A new school year

Tomorrow is a big day!  The first day of school for the 2011-2012 school year.  The kids are fluctuating between excitement and disappointment.  It is tough for us to get up early and get out the door.  We are all night owls by nature...  Yet, the lure of books, friends and lockers seem to make it more promising!  Riley and Katie will both be in Jr. High this year.  Which means more extracurricular activities and money and time.  Riley is playing football again and loving it!  Katie is the proud owner of a new cello!  Ellie is going into 4th grade and is looking forward to spending time doing more math.  (weird, I know...but that kid LOVES math)

Three fully loaded backpacks are sitting by the door.  Three lunches are packed with love and care.  Three kiddos are tucked safely in bed with dreams of schoolbooks dancing in their head...

A beautiful reminder that this life is so much more than it appears to be.

2 week Countdown

The smell of new clothes permeates the air... along with pens, pencils and crisp sheets of paper.  Yup, it's that time again.  Summer is winding down much to our dismay and school is getting ready to begin.  It is hard to believe that 2 of our kids will be Jr. High students.  How the heck did that happen?!

Summer has been a whirlwind of long, hot sunny days... some spent by the pool and others spent in cool movie theaters.  We have been blessed to have many friends and much family come spend time with us.  It breaks up the monotony of the day to day a bit.  

Now it is time to start a routine.  Time to get to bed at a decent hour. ( Thank Goodness!) Time to arise before noon.  ( poor, poor teenagers...LOL)  It is also time to start brushing up on some school skills.  For a little bit each morning we will be doing some fun stuff to get back into 'mode'!  A little reading, some math and science.  Maybe even a little history.  And of course we will cram as much recess as possible into these last few days!

In the endless realm of school, it is always my hope that we can find out who we truely are.  I have been dreaming of going back and finishing my degree as of late.  And maybe even getting braces... does that make me a teenager too?