Testing for Yellow Belt

After training hard all summer as a white belt, Jacob was finally ready to test for his yellow belt today! He was tested on the skills he has learned since June which included ducking, dodging, kicking and two punch combinations. Jacob did a great job testing in front of such a big audience. All of his hard work payed off and he was promoted to yellow belt. Way to go Jacob!

First Day of Kindergarten

I cannot believe the day has come for Jacob to start school. The night before his first day he had mixed emotions and although he was nervous and anxious, he was filled mostly with excitement and was eager to start kindergarten; I on the other hand was a wreck. I could not wrap my head around how quickly 5 years has gone. It seems like just yesterday I was cradling him in my arms savoring every "first." And while this is yet another first to be savored, I could not get over that we were about to embark on such a huge milestone.

The morning of his first day I woke him up extra early and he quickly got dressed in his uniform and new shoes. I made him oatmeal and made sure, even though he had butterflies, that his tummy was full as this would be his first time at full day school. When we were both ready we grabbed his new back pack filled with supplies and his lunch box and headed out the door. Even though it was my first day of school with my students we had worked it out so that I could "play the mom role" with all the other kinder parents for the first part of the morning until leaving Jacob in his classroom.

When we arrived he checked in with his teacher and put on his name tag then headed into the sanctuary for the all-school assembly. He found his classmates and was excited to see some familiar faces from Preschool. After the assembly it was time to head to his classroom. Upon arriving Jacob and his classmates were greeted with notes from their parents on the "Wall of Hugs and Kisses" which we wrote the night before at orientation. Jacob then entered his classroom and found his seat and nervously posed for a few pictures. He glanced around the room and began to soak it all in.

Mrs. Gebhardt is his teacher and we are so excited about that as she is wonderful with the little ones. She was the Preschool director at Century for the past couple of years so Jacob knows her well which also makes for a smoother transition. I am so excited to watch Jacob grow not only physically and academically but socially and spiritually as well . I can't help but wonder what his favorite subject will be, who he will become friends with, and how his interests will develop now that he is in school.

Khloe's Dedication at Church

Today we had Khloe dedicated at Faith Community Church. Dedicating our babies is important to us because it signifies that we, as parents, are making a promise to the Lord to do everything within our power to raise our kids in a godly way until he or she can make a decision on his or her own to follow God. The service was beautiful and Pastor Chris prayed over Khloe and our family and then presented us with a certificate to remember this special day. Afterwards, we went out to lunch at BJ's to celebrate. Thank you God for blessing us with 3 sweet babies.

Celebrating Baby Presley

Today I was honored to host a baby shower for my beautiful sister Stephanie! It was so much fun planning and crafting over the past few weeks in preparation and although it took a lot of time, the way everything turned out made it all worth it. I think I found my calling and should have been a party planner because I have so much fun doing it (and would be good at spending other people's money). I cannot wait to meet my first niece little miss Presley Harper in just a couple of months. My kids are so excited to have a new cousin on the way and I am just as excited knowing that my sister and I will be able to raise our girls together. I am so thrilled for my sister and Justin and know they will be great parents.