Ms Manners they are not . . .

We try to raise our children in a healthy environment where manners are encouraged . . . however it seems we are not doing so well. Here is what is coming out of our younger two.While preparing supper, Jeff arrives home and gives Terri a sweet hello kiss. Dawson and Gracie both go 'ooooohhhh'. Sophia says "No, you guys need to kiss more, like longer, like get it on!". Really? This is what I have taught my 6 year old? Yikes!

Gracie sat Jeff and I down the other night to explain the rules to us. "You say Bless You when someone sneezes, you say Are you Okay when they cough. You say Excuse Me when you burp. And you say Good One when you toot!" She had me right up until Good One. Yikes again!

So I am just saying if manners is what you want for your kids, I would not be sending them over our way. We are not doing so hot in that department obviously!

The Girls

Over the last few weeks, Gracie has really started showing more and more of her very own strong personality. One area that she is showing some new independence in is how she dresses. She loves to dress up . . . but in her very own way. The outfit shown above was found at Target and she fell in love with it. Another one of her new favorites is her Husker ballerina outfit (shown below with Daddy). She likes how the skirt twirls around. And she wanted to "be pretty in it not just awesome". This meant the hair had to be all curled up and pretty and we had to wear black shoes and not our tennis shoes. I always wanted me a girlie girl that was as excited about clothes and shoes as I . . . but now I realize that all of the money I previously had for my addiction will now have to be split.

And in Sophia news, she has decided to read through the Bible. She picked one up the other day, started at Genesis, and was reading and reading and reading. She was thinking it shouldn't take too long to read through the whole thing since there are only 66 books in it. :-) That's my girl! Determined and ready to go . . . this world isn't going to hold her back!

Discovery

The last few days I have found myself for some reason really taking notice of things around me. I have been trying hard to make a real effort and slow down and notice the small things around me. I guess it might be part of getting older and seeing your children growing so quickly in front of you. Today I would like to share some recent discovery I have had . . .
I have discovered I really miss this boy! He was and is my baby. And I miss his smile around my house. I love to hear in texts and over the phone how great he is doing at college. And I discover that somehow I managed to raise a very smart and independent boy who loves Jesus with all his heart. I kept waiting for the shocking revelation to hit me that he was gone and have some major meltdown, but what I have found is there has been a miss in my day since we left him, and you know what that is okay. It is okay to miss him, and it is okay to shed some tears.



I have discovered that my sweet second son has more strength than I thought. This is his first year in youth group in our church, and he is leading people to pray and worship. And when no one else is worshiping, he is. He invites kids to church. He really really currently wants to go on a mission trip. He wants to tell others about Jesus. He also dealt with another change in soccer and was placed on a team of boys 1-2 years older than him. He is still confident about his skills and goes out there without fear.




This sweet amazing girl is a discovery daily. Her mind is always going and working. She amazed me last night as we discovered how good her reading is getting. She read Are You My Mother? to us without help. The other day she told my mom that she was going to grow up and be a missionary. She has been walking around our house finding those toothbrushes and toothpaste we get from the dentist and collecting them so she can take them to Pastor Reagan to take to East Asia because "they get very excited about having toothbrushes there".
And last night her big heart asked if there wasn't a way we could bring all the kids from Africa here. "We could feed them at church every day and have them stay in a hotel or our house or something." Wouldn't that be great? Someday she will be part of the solution I just know it!

This little one showed Daddy and I up last night as she was able to identify her numbers from 1-8. When we kept quizzing her, she looked at us like we were crazy and this was the easiest thing on the planet. This morning she was speaking to me in Spanish (thank you Dora) and was very frustrated that I didn't get it. I am sure she was speaking perfect Spanish, I just don't. She just loves life and loves to dance and sing. And just watching her grow is such a joy!

Okay, so a bit reflective today, kind of a bit for a Friday. :-) I would encourage you to slow down and discover what is going on around you! I am so blessed with my husband and my kids and I know I don't tell them near enough!

First Day of School . . . College . . . for our First Born

Today is THE day! Brandon started classes at East Tennessee State University today! And so far he has attended them too! :-)

Jeff and I along with the other local families moved our kiddos up there last Wednesday and Thursday. They participated in "Preview" Fri-Sun to give them the feel of the college. Sounds like they had a good time.

The popular question to ask of course is . . . did I cry? Actually, no. I had moments before we moved him where I would get a little teary. But on Thursday when we left ETSU campus and he stayed, I really just felt at peace. I know he is protected by a God who loves him. And I know he is a smart kid who has for years made smart decisions, and therefore I know he is going to do great things at college. Will I miss him? Oh yes I will. But how can I not be excited for all that God has in store for him? I am sure there will be times now and then where a few tears might fall as I think of how things are now forever different for my family, but I pray that I hold on to the peace and joy that I have for him right now.

It was kind of cute the other day Sophia who just started first grade said . . . "so I will be in fifth grade before I see Brandon again?" We had told the other kids that Brandon was going to college and it took four years. So when we said that Brandon was at college now, Sophia just assumed she would not see him for four years.

Here are some moments we captured on camera over the days . . .

Gracie and "her" Keegan

She believes they are getting married one day!

Brandon and his sibs before he left Wednesday.

Brandon and Keegan in THEIR new dorm room!

Really, GOOD BYE PARENTS . . . this was followed by the shutting of the door
and loud whoops from the boys as we left!

ETSU Sibs

Baby's First Day of Preschool

Gracie started full time preschool today! She waited until we got to school to have her first day picture taken. Then she carefully picked this blue chair for her photo. She is funny like that! Let the learning and fun begin!

First Day of School . . . for two anyway

Today Dawson starts 7th grade and Sophia starts 1st grade. Brandon will leave for college on Aug 25. Gracie will start full time preschool on Monday. It is fall, and it is time for routine again! Woo hoo! I know there are many who are sad today as their babies are going back to school. And I do get that, and understand it. But I am one of those mommies that likes their peaceful days and the schedule that comes along with school. I work from home and am to keep 'business hours and environment'. Very hard to do with four kids around with no real schedule. My sweet friend Pookie helped me out this summer and took our kiddos out and about a few times each week. So at least their summer was not spent inside or just outside of our house. They got to go swimming, bowling, movie watching, bouncing, and such! I think they had a pretty good summer over all!

Just to note in case you see me after the 25th, I imagine I will shed a few tears over my big boy moving 4-5 hours away from me. And making that big huge step into adult hood as he goes to college. But he has been nice enough to break me in over the summer by NEVER BEING HOME anyway. So the only thing I can really miss is his big shoes laying around, his dirty laundry, his dirty dishes, and his dirty bathroom. :-)

And here they are . . . the official first day of school photos for the two middle kiddos . . .

China Friends 2010

Every 2 years we get together with our China Friends family! These are the folks that we traveled to China with back in 2005 to bring our girls home forever. This year we met up with four other families in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains. We came from TN, NC, OK, and IN to spend three days together. It is such a God thing how we are all bonded. Even after being apart for two years - the girls just click together, the sibling brothers just have a blast, and as adults we are able to share together and pray for one another like dear friends do. These families are such a blessing to us!
During our trip we went to downtown Gatlinburg and the WonderWorks museum. We swam and ate and laughed. The girls made 'haunted houses' for each of us. And the boys made haunted houses for the girls. Gracie fell in love twice over the weekend - she is so boy crazy sometimes.

On our way out of town, we hit Nascar Speedway to get our go cart fix in.And I can just never really get enough of pics of these two loving on each other as sisters should!