Anecdotal evidence...

I realize that this blog has turned into lists and such when it used to be stories that I wanted to record and share. So that's today's task - write some 'anecdotes' for each person! Smallest to biggest...
Ray - Right now I am waiting for his mom to get home so we can show her a 'trick/skill' he has been practicing. More on that later I hope! The other day I swore I heard him say "Buh" for every book we were picking up off the floor! One of his favorite games to play is when you are sitting on the couch and he is standing, holding the edge. He will lean his head back on your knee, expecting you to tickle his belly =) We all laugh! He misses his mom, since she's back at school and working. When she's here he follows her around...he will turn 1 SOON!!! Still only 2 teeth, but there is one peeking out!
Fabi - The other day we were at a chain drug store for a few things and Leah was looking at the Halloween stuff. Fabi joined her and they found a fairy type costume (Fabi loves Tinkerbell!). I told Fabi that we weren't going to get it b/c it was for adults and we would look for a kid one somewhere else. That cute girl wrinkled her nose, looked up at me and said, "Goodwill, Momma, get it at Goodwill?" She knows me too well!!
Moses - After a small adjustment to school, he is taking off! One day he came home and I asked a million questions about his morning. (It's pretty wild not knowing what he did for 4 hours after experiencing practically EVERY breath the kid took!) Finally, he sighed and told me they had cupcakes. "Sweet!" I said. "Yeah, it was Demon's birthday so he brought cupcakes." DEMON??? Hold the phone here, if there are demons in your class, we are quitting public school! I kept asking if he was sure, telling him the kid had to be named something else, when I realized I had a snack calendar. A HA!! DAMIEN. The kid's name was Damien! PHEW! The other thing that is new is that Moses gets the privilege of walking his sister to her class. The first few days he shoved her down her hallway, but now he says goodbye and even gives her a kiss =) Sweet boy! He has taken to carrying around a yellow stuffed duck his friend Martha gave him. Not only that, but he is calling the duck his son. When he was informed that the duck couldn't go to school w/him, he was very indignant that the duck needed his father. I offered to babysit, the same way I babysit Ray while Leah is at school. That 5yo face lit up and he started rattling off the instructions: Moses Jr likes to fed corn baby food, he must sleep in his crib, he likes to be wrapped in the Stephanie blanket, I must be quiet while he naps...etc...=)
Leah - got a job!!! Can't remember if I posted that already...She works at a pizza chain. She wishes for more hours, but she's still new. Maybe that will change. She's learning the balance of how to be a momma who goes to school, works and still wants to do things w/her baby. Personally, I am so stinking proud of her!!! It is so hard to be away from your baby when you work (I did summer school when Mo was little) and she is doing everything she can to get ahead in school. The other day she brought home algebra homework and asked for help. The book was pretty close to the same one I had in high school and exactly the same one I used when teaching ELL math. Her questions were pretty basic about real numbers and integers and stuff....but I had to check back in the chapter for answers! I felt silly, seeing as how I did well in Calculus and college math, but I wanted to be sure, ok? As it turned out, I was half right. We both learned something! As I was explaining all this to Dave (the math minor), I started to get choked up. I was telling him how 'normal' this all feels - doing math homework w/the teenager and having to check my own answers, driving her to work, getting ready for Homecoming, having her friends over to watch TV, etc...It feels 'normal'!! For me, that's saying a lot. I'm not sure I can explain how I feel, but I guess I always felt like I would never get here. It would always be work, it would be hard to have a teen, I could never do this...but I am...SHE is...We are!
Pickles - ok, Pickles is not still in the house, but we have seen her a few times since she's left. Leah and Pickles were friends before Pickles moved in here and while she was here. It's been amazing to get the girls and their babies together!! FUN for me!! Pickles now has a job and her own place!! Praise God, He has been so faithful to her! We are very proud of her too!
Dave - Even though it's never enough, Dave has been enjoying taking us out in the boat! We really enjoy Elkhart Lake and the other day we were able to get out on Random Lake. His favorite thing to do there was chase down the gulls! No calls from PETA, so I guess no one seemed to care! He had a 'crier' this year for the first day of school. It seems every year there is one, but if there isn't, there might be a runner or something. Well this year another mom told me the kid was crying AND running! I'm not supposed to laugh, it's so hard for those kids on their first day...not to mention rough for their teacher! I mean, Dave!
Me - Writing anecdotes about myself is kinda weird...I can't think of any good stories...what do you want to know? If I think of something, I will come back and write it!