7 weeks waiting!

Today marks 7 weeks on the waiting list! Time continues to "fly" by! Number 7 on the Island of Sodor is Toby the Tram Engine. One of my personal favorites.

We've been busy this week preparing for Grayson's party this weekend! I can't believe he will be 2 on Friday. Where does the time go? As you could probably guess, his party will be Thomas-themed. I can't wait to see his little face when he sees the decorations and all the Thomas presents! In light of the upcoming presents, I spent the evening last Sunday going through toys and organizing. He has a toy box full in the family room, an entire playroom full, a Rubbermaid in the closet, and now several toys in the basement. We bought a carpet remnant and are storing some furniture for friends in the basement, so he now has a nice play area down there as well. It has been nice to take him down there when I'm doing laundry and let him play. I donated a few toys and plan to donate more around Christmas, but I just can't get rid of his nice toys. I keep telling myself we need to save them for Abram. But, at this rate there will be no room for Abram by the time he comes home! I really think rather than asking for any gifts for Abram, we will ask for donations for the orphanages we will visit in Ethiopia or donations for a college fund for the boys. We just already have so many nice clothes and toys.

Another exciting thing this week is bible study. I will be helping out in the children's program tomorrow. So, I will get to see what the program is all about just in time for Grayson's first week next week. I can't wait for Grayson to go! I think he will really enjoy all the little fun things I remember doing as a preschooler at bible study.

I've also been thinking ahead to preschool for Grayson next year. He will miss the cut-off for the 3 year-old programs by one month. So, I really don't want to send him to preschool because he would then be in preschool for 3 years. I think I will try a homeschool curriculum with him next year. I don't want him to just not learn anything until the next year, but I don't want him to be in preschool for so many years. So, it's kind of the best of both worlds. I found a nice curriculum online where I can just print off lesson plans. It really looks pretty simple and would probably be very easy to do. We could use the new area in the basement as our little homeschooling "area" to keep him from the distractions of the playroom. It would probably only be for a couple hours a day, if that. I think it would be a lot of fun for me and him. And, who knows, if we all love it, we may do it again the next year and the next and the next until it doesn't work for us anymore. I think it would give us the freedom to do fun things and learn things other than just the basics. I would love to incorporate Guatemalan and Ethiopian history into our history lessons, etc. He could get music time through local programs and would also get social time through all the programs we participate in in the community. So, we'll see, I think I'll at least give it a try.