FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 2011

First Day of School 2011

Xander left for the bus almost an hour and a half earlier than the other children, so that is why we have curlers and pi's in the first picture!

SEVENTH GRADE

Is he really that old? My little bug? The one who could name all the dinosaurs and say all the articles of faith by the time he turned three? Now he towers over me at 5 feet 9 inches, has a deep voice and gets texts from girls.

Starting at his new school has been a little bit hard for him. He was excited to go and have a new adventure, but all his friends texted him and asked him when he was going to come back to Flint Hill. They all miss him and I know he misses them too. I know it won't be as bad when everyone gets into the groove of school.

The first day of school he went to the cafeteria and didn't know anyone. A redheaded girl came up to him and told him, "You are not sitting by yourself! You need to sit with my friends and me!" My response the that was, "You can never go wrong with a redhead!"

His homeroom teacher is a redhead also, so I know he will be well taken care of by the redheads!

He is taking all honors classes and it will be a great challenge for him. He is going to love having band every day and I know he will be successful!

This was right before they went to the bus stop.....notice the hair is fixed!

My diva princess Eleanor. As always, she had to be sassy about going to school on the first day. She wanted to go back to Flint Hill and see all her friends also. She insisted on curlers in her hair, a new dress with sparkly pink shoes. I love this little girl so much!

I think all the stars lined up together when she got assigned to her teacher. The first time we met her teacher, she had on high heels with big flowers, a dress and has thick, curly black hair. Eleanor could not stop talking about her shoes and dress. So, the first day of school, she comes home and tells me that "Mrs. Connely wore go-go boots, a cool skirt and this really cool necklace!"

I'm hoping there is more than fashion in that little girls head this year!

I know there is! She is doing great with her reading and loves to learn....along with being social!!

It's going to be a great year for her!

And then there is the G-man!

This boy is so great! And he is going to be so successful in his new school!

We went to meet his teacher and I got delayed in Eleanor's room with a special treasure hunt she had to do. Garrett asked if he could go to his room and put his stuff away.

When I got there, he immediately introduced me to his teacher, showed me the desk he chose (the one that faces the blackboard and should have the least distractions in his mind) and showed me all of his school supplies neatly stacked on his desk.

Hmmmmm.....this is the child we were told would not be able to function in fifth grade at FHS.

Well, guess what! It doesn't matter! Because he can function just fine in his new school! His teacher told me how polite he was and how excited she was to have him in class.

Oh, how grateful I am once again for the tender mercies of the Lord!

I am actually grateful we left that school. It is going to be an amazing year for the G-man!

Savannah starts school on the 12th of September, but she got to hold a sign also!

Eleanor and Andrew. Best friends since forever! We made a kindergarten sign for him also. It's become a tradition for them too now!

Walking to the school bus.....and just some of the kids at the school bus! My kids had a zillion friends in ten minutes! It was wonderful!

Because the bus was late, there was some goofy pictures.....

And some cute pictures....

And then the bus came....Garrett getting on the bus....

Eleanor getting on the bus.....

Savannah and Grace watching the kids get on the bus. They both go to preschool next week. I thought this was such a cute picture!

So, there you have it. We survived. I knew we would be fine, but I was amazed at how happy the children were and how they never looked back from what we had to deal with last year. I have such amazing children and even though I cried as they got on the bus (I cry every year!) I also was os happy for them to be able to experience life and learn!

The Tender Mercies of the Lord

We recently came back from visiting our friends, The Welters. When we got home, we smelled something odd, like a burning smell. We called an electrician and he came out. Throughout the next two weeks, we had him come out several times. He fixed a few things, replaced a few things, but the smell would not go away. Then yesterday morning, he came at 7am to look at the breaker box again. He told us it probably needed to be replaced, but he didn't have time to do it. He gave Jason another number to call to see if they could come out.

Jason called and left a message. He and his dad had planned on going out to the driving range with the boys. Just as they were getting ready to leave, it started to rain and rain hard. They were deterred from their golfing and just a few minutes later, the electrician called back and said he could come over.

After working on the breaker box for an hour, he came upstairs and asked Jason if he was a religious man. Jason, of course, acknowledged that he was. The man told him to thank God that he called him to come out today. We were literally only hours away from our house burning to the ground. The wires were so worn out that they were ready to ignite. He is also a volunteer fire chief, with 23 years of experience, and told us that when the wires wear out, they create a fireball that will literally explode and burn the house down in minutes.

Had it not rained, we wouldn't have been there to answer the call. We would have lost our house last night. We would have lost our business. We would have lost everything, even possibly our lives. I will never think lightly of the words, "Keep us safe from harm and accident" again. I am grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord, for the angels who guarded us and for the safety of my little family. I am grateful for a new appreciation for the blessings our Heavenly Father bestows upon us, even when we least expect it.

Saying good-bye to Emily

We met Emily when she came for violin lessons. She endeared herself to our family. She is an amazing young woman. She was our nanny last fall with our rental season. She became part of the family. She is now at the Naval Academy. We miss her terribly! We had a going away party for her. Here she is with her mom.....

Holding cute baby Nicholas......

Savannah in front of the sign the kids made for her.....

The three girls in her shoes.....

Outside her house the day before she left.....

This is the last picture we took with Emily before she entered the Naval Academy. She was a babysitter like no other. We went to her house the day before she left and had breakfast with her. At the very end she teared up. We teared up. We had to just go. She holds a special place in our hearts. She is going to be so successful and do so well! We love our "Elimee!"

Movie night on the Lawn

One of our favorite traditions is movie night on the lawn. We do it at least two or three times during the summer. Everyone is in their P.J's by about 6:30pm and then we watch a movie and can still be in bed by about 8:30pm. This is little Nicholas. He is such a doll baby! Love this little guy like he was my own!

Every movie night has a bunch of bowls of popcorn....

Lots of blankets, even though it is hot and humid!

It it such a fun tradition and we love it!

The Fourth of July

So, I have tried for about three weeks to upload these pictures and something kept happening with the computer or blogger or something. Anyway, it finally worked and so now you can catch up on the Days of your life!

Fourth of July, 6 a.m., Xander leaves for his first boy scout camp. He was so excited and I was so torn! He's growing up so fast right before my very eyes and I am soaking in every moment I can with him!

As you can tell, he was ready to leave and I needed "just one more picture" of him!

Ok, just one more as he leaves for the car!

He had a great time and earned several merit badges and has been pro-scouting ever since! He's working hard on getting as many merit badges as he can.

Garrett led the flag ceremony at the Fourth of July breakfast. He loves scouting also and I wish Grandpa Butler could be here to see them love scouting so much.

The Sunday School presidency was in charge of the breakfast. Sunday after church Jason says to me that the president wants some decorations.....I have less than 12 hours notice! Luckily, I can come up with something from nothing! Not my greatest work, but it was just fine for pancakes and syrup!

After breakfast they had a bike parade. Savannah rode her bike around the church about 6 times! I was really proud of her! She can pedal her bike by herself, so she is very independent!!!

Garrett led the pack in the bike rally! He must have gone around 75 times by the time it was over!

Eleanor and some of her friends from her primary class. It was so hot and muggy - typical east coast summer day!

That night we watched fireworks at the neighbors house on the pipestem. Savannah and Grace loved the sparklers!

I can't believe how grown up he looks!

Eleanor with her neighborhood chums.

We live in the best neighborhood. There are 13 children under the age of 12 on the pipestem. We play together almost every day and they are like brothers and sisters. Someday they will be all grown up and have children of their own, but I hope they remember the great times on the pipestem!

Blessings from heaven......

No, this is not a picture of manna coming from the skies. It is actually a very destructive hailstorm that hit our area last year....

It was amazing to see and hear! It was so loud and came so fast! (look how young Xander and Garrett look!)

Interestingly enough, it was a pocket storm. There were only a few neighborhoods hit in the area. Ours was one of them. Xander had a friend over at the time and five minutes away, where she lives, was completely untouched. Not even a dark cloud!

After the storm, the kids ran outside to show how big the hail was. After that, it was time to assess the damage. We had some hits on our cars, but our house was really hit hard.

Because we have the "vintage" aluminum siding, the hail did a lot of damage. Most of the neighborhood houses ended up getting new roofs and new siding. We weren't going to make a claim, but then were advised that we should. It was a blessing in disguise, as our siding is in really sad shape! We were trying to figure out how we were going to pay for new siding in the future. Not only did we get coverage for new siding, but also a new roof, new gutters and new siding - talk about blessings from heaven!

So, I have spent the last several months working with different contractors, getting estimates and doing research on the best options. It is a lot of time and effort and work to make the best decisions! There are so many options and pricing and people who want you to spend money! Whew! I am glad everything is over! It took so long for some of this stuff!!! Some of my meetings with the contractors were two and three hours long!! I wanted to make sure I made the best decision and did the right thing and I know it will pay off in the end.

This morning, the roofing materials were delivered to the roof. Tuesday is the big day for our new roof. Then Thursday is the day for the siding and gutters and everything else. We paid a little more money and we are getting new shutters, a new door and wrapping all the wood to prevent rot. I cannot wait to see the end result!

The house will look brand new!!!!

All the rotting wood and trim will be replaced and/or wrapped. The new door will be top of the line. I am so blessed! It is just what I have needed to move ahead with everything that has gone on this last year!

So, take a good look at the house. It will be a totally different house in a week or two! I can't wait to show you pictures!!!!!!

And wait until you see the new color of the house too......

REGROUPING.....

It was a long, hard year.

After school got out, we retreated for awhile to lick our wounds and just heal from the trauma of everything.

I was exhausted.

The kids were exhausted.

I know poor Jason was exhausted.

As I came out of my stupor from everything, I decided we needed a fresh start.

I started a list a mile long with things I want to do for the house and our family. We have been in this house six years. It needs some upgrades and TLC. Some things are going to require more money than we have right now. Some things are going to be a quick fix! Be sure and check out my creative blog, www.onecreativeday.blogspot.com and www.sixdaysofmusic.blogspot.com (my primary blog) to see what keeps me busy! I am in the mood to create and get things done!

So! I am recommitting to blogging. It is good for me to journal everything. I know how much I enjoy everyone's blogs, so I am going to get back on track!

The Lord has blessed us immensely....more than I can describe in words. I am grateful for the gospel and my family, my husband and my children. I am grateful for this country. I am grateful for my talents. I am blessed!