Apple Orchard

Last Friday I went with Logan's kindergarten class to the Apple Orchard. It was a very hot day but we had fun!! Unfortunately there weren't any apples on the trees, but the kids got to see what an orchard was. I am so very thankful for teachers and their love and patience for young children. It takes a special person to be a teacher!!!

Our first Opera Rehearsal in Nashville

Yesterday we headed to the Noah Life Opera Center in Nashville for our first rehearsal. This was the first opportunity for the Director to meet the girls and for the cast to see the girls. It was also an opportunity for the girls to hear the singing so they could become accustomed to how loud it would be. The girls did not rehearse with the cast. The cast was still practicing when we arrived. When Jimmi Lou asked the girls what they thought when they heard the cast singing for the first time they all just said "WOW". As parents, we were all so very impressed. These girls know their piece. They were perfect. A few changes needed to be made due to placement of props on the stage and the girls were easily able to make those changes. All their hard work for the last three months has paid off. I really realized yesterday what an amazing experience this is for Mia. She is dancing in a professional setting. The girls were very intimidated by the Director, but they didn't show it. They were thankful he did not stay to watch them dance. He just met them and then headed to lunch. Mrs. Jimmi Lou has prepared them well enough that I think they can handle anything.

Some of the cast stayed around and others left for lunch, but they all loved the girls. They were all so very sweet to them.

The girls got to go into the costume room. They were mesmerized by the grand costumes and wigs.

Next week we head back to the Opera Center to rehearse with the cast and then to TPAC to rehearse on the stage with costumes. The following week we have two rehearsals and then it is performance time. The next two weeks will be very busy for Mia, but wow what an experience this is!!

Piper and Cy start School

Piper and Cy have been begging to go to school. They started a two day a week preschool program last week. All of the older kids have gone to Sonshine School, so they were excited to finally call it their school. They were so excited about their backpacks and lunch boxes. I knew Piper would be fine but I worried how Cy would do. He is a little attached. They were both so excited that they ran in their classroom without looking back. I think it helps that they have each other. They had a great day!! They loved their new friends, painting, playing on the playground, and their teacher Mrs. Brandi. Adaleigh and I enjoyed having some one on one time together!

Mia Turns 8

Mia's 8th Birthday was August 22. She has been so excited for her 8th birthday. She could not wait to be baptized. Even though we were in the middle of moving we tried really hard to make it a special day for her. Due to some scheduling conflicts, she was not able to be baptized till September 4th which ended up working out perfectly.

Mia is a beautiful, talented girl. She is a great student, a beautiful dancer, and an awesome soccer player. She loves to read. For her birthday she received piano lessons, and is so excited to start playing the piano. Mia has her own style and fashion. She is the best big sister. Adaleigh knows the route to pick up the kids from school. As we approach the line she starts crying for Mia. She misses her while she is at school. I love her independence and determination in everything she does. Mia has a very sweet testimony and love for the gospel. Happy Birthday sweet girl!! We are so proud of you!!

Mia sporting her new scriptures and scripture tote.

It was a sweet day spent with family and friends for Mia's baptism. She was so excited and looked so beautiful in her white dress.

We are Moved!!

The moving is all done. We have made all the house swaps and are now trying to adjust and get settled. We are loving the space we have and most of all the huge yard.

Mom and Dad moved out on Saturday the 21st. Every night after that I would fill the van with as much stuff as I could. After the kids went to bed, I would go over to the house and get everything unloaded and put away. I wanted to have everything I possibly could moved before the movers came on Wednesday. I was trying to make the transition as easy as possible for the kids. Our lives are so busy I knew I needed to keep order or we would not survive. All that was left for the movers was the heavy furniture. It was well worth all the sleepless nights.

When we left for school Wednesday morning, the kids knew all of our things would be moved to our new home that afternoon. As we pulled out of our driveway, Mia started bawling. I had to control myself too. I assured Mia we would come back after school to tell everyone good bye. That helped to calm her down enough to get through school. After school we went back to the house and the kids went around giving hugs. They played with their friends that lived next door for a little bit before we had to leave. (The great thing is these two kids got into Campus School this year too so the kids still see them at school.) As we drove by their house, the little girl clung to her dad and cried. It broke my heart. We will miss seeing our friends and neighbors daily, but we will keep in contact with them.

We had the best neighbors!! They all loved my kids so much. Landon spent the summer tending for all their pets and homes while they were on vacation. Our cul-de-sac was very close and watched out for one another. We spent many nights talking out in the cul-de-sac while the kids played. It was a fun place to live!! We have so many great memories from that home. We were only there for five years but went from two to six kids during that time.

Our master bedroom has always been right next to the kids rooms. We are now at the opposite end of the house. Landon has his own room now and with that has come an unexpected responsibility. The first night we were here the kids really had a hard time sleeping. Piper fell out of her bed. Her crying woke Mia up. They both were screaming and crying (our girls are soooo dramatic) and began pacing the hallway. They were too scared to walk to the other end of the house so they decided to just go get in bed with Landon. He was very sweet and let them sleep with him until they went back to their beds. We now leave lots of lights on at night so they can find our bedroom without braving a dark room. Sleep is still a struggle for several of them, but hopefully they will adjust soon.

Adaleigh has definitely had the hardest time. In our house, her bed was a pack-n-play in my closet. She was always the best sleeper. She now is in a crib in her own room. She does not seem to like this very much. She spends most of the night crying. We have had a few good nights so hopefully this will get better soon. I guess she liked the small dark quarters she had.

Now if I can just get my life organized and figure out how I want things to function in this house, it will be good.

We are so very grateful for this opportunity we have and appreciate all our family is doing for us.

First Day of Campus School

Landon and Mia had their first day on Monday. They wanted to have their picture by this tree leaving a space for Logan in the middle. His first day was on Wednesday. My 3rd grader!!

My 4th grader!!

Kindergarten here comes Logan!!

I can't believe I have three kids in school. I would much rather have all of them home with me but I am thankful they will be able to watch out for one another this year!

They are all adjusting well to their new school. They have each made friends. We feel very blessed that they have great teachers and are great students. Logan has only been to school for a few days and has already melted his teacher's heart. She said if she had a classroom full of kids like him life would be good!! Hopefully she still thinks that after he warms up.

Power of Prayer

We have had some very amazing things happen in our family lately. They may not seem like much to anyone else, but they have meant alot to us. I just wanted to take the opportunity to share a few of them so we can look back and be reminded of the Lord's hand in everything.

We have been praying for the past few months that our house would sell and that the timing would work out. To be honest we had started to get a little discouraged. I got very tired of hearing that they loved our house, it was very clean, BUT the floor plan upstairs didn't work for them.

We had gone several days without any showings. Finally we had two appointments scheduled. One was a Wednesday night and the other was Thursday night. We gathered all the children together (all of the cousins that were in town at this point) and prayed before each showing. I was just hoping that the right person would come through and fall in love with the house like we did. We did not hear anything Wednesday or Thursday about the showings so I assumed we still didn't have a buyer.

It was Friday morning and we were preparing to register the kids for school and then go play laser tag with all of my family. Thankfully Zack had the day off. We got a call around 10:00am from our realtor that we had a contract. We were thrilled. We spent the next few hours running numbers and trying to figure out what would work best. We finally decided on a counter offer and called our realtor back. The couple accepted our counter offer!! We officially have a contract on the house and will close on the 27th. The timing could not have been any more perfect.

We headed out to register the kids for school. We headed to John Pittard first and then to Discovery School. Everything was fine, but I just wasn't thrilled with how I felt while at Discovery School. I pulled Landon over in the hallway to confirm with him that he still wanted to attend Discovery School. It was a definite yes. So we completed the registration there and headed on our way. A few minutes later I get a call on my cell from a number I did not recognize. I answered it thinking it would have to do with our house. It was Campus School calling to tell me they had a slot for Landon for 4th grade, but I had 1 hour to let them know if we wanted to take it. I did not even know Campus School was an option. I had signed Landon up when he was four but had not thought about it since then. I didn't know what to do. I did know that Campus gives siblings preference so that the following year I could have the other two there. It seemed good to me but I didn't know why. I didn't really know anything about the school. Having very limited time to make such a big decision I pulled Landon into a room and talked to him. I told him to pray about it and let us know what he thought. Zack and I also talked and prayed about it. We all came to the conclusion that we would move him to Campus School. When I called back to tell them we wanted the slot they asked if he had any siblings. They immediately had an opening for Logan but we would have to wait till registration on Wednesday to see if there was a slot for Mia.

We were not anxious for Wednesday to come because that was the day Trip and his family were leaving, but we were anxious to know if Mia was going to be able to attend Campus with her brothers. We registered Logan and Landon that morning and waited to hear about Mia. Wednesday was a very hard day!! I will post more about that later, but it was so hard to say good-bye to the Meredith's. I took all of their kids to the airport so their carseats could already be packed. When I got back to pick up my kids, I got a call that there was a spot for Mia but I had to come to the school immediately to register her. So all three kids will be in the same school!! This was not even something I had considered. We are very happy with Campus School and excited for this year!!

I am so very thankful for prayer. I know our prayers have been heard and answered in the best way for our family. It may not have been our plan but when we put our faith in the Lord everything seemed to work out for the best.