I woke up the kids early ... 6:45 AM. It will take them a little to get used to waking up this early again. I mixed up some pancakes and peeled peaches for their breakfast. Matthew was up and dressed in no time flat!!! He was nervous and excited to met his new teacher and school mates. Hadassah was still waking up while combing her hair and double checking her packed bags for Black Rock. She doubled checked to make sure she had all she needed before eating her breakfast. Meanwhile, I bathed Austin, got Ashlyn up and dressed and stuffed some left over pancakes and eggs into my mouth before taking them to school. With Hadassah going to Black Rock Retreat right after school till Friday, she had a sleeping bag and extra luggage to drag to school. Driving them to school seemed like the best idea for this morning.
Matthew is ready for fifth grade ...
Hadassah is ready for eighth grade ...
Ashlyn can't wait for her turn to go to school!
We arrived at school with the buzz in the air!!! The buses were unloading the children. Mr. Buckwalter was at the door welcoming everyone!!! Hadassah and Matthew got out of the Yukon after we said a prayer! They were both excited to be back at school and start another new year!
I will miss Hadassah while she is at Black Rock! She does so much for me here around 'the basement'. She can fold the laundry. Sweep the floors. Hold Austin. Entertain the kids. She's wonderful!!! We will be praying for her while she is out learning about nature and God!!! She's got a busy school year with sports, learning, piano lessons and finishing up her time at Linville! We are excited to her grow and mature!
Matthew came home happy about his day. There are a few new kids in his class, including a new teacher. He delivered the school folder to me and that's when I spent some time on the back porch going through all these papers. School is very informative and there are more and more options available. Lunch options on Wednesdays. School cleaning option. Sports after school practice options! The list goes on. Matthew never makes much fuss about school and so all I wanted to hear and know ... I had to ask him! :) We are excited about his school term for this year too. I really hope he takes a better interest in reading and keeps doing well with his lessons!
As for us 'in the basement', we will adjust. Again. It's always a change with school being in session. I'm usually really ready for a better sleeping schedule and ready to be back in the rhythm of school life, but this year I wasn't ready to say good bye to summer vacation. With having a baby in July, my summer went by really fast!!! We pooled as much as possible in June. We had a baby in July. We moved in August. Now school starts already!!! (I just know in a few years from now and looking back, I will wonder how we did all this in one summer!!!) I miss my helpers! But today the little ones and I made a trip to Costco. It went fine. Ashlyn plays well alone but I stopped my work often to help her color a picture and then play some doll house. It will only be a few weeks until the swimming weather will change and then we will really be focused on school!!! :))
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Austin turned seven weeks old and he's sleeping all night!!! Well, what I call all night! He's settled by 10 PM and is sleeping until 4:30 AM. The other morning he went to 5:30 AM!!! I woke up feeling great from the straight hours of sleep! Skipping those 1 AM feedings is always a good feeling! He's doing better with his naps too! I wasn't always sure how he wanted to fall asleep. My preference would be to just lay him down and let him fall asleep by himself. But with that training, comes some crying. With dad's right above us, I am trying to be cautious about our noise and his crying. Well, they are out west for a wedding the next few days, so we are in training!!! He is doing well with it too!!!
Daddy and Austin taking a snooze before the ballgame!
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Packing for a fun getaway this weekend might be interesting. We brought to the basement only the things we need to live with for a few months. No extra sheets. No sleeping bags or extra blankets. No sand toys or beach chairs. We might be making a few stops at home before the weekend is here!
Have a great weekend and I hope to be posting again soon!!!
