First Day of a New Chapter

After a very crazy, eventful summer, the kids are already back in school!  Yesterday was their first day.  Chloe is in 4th grade and Bethany in 5th.  This year, the girls classes are combined so they are in the same room with the same teacher.... that poor woman!  LOL   I'm sure they will do fine, this is the second time in their school career that they have shared a class, and they actually enjoy it.  To the girls, it's just another year and one step closer to the goal.  Peter, on the other hand, has made it to another landmark in life!  He started JUNIOR HIGH yesterday!  He also started his first time playing soccer and had his first practice after school.  I thought I was going to have to roll him out of the van and into the house, he was so tired!  He is already stressing out about the work load, and his sister (Beth) decided it would be fun to remind him that college is only 6 years away.... NOT something to say to the boy who had a melt-down in K4 because he just knew he would never be able to do the work needed in college!  I think it's time for another lesson from Philippians about anxiety!  Needless to say, they were all up and ready bright and early, ready for family devo's at 7 and ready to walk out the door 15 minutes early.  They were just pacing back and forth with their backpacks on, ready to roll.  Must not have been that bad of a first day!  

I am so grateful for several things today as we start this new school year.  

1. That God continues to provide for private school on our frayed shoe string budget. 

2. That my children are self-motivated, highly responsible kids that don't need me to remind them of every little thing. 

3. For a husband who values time as a family to pray and learn from God's word together.

We are definitely blessed beyond measure!

  

Our Super Trooper!

The oral surgeon wanted to see Bethany before we headed out for our day trips and we got some AWESOME NEWS!  Dr. says she is way ahead of schedule in healing.  He absolutely did not think a 10 year old, active girl, would follow his orders and heal so quickly.  He didn't know Bethany though, she's tough!  He took xrays today and saw some shadowing at the base of the teeth, so we have to go between him and her dentist office to watch that shadow to see if it's the teeth dying, or a blood clot.  Also, we have to keep a close eye on the empty space on either side of the main 4 teeth.  Those are both growing in still, and he said it's possible that the trauma has stopped the growth process on those teeth.  HOWEVER, her teeth are almost completely solid in her gums which means she can eat again!!  Her only restrictions now are no biting into apples or steak, etc.  Very good news for her since we're on vacay and it would be pretty crummy if she couldn't eat with us.  Praising God for how quickly she's healing and still praying for the best!!

We began a weeklong "vacation" today, taking several small trips around our area.  Bethany did great except for getting very tired by about 3:00 pm.  The highlight of the week will be this weekend when we go to Pacific Garden Mission and take a tour and go to a live recording of Unshackled!  The kids are so excited to see it all in person after listening to it every week for years.  Watch next week for details of our extravaganza!