Nostalgia

As far back as I can remember my dad carved a pumpkin for the kids in my family every Halloween. My cousins and I would sit around the table at my grandmothers' house and watch in awe as he pulled out a HUGE knife and created lively faces on the different pumpkins we each had gotten from our various school trips to the pumpkin patch.

Although my parents were not together and even as I got older my dad would call me to see if I wanted to come over and watch him carve a pumpkin. He loves to do anything that will make a childs' face light up. Once I had kids of my own, my dad would invite us over so that the kids could watch. For a time my dad lived with me and during that time, he carved pumpkins for my children and they loved it.

In my last blog entry I stated how much I loved being the grown up in the house. Today was my true test. I actually carved my first pumpkin. As you can see she turned out pretty nice. The children in Joy School decided that the pumpkin was a girl before I stuck her with the knife. The entire time I carved I could hear my dads' voice guiding me on what not to do. All of his pumpkin carving wisdom came rushing back me and I felt like a little girl in my grandmothers' kitchen again. It is amazing how something so simple can bring so much joy to a child and today to an adult.

Here goes nothing...

Originally I did not want to create a family blog page because I feared that I would not be able to stop. I do not have much time on my hands and I can clearly see how this can be addictive. It seems that summer has officially ended and I think that I am pretty happy about that. This summer was a blast. However, I need a vacation from my kids summer vacation! Shareef and I celebrated five years of marriage this summer. He "surprised" me with a trip to Baltimore. We stayed at the Waterfront Marriot, our suite was beautiful and we had a wonderful time.

The 2008-2009 school year has kicked off with a bang. Jordan is in the 6th grade and loving every minute of it. Well I may be pushing it with that. Khamari is home schooled and is doing excellent in his studies thus far. He is reading small words which is very exciting for everyone. He and I spend most of of our days together which makes us both very happy. I am grateful to be able to be with my children each day after school and to have an integral role in their education.

We got a turtle this summer. He is an Eastern Box, Khamari named him Cheeto. He is a pure pain in the butt. I love turtles but I cannot get him to eat and I am concerned for his health. If anyone knows anything about box turtles please let me know. To have such a small brain they are very complex creatures.

We are all growing so much, this has nothing to do with me eating a half pan of brownies as some of you may have guessed. Shareef and I always say to one another that we feel so grown now. I love being the grown up in the house. Life is good in the El'Amin household.

One Love