Harvest Party

Today I attended Katherine's Harvest Party at her pre-school. It was so much fun to see how Katherine interacts with her teacher and classmates. Attending Northview Bible School has been a lot of work with all that we are asked to do to help with the class and I often wonder if it is worthwhile. I woke up and hour earlier today to bake pumpkin shaped cookies, pack treat bags for each student and teacher, and find orange for her to wear (a bow was all I could do). Going to school with Kat today was very rewarding though and I felt a sense of comfort that this is good for her and she is having a positive experience. Although it's only a total of 5 hours a week, we have noticed Katherine maturing in many ways with improved communication and more patience completing tasks. I just wish she hadn't gotten so much better with scissors: she gave herself a bit of a trim a week ago! Little chunks are sticking out all over her head (notice the bangs, for example). I'm sure she held her scissors the pre-school way!

Sweet Baby James!

Greg and I had the opportunity to see James Taylor in concert tonight (sweet)! We had great seats on the floor (sweet) and the performance was fabulous (very sweet). Even though it was Greg's 9th time to see James in concert, he was so excited all day (even made dinner for us to help get us out the door on time) and anxious about getting to our seats. It was really cute to see how thrilled he was to see his music idol again.

James is an incredible musician and performer, even comedic. "Steamroller" was hilarious as he really yucked it up with over-the-top blues. The audience of old white people (including my gynecologist who sat in front of us) couldn't get enough and he did about 5 encores. My favorite moment was when he sang his rendition of "Oh What A Beautiful Morning" from Oklahoma! It was fresh, Taylorized and folksy. I loved it! I don't think I'll ever want to hear that song the Broadway-way again! In honor of the night, I added Taylor's "The Secret of Life" to my playlist. Enjoy!

So Many Pumpkins!

It was a beautiful but cold day when we ventured up to Greenbluff to pick pumpkins. (The pink pumpkin is Katherine.) We had so much fun running through the field picking up pumpkins and putting them in our wagon. While we were at the farms we picked up some apples too. That afternoon my sisters and their children gathered at our house to make caramel apples and get really sticky!

Like Mother, Like Daughter?

For those of you who may not know, the name given me at birth was Shauna Kristine. My mom preferred "Kristine," but her good friend had a daughter with the same name and consequently opted to give me a good, solid 70's first name. The friend she attempted to avoid "copying" moved to another area soon after my birth. My mom called me "Shauna Kristine," and I must have been very accustomed to hearing my middle name because when I was 3 years old I decided it should be my first name. Apparently I only answered to "Kristine" and only allowed my brother, Brian, to continue to call me my real name. The name change coincided with our move to Valencia, CA and so it seemed like a good time to drop "Shauna" for good. I've been Kristine every since.

A couple of nights ago, Greg and I tried to remember middle names we had considered for Katherine. There were three options, as we can recall: Faith, Hope or Kristine. Katherine must have heard us say, "Katherine Kristine" because she claims it is her name. This is surprising because she has always introduced herself by her full name, Katherine Faith, and suddenly it's changed. I thought her determination to have a new name would wear off after a couple of days (she is 3 after all!), but she hasn't changed her mind. Sound familiar?

Here We Go A-Blogging!

My good friend told me it was time. Time to blog! So, here we go. . . a-blogging!