It's SUUUUUMMMMMMERRRRRRR!!!!

So, it was a TOUGH school year, but it looks like we've made it to the end! It ended up being a GREAT decision to put the girls in public school. They did great both academically and socially. It was by no means perfect, and there are LOTS of things I would like to change, but I did get myself on the PTO board, so maybe I'll have a hand in making a few changes myself. Ha!
Here's a look back at the first day of school.

They've grown up SO much!

 

Here are a few pictures from the last few days

My Lulu after her awards ceremony. It did her heart some good to win awards for her efforts.

 

These are Olivia's awards. To say that we were proud of her academic achievements is an understatement. She won awards in all subjects, and even got a perfect attendance award! The award we are most proud of is her character award. We knew our kids were smart, and would be well behaved in school, but the fact that others see the good character they have is an answer to prayer. We've always wanted our kids to be little lights in a world of darkness. We're so so glad that they are, indeed.

Olivia had three teachers this year as they begin changing classes to prepare them for(GULP!) middle school. This is her reading teacher. Olivia was one of only five fourth graders to test at a 6th grade plus reading level. She was so proud of Olivia. Thanks, Mrs. Walter for encouraging Olivia to read!

 

This is probably Olivia's favorite teacher, Mrs. Young. She teaches writing, which Olivia LOVES to do. Liv said that Mrs. Young is such a calm peaceful teacher that it makes her feel calm and peaceful when she's in her class. I'm secretly hoping that all the rest of the kids will get to have her as a teacher. You can tell that she really loves her job as a teacher.

 

 

This is Olivia's homeroom/math teacher, Ms. Abram. She was sent from heaven to transition our Lulu from being homeschooled to her first time in public school. She's down to earth and straight forward. A great combination for Olivia. I'll always remember the first day we met her and she took Olivia by the hand and led her right into the cafeteria and introduced her to the class. She's been the perfect teacher for Olivia.

 

Olivia getting a presidential academic excellence award.

 

Sweet KK with her teacher, Ms. Heathscott. I had NO idea how KK would do in public school, but she has blossomed into such an amazing little learner. She's made SO much improvement! She LOVES her teacher! I think she may cry on the last day of school because she'll miss her so much. Mrs. Heathscoot saw the potential in KK, and really worked hard on pushing her to succeed. We're so thankful to her, and have nothing but great things to say about her!

 

KK also won good character awards. Two of them, actually. The helping hands award, and the yearly all-around good character award. We're so glad God put our kooky KK in our life, and we have really loved watching her really grow into an amazing big girl this school year.  

 

KK getting one of her awards. She gets SO excited to win things!

 

Addison with her teacher Ms. Dowdy(who obviously loves each and every one of her students.) and her student teacher Ms. Christina. Both were great, and Addi had a nice time. I should be honest and say that she also felt pretty lonely throughout the year and mentioned missing her brothers and sisters quite a few times, but I think that's probably pretty normal for a middle child in K5.

 

Addi's group of kindergarteners gave a sweet little program instead of an awards ceremony. They were so CUTE! Here they are singing Hip Hop Bunny.

 

They did have a short award ceremony where they gave each child an award in the room afterwards. Here's Addi getting one of her awards.

 

I tried to do some fun things to celebrate the final day of school. We walked home one day, had ice cream, and on the last day, went out for donuts before school. Here's everybody with their loot.

 

Last day of school! Lulu and KK cried when we pulled out of the parking lot. Addi said, "SUMMER!!!"

 

 SUMMER, HERE WE COME!!!!!!

Little Brother on attack with the garden hose.

KK loving sprinkler trampoline.

Mia and Eli playing at the park.

Brubbs and KK at the park.

 

The first fort of the summer using Addi's nap mat.

Livi got inked! Just kidding. She just got a sheet of press-on tattoos from her teacher.

The kids attire while helping dad set up the pool! Just waiting on a filter and it will be READY!

 

Goodbye Perfectionism

Hello, Friends!
It's been a while because I've been doing a LOT of work on my home. We are in the midst of a complete remodel. I made the mistake of buying an AMAZING new sectional at IKEA back in April.

That, in turn, got me in the mood to pull up the "we've had six kids in 10 years" carpet. After a weekend of tack strips and the most disgusting dust you've ever seen, we were carpet free!

My nasty finds under the carpet on the stairs.

Manly doing his "we just pulled up the carpet" dance. Yeah, be jealous!

Then I decided to paint. Turns out they were having a buy one get one free sale on paint at Ace(who in my opinion is the best place to buy paint in our little town). We went back SEVERAL times over the weekend to get all the paint we needed. 22 paint cans later we were SET.

Manly finishing up the scary high wall on the stairs. When I tried to lean over and paint it made me dizzy.

Next comes the sanding, removal of wall paper, and taking down cabinets and drawers. Needless to say, every waking moment that isn't spent loving on the kids, changing diapers, or cooking meals is spent trying to keep this project in motion.

A barricade I made to keep tiny tot out of the kitchen while the paint was drying. I finished this up at naptime, and didn't want him to get in there. Again. It worked for about 2 seconds.

Here is proof of the little turkey being present in the kitchen. Don't worry, it's dust from sanding, not paint spots.

Manly does all the tight spot painting. I come behind him with a roller and brush.

One of our first after pictures. I love how they look. They'll be open cabinets and look so nice once they're loaded with pretty dishes.

The boys LOVE to help their dad. I walked into the bathroom where Manly was working only to find this sweet little hammer amidst Dad's tools.

This is my crazy paint face. Only see this one after 10pm.

Of course the end of the school year has brought with it lots of activities for the big girls. We've been to award assemblies, a talent show, taken part of a fund raiser, toured the (GASP!) Middle School, and gone on several field trips. Due to the crazy cold winter we had with lots of snow, our kids still have a few days left of school, but they are SO ready for SUMMER!!

KK with her three awards. The other two girls have their award assemblies next week

The crazy poses I got when they told me they wanted to take a picture with an Indian...I have NO idea!

 

At the Memphis Zoo. They LOVE that place. It's WAY better than our local zoo.

Silly KK walking like an Egyptian.

Jonesy and Momma. He loves his momma. Poor boy doesn't get to leave the house much thanks to his immunity issues. We're hoping after a few more months of good health he'll be stronger and able to fight off more sicknesses.

The "big kids."

Addi with her friend from school having a playdate.

Livi and her friend from school after they sang together in the talent show.

The girls went to see Snow White the ballet at the Children's Theatre with Aunt Em.

Lulu did a presentation on volcanos for Addi's class. The little kids and I came to watch. Here she is with her volcano.

Here she is right before her presentation.

Our "we're crazy for remodeling our entire house with six kids under ten" pose.

 

With all that's been going on I'm learning to let go of a LOT of things that I used to really work hard to keep. It feels good to not be so worried about if the kids have on matching clothes, the house is in perfect order, or the dinner is ready right on time. I'm learning to say goodbye to perfection. I say learning, because I'm not fully there yet. There are still things I like to have done. For instance, it still makes me glitchy if the bed isn't made. Ha! There are a few things that I still try to keep up with because it's the way I like them, but it's been pretty freeing to be able to loosen up a little more in the last few weeks and let my house be covered in dust from the remodel without going nuts.

Stay with me, things are about to get fun around here!

A Wheel in a Wheel

Ever heard the song, "Ezekiel Saw the Wheel?" We used to sing it in my college choir. I always loved that song. Part of it says, "A wheel in a wheel in a wheel in a wheel in a..." over and over again. It's my favorite part. That's the part I was singing today when I had my first blowout.
The little kids and I had just left the big girls school where we watched Addi get a character award, and we were on our way to my mom's house to help her pack up the last of her things before their big moving day tomorrow. I had just gotten on the road that leads to the interstate when I heard a loud clank against the back passenger side of the suburban. Thinking I must have missed a stick in the road or something I thought nothing of it until suddenly my car was not drivable. I assumed that it was a tire, but because it was nearly impossible to drive the car forward I was worried it was something else. I slowly eased forward into a store parking lot to see what the damage was. Sure enough my back tire was shredded! It had a GIANT hole in it.
Knowing there was NO way I was going to be able to get in touch with Manly while he was in a session with a client, I began to panic a little because I'd never learned to change a tire in this particular car. I knew two things: that the tire was attached under the car, and that the jack was NO WHERE to be found! I searched EVERYWHERE for it! Nothing. Assuming we didn't even HAVE a jack I got back into the car where the baby was crying from not having his morning nap. I called Manly about a million times trying to figure out what in the world I was going to do when a man in a nice car pulled up and rolled down his window. Thinking he was going to help I opened the door and said hello. He immediately began telling me why he COULDN'T help me(he had a baby in the car, he needed to get to the pharmacy, yadda yadda.)Thinking it was a little strange that a stranger would take the time to stop only to tell me he couldn't help I smiled and said, "Well, thanks anyway!" and shut my door.
We sat there for almost an hour before a giant fifth wheel truck pulled up next to us. A GIANT man from Texas got out and smiled. He said, "Well! It seems you need my assistance, ma'am! Can I help you with your tire?" I gave him the run down about what I knew then he just smiled again and asked for my suburban book from the glove box. After giving it a quick glance he opened the back of my car and quickly found the jack(which was TOTALLY hidden!!), and explained that he needed my key to release the spare. In what seemed like 5 seconds he had the spare out and was jacking up the truck all the while stopping to explain to my eager four-year-old son what he was doing and how someday Isaiah would be able to help me himself. My heart was blessed by his willingness to help us out. He made quick work of the tire, and was putting the shredded one in the back when Manly finally made it there.
We thanked him, to which he said he was happy to help. He got back into his giant truck and drove away like a knight on a steed. Ha! I was so so thankful for his help. We had to get a new tire, but the day wasn't completely ruined. I came home and had a homemade brownie Steph had made the night before with the kids while we were at parent/teacher conferences(WHICH WE TOTALLY ROCKED, BTW). We also won a gift certificate to one of our favorite restaurants from the school AND were blessed by someone at church who got us Frozen as an anonymous gift which we watched again today. All in all a pretty good day even with a giant holey tire! Wait, is holey a word??? Ehh, Have a GREAT weekend and FUN Spring Break!

My Addi with her Character Award. She was slightly embarrassed about winning, but so excited!

Master of destruction, Eli LOVES looking at photo albums. He'll point to the pictures and say, "THAT THAT!" He'll pull three or four out at a time, but he sure does love to look.

My Lulu was right in front of us at the assembly today. Fun to watch her interacting with her friends. The boy on her right is one of her best friends at school right now. She shared about Jesus to the girl on her left today. She came home with tears in her eyes that this girl wasn't ready to ask Jesus as her savior. I told her she might have planted a seed in her heart. You can pray with Olivia that the girl's heart will be softened. Olivia is VERY burdened for this girls salvation.