Let’s do this.

Proud girl!

 

Reese and Rose playing blocks together.

 

Rose and Will are best buddies.  In this picture, their animals are kissing.  I asked her about it and she said, “Yes, they are kissing, but if Will asks if he can kiss me, I’ll say, ‘No can do!’”  Whew!  I’m glad that’s all worked out, lol!  She’s crazy!

 

 

 

 

  

 

Rose and Reese getting in their final sunny swings at MPP.

  

Friendship fruit salad, another annual tradition at MPP.

Pumpkin shopping with Will.

 

Mrs. Paula’s specialty was amazing field trips!  They went on one at least every other week.

Thank you for this sweet little picture of our Rose! 

Monster mash craft creation we look forward to each year.  They always turn out so similar yet so different! 

These are a few of Mrs. Paula’s pictures from the field trip to the farm, which was our last field trip at MPP and one of the few the parents attend too!

 

 

 

Rose, Will and Wilbur the pig!

 

 

Stuffing a scare crow!

 

Back to school for a little more discovering and learning to be had before we had to say goodbye.

 

 

Music time, with toddlers this has to be done outside, of course! 

 

Sorting, fine-motor building and sensory play!

Rose told me she almost caught this bird, lol!

 

 

 

Will picked Reese and Rose to make his birthday cake with him.  Happy birthday, Will!

I wonder how many thousands of books Mrs. Paula has read to our kiddos.

 

Kicking karate kings for the letter K!

 

Dancing, dancing!

 

More experimenting and learning through our senses.

  

Rose’s big sisters had pajama day at their school this day, so Rose chose to have pajama day too! 

This play room has seen endless hours of learning and laughter.  What a special place!

 

 

Mrs. Paula let the kids vote on what they wanted their last activities to be, what their very favorite ones were from their time at her school.  She made a list and made sure they did them all before the last day of school.  Cheers to one last dress-up party!

  

Mrs. Paula gave each of the kids presents filled with all of their favorite toys and games from school.  She also gave each child several books and a field trip shirt, the things she thought would be most meaningful to them.  I love the way she is looking at Rose in the far right picture.  She marveled at each and every child, for their individuality and uniqueness they each brought to the story.  She adores her kids, and they adore her right back (that can’t be written in past tense, good grief this is hard)!

 

We had a blast at her going away party, which we were able to throw on the night of their very last day of school.  Students and families from past and present all came together to share a meal, memory video, and celebratory cake!  It was a very special and emotional night filled with lots of hugs and tears.

What a legacy of love and learning she has shared with all of us!  She will remain in our hearts for always!

During my next post, I’m going to share with you guys Rose’s last month at Mrs. Paula’s Preschool and our experience of saying goodbye to our toddler whisperer/real life Mary Poppins/educator extraordinaire.  For some people, teaching is just a job, for others it is a passion, and then for every one in a million, it is the air they breathe.  Our family has been inspired, uplifted, encouraged, motivated and given hope by the energy Mrs. Paula has shared with our preschoolers.  There are no words to describe our love and gratitude, but if you have followed our blog for even a little while, you know how much Mrs. Paula has poured into our kids by the pictures she took of them all day, every day, and then faithfully shared with us.  I honestly have prolonged these next few posts for as long as possible, because I just haven’t wanted saying goodbye to be official.  I kept thinking, if there are pictures on her share site I haven’t seen yet, there are still new experiences left for me to discover.  In a weird way, this has helped me cope, like almost saying goodbye in phases.  I bought a nice card for her and started writing my thank you/goodbye letter during our last week of school, but quickly ripped it up and threw it in the trash, tears flowing.  I wasn’t ready for that yet.  I still have yet to write her a card or give her a going away present.  I’m just not ready, and her family hasn’t officially moved to California yet, so I still have time… to keep saying goodbye.    Endings are so very sad and hard.  I always look back and wonder where all the time went and how the middle was in fact the best part.  Endings always help me reflect on how I can make the present count for more.  And while this is a beautiful ending of a sweet sweet chapter for our family that has a happy ending for our teacher, it still leaves my heart aching.  It just wasn’t planned for any of us, and the loss of the year and a half Rose was going to have in this fairytale just wasn’t meant to be.  So, I’ll press into that ache and ponder thoughts of deep gratitude and thanks.  Mrs. Paula has given our littles a wonderland of discoveries, where stomping in rain puddles were encouraged, where playing in leaves were common play, and where the kids’ imaginations set the stage for each and every day.  Words can’t explain how much we are going to miss her or how incredibly blessed we feel to have been a part of something this special!  We love you, Mrs. Paula, and will never ever forget all the amazing memories you made with us!

Noelle, Julia, Anna Kate and Malia had a blast dressing up for superhero day at school during red ribbon week!

  

  

They are awesome super girls!

One of Anna Kate’s kindergarten projects this semester was to take a turkey template that was handed out in class and disguise it so that it wouldn’t get eaten for Thanksgiving.  I think she did such a great job!  This Thanksgiving looked so different than any other.  Long story short, Anna Kate and I both came down with the flu, strep throat and ear infections.  Yes, all 3 at the same time.  I’ve never even thought up having all of those at once, but it happened to both of us.  I have never been so sick in my life!  I know what each one of those feels alone, but I’m telling you, this has been indescribable.  Noelle saved the day helping me take care of the littles while Mike was at work this week.  I don’t know what I would’ve done without her.  Rose had the flu last week to kick all of this off, and Noelle ended up with strep yesterday.  We always get our flu shots, I just ran out of time this year! 

So this morning, we all cuddled up and watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, played games and wore our pjs all day.  Mike and the littles went to his parents for Thanksgiving dinner, and Noelle and I made the most of still being contagious at home.  I’ll never forget this Thanksgiving in disguise.  It definitely looked different, but it was still Thanksgiving.  I spent the day pondering all we have to be thankful for as we relaxed together, especially the simple things that usually don’t cross my mind.  This was a good one I’ll hold on to and remember as not ideal, but super special and meaningful nonetheless.  Now we’ve got to get well!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just an awesome day at the zoo!

 

Our soccer player and our cheerleader had great fall seasons of exercising and learning new skills with their friends!

 

Anna Kate’s last game was so bittersweet.  She loved playing with her friends but didn’t like the game of soccer very much, so we are going to have to find another activity that is just right for her.  So far we’ve struck out 2 for 2 with soccer.  Our girls just aren’t aggressive enough at this point (I have a back-up plan that might be a good fit, lol), but if either of them ever even hinted at wanting to try it again, I’d have them signed up before they finished asking!    I love soccer!

 

Go Anna Kate!  Their association had a trophy ceremony for the players this year, and this was the perfect ending to a great season of trying something new!

 

Anna Kate and Sadie met up after their games a couple times this season at the soccer field!  That was fun and Anna Kate sure did like her cheerleading uniforms!    Noelle’s last cheer game was fast and furious.  I was late to the game because of soccer and had to leave early to get Rose to a birthday party, but I always love watching Noelle do her thing on the football field.  Noelle loves to cheer but hates advanced stunting and tumbling, and that’s part of it, so I’m not sure if we are going to cheer long-term or not, but she is enjoying it now, so we’re having fun! 

 

Nothing beats being a supportive sister and getting to cheer for each other!  That’s one activity that will last a life-time! 

The girls had a blast one super sunny day in October at Breland’s 3rd birthday party!  Isn’t he adorable with the girls in this picture?  I love it!

 

Orange smiles!

The Pond Girls and the White girls!  Finally meeting Jordan and Jada was so much fun!  They even have a little sister like we have Rose, oh and a baby brother too, but that last part is unique to them! 

Sidewalk art!

 

How did I get so lucky to hold baby Brevin and hang out with grandpa all at the same time!?

Cutie Kate and her cute art!

Check out Braxton’s awesome art!  He’s not even in kinder yet… I was so impressed!

 

On to cookie decorating and fruit loop necklaces!

 

 

  

 

I love hanging out with our girlies!

 

My girl Jaalisa sure knows how to make a party delicious!  Have you ever seen such gourmet macaroni and cheese?  She is truly the real-life Tiana.  If she didn’t have 4 boys and her hubby to take care of, she could totally be Tiana at Disney World!  She has a food truck/catering business, so if anyone ever needs catering, let me know.  I’m so proud of my friend, and her cooking is simply the best! 

  

I guess that’s one way to ride a skate board, Rose!

The girlie girls rockin’ it out!

Happy birthday, Breland!  You are one loved little boy!  Baby boy 3 turns 3!  What a fun day celebrating this sweet boy!

 

 

Pink Out game was super fun this season!

 

Lots of soccer fun with Avery and Livi!

We had a blast watching Anna Kate play soccer this season!  She had a lot of fun but doesn’t want to play in the spring.  I’m proud of her for giving it a good try this fall!  Last game and trophy ceremony to come!

 

Holly came to Noelle’s last season game, and it was so much fun having her!  Lions play-off game pics to come!

We had a blast picking out our pumpkins and playing at the pumpkin patch this fall!

 

This year we dressed up a little and made a family date night out of it!  Rara was in town, so we had a blast having her with us!

 

Anyone want a pumpkin? 

 

Noelle grew a lot since last year!  She asked me to take her picture last year and this year by this sign so she could compare her heights.  I wish I had done it with all the girls after seeing how much she’s grown.  We’ll start with the littles next year. 

 

Our little family blog documents our happiest moments, and while our lives are far from perfect and difficult in ways I couldn’t have imagined, our love is so real and so strong and I’m so honored to have these guys by my side. 

We didn’t plan on taking mother/daughter pictures, but I’m so glad we did.  Noelle is so awesome!  I have no words to describe her.  She’s simply amazing.

Aww, love my Cutie Kate.  She is just so cute all the time!  I miss my buddy so much this year in kindergarten! 

Rose has been growing and changing so much over the last few months.  We are so excited about this kid.  Her maturity has given us so much more freedom to go out and have fun all as a family, and we are loving every minute!  We have no one in diapers and no teenagers yet… it’s amazing!  I want to freeze time every single day that goes by.  Isn’t she adorable?

 

  

 

This is Noelle every single day, every where we go.  She is always thinking of other people and ways to make their lives better!  She found the pretty flower this little girl is holding and wanted to share her great find with someone.  I watched her walk up to this little girl and give it to her.  They were really far away, that’s why the picture is blurry, but I wanted to remember this moment because I cannot tell you how many times a day she is sharing and caring for others, including her little sisters, who depend on her for so much.  Noelle is spending the night with a friend tonight and when Anna Kate was falling asleep, she started tearing up and said, “I need sissy.  I just miss her so much!”  I know Noelle will always take care of her sisters, and I’m so thankful for that!

 

This was the last picture before it got dark at the pumpkin patch.  Mike got great video footage of Rose on her horsey.  She was hugging and kissing him and talking and riding him like he was real.  Her world is so alive and vivid.  It always has been, but at 3, the possibilities are endless.  If this horse had turned into a real miniature pony, she would not have been surprised.  In her mind, things like that aren’t out of the question.  It’s hard to describe.  She’s wishing for a real live unicorn for Christmas.  She keeps bringing it up and talking about it.  A.lot.  She asked Mike last week to make sure we remember his cage so he won’t run away and lots of hay too.  I seriously don’t know how we are going to let her down gently.  That’s just a very reasonable, normal request in her mind.  And I absolutely love and admire that she is not jaded and harsh realities are not a part of her life yet.  They will be, all too soon, so I’m soaking it up and learning from her all I can while life is just simple and fun.  Happy fall, you guys.  Hope you’re having a good one… one just like Rose’s!

  

I love seeing what Noelle puts together to wear to school each day!  She’s been on her own in the mornings for a while now, and she rocks it out every single day.  And this baby loves the camera.  Can you tell?  When I take pictures of her, she strikes one pose after another after another.  She could do this all day!  She is so lovely, inside and out!