Wes's Adventures in C-Ville

Hello again! Things haven't slowed down much since my last post :)

Wes is doing well in school, but he did run into trouble with his AR stuff. It's the Accelerated Reading program where they have to read various books throughout the year and each book is assigned a point value. Once they read the book, they take a quiz about it - so they get a quiz grade and earn AR points... Well, his teacher told the students to take their time and read the book more than once so they would do well on the quiz... And she told them not to take the quiz until they felt ready because if they scored badly on the quiz she would move their clip (that's their trouble scale and every time you get in trouble, your clip is moved) Wes hasn't had his clip moved at all since we got here so he sure didn't want to have it moved because of a quiz... SO he decided to just keep reading the same book over and over without ever taking the quizzes :D Yep, that's right, he figured out a win-win situation and seized it! I thought this was just incredibly clever on his part :)

So, once we talked it over with Wes we were on track - all he had to do was bring his book home and we'd help him prepare for the test... He had chosen to read Fox in Socks by Dr. Suess...

If you're not familiar with that particular tale, click HERE

This story is about 2 guys who play a rhyming game - There is no plot and no action takes place.... When I read it with Wes I was immediately trying to think of questions to ask him so he could practice for his quiz. I didn't think my questions were any good so I called his teacher to find out what types of questions he could expect... She wasn't much help when she said, "They mainly ask questions about the book." >:\ Gr! So I asked her again and got more specific: "In this particular book there is no plot and only 2 characters, what types of questions can the quiz ask him about this book?" and She replied, "the quiz is on the computer and it's mulitple choice so they can choose their answer. It asks questions about the book they read." Nonetheless, we read and read and read some more and FINALLY, Wes was ready to take his quiz this morning - He came home this afternoon and was shouting as he walked through the door: "100! I made a 1-hundred! 100!" Ah! Success!

We have also been out there making new friends! Wes is really getting along with the little boy across the street, Makagan. His mom, Tiffany, and are thankful because that means WE get to hang out, too! We have taken the boys to the nearby park and to the movies and just to each others' houses, but I think the most exciting thing was that Wes was able to have his first ever sleepover! Tiffany and I took them to see Hotel For Dogs and then Makagan came to spend the night here :) They were really well behaved even though there was obvious whispering until well past 10 pm! The next morning they were all smiles watching The Lion King and eating Fruit Loops :)

And, since the park is so close to our new house - and so much fun, Brad and I took Wes there a few weekends ago ... and... well.... we had the whole place to ourselves....

Once Wes pulled the grown-ups away from the playground we checked out the swimming area and "mini-beach" - It looks like a really nice area and we will definitely go back this summer!

As we continued to drive through the park area and reservoir facilities, we found a pic nic pavilion and places to go fishing... Then we found a semi-dead end cul-de-sac with 2 verrry suspicious cars parked next to each other.... We quickly steered in the other direction, but not before Wes piped up from the back seat "This looks like a good place for a date! Plenty of places to park!" I gave Brad a look that told him he'd have a TALK with Wes before the teen years arrive!

Meanwhile, in other fun news - We finally have our awesome new furniture! It took an act of congress to get the old ones taken away, but finally our living room is all pulled together! Check it out:

The month of January means 2 very important birthdays :) Brad and Mr. Herb both celebrated in style with a yummy cake and most of the family all around! I made Brad his own cake before we headed to his parents' house for ... more cake :)

Don't look now, but I think Mr. Herb just unwrapped some Dark Chocolate!

Oh and what do you get for a guy who doesn't want everything? Gourmet PB&Js ;)

And, lastly, I am still on the job hunt - I have called several places and no one has an opening for me. I did call a bridal store today and I have an interview set up for Wednesday, but I think they need a part-timer for nights and weekends.. That won't work for the Wes schedule but maybe they have some other schedule in mind. We'll just wait and see what God has in store ...

In the meantime, PLEASE keep praying for me and for all three of us :)