Cleaning Brain or Devine Christian Preschool??

Today was cleaning day. And when I clean...I think. I have some of best ideas when I've got my hand scrubbing away in the toilet!

So today's idea??

Well, it's something that has been rattling around in my brain for a while but it started to come together a bit better while scrubbing. Actually, Karen put the seed in my head right before I left Texas.

I'm not pleased with the preschools in Brighton. Either the hours stink or the cost is ridiculous. I want my child to go for the socialization but seriously, I'ld have to work to pay some of the costs here! The problem is that I can't work because James only goes to half day kindergarten (don't even get me started on how I feel about that!). I was paying $136/month for Jagger to go to school for 6 hours per week. In Texas I paid $200 month for him to go to school 20 hours a week. In Texas he also went from 9-2 so that if I wanted to hold a part-time job or get some errands done I could; here it was 8-11 and James is 8:30-11:30..by the time I got done driving around I was lucky to get an hour and a half to myself. Crazy!

Okay...so the solution?

Open my own school!

I've subbed. I've taught. I'm raising three kids. I'm super organized. I know what I want my kids to learn before going to kindergarten. I know how important it is to me to have my children in a christian-based preschool. I love art, fun and messes. I learned a lot from Day School for Little People in Texas and I know Karen (my boss at DSFLP) would help me out with ideas, rules and regulations.

I can do this.

I could do it at home. Get a license and convert my basement into a school; in which case I would only do a 4 year old class and I would hire someone to work with me.

Or...I could find a church to allow me to use their facilities and run it in the preschool department like we did in Texas.

This could be awesome.

Or maybe just another cleaning idea gone bad??

What do you think?

Knittin' Mama

My mom has recently begun knitting again with the birth of her new granddaughter. Now, she has moved on to making hats for everyone. She is so talented! Well, since I live so far away from her (she is in Canada) I only get to see the hats by pictures. I'm sure I will never see another one after she sees this picture on my blog. However, it is only fair that all family members are equally embarrassed on the blog....

I could be persuaded to take this picture off with the gift of a knitted sweater for me (not for my kids and not with TWO shoulders on one side!!). xo

Church Home in Brighton??

Okay...we need help Brighton. We are looking for a church home. We have tried 2 churches so far. We loved Northern Hills but it is already running like a fine-oiled machine and we have a hard time believing that we could really serve well there. We also tried Harvest Fellowship and liked it but it has cramped quarters and not much "play" room for the children until they get into their new facility (I'm not sure of the projected date). However, we do feel that we could potentially be used at Harvest. We are still searching though and could really use your help.

A few requirements....

1. Must be a Christian church. It can be non-denominational. We believe in the Holy Trinity and that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. We believe that the only way to heaven is through the Son.

2. Must have childcare and youth groups. We were invited to the church at the Charter School but they only offer childcare for 4 and under. We have an active, chitter-chatter of a 5 year old that canNOT sit through a service. We also believe that our children get more when they are learning on their level and we learn more when we can fully concentrate in our service.

3. Must be in Brighton or within 15 minutes of our home in Brighton. We want to serve and to serve often. We can't serve efficiently if we have to drive to Denver to get there.

4. We LOVE home groups, ABFs, small groups...whatever you call them at your church. Another reason we want the church to be close is so when we join a home group we will be meeting with families that live in our community and may possibly have children going to the same school as ours.

Okay Brighton, we are ready for your suggestions. Do you have the best church and want us to come and try it out? You can post your comments on here or you can email me at kristaclinton@hotmail.com.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Check Out That Smile

My oldest sister (hahaha-I didn't mean that meanly!! haha) had something great happen to her yesterday also. She got her braces off after wearing them twice as long as me!! She was such a good sport when I got mine off first. I have to say though....doesn't she have the most beautiful smile?!! Yay for Jen!

My New Niece

My sister Catherine and her husband Michael had their first little bundle of joy today. Michayla Catherine entered the world early this afternoon after a long arduous journey. This little girl is a miracle after years of trying, months of waiting and hours and hours of labor. Michayla was born at a healthy 7lbs and 14oz and with the most adorable little face I've ever seen. We are so blessed and elated to welcome her to our family.

Heavenly Father,
I am constantly amazed at your greatness! I am so thankful for this beautiful little girl that you created just for Catherine and Michael. I pray that you will watch over them as parents and guide them as they raise their little girl. I ask that you watch over Michayla; keep her healthy and strong and be with her as she grows up to be just who you made her to be. Hold this new little family unit close in your arms and let them feel your love for them in all that they see and do. Thank you so much for the gift of Michayla Catherine.
In your glorious and holy name,
Amen

Kissing Wars

My youngest son HATES kisses! He gives the absolute best hugs; wraps his arms around your neck as tight as he can and squeezes all of his love into you. Then, he keeps his head turned and backs away quickly so that he can get away without you kissing him. If you ask for a kiss, he will say "I give you a hug. But no kisses okay?" and then you have to proceed to promise him so that you can be rewarded with his affection.

This all started about three months ago. He just stopped kissing. I would ask for a kiss and he would put his hand over my mouth and then kiss his hand. At one point I asked him to give me a goodnight kiss and he told me to go across the room. When I did, he blew me a kiss. That crazy boy!! I have to admit, at times like this I hold him down and tell him that mommies have little boys so that they can kiss them and I proceed to kiss him all over his face while he shrieks and giggles and tries to get away. Happy moments!!

And it's not just me! Thank goodness or I would have a serious kissing complex by now. When Jimmy's whole family was here he did it to all of them as well. They will testify to the fact that he is the anti-kisser! It's quite sad.

So, at this point Jimmy and I are not against bribery. Jimmy has gone as far as to bribe him with a mocha frappaccino...crazy nuts!! Well, tonight I thought it would be fun to make a game of it and tell him that if he kissed me then I would take a picture and we would put it on the computer. He was all for it until it came time, then it took some coaxing. And it was even worse for him because there is a delay on my camera so it took a few shots before we actually captured "the kiss." HAHAHAHA!! I ate up every moment of it.

Nope...you moved to fast, we'll have to try again.....

Nice kiss, but not a good picture. We'll have to do it again.....

Nope, that isn't a real kiss. Try again.....

Okay, this one is acceptable. Yummy kisses!! Fun game!

Absolute Randomness

I should be cleaning my house right now but that's incredibly boring! Instead I am going to embark you on a journey through my camera. You see, I have a 9 year old who thinks that picking up my camera and taking pictures of totally random things is fun. She never tells me about it and I find all of these weird pics when I go looking. It is almost time for me to empty my camera of its 300 pictures and start from 0 again so I wanted to do it before this load is all gone. Maybe this will be a tradition every time I have to put all the pics on CD. Here is some absolute randomness for your Monday...

Okay, this one is kind of cool...

I am thinking that if Santa wants to bring Kaylee her own camera (it would have to be digital because I am NOT paying to have all of these printed!) that it might be a wonderful idea!!