Let's Grow!

Head on over to my camps "tips" page so see the Warren Family trying their hand at gardening!  So far so good...(minus some pesky rabbits!!!)  (Anna does a pretty good job chasing them away...)

http://readcookgrowtips.blogspot.com/2012/05/lets-grow.html

Revised Teacher

I am so encouraged by the direction my "read.cook.grow." camp is going.   I couldn't imagine when I started this process how much joy I would have in creating and manipulating this curriculum.   That joy does come with a price though.   I am trying to find a balance in spending time with my new endeavor and still being available for my family.  No, I am not working 40 hours a week.  I am working maybe 4 : )  BUT my mind seems to be constantly working.  I would be willing to bet that anyone that starts their own "business" (I hate to even call it that) could attest to the love and nurture you give it just like you would with your own children.   When you have an idea that has legs, you need to walk with it : )  I may possibly always have my "notebook" with me.   I do hope and pray that once some of the excitement wears off I can find more of a balance and annoy myself (and those around me) less : )   

That being said, there is so much be excited about!   I now have 2 camps that I am teaching this summer with "healthy" numbers (although I would LOVE more!), a fantastic curriculum, an assistant (aka a high-schooler I'm paying to help), a uniform (a cute apron I splurged on and a shirt that has my company name on it), a blog (where some of my excited energy is being channeled through) AND now I've been approached by someone to teach my curriculum at their school.   

Now to the true point of this post.   The above school is called Compass Academy and it is 5 miles east of McKinney.   The owner found my site and emailed me and asked if I would be interested in teaching my program to her students this summer.   Excited by the opportunity I called her back and was VERY pleasantly surprised.   Have you ever had one of those moments where you just knew there was a God and that he cared about You and your life specifics no matter how big or small?  I love those moments.   I love when he reveals his faithfulness to me personally, it just makes me love and trust Him even more.   What was so significant, you ask?  This summer camp isn't just any summer camp.  It is a camp for kids with Sensory Processing Disorder.   You know, that disorder that my favorite boy in the whole world has.   The woman who owns it is extremely well know in the field, has documentaries and books, and is one of the most encouraging women I have spoken to about the particulars on this disorder and my son.  A few major pieces of my life story came together in this one moment AND I didn't plan it or control it...He did.   

Her academy sounds like a dream and you can hear the joy in her voice (her very Scottish voice.)   She lives on 8 acres and has a vineyard, garden, commercial sized kitchen and art studio all for her "kids".  If you know me, this sounds like a dream.  Where do I come in?   I will go out to her academy and work with her kids in the kitchen for a few hours over the course of a few days.   I will teach them how to make pizza dough, pizzas, and grow their own herbs for sauce, AND...I can't wait.   Thank you Lord for writing my story WAYYYYYyyyy better than I ever could.      

EAisms

Annaisms:  Age 2 (and almost 1/2)

*Now that it's sandal season (ok it's always sandal season here...) she asks if she can put on her "candles"
*Her new favorite thing to do is twirl her skirt and say "I'm pitty"
*She asks me if I can brush her toes   (paint her toe nails)
*She likes to lay out her nap mat, blanket and animals and play "nap time".  

Elisms: Age 4 and 3/4s

*He asked Todd: "On your birthday are you going to be a Grandaddy?"   (His response "I hope not")
*"When I'm 10 I will play for the Cardinals because I'm a good hitter"
*"Mom I'm not going to eat so I don't have to poop so much"
*After we came home one night to relieve a babysitter we here him scurrying down the stairs and said "I counted to 10 a whole bunch of times and it didn't work".  
*While taking him and his friend Chase to school I over heard them talking about death.   Chase said his great grandma died and Eli responded, "It's ok.  She rosed up again"
*Again, while taking him and Chase to school I hear Eli tell Chase: "I HATE the Tucans".   After the mom speech of how we don't hate people, we just don't like what they do sometimes.   I then asked, "why don't you like the Tucans?"  His response: "Because they beat Mizzou."  .....Me: " Ohhhhhhhhh you mean the Jayhawks.  You're right, you hate them."  
*Now that he's an avid bike rider we are trying to teach him bike etiquette.   While passing someone he said, "May I please get in your way?"
*He told his Granddad his bike is SUPER fast.  It has fire on the side.  
*After a Worlds Fair at his school I asked where his new watch came from.  He said, "Twitzerland"
*I've had a say in his clothes for 4 1/2 years and the time has come where he now is picking out his outfits.   He came in my room one morning with black shorts, a navy shirt and black socks.  I told him he needed to change.   He puffed out his chest and said, "I will be who I be".    (while yes my heart melted, I still made him change...)
*We went to a Rough Rider Minor League game the other night and Eli called them the "Ikea baseball team".   (Their stadium is behind Ikea)
*He told Todd, "Mom told you to fix the sprinkler and you didn't listen to her".   (Yes!!!!!!!!!!!)