Preschool Program and Graduation

It's hard to believe another year of preschool is behind us. That means Caleb is heading to kindergarten in the fall and Leah will be going to preschool for TWO MORNINGS EVERY WEEK! I'm not sure if crying and shouting for joy are possible at the same time, but that sentence makes it pretty close to being possible!

The kids had a wonderful year at Kids & Company Preschool and we couldn't have asked for a better group of teachers to nurture and teach Caleb and Leah. Just as they do the entire year, the teachers put in 110% effort to put on the most adorable end-of-the-year program. The kids were all dressed up in their safari costumes and sang their hearts out. Mine should have been the loudest ones considering we listened to and practiced the songs about a thousand times in the month prior to the performance....seriously, I sing the songs in my sleep!

They also did the graduation program during the performance. I held back the tears as I thought about how quickly the past 5 years have flown by. I don't know how the little boy that changed our lives forever is already done with preschool. If anything, I'm learning more and more how much I need to cherish every.single.minute with them still at home. He is totally ready, though, to be moving on to the big world of kindergarten. His teachers this year were AMAZING and have prepared him so well for the changes that will come with going to school 5 mornings each week! I just wish there was someone preparing me for how to deal with my sweet boy being gone 5 mornings each week!

T-Ball

In the past five years of parenting, we've somewhat avoided the common practice of getting our kids "over-scheduled". It becomes quite overwhelming to think about all of the things you could get your kids involved in. The park district catalog and email updates of library events are enough to make my mind spin! We've really taken to the theory of letting our kids just be kids for awhile....no agenda to stick to, no "where are we going today?" questions, just the freedom to take each day as it comes. It's been a joy to spend so much time with the kids and to not have the added stress of running all over the place. We have a couple mornings with preschool or MOPS, but that's about it. The other days, we play inside or out, have friends over, go for walks, have picnics at the park, or just chill and do nothing.

The days of having no schedule to answer to are definitely coming to an end with kindergarten right around the corner. And we know that it is important for our kids to be involved in some organized activities. We still hold to the truth that family time is first and foremost and we will not commit to things that take away too much of that precious time together. Unfortunately, so many of the sports leagues around here require a lot more time than we want to give away at such a young age (not to mention they also cost a fortune)!

We were so happy to find the Legacy Sports League. It has been a blessing to introduce Caleb (and down the road, Leah and Joel) to sports through this league. The time commitment is reasonable and the focus is on having fun. They also run it as a ministry and place God at the center of it all. There is a devotional at each game and registration fees/fundraisers help support missions. Caleb is doing T-Ball this year and seems to love it. Tyler is helping to coach and it's been such a great chance for them to have a bit of Daddy/Son bonding. When the weather is nice, we all go out to watch the games. I think Leah will be quite ready in a few years to join the team!

By the way, if you've never had the chance to watch a T-Ball game, get out and see one. There might not be anything quite as comical as a bunch of young kids trying to figure out the sport of baseball....all while making sure the grass is properly manicured, because of course all baseball players must spend at least 40% of the game picking weeds and grass from the field!