Day 481

Goodness gracious....isn't she just beautiful? I know, I am biased. :) These were taken with Marc's phone before we left for church on Sunday.

Waiting for the picture from Marc's phone

Day 482

Today I went for a run. I wanted to do a run, but not go to far away from the Y where Hannah was checked in. There has also been a rise in crime in the area, so I wanted to make sure I stayed on a well traveled trail near the road. Since I am not in a group I didn't want to go on a trail that took me far back in the woods. It meant I was stuck doing a 2.12 mile loop over and over again. I managed a little over 3 times to get in 6.5 miles. This photo was taken on my run. I love running under this tree. It just looks so cool. The leaves are HUGE. It is usually much fuller, but the recent drought conditions took its toll.

Day 480

Tonight we went to Benihana's for dinner with Marc's coworker and his wife. It was nice. I haven't been to Benihana since I was a kid. The food was pretty good too. After dinner we went over to the bowling alley for a few hours. I am sure it was quite a sight. I showed up for bowling wearing a dress, hose and heals. LOL

Day 479

The kids had a GREAT first week of school. Here is Josh organizing his binder!

I had to throw in this picture of Hannah....how could I not?

Day 478

After a crazy busy few days Hannah and I had a do nothing day. And we really did NOTHING. She even went to sleep in my arms....how sweet!

Day 477

Can I just tell you today was busy!!! I will spare you the morning running and just share the afternoon. We were in the car ready to go when Caleb and Samantha got off the bus. We went to pick Josh up from school and headed toward church. The kids were so excited for Hi5 choir to start up again. It was also the kick off for Midlink. We all got to sit around and eat dinner. I got Hannah checked in to her class. Caleb got situated in his choir class. I went upstairs with Josh and Samantha. I am one of the helper teachers in the 3rd-5th grade Hi5 group. It was a little overwhelming, but all is good. After kids choir I took off downstairs to the adult choir rehearsal. Went over some music with them and then left for the Gathering Singers rehearsal. We went over some music and then went to the sanctuary for sound checks and more singing. I know my schedule sounds nuts, but it is so fun! We laugh so much! We also get caught up in worship and just pour out our hearts. I really love all my singing buddies too. :) This picture was taken in the sanctuary after I put my stuff down. We were just wandering in getting ready to rehearse with the band.

Day 476

Today I was carless....at least for the afternoon. We had to go to music lessons in the truck. This photo is of Samantha putting her music bag over her head. Josh was in the front seat. I will let you use your imagination to figure out WHY she wanted the bag over her head.

Day 475

Today was the first day of school! What happened to summer??? I wasn't ready for it to be over, but it was time. Caleb went into Kindergarten. He had a good first day. He thinks he likes his teacher...funny little guy. Since he had a great year during PreK he already has a leg up. He knows all of his letters, numbers, and a handful of sightwords. Samantha went into 3rd grade. Gosh, when did she grow up??? She didn't have any of her friends in her class, but made friends with a new girl. She loves school and was ready to go back. Josh went into 5th grade. He is at a new school. They didn't change classes today, so it wasn't too overwhelming. Not sure how he will feel tomorrow. He thinks he has the best teacher, which is good. She seemed really sweet and wanted to make sure she had all the info she needed about his eczema and what might irritate him. She is the science teacher and they actually get to DO science...in a lab! The downside is his bus. He no longer gets picked up in front of the house. He has to walk down to the stop sign. He also gets picked up (and dropped off) an hour later than Caleb and Samantha. All of the scheduling (our stuff) will have to adjust a little. Hannah did ok today. She slept most of the afternoon. I had to get her up because I had to much that needed to be done. She got excited when Caleb and Samantha got home. She was giddy when Josh got home. She just couldn't wait for him to come to her, so she took off running down the street and jumped into him hugging and kissing him. (Don't worry, I was close behind looking for cars!)

Day 474

Today is always a big day in our family. Of course it is always a crazy day in our family...as well as our Church. It was promotion Sunday. That means the kids go to a new Sunday School class today. In Caleb's case he moved up to Kid's Worship in the Clubhouse. He woke up this morning and started running around like crazy saying, "I get to go to the Clubhouse today" over and over again. He was just a little excited...don't ya think? Well, today also happened to be the first day of our new schedule. It made for a crazy morning. I forgot to put Hannah's carseat back in the car after the retreat, so I left a little later than I wanted. The teacher in the "early" room (Hannah goes there because I have to be early for choir) took the kids up too early, so I had to go search for her. I ended up just taking Caleb and Samantha early. I apologized and told them I wouldn't do it next week. I passed Josh off on my mom with instructions to show him where to go sit for the service. He has graduated from Clubhouse, so he goes to SS then church with me BUT I sing with the choir during that service so he has to know where to go and save me a seat. There were over 170 people in the choir for the early service this morning....we need a new row. :) The chapel now has a contemporary service in the early hour. It was packed! They brought in chairs and people still sat on the floor. Some of the off-site parking locations were also full. How awesome is the craziness???? So, take a breath and do it again next Sunday! Big things are happening, don't you wish you were there?

Day 473

I only got one picture of the second day of the retreat. This is my friend Jana. I have no words for this picture because you just had to be there!!!!