Friends with Benefits

A couple of weekends ago Elleigh’s Best Friend Sarah came to spend a long weekend with us.  They have been friends since 2nd Grade when we first moved to FW.  We went to church together, then they went to private school together, and then they both were homeschooled.  They have remained friends and we are very thankful for that.   Sarah is a very Godly young woman and she and Ell really hold each other accountable.  Friendships like theirs is not easy to find especially for those who choose to live a life “set apart” from the world and even more so as teenagers.  Sarah is also a talented young lady and photographer.  SO, while she was here she did a photo shoot of the girls. 

Sarah and Elleigh!  While she was here Ell drove some around the our country roads and as I sat in the backseat looking at these 2 girls nearly driving themselves it seemed unreal!  The Shoot…Lizzie thought she had to take these high heels with her!  This is an old house down the road from us and I am in LOVE with it!

One of the days she was here we had the twins so she took a few of them.  She tried for more but it was hot outside and they were not cooperating!  Some of you know the story of the twins.  For those of you who do not, it is not something I feel would be a good idea to share online.  I do ask you to pray for these precious little girls…Look at those EYES!I try to put hair bows in every chance I get (I know that is hard to believe from me!) but they don’t like them!

IT Happened!

We knew IT would happen eventually and IT did!  Ell and Sall went back to school and Lizzie started. 

Last Friday we had meet the teacher for K.  Lizzie is showing off her “rest” towel.  I knew they did not take a nap but I found out a couple of weeks ago they needed a rest towel.  My first question was “does it have to be a towel?”  I am thinking my baby needs something a little more comfy to lay on!  Ha!  She informed me she would not be laying on a TOWEL!  Well after asking and finding out it had to be a towel because of space issues I informed her she WOULD be laying on a towel.  She said “mama, you want me to sleep on a towel?!”  I told her it was only to rest, not sleep and we would make her towel cute so here it is and she was good!  YES, we have a long rode with this girl!

DG bag of kleenex and snacks in hand and she is ready to meet the teacher!  Little one in the corner is one of the twins we have been helping with.THE DAY!  9th Grade (excuse me FRESHMAN!), 3rd Grade, and Kindergarten

Don’t forget Mill Mill!  K-4 with HER MAMA!!!

Me with my High Schooler…  Seriously???  Our prayer is that she stays as grounded as she is now for the next 4 years and beyond! 

SWEET Sall, the 3rd Grader!

Really this has to have been the fastest 5 years of my life!

MY BABY-alone with me for the first time ever!  As much as we will miss Lizzie being with us I am determined to make this time with her special!

A got a phone call while we were doing pics so I was only able to get a couple with him before we had to leave.  Daddy’s “little” girl going to High School :(

Sallie had begun to cry because she was ready to go and Lizzie was fed up with my picture taking!

All smiles as she puts her back pack up (all smiles for her that is!)

Outside her classroom.  Think she was tired of me taking pics?

I

almost didn’t post this because Sallie looks so sad (and she was) but I had to because she is showing me her locker.  Lockers in the 3rd Grade?  I am not ready for that!  Just seems so grown up!  You can see she is with Hannah!  They kept them together this year!!!SO, how did we all do?

Elleigh was very nervous BUT she got in the car yesterday and said her first day was AMAZING!  Thank you Lord!  Today may be a different story when she has to run in athletics today and it is 110 degrees!  I feel for them!  Anyway, I felt like she would do better in high school.  The atmosphere is different, the classes are smaller and a little more concentrated with some electives to choose from, etc.  She gets to be around the upper classmen more and she enjoys that. 

Sallie wanted to go and was excited when we got there but not so excited when she figured out she wasn’t going back to her old classroom with her old teacher.  They said she did not cry long at all so that is good and that she had a good day.  This morning she wanted to go but REALLY cried when she got there.  She tries so hard not to cry but she just can’t help it.  One of the teachers has already sent us a text and said she had settled down and was good.  Please pray for her mind to be settled each morning and for the separation from us to not be so hard on her. 

Lizzie is doing great!  We walked her to her class first yesterday morning (only morning we could walk her to class) and Sallie pushed her in her classroom and told her to sit in her chair.  She (Sallie) then waved by to Lizzie’s teacher and class and moved on!  I guess she thinks she is big girl on campus!  Lizzie looked at us with tears in her eyes but her teacher said she didn’t cry other than in GYM!  She told me it was hot and she did not want to be in there.  Yep, sounds like Lizzie!  Of course she knew everything already!  She told me that the speaker said “they needed to be there by 8:30”  She was listening but she had her time a little wrong!  Then she told us that if we needed to know anything about ballgames just to ask her and that there was one last night.  Once again, she had her facts a little messed up!  Last night she told me that on the speaker they said they could not wear feathers.  She did have that right!  Last week when I found out her teacher it was not the one who I had heard was great.  Not that the one she got was bad just not the one I had heard was “great”  We are not allowed to formally request a teacher but I have been told that we can give our input.  We decided we would let the Lord handle it.  Well, when it didn’t go the way I thought it would I then was not so happy with how the Lord had handled it!  But I remembered saying I would let the Lord handle it and that means giving Him complete control!  Now I really think her teacher is the best fit for her.  Also, I had worried (something else I shouldn’t do!) about her not knowing anyone in her class since we are not “from here".  I knew the girls she had danced with were not in her class.  Turns out a little girl and a little boy who were in her class on Wed nts at church last year (they do not attend our church other than Wed nts) are both in her class!  HE really does “handle it” ALL!  Today she was ready to go and walked down to her classroom all by herself.  She did say she did not want to go back to gym!  I am sure there will be more stories to tell around 3 today! 

Millie really did better than I expected.  I woke them up yesterday morning and the first words out of her mouth were “let’s put make-up on”  The lady who keeps them at church on Sunday nts helped Millie make a list of what she and I could do while Lizzie was in school and at the top of the list was make-up!  I told her we would have to wait until we got home from taking the girls to school and she replied, “after we go to the Super Stop (local conv. store) and get a sausage biscuit”  Ell said, “I guess she is going to live it up while we are gone!”  She was sad when we left the school but the sausage biscuit and chocolate milk made it all better!  She did well for a couple of hours and then the boredom hit and you could tell that she felt lost.  For the first couple of hours I could see that she was enjoying being able to play without having to share or be told what to do but that didn’t last long.  Around 11 she began to beg me to go get the girls and she could not understand why we couldn’t go get them right now!  So, that went on until about 2:30 when we finally went to get them.  When Lizzie and Millie first re-united after school they seemed to not really know what to say to each other and then they went in to comparing their day and trying to “one up” each other but before long they were playing like normal.  Millie seems to be very emotional this morning so I am thinking it will be a LONG day!  Prayers please!

A of course is not as emotional as me about this but he for sure has his moments and doesn’t handle them growing up so well!

I think I did better than I thought I would.  I really think it is because I know I have to hold it together for Millie (at least a little!)

Getting ready for her make-up yesterday!

All finished!Millie wanted a pic of us together and since know one else was home we resorted to this!  My face tells on me!  YES, there were tears because IT happened!

Thanks for bearing with me through this “wordy” post!  I never want to forget what they say and do!  Also, Millie just told me that Lizzie told her last night that there is a Jr High game in 3 days which is correct so I guess she was getting the facts straight!

AL Summer Break 2011

We had a wonderful time of vacation in AL a few weeks ago.  We began our time in Orange Beach with the Hall’s.  The Lord knew we needed this time away and the timing was perfect.  HE is SO good to us!  We had a great time!  Family time AND we LOVE the beach so it was great!!!  We then went to be with my family and we had a great time there also just hanging out and more relaxing!  Not sure what my deal is but I did not take many pics at all.  Most of these I downloaded from our sister-in-laws camera.  Thanks Ang!  We attempted beach pics and it really was not as bad as I had anticipated.  It is always a chore to get good shots of that many people but as I look at them I just cherish us all being in the same picture and the memories of our time so the fact they are not perfect is OK!

On our last full day at the beach Nanna was holding Millie in the ocean and they had an accident with a wave and collided with each other ending in 5 stitches for Nanna :(  Thankfully Millie was unharmed.  SO, we had to get a pic with Millie and Nanna with her stitched eye!  Millie may never get back in the ocean.  She has told me a million times that next time she just wants to get in the pool. 

LOVVVVVEEEE THIS!!!!

A few candids from my parents.  I am determined to take more pics next time we are all together!Hard to believe these kids have grown this much!  Love them all!  Notice all the green in the picture.  We loved being able to see green since everything here is brown and dry! 

It really was a great 12 days before we had to get back to reality! 

Busy now getting ready for the new school year and church year.  We appreciate your prayers as we make decisions and get geared up for the new church yr which is right around the corner.  Also, please pray for us as school starts next week.  Lots of emotions right now in our house!  Lizzie does not want to go now and clams up every time we mention anything about it and Millie cries at the mention of the S word!  5 more days and it all goes down!!!