We move this coming Labor Day weekend but here is the kicker, my husband in gone all week participating in a Quest with our church. If you don't know what a Quest is, it is a program that a group of all men or all women opt to participate in where you leave all technology and communication with the world behind and seek God out. There is a 30 day preparation that you are walked through to hopefully ready yourself for what it is God wants to impart during your week long isolation with Him. It is meant to help you soul search and find answers to questions you have about your life and where you are at or have a revelation about the desires of your heart and what Gods plans are for you. I am looking forward to hearing about my husbands time away seeking insight about where we are at in life and where we are headed.
The kids all had to start new schools in a different school district which has proven to be an easy transition thus far for them. My oldest Daniel is a Sophomore now and I can't believe he will be 16 next month. We haven't even started teaching him how to drive and I'm not sure I'm ready for him to be behind the wheel of a car just yet. My baby is getting so big so fast and before I know I will be watching him walk across the stage grabbing his diploma and waving farewell to his adolescence. It doesn't help that he resembles Justin Bieber. :)
Drew is fitting in well and made the A team for football at the middle school where he is an 8th grader. He is the big man at the top of the grade levels and I'm pretty sure he is enjoying it, probly more than he is willing to admit. He has himself a girlfriend apparently and it baffles me that he is almost as tall as me and turning into a handsome man. Seems like just yesterday I had him and was holding him in the hospital for the first time.
Dax is in 6th grade this year and adjusting to the new found responsibility that comes with being in middle school. It has been an adjustment for him to have so many different classes to keep up with and make sure you have everything you need at the end of the day so homework can be completed and turned in on time. He has always been my child that just kinda holds life by the hand and strolls along in his own little world. Unfortunately, middle school doesn't allow you to do that or you quickly get left behind. I think he will get it, I am just gonna have to stay on top of him and help keep him organized. So far he seems to be making new friends quickly and adjusting well. I have been impressed with his ability to transition to a new school and middle school without any hiccups.
The girls are both enjoying their new school and think their new principle is very pretty, which she is. :)Zoe is in 4th grade now and her teacher is due to have a baby middle of September. The girls are all very nice to her and she is excited to move into the new house so she can be near some of them. She is definitely sad about leaving so many good friends at her old school but knows she can keep in touch with them and have them stay for sleepovers.
Laila just turned 8 yesterday and has taken being a 3rd grader in stride. Her teacher reminds me of Robin Williams and after the first day of school when I dropped her off I had my oldest Daniel with me and I asked him who her teacher reminded him of and his answer, "The guy from Flubber". All I could do was laugh because that was my thought exactly. So far Laila has enjoyed her classmates and is making friends quickly. Here is a picture of her blowing out her candles at her family birthday party. I made her cake and the inside was zebra print. It is super cute and easy which is exactly what I was looking for.
Zion and Brooklyn are both in preschool 2 full days a week now and you what that means don't you? 2 full days all to myself for the first time in 16 years!!! Can I get an Amen? Brooklyn is definitely having to adjust because she can't be in her big brothers class and after a short stint of crying when I leave she calms down and goes on to enjoy the rest of her day. Knowing that doesn't make it any easier on me especially knowing that in 2 years she will be in kindergarten and there will be no turning back.
Zion on the other hand can't push me out the door quick enough. The minute he hits the classroom he is off to hang up his backpack and wash his hands so he can get busy playing with his buddies. He loves school and asks every day when he gets to go back. My little manness is gaining his independence and it is truly bittersweet for me. I will never have another baby to watch take their first step or say their first word and part of me mourns that. On the other hand, part of me knows that is how life works and I am okay with knowing my child bearing years are behind me.
Here is a picture of the Zion and Brooklyn on their first day of preschool. They look like they could be twins but are 12 months apart.
And her is picture Brooklyn's teacher sent later in the day on her first day showing me that she cheered up and was enjoying school after I left.
Life is a journey with twists and turns and I am anxious to see what lies ahead in this new season for us. I am chewing on James 1 daily and letting it soak down to my soul so that I can remember how to face challenges as they present themselves. It's never easy to uproot and change your environment but sometimes it is necessary and God has to push us out of our comfort zone so we perk up and take notice. No matter where I am in life I know that He is in control and my path is guided by His lamp.
James 1:1-18 1 James, a servant[a] of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:
Greetings.
Testing of Your Faith
2 Count it all joy, my brothers,[b] when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass[c] he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.[d] 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
