The Hutchings Family Blog: 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.