This 'n That...

We are getting into the hang of preschool around here...Since our preschool is a co-op I also volunteer throughout the year. I had my first volunteer day last Friday. It was so good to see how a normal day "works." I am kind of foreign to the world of early childhood ed, so I soaked up all the details. Miss Kay and Miss Tina are both very very patient and so creative. At circle time they passed around "Hermie" the worm and each child told Hermie his/her name and one of their favorite things to do at home. Faith's was "coloring with Mommy" (I am choosing to ignore that the girl right before her "happened" to give the same answer ;) ).

Little sister even had her very own play date today with a friend while Faith was at school. I think it's the first time ever that we have only had one of Lainie's friends over. It was fun to see these sweet 2 year old girls interact. They walked in the door and went straight to the dress up clothes....then to the deck and played with the water table and ducks (in their dresses, of course!). They made food in the kitchen and rode the pony. It was a fun morning.

Lainie is chatty, chatty, chatty these days. I remember being worried that she wouldn't talk much since Faith has always been a talker. I worried that Lainie wouldn't see the "need" to talk as much since Faith can (and sometimes does) do it for her. But, oh was that so wrong. This girl can give you a run for your money! She keeps right up with big sis, and her vocabulary is surprising even to me! She also LOVES to sing. Her favorites are "Jesus Loves Me," "Call Me Maybe," and "Jolene." Ha! Quite the variety. Last week I was resting on the couch while she and Faith played. She lay beside me with a book she was going to read to me. I closed my eyes while she was reading. Before I knew it she had her hand on the side of my face and was singing Jesus loves me as she hugged me. It was one of those moments to catalog in my memory :) She also loves to tell "secrets." Her whispered secrets consist of "pspspspspspsss...I love you." I'll hear that secret any time :)

Daddy is chugging away with teaching and taking classes. He is also working on his Master's practicum. He will graduate in May! Woo hoo! We are so proud of him.

Here are a few pics from lately......

Daddy and girls hanging out on the bottom bunk before bed

My little bakers helping make banana muffins....Faith was very excited to get her apron :)

Helping Daddy fly our kite

More kite flying...

Little sister "shhing" her baby in one of our crates :)

Dance party! Ha!

Lainie and her favorite dress-up dress

More dance party...

Lainie cozy in the clothes basket :)

Well, Hello There :)

It has been awhile, hasn't it? I took a little unintended hiatus...where does the time go?! We have been chugging along here...taking in each day....learning, growing, being a family. If you read this blog, I am sure you know that we are expecting baby number 3 the beginning of January. We are SO very excited to welcome a baby boy to our family. Hard to believe, but I am 23 weeks today! Thankfully, baby and mommy are healthy so far and praying we continue to be.

What really spurred me to write today of all days is that I feel like moments and time are slipping quickly by. Now...not every day feels that way :) But, lately time is moving quick. I try to keep journals, baby books, etc....but there is no freezing time. In the end, I wouldn't want to, of course. I know in my heart that my purpose as a mommy is to raise our babies to grow and flourish....inevitably that means independence and new seasons in our life.

That being said, I feel like we are entering a new season of family life in our home. We have been blessed that I can be home most of the time. Because of this, the girls only go to daycare once/week. It is a great balance for our family. However, time does not stand still and now we have a FOUR year old who has started off to preschool. She is SO ready for this transition. Faith is a social butterfly. She thoroughly enjoys being around other kids (especially when there is dress-up involved :) ). And while we learn at home, she is ready to learn in a classroom setting. With Daddy being a teacher, she is no stranger to the school setting and has been looking forward to it for some time.

Yesterday was the big day! Mornings can be tough around here, but yesterday was beautifully easy (whew!). Faith was so excited to go.....then we pulled in to the parking lot. "Mommy, I am kind of nervous." We said a prayer and talked about how God is with us no matter where we go. I held back the tears (barely), and sisters held hands to the front door. She went in like a champ, though somewhat shyly, and little sister and I headed out.

When we picked Faith up a few hours later (half day preschool), it was to glowing excitement about her class, her teacher, the games they played, and of course....getting to play dress-up :)

Last night was also our first night of AWANA at church. If you are not familiar with AWANA, it is a children's program that teaches Bible memorization, Bible lesson and has lots of songs and games for kids. Faith is a "Cubbie" again this year. That makes her one of the older ones in her class. There were lots of new faces, especially 3 year olds who can now attend.

One little girl in particular was very nervous to leave her mommy. She came and sat next to Faith while they worked on a craft. Faith looked at her and said, "Are you nervous?" The little girl nodded her head. Faith continued, "I went to preschool today and I was nervous too. But it was okay. I played and then I wasn't nervous any more. You won't be nervous after awhile" It was a sweet moment I was glad to see.

It is hard to imagine Faith being in kindergarten next year, and for this time my prayer is that we can really savor the days we have at home. Our rhythm will adapt with each new phase....and each new step has it's own set of joys.

Sisters before school

Big preschooler!!

Faith and I before AWANA