You know, getting up early every morning with the Hello Mornings Challenge has been great… but it’s beginning to mess with my mind. By the time I read and study, run, get Ana ready for school, and get Emma up and ready, I feel like it’s already mid-day when in reality, it’s only 7:30. Talk about getting more day for your dollar! Of course, I’m also asleep by 9pm these days, so perhaps I’m NOT getting more day for my dollar. Either way, it’s been a really, really good change. I now have time to blog! Look! I’m blogging!

Now that I’m running before the sun comes up, I’ve realized just how bad the sidewalks are in our neighborhood. I’ve had some near-misses with tripping over some of the cracks and uneven surfaces this past week, and today? I did NOT miss. I only had a tenth of a mile left, and I must have gotten distracted thinking about what needed to be done once I got in the house. Before I knew what was happening, I was falling face-first onto my neighbor’s driveway. I had the presence of mind to protect my phone (which I bring with me because of the GPS feature), but in holding it up, I scraped up my elbow, both of my hands, and my knee. I got back up and ran the rest of the way, noticing only when I got home that my shirt was bloody. After complaining to Wes about how I was going to DIE from the stinging (which was a wonderful way to love him on his birthday, of all days, don’t you think?), we got it cleaned up in time for me to get the girls up. They reacted exactly like I suspected they would. Ana screeched about not wanting to see it or wanting me to touch any of her stuff since I was now unclean. (Really.) Emma was full of compassion, asking me how I felt, praying over my boo-boos, and telling me, while she rubbed my back, that, “Boo boos are life, Mommy.” Yes, indeed, boo boos are life. They just happen! (She’s so wise.)

All that said, I need some night-vision goggles to run now. Or I just need to pay better attention. My dad asked me this weekend why someone would run on the street when there are perfectly good sidewalks to run on, and I didn’t have an answer. Now? I have an answer, because you better believe that the streets aren’t as messed up as the sidewalks!

Anyway.

On a more exciting note, we found out last week that BOTH girls are going to be in the dual language program next year. HOORAY!!! Ana came home with her letter, and when a similar letter didn’t show up in the mail for Emma, I went ahead and called the school. (Because I’m that impatient, y’all. I should be ashamed of myself.) I told them I wanted to make sure that my older daughter wasn’t given her sister’s letter and lost it in the process, and the secretary immediately knew who I was talking about and told me that Emma was in the program as well. We got her letter in the mail the very next day. I’m so excited for them and can’t wait to see how classes go next year. This whole development has given us better direction in our house hunting/dreaming process because we’re now committed to living in the Pasadena ISD area. You would think that moving outside that area would take us too far away from the church, but ironically enough, the church is actually closer to Deer Park ISD’s area, even though it’s in Pasadena. I guess this area has so many students per mile that you can live within ten miles of three different districts. There are just that many people! We were already leaning towards living in Pasadena, so this just confirms it for us. Even if the home we eventually buy in Pasadena is beyond the area of the girls’ elementary school, we’ll still be able to get permission to continue taking them there because they’re part of the program. I had dreaded the thought of moving them halfway through the year (again!) next year, even to another elementary school within the district, not wanting them to have to learn a new routine, new classroom, new friends, etc. This way, they won’t have to. Such good news that they got into the program — for so many reasons!

Speaking of houses and buying houses, our Oklahoma house is almost sold. Eeeeee!!! We’re now NINE days from closing, and I think it’s actually going to happen this time. For real! So much so that I’m beginning to plan our whirlwind trip up there to sign the papers and hand over our keys, remotes, etc. We’re still in our lease for the house we’re renting here until the end of December, which gives us plenty of time to leisurely house hunt. When we bought our house in Duncan, we made an offer the very first time we saw the house (and the town!), signed a contract within an hour, and closed just four weeks later. It was so fast out of necessity, and we were very happy with how it all worked out. That said, it will be AWESOME to take our time this time around. And we actually feel like we know a little more this time around and will actually ask questions about the foundation, the age of the AC/heating unit, termite history, etc. Not that we won’t be surprised by a whole NEW list of problems/issues with our second house, but hey. At least we’ll know more than we did five years ago!

Last week was the AWANA awards service at church, and Ana and Emma were so excited. Next year, Em will be in Sparks, along with the ENTIRE Cubbies class. This will make for a huge Sparks class! I love all that the girls have learned this year and will miss AWANA club this summer. The day after the service, Ana had Fisher Family Fun Night, so the four of us went and enjoyed a carnival on school grounds together. I loved seeing Ana interact with her friends, and she was so proud to lead us around and tell us everything about everything. The next day was Kindergarten Games day, and Wes and I were able to go up and watch all the kindergarten students do their exercises and relays during PE. Ana was super serious about her exercise, so much so that I’m not sure she knows that exercise can be fun. I have to remember that this is the girl who, after running just a tenth of a mile, yells, “Oh, I feel JUST AWFUL!” (And that’s without even falling on uneven sidewalks.) We had so much fun watching her and learning more about what her day at school looks like. Can’t believe that next year BOTH girls will be there!

And speaking of years passing… today is Wes’s birthday! Let him know how much you appreciate him on his special day!