Back in the Groove

I love summer. I really do - I love the pool, the late night playing outside, the relaxed schedule, and mostly the family time. However, even I get to the point where I need some structure and a schedule, and I admit I was glad to see school begin again this year.

Everyone seems to be doing well. Michelle loves her preschool and seeing Joanne again for speech therapy. Joanne was pleased that even though we did not do formal speech therapy over the summer, Michelle still seems to have made progress. There was a point just a few weeks before school started, when Michelle was talking so much during a car ride, I thought, "I can't believe we ever worried about this child talking." She is a girl! She has a LOT to say!

Josh has a very nice teacher. I think 4th grade is going to be a good year. He is starting cello soon, and he is excited about that. Bill Jr. is taking a tough course load. He has 3 AP classes - gearing up for college. He is teaching 7 guitar students, and involved in a couple of after school clubs. Busy kids!

Elizabeth seems to be thriving at college. I miss her so much, but I am happy to hear the joy in her voice each time we talk. I "met" a couple of her friends on skype the other night. They were outside in front of her dorm. I love skype - makes her seem just a little closer. Michelle on the other hand is a little unsure about skype - I think it confuses her.

I have a couple of pictures of Michelle the first week of school - they aren't very good, but I will share what we have. Blogging, pictures, etc. have all taken a back seat to other activities.

Michelle at meet-the-teacher day. Her placemat had the most stars. She is my "bling" girl.

First day of school. Clifford always greets the kids outside the door.

Michelle and Joanne. We LOVE Joanne. I believe she is a gift from God to our family!

I started back teaching this week as well. I have 14 piano students and 5 voice students. So far, so good. Every year I worry if teaching will be too hard for my kids, but I continue to be amazed how easily this works for my family. I love teaching, and it's nice to have a little extra income for our family. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to make money doing something I love to do.

Party

Michelle has had so much fun swimming this year, we decided to have her birthday party at our community pool. It turned out to be a lot of fun and easy for Mom. I love those kind of parties! I ordered this pool cupcake-cake from our local grocery store. The kids loved it.
We invited 3 of Michelle's best friends - and they all happen to be boys. Luke, Tyler and Patrick came, along with their older siblings. We swam, ate pizza & cake, opened presents and had a fun time.

Michelle had a little trouble with the last candle, so Mommy had to help. It looks like Luke was standing in the wings to help if we hadn't been able to get the job done.
Is there anything cuter than a princess swimming in her tiera?

Michelle got some fun toys. She has had a lot of fun the last couple of days playing with all her new stuff.

One of her favorite gifts was the Princess Presto outfit from her favorite t.v. show, Super Why. Just so you know Sara and Patrick, she has not taken this off for the past 2 days. I have to go in at night and remove the cape & crown after she falls asleep.

Happy Birthday Michelle! Being 4 is so much fun!

Guess who turns 4 today?!!

Later today there will be a party, and so I will post those pictures later in the week. But for now, I wanted to wish my baby a Happy 4th Birthday.

It's amazing when I think how far she has come in a year! Last year, she didn't really understand what a birthday was all about. She had fun, but it was still very new and a little overwhelming to her. This year, she really has this birthday thing down! She has been counting down the days for over a week, and she knows today there will be friends, and cake, and presents, and it is all about her!

In the last year, her language has progressed at a rate even I didn't predict. Last year our family understood most of what she said, but we did a lot of interpreting for those who didn't know her. Today, everyone understands everything she says. She talks to strangers in the grocery store, and they understand her. She says her ABC's and knows the sounds many of the letters make. She counts to 12 consistently - she can count higher, but often those higher numbers are in random order. She plays on the computer and Mommy's Ipod. She has several friends and loves to be outside. She understands when I leave her, at school or at church or wherever, that I will return for her in a little while. She really knows her grandparents, and she is crazy about her cousins. She finally mastered going potty! She sings, dances, loves - she is such a sweet little girl.

I always think about the woman who gave birth to her, especially on this special day. I pray she knows this precious girl is healthy, happy and loved more than words can say. I am thankful she choose to give her life, and I am thankful to God everyday that He choose to let Michelle be my daughter! Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Miles and miles (and miles) of fun!

Every summer we travel. It's just what we do - go see the Grandparents, maybe a weekend away. But this summer we have been on the road more than usual. Between the #1444 reunion, trips to see all the Grandparents, getting Elizabeth off to college, and a couple of other trips thrown in there, we have been on the road a lot in the last 7 weeks.

Bill was driving the van the other day, and he was amazed that he would have to change the oil again so soon after just changing it at the beginning of the summer. So, I sat down today and added up all our milage from the summer. From July 4 until August 18, we traveled approximately 4369 miles! Good grief - it's no wonder I only want to stay home in my pj's this week!

A Night Out!

Sometimes, we just have to leave the "brats" at home and get out for a date night. Last night, Bill and I went to Wolf Trap to see The Four Tops and The Temptations. It was such a fun evening! We took a wonderful picnic, complete with bottle of wine, and had dinner in the picnic area just outside of Wolf Trap. It has been so hot here all summer, but last night the weather was perfect. I won these tickets at a Silent Auction for Elizabeth's chorus back in February, so I have been looking forward to this night for a long time. Bill and I saw these 2 groups on one of our first dates, some 21 years ago, so we felt like we were reliving some fun memories.

We sat in the box seats instead of on the lawn, and to be honest, I think the lawn might have been a little more fun. We had a great view of the groups, but it was a little "stuffy" up there, if you know what I mean. However, there were a few songs, that we just couldn't help ourselves, we had to jump up and dance a little. Sugar-Pie-Honey-Bunch, Just My Imagination, My Girl... they don't make songs like that anymore. Bill left today to go TDY (that's travel for those who don't speak "Army"), so those sweet memories of last night will have to last me for a couple of weeks.

Off to do her bigger and better thing...

The title of this blog was not my original title, but Elizabeth's facebook status on the day she left for school. It is probably a song title, if I know my daughter. I think it's appropriate - can't wait to see what God has in store for her!

This week we moved Elizabeth into her living learning center at Duquesne University. It took me about 3 days to realize LLC on the orientation schedule meant Living Learning Center, or what I would have referred to as a dorm. We drove up Tuesday morning, leaving the younger kids here in the wonderful hands of Bill's Aunt Betty. (Thank you again Aunt Betty - you are the best!)

It took about an hour from the time we got in line until we were actually unloading stuff into the LLC. We thought this was normal, all part of the process, but it wasn't until later we found out a transformer had blown on the street just in front of Duquesne, making traffic really heavy and slowing down the whole process.

We were met in front of Elizabeth's dorm, I mean LLC, by 2 friendly girls with a big laundry cart. They helped load up everything and we managed to get almost all of her belongings up in one trip. Elizabeth is in a quad, with 3 other roommates. Her room is huge, especially by college standards. Each girl has a bed, wardrobe and desk. They also brought 2 fridges, a microwave, coffee maker and t.v. They have an additional walk in closet for the girls to share since it is such a large room. As everyone was moving in, we noticed a lot of people kept looking in and saying how lucky the girls were to have such a large room. Bill started teasing people, telling them they had their own bathroom, their own kitchen, etc.

Elizabeth's roommates seem to be very nice girls. Beside Elizabeth is Ilene - she lives just north of Philadelphia and is a nursing student. Next is Leanne, also from the Philadelphia area, and she is an education major. And at the end of the group is Rachel, from Buffalo, majoring in Bio Chemistry. All 4 girls arrived within a half hour of each other, which worked wonderfully as they tried to negotiate where to put everything. I loved how these girls interacted in those initial moments - it's a bit overwhelming, to walk into a room having never met these people and yet realize this is who you will be living with for the next 9 months. And then, you have to make some pretty important decisions before you even know anything about them, like who sleeps on the top bunk, where do we put all this stuff, etc. They were so kind to one another - I could see right away why the college choose these 4 girls to live together. They all seem very laid back, very relaxed in their expectations of one another. I think they will be good roommates.

You may notice I am referring to my oldest as Elizabeth and not Lizzy. Until she was in 3rd grade we had always called her Elizabeth. On her way out to a new duty station, she decided she was ready for a change, and introduced herself as Lizzy. I resisted for as long as possible. I had given this child a beautiful name, I had never allowed anyone else to attach a nickname, so I was not thrilled she had shortened it! Eventually even I gave in and began calling her Lizzy, at least in front of her friends. So, I was pleased when she decided to go back to Elizabeth in college. It's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.

There were meetings and events planned for the parents as well as the students. On Wednesday, we attended several meetings as they gave us a lot of information and outlined the colleges expectations of our students. I liked Duquesne when we visited last January for her music audition, and I was already very happy with her choice of schools, but I have to say, after what was presented to the parents in those first few days, I now LOVE Duquesne. I believe it is the perfect fit for Elizabeth!

On Wednesday we attended the Matriculation ceremony. It was a beautiful ceremony, where the students and their parents are officially welcomed into the Duquesne "family". It was wonderful to hear the college leadership challenge these kids to work hard and excel in their academics, but even more importantly, they were called to a life of service. They were challenged to leave the school as better human beings, going out to serve their communities. I loved that we prayed with our children and for them, extending a hand of blessing over them as we sang a beautiful hymn, "The Hand of God". There are the words-

"The hand of God shall hold you, the peace of God enfold you, the love of God that dreamed and formed you still surrounds you here today; The light of God beside you, above, beneath, inside you, the light that shines to guide you home to the loving hand of God."

Of course, I couldn't sing a word of it, although I felt every bit of it in my heart. I cried through the whole ceremony, and I was embarrased to be so emotional until my sweet husband leaned over and whispered, "It's o.k." That was his way of letting me know it was o.k. to cry, let it all out. And I saw quite a few mom's reaching for their tissues at the same time, even a Dad or two wiping away a tear.

After the matriculation ceremony we kissed her goodbye. She still looked a little overwhelmed, but I spoke with her yesterday and she was sounding more like herself. It was hard to say goodbye, knowing I won't see her every day, but I am so proud of the choices she has made, so proud of the young woman she has become. I know I am leaving her in good hands, and I believe with all my heart this is part of God's perfect plan for her life. I miss her already, but I couldn't be more excited for her!

You might think this baby picture is an odd way to end a posting about your child going off to college. There is a sweet story attached to this picture. On Tuesday night, the 3 of us went out to eat, and as we were walking out of the restaurant, I heard someone say, "Bill Cole! What are you doing here?!" I turned to see one of Bill's West Point classmates and an old family friend, Jim Fritsche, standing in front of us. As soon as I saw Jim, I knew what he was doing there.

When we were stationed at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, I first met the Fritsche's. Ramona and I were both pregnant with our first children. It was fun to watch our tummies grow together, attend each other's baby showers, and I remember well holding my 5 day old daughter in the hospital as we watched Jim and Ramona rush down the hallway to welcome their daughter Amanda into the world. The picture above is the girls,(Amanda on the left, Elizabeth right with her mouth open) less than a month old, and now they live 2 floors apart from one another. I hope they become friends. I believe God planted that little seed of friendship in their hearts 18 years ago.

Summer Fun - Part 4

On our last day at Cape Cod we had a family cookout. It was nice to see some familiar faces, and some new ones as well. Some of Bill's family members live in Massachusettes, and we often see them when we go to visit mom. Bill's cousins, Elizabeth and Tim, live far away and made a special trip to the Cape to visit. It was wonderful to see them and meet Tim's family!



The boys had a lot of fun - eating, playing capture the flag and hide-and-go-seek. It was a fun day!
Elizabeth & Michelle bonded quickly. I think they had a special place in each other's hearts. Elizabeth was adopted from Korea as an infant, and Michelle seemed drawn to her from the moment she arrived. It was sweet to see them together.