Another First...

 This week has been a little CRAZY! With many of our fall activities beginning, we are working hard to find our groove. It always takes me a while to transition from our lazy summer days of NO schedule, to our kick-things-into-high-gear fall schedule! We'll get it, but it just takes time! 

And speaking of transitions...one of the biggest transitions EVER took place this week! 

My sweet Riley started Kindergarten!

 Can you believe it? Kindergarten???? Tuesday was his very first day and he was VERY excited. 

 I think after three years of visiting Corban at school, he seriously could.not.wait to join him! 

He woke me up around 2am on Tuesday morning, wanting to know how many more minutes he had left until school began;)

Bless his heart!

Thankfully, he went back to sleep for a few more hours, but when the alarm did finally sound...

 Riley was up, dressed and ready to go in less than three minutes;)

That's a definite record and I'm SURE that by next week I'll be begging him to get out of bed;)

Like Corban, Riley requested homemade cinnamon rolls for his "back to school" breakfast! 

He gobbled them up in no time flat and was encouraging everyone else to hurry up and finish too!

 Soon we were all heading out the door and on our way to the start of my Ri's big day!

 His teacher is just as sweet as sweet can be...

and I know Riley LOVES her already!!!

And the verse Shane and I chose for Riley this year is...

Colossians 3:17

And whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father!

It's gonna be a GREAT year and I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for my precious little man!

Sophia the Ballerina!

Today I watched as my little girl DANCED!

Sophie has been anticipating the beginning of ballet for weeks now. She knew I signed her up and seriously COULD NOT WAIT to attend her first class. Last week, during a trip to T@rget, she picked out her PINK leotard, PINK tights, and PINK ballet slippers! I think since then she's gone to bed every night wearing her ballet slippers!! 

This morning, during breakfast, I announced that today was THE day!!! 

Today was ballet. 

This sweet girl bolted up stairs, grabbed her pink leotard off her shelf and found her tights in her drawer. She didn't need to worry about her slippers because, of course, she already had those on;) 

We got dressed and I pulled her hair up in a sweet little bun.

 Then it was off to class!

Her room was filled with the sweetest, tiniest, daintiest group of little ballerina's I had ever seen!  

It was a sea of BIG pink hair bows and precious pink tutu's!  

I sat back and watched in pure delight as my little girl spun, bounced, twirled, and wiggled her way around that room!

Miss Nicolette--Sophie's oh-so-kind and oh-so-patient ballet teacher!

After class, Sophie came running up to me and said... "I was a good listener mom! I obeyed my teacher like you said!!!" 

She was RIGHT! She DID do a great job and I was very impressed with the way she listened and followed directions! 

(Not always something that comes easy for her to do at times, but we're working on it! )

And because she did do so... well, we celebrated over a  Pink Sprinkled Doughnut! 

A perfect treat for our sweet little princess:)

Third Grade and a Fresh Start!

Today my sweet Corban walked out of the house a Third Grader!

I don't know why, but third grade seems so BIG to me! Like at the beginning of anything new, I could tell Corban was nervous. We've talked and prayed over this upcoming school year so much, but as morning dawned, Corban's stomach was filled with butterflies. I know he's going to have a GREAT year and once we find our groove, it will all be good! 

Corban requested cinnamon rolls for his "back to school" breakfast and so that's exactly what we had.

  Shane was working from home today, so he could walk Cor to school in the morning, AND was able to see him get off the bus this afternoon! 

 This morning, our street was a sea of people, as everyone eagerly made their way to the start of a new year.

 

Our cool Gator mascot was on hand to welcome students as they made there way into the school building. 

Corban was excited to show his daddy his classroom and introduce him to his new teacher.  

After quick introductions, Corban found his seat and began his work. 

I was biting my lip and trying hard to hold back the tears as we waved goodbye! I don't know why, but it's always so hard for me to let go! 

At the beginning of every school year, the boys and I pick out a new devotional to read before they head out the door each morning. 

This year we chose the One Year Devotional for BOYS! 

I really liked this one because the lay out was simple, short, and applicable for their day ahead.  

Shane and I also chose a verse for Corban to meditate on this year too. 

 

During our devotions this morning, we shared that verse with him. 

 Joshua 1:9

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

I am so... proud of my little BIG guy and trust the Lord to use Corban mightily for HIS glory this year!

It's gonna be a SUPER year!!

(Y'all can start praying for me now...Riley starts kindergarten on Tuesday!) 

A Day on the Farm

Sometimes you meet someone and you just instantly "click" with that person! You find that you share so many of the same interests and could literally spend hours sipping sweet tea and chatting! That's how I would describe my sweet friendship with Laura! We've been acquaintances for MANY years, but just recently have taken the time to truly get to know each other!

What a joy and blessing it is to now call her one of my dearest friends! Laura is married to Jeremy and while growing up, my family and Jeremy's family were really close friends. Our families attended the same church and did a lot of fun things together!

Jeremy and Laura have four kids now and live only about thirty minutes away from us. 

Their house was built on over 150 acres and they are surrounded by rollings hills and beautiful country sides. They have an awesome farm where they raise cattle and sell their organic beef. Laura graciously invited the kids and I to come over for the day and enjoy a play date out in the country;)

 My kids (especially the boys) had a BLAST!

 They rode their bikes, played in the creek, and even got to ride around on this cool RTV.

I called the RTV a tractor by mistake, and was quickly reminded that it was NOT a TRACTOR but an RTV!!!! Gotta work on my farm equipment definitions;)

The kids even got to meet and feed the three little  HUGE pigs!

Laura also invited us to visit their Tractor and Farm Equipment Store and let the kids take a spin on some of the tractors there! 

Oh.my goodness were my kids excited! 

Daddy...this is what Hudson wants for Christmas;)

Conner and Riley...best buds!

Boys and their toys!

And after our fun-filled day, this is what I found in my backseat on our drive back home....

three sleeping babies!

A definite sign of a GREAT day!

Whirlwind Weekend!

We have had ONE wonderful/BUSY weekend over here. I guess it's just a sign of the things to come though. As hard as it is--- it's time to say "Goodbye" to our lazy days of summer and "Hello" to the FALL MADNESS!!!!

Rewind to Friday...

Since the temps for the day were somewhat cooler than what they had been earlier in the week, we decided to spend our day at Carowinds.

It's so much easier to go when I have an extra set of hands, so I convinced my sister Al to join us for the day too!

Every year we debate on whether or not to get season passes. 

This was the LAST year though that the babies could get in for free (2 and under), so our decision was made a little easier. Next year, when all six of us need passes, I'm not sure what we'll do. 

Anyway, we have definitely gotten our money's worth out of these passes. I think the kids and I have visited the park at least eight times (so far) this summer! 

We LOVE Carowinds!

After being gone ALL week, Friday also brought Shane home to us! 

He arrived just in time to jump out of his car, into his white jersey, and then off to play in his championship softball game! 

Our white team was playing the undefeated black team! 

It was a "nail bitter"of a game, but unfortunately for us black won! 

Our team definitely made black work to keep their undefeated status though. 

The final score was 12-13. 

Great game guys!!!

 Apparently, I was so enthralled in the game that I wasn't watching my kids as they cover themselves in dirt. 

From the top of their heads to the bottom of their toes (and EVERY nook and cranny in between) was COVERED in red clay!
We literally had to shower the kids off FIRST, before we could even put them in the tub for a bath that night!

They were THAT dirty!!!!

On to Saturday...

Saturday morning dawned bright and early for me. My alarm sounded at 4:30am. and a little before 5:00am I was outside meeting my running partners.

We completed week 7 (out of 18 weeks) of marathon training by doing a 14 miler on Saturday.

 We are training for the Savannah Rock N' Roll Marathon in early November. 

 I am so blessed to have these wonderful ladies to run with several times a week.
Having friends to run with not only makes long runs bearable, but actually enjoyable!!!

We had a GREAT run and by 7:30am I was back home. My house was still surprisingly quiet. I arrived home just in time to kiss Shane goodbye as he headed out the door for a meeting at church.

During our run that morning, one of my friends mentioned that Saturday was pajama day at chic-fil-@.

 They were serving FREE breakfast to anyone who showed up dressed in their pj's!

How fun-right!?!?After a really quick shower, I woke the kids up, threw them in the car and then headed out the door to claim our free breakfast! 

The kids were so excited and couldn't believe that mom 

was seriously letting them go out to eat in their pj's!! 

We ran into several of our neighbors there too and EVERYONE looked 

so cute dressed in their comfy pj's.

After breakfast we headed home, changed into some play clothes and then headed to our friends/ neighbors house for a play date. 

The kids played for a while and before long it was time for lunch!

We enjoyed a picnic lunch and soon after that headed back home for naps!

Saturday evening, my sweet brother came over to watch the babies while Shane and I took the big boys to a Knights baseball game! 

We met several other families from Corban's Sunday School class there,
and enjoyed a night of fun and fellowship!! 

We indulged in the perfect "baseball" dinner of hot dogs and cracker jacks;) 

The boys were really into the game and had a BLAST with their friends!

Sunday...

Sunday morning dawned and once again we were up and out the door. This time it was off to church. It wasn't just ANY ole' church day though, this was PROMOTION Sunday!
And for the first time in like eight years, we didn't have anyone to drop off on the nursery hall. 

My babies are growing up (sniff, sniff) and have finally graduated onto the Preschool hall! 

CRAZY huh?!?!?! 

 Promotion Sunday is always a whirl-wind-like day at church, and lots of help is needed in order to make sure things run as smoothly as possible. 

Shane and I were in Sophie and Hudson's room for the day and enjoyed getting to know this sweet new class!

 Both Riley and Corban loved their new classes as well. 

Change is always hard, but both our boys were thrilled with their new teachers and the opportunity to 

make new friends! 

 

After a full morning at church it was home for lunch and naps! 

And even though our busy weekend has come to an end, it isn't looking like things will settle down for us any time soon. With a new school year upon us, church activities beginning, and another soccer season about to start, we are kicking things into high gear around here.

So ready or not...here we go..................