School update & quick birthday recap

I always want to put things on here. This is my main scrapbook for our family.  But then I don't get around to it. Time passes and I think I can't write now, I have so much to say. I think about the time it would take to "catch up" and I get overwhelmed. But I want at least a few memories down because I know I won't remember them. It's already hard for me to remember details of when the kids were babies. I go back and read on here and I can experience it all over again...

Our school year ended on May 18th and Elle completed 1st grade. It was such a fun year and I think she grew leaps and bounds. She was accepted in to Montana Magnet School for 2nd grade and will be starting there in August. I was actually sad the Saturday we got her acceptance letter in the mail. Deep down, a part of me wished she wouldn't have gotten accepted and then I would have to homeschool her again. By Sunday, the Lord was gently reminding me that we had asked Him and He had led to Montana. I know I'll have another time of sadness when she begins, but because I feel confident this is what God wants for her (and us!), I have peace. And she is thrilled! Uniforms, here we come!

I will be homeschooling Grady for Kindergarten. I'm already getting excited about going through the year with Grady and teaching him to read. Kindergarten was such a fun year with Elle and I'm thankful to have the chance to do it with Grady. Reese will be going to a 3 year old preschool class two days a week, which means I'll have two days with just me and Grady! I'm looking forward to that special time with him. 

I posted that last link to the shutterfly book, mainly for my mom. I put that book together as a thank you to her for our Memorial Day/Birthday week at Tybee Island. The kids and I drove over there the Sunday before Memorial Day and stayed until that Friday. She rented a place near the beach for the week. We pulled in Sunday right before a tropical storm hit! Thankfully, it wasn't too bad and most of it happened through the night. The winds were incredible. 

Elle turned 7 on May 30th and my sister turned 16. While Madison had to go to school, the rest of us enjoyed the beach and swam in the pool. We had birthday dinner at the Crab Shack that night. I think Elle had a fun day. We just missed Steven being with us...

We also got to visit the Tybee Lighthouse and climb the 178 stairs to the top! The kids were so great and never complained once. I was a bit paranoid when we got to the top. They have a railing but I just knew my kids would find some way to get through it and plummet to the ground?! The Confederate soldiers actually burned the lighthouse because the Union was coming and they didn't want them to have it. It was rebuilt in 1867 after the Civil War. 

Another fun place we got to see was Fort Pulaski. I have been several times, but I think the older you get, the more you actually want to learn about what it is you are seeing and experiencing. And I want to seem smart for my kids:). They played on cannons and climbed in gun powder store houses and watched a guy load and shoot a replica of a musket. I had no idea the soldiers used their teeth to rip open the paper cartridge containing the gunpowder and lead ball?! 

It had been almost 2 years since we visited Mom and Maddie in Savannah! We had such a fun time! We got home and had a couple of days to recuperate before Vacation Bible School began at our church. More on that next post! 

Happy Birthday Elle! We love you and are so thankful for you and your life, that you are in our family and for the gift you are to us. We love seeing the Lord work in your heart and mind. We love seeing you read and enjoy books. We love seeing you play outside and run and jump and ride your scooter and do cartwheels and handstands non-stop. We love to see your imagination and creativity with the endless games and stories you  make up with Grady. You are a precious, precious gift. We pray you have a long life here, loving God with all your heart and loving people. 

Birthday Celebrations

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Click here to create your own Shutterfly photo book.

A Wedding

A few weekends ago, Steven and I made a quick trip up to Birmingham {sans kids} to celebrate a friend's wedding. Steven has known Cameron since childhood in good old Greenville, Alabama. They were roommates for a time at Troy, which is where I met Cameron. He and Steven lived sort of behind my apartment my sophomore year of college. Cameron was on the summer team with us when we went to Kazakhstan in 2001. Then, Steven worked with Cameron and his dad's company in Birmingham for a couple of years after we came back from Kazakhstan. Fun times! Anyway, the point is we love Cameron and were so excited he found a bride to share the rest of his life and that we were able to be a part of their wedding celebration. How's this for a groom's cake?

Our other great college friends, Matt and Carrie, were there too. Although poor Carrie missed almost the entire wedding because as she and Matt were getting out of their car when they got to the church, her insulin pump was pulled out?! She had to drive back home and get situated and got back just before Cameron and Ashton marched out as husband and wife! Thankfully, there was the reception where there was good food, good drinks, and a ferocious DJ. And there might have been some dancing by a grandma with some serious moves. I'm only sad I didn't get a picture of me and Carrie?!

The other funny part to the weekend was that Steven thought some of our college acquaintances were famous. We kind of knew this guy and girl from Campus Outreach dealings although I think they are a few years younger than us and they went to a different college. So, we knew them and remembered their names but we were struggling with their last name. They sat by me during the ceremony {Steven was a groomsmen}. Steven and I were trying to remember their last name as we drove to the reception.

me: I think his name is Jason Aldean.

steven: No... Like the singer? 

me: Well, yes, but i don't think that's him; they could just have the same last name.

steven: He was a little bit country and liked music. It's him, isn't it? {mind you, Steven's never seen 

            Jason Aldean, only knows the name.} Cameron has Jason Aldean at his wedding!

me: It's not the same guy. He's not the singer.

We laughed about it and finally asked our friends. "Allday" Their last name is Allday. We thought that was funny. Then, the other hilarious part was when we got home at midnight and didn't have a key to get in our house. I left my car keys {along with the children} with my Dad and Sandi and Steven had no house key?! I called my dad about 12:15 AM and told him I needed to come get my keys. We were back over at 8:00 AM the next morning for the kiddos! 

Random phone pictures

This is sometimes what the tables look like over at the corporate Honey Bee Tees office. This was a couple of weeks before Easter and all of this was gone! 

On this particular day, as with most everyday I work at headquarters, King Arthur {with his sticker encrusted foil crown, frog rain boots, and pink super hero cape}, Lady Guinevere {who also doubles as a 1920s flapper} and Reese {as himself} accompanied me for my distraction entertainment.

One of the nights in the hotel when we were in Birmingham the last week of March

 One way we learn our capital letters

I couldn't find my ring for a couple of days. I have this bad habit of taking it off whenever I am putting lotion on one of the kids. I can't stand for lotion to get all over my ring. Maybe I'm weird, but whatever. The bad thing is, sometimes I will just put it on a dresser here, on the rug there, a pocket of my jeans. You get the picture. Not the safest way to deal with your wedding ring. Anyway, I wasn't too worried because I knew it was in the house somewhere. I just couldn't find it. After three days, Reese walks up to me during school one morning like this, "Mommy, here's your ring." When I asked him where he found it, he said on the floor in my bathroom. Yep, hadn't looked there.

I know it's going to be a good day when they start out the morning like this:

That's all for this evening's addition of random phone pictures. Elle and I will be heading to the magnet school bright and early in the morning for her to take the admissions test for 2nd grade! Happy weekend peeps! 

Hello my name is Grady and I like to do Drawings

We were doing a little school work this morning. Since he has stopped going to Mother's Day Out, Grady has been working with us for about 30 minutes each morning. I gave him a blank sheet of white paper and asked him to draw a person. I thought this was a fairly simple, age-appropriate request. He did not. Those of you who know Grady can imagine his exasperated face, hand to forehead, "I can't do it Mom. It's too hard." {I used to get this same response when I asked him to color:). I'm happy to report he is now a coloring machine. It's amazing what a few months will do!} But, he was not ready to master drawing a person. So I asked him if he thought he could draw a super hero. This is what my 4 year old drew:

100 points if you can guess who it is! 100 more if you can tell me where the title of the post came from {Donna, I'm counting on you}!

A New Beginning

Tomorrow is the big day. 

We are so excited. 

And a little nervous.

(Well, just Steven really.)

We felt the need to celebrate.

We went out to Longhorn tonight for a big, juicy steak for Steven.

Elle made a sweet card for him.

(And it's fitting that it's "yella".)

It's a new chapter.

We are so very thankful for what the Lord has done for us.

It was a beautiful picture of the church working together for its members.

Calm in the storm

I hope to sit down soon and write about God's faithfulness to us in these last weeks as we decided to stay here and face potential unemployment because we know this is where God wants us. The encouragement from friends and family, endless prayers on our behalf, more interviews than we had hoped for, and two great job offers so far. We are humbled and so thankful at God's goodness to us during this process of stepping out on faith and trusting Him to lead, guide and provide. It's seems as though most nights I am too pooped to sit and write. I'd rather climb in to bed and read a book {or watch Downton Abbey-our new favorite show!}. It usually takes me about 3 minutes to fall asleep. Our days are full with life. A 6 year old gnarly-toothed beautiful first grader, who never takes a breath. A 4 year old imaginative ball of energy that explodes in great ways or no-so-great ways, depending on the day. A snugly, big-eyed, precious 2 year old who sometimes still pees in places he shouldn't and doesn't always remember to use his "normal voice". Homeschooling keeps me busy, especially now that all three are home every day {We took Grady out of Mother's Day Out at first for financial reasons, but now because he's interested in doing school with us}. And then I still have that side job of "managing" a small tshirt operation in my friend's absence...

Our beautiful Easter lambs: