School days.....

Monday morning our princess, Anna Grace, started preschool. I don't know who was more excited, she or Kai. I know that as I was getting her dressed and putting her bow on, I must've kissed and squeezed her 1,000,000 times. She would sweetly look at me and said, "Mama, Anna Grace come back. No cry." Now she giggles when I tell her "Anna Grace, Mama cried all day today." She then asks, "Why?" I say, "Because I missed you soooooooooo much" as I tackle her with hugs and kisses and she breaks out into a fury of laughter.

On the first day, she walked into the classroom, sporting her adored Hello Kitty backpack with Kai holding her hand. She gave kisses to AJ and I and was off to play with the many kids she already knew. I left still feeling her great big kiss on my face as the tears streamed down to my quivering lips.

This morning is her 5th day there and she loves it. She now wants to make sure I am missing her and says when I drop her off, "Mama miss Anna Grace, ok?" I, of course, do the pretend crying and she falls over in a burst of laughter. Every day I speak to their teacher and she tells me how much both she and Kai love school.

Kai's had a big of adjustment to deal with also. Their teacher told me he is definitely the "protective, big brother" and he does his role well, meaning she can't move without him being there. If anything small issue comes up with Anna Grace, he is the first one at her side. That's ok. I'm glad he's watching over his baby sister. She's got a pretty stubborn, little personality, so I'm sure he's not holding her back.

I always arrive before they are released from the classroom and as they turn the corner they both bolt towards me screaming, "Mama! Mama!" I can't imagine a sweeter sound.

I'm so very proud of how far they've both come. They are strong, resilient, and loving. I am in awe of the challenges they faced and all that they've been through and have come through it with flying colors. God is good!

In the meantime, I am spending time with my sweet baby boy who loves the one-on-one attention.

"Daddy has a plan!"

(Please remember to scroll downa and turn off the background music)

T-E-M-P-E-S-T-U-O-U-S

This word could be used to describe the craziness of life at times, but what it really represents to us is the word Amanda missed at the State Spelling Bee championship. I felt so bad for her because I knew how nervous she was. She misspelled it by one letter . She said "I" after the 2nd "T", instead of "U".

Hec, Scott and I were nervous wrecks and we weren't the ones standing in an auditorium with hundreds of people waiting for you to spell a word. Especially with it being so quiet in there that you could hear a pin drop.

Just getting that far was a huge achievement. There were kids from all over the state competing for the national championship.

Amanda, We are so very proud of you, sweetheart! You did awesome!

Note to Amanda: I know you will never, ever forget how to spell T-E-M-P-E-S-T-U-O-U-S and neither will we. XXXOOO!

Note to everyone else: Sorry for the blurry pictures, still trying to figure out the ins and outs of the new camera.