in the palm of my hand: Back to School 2017

Something strange is going on around here... dare I say life is getting "easier"??

...No...still not easy... but our vibe is changing.

"Baby" Abe is nearly 4, my baby girl started kindergarten, and my first baby Van is almost as tall as I am.

With each new day, life is becoming more predictable. More routine.

This new pace is comforting and extremely welcome after five years of new beginnings and major changes. But there is definitely a longing for my little babies. I am so proud of them but simultaneously nostalgic for their baby years. (When did we even leave that stage?! It feels like it vanished right in front of me!)

Jeanie has started kindergarten with so much determination. She is so spunky and outgoing- its incredible to watch her float effortlessly into the realm of elementary school.

At her school's open house, there was a board on the wall-- each child in her class expressed the main emotion he/she was feeling on the first day of school.

Most of the emotions were "scared" and "shy" or "nervous"... when I looked to find Jeanie's name, I saw "BRAVE" on the wall.

It made me so proud of that little girl I had to gulp back some tears.

At five years old Jeanie is a lover. She is a great friend. A crucial part of our family. She loves to match with me (I love this too!) and she loves to perform for us almost every night. She makes up songs and dance moves and puts on some crazy outfits to entertain us. If we start clapping before she is finished, its not okay. She loves her clip-on earrings. She's a great swimmer and loves any activity beach or boat related. I know she is very ready for this big milestone in life.

Way to go Jeanie!!

Daddy's girl always

First week success :-)

Van started second grade this year. His curriculum is no joke! They hit the ground running. His teacher volunteers for the "Turtle Team" in Wrightsville Beach so she told us about a loggerhead nest excavation at the beginning of the year. We grabbed our favorite pizza and made it to the beach just in time to see the tiny turtles make their way into the ocean.

I know Van is proud to show Jeanie the ropes at his school. I love having them together and their rooms are right across the hall from each other. Van says he is "SO EMBARRASSED" when Jeanie waves at him (but I know he loves it). At almost 8 years old, Van loves soccer, basketball, still playing guitar (and taking lessons) and has the sweetest crew of buddies. He loves to fish and ride his bike. I believe he caught over 15 fish this summer!

He still has the sweetest soul. Of my three, Van will be the one up late reading the Bible. He keeps us in line. At children's church last Sunday, he explained (in front of the entire congregation) how it went down with Moses and the burning bush. Everyone told Evans and I what a great job we are doing but we reassured them this was all Van... (and his love for the Prince of Egypt movie).

He loves Star Wars, legos, his CD collection... golfing with Pop Pop...swimming, boating... quite a busy dude with lots of questions and many ideas. Very proud of you buddy.

ABE!

Abe finally got his turn to start 3 year old preschool. We give him such a hard time about being the 'wild child' but he's actually turned a corner recently. He's becoming really sweet, reliable, and independent. He's the most wily of the three and uses his sharp little mind to be quite mischievous and sneaky. But what would we do without him?!? Abe is finally on an age-appropriate soccer team this season and couldn't be more proud to actually fit into his soccer jersey and cleats. ("cleeps" so he says).

He's still a lefty, loves cars, trains, his light up shoes, the Tarheels, and climbing on anything.

He is very very tough. Pop Pop calls him "gristle" ;-) because as long as he gets included, he's up for anything.

Before this post gets ANY longer, I have to mention what a wonderful summer it has been (and add my favorite summer pictures for our virtual memory album). To finally have our life a little more settled has allowed us a lot more flexibility...