My kids

Well. . . I learned tonight that I have been remiss. I have failed to mention my wonderful, darling offspring in any of my posts -- at least to any substantial extent. This has caused my eldest child no end of heartbreak and so I write to right the wrong. (hee hee)

Mary will be 16 in December -- I know, I don't look old enough to have a 16 year old. It's a gift.

And speaking of gifts. . . Mary wants to teach kids with "special skills." She was a counselor at a camp in Indiana this past summer and found her "call." (Yeah, that's kinda what got me thinkin' about what mine might be . . .)

That I could have been as focused at such an early age.

She and her sister, Sara (who will be 13 in January), both started Kindergarten at 4. We had them at a childcare in town that also had a certified Kindergarten. After they completed the pre-school program, we thought they might be bored if they did it again, so we moved them into the Kindergarten program. We went to church with the Principal of the local elementary school and, after we told him the Kindergarten was, indeed, certified by the state, he said we could start the girls early into first grade. So, Mary is 15 and a bit and a Junior in high school. At this rate, she won't be able to legally drink at any college parties. Oh darn. NOT!

Here's Sara by the pool on Labor Day weekend with my cousin's daughter. We dreamed about our kids playing together when we were kids . . . now it's coming true! Sara is sweetness personified. Unless you make her mad. . . then watch out! She's brilliant -- as are all my children, of course -- and she plays the cello and, along with her sister, sings like an angel. She's in 8th grade.

The middle school in our district teaches foreign languages. Mary took French (she's actually taking French 4 this year) and Sara is taking German.

Sara has known since she was 3 that she wanted to be a "mommy doctor." I taught her to say "obstetrician" back then and she's never looked back. If we could just convince her to work on her grades. . .

Noah will be 9 in November. He's in 3rd grade and he loves to play soccer. We'll probably send him to soccer camp this summer. He wants to play drums. Since we've experienced membership in chorus and orchestra, I figure band is the next logical step! Not sure what his "call" is yet -- right now he's just "mommy's little man."

Last, but certainly not least, my handsome, handy, lovable, recently-bearded man. . .