House For Rent

I have been pretty terrible about keeping friends and family informed with Wendel news, so this may be the first you have heard/seen about our latest development. Brett and his dad have negotiated a deal and expect to close on a house in our general neighborhood this summer. There are just a few details and paperwork to finish, but it's pretty much a done-deal. The house needs a bit of updating inside, and the owner has already given us a key to get started. We hope to get most everything done in the next few months and have it ready to rent out by the fall. It's an older style home (similar to ours), but I think it will make a very nice house. The street is quiet, has beautiful old oak trees and nice-sized lots.

Brett and his dad have already put in quite a bit of work - they have torn out all of the carpet, painted the ceilings, run some wiring in the bedrooms for ceiling fans, and removed the entire old intercom system. We forgot to take "before" pictures, so now all of the inside photos look like a construction zone-which it is at this point.
The formal living room and dining rooms are to the left of the entry. There is a nice, big bay window in the formal living room.
The family room room and kitchen are in the back of house. There is a built-in boyshelf...er, bookshelf... in the family room which will be taken out.

The kitchen had cabinets that hung above a peninsula, similar to the setup in our kitchen. These cabinets were barely hanging to the ceiling, so Brett has already taken them down. We will put one double and one single cabinet back on the wall, but will leave it open above the peninsula. We also plan to replace the appliances (oven, cooktop, and dishwasher), which all appear to be the originals.

I'm not including any photos of the bedrooms or bathrooms. They're pretty standard, and the photos didn't turn out that well. The master bedroom is in the back of the house. It has a sliding glass door to the back yard. The master bath has a tub and toilet, with the vanity and sink outside the bathroom opposite a walk-in closet. The middle bedroom is rather small (similar to Ryan's room), and the front bedroom is a good-sized room (similar to Todd's room) with two closets. The hall bath is a little smaller than ours.

There is green space adjacent to the back of the property as well as to the left of the house, making the yard seem quite big. The house to the back of the green space has a privacy fence, so that area is pretty much available for us to clear out and clean up as we have the time and inclination.

Nice, big camelia in the back.

One of the things that I like about the property is the big oak trees. Like Brett said, you could turn the back yard into a bird sanctuary. In fact, he said today when he pulled up to the house there was a red-shouldered hawk perched up in one of the trees. (No, the hawk is not pictured here. I just thought this was a cool photo.)

Here is a close-up of one of Brett's favorite things about the front yard - an old turpentine tree. There are two of these long-leaf pine trees in the front. I don't really know much about them; Brett could tell you a lot more. I think both trees still have the metal plates stuck in the trunks, which they used to collect the sap for making turpentine.

We are excited about the house, and hope that it will be a good investment for our family. In the meantime, I know that it will be a lot of work. In fact, I should clarify that anywhere this blog entry couples the pronoun "we" with a verb implying work - I really mean "Brett". Wish us [i.e. him/Brett] luck!

[Just kidding (mostly), Brett! I promise to help out as I am able.]

Ham On My Hands?

Ryan enjoys accessorizing - usually in the form of his construction hat and belts. He got a belt for Christmas from Grandma Donna which he has enjoyed wearing with almost anything. However, the buckles were a little too big to fit through most of his belt loops. So, I kept my eyes opened and finally found a two-pack of braided belts for a price I was willing to pay. Ryan has worn this belt to church a few times.

Recently, however, Ryan has shown interest in wearing a tie. I have not yet been successful in finding a tie for a little boy that is not a clip-on. [I guess I need to shop in stores a little classier than Wal-mart, Kmart, Ross, TJMax, and Target!] Though Ryan keeps begging for a "clippy" tie, I am not in favor of that style. I think they are tacky, and I think it would be more distracting for him to be able to easily remove it during church and clip it on to whatever catches his fancy. So, I keep telling him to be patient. We will find a tie for him, as well as a "tie shirt" (white button-up) soon. This morning, after going through the "tie talk" again, I realized that Ryan already had a "tie shirt" in his closet (albeit, a patterned shirt). And, since Brett is not getting much use out of them, why not let Ryan wear one of Daddy's? Ryan was thrilled, and kept his tie on all morning. When we got home from work, I wanted to take a photo of my darling boy in front of our colorful snapdragons. What a great photo op. Unfortunately, this was the best I got.

The only reason I even got him smiling is because I made a comment about his "monkey-face" in all of the previous photos. "Monkey-face?...ha, ha, ha, ha!"

Todd's Third Attempt at Sharing the Scripture

Every week in Primary a child shares a scripture then gives a prayer. Another child then gives a talk. I have shared Todd's first (and so far only) experience of giving the talk in Primary. He did a great job, with the exception of the scripture in his talk that I hoped he would recite. He skipped that part completely. Todd has had two previous opportunities to share the scripture and prayer. Both of those times he froze up and would not say a word. I looked a little like a dummy trying to whisper the words in his ear, only to end up having to say it all myself. Both times, I walked away from the podium feeling a little frustrated. However, Todd has continued to accept the invitation to share the scripture and prayer.

Today was Todd's third attempt. We have been working on memorizing a scripture in James (James 1:5) for a little over two weeks, and Todd and Ryan almost have it down. They still need a few prompts towards the end. I talked to Todd, and we decided to share this scripture in Primary. And how did he do when it came time to recite the scripture in front of twenty-plus children and teachers?? Fabulously! His best ever! Although I know that he has most of the scripture memorized and can say a prayer with no help, I did have to prompt him the whole time. But, he spoke clearly into the microphone and made it all the way through. There is hope for my shy little boy.

Answered Prayer

Today was testimony meeting at church, and I got up to share a little of my testimony - specifically to share a simple prayer that was answered last night. Here is the story.

Last night was the annual General Young Women Meeting broadcasted from Salt Lake City for all of the young women of our church and their mothers. The messages that the speakers share are always fantastic, and we really like to see as many as possible of the young women in our area attend. So we (the Stake Young Women presidency) organized a social/dinner before the meeting, and did this in Crestview and Fort Walton Beach. There are only three of us in the presidency, and one is out of town, which left Connie hosting this dinner alone (with the help of her daughters) in Fort Walton and me alone in Crestview (with the help of anyone who happened to show up early).

I left the house a little later than I had hoped and was feeling a little frustrated. I was not sure if I would have enough time to get everything set up. I was also worried that the lasagnas would not have time to get cooked through. I had already started cooking them at home, but they needed a little more time at the church to finish. When I get frustrated, busy, or pulled in too many directions, I have a hard time focusing my thoughts and I have a hard time enjoying the moment. I wanted to be able to get everything done, and I wanted to do that as well as be able to carry on a decent conversation with the people who came.

So, in the car on my way to the church I prayed. I prayed that the lasagnas would be hot and ready in time; I prayed that I would be able to set up the tables and the rest of the food; I prayed that I would feel comfortable greeting everyone and conducting the social without my counselors by my side; and, most importantly, I prayed for peace through it all.

When the meeting was over and everything was cleaned up I was saying good-bye to one of the women. As we were talking, I realized that my prayer had been answered. All of the details got taken care of: the lasagnas were hot, the tables got set up and looked pretty with the colorful table runners, the food was set up and nobody missed the butter that I left at home, and everything was cleaned up in less than 10 minutes thanks to most everyone who attended. But the greatest blessing for me personally was that I was blessed with peace and a sense of calm all night. At no point did I feel like a chicken with its head cut off (which is a very typical feeling for me). And, I was able to find a seat in the chapel a few minutes before the broadcast began and enjoy the speakers.

My simple prayer was one that did not really affect anyone else. But I wanted the peace to enjoy the evening - and my prayer was answered.

Kindergarten Readiness

It stinks to have a child with a birthday so close to the school cut-off date. You question whether the state really knows when your child is ready to start school, or whether you, as a parent, really know best. Brett and I have bemoaned Ryan's birthday since before he was born. His birth was a scheduled C-section, and Brett really tried to push the OB into scheduling the delivery for just two days earlier so that we could make the decision about when to start Ryan in school without having to worry about cut-off dates. At the time, school seemed so far away - why make such a fuss about it? However, as the time has drawn nearer, I have spent a great deal of time wondering when Ryan should start school. He seems to be a happy, bright, and well-adjusted child. Though he wouldn't be eligible for kindergarten this fall, I do feel that he would be successful in preschool.

Here is a quick resume of some of the skills Ryan has mastered, which seem proof of his preschool "readiness".
1) He mastered the somersault over a year ago (while his older brother has only recently gotten the hang of it).
2) He mastered winking over a year ago (while his older brother still struggles with controlling one eye).

3) Though he does not know ALL his letters, he has proven to have fairly decent fine motor skills, including being able to forge--I mean WRITE his brother's name. He also knows how to write at least the first letter in his own name.

4) Speaking of motor skills, Ryan has also recently figured out how to snap. It's kind of hard to hear in the video, but if you listen closely you can hear some distinct snaps over the birds chirping in the background. Again, older brother Todd hasn't quite figured it out.

Brett feels confident that Ryan has all the makings of a class clown.

While it looks like I am insulting Ryan's older brother Todd as I compare the two, I assure you that I mean no disrespect to Todd. Todd, who will attend kindergarten this fall, has done very well in preschool this year. He enjoys it and has been learning a lot. He has shown much interest in putting letters together and sounding them out, trying to read. He also seems to do well in math, including beginning addition and a basic understanding of beginning multiplication (though we don't refer to it that way). For example, "If all three of us had three pancakes each for breakfast this morning, how many pancakes did Mom make? What is three sets of three?" I think Todd was perfectly ready for preschool this past year, and I think he will be perfectly ready for kindergarten this coming year.

So, why shouldn't Ryan, who is able to keep up with his brother on so many levels, be ready for preschool this year?

Florida offers a program called Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK), which is a state-funded preshool for all 4-year olds the year before they enter kindergarten. (Todd is currently enrolled in this program). I talked with the director of Todd's preschool to ask her opinion about Ryan's readiness and what I might be able to do about enrolling Ryan this fall. I told her about the difficulty I have had in deciding the right time for Ryan to start school and assured her that I felt Ryan would be ready this year. As it turns out, all of my worrying and indecisiveness did not matter. The director said that the State is unbending in the cut-off date. Ryan misses the cut-off by ONE DAY. If I felt that strongly about starting Ryan early, my only option would be to enroll him in private school for kindergarten and hope that the public school would advance him to first grade the next year [this didn't work for my younger brother, though...]. That's not an option I am considering, so the decision is made. Ryan will turn 6 years old as soon as he enters kindergarten.

I did leave the director's office feeling a little better about things. She talked about how important she thought it was to let kids be kids as long as they could, rather than pushing them early into highly-structured learning environments. She said that the older children almost always have the advantage in any grade level-not necessarily academically, but socially as well. She reminded me that I wouldn't have to be sending my 17-year-old off to college, but would have him at home with me one more year. Bottom line, she encouraged me to enjoy having one more year with my baby at home, to be confident that he would do even better in school being a little older, and to dispel now any "but, what if..." thoughts about my decision. She almost had me feeling sorry for two of Ryan's pals from church who will be starting VPK this fall because their birthdays are before the cut-off. Before I went to see her I had been feeling a little sorry for Ryan whose buddies were moving on to bigger and better things while he was being held back. Now, I have a more positive outlook on the situation, seeing how Ryan may be better off for waiting the extra year. And, I have already started thinking about some of the things that Ryan and I will be able to do together next year while Todd is at school. Oh, the places we'll go!

I just need to resolve the guilt that I am already starting to feel about excluding Todd on our fun outings to the beach, the parks, the zoo . . . .

My Kind of Hero

Forget Superman, Spiderman, Batman, and the like.

This is what I like to hear: (from my Preschooler, Todd, taking a call on his "cell phone") "Your air conditioner stopped working? We'll be right there to fix it."

"Oh, you need us to fix some boards? We'll come over after we eat."

Half a minute later, "On no, your house is falling down? We'll come over right now! Ryan, there's an emergency. We have to go now!"

A little later, Ryan, who as a fireman was attending to a fire, showed Todd what he was doing. Todd quickly replied, "His house is on fire. We have to rescue them!"

Let's hear it for Bob and Manny - heroes who take care of real-life problems and don't have to fly or kill bad guys to do it!

[That's Bob the Builder and Handy Manny, of course....]