Love Languages.

There is a very popular book by Gary Chapman titled The 5 Love Languages.  They also have a book for children titled The 5 Love Languages of Children.  I have always assumed that I know the primary love languages for each of the girls, but it is always great when something magical comes along and affirms it. 

Kendall's class has been working on a dojo point system.  Kids are rewarded for being responsible, being a hard worker, showing respect, etc.  The dojo points show up electronically on an app that Kevin and I each have.They appear to be rather hard to earn.  Last week Kendall hit a milestone.  She earned 30 points.  Once a student has earned 30 points, they get to choose a special reward.  Kendall had a number of choices including:  15 minutes extra free time, 5 minutes extra white board time, writing with a pen all day, a toy, etc.  She chose something entirely different.  She came home with a sealed pink envelope.

Inside the envelop was a note to Kevin and I from her teacher.  Kendall was beaming ear to ear as we read the note.

She had chosen 'a positive note to parents' for her dojo reward.  Yes, her love language is Words of Affirmation.  Nailed it!

As for the rest of us...Sidney's love language is undoubtedly Physical Touch.  Kevin's love language is Quality Time.  As for me, my love language is Acts of Service.  Now, if I can just remember this.

An Update.

Kevin had another scan a week or so ago.  The scan showed that the tumors are still stable.  None of them have shrunk, but they have not grown measurably larger.  Considering where we were a year ago, this is incredible news. 

The side effects from the chemotherapy are compounding.  In particular, Kevin has experienced extreme neuropathy.  The oncologist is very concerned about this.  He has talked with Kevin about the possibility of taking a break since the cancer is not being aggressive.  The thought of taking a break is very scary to Kevin.  They decided to schedule another round of chemo in four weeks and talk more then.

We continue to take one day at a time, and spend time together as a family doing the things we enjoy.

The Chore Chart

A few months back, we combined ideas from a number of different places to come up with a system that works fantastically.  Below is a picture of Kendall's chore chart.  Each of the girls has a chart that is laminated.  The black writing is sharpie that stays there week after week.  The girls each have a dry erase marker that they use to check off the items once they are done.  We tried to keep it pretty basic.

How does it work?  Each girl starts the week off with 20 marbles (equivalent to $2).  The center jar is full of extras that they can do.  Each extra has a pre-determined marble value ranging from 2 to 5 marbles.  If they do an extra, Kevin or I have to make sure it was done correctly.  If so, they can place the stick in their marble jar.

What happens if they do not do what they are supposed to?  On the right of their chore charts, we all agreed on a few basic rules and consequences.  If they break a rule, they suffer the consequence.  Parent trick:  The last rule pretty much covers them all and then some "be respectful". 

We also agreed to pay them once a month.  This way, they can actually earn a decent amount of money.  They have come to realize that if they spend it all right away, they have awhile to wait before the next payday comes along.  This month has been a pretty rough one.  The first month, I believe they each had earned just over $10.

 We are three months into this now.  It has been simple and effective.

...And They Talked Us Into It.

We had two Halloween celebrations this year.  Our church had a party the Sunday before Halloween.  The girls were excited to get all dressed up this year.

 

They have made great friends with the neighbor boy, Jackson.  He came along for the party.

Kevin was thrilled to see the Monster High Grizzly Cheerleader.

Kendall was definitely more into the older games as opposed to the carnival games this year.

I love a good piñata.  These kids get really into it.  We had to hold the line to make sure none of the kids got nailed with the piñata stick.  Here is Sid taking a swing.

It was mass chaos once the piñata broke (truth be told Nate broke it open to prevent injury from swinging kids).

As we were watching the kids scoop up the candy, we saw this sweet moment with Sidney.  She picked up some candy and made sure this little toddler had a few pieces.

Kendall joined the older kids for piñata number two this year. 

We were so excited to have my sister and Hallie come down for the weekend of Halloween.  Hallie and the girls talked my sister and I into dressing up as Elsa and Anna.  I must admit, we had a great time.  There were several haunted houses in our neighborhood.  Then we took a cruise to some friends houses for trick or treating. 

If I was going to have to dress up, there was no way Kevin was getting out of it.  He made a great Zeus!  Here he is with the girls.  Gotta love the pout on Sidney's face, "Is it time to go trick or treating yet?"  Enough of the pictures already.

After she realized the picture pain and suffering would go on for a few more minutes, she decided to join the fun.

Steph and Hallie. 

A serious family picture.

Then it was time to get the wiggles out.

 

One quick story before I go.  Whenever I go out of town for work trips, Kevin lets the girls camp out in our room.  Last week while I was away on a trip, he woke up to Sidney staring at him.  She had obviously been up for quite some time, patiently waiting for him to open his eyes.  The second his eyes were open, she did not say "good morning" or "how did you sleep".  She was poised with a question, "What is a pirates favorite letter?"  Give up?  "Rrrrr".

Saturday Morning Fun and the Big Crane.

Who doesn't want to wake up at 5:30am on Saturday morning?  Normally, I would think this is an okay idea considering that I am a genetically born and bred early bird.  However, this week I probably could have slept in a bit.  As the story goes, Kevin was having a hard time sleeping.  So at the first sign of life, Kevin became Chatty Cathy.  What is the meaning of life?  What should we do today?  Should we get the kids up and go out for breakfast?  UGH.  Again, normally this would not phase me.  This particular morning, I could have slept a bit more.  We settled on a reasonable (?) 7am breakfast time.  We had not been to Denny's in forever, so to breakfast we went.  It was a great time!  We all enjoyed our pancakes and omelets.  Kevin, of course, reminded me of what a GREAT idea he had.

After that, we went to the nearest big crane machine.  What else were we going to do?  We had 30 minutes to burn before Kevin's shot appointment.  In actuality, it was just a good excuse to do something we love.  Yes, we are that family.  The ones that spend their dollars on the hunt for ridiculous stuffed animals.  Kevin says we do it for the love of the game.  He might be right as I found myself jumping up and down, the recipient of raised eyebrows from a few passersby. 

Kendall was the big winner this time around.

Sidney holds the family record, five stuffed animals (cheetah not pictured) for under 3 or 4 dollars.  I cannot remember exactly.  Remember, it is for the love of the game:)

 

A few weeks ago at skating, she won this cute little wonder.  One quarter, one animal.  Sweet!

Here is Sidney, all dressed up for camo night at Awana.  I was on a trip, so Grandma Terrell subbed in my spot and sent me this little gem of a picture.

Mr. Clean and a Show of Support.

Kevin started his new chemo regimen this fall.  He has been through two cycles.  This time he has chemo every three weeks.  The side affects are very different and somewhat predictable.  Last time, his hair only started to fall out and then stopped.  This time his hair was coming out quite rapidly.  The girls have been teasing him for awhile, so he decided to let them help.  He brought out the clippers and let them at go to town.  They were a little bit nervous and giggled the whole time.

After this, Kevin asked me to take the razor to his head for a really close shave.  Then it was my time to be nervous.  Thankfully, no nicks or razor burn.  Phew!  His only regret?  That he did not do this sooner.  Now he has a very white chrome dome for the winter.  Seriously though, I think he looks fabulous!  I have always thought bald heads look sleek and sexy.

The two middle schools that Kevin directs surprised him with a tribute.  The two teams were schedule to play each other.  Both teams put these stickers on their helmet.  It was as close to Periwinkle as they could find.  What an honor!

Another day, he showed up to his office only to find all of these notes stuck to his door.  The students had written notes of encouragement and support to him.  What a gift!!!

Fall Happenings.

The girls are back in school now.  So what have we been up to?  To start Kendall came home from school last month with an interesting surprise.  She said, "Mom and Dad, guess what?  I have the most fabulous opportunity.  I get to run for Student Council this year.  First of all, I will need you to sign a waiver since I will be missing some class.  Second, I have to write a speech and give it to my class.  Lastly I have to get elected."  I had to explain to her that she should work very hard at it if it is something she really wants.  However, she should keep in mind that only one person gets elected and many others will not.  Work she did.  She spent the weekend writing and rehearsing a speech.  Then she delivered her speech, along with six other classmates, to her class.  She was successfully elected into office.  It has been quite an experience and an impressive amount of responsibility.  I think there have been a couple of moments in which the experience has been overwhelming, but overall she has been up for the challenge.

We all got our annual flu shots.  This is no small feat in the Strong house.  Both the girls despise shots.  Their doctor agreed to get his along with them this year.  It did not mitigate the drama though.  Kendall wriggled so much she pulled the needle out of her arm and had to get a double poke.  Sidney proceeded to scream loudly the whole time until the moment of truth, then she stoically requested the shot be given in her thigh.  The nurse looked at her like she was crazy, but obliged.  Those girls!  Looking at this picture, you would never know the drama that went into it.

Our garden produced a lot of pumpkins this year.  The girls were very excited to pick them.  Yes, we will not win the prize for largest pumpkin, but is sure was fun.

To continue our bug obsession, we have spotted about three Praying Mantis's around our house.  Can you see this one?

The girls decided to part with their much loved convertible this fall.  It was super sad to see the car go, but the family that is taking over ownership will get a ton of good use out of it!