School begins.....

Well, my boys made it through the first day of school with only a few hiccups. When I took Jacob, my kindergartner, to class he put his things in his cubby and proceeded to play like it was home. So off I went with Cody, my 3rd grader, to his new class. I can tell he is apprehensive today but I figured it is the new school or just the first day jitters. I look at him as I am telling him goodbye and he has that "deer in the headlight" look and then here comes the tears! I was thrown for a loop! I though Jake would be the crier and Cody would be the easy one. His teacher let me take him into her office and got him settled down and then I had to leave with him still unsure about his new surroundings. I worried for hours until I figured his teacher would have called if he hadn't calmed down yet. I asked him how his day was when he got home and he said it was fine, he had seen some kids from his old school and it made him feel better. I think he will be fine be Monday, just like the usual Cody.

In memory of Mom

"A Mom's Love"
Dedicated to Mae Thomas
9-8-1927 to 8-25-2003

Her love was sweet and pure,
No binds on her giving.
No ties by our blood,
Only tied by the living.
Always told with love,
Her words were honest and true.
No harsh tongue to cut,
None said to make you blue.
Always warm and caring,
She love without restrictions.
Total love and devotion,
Always free of constrictions.
Never knowing that kind of love,
Never knowing that existed.
Now that she's gone,
Never knew how much I would miss it.

Annette Thomas
Feb 14, 2006

Just another week UNTIL Paradise

Well, in 7 more days my kids will go back to school. YEAH!!!!! I love my kids to death but I need a break. I think Mark and I had 1 night out all summer and that was the night of the reunion. We had a great time, but once every 10 years just isn't enough. We are going to have to start planning some more time alone. Mark is looking forward to when the kids are grown and gone. I told him that is 13 more years and I guarantee we will have grand kids by then and will still have a house full of kids all the time. Mark's answer to that is "We'll send them home to their parents and let them deal with them after we sugar them up and spoil them rotten!" LOL

My youngest, Jacob, will start Kindergarten and I hope he does better this year. Last year we tried Pre-k and it didn't work out. He stayed in until Christmas break and then we didn't send him back. This year they HAVE to keep him!!! LOL I hope he has matured over the last 8 months (if that was the problem) or maybe the new school we are transferring them to will have a better approach with him. They couldn't get a teacher that was qualified last year so the inconsistency was an open door for him to keep trying each new one that was brought in. The last teacher had the wrong idea with Jacob. "Boys will be boys" doesn't cut it with him. If he is allowed that attitude then he will show you just how "bad" a boy can be. He needs a very firm hand and no gray area. He does much better with defined boundaries and consequences for his actions. So we will see.

Cody, my middle son will be going into 3rd grade. He has no problems in school so the transfer shouldn't bother him too much. He is so easy going that he should fit right in. He tested at the end of last year for Gifted and he passed with flying colors. I hope the program at Interlachen will challenge him and maybe open his eyes to a field of study that might lead him into a nice career.

Then there's Johnnie. He is entering his Senior year and will be turning 18 in September. Oh the world on a platter, what a tough time! I feel for him since he does have more opportunities than I did. He CAN go to any college in the State or stay home for a few years and attend Jr College and then go to a 4 year College or any specialty school he wants. He has had his heart set on being a game warden but now he is hearing that the pay is not that great and almost ALL of the current game wardens are having to work 2 jobs to have a decent lifestyle. I hope he really thinks about that. I know it's great to love your job, but if you can't make a living at it then it's really not worth loving! I have suggested he check into some other fields that have to do with agriculture since he wants a job that he can be outside and not cooped up in an office environment. When he takes the aptitude tests they all show that he should be a mechanic or something like that. He already is a shade tree mechanic and is pretty good at it but he is just too smart for that! He has a brain and I hope he finds a career that challenges him to use it!

We are planning on taking the boats out to the Springs this weekend so Johnnie can try out his new Air boat and we can take a weekend off and just relax. Mark has been working almost every weekend and he is getting burned out. The gator hunt starts on the 22ND and so he will get some boat time this summer but it's not the same. My brother Jesse got the permits this year since last year kicked Mark's butt. He enjoys hunting but he is getting older and he can't hang like he used to, by the 2ND or 3rd night of being up all night he is really wore-out. This way he can go until it's not fun anymore and then he can just relax the rest of the week. I think he's going to enjoy it more this year than he has in the past.