Back to School. Oh snap, that was 2 months ago....

Alright, I know. I'm behind on the blog. Nothing new there. We hit the ground running in August and things haven't slowed down a bit. Thus is life and I love our life and am grateful for it all. So here's the update and some cute pictures of the last few months.
Nicholas has been blessed with a terrific 1st grade teacher this year and it's amazing to see how he is excelling already! I think we had the best Parent Teacher Conference ever! We are so proud of him! He is reading above grade level and started reading chapter books all on his own and is developing a love of reading. Yay!! While we were so proud to hear how well he is doing in his academics, I was most proud to hear that he is a leader in the classroom, a dear friend, and a role model to his peers. We couldn't be happier!

At the end of August, Nolan was very excited to head back to school this year. He is in a 3 year old 3 day program at our same preschool and loves going to school each day! I'm so thankful because this was not the case last year. In fact there are many days when it is not a school day that he begs to go to school. (I wonder if that's a reflection on our days at home...hmmm.) The little social guy that he is he has found a new best friend, Austin, and talks about him frequently. They have even already enjoyed a playdate. Nolan is so proud of his work that he brings home and loves to display his work around the house. He is working hard on learning his letters and it sounds like they do some pretty fun things like eat cookies (letter C), donuts (D), and french fries (F)! No wonder he loves it!

I love this series of pictures. So Nolan! And his proud self portrait--his first homework assignment.
Both boys are doing soccer this year and they love it! Nick is on a team with 6,7,and 8 year olds (making him the youngest of course) and the competition level has definitely increased after taking last year off. He's doing great though and really improves with each week. He loves it too which is the most important part after all. This is Nolan's first year and he is so cute and actually really good! He gets in there and gets after it. Takes after his big bro! Carting back and forth between practices and games is hard work but Miss V and I are enjoying our time on the sidelines.

And speaking of Miss V, she is on the move! Little Miss has started walking!! She'll take about 8 steps now before she falls and crawls or gets up and tries again. She'll be running very soon. She is in to everything and really keeps me on my toes. She continues to be such a sweetheart (with a little diva shining through every now and then;). She loves to wave to everyone these days. She's eating great and I think she's growing although the last time she was at the doctor was in August when she weighed 16 lbs 6 oz so I'm not sure what she weighs now. I'm having fun experimenting with her hair and welcome the challenge to learn all I need to. (Believe me, there's a lot to learn!) My days are filled with her therapy appointments, caseworker visits, and family visits. It's busy and I'll be thankful when things slow down a bit but I'm so thankful to be home with her and able to do it all (shout out to the hubby for always making that possible!!) Things with her case have gotten messy and challenging and it will all be culminating this Friday, BIG DAY! It has been hard and an emotional time but God has carried us through and my faith has grown incredibly as I find strength in Him for each day. I can't let my anxiety get ahead of the day we are in He has given me such peace in it all. I'm so thankful for this journey He has given us, challenges included. For it is truly in the struggles that the biggest growth is reached.
I have a million adorable pictures that I can't post here and this breaks my heart. Here are the very few that I can show now.

A few other random pictures to add:

Hopefully I'll be updating with good news soon and it won't be months till my next post!

Summer Update

Summer has flown by! As it always does I suppose. Before the summer started I was kind of anxious about it. This was going to be my first time really being a mom to 3 kids ALL DAY LONG for such a long stretch. No long school days to help me out. How would I ever get out and do anything, go anywhere, with 3 kids and just one me? Well I've definitely been surprised at how nice it has been and how much we have done and how manageable it has been for me. Thank you Jesus for always having it covered! Once again I was silly to worry. That reminds me of a beautiful Brandon Heath song I was listening to yesterday (thank you honey for leaving the cd in the van!). I love the lyrics to Hands of the Healer:

"If we're going to pray about it, there's no use in worrying. If we're going to worry about it, there's no use in praying. Just leave it in the hands of the Father. Leave it in the hands of the Healer, and walk away."

I need this reminder many times. Hearing those lyrics was one of those DUH! moments for me. If I prayed about it then why am I worrying? And for those many times that I continue to worry after I prayed, why did I even bother to pray?
Anywho...summer with my three kiddos has been super fun. I've just enjoyed long days with them, enjoying the ages that they are right now. The boys have so much fun together even on days like today when we don't go anywhere, they just enjoy playing superheroes or cars or star wars or wherever their imagination takes them. They do fight some but thankfully it's not too bad. And Vera has spent her summer growing like crazy and getting busier and busier by the day. She is crawling everywhere, sitting up, pulling up, and eating like a champ--finger foods and all!
But let me back track because I just realized I should update on our fun things we have done each month.
May brought the end of the school year! Still can't believe Nicholas is done with Kindergarten and will be in 1st grade in 2 short weeks!! It was also the end of Tball, what a great season! And we went on our first trip as a family of 5 to Charleston, SC with Mom, Papa, and CeCe and Uncle Cliff for the Franklin Reunion. Despite Nolan slipping on the Yorktown and requiring stitches, it was a great trip. We also enjoyed a trip to Grandad and Kaki's to celebrate Mady and Nick's birthdays and open up the pool! And strawberry picking with Holly and Caroline one day.

June was filled with VBS (two different weeks), lots of playdates and time spent at the pool and spraygrounds. Nicholas turned 6 and I just can't believe it! We celebrated his day with daddy home from work and went to lunch, toy shopping at Target, and to the movies to see Epic, then dinner with the family. That weekend we spent the day at Grandad and Kaki's pool with friends, the Blackwells and MacLeans. We also spent one weekend up on Lake Blueridge reliving our college days but this time with kids. It was odd but wonderful.

July has been full of rain every day!! Not what we had hoped. We spent a few nights in Fairmount then headed to Mountain Lakes Resort for a weekend in the mountains for July 4th. It was very rainy and a little bit redneck, but still very fun. Nicholas then had one week of Allstar camp and had a great time playing different sports with his friend Connor. While Nolan got to go to his preschool camp. We joined the YMCA at the beginning of the summer and go almost everyday. I'm working out and the kids love to go to their classes and we also go to the pool a good bit.

It hasn't been a fancy summer with beach vacations but it has been a blessed summer. I'm so thankful for my 3 loves and for my incredible husband who works so hard everyday so that we can have this time together. So I will try to remember the lyrics to the Hands of the Healer and not worry about the upcoming school year or Vera's court dates. Instead I know that we are safe in the hands of the Father.
And if you thought that was a lot of pictures (and it was) just imagine how many I left off because they had Vera in them. It's going to be crazy once I can post her beautiful face!