And the Winner Is.............

............Natalie! :) Congrats Natalie!!! Your name was pulled from the hat. I'll be sending your email address to my contact at CSNStores and you'll get a code to use your $40 gift card soon. We all want to know what you pick!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Do you like shopping?

For things like a bathroom vanity? Or Purses? Or adorable aprons?

I do. Especially when it's not my money I'm spending.

Well, good news: CSN Stores would like to help me say thanks for being a reader by offering one of you a $40 gift certificate to use in any of their 200+ stores!

All you have to do is leave a comment with your name. How cool is that!? By random drawing I'll chose a lucky reader on Friday.

Now, on to our changes!

School is almost over, which amazes me. In some ways it seems we just got started. In other ways it seems as if it were a lifetime ago that Andy cried because the cafeteria was too loud. One thing we could all agree on at the Goodson house is that we all changed a great deal this year.



Let's start with Robbie. His changes are easiest to pinpoint. He decided to get serious about his health and started going to the Y before coming home from work everyday. As a result we have 36 lbs. less of him. He looks better, feels better and has lots more energy. He also needs to buy new clothes, his are all too big now.



Next up.....Lisa! That's me. :) I've been working for the past year, which is an amazing turn of events. I wasn't looking for a job but one found me. I've loved every minute of it and learned so much from my co-workers. I've been involved in very interesting projects. For instance, did you know that certain trees are more routinely struck by lightning that others? Me either! Now we both know. I've also increased my ability to identify trees in SC again. When you live in South Florida for 13 years you tend to forget.



I've also had to learn how to manage my time better. That is necessary when you work and have children. My hat is off to those moms who work full-time. I don't know how you do it, really! I've also had to let some of the daily housework go and pick it up on the weekends. That is hard for me but I'm making my peace with it. I still make all the beds, even if it means doing the boy's beds while they are brushing their teeth and about to hop in for the night, but in other areas I've learned to let go.



Key was a second grader this year. He has never been a big fan of school, this year was no exception. He thinks school gets in the way of more important things that he needs to be doing. We can't get specifics as to what would be more important, but he thinks there must be something. Nevertheless, he has gotten much better at reading and writing stories. We don't have to interpret words or paragraphs nearly as much as we used to. He has also taken up T-ball and found that he loves to play. He loves to learn about the rules of baseball and I enjoy sharing my love of the game with him. He hit five homeruns this season! He also stands in the pitchers spot, which means something different in T-ball but is an important position anyway. Oh, and he is also sporting glasses now, which have changed his look a bit.

Andy-man, our sweet Andy-man. I hope that part never changes. He is truly the most caring, compassionate child you can even imagine. He tells me he loves me on an hourly basis. He had a rough start to kindergarten but after the first week he was ready to conquer K5. He learned to read overnight it seemed. He loves books and figuring out words all on his own. He can sound out anything! He was hoping to lose a tooth but still has a perfect little mouth for now. He also got glasses. His violin teacher noticed he was standing too close to his book. We took all three in for a check up and both boys ended up with glasses. Back to the violin. Andy has made amazing progress this year! He is playing so well and we are just in awe of his musical abilities. He even summoned the courage to play in the talent show at school. This was way out of his comfort zone but he did it. :)

Natalie, our princess and daily drama queen. Natalie became a formal student this year. She was in the 4K program at Furman Child Development Center. Her teacher, bless her heart, had her hands full with this one. There were days of sitting in the hall, fits to be ignored, friends to be seperated from, but it looks like she will survive! (Both Mrs. B and Natalie) My goal for her was to have her write her name. She is easily distracted and keenly aware of what we want her to accomplish. She likes to do the opposite. BUT, she IS writing her name. When she feels like she isn't being taken seriously though her name goes back to AANTIEL or some such combination just to see us get flustered. She has made friends, which to her are far more important than anything else she's learned this year. She even has a boyfriend who has proposed. :) He has no idea what he is in for!

Now you are all caught up with the Goodsons. We look forward to an upcoming weekend in Charleston, our annual time in Florida, and then back to the grindstone. We'll have a 3rd grader, 1st grader and a new 5Ker. Wow.