Field Trip and Friends

It's so amazing to see how much of a difference there is between first grade and second grade. I'm always so amazed when I see the writing of my children and see what their little minds have come up with. I laughed so hard one day when I was reading sentences that Ethan had to write in school. He got to make up the sentences using some of his spelling words. Here are a few of his sentences:

My dog is sad.

My desk is a mess.

My house has dust.

There were a lot more like this, but these are just a few. But basically, Ethan's sentences were all glimpses into his real life and not "made up" things at all. For example, I asked him about the dog being sad sentence. He said that Marley was really sad that morning when they went to school because she had to see them get out of the car because I was taking her to the vet. And when I asked him about the dust one, he said, "Well, our house DOES have dust!" Ha-ha! And of course Ethan's desk is a mess. Everything Ethan owns is a mess. :) What I think is funny is how Ethan only writes in non-fiction, just like he only likes to read non-fiction stuff.

And then I have Emily, the complete opposite of her brother. She loves to be creative and draw and write stories about make believe stuff, yet her room is almost always clean. If she is writing a story about something, you can almost always guarantee that it will be some type of fantasy and involve talking animals. In fact, just this evening she was upset because Ethan never wants to play with her with her toys and he is always just wanting to build with his Legos or she plays with him with his toys. She just kept whining and whining and whining about it. I did something tonight that I am not proud of, but was kind of necessary. I paid Ethan off. I paid him to go and play with his sister. Not only did he have to go and play with her in her room and with her animal toys, that also had to include the animal sounds and pretend voices that went with it. And the deal was that Ethan was NOT allowed to tell Emily that I was paying him either or the deal was OFF! :)

Emily went on a field trip last week at school and she had such a wonderful time. She went to Dr. Dykes vet office. It also happens to be the vet that we use so she is used to going there when we take our pets. Although she was very sad that I could not be there, she was very excited to tell me all about the trip. She got to see a baby kangaroo, and lots of other animals. She also told me all about the operating room where they do their surgeries. She told me about this table that has holes in it so if an animal is bleeding, the blood can just drain through the holes. My child is just so practical at times and is fascinated by the oddest things.

Friday night Emily went to a slumber party. It was the party of one of her best friends, Molly. This is going to be one of those times when I need to take a moment to acknowledge somebody else in my blog and that would be Molly. You see, I have to say that overall, I am so proud of both of my kids and who they have always chosen to be friends with, but let me just tell you how special Molly is and how much I adore this sweet child. Emily has known her since kindergarten and been in a class with her since 1st grade. I always knew that Emily and Molly were two of the little blond foursome that were best friends, but it was when her first grade teacher and I were talking one day toward the end of the school year last year and discussing teacher assignments for the next school year that I really understood how important Molly was to Emily. I found out what a little mother hen Molly was to Emily throughout the school year. And I don't mean that in a bad way, but strictly in a caring and compassionate way. If Emily was hurting, Molly was the one to check on her and make sure she was okay.

We were lucky enough to have Molly and Emily in class together again this year. And on Friday, the day of Molly's slumber party, Emily had a really bad day in school with several headaches. She was pretty bad off and even fell asleep in the corner of the classroom for a while. When she got home, I was concerned about her going to the party and she said, "Molly told me that if I get a headache then she will make sure and find me a very quiet place where I can lay down." My heart just about melted for the sweet compassion of this seven year old friend. Well, Emily did end up going and luckily she didn't have anymore headaches. However, when I picked her up the next morning, Molly's mom told me that while everybody was dancing around in the middle of the floor, Emily tripped and fell. Molly jumped up and yelled for everybody to STOP!!! Then she went over and asked Emily if she hit her head on anything and made sure she was okay before anybody continued to dance around. Emily assured her that she was fine and she got back up and the party continued. Again, I have to say that I seriously LOVE this child and don't think that I could ask for a better friend for Emily.

Before I close, I need to give an update on my dad. Today was supposed to be the final date of his surgery that had been postponed several times. It ended up being cancelled altogether, though, in light of new information. Dad is now being seen by a new group in Mobile at a cancer institute. Before they saw my dad, they required more testing as well as went over all of the previous test results. Unfortunately, some suspicious spots were found in Dad's brain. They cannot confirm that these spots are cancer, but they need to have further testing done on them. The new doctors have said that surgery is just not an option anymore for this type of cancer. You can't treat just the one area. You have to treat the entire disease. That means with some type of drug therapy like chemo. They are looking at trying to get Dad into a clinical trial in New Orleans, but this can't take place until the spots in his brain are dealt with. Dad will have more extensive testing done later this week and will consult with more neurosurgeons. Again, I am asking for prayers for Dad as well as all of us.

Ethan and Emily go over and see their papa as much as they can and it is just like it has always been. However, with Emily, she is really being affected by his illness now. One night she started talking to me about heaven and about how beautiful it is and how happy Jesus is to see you when you get there and how you get to see the people and animals that died before you. She had honestly painted such a beautiful picture of everything that it was so hard to be sad about such a difficult topic. Another day she told me that while she was at school she prayed for Papa to get through all of this. And then she got really quiet and said, "I prayed for him while I was in the bathroom. Is that okay?" I just smiled and said that of course it is okay. I told her that that is probably one of the quietest places you are and so it makes a good place to pray. She just smiled.

So, if any of you have it in you, and happen to find yourself in a quiet place like the bathroom...could you please say a little prayer for my dad?

Week One

The first week of school is over, and it was successful! The kids are so happy to be back in school and just jumped right back into the routine as if they never left it. They come home from school so excited about their day and can't wait to tell me what they learned. Ethan is even reading so much more than he was before. Ethan told me that he wishes that the school year went from January through December with only a Christmas break and a Spring Break. Let's give him a few years and see if he still feels that way. Ha-ha!

It is quite obvious that both of the kids got teachers that fit their personalities perfectly. Ethan's teacher is doing a great job in keeping him motivated. I can tell that their work is mostly review stuff right now, and I can't wait until he starts getting stuff that challenges him more and makes him think. Emily ADORES her teacher. They have been doing some fun science stuff in class this week and they are taking a field trip to a vet's office next week. Emily comes home every night and tells me stories about her class. The funny thing, though, is that most of her stories are about how she was hanging out with her teacher and they were joking around, or how she went over to hang out with her teacher from last year (which she also LOVED!) and she got to be a helper in her class. The girl cracks me up. It's almost like school is just a social outlet to her, and her best friends are all of the adults in the building.

Both of the kids are having a blast in Extended Day, the after school child care program. I really am glad that they are in that. They get to do things like go to the computer lab, play in the gym, play on the playground, play board games, etc. And they are also given a snack. The kids are really getting to do way more in Extended Day than if they came straight home after school. It's nice to know that when I pick them up each afternoon, they are happy and having fun. We are all so happy that school is back in session!

Now for the update that I wish that I didn't have to give. We got the results back on my dad's most recent biopsy. This was the final one they did in preparation for his upcoming surgery scheduled for this coming Friday. The biopsy results have confirmed the cancer and we finally have a diagnosis as to what kind. MELANOMA! I wasn't expecting that, although I knew that it was a possibility considering that Dad has had several spots of Melanoma cut off of his skin. I guess I was more expecting this cancer to be the renal cell cancer that had returned from when his kidney was removed back in 1997. The only thing that I can say that is good is that we finally have an answer. However, Melanoma is not good news. Being that it is already into his organs, it is considered Stage IV. In the past, treatment options for Melanoma have not been very successful, but according to the doctor, there is a new cancer clinic in Mobile with an Oncologist that actually specializes in Melanoma. He is getting Dad an appointment right away. He said that there are some new treatments available now, but I don't have details or statistics on them. And time is still of the essence and his surgery is still scheduled for Friday. I'm torn up about this and don't know what to think. All I can say is that right now we need prayers for strength, prayers for healing for my dad, and prayers for guidance for the doctors.

Back to School

I can't believe that summer is over! And boy are we happy about it in the Ebbert household! Ethan and Emily have been so ready to be back in school and so have I. Ethan still loves to hole himself up in his room and just play Legos. Emily has spent the recent weeks being the little helper around the house or going to Nana and Papa's. With a little encouragement from me, the kids and their Daddy started having Monopoly challenges during the day and Ethan and Emily really loved that! And the kids have gotten into playing other board games as well. One day when they were playing the game of Life, Emily said, "I'm going to let Ethan be the banker because he is the smartest person in the house." At the time she said this, we were really at a crossroads on what to do about school this year and whether or not we were going to keep them separated or put them in the same class. There were some changes that had taken place over the summer with teacher changes and Emily's teacher that she was going to have had moved to a different school. Well, considering her horrible year last year with headaches, I was panicking about what to do. I just didn't want to risk having her in a class with just anybody, especially with me working now and not being as easily accessible. I was considering putting them together. However, when Emily made that comment about Ethan being the "smartest person in the house", I was instantly reminded why we separated our kids from the very beginning after Kindergarten. Our kids are not dependant on each other, but they do COMPETE with each other. I did not want either one of them to start having self-esteem issues again. We have tried really hard to make them realize that they each have their own strengths. Emily is a reading and language arts genius and Ethan is our math and science whiz. As it turns out, I am actually very happy now with Emily's new teacher. I had received a call from her first grade teacher informing me of the change and she assured me that the new teacher would be a good fit for Emily and be wonderful in dealing with her issues. I didn't totally rest easy, though, until I met her myself. The moment we sat down and started talking about Emily's issues, she instantly told me that she would just put my cell number in her phone and would text me when Emily is having a problem. Phew! And I think that Ethan's teacher is going to be great. We just got to meet her for the first time last night. This is the teacher that was recommended from his first grade teacher. According to her, she felt like this teacher would be perfect for him because she really pushes her kids and can push Ethan to reach his full potential. When I had mentioned this teacher to another one of my teacher friends, her comment was "she is great for those little Sheldon's". Ha-ha! And yes, we are referring to the character Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory tv show. That is our little nickname for Ethan. When Ethan met his teacher last night and she told him that she likes to do a lot of science, he exclaimed "YES!!!!!" And just so everybody knows, I did ask the kids about being together this year or being separated, and they both said that they DID NOT want to be together.

So, Monday is the first day of school. We have everything ready. The supply fees have been paid. Their uniforms are washed and ready. And this year the kids will be doing something brand new. They will be attending After School Care every afternoon. Since I'm working now, and hopefully Rob will be soon, we just had to make arrangements for care for them now. This year the school received a grant for their ASCC program and they will offer music, art, and even tae kwon do. The kids are actually pretty excited about going. It's nice to know that I don't have to worry about them and they will have a chance to get their homework done there before they even come home!

My job is going okay. I've been there a month now, although it feels like a year. Ha-ha! I've gotten into a routine and so that is good. After all of my training was over and I was actually working on my own, I had only been there three days before they had offered me a full time position. I was hired in as part-time and was told that full time positions are few and far between in the bank. So, when they offered me the full time position, I jumped on it and accepted. That day, I came home from work and broke the news to the kids. I had warned Rob on my way home. Emily had still been really struggling with me working anyway, and so I knew the news would be hard to take. I came home that day and was in a good mood and said, "Guess what? I have good news!!" Emily said, "What? You don't have to work until 5:00 anymore?" In my mind, I thought...Oh shoot, this isn't going to go well. I then said with enthusiasm, "No, they offered me a full time job and I accepted." Emily made a scowling look on her face and replied, "How is THAT good news?!?!?!" The bright side now is that she has adjusted. A month has gone by and she is no longer crying when I leave. She tells me all the time how much she misses me during the day, and I know that she does, but once school starts then she will be so much happier.

I also wanted to give an update on my dad. He is needing prayers right now more than ever. He has had a really difficult time this summer with his health. He was having that heart flutter and had to have his heart shocked back into rhythm. He suffered from that horrible allergic skin reaction that made him miserable and he's just now feeling normal again from that. He finished his radiation treatments for his cancer and he had his follow-up CT scan just last week. The news was not what we had hoped for. The mass in his lung did not shrink at all from the radiation like they had hoped. In fact, it had grown some. The doctors have said that time is of the essence right now and that the mass MUST come out, and soon. It is starting to wrap around his airway. The mass is about the size of your fist and is sitting in his lung almost against his heart. The plan is to go in and remove the mass and part of his lung. That is if it all goes well. If it doesn't go well then they will have to remove the entire lung. The recovery will be very long and very painful. The surgery was originally planned for next week (Aug 18). Dad went yesterday to do some preliminary testing and he found out that he isn't stable enough for surgery right now. The surgery has been postponed until Aug 27 to get everything stabilized. We really need all of the prayers that we can get.

I know that I have gone a long time between updates, but I will be updating again soon since we have the first day of school next week as well as Dad's surgery coming up.