Friends in a Far Away Land

Not one, but two dear friends are set to deploy to Afghanistan in just a few short weeks with the 3-19th Agribusiness Development Team.  Major Jeremy Gulley, my current boss, and Major Shane Robbins, a former collegue, are both with the Indiana National Guard and educators in Indiana.  They are deploying together and will be doing their best to keep those of us at home updated.  If you are curious as to their efforts and mission, I am posting the link to Shane's blog here.    http://afghanistan.monroecentral.org/

Please pray for Jeremy, Shane and their families over the course of the next year.  I thank them both for their dedication to our country and wish them both a safe return home!

What have we done?

It's been several months since I last posted anything.  So, here's a summary of what the Reniers have been up to since November...

~Ally went from group swim lessons to private swim lessons.  The kid is seriously part fish!  She love the water and is really progressing as a swimmer.

~Peyton is now in a big girl bed.  She picked a Tinkerbell theme and loves it!


~I have been very dedicated to getting and staying fit.  My co-workers have been a huge help in the process.  We worked out together at least 3 days after work in our school's fitness room.  We also challenged one another to a 5K in April.  I was so proud of completing my first ever 5K that before I came down off my high, I suggested we do another in May...what was I thinking?! :)  So, we ran another and I got roped into being the running portion of a mini-tri for United Way in September.



~Darren got involved in a fantasy football league with his brothers and some friends.  That proved to be a lot of fun for him.

~Ally thoroughly enjoyed school this year.  She began the year reading only a select number of words and finished Kindergarten reading at late first grade level.  She loves spelling.  Once she mastered all of the Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade sight words, she moved on to spelling.  (I hope she will always enjoy learning so much!)

~Peyton doesn't sit still for long unless she is watching Caillou or the movie UP.  She also enjoys watching Tom and Jerry with Darren and Ally.  Instead of Tom and Jerry, Peyton likes to call it "Tom and Jerome" which sounds more like "J'rome".  Of course, she got this from her Daddy.

~Darren plays racquetball at least one time per week, usually two or three times, with a few guys.  It allows him to exercise his body and his competitive side.

~I have been incredibly busy with work.  My latest project is Viking New Tech which is a school within a school that will be opening in August.  I will be the Director of VNT (basically this means "principal") which means I am in charge of EVERY aspect of school design and implementation.  I do this in addition to all of my responsibilities as assistant principal of the larger high school.  Whew!

The Things My Kids Say...

When taking a picture of Peyton, she says, "Did you get my pouty face?"

Allison:  "I have the best handwriting.  Mrs. Courtney (Kindergarten teacher) says I even write better than she does sometimes."

Me:  "I love you so much."  Peyton:  "I know, Mommy.  You always tell me that."

Fall, Friends & Fun

What could be better than my favorite time of the year spent with several of my favorite people? This past weekend we went up to Pokagon State Park and met up with my college friends (Jen, Kristy, Michelle, and Tara) and their families, between us we had 10 kids ranging in age from 10 months to 5 1/2 years old. The kids became fast friends and had so much fun together. We couldn't have asked for nicer weather, 60's and sunny. On Saturday we had a picnic lunch, the kids played on the playground equipment and jumped in piles of leaves. We went on a hike and stopped by the nature center before heading back to the inn. It just so happened that there was a Puppeteers convention going on, so we took some of the older kids to see a few puppet shows. With 10 young children we decided dinner in would be easier than a restaurant, so we ordered up some pizza. The inn has a really nice social area with table and chairs, sofas, and rockers. With our large group, we somewhat dominated the room, but we didn't mind. Our husbands graciously put the kids to bed, allowing time for the girls to have some quality time together in the evening. We gathered again for breakfast on Sunday morning before we all had to head our separate ways.

Although the miles may separate us physically, our friendships remain strong. I am so blessed to have these fine women in my life!

While we're on the topic of biting...

I am completely addicted to the Twilight series. I have already finished the first book and am now 450 pages into New Moon. I have Eclipse and Breaking Dawn waiting for me when I finish.

At first I was skeptical and wasn't planning to read these books, but I got rather curious. Working with teenagers, I like to try and keep up with them so I have some way to connect to the things they are interested in. So many of the students (mainly female) were reading these books. If you haven't seen one, they are long...I'm talking 600-750 pages each! Books that long are NOT what you typically find your run of the mill teenager reading. This alone intrigued me. Then, toward the end of the school year I was sitting in a conference for a special services student. She is a self-proclaimed non-reader. I noticed she had a Twilight book with her, so in an effort to make conversation I asked her about it. You should have seen her eyes light up. I clearly remember her saying to me, "Mrs. Renier, you have to read this book! I don't like to read, but I love this book and I can't wait to read the next one." This floored me and I decided then and there I would read Twilight.

Little Biter

Ok Mommy Friends, I need any words of wisdom you have to offer. This evening the girls were sitting at the table eating apples. Pretty soon Peyton is out of her seat and playing on the floor. Next, she is under the table and Allison screams because Peyton just bit her leg. This all happened for no apparent reason. Then when I was getting her ready for bed, she kept trying to bite my arm.

Has anyone else had a little biter? Advice?

Kindergarten for Ally & Daycare for Peyton

Last night we visited Aboite Elementary's Kindergarten Open House. Allison was excited to meet her friends and take her supplies to school. We had a self-guided tour of the classroom, found where to put her bookbag and supplies, she had to find her seat and write her name on a strip of paper. I think she was most excited about getting to ride the school bus and that she has a Hannah Montana bookbag.

This morning when we dropped Allison off at the YMCA before school, I got a little nervous. Allison was fine, waved and said "Bye Mommy" almost as soon as we walked in. Little miss Peyton however, kept saying, "Ally go to Lesa's". When I told her that Allison was going to Kindergarten, she responded with, "I go to Kindergarten". Eventually she accepted that Allison was going to school and she was going to daycare, but she was so sad. Fortunately, she had a very good day and only asked "Where Ally?" one time. Allison enjoyed school today and was sad when I picked her up from after school care at the YMCA. She told me that she made 5 new friends today and she used her manners at school. :)
It also probably didn't hurt that they had pizza for lunch and that is her current favorite thing to eat. Let's hope tomorrow goes just as well...