Memorial Day Weekend

We had a great Memorial Day weekend! As always we had plenty to do. As much as we enjoy soccer, it was nice to have a little break. We went to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants and had a family movie night to kick off the weekend. On Saturday, Molly had a birthday party and the rest of us went to pick up flowers and veggies to plant. We were all excited to get the garden started. We really enjoyed it last year. That evening we headed off to the pool. The weather was perfect! It was so exciting to finally get back to Pleasant Hill. The kids love the water so much. We'll be spending many days there. We had Monster Pizza (our home town favorite) at the pool, then headed home to start planting. The girls helped plant flowers and get the garden started. The next morning we headed to church. It was Duane's turn to help out in the nursery. That night Duane and I went out to dinner a lone. The next day we finished up the yard and did some cleaning to get ready for Madison's first communion party that was coming up the following weekend. We had a cook out that evening. The kids spent a lot of time playing outside with other kids from the neighborhood. Duane and I were able to both get some running in. He ran more, but I went to the gym so it evens out:) It was a fun and productive weekend. We remembered our loved ones that have passed and prayed for the men and women that have lost their lives protecting our country and those that are still protecting us. Even though this country has it's ups and downs things may not always go the way you hope, we are so blessed to call the United States our home.

A Star is Born!

Last night we went to a play about the continents to see Madison perform with the rest of the second graders from her school. It was another confirmation of what a phenomenal school and district our kids have the opportunity to be a part of. I am so glad that way back before we had children when we first started house hunting, I was already thinking about ensuring that they would go to excellent schools. Instead of the music teacher choosing a play with an already created script that anyone could use, these kids got to choose what they wanted to do a play about. The decided the theme would be the seven continents. This is a topic they have touched on all year in a variety of integrated ways. They were placed into small groups based on the continent they choose. Then together with their classroom teacher, music teacher and librarian, they researched it. Each child was responsible for coming up with their costume and the line that they said would say based on a fact that they had collected. I truly believe that the most learning takes place when a child takes ownership of it. That clearly happened with this wonderfully enriching experience. Not only did Madison learn about Australia, for weeks she came home telling us facts that she had learned about places all around the world. Her enthusiasm was amazing. I was impressed because she added to her line to make it sound more authentic. She really got into her part. Her teacher said she was a natural! I was so proud of my little girl!

Dayton Dragon's Game

Madison's school had a "Night at the Dragon's Game". So we decided to get a sitter for Mallory and take the two older girls to the game. I'm so glad we did! It was one of the most relaxing family activities that we've done in a long time. The last time I was at a Dragon's game, Madison was only about 6 months old. It had been a while. We settled in on a blanket in the lawn seats. It was a little overcast and a tad bit chilly, but all in all it was a beautiful evening. We did the night up in true baseball fashion. We were given free baseball hats and everyone wore their hat. We had hots dogs, peanuts and elephant ears. The girls got up and danced to all the songs and cheered for the Dragon's. Molly put on quite a show:) Madison enjoyed seeing some kids from school and both girls got a prize for wearing their John Hole Elementary t-shirts. Madison choose a baseball and Molly picked a baseball hat figurine. We made it to the 7Th inning stretch without a hitch. Everyone sang "Take me out the the ball game". It was so nice to just sit still in such a fun atmosphere and enjoy each other's company. It reminded me of when my grandparents took me to watch the Indians play the Orioles when I was 10. I'll never forget meeting Eddie Murray. We were introduced by some friends of my grandparents that knew him. He hit a home run and pointed up at us in the stands. After the game, he gave me the bat and an autographed picture. I still have the picture. The bat disappeared though. I wish I still had that bat. That was such a great experience for me. We'll definitely try to make it to a few games this summer. I'd love to take the girls to an Indian's game some time. In a year or two Mallory can join us too.

The Curse of the Chicken Pops!

On the Wednesday before Madison's first communion, she showed Duane a few "mosquito bits" that she had. He told her it was that time of year. The next evening after her shower she showed me how she had more mosquito bites". They looked like bug bites, but their location made me question it. So on Friday Duane took Madison to the doctors and sure enough it was chicken pox or "chicken pops" as Mallory liked to call them. We were all disappointed to say the least. We spend the afternoon canceling hotel rooms, the cake and food as well as calling everyone and telling them the news. Not to mention, helping Madison work through her disappointment and cheering her up. She ended up with a grand total of 14 spots. Molly had one. Both girls felt fine. No fevers or other symptoms. After warning the neighbors, I even let them play outside in the yard and took them for bike rides. I didn't think it was fair to keep them cooped up the entire weekend. The weather was great. We had lots of family movie nights and had a chance to relax. After all, the house was spotless and the garage and the yard were in great shape. For once, there wasn't much to do. I prayed for a week that our two huge dirt patches would fill in with grass before the party, that Kathy's knee's would miraculously be healed and that the weather would be nice. So God gave Madison chicken pox. Now we have grass in the dirt patches, Kathy is well on her way to recover and can make it for the first communion later this month. The last thing to come through it the weather. Sometimes God does answer our prayers. We just don't always realize it. The disappointment is long gone and we're back to preparation mode. Almost everyone can make May 31. The coordinator at church is working with us to make Madison's first communion very special for her. It's going to be extra special due to the fact that she'll be the only child making her first communion that day. We're really looking forward to it!

About the Author

Mother’s Day 2009 - by Duane Scott

It’s always been said that "a child needs a mother." Fortunately in most cases that happens quite automatically. Turns out it’s difficult to have one without the other, the latter bearing the brunt of the responsibility for a long, long time. Turns out though, unfortunately that in some cases motherhood really never goes very far beyond birth. This is a tragedy when this happens because if a child doesn’t have mom in their corner, life is going to be much harder to take on. When I met Amy when I was 18 and she was 15 (I know)…… I don’t remember exactly what I was thinking but it definitely wasn’t “Boy, I’ll bet she’d be a great mother!” Nope. I lucked out there in a very big way, and so did my three beautiful girls. She’s a planner. Starting with conception; seriously…..the decision was always made so that she could spend the maximum time with her new baby before going back to her classroom – another noble responsibility (don’t get me started). With the second and third this was complicated by how making the best decision for the newborn would effect the other(s). I have a feeling that the smallest, most mundane daily decisions are checked against what's best for the girls…..and all options are carefully weighed and a decision is made and carried out. The heart breaking part is that she doesn’t know it. She’s constantly second guessing her self, sometimes wondering if she’s a good mother at all. Then she devises a plan to remove any doubt and carries that out. Don’t get me wrong, I have input, but I don’t think my girls would suffer if I didn’t. As many people have recently, we have begun to study politics, and I can’t help but think that if our leaders approached government and caring for those they serve, putting them first, the way Amy does motherhood and our children, we would be far better off. So it goes that the most effective example that our kids see is the one that we set in raising them. I can only hope that one day these girls will realize what has been done for them. It’s not realistic for them to understand it now, but if they some how get a sense of what is good judgment in raising our grand children, I know a great deal of it will have come from their mother.

Duane Scott is the husband of Amy Scott and spends his days in awe of what she is capable of.

Happy Birthday Aurora Rose

We went to Columbus last weekend to celebrate Aurora's first birthday. She is a happy and totally adorable little girl. Last year I was blessed to see her on the day she was born. She has changed so much in a year. We were happy to have the opportunity to share her special day with her. Aurora is a reminder to us how precious life is and what a gift children are. Her presence makes our lives all the more special. The kids played so well together. Dominic has really taken to Madison and wherever she is, he wants to be there too. It's adorable and Madison really eats it up. Mallory decided to roll a toy, metal shopping cart down the stairs while Aurora was opening her gifts. That gave us all a fright! I feel a little responsible for her doing this. I have a bad habit of tossing things down the stairs. Otherwise I would spend most of the day going up and down the stairs. It's easier to toss things and put them away later all at once. Apparently she has picked up on my habit. Unfortunately, Duane had to stay home and work on the year. We missed having him there that day. We had a great food and truly enjoyed spending the afternoon with family!

Spring Break

Everyone had spring break the same week this year. Madison and Molly went to my parents house for a few days. We met in Columbus and had dinner together. They got the royal treatment. While they were there the got to go to a museum with Aunt Susan. They also went to see the movie Monsters verses Aliens, had lunch with Grandma and Grandpa Scott and spent an afternoon at the indoor pool at the rec center. It was three days jam packed full of fun. Mallory got to see what it's like to be an only child for the first time in her life. We were back from dropping the girls off with my parents for less than 10 minutes and Mallory wanted to pretend the she and I were Madison and Molly. I thought that was pretty funny. It was amazing how quiet the house was! I took advantage of the time by getting some spring cleaning done. Mallory and I went swimming one afternoon. She is such a little water bug like her sisters. She loves to jump into the the big pool with her vest on now. Duane and I took her out to dinner and went to the same movie with her. It was her first movie. She did fantastic! The day after the girls got home we had a tea party. Duane surprised us all and took the day Friday off. We headed to Cincinnati to have lunch at Johnny Rockets and visit the Newport Aquarium. It was very crowded so we decided to go the the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History. The kids love the children's museum there, especially the tree house area. They had a great time. We all enjoyed the break and were sad to see it end. But now we can start the countdown to summer break. It's just around the corner!

Busy Little Bee

Molly is a busy girl! We decided to take a break from gymnastics so that Molly could play soccer. We had high hopes that she would like soccer as much as Madison. She scored two goals at the first game and we were really proud of how well she kept up. She is so tall for her age. It is going to take some time for her coordination to catch up with her size. She enjoys interacting with the other kids more than actually playing soccer. But at this point at her ripe old age of 5, socialization is the most important thing. I am trying to keep that in mind when I watch her roll around and giggle with another child on the side lines or chase a team mate around the field during practice. I'm also trying to keep in mind that Madison was the same way at that age.

Every Wednesday after preschool, Molly meets with her Godly Play group for a half hour. She enjoys hearing the interactive bible stories and often retells them. We have found that she is a pretty spiritual kid. She talks a lot about the bible and God. We will miss Godly Play next year. It has been a wonderful experience for her.

We went to a spaghetti dinner at Molly's school a few weeks ago. We got to see her perform on stage. Her class sang "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Oh, What a Miracle". They also got to say the blessing before the meal. We were very happy that the Ackleys were able to be there with us on Molly's special night. We are blessed to have them in our lives.

I registered Molly for Kindergarten and in a few weeks she goes for Kindergarten screening. We have been working hard on learning letters and numbers to get her all set for Kindergarten. It's so hard to believe that she is already 5 years old. She is getting more and more independent every day. I have been looking at pictures from when she was a baby and toddler. She has the most angelic face with her blue eyes and toe-head blond hair. She is truly thrilled to be old enough to play with the "big kids" and go to some of the neighbors houses to play. It's going to be a great summer for her this year!

Here Comes Peter Cottentail!

We did a whirlwind tour of northeastern Ohio on Easter Sunday, but it was well worth it. We were happy to wake up to a sunny and mild morning. We got everybody up, dressed and made over, then it was time to hunt for those baskets of goodies. The girls looked so adorable! It was amazing the the Easter Bunny knew to deliver the baskets to Mammaw and Pappaw's house! He's pretty sharp! The girls were thrilled to find arts and craft stuff, a new DVD and loads of candy in their baskets. After that we had to rush off to church. Everything we do involves rushing. It doesn't matter how early you start, there is never enough time! We spent most of the time in the cry room with Mallory and Molly. Mallory is not ready or able to handle sitting in church. Madison sat with my parents and Grandpa Scott. Then her and Molly switched after communion. We missed not having Grandma Scott there with us. She was recovering from a double knee replacement in an extended care facility. That was our next stop after church. It was a quick visit, but we were happy to see her none the less. We dropped off some flowers the day before to help put her in the Easter spirit. Our next stop was at Dale and Janet's for our first Easter dinner. Janet is a fantastic cook. We had a wonderful meal and enjoyed the time with Dale, Janet, Megan, Logan and Grandpa Scott. The kids always love to be together and made the most of their time together. Our last stop was Aunt Susan's house and another delicious meal. We were so stuffed! All the kids had an Easter egg hunt after dinner and were thrilled to get even more treats. They are blessed to have a wonderful family who thinks of them often and does so many things to make them feel loved and special. Easter Sunday is a day to be surrounded by family and love. It is a day to remember the sacrifice that God made in order for us to have all of our blessings and eternal peace.

Many Milestones for Mallory

Mallory continues to change so quickly! Many big things have happened for her lately. In February she was invited to her first birthday party. Her little friend Kennedy had a birthday tea party. She got all dressed up in a pretty dress and had a great time. She looked like such a big girl!

Several months ago we put her potty chair out just to get her familiar with it. Every now and then we would put her on it. A few times she even went to the bathroom and we were thrilled. While Duane and I were in Gaitlynburge, my Aunt Susan spent a lot of time working on potty training with Mallory. When we came home from our trip we were thrilled to find out she was nearly potty trained. She is doing a wonderful job with it! Now that spring is here and she is playing outside more often, she's had a few set backs. But it's just a matter of us reminding her more often to take a break and go to the bathroom when she is so engaged with outdoor play.

A few weeks ago we took down her crib and put up the toddler bed. She never really tried to climb out of her crib. But this summer she is going to bunk with Molly so that Madison can have her own room. So we wanted to give her plenty of time to adjust. When she switches rooms she'll be in a twin bed. It was a bitter sweet day! She took very well to her new bed. She is still great with naps, but often visits our room at night now that she can come and go as she pleases. We finally have Molly trained to stay in her bed for the most part and now we have a little one coming in for a visit.

The kids in the neighborhood have been spending a lot more time in our yard now that the weather is improving. Mallory just fits right into the mix. She is not always directly involved in what they are all playing, but she is totally content to just be in the midst of it all. Al big challenge this summer will be teaching her to stay away from the street. I'll be relieved when she gets that one. The next milestone we are hoping for is to get rid of the paccie this summer. I saved that one for last because it is not going to be easy. But it's time! She is a big girl now!