First day of School!

School starts early here in Westerville, Ohio.

Kalie started 4th grade with Mrs. Huston.

She had a wonderful day and made lots of fantastic friends.

On the way home she talked all about her new BFF's.

Ethan started First grade with Ms. Considine.

He was excited to get started learning on the first day and was a little bummed when

they didn't do any math or reading.

His teacher is also super...and we became fast friends.

Adison doesn't really start school till next week...but she just went with the flow.

She made a few friends today...and one even lives right up the street.

The rest of the day we worked in the copy room, Kindergarten room, and bound LOTS of books.

I am so proud of my little kiddos...off to school.

Wanted to let you know the website that I found the cute grade level signs...

just in case anyone else wanted to use them for their first day pictures.

free first day of school signs

I love how they truly care about each other.

We decided to take some fun pictures to celebrate our first day.

Happy CONFETTI!

Oh...how cute.

I wish they were really sleeping.

They just kept complaing the sun was too bright...

so I told them to shut their eyes and pretend they were sleeping. 

So many new things

There are so many things to tell you, but finding the words to tell it all could take weeks.

Probably because it has been weeks...months...since I have written anything on this here blog.

so...where do you begin?

Let's start with the good news!  WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!

well...i don't want to jinx it...so I should say...WE FOUND A BUYER FOR OUR HOUSE!

YIPPEE.

Second, we found a great new home in Westerville, Ohio.

It is super close to Columbus...we will be living on the north east side of the city.

Third, because we can't move in yet, (Sept. 4) we are living in temporary housing.

It has been perfect for what we need:

2 beds, kitchen, laundry, Internet, and a pool...one kiddo gets to sleep on the floor each night...it's all ok.

We just feel blessed to be together and able to start living in Columbus.

House For Sale and a little Prayer

"Why aren't you blogging as much?" some of you have asked.

Well...my husband found a new job and we are moving to Columbus, Ohio.

It's a lot of work getting ready and selling a house.

The day our "For Sale" sign went into the yard was difficult.

To be honest, there are a lot of days that have been a struggle.

But, in all honesty, I know that God has big plans for us in Ohio.

Maybe He has plans for a house for me to redo and make my own?

Maybe my children will challenged to make new friends...and learn how to keep the old ones.

Maybe our family will grow closer to each other because we have to be intentional.

Maybe our life will become more simple. 

Whatever God has in store for us...I know I need to be content. 

As for now...we are learning how to be patient and trust. 

We're praying for a new family to love our home as much as we have. 

We're praying that God will send them soon so that we don't have to live in two different cities.

We're praying for laughter and joy...

 strength and courage...

and a little creativity. 

 Amen.

If you know of anyone who is looking for a new house in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

We would truly appreciate you sending them our way.

You could be the answer to our prayer.

Check out our house listing at Jaqua.

Subway Art for the Classroom

There is something exciting about being a teacher.

Maybe it's the smiles and hugs from each child ...

Maybe it's the pencil sharpener sounds in the morning...

Maybe it's the thrill of witnessing your students finally getting a concept.

If you aren't a teacher...that's okay.

BUT, you NEED to thank them for the time and love they give your children.

Teacher Appreciation Day

 is right around the corner...and I stumbled upon this fun idea here:

Teacher Subway Art

On the link it says that it will print as a 16x20...

but when I sent it to the printer it came exactly how I wanted it...8.5x11.

I spray painted a frame the same color as my lockers...my fun green.

Trimmed the paper to fit.

Other ideas for this subway art: 

Modge Podge it to a clipboard!

Use it as wrapping paper.

Glue it onto a Journal Front.

And there she sits...

reminding me that a homeschool Mom deserves to give herself a teacher appreciation gift.

HA!



My Favorite Disney Photos

Our 10 days in Florida was fantastic.  I miss the sunshine, the warmth, the time with my Hubby, the pool...

my tan.  Well, I never really tan...but I miss it.

This is the best water shot, isn't it?

This was the view of our pool. 

Complete with water slide, four hot tubs, playground, and even an adult pool. 

The resort had fun things to keep the kiddos occupied so I could read and not worry too much about any drownings...one of my biggest fears.

Our first day at the parks...we went to Magic Kingdom.

It was pretty sunny...poor Adi couldn't handle the sun in her eyes. 

A little time with Mickey. 

The next day we had thunderstorms, tornado watches and wind.

We decided to buy Tangled and enjoyed our beautiful room.

Our next big day was to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

Our longest wait was for Toy Story...we waited 90 minutes.

But, the line was lots of fun.

After another relaxing day at the pool we headed to Epcot.

There's just something amazing about Epcot to me.

I LOVE it.

Maybe it is the dreaminess of going to all of the countries?

I don't know.  I just like it a lot. 

Adison was able to meet her favorite princess...Sleeping Beauty. 

Spring Break Sunrise at the Ocean

We had an incredible Spring Break.

We drove down and made great time...such good time that we knew we wouldn't be able to get

into our suite at 8:00 in the morning.  So, we stopped at the beach for a beautiful sunrise.

The kids took their socks and shoes off and raced off to pick up the morning sea shells.

I love this last picture.

As we were ready to leave I said to myself, "Wouldn't it be cool if we could see a dolphin?"

As I looked out into the water a dolphin jumped out of the water!  

I screamed with excitement...so what if the entire condo behind us to wake up?

My family was able to watch that dolphin

swim down the coastline.  Ah...God is good!

We didn't want to leave it was so nice.

The Room is now Defined

Since the day we moved in the formal dining room has never been defined.

It had crazy blinds, a beautiful piano...

it had horrible track lighting that we took from the kitchen area and put in here,

 

      and it had a ginormous hutch...which I liked how it stored my dishes...

but it took up a huge part of the room.

So...I decided this room needed to have a little bit less craziness going on...

and maybe we could pretend to need a formal dining room.  I am not really all that formal.

And as you can see from the next picture the new table and chairs are not formal either.

But, for now it is better.

New drapes, new light fixture, new table...

the dining room is now DEFINED.

My dream is to paint the table a different color.  Maybe a nice creamy white?

What do you think of the new room?