First Day of School 2015

Monday morning was their first day of school. Briggs has started his second year at his preschool in the threes class and Kerigan was old enough for the Parents Day Out (PDO) class. Although she's so young, her class lasts just as long as B's and is a nurturing learning environment as well. I know my babies are in the best hands at their school. We have fallen in love with the staff and we know they love and truly value our little ones. 

 When I walked out to the parking lot after dropping them off, I walked out alone. No baby in my arms or on my hip. We are surrendering our future to God as far as having any more kids. Perhaps he will bless us with more or perhaps he wants us to just raise the two little souls he's already blessed us with. Either way, I was mix of emotions walking out. My heart is full though, knowing we are putting them in the hands of people who know and love B & K and want to teach them that God loves them.

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As far as our first day traditions, I always want my children to get excited for school. I want them to look forward to it. So this is the reason we are starting new traditions this year. After talking to other moms, pulling from what my own parents did for me & the influence of pinterest, we decided on three traditions for now. 

Tradition No. 1: An encouraging gift for the teacher.

My degree is in education. I was in the field for around 3 years. It was a short time but a rewarding time. The reward came with a lot of hard work, tears, hours, confusion, planning, reading and more. I get it. I will always get it. Teachers are mission workers. I value every educator out there who truly has a heart for what they do. You are selfless, you are creative, you are brilliant. You need to know that.  People who have never been in the classroom may tell you differently. But I know. And I want you to know how much our family loves you.

So for our teachers this year, Briggs and I made chocolate covered pretzels to look like apples. We put them in little buckets and wrapped them up. 

The buckets read "Colossians 3:16"

Let the teaching of Christ and His words keep on living in you. These make your lives rich and full of wisdom. Keep on teaching and helping each other. Sing the Songs of David and the church songs and the songs of heaven with hearts full of thanks to God

We pray that these simple little buckets can be a reminder of encouragement to last the whole year.

Tradition No. 2: A Special Breakfast

My mom was a high school teacher when I was growing up. She always had to be at work pretty early. So dad was in charge of getting us dressed, doing our hair (kind of), making us breakfast and getting us on the bus. One of my favorite things about those mornings with dad is that he would get so pumped to make us a great breakfast. Cooking for others is his love language :) His enthusiasm was contagious and always started me off with a great day. 

So to continue dad's tradition, we made the kids a very special breakfast. They had pancakes with sprinkles and scrambled eggs with cheese. Then each of them got to have one apple pretzel for "dessert".

Tradition No. 3: Photo with a Chalkboard Signs

I love this idea! I know it's not original but its brilliant. So we got some chalkboards at HobbsLobbs on sale a few weeks ago. I used old school chalk to make the signs because that's just fun. We plan on taking a last day of school photo with them as well to compare. 

I hope the kids let me take their pics for their whole school career :)

It's a lot of pressure to keep your back pack on and hold the sign ;-)

Kerigan recruited daddy to help hold up her sign. 

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Morning drop off went pretty well! We went as a family which made it extra special.

Briggs is showing us his name tag. 

Kerigan waiting out in the lobby until her class starts. 

Walking in and ready to give her teacher her present.

And she's off!

Briggs had a great drop off and was full of excitement to start preschool. Kerigan cried when she realized we weren't following her into her class. Thankfully her teacher said it didn't last too long after we left. In her PDO class, they do a "Baby Doll Circle Time". That was her hook and the key to Miss K's heart. When I picked her up at the end of the day she was pointing to my face and her face and saying "eyes...nose....mouth" And if you know Kerigan, this is a huge deal! I think she will love her class. I pray our sweets will have a wonderful year, learn a lot, and know that God loves them. 

Cheers to the new school year & hugs for your preschool friends!

Our Madagascar Zoo Day

Today is the kids' first day of preschool. So instead of crying in a corner, I'll channel my energy into telling you about our scavenger hunt at the zoo. (First day of preschool post and pics coming soon!)

Our Madagascar scavenger hunt at the zoo was the love language to my son's heart. He already has a passion for animals. And as mentioned before, he has been on a Madagascar kick since June (all three movies of the series). 

So when we arrived at the zoo on Friday morning and I showed him our scavenger hunt map...he smiled so big I think I saw tears in his eyes. Our mission was to take a picture with every "Madagascar" animal below. He has told everyone he knows about our "Madagascar Zoo" since we left. Since we are already members, it didn't cost us a dime and made for the perfect last day of summer for us. 

Here is our scavenger hunt map. If you're in the Indy area, feel free to save and use yourself! Notice, there's no Gloria...we need to put in a request for hippos at our zoo to complete the Madagascar experience ;-)

If you've sent the third movie (the Circus-probably Briggy's current favorite) then you know Vitaly the tiger. Here he is with the real tiger ;-)

The monkeys play an important role in the second Madagascar movie

That silly bear with King Julian.  Kerigan was loving that the real bear was taking a bath. 

Marty! This is who Briggs wants to be for Halloween...right now.

Mr. Melmin. Kerigan was playing peek-a-boo with the giraffes. 

Alex was show boating while the real lion was relaxin' on the rock.

So I know Gia is actually a jaguar and this is a cheetah...but it counts for our scavenger hunt ;-)

King Julian with the lemurs

Stefano swimming with the seals and sea lions. K is in her happy place.

The lovable penguins with Skipper and his crew

And....Finish! We did it!

The zoo is somewhere we frequent often but with just a little twist, you can make it a whole new adventure. With a fun and restful weekend behind us, we are ready to tackle the school year!

Disclaimer: [All three Madagascar films and all characters' images are property of Dreamworks] The magic of photoshop was used in order to make my son's day. 

Fellowship Friday: Being With

Brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being seperated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. 

-1 Thessalonians 2:17

Remember when I said I just want to be this week? It's more difficult said than done. I was supposed to work from home Monday and Wednesday this week. And then work things came up. And guess what's the first thing to get sacrificed? Yep. Mud pies, scavenger hunts and neighborhood parades.

I've been really grouchy this week because my schedule with the kids didn't  necessarily go as planned. Then yesterday I opened my devotion "Savor" by Shauna Neiquist. The devotion for the day was titled "On Being With" (Isn't it incredible how God knows our hearts?) He reminded me that I need to show myself grace. That he has given me the opportunity to do what I love as a living and have my dream job of being a mom.

I love what Shauna says here:

I love what I do, and I'm so deeply thankful to travel for work to so many beautiful parts of the world, but at the same time, I don't want to miss even a moment in this, my every day life, the blood and bones of day to day. 

Maybe this is how it's supposed to be. My friend Steve says that you're a lucky person when you love to go to work in the morning, and you equally love to come home at the end of the day. So've resolved to be here, present to what life hands me here. And when it is time to be somewhere else, I will be there, present to what life hand me there.

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If any working moms out there have ever struggled with "mom guilt" not just because you work, but you enjoy what you do, take heart, maybe this is God's intention. Be present. He wants us to not only pour His love into our littles, but also the lives of others we reach every day. I'm thankful He reached me yesterday. It's natural for me to want to be with my family any time. I need to allow myself to be present at a job I love. When I'm at work and reaching the heart of others, its okay to want to be with them too. Because I do love what I do. 

We are blessed beyond measure to have a community of loved ones who enjoy spending time with our babies when we're not. I'm learning this is God's intention too. These individuals are helping shape and form our babies into the God-loving adults we are praying for. My kids need balance. They need other adult mentors who love them and who help nurture their love for Christ. 

Balance is important. And while I'm learning to give myself grace in loving my career, I'm not going to lose sight of the blood and bones of every day either. 

Savoring Summer

Today begins our last official week of summer. The kids (yes, plural) start school next week. Both will be attending preschool come Monday, so we are savoring our last summer days and nights. Lucky for us, we will still get to experience lots of summer since the kids only attend school 2 x a week for now. 

We're so thankful for such a family-oriented summer. Ryan and I have learned the art of saying "no". It has been a priority for us to not over schedule and live in the moment with each other. We still loved seeing our friends, play dates, cookouts and more but at the end of the day, before making a decision on a potential outing, the kids and family time came first. So glad we stuck to our guns. If your calendar feels overloaded, I challenge you to try to simplify as much as possible. God calls us to do so. It's what our hearts desire.

This weekend we swam and played at Yaya and Papa's. My grandma (the kids call her Rara) came to visit as well. We cherish all our time we get with Rara. Every visit from her turns into a fiesta. Amazing food, music, bonfires and company.  

Summer nights at Yaya and Papa's

Rara dancing with her family. Love this beautiful soul. 

Ummm...let's stop and talk about this for a sec. Sis's first french piggies! 

Summarizing Summer. As we savor these last days of summer, we are thankful for the memories made these last few months. Vacations to Orlando and Brown County. Pool days, lake boating, park play, zoo trips, family meals, concerts, wagon rides, playing soccer until we're sweaty, getting covered in bubbles and sidewalk chalk, popsicles, library parties, adventures with Emily (their babysitter), days at Kendra's (their other babysitter), slumber parties at Yaya and Papa's, weekly meals with Pops, swing sets with Kinsie and lots and lots of Ring Around the Rosie. This summer has been one for the books. 

Last Summer Goals. This week I plan on taking a couple days off just to be. I want to limit my phone use. I want to increase my engagement. I want to listen to them. Learn from them. I want them each to pick an activity to do each day. I don't want to rush. I don't want to over plan. We might make mud pies. Or we might have relay races. We may even have a puppy parade through the neighborhood. I just want them to be kids. Thats the beauty of summer. 

Before wrapping this up with Back to School brainstorming, I have a quick praise. As some of you know, my mom hasn't been feeling her best. Without going into too much detail, she had a procedure done this week that we were praying would bring her some relief. And although she's not completely pain free, I witnessed her for the first time in a long time, be in the moment with her grand babies without pain on her face. You have no idea how much relief and joy this does for my heart. This woman has been the most self-sacrificing, sweet, nurturing and loving mom to Kara and I. She deserves to be able to give all the love she can to her grandkids. That's what brings her joy. They adore her more than life itself.  These photos above mean everything. Mama, you know we pray for you every day. So glad to see sunshine in you again this weekend. Praise the Lord!

Back to School Brainstorming. While my main purpose this week is to savor up the rest of summer, I also want to be proactive and start brainstorming some fun back to school traditions. Since both of the kids will be in school this year, I thought it would be the perfect time to start implementing a few. I want them to love school and get excited for it...build it up! These are just some ideas I found on Pinterest. I'm sure we will give an update on what we decided to go with. Until then, Happy last week of summer B & K!

Follow Krista Robinson's board Back to School on Pinterest.

Team Elmo Season Opener

You may have noticed a lot of our "life lately" posts have consisted of us playing soccer. We have been practicing for a reason. Briggs played "Little Kickers" when he was around 18 months. He was a new walker then so any type of coordination with or without a ball was considered a win. We took a break from LK after Kerigan was born. Then last spring, he asked us if he could play again. So we signed him up for "real" soccer. 

So far he has had two practices and one game. We lucked out by getting some amazing coaches who happen to live in our neighborhood. This is all new to us so we have no expectations. But they are encouraging, patient and fun with our little boy. He's quickly picking up the concept of actual soccer. I am so proud of him for hustling the entire game. He may not have hustled toward the ball, but he hustled. We are excited for the season with Team Elmo and to watch our boy grow and meet new friends. 

Briggs had quite a fan club show up for his 8:30am start. 

Our boy in action

More of his fan club.

Showing #6 some love after the game. He loved the tunnel despite his cautious expression. We call that his bulldog face.

He was pumped after his first game with his #1 fan by his side. 

We love you Briggy! We are so proud of you for hustling, listening to your coach and having fun. We hope this is the first of many more games where we get to be your biggest fans. 

Fellowship Friday: Current Inspiration

Happy Friday! 

 This week, I wanted to share with you what is inspiring me right now. These people, books and sites are what's encouraging me to pursue my days with a more loving heart and to dive deeper in the Word. This is who (and what) is help filling my cup lately :)

Devotion: 

I love all things Shauna Niequest. Have I mentioned that before? ;-) She came out with a daily devotion earlier this year. If you're wanting to get into daily devotions-start here. I'll be the first to admit, after having kids, my time alone time with God was often put to the back burner. I'm not a morning person to begin with-so if I couldn't squeeze it in at night, it didn't happen. Then comes Shauna. She has helped me get back into the habit of starting my mornings with Jesus. They are one pagers...pray, read, pray. I've caught the morning devotion bug thanks to Savor. 

Music:

Oh, Crowder, you've pleased my little worshipping soul for some time now. Our life group, went to the Air1 Positive Hits Tour last night. His style of song and worship does not disappoint. But my up and coming new favorite is Lauren Daigle...who was also on the tour. Her ballads....ahhh! And she's only 23 (I think?) My heart is singing very happy tunes today. 

What I'm Reading:

I have a {big} birthday coming up and Ryan surprised me with an early present! I've had my eye on the Crossway Single Column Bible for a while now. There is space on the sides for writing down notes and interacting with the Word. I carry it wherever I go. I crave time with my Bible now. 

photo courtesy of IG @soulscripts

Instagram friends:
My bff told me about #shereadstruth. It's an amazing concept. The SRT team has an app and an online (or print) daily devotion. Then you connect with an online community. They combine the devotion with beautiful photography + scripture overlays to help you memorize verses.

I'm currently tuned into the book of Daniel but my mom and sister are going to join me once the letters from Paul study begins in September. 

My Church:
We have been attending TPCC now just under four years. A series of events led us here. And I know now, this is where God wants us to be right now. Our souls are being fed. There is an incredible community of brothers and sisters. The pastors have been hitting the sermons out of the park. There is love and there is accountability. This is a sermon from a couple weeks ago on grace and truth. So good. Traders Point live streams every Sunday at 9 and 11. Then on Mondays, sermons are posted for you to listen or watch at your convenience. So even when we're gone, we rarely miss our Sunday meal.  

I'm so thankful for these influences God has put in my life. There are so many more. But I have been rambling to all my friends and family lately about what is inspiring me.  So here it is. Links of love and all. 

Have a great weekend!