, I made him chocolate chip pancakes in Mickey ear shapes of course. We were all ready, took pictures out front, and were at school on time!!

This was his first assignment given to him at Open House. The "man" needed to look like him. He did a great job!! I am proud of us both! I resisted the urge to help, except for the glue, and I'm proud of teh job he did all by himself. He was pretty excited how it turned out too!!

He walked right into his room only to find he had a new seat assignment. He wasn't rattled at all. We hing up the backpack and lunchbox on the "Grayson" hook and then he found his name at his new table and sat down. Daddy took a quick picture and we left after last kisses, and a few parting words "have fun, make a new friend, be a good listener, see you at lunch!" We were outta there as the same parents lingered who were there when we arrived to drop off. We did as we were told at Open House...please drop them off, give a kiss, and just leave so the transition is as smooth as possible, I'll call if we're experiencing a meltdown!

The hardest part of just being down the hallway is the detours I take to avoid walking in front of his room all day long and the resisting the urge to just go 15 steps and peek in on him!! It was the hardest part, but knowing that I want him to get adjusted before I come visiting, I'll resist the urge to see how he's doing. I'll wait until at least the first of October!! Plus, I know how things are as a teacher, and having parents pop in always made me nervous and usually set the kids reeling and not always in a good way!!

I loved hearing his first comment, "I had a fun day today!" That was music to my ears. Although I had to keep plugging away with questions to get more information from him about the day, I know it was an absolute success!! WAHOO!! He was even ready to go back the next day.

One of my favorite things is being on the other side of school stuff. I totally know the teacher perspective, but now I get to experience the other side, and that of a parent. I admit it might be a little harder than I thought to just go with the flow, not ask too many "what's up with this or that?", adn just accept things for face value. One of my favorite things though is going to be on the receiving end of the "homework folder". I loved looking through his backpack today adn pulling out that folder that he so carefully chose and peering inside to see what was waiting for me!! He had his first bring home sheet that I will definitely be putting in the scrapbook!!

Can you spell S-U-C-C-E-S-S !!!!!!

Awesome Team!

I know you've heard me say it before, but I am so priveleged to not only serve with these people but to call them friends! We are anxiously awaiting our new year to begin in 2 weeks. As has become an annual tradition, we took over Mike and Kristen's home for the afternoon. Mike grilled, we all ate good food, some played badminton adn volleyball, some cooled off in the lake, some just took it all in and visited. With our largest turnout ever, we all had an amazing time. Lots of laughter, getting to know the newest members (who by the way are already fully initiated into our family!), and just enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon. Thanks Mike and Kristen for hosting us again! It was a highlight and a great way to bring us all together to get set for another year of serving the children of Atlantic Shores! For those of you not there, we missed ya'll!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It's Official!!

His name is on the door, he has a backpack hook, a ladybug marks his table space, and of course their is a behavior chart, now on "greeen", with his name on it! And more than just that, our names were on a Parent handbook! We have joined "that crowd"...parents of a school-age child!!

We went to Open House at School tonight, and met Grayson's teacher and saw his new classroom. We are excited for Grayson for this new opportunity. He got a chance to talk to his teacher, and I'm glad to know her a little already. Grayson actually opened up and talked to her as she opened the bag of goodies that we had picked out to give to her. I heard her ask if he was excited about school, and his response was "Yes, but I'm a little nervous too". She smiled and told him everything was going to be great and that he would love it there.

Although I am excited about him being here and all the wonderful things he is going to learn and do, I am most anxious to see how he will react day after day. I see some resistance in my future, but praying that it will not come. My sensitive soul can be wounded very easily, and I am thankful to have seen a mild-mannered boy sitting beside him at his table. We have also seen this incredibly "perfectionist" side of Grayson coming out lately and I worry about meltdowns if something is not done as he feels like it should be. Before you say so, yes, I know where he gets that from. Mom, maybe you can give me some tips as to how you dealt with "perfectionist" children!! Please pray that Grayson will just flourish in this environment. He is going to love the academics, will be fine with the routine and structure, and is going to love all the "specials" of gym, music, art, etc. It is the socialization, shyness, and being so hard on himself that worries me most. Overall, we are all excited about this new adventure for Grayson and know that he is in a great place!! We're ready for Monday morning-no kleenexes necessary!!

Santa's List

Thanks to Craig and Heidi for their friendship, the playdates, the laughter, but mostly for this...

...this latest addition to his Santa's Wish List for Christmas this year!! We'll need a house with a garage first, please Santa!!

Is this a vision of 12 years down the road?! Two hands please, at 10 and 2!!

Jumpin' Jellybeans!!

My goal for this week was to squeeze some fun time in as I've been working and he heads off to 5-days a week of preschool next Monday. Monday his best friend Candace, our sitter, came over and played while I had my weekly meeting at church. He just loves Candace to pieces and is already asking when the next time is!! On Tuesday, I decided to try something new with Grayson. We love Kanagroo Jacs, but knew there were others in the area. Coupons were in the Tidewater Parent magazine for Jumpin' Jellybeans, so we decided to go and give it a try. I put the call out there for anyone who wanted to come and join us and so Heidi and Katy came with the kids and met us for the morning. Other than 1 family, we were the only ones there. Yes, it was a little more expensive, entrance fees and snacks, but we had an absolute blast!! Grayson has said that this one is now his new favorite. They just seemed to have more of a variety than Jacs. We lasted 3 hours plus and then it was time to head out as a bunch of much older children swarmed the place. What a fabulous time, even for me as I always don socks with Grayson for a few things!! Jumpin' Jellybeans for sure!!

Oh, those 2 boys tried everything to stick to that wall, but all the stickiness must be gone!!