Our Story Part 4 . . . The Valentine Card

You are about to read the 4^th part of a story about how my husband and I met.  The following posts lead up to this post:

The Swing on the Porch . . . Our Story ,

Our Story Part 2 . . . The Letter , and

Our Story Part 3 . . . The Dance

The drive home after attending Brent’s prom was long and boring.  I eagerly took my film (yep, still used film . . . no digital in those days)   to be developed at the 1 hour place.  I just had to have something to show my friends at school on Monday.

Eagerly I awaited the return of summer.  I knew our next meeting would be at the annual car show that would be held in Nebraska.  Brent and I both brought friends with us that year. Brent's parents also let him drive a separate car. For 4 teenagers this was the best gift ever! We now had freedom from the boring adult stuff.

                                                 1998 - Sara, Brent, and I in Nebraska

After spending about 10 minutes in Nebraska all of us were so thankful to have the freedom of our own car.  I’m sure Nebraska is a lovely state, but for a group of 16 and 17 year olds it lacked a certain appeal.  I mean I don’t know what more was exciting, the tour through the tractor factory or the fact that it rained almost constantly.  I didn’t care.  I had an entire week to spend with Brent.  Throughout the week our relationship evolved.  We became more comfortable with each other.  I felt as if that week would last forever, unfortunately it didn’t.  The week came to a close and we were once again forced to part ways.

Back in our respective hometowns our typical lives continued, along with our letter writing.  In the fall I would begin my junior year of high school and he would begin his senior year.  Like most high school students we both had a lot going on.  I started my first job and kept score for the wrestling team.  Brent began a new job and wrestled.  We were finding it difficult to write to each other as much as we would have liked to.

It began to become apparent that Brent wasn’t writing to me as frequently as he did at one time.   I tried to remain optimistic, but I was also becoming worried.  After reviewing several different scenarios in my head, I wrote him a letter expressing my concerns regarding our lack of communication.  He responded quickly telling me that his feelings hadn’t changed.  He wanted our relationship to remain the same.  He was simply busy with his senior year and things would get better soon.

With a renewed sense of faith in our relationship I made it my goal to put together the best Valentine’s Day box ever and send it to him.  I collected several meaningful items to put in the box.  I happily sent the box off and eagerly awaited a reply from him. 

February 14, came and passed, and I didn’t hear from Brent.  I told myself that he didn’t mean to be late, he was just busy.  I re-read the most recent letter from him, especially the part where he told me that he didn’t want things to change between us.  I shared my fears with my friends.  They reassured me that we were meant to be between us.  There just had to be a reasonable excuse for the lack of communication. 

When I least expected it, an envelope arrived.  It was in the shape of a card.  I felt a sense of relief sweep over me when I came across it.  I began to feel more at ease when I opened it and a Valentine's Day card was reviled.  Quickly I opened the card.  Under the message printed in the card, Brent wrote that he would always love me and signed his name.  My heart began to melt and I felt so silly for doubting our relationship.  I then began to read the handwritten message on the left side of the card.  My delight quickly changed to disappointment. 

Basically he explained that he felt he was too busy to be in a relationship, but he would always love me.  The fool broke up with me in a Valentine’s Day card!  I was heartbroken.  I re-read his words over and over just to be sure that I understood them correctly.  Each time I read those words it was as if I had been stabbed in the heart and the sting grew stronger and stronger. 

I felt so dumb.  How could I have believed his letter claiming that he was too busy being a senior?  I put too much into the relationship and was slapped in the face.  I placed so much thought into the gift I sent him, and now I just felt so foolish.

I was hurt and broken.

***********************************************

After receiving that card I didn’t see or hear from Brent for about a year and a half.  The summer before my freshman year of college my parents forced me to go on one last family vacation.  We traveled to Colorado with the car club.  Unfortunately Sara wasn’t able to bail me out this summer, which was even more of a disappointment.

Once we finally arrived at the hotel where everyone was staying I sulked in the hotel room.  Just as I was leaving the hotel room to find my parents, I was met with my mom and  . . . you guessed it, Brent. 

I can still see the giddy look on my mom’s face and hear the happy tone in her voice as she said “Look who I ran into.”  I vividly remember giving him a nasty look and simply saying “Oh, Hi”.  I was hoping that those simple words along with the tone of my voice would adequately convey that I that I wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with him. 

And just because my mom brought him to come and say hi to me meant nothing!  Absolutely NOTHING!   Let’s face it I was really a big ol’ bitch to him, but he deserved it, right?!

I soon came to the conclusion that there was no one else my age to hang out with from the car club.  I had 2 choices: 1) Be alone and miserable for the whole week or 2) Suck up my pride and hand out with the jerk Brent and his friend.  I chose the latter.  Much to my surprise I enjoyed the time that we spent together.  I think that it was helpful to have his friend there too.

*******************************************

When the week ended I traveled home with my parents.  I began my freshman year of college and didn’t give Brent a second thought. 

********************************************

One day I went back to my dorm after class.  As usual, I checked my email.  I came across an email address that I didn’t recognize.  I was slightly cautious as I opened it.  The email was from Brent.    He had gone out of his way to search for my email address because I never gave it to him.  This meant he had to remember the name of the school ( I attended a small university) I told him I would be attending so that he could search the university data base.  Most 20 year old guys don’t put that much effort into connecting with a girl.

I was over whelmed with a flood of emotions. 

When we were together things were wonderful.  Brent always treated me with dignity and respect.  No other guy ever made me feel special like he did.  He made me feel like a princess.  I could trust him. 

But the fact remained, the fool broke up with me in a goddamn Valentine’s Day card, and it tore me apart!  Was I ready to let my guard down?  Could I overlook the past and have a future with him? Or would I always think of the pain and not let go?

**** That's all for today ****

Our Story Part 5 . . . The Conclusion

Our Story part 3 . . . The Dance

You are about to read the 3rd section of a story sharing how my husband and I met. 
The Swing on the Porch . . . Our Story and The Letter . . . Our Story part 2 proceeded this portion.

Before continuing with the story I must explain why I wasn't able to write until now.  We visited my parents over the weekend.  This means that my Friday was spent doing laundry and packing for all of us to make the 3 hour visit.  It is amazing how much 3 children, 1 dog and 2 adults can fit into a Tahoe!  I  wonder if it wouldn't be better to upgrade to the Suburban.

I'm glad you returned for the 3rd part!

I left off explaining that Brent called to tell me that he was going to be able to attend the winter formal at my school, Snowball.  I had been sick and didn't actually talk with him, but my mom did.  When she told me that he was coming I was absolutely overwhelmed with joy. 

My friends and I went shopping and made all of the necessary arrangements to prepare for the dance such as; buying our dresses, and accessories, booking hair appointments, making dinner arrangements, and so on.

It seemed as if it took  f  o  r  e  v  e  r  for the day of the dance to arrive.  When Brent and his family finally got to my hometown I was all of the sudden filled with complete nervousness.  The thought of actually having a verbal conversation, rather than one that was written frightened me.  What if I said something stupid?  I couldn't erase it!  What if my voice sounded dumb?  He would actually hear me!  What would we talk about?  Oh my gosh what was I thinking when I asked him to come?!

                                                          1998 - Brent, Me, and Sara

Sara, one of our other friends, and their dates accompanied Brent and I.  Everyone, along with their parents came over to my parent's house.  We did the usual posing for photos and headed to dinner.  After dinner we were off to the dance.  Sadly, most of the dance was spent sitting around a table talking and watching others dance.  We didn't break out of our comfort zone and only danced to the slow songs.

Brent and I had the opportunity to meet up again in Chicago for our first valentine's day.  Some car thing going on so we used this event to lure our parents into allowing us to meet up.  While there we exchanged gifts.  I made him a mixed tape (Yes, that's correct, a mixed tape.  You know the thing they had before CDs and MP3s.)  His mom decorated a box that had a picture of the 2 of us from Snowball glued in it.  A stuffed Pooh Bear dressed up like a valentine bee was also in the box.

In the spring Brent invited me to attend his prom.  My parents and I drove to his home town.  With this trip came a whole new set of concerns.  I would be meeting his friends for the first time.  In  general 17 year old boys are almost always nice to any girl they meet.  It's the girls you have to worry about.  Girls are mean and nasty and hateful!

                                                     1998 - Brent and I before his prom

His mom made an appointment for me to get my hair done on the morning of the prom.  I later learned that the daughter of the hairdresser grew up with Brent and had a huge crush on him.  Needless to say, the daughter was too happy about me being there or her mom doing my hair. 

We went to dinner with a group of his friends.  While at the dance, I met lots of his friends.  Much to my relief they were all super nice.  Another bonus was the fact that they knew who I was.  This meant that Brent must have talked about me as much as I talked about him.  We spent most of the night on our feet dancing and talking. 

He took me back to the hotel where my parents and I were staying when the dance ended.  Slowly we walked through the hallways and to the door.  We took forever to say goodnight.  It was apparent that neither one of us wanted the night to end.  As we stood outside of the door letting time just waste away, we came to an awkward moment.  You know the one where you just want to stay in the moment and not let anything change, but you know that your parents are waiting so you need to get going?  Then, it happened; he leaned in and kissed me good night.  Our first kiss  . . . and it was perfect!

The next day we went to Great America with one of his friends and I went home.


**** I will continue tomorrow! ****

Our Story Part 4 . . . The Valentine Card

Our Story Part 2 . . . The letter

In order to completely understand this story you will need to first read,  The Swing on the Porch . . . our story .

Thanks for coming back to read the 2nd part!

As I was saying yesterday, I put the letter (I feel really old saying this, but this was just before email became so popular) under the windshield wiper and returned to my hotel room.  While my family and I packed up and prepared to head home ourselves, I couldn't help but feel heavy hearted.  I remember feeling as if I could tear up at any moment coupled with embarrassment and silliness all at the same time.  I only spent a few days with this boy how could I possibly be so smitten?  I honestly don't recall, but I'm sure I was a pleasure of attitude to ride home with.

Back at home, I returned to life as I knew it.  My parents went to work.  I slept as long as I wanted to.  When I did get up I talked on the phone, watched MTV, or tanned in the backyard.  Oh, and I did manage to unload the dishwasher and pick up a bit.
     Wow, I sure had it rough, right?!

One new little routine was added to my day, I just had to check the mail.  While I wouldn't allow myself to fully believe a response would happen, a small part of my heart was hoping that among all of those bill, magazines, and ads, there would be a letter from Brent.

Each day that passed without a response caused a me to loose hope a little at a time.  In my head I began to question myself: Should I have done that?  Does he think I'm just some dumb girl?  Did he and his dad make fun of me and get a good laugh at my expense on their trip home?  Has he told his friends about me?

Finally, the day came.  Unknowingly, I pulled the pile of mail from the box and flipped through it, as usual.  There it was, a letter address to me and the return address was from none other than, Brent, my Brent!  Oh I was so excited!  I could hardly contain myself.  Now the trick was to pull myself together and walk in the house and to my bedroom without my parents being aware of the fact that I had received the letter that I had been waiting weeks for. 

**On a side note I never specifically told them that I gave Brent our address and that I was hoping to keep up some kind of correspondence with him. 

When I finally got to my room I read his wonderful letter.  I read it over and over and over again.  I didn't care that the first time I read it took a little longer than the rest, because he had sloppy boy writing.  It didn't bother me that the paper looked as if he had torn it out of a notebook in a rush with no attention paid to the fact that  there  were jagged edges hanging all over the place.  He wrote back to me.  That's all that mattered!!! 

After reading his letter I did the only thing that seemed natural, I called Sara!  She spent the night that night and we wrote a letter back to Brent, because why would I think that I could write a letter on my own?

School began for both Brent and I in August.  We managed to maintain our correspondence.  Each time a new letter came in the mail I eagerly brought it to school, shared it with my friends, and yearned to hear from him again.  Eventually, pictures and phone numbers were exchanged.  I found a special frame for his school picture.  Often I looked at it remembering the short time spent together and imagining the good times yet to come.  I'm not sure how or when, but at some point it was established that we were exclusively Boyfriend and Girlfriend.

In one of his letters Brent asked if I would be able to meet him in a large city half way in between our hometowns.  When I read these words I was so excited and nervous at the same time.  This also required me to talk to my parents.  I wasn't old enough to drive.  I would have to rely on them.  Which meant finding a good way and a good time to approach the parental units, to do non other than ask for them to drive 3 hours so that I could meet up with some boy.  But in my eyes he wasn't just some boy, he was my Brent.  He made me feel important and special. 

I must have come up with a great speach because much to my surprise and delight my parents agreed to take me meet him.  Sara came with us as well.  I had to have my support system.  Brent and his friend were going to meet us at Woodfield Mall in Chicago.  He picked a time and told us to meet him at the food court.

We ran into a little trouble when we got to the mall and discovered that there was no food court!  (Again another moment where I feel old, we didn't have cell phones yet, so I couldn't just pick up the phone and call him)  Sara and I came up with the only thing that seemed logical at the time, look for McDonalds.  Brent worked at McDonalds so he must have wanted to meet us there, right?  There was infact a McDonalds, however, it was closed.  Fail. Again.  Now what?  I just spent 3 hours in the car, which actually felt like an eternity, only to be dissappointed?  Are you kidding me?

Then there it was, it seemed as if a spotlight shone down upon it, Burger King that is.  Brent and his friend were there waiting for us.  After arranging a time and a place to meet my parents finally left us to just do what teenagers did, hold hands and hang out at the mall.

When it was time to leave I was sad, but at ease.  I knew this would not be our last interaction.  Of course the car ride home was spent reminising and giggling about the day.  Life resumed and our writing continued.

January brought a new opportunity for Brent and I to see one another.  My school was having a winter formal.  After gettting the ok from my parents I invited him to the dance.  I was so excited as I wrote to him asking him to come.  It seemed as if he took forever to respond. 

Then finally, he called.  I was sick and had gone to bed early.  My mom talked to him and he told her that he would be able to come.  My mom came in my room and woke me up to tell me about the phone call.  I remember feeling so happy, as if I could just jump out of bed!

That's us in 1997.  Oh my gosh look at Brent's baby face!

****Ok this is longer than I anticpated.  I'm going to have to continue tomorrow!****

Our Story Part 3 . . . The Dance

The Swing on the Porch . . . Our Story

Last night a friend posted that she was enjoying a cocktail on her front porch. 

I read the post aloud to Brent.  This lead us to encourage B and G to watch a movie in the front room.
Aren't we parents of the year? 

We also put Baby M in her swing (she fell asleep during dinner) and head to the swing on our porch, with a cocktail, of course.

I cannot even begin to tell you how nice it was to just sit on that swing; looking into the darkness, listening to the bugs, who were super loud, by the way, and just talk about . . . nothing. 

I mean yeah we talked, about the odd lights coming from down the street and the neighbors and of course the kids, but no earth shattering conversation was developed and that's ok.  It was nice to

just

be

us.

As we sat there in the darkness among those noisy bugs I began to reminisce about us, Brent and I, that is, and just how we came to be . . .

**** Just so you know this is going to have to be a 2 parter ****

The summer before my sophomore year of high school was spent like most summers I could remember from my childhood.  We went on a family vacation that was linked up with the car club my dad was a part of.

My dad belonged to a Full Size Chevy club.  It consisted of a group of guys who had rebuilt, restored, or maintained these Chevy's from 1965 and 1966.  Each year a member from the club hosted a 'meet'.  The meet was held in the host's home town.  Touristy type activities were scheduled throughout the 4-5 days the meet was held and was concluded with a car show and banquet on the last evening.

As you can imagine the vacation was less than thrilling, for a 15 year old who would rather spend her days sleeping in until noon and getting her tan on, once she did manage to drag her lazy rear out of bed.  Traveling in the backseat of a hot, noisy, 1965 Impala, with her parents was NOT cool!

The one silver lining, in my eyes that is, was that my best friend, Sara, was able to go on vacation with us (she frequently went on the trips with us).  At least I had someone my age to enjoy the misery.

As I said this was a typical summer vacation for my family.  We had grown to know several people and families in the club.  My mom enjoyed catching up with the ladies while my dad loved talking cars and drinking a few beers with the guys.  Leaving Sara and I to, well, just be.  Sometimes we would go swimming or walk around the hotel or fix our hair and make up in the hotel room.  We attended the day tours with the group and hung out at the back of the pack making the tour our own.


The meet this particular summer was held in Pennsylvania.  To be honest I don't know when Brent and I actually first connected.  It could have been during the tour of the Harley Davidson plant or at the pool or somewhere else for that fact.

Sara being the wonderful best friend that she is, nudged me to talk to Brent, which eventually lead toward Brent, Sara, myself, and another boy who was around our age, hanging out together for the week.

During the day we participated in the adult scheduled tasks and at night we were given the opportunity to 'do our own thing' within reason, of course. 

There wasn't much to do around the hotel.  We were limited to swimming, walking around, walking to an ice cream shop near by, oh and the best thing ever . . . Brent was 16 so he could DRIVE!  This meant we could go to a movie.
     Just in case you're wondering yes, I do still remember that we saw Liar, Liar.  And yes, he did hold my hand, but that was all.

For the remainder of the week we hung out, just the 4 of us, not realizing what this would lead to. 

After the banquet on the last night Brent and I spent as much time together as we could.  We both knew this was our last night together and quite possibly the last night that we would spend together ever.  We lived in 2 different states.  We were 15 and 16 years old.  There was no way that we could have a relationship . . . or was there?  We never discussed any of this.  We just enjoyed our time together.

I knew that Brent and his family were going to be leaving very early the next morning.  With the help of Sara I composed a letter to Brent.  I wrote of how I had enjoyed our time together and provided him with my address.

I set my alarm and got up early in the morning.  Shaking with nerves and butterflies and knots in my stomach I walked in the cold darkness and put the letter under the windshield wiper of his dad's car and then went back to my hotel room.

**** I'm going to stop here for today ****

Our Story Part 2 . . . The Letter

DIY Laundry Detergent

*I'm not gonna lie, for me part of the fun of making the DIY products is getting to decorate the container and make them all match!

When I made my first batch of Laundry Detergent in April I started with a 1/2 of a batch.  I have learned that it's better to start with a smaller amount of something just to see if in fact you do actually like it.

As I create more DIY cleaning products I learn something new each time.  For example, the first time you use the product it may be great, however, the true test of the product is actually none other than  . . . time.  Also, be sure to keep the products in AIR TIGHT containers!

While it has been difficult, I have been trying to take my time, and use the products for awhile before writing my review on them.

So here you have it the DIY Laundry Detergent Recipe I used:

What you need:

1/2 of a cup of baking soda
(found in the baking aisle)

1 cup of washing soda
(found in the laundry detergent aisle)

1 bar of castile soap
(found at an organic food store)

What to do:

Grate the soap with a cheese grater.  Use the smallest size holes.  Using a large knife cut the grated soap.  I cut it horizontally and then turned the cutting board and cut it the opposite way.  The purpose is to make it into the consistency of powder.  This whole process took about 20 minutes.

Combine and stir all of the ingredients together.  It will look like this.  I shake the container before each use.  I also keep it in an airtight container.  Use 1 tablespoon of the detergent per load of laundry.  I have a front loading HE washing machine.  I put the scoop in the slot labeled detergent.

My opinion:

I wanted to see how well the DIY detergent  cleaned in comparison to store brand detergent.  Before using the DIY detergent the first time I made my own stains on 2 burp rags (1 to wash in store brand detergent and 1 to wash DIY detergent).  I used the following stains: grass, dirt, chocolate syrup, spaghetti sauce, permanent marker, and icing.

I only put detergent in the washing machine the first time I washed each of these.  Typically I add a tablespoon of Oxiclean to each load of laundry.  For normal washing I would have also sprayed these stains with pretreater, but I wanted to see how the detergent alone worked first.  Both detergents removed the same amount of each stain.  Only the permanent marker and icing were removed completely with detergent alone.

When I washed them a second time I used a pretreater.  Again, both detergents removed the same amount of each stain.  I came to the conclusion that the DIY detergent works as well as the store brand detergent.

I have made 2 half batches of this detergent and 1 whole batch.  It has clean our laundry and I am happy with the results!

Price Break Down:

55oz. of washing soda costs $3.29 (at Meijer)

      I used 1 cup of washing soda.  This would equal about .55 of the box was used.

16 oz. of baking soda costs .59 (at Meijer)

     I used 1/2 of a cup of baking soda.  This would equal .15 of the box was used.

1 bar of Dr. Bronners Soap (5 oz) costs $3.98 (at the organic market)

     I used the whole bar of soap.

1 batch of the DIY soap costs me $4.60. 

The entire batch was 17 oz.  If I use 1 tablespoon for each load I am able to wash 34 loads of laundry (1 dry oz is about 2 tablespoons) with 1 batch.  This means I am spending .14 per load.

According to Walmart.com 56 oz. of Tide washes 40 loads of laundry and costs $8.97.  This breaks down to .22 per load.  (I wasn't able to find prices on Meijer's website so I used Walmart's website)

Links to Other DIY prodcts I have tried:

DIY Fabric Softener

DIY Baby Wipes

DIY Fabric Refresher

DIY Counter Top Spray

DIY Soap Scum Remover

DIY Glass Cleaner

DIY Dishwasher Detergent

Summer Activities

Alright, so I’ve been thinking.

When I say that to Brent I usually get an eye roll.  And in his defense when I do say it to him it typically means I’ve come up with some kind of a project that will take a while.

Ok back to the topic at hand, I’ve been thinking . . .

I’m not the only mom in the world who is home with her kids over the summer.  I personally have been trying to think of fun ideas or activities to do with my children while we are all home together.

For the most part, I’ve been trying to find things to do that cost little to nothing. 

I also like the idea of trying to use things we already have at home or using our imaginations to ‘go places’ without physically traveling.

When we were home for spring break we traveled to the beach and to the moon.

I guess in a long drawn out way, the point that I'm trying to make is, I am going to create a list of summer activities that I want to accomplish with my children this summer.

Some of these activities we have already done and some are things that I would like to do. 

I will list the activities in this post and as we accomplish them I’ll create a link back to the list.  I would love for my readers to share any ideas that they have tried or would like to try.

Summer Activity List:

1.  Go to the library and sign up for the SummerReading program

2.  Go for walks

3.  Ride bikes

4.  Draw with sidewalk chalk

5.  Blow bubbles

6.  Go to the zoo

7.  Go to The Children’s Museum

8.  Eat lunch outside

9.  Go to the pool

10.  Play in the pool in the yard

11.  Play in the sandbox

12.  Make puppets

13.  Put on a puppet show

14.  Complete summer practice packet (B)

15.  Complete summer journal (B)

16.  Work on 1^st and 2^nd grade sight words (B)

17.  Work on handwriting (G)

18.  Work on preschool sight words (G)

19.  Create water bottle spray art

20.  Play with water balloons

21.  Play with squirt guns

22.  Make a fort/tent

23.  Go to a park

24.  Make fresh lemonade

25.  Water flowers

26.  Play ball outside

27.  Bake cookies brownies

28.  Play on the swing set

29.  Eat popsicles /ice cream outside

30.  Dance to the radio

He Has Come So Far

Today as I was watching B and G play together I began to reminisce. 

B is my 'little old man'.  Despite the fact that he is only 6 years old I'm telling you this kid is wise beyond his years.

I have always been able to have conversations with him and he seemed to completely understand what I was saying.

For example, he was the first person I told when I found out I was pregnant with G (B was the only person home and I just had to tell someone).  At the time he wasn't even 2 years old yet.  He watched me with his big blue eyes and nodded as I explained that he was going to be a big brother.  I still remember the expression on his face and his response, "You have baby in yo tummy, Mommy?"  "I wanna see!"

As any parent, I am so proud of him.  I feel badly because I don't think I tell him this as much as I should.  I neglect to tell him this because he is so mature and I just figure he knows.  Well just 'assuming' he knows isn't good enough!

Recently he has made me so proud with what he volunteered to do completely on his own!  Before sharing with you what he volunteered to do I need to provide you with some more background information.

B took part in his first Christmas program when he was 3 years old.  He was involved in a preschool program within the church daycare he attended. 

As he stood on stage it was obvious that he was petrified!  I mean absolutely terrified.  He stood up in front of all of those people clenching onto his bear and just stared at them.  It took all I had not to cry for him.  

He managed to stand for 1 song and when it ended he quickly ran off of the stage calling, "Mommy!"  Naturally, I quickly scooped him up in my arms and held him.  Just writing this now makes me want to cry!

2008 - 3 years old

The following year we moved him to a different preschool program.  It was a preschool within the same township that I teach. 

While Brent and I waited for his class to walk out in front of the audience we held our breath.  We were hoping that he didn't have the same reaction as the previous year.  Much to our surprise, not only did he walk out with a smile, but he participated in the singing and the movements to all of the songs!

2009 - 4 years old

For the 2010 - 2011 school year he remained in the same preschool program because it was a 2 year program and he wasn't old enough for Kindergarten. 

Unfortunately, due to his work schedule Brent wasn't able to attend this Christmas program.  I, however, was. 

Again, I was beaming with pride as I watched B join in with his classmates and participate appropriately with each song.  This year it was a little different, however, he had become a leader.  Right before my eyes I saw my son taking initiative and following directions and this was the first time I realized it outside of our home.

2010 - 5 years old

In 2011 he was ready for his first Kindergarten Christmas program.  His years in preschool had prepared him well.  This year not only did he have to sing and move, but he had props!  He did a great job remembering what to use and when to use it.



2011 - 6 years old

Now here's the part that I've been leading up to ---- B's class had an end of the year program. 

B brought home a note from his teacher.  The note indicated that B VOLUNTEERED for a speaking part in the up coming program!

2012 - 6 years old end of the year program

He started out as this little 3 year old boy who was brave enough to stand holding his bear on stage for one song.

He has grown into this little boy who volunteers for a speaking part.  He practiced each night.  He memorized the part and when it came time to preform . . . while he was a bit nervous, he still did it!  And we couldn't have been more proud of him!