Linking the Present to the Past

This tractor has been in our family for a very long time.  It first belonged to Daddy John, who passed it down to Doo.  I remember many a bumpy rides standing on the side steps of this thing thinking that there just wasn't anything in the world that my daddy didn't know how to do.  From plowing our tiny garden to scraping a driveway, the uses for this old thing are endless.  I don't know what families without a tractor do!

I thought this was such a great picture of all four of Doo's grands having such a good time on their great-grandfather's 1940something Ford tractor.  (I may have this date wrong - Doo you'll have to correct me).  And although Daddy John wasn't there to see them "living the good-life" on his old tractor, his spirit of love and laughter could be felt by us all. 

Friday's Coming....

Phew!  The McCullers are still trying to adjust to their new schooltime schedule.  It's such a shock to go from our summertime schedule to the hectic week-by-week of the school year.  Somehow, we get through it and even enjoy the moments in between. 

This picture was taken one Thursday night when we were all zapped.  (It took all I had to track down the camera to capture this tenderness.) 

Hold on babies!  Friday is coming....there is a light at the end of this tunnel, and it's called the weekend! 

Ready for Football

Although it is still sticky hot, my little ones are getting ready for Fall Football. There is just something about that game that makes the McCullers shiver with excitement!  From the booming of the bands to the cheers of the crowd, it's a thrilling season.  Now, we are just waiting for the cool air to arrive. 

Excited to go see the Titans play.

Maeve doesn't really care which ball is being used for the games she cheers for

Cam's game face

Under the Friday Night Lights

Baby School...Here Comes Maeve!

Maeve started preschool on August 19th.  We lovingly refer to it as "Baby School."  She is going on Thursdays and Fridays from about 9:30-12:30 each day.  Although in the spring I didn't even think of registering her, over the summer it became obvious that she was ready for a little bit of social time with little ones that were her age.  So, at the last minute, we registered her for her first school experience.  This was to be the first time anyone other than family had ever cared for her.  Just like we expected from our eager-to-try-anything Maeve, she did great! 

Moo got to do the honors of dropping her off.  (Although it does make me sad that I miss out on things like this, it was probably for the best for both of us.)  She said that she went right in, discovering the ins and outs of her new place.  Of course she cried when the official "hand over" took place, but she got over it and went on with her day of new discoveries. 

Her sweet teacher, Mrs. Kristie, commented to us that she had done great.  The second day she was even helping out by cleaning up her lunch spot and pushing in her chair!  My bouncy baby is quickly becoming my charming toddler.  I know people say this all the time, but I think this stage of Maeve is my favorite so far!

Rain Dance

The hot, hot days are gettin the best of us.  We are tired of being cooped up inside.  These two decided to do their own little rain dance and entertain themselves in their goloshes.  The things they come up with for entertainment make me smile.  Just want to bottle them up sometimes and keep them like this forever! 

Cam sporting the Frogs and Maeve the Monkeys

Trying out her walking skills in these rubber boots

(She didn't want to take them off!)

Were they meaning to do the Hokey Pokey? 

Help!  We are trapped inside!

Our Writer

I'm not sure if this is Maeve's way of telling us she is just as ready for school as her big brother, or if she is really going to be our focused little girl afterall.  Just recently, she has taken up an extreme interest in any kind of writing tool.  Here she is focusing on her work:

First Day of Pre-K

We were SO nervous to know how Cam was going to react to his new school.  A brand new environment with people he had never been with before.  Before, he had always been "Mr. Stuff" because everyone knew him.  All of his friends seemed to flock to him.  Another new thing for him was going all day, everyday. The most he had ever gone before was for three days only from 9:00-1:00.  So a full five day 7:30-2:30 schedule was going to be a bit more than what he was accustomed to.  Plus he has the disadvantage of having me for a mother.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I had some serious cases of school-itis during my school years, and that's putting it mildly!  It was probably a good thing that I wasn't involved in the morning routine or else some of my genetic ailments may be inadvertently passed on to him.

So, the big day came.  I was checking my phone throughout the day for updates from the dropoff and from my friend Marion who teaches there.  The first update was this cute posed picture before they left the house. 

That smile made me feel so much more relaxed about the day.  Tony reported that when they arrived at school, he dropped him off in the carpool line and Cam didn't hesitate about getting out at all. He even wanted to eat breakfast at school!  (Might I just add that I never in all my years ever ate school breakfast! It's looking good that he didn't inherit too many of my worrisome traits!)   

 I got updates of "AOK" from Marion almost every 30 minutes.  After working with me for three years, she knew I would need that many reassurances! 

The day ticked right on by for me, and I even remember thinking to myself, "This is my smoothest first day yet!"  Maybe it was because most of my attention wasn't on all the things I had to do with my class but on my own little one.  Before I knew it, I had all of mine packed up and ready and we were headed out to get Cam off of the van that shuttled him over to my school. 

Well, the van was a little later than it usually was so I had time to get all of my students on their buses.  Then the van drove up and I hurried over to it.  I had my camera ready to take his picture as he lept off the van to happily greet his mother.  Not exactly as I pictured - My heart sank and my stomach dropped as my little his face was marked with sheer terror and he was snubbing from crying so hard.  This was just too much for him.  I wanted him to experience everything that may have been a little scary for him the first day so that he wouldn't have any reason to be nervous any of the rest of the days.  What was I thinking?  Looking back on it, I was asking a whole lot of such a little fella.  They plucked him out of the security of his class to take him to the van with someone that he had only met once.  Then he had to get in a strange vehicle with this somewhat strange person.  And for all he knew, it was going to take a very long time.   Poor baby!  Maybe just took it too far asking you to do that! 

(Not quite the same grin when I saw him that afternoon). 

So, he hasn't been back on the van yet.  That was what we compromised the next day in order for him to agree to go back!  (He is our negotiator!)  He's been teary at rest time too, but that's nothing out of the ordinary as he usually breaks down for us when it's time to take a nap.  We will conquer these things in time.

His comment after the first day was that it was fun and that it was very long.  He said, "I don't think I'll go back cause it's just too long."  Well, he has been back, and each day seems to get smoother and smoother and we pry a few more details out of him.  He seems to be most impressed with what is for lunch everyday.  We hear about lunch, and we sometimes get an occasional catchy song that was sung throughout the day.

Still can't believe he is an official preschooler!