Kevin's Parents Come Home!

Kevin and I arrived early for church -- a first for the Faulkner family. And we discovered that everyone comes at the last minute. I headed for our normal place to sit, but Kevin wanted to sit front and center on the very first row! So we did, though he found the music to be a bit loud there.

He wanted me to stay with him in his church-time class, but he was not as clingy as he was last week. His lesson was about Moses being asked by God to do things Moses thought he could not do. To illustrate this, the children were each given a cottonball. They were to walk across the room with it on their nose. No one could walk very far without it falling off... except... Kevin!!!! He walked the entire length of the room! LOL

To end that teaching moment, the teacher put a dab of Vaseline on each child's nose representing God's assistance. Then it was easy to walk without losing the cottonball.

Today, after church was a chili lunch as a fundraiser for this summer's VBS program. Since we had to pick up Daddy and Kinga at the airport at 1:30, we had planned to have lunch with them. While I chatted with friends, Kevin joined the chili group and was having lunch! So I paid for us, and we ate with our friends.

The joyous reunion with Daddy and Kinga was at baggage claim. If you look closely, you will see that Kevin is carrying a longstemmed white carnation for Kinga. Funny story: As we drove away, Kinga commented on how nice the bow was on the flower. I told her Kevin had tied that bow. Yesterday, after leaving the florist, Kevin did not like the way the ribbon was tied to the stem, so he untied it and redid it -- and he DID improve it!



Lunch with Daddy and Kinga.

At home, Kevin presented his parents with a wedding bouquet.

Before leaving Steve's new house, where Kevin, I, and the two dogs spent the week, for Kinga's home, they showed us their awesome wedding pictures. I am sorry we were not there to see my son-in-law marry my new step-daughter-in-law! A sequence of their wedding on March 10 in St. Lucia:

A Very Creative Boy!

Kevin slept in late today. :) He needed that sleep!

We did some reading this morning and finished up his big art project for Daddy and Kinga.

He wrote from 1 to 104 in chalk around the curb of his cul-de-sac. He was shocked that many numbers only went half way around the circle.

After lunch, he rode his bike to the park with a playground a block away. He was the only one there and found that boring.

But three little girls were playing on the nearby ballfield bleachers. He wanted to go down there with them. They were collecting nature goodies, so he did too.

After they left, there were more kids on the playground, so he returned there. They were attempting to one-up each other with their tricks.



He stuffed a pine twig into the frame of his bike and twisted the stem of a sweetgum ball around his training wheel bar.

Freckles are developing on his cute little face. They look just like his Mommy's freckles!!! The green on his forehead is not a bruise. It is marker smudges.

We went shopping for flowers to greet Daddy and Kinga tomorrow. Kevin wanted to stay and watch the arrangement being made. He indicated that he might like a job someday of planting flowers or doing something with flowers. We needed to take the new label for Mommy's red roses from Kevin to the cemetery, and we wanted a Goodberry's! It finally was warm enough today to enjoy a concrete! Yum!

Tonight, we worked on a grade 1 reading workbook I bought with fun word games. While we were working on it, Daddy and Kinga called!!! They are in Miami and will be home early afternoon tomorrow!!! It was a fun conversation with eagerness to be together again tomorrow!!!

Jack ATE his Gentle Leader AGAIN!!!! $40 down the drain in one week. OK... I should have hung them on the coat tree....

Kevin had great trouble settling down for the night. He complained of fearing monsters and darkness. I can only assume this is part of his insecurity with the changes in his little life.

Playground and Reading

Another indication of emotional upset is -- he awakened telling me he had wet the bed. Also he has complained of a headache off and on some evenings. I hope and pray his little life will settle down to a routine soon with no more transitional distress!

I have had fun with my friends this week too while Kevin was in school -- meeting them for coffee or lunch or just a chat. Today, I had lunch with Kien's Mother's Morning Out Teacher! Aria was in her class also, but only for a few weeks since she came home from Vietnam only 25 days before her Mommy Karin died.

After lunch, I went to a bookstore to find some I Can Read Books for Kevin. A bit late in the week, but better now than never!

Kevin was to have a playdate after school, but the mother realized this morning they had a conflict. However, they want him to come next week one day for a playdate. So, we went to a park with great playground. Kevin found this dead branch on the ground and could not leave it there. ha! He had to find a place to stick it in the branches of a tree.

Two little boys (one Kevin's age and one only 3) were there with their grandmother too. He rode on the tire swing with them. Then they played together on the other equipment and had lots of fun. It is always interesting to watch Kevin play as he takes a leadership role, telling the others what to do and when. And they follow along!





We spent much of the evening reading the new books. "The Little Red Hen" is probably his favorite, and, it appears, he has not heard the story before.

Painting and Changing Life

This morning, Grampy called three times while I was fixing my face and hair with Kevin watching. The third time, Kevin said, "Why does he keep calling?" LOL Grampa heard and thought it was funny too!.

After school, the weather was nice enough to ride his bike. He has grown almost too tall for it!!! And, I think, he is ready to take the training wheels off, but I do not dare try to run after him to teach him to balance...

This evening, he worked on his first real painting project. It was a challenge, and we both learned from the experience.


Each evening, Kevin has a cry over a simple, dumb thing. It isn't worth the cry. I have been puzzled by this and have, regrettably, been less than supportive. Today it occurred to me that this is a result from all the trauma in his little life. Moving to the new house in Sept., then moving to Chapel Hill, and moving to another house in June, plus changing schools next year, with a new stepmother and two stepbrothers as well. Heavy, heavy change...

Speaking of new stepmother, today was the wedding in St. Lucia! We have not heard from the lovebirds.

West, Jack, Parties, and Irish

Kevin came out of school with this fabulous map!!! We talked about N, E, S, W as marked on his map. I asked where the sun sets. W. We looked at the sun 3/4s of the way across the sky, and I asked him where West would be judging from the sun's direction. He understood and was able to point to N, E, S, and W.

After school, we went to Petsmart to buy a new Gentle Leader for Jack. Steve kept them hanging on a coat tree at the front door. Since I always take them out the back door, I left them on the floor beside the door. Jack decided the plastic fastener his would make a good treat.

Beside Petsmart is A. C. Moore! Kevin LOVES crafts, so we went in to have a peek with the idea that they might do birthday parties! They do! So we collected the information for Steve and Kinga to consider a craft party! Of course, we had to buy a few things too... a package of two balsa airplane gliders and a painting kit with printed canvas, paints, and brushes. At the checkout counter was a St. Patty's Day button which blinks and says, "Kiss Me I'm Irish." I told Kevin Grampy is Irish. He said, "No, he's not. He's too grumpy. Irish are happy." :-0 Where did that come from? LOL

After dinner, Kevin built one glider and had fun swooping it around the great room and from the stairway loft over the great room. Then I noted he was on the OUTSIDE of the landing to the stairs!!!! He stood on top of the sofa back and shimmed up the wall!!!! Oh, my.... I told him, "I am glad you are moving out of this house!" This is way too dangerous for you!" Of course, I had to grab a picture before helping him down!

At bedtime, Jack was being awfully cute with his bone.

Reviewing Mommy's Funeral and Dinner with Friends

When I awoke Kevin this morning, he was very groggy and asked to be rocked! Grandma LOVED that request!

After school, he asked to see Mommy's funeral pictures. When he was asking about Mommy's casket at the cemetery, I told him I had some pictures on my computer he should see.

The funeral service ended with a dedication of the babies, Kien and Aria. Karin was planning to have their dedication in January 2009, so I suggested that they be dedicated while Karin's body was present as well as so much family. Everyone loved the idea as these children plus Kevin are her legacy.

As Kevin saw these, he asked why he was not there! I told him Daddy did not want him to know about the casket at that time, and he was in the nursery with other children who did not attend the funeral.

He loved seeing Mommy's beautiful flowers, and I pointed out the red rose which was on each corner of her casket.


He wanted to know who took these photos, but I do not remember. Someone gave them to us.


I had told him there was a long line of cars forming the funeral procession to the cemetery and that Uncle Greg caught some good shots.

At the time, we said that Mommy would be loving what the police were doing for her! They raced past us, then stopped all the traffic at the next intersection until the procession had passed through. Then they sped past all of us again to the next intersection, doing that at at least five intersections.

This shows the police cars in the middle of the intersection stopping ALL the cars while our procession, led by Mommy's hearse, moved through! Impressive!

A picture of the cars arriving at the cemetery and a corner showing of the burial tent.

Here is the original post: http://karinupdates.blogspot.com/2008/12/karin-would-have-loved-this.html

Last Mothers' Day, I was with Steve and Kevin and asked that we have a picnic at a park after church. Kevin met Tristan at the park, and I met his mom, Fabienne. We have become friends. I brought Boston Market to their house for dinner tonight. The boys played together in a creek and came home wet and muddy! I had to run home for some clean clothes for Kevin. Here they are being silly at the end of our visit.

Loving Friends

This morning as we left the driveway for school, we saw a young man, no more than 30, walking at the end of Kevin's street, wrapped in a blanket -- a homeless man. I have never seen a homeless man in this affluent city before. Kevin saw a homeless person in Toronto last year, sleeping on the sidewalk. We talked a bit about this man, but he did not fully comprehend what "homeless" means.

The dogs love each other and have a lot of fun together. So cute to watch...

I was stuck at the house today until my laptop was delivered by UPS. (Remember... it was left at home...) It finally arrived shortly before school was out.

Heather was not feeling well today, and came over to flake out on Steve's sofa in relative peace (while Kevin was at school). She went with me to pick up Kevin from school, and then we drove to the cemetery again to make sure our flowers where still intact! Yesterday, there was a hurricane-type storm for about 30 minutes, and I feared we may have to start from scratch with the flowers, but they were fine.

We had pizza together, then Heather needed to leave. Kevin danced on her feet all the way to the door.



We don't have many books to read in this empty house, but I had downloaded "Winnie the Pooh" to my iPhone, so we are reading a chapter at bedtime while lying in bed. I love it (the style of reading), and Kevin does too!