The Party...

The dress


The cousin


The brother and the friend


The cake


The fun


The energy


The Granna!

We couldn't have picked a more perfect day for Averi's party! The day was beautiful and so was Aves!

As a Matter of Fact I DO!!!

I miss our good ol' boy president! Goofiness and all :)

The Expander...

Taylor got her expander today. I was expecting some long, drawn-out, complicated procedure. But Nope...we were in and out in 15 minutes. There was no pain involved either! My job is to "turn" it every other day for 6 weeks. I had to practice in the ortho office and it was a bit tricky. Hopefully it will get easier with time.

We went to lunch afterwards and Taylor was trying to adjust to the hunk of metal on the roof of her mouth. She was talking funny and getting frustrated because food kept getting trapped. They say it will take about 3 days to get used to.

As usual I had to get pictures.

Everyone at St. Clair is so friendly and helpful!


Thank goodness we have a few years before it's Connor's turn.


She'll thank me for this picture later :)

My Sweet Girl...

Turns six today.

She just keeps growing and changing in front of my very own eyes!

Averi is a tad shy if she doesn't know you...and a fireball full of energy if she does. She will crack you up, can be cunning, but ultimately has the sweetest spirit. If Taylor is ever sad Averi is right there to help (usually giving up something she is playing with so Taylor can have it). She is sensitive and her feelings are easily hurt (mama bear comes out when I see her getting trampled on). She will give you the shirt off her back if you need it.

Averi has adjusted quite nicely to her new school/schedule...what a relief that is! I am loving working in her Kindergarten class every week. It has surprised me to see how quickly she has come out of her shell. Last Friday when I picked her up from school she told me, in her deep little voice: "All three of my blurts were taken down." Apparently my little shy girl isn't afraid to blurt out in class! The fact that she just came out and told me with no fear of getting into trouble made me laugh. She was just letting me know the facts :) On the up side, she didn't get a folder sign.

So right now she is way into:
Miley Cyrus &
Taylor Swift (The Best Day is one of her faves)
We so want to go to a concert soon!

So Happy Birthday, Aves!! You will always be my little girl! Can't wait for your party next weekend:)

Tea Parties, Dancers, and Braces...

I was so happy when I saw how many people showed up for the tea party today in D.C.! Thank you, FOX News, for keeping us updated! I noticed everytime I passed CNN there was, coveniently, no coverage.




So dance started last Wednesday...I seriously wonder how we keep our crazy schedules and manage to stay sane. We do though :)




And finally, Taylor is getting braces. I took her to Dr. St. Clair last Thursday and was a bit surprised when he told us the plan of action. She is in, what they call, Phase One.

• Before braces she will have to wear an expander for 6 weeks. Next Thursday they will take an impression of her mouth to make the expander. Then in another week they will put it in.
• After 6 weeks she will get top and bottom braces. They will stay in about a year.
• When those come out they will put a permanent retainer in until she needs more work at about 12 years.

I know that this will all be worth it in the end!

Cowboy Up...

Doesn't she look cute?!

When it Rains...

Well you know. Once school started we hit the ground running...fast...and we haven't stopped since. I like feeling tired at the end of a long productive day. Sleep is so much sweeter that way. On a side note I am having a horrible time typing this. Connor was being unsually quiet earlier tonight in the playroom. When I went back to check on him, I found that he had taken off half the keys on our keyboard. We couldn't get a few of them to fit back on so it is feeling a bit foreign to my fingers. He did tell me "Sorry, mom" so it's all good:) Who needs an "o" button anyway, or a shift key, or an "l", or a backspace!!

So yesterday was the busiest I've been in a long time. For starters I only got a couple hours of sleep the night before so that was good. It started out at Honey where I helped with centers in Averi's class. Then I picked up some Chic-Fil-A and Sonic, went back to Honey and ate lunch with both girls, went to class at Tech, picked up girls from school, picked up the house, did laundry, and headed back to Tech for my night class. I slept sooo good last night. Didn't wake up once. AHHHH!

But I am feeling really blessed and wanted to write everything down so I can refer to it on those days when I wonder if it's really worth it.

• Mrs. Sutherland is my hero! She is Averi's teacher, and she is WONDERFUL! She has the most patient, calming spirit. She never raises her voice and has all twenty-something kindergartners in line. She knows that I am in school and has offered to keep a file of everything she does with her class for me. As if she doesn't have enough to do already. She has also made me feel very welcome and is allowing me to come and help out anytime I want. The best teacher for me is experience. I love watching how she interacts and works with the kids. Thank you Mrs. Sutherland!!!
  
  
• Another huge blessing is that my prayer for student teaching placement was answered. I really wanted Honey as one the schools I would be at. Without going into detail it looks like that will happen! Praise the Lord!



• Numero 3...my T/TR class at Tech is in the process of being changed to an online course! Heck yea!! That means I only have to make the drive to campus once a week. That is big!


• It looks like we are getting an unexpected trip to Dallas this November with the Long family. Staying at the Gaylord and watching Tech vs. Baylor in the new Cowboys stadium!! Woohoo!!!! So excited about this :0 The Christmas decorations should be up by then!!

So things are going exceedingly well! Taylor and Averi are doing great in school. Taylor gets to dress up like a cowgirl on Friday. It was not easy finding a hat believe it or not. We ended getting a pink one that we spray painted black to match her outfit. I will have to take pics of her in it! Averi is adjusting to her new life. She's definitely had a bit of culture shock these last two weeks. After all, she's had six years at home with mom!

Chad is glad to be back at Evans and out of the summer heat. Hopefully next year I'll have a teaching job and he won't have to work summers anymore. I totally see it happening!! He is loving going to high school Friday night football games. I must admit I love it to.

The busier life is, the faster time goes. I swear Christmas will be here before we know it! And so the story goes!