busy busy

I just wanted to pop in and give a small update since I haven't been posting in quite some time.

It has been so busy around here. We were blessed with acceptance into FCA this year which is a WHOLE new life style to adjust to. My dear friend that has had students there for years was NOT kidding when she said " life as you know will NEVER be the same"...LOL That is so true. It is really a life style change for sure. BUT WE LOVE IT! I still have a ton to learn and have made so many mistakes and forgot so much stuff but I am getting there. Thankfully I have some great friends that are very encouraging and remind me this is my 1st year and 1st few weeks and there will be mistakes and I will learn!:) So the three boys started three weeks ago and they LOVE it. *C* is in 4Th grade and he loves his teacher and is really holding his own for a first year student there. He has grown so much in the last few months and to see him adjusting so well in this new school is such a blessing. *D* is in the 3rd grade and LOVES it as well. His teacher is a first year teacher there as well so I feel extra bad when I make mistakes because it just makes her first year so much harder....But we are learning. *D* has really taken off in the new school as well. He is my biggest Bible lover so he REALLY loves the scripture memorization!! *E* is in the 1st grade this year and bless his teachers heart for being so understanding with me and my inexperience in this whole new life! *E* has taken off full speed on his reading this year. He really struggled in his old school because they didn't do the phonics like they do in FCA. In three weeks of school his reading has improved so much! He also loves the school and loves being in 1st grade. *E* was in 1st grade as last year as well and I made the very difficult decision to put him back there this year. When *E* had originally started Kindergarten he had just turned 5 two weeks prior and was also a 7 week preemie. So he really struggled in Kindergarten. He was still in that toddler -preschool mode of playing and his imagination was in overdrive so sitting at a seat and patiently doing work was not an option. So by the time we got to 1st grade is was obvious he was much smaller and much more immature then the boys and girls in 1st grade. As well as most were a full 12 months older then him. So I sat him down one day after he came home and was upset asking why everyone was bigger then him and smarted then him. I told him mommy got into a hurry to put him into school and made a mistake and that if it was OK with him I would like to put him into the grade he belonged in with the other boys and girls that were his age and size. I told him he was VERY smart (the best in math in his class in fact) but he needed to be with the kids his age otherwise he would always have to to work twice as hard as the others to keep up and that wasn't fair. So here we are back in 1st grade and doing GREAT! It was one of the hardest but best decision I've made. So the boys are all doing well. The girls are doing well at home as well. Miss *F* just turned 5 a few weeks ago. She has really changed these last few months in her maturity, looks, and attitude!:) She is now a big sister and takes it very seriously and loves it. She is starting to get ready for school but we didn't want to have to go through with her what we did with *E* so we decided to wait another year. :) We are going to start doing pre K and K homeschooling once things get more settled down with the boys. Miss*G* has started walking last week and has added about 8 words to her vocabulary as well. She is sprouting 4 new teeth on top and boy is she in pain! :( She is changing so quickly these last two weeks that I don't know what to do with myself.LOL lots of mommy tears for sure!They all just grow and turn into these creatures that just amaze me every single day. It goes so quickly. I just treasure those moments when I can scoop them up and press my face into there necks and give them sweet kisses as I suck in the all the air I can get through my nose and savor that sweet smell. It is much harder to steal those moments with my bigger boys but it just makes those moments that much sweeter!:)

I would also like to mention our family has had a few tragedies in the last week. A long time friend of mine was murdered last week, a friends father was killed in a freak motorcycle accident, my brothers father is hanging on to his last days on life support, and my husbands uncle Richard is in his last days of his battle with cancer. It has been a very emotional week filled with lots of sadness. We continue to look to Gods grace and mercy and sovereign hands in all this and that is all that is pulling us through. I would like to ask that any of you that read this please keep these wonderful people and their families in your prayers.