Gymnastics

For the month of June, Gavin is our resident gymnastics Olympian. We signed him up for lessons once a week at our local community center. Our goal was to give him something special and fun to do while Big Sister finished up her end of the year. 

I think next time we will even comb his hair before we go. You know, just in case it needs to be done:)

Our Movie Star

She's famous! Our very own Kyla walked the Red Carpet last week for the premier of the much awaited My Experiences of You on "Red Carpet Day". Kyla's fantastic teacher, Ms. Morton, won a grant to make a teaching video of a classroom technique that she uses successfully in her classroom. They had a cinematographer who came to the classroom for a full day and recorded throughout the day; the kids, Ms. Morton, the principal, and a parent. The kids and Ms. Morton have been waiting to see the finished result and decided to make it a big party. "Red Carpet Day" was born. The kids all wore their finest to school and the press (me with my camera and backdrop and a handy outline of Mr. Oscar) took pictures of them as they walked the red carpet into their private viewing of the 5 minute video. 

The kids were treated to popcorn and other goodies while they watched themselves and their friends.

Red Carpet Day ended with an Autograph party and the press handing out pictures to take home. All in all, a fun time was had for everyone...including the press and the press's helper.

In other news, Kyla has had all her stitches removed! On Wednesday (11 days after her accident) we went to the hospital to get the 10 external stitches removed. The Doc took one look and so no way were they ready to come out. They took out five of them and five remained. On Saturday morning, we tromped back into the hospital with high hopes. Again, they took one look and said the stitches HAD to come out. Her body was treated them as a foreign body and was not happy. They took the rest out and then we were to use steri strips until the last little bit closed. Unfortunately, steri strips don't really stick in that area:) The wound has fully closed as of yesterday and life is back to normal. 

I am a bit more cautious as Kyla and Gavin run around like monkeys

...and it appears that Kyla is as well:)

Promotion Time

Way back in September, Gavin started preschool at Little Lambs in McMinnville. He attended Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for a couple of hours a day. He learned his letters, numbers, and calendar facts. He can write (and recognize) his name and is a whiz with his numbers up to 100. He also learned about Jesus and how to treat others kindly and with great respect.  

This past Thursday we were able to celebrate a year well done and watch him graduate to kindergarten. There was a little music, a little picture opp and lemonade cake waiting at home.

We are so thankful for the school and the wonderful ladies that have spent their time with Gavin this year. 

Now we are ready for Kindergarten!

WrestleMania

My brother and his son came over this weekend. It turned into WrestleMania 2012! 

Dutchrub action!

That is all:)

Recovery

We are on day five of Kyla's recovery and she is doing phenomenal! She doesn't seem to need any pain medication and her round of antibiotics is almost done. She went back to school full time on Tuesday and has made it through every day...some days being a little bit rougher than others. Gavin and I get to have lunch with her everyday as I have to deliver her lunch time round of meds:)

I've made a couple more skirts for her to wear, since most of her warm weather skirts are from last summer and seem to have shrunk:) She is having to learn how to walk without pulling her stitches and is sitting very carefully still. She is healing quickly and is looking forward to getting her stitches out next week.

We set her up on the day bed and Gavin seems to miss sharing a room with her. He is periodically asking her how she is and pats her on the back. He's asked to pray with me several times for her to heal quickly and to not hurt. What  a sweet brother!

Things are moving along nicely here. It's amazing how quickly this "Major Incident" is slowly fading in importance and life is continuing on. On to the next moment:)

Mother's Day Adventures

I was pampered by my kids and husband for Mother's day this past Saturday and Sunday. I had uninterrupted time in my garden, donuts, no cooking duties, gifts and a trip to the ER. Did you catch that? As a special treat right after we finished up having dinner with Kyla's teacher on Sunday, Kyla got her shorts caught on a part of the swing chain and ripped more than her shorts. After we noticed blood, we checked her out on the kitchen floor, bundled her up in some towels and flew to the ER. 

They got us all checked in super hero fast, and had some topical numbing medication on within minutes. Once the pain and bleeding were under control, we got the verdict. She had a 3 to 4 inch laceration on her groin area, missing her lady parts by 1.5 centimeters. It was deep but didn't need surgery as feared. Praise the Lord for his guiding hand! 

After some major washing, numbing shots, and some mythbusters, she was ready to be stitched up. She is the proud owner of two internal and 10 external stitches and a very sore bum. Two hours later, we rolled out of there and headed home.

We are so thankful for God's care, the hospital staff who were quick and gentle while helping preserve her fragile modesty, and for not being pulled over as I climbed from the front to the back seat while passing a police officer:)

So today, we are hanging out at home and sitting on pillows, taking antibiotics, and making sure that she has Advil in her. What a crazy time.

As Kyla was getting ready for bed, she looked at me with a sweet smile and wished me a happy mother's day...it's one for the books alright:)

Happy Holidays!

A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF THE RIDDLE FAMILY -2011

It all started back in 2010 with the dream of buying property. A year later, after three offers, many crazy rounds of interaction regarding a short sale, and several disappointments, we are still living in our house in Lafayette. As of now, we believe that it’s God’s plan for us to hang out here for a bit longer. To make our home more comfortable, I’ve been painting floors, walls, ceilings, trim, doors, and anything else that will hold still, even a light fixture. Kids watch out, Mama has the paint outJ When we aren’t working on the house, we’ve been globetrotting. We’ve been to Indiana twice, spent a week in gorgeous Estes Park, Colorado, and Chad and I even took a trip to the beautiful Minnesota in October.  We also have a lovely new addition to our family. It has four wheels, a sunroof and lots of space for us to stretch out inJ We purchased a new-to-us 2006 Subaru Outback XT in July after a long year of saving $$.

Chad finished his time at NWEA early this year and then went on to Nike. His next assignment starts at the beginning of the year for the Bonneville Power Administration. During the summer, Chad found a workshop teaching about First Lego League, a Lego robotics program for 8 – 14 yr. olds. Little did we know that it would change the course of our lifeJ

In September, Chad started a FLL club at Kyla’s grade school and what a whirlwind it has been! We ended up with two teams with a total of 16 kids. (I say we as I was roped in to coaching…too many kids and not enough adult bodies) Chad is an excellent teacher and coach and displayed amazing amounts of patience. The kids learned so much and both of our teams were very successful at our local tournament on December 3 and 4. One team did so well, that they are going on to compete at the state level (it happens to be the team that Kyla is on)! What a feat for a first year team, let alone the youngest team at the competition! We are so proud of all the kids.

Kyla (8) is living life to the fullest with a peace about her that just shines through. She finished up 2^nd grade in June and started 3^rd grade in September. Her entire class (including her fabulous teacher) moved up together and just jumped into learning. She had her first go-round with an orthodontist this summer with a fancy appliance to correct her very noticeable under bite. Just as she was learning to talk with the thing in her mouth, it was time to take it outJ Her love of horses continues and we fed that with a short horse camp this summer and a long horseback ride while we were in the Rocky Mountains.  Her and I were also gifted a ride in a hot air balloon for her birthday this year. It was spectacular! She is keeping busy with her weekly Lego club meetings, Awana, school, growing taller, and playing with her brother.

Gavin (4) is a singing, coloring, running, climbing, swinging, Awana loving, Lego building boy. He had a month of preschool in May and is now taking part in Little Lambs preschool three mornings a week and enjoying it. He is our assistant coach for the Lego club and can out build most of the studentsJ After 5 days of illness, Gav ended up at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in November for intussusception but was able to leave without having abdominal surgery. We are so thankful for the healing power of the Lord! More info about this adventure is on our blog. He loves clip-on ties, bible songs, drawing, hanging out with his grandparents and talking. That boy can talkJ He’s always ready for an adventure and is showing some great skills in design and math already!

The busy theme continues on with me. I am the chauffer, personal shopper, house keeper, gourmet chef, and the list goes on. Through the spring and into the fall, I’ve planted, tended, harvested and preserved my garden. I have a total of 8 raised beds and love sitting out on my lovely wooden swing surrounded by my beautiful garden. During the school year, I volunteer at Kyla’s school (this year I’ve been able to go in once a week for the day). I volunteer regularly at our church and am part of the worship team. I sew off and on when I have the time and energy and love to take rides on my old fashioned pink cruiser…with a basket and bellJ I just had minor surgery and am slowly recovering.  Our family blog has suffered because of my busyness but I hope to set aside time for keeping everyone updated with the start of the New Year.  

Love to All and Blessings This Holiday Season!