Hello Everyone,

Michael went back to school today after a week off for Spring break. Poor thing, he was so bored all week eventhough I had some fun things planned. He would come and wake me up all dressed and ready for school everyday. He was so happy to be back that when I asked for a kiss good-bye he grabbed my hand, gave it a peck, and ran off to play! LOL!

On a very sad note. Guido (our sweet dog) has a tumor in his upper abdomen by his spleen and liver. The vet couldn't say how long he has left since he has a strong heart. He doesn't seem to be in pain, except when he pees. But no matter how much we feed him he seems to be wasting away. It is very upsetting for us and I find myself crying all the time at the thought of him not being here anymore. He is a member of our family and we won't be the same without him. We've had him since my Junior year of high school. I was there when he was born and remember vividly holding his tiny puppy body in my palm right after his birth. He was so small and cute. Six weeks later, when I brought him home from my friends house , it was raining and he was all snuggly in my shirt. He is the absolute best dog. He has such a great personality and has done the funniest things throughout his life. He is so sweet and gentle and we will miss him so much when he goes. I thought he would be around for many more years. We just hope that when he goes it is peaceful and without pain.

Take Care and God Bess,
Dawn

Wow, it has been a long time since I last posted. Sorry. I've been so busy with school, the kids, the house work, and Daniel. Man, life just carries you away. I know I said I'd post a picture of me and my big belly, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I keep waiting for the day when I look in the mirror and say, "Wow, you look good." But I don't think that will ever happen. I've been doing really well with my weight this pregnancy, I've only gained 16 lbs so far which is good considering I'm almost 27 weeks along. If I stay away from pancakes in the morning I can do really well throughout the day. But I wake up starving and pancakes are such a yummy breakfast and the kids love them too. I wish my grocery store consistently carried the new Kashi oatmeal. It is so good and healthy, but I can hardly ever get it. A funny thing happened today with the baby in utero. I was hosting a Tupperware party at my house and it was a lot of fun. So, I was sitting on the carpet looking through the catalog while I was eating a piece of the delicious chocolate cake the consultant made in the microwave with just 3 ingredients and in just 8 minutes. When all of the sudden the baby kicked so hard that my plate, which I was holding against my stomach, went flying out of my hand and landed upside down on my carpet! Can yo believe it! I was like, 'The baby just kicked my plate out of my hand." She is always on the move and she's very strong. You can literally see her moving just by looking at my stomach. I can't wait until she is born I really hate being pregnant. Well, enough about my pregnancy.

Michael is doing really well in school. He's been learning how to write his name and recognize and write the letters of the alphabet. He is also really into Power Rangers even though he's never seen an episode and never will if I can help it. But the boys in his class at school apparently do because they are always playing it on the playground. He has such a big imagination and would rather play pretend, like going on pretend theme park rides, then with toys.

Sarah is so excited about being a big sister. She talks about the baby all the time. She is still going though a very difficult stage right now. She gets so mad when she doesn't get her way that she will grab st something and go to bite it or scratch it. Yesterday I wouldn't let her do something and she started crying and getting frustrated and she grabbed my knee and dug her nails into my skin. Well, needless to say that was unacceptable and resulted in a discipline. But she is still pleasant most of the time and really fun to be around.

What else is new? Oh I just found out the other day that the Bible School we are going to in April had a teacher back out last minute. So I was asked to teach Michael and Sarah's 2nd period class. Of course I said yes. But I've never taught a whole week long Bible School class before. So now I have one month to finalize my story theme, which has to have something to do with Jesus and the Gospels; come up with daily crafts; children's songs that relate to the story; daily snacks; a finally project to be on display at the end of the week; and get all the material I need for the week. I've never done anything like this before. I really have no idea what to do. I've searched online craft ideas but I can't find anything with a really Bible story theme to it, just crafts based on Christian ideals; which is not what I need. So, if anyone reading this has any ideas or can point me in the direction of someone or something that does I would really appreciate it. I've been talking it over with Daniel and I think I'm going to do the 7 miracles/ signs of John's Gospel. I first have to make sure that the first period teacher isn't doing that too. So again, please if you have any ideas for projects and crafts to do with the miracles of Jesus please let me know. The teachers at Bible school last year did such a wonderful job. The classes were well thought out, well organized, very creative, and most importantly so spiritual. I really want to give all the children in the class a good experience, teaching them the love and wonder of our Lord and Savior.

Well, I better get back to school work. It's almost bed time and Sarah has had a low grade fever all day. I hope she's not getting Strep throat, it's going around.

Take care and God Bless,
Dawn