Christmas 2006

I know, I know! This isn't a very recent picture of our family but it's the only one I have so far. This photo was taken Christmas of 06 and I can't believe how much the kids have grown since then.

Last Monday was the first day of school and I am still wondering how these little ones got so big. Shelby just started middle school! How is that possible? She's really turning into quite a beautiful young lady...sassy too. She tried out for the Volleyball team and sadly didn't make it. To our surprise she just said, "Well, there's always next year!" I'm so proud of her. I think Jedbot and I were more upset than she was. I admire her courage to try something new and her ability to not let disapointment bother her too much. She's quite a girl, that one. She is, however playing the clarinet this year and wouldn't you know it, her instructor is a former classmate of Jedbot's. Small world we live in here in Evansville, Indiana.


Corban is now in the 5th grade and has chosen to go by "JC" instead of "Corban" at school. You can imagine my surprise when he came home from school the first day and broke the news to us. I guess it's too late now, his teacher only knows him by JC. This is really going to take some getting used to. When I asked him why he wanted to go by those initials he teared up and said it's because it reminds him of Big Daddy...that's what he always called him. (For those of you who don't know who Big Daddy is this might seem a little strange. Big Daddy is my grandad and Corbans great-grandad. He didn't like the idea of being called Great-Grandad by the great-grandkids so he came up with this name. We all thought it was funny like he was a sugar-daddy or something. But, that's what he wanted and we weren't going to argue with him. He passed away almost 2 years ago and he was so special to us.) When I heard that I started to cry. We all miss him so much!


Sabrina, also known as Sabby, is in the 4th grade this year. I remember my first day of 4th grade like it was yesterday. Hopefully her teacher is a lot nicer than Mr. Mitchell...from day one he called me "Ermaline", a name that unfortunately stuck like glue with my brother, Elliot. Sabrina says that her teacher is really awesome because every time a kid in the class gets an answer right she screams with excitement! Sounds fun.


Colby is in 1st grade this year. Yes, the little man going for his second time through. Last year he was the youngest in his class and it showed. He was far more interested in playing outside than sitting still and learning inside. Although, at first, I was a little concerned about him repeating 1st grade, I knew it was the right thing to do for his development. He's the teachers special helper and that is a job he's taking very seriously!


Next week I'll be starting classes up again for the fall. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. This school thing has been a great experience for me. For those who don't already know, I'm studying to be an RN. So far so good with one summer semester under my belt. Wish me luck, cause I'm going to need it with the full load I'll be carrying in a few weeks.