Back to School 2013-2014

Another school year has begun!  I can't believe it.  Summer just flew by this year.

We now have a Kindergartner, Second Grader, Fifth Grader, Seventh Grader and Eighth Grader.

This school year Liam starts All day Kindergarten.  Thursday was his first day of school.  The day before I felt my emotions on the surface the entire day.  We went to play at open gym and he and I were running around laughing, playing with the balls, bouncing, kicking, just having a great time.  All of a sudden I realized this would be our last noon time open gym together and I got misty eyes.  I wanted to just hold on to that moment forever.  I always have a hard time when my babies go to school for the first time.  Liam is my little buddy, we have a special connection so it was especially hard letting him go for 8 hours a day.  To be honest I'm still questioning my decision to let him go all day....or to let him go at all!!

Official first day pictures:

Aidan had a particularly hard time with Liam leaving. Liam and Aidan are very close to each other.  Liam says they are "Best Brothers."  Aidan loves Liam so much and wants to do everything like him.  Aidan can say his "L's" perfectly but he calls his brother "Me-am" because Liam is merely an extension of Aidan.  Of course, they had to get a picture together and then Aidan spent the rest of the day asking if could go to school now.  He cried for at least an hour straight by mid-morning and when I had to explain to him for the 125th time that he couldn't go he was hard to console.

And with his teacher, Mrs. Maggard.  This was actually taken Tuesday night at Sneak Peek, where he got to meet the teacher and drop off his supplies.

Julianna is a 2nd grader this school year and Elise is a 5th grader.  Back in the Spring we made the decision that the girls would be homeschooled this year.  It is a huge leap of faith for me because I feel really inadequate.  I've researched and researched and poured my heart and soul into studying curriculum. I have really tried to find out what will be best with their learning styles. I am excited to spend the one on one time getting to truly know them.  I've really felt led to homeschooling and I'm trusting in The Lord.  It's hard to explain and wholly personal but I know that ultimately I'm doing the right thing for my little girls and they are so excited for the new experiences we are going to have at the Bowles Academy this year.  

Elise, 5th Grade

Julianna, 2nd Grade

They wanted a picture with their teacher....silly girls....

Lastly, my two big middle schoolers.  Ashlynne is in 8th grade this year.  Cheerleading, singing in the choir and also singing in the Kansas City youth choir Allegro.  I can't believe she is in her last year of middle school!  Next year we add seminary and high school to the mix!  Somebody press pause!!!

Brinton is in 7th grade and already I can tell he is much more mature this year than last. We went to the school to get his stuff in his locker and he kind of walked the halls like he owned the place, like he belonged.  There was a new confidence in him that I'd never really seen before.  He opened his locker on the first try, which was something that was really difficult at the beginning of last year.  He is playing cello in the orchestra again this year and also takes private cello lessons.  He is thinking he might try Cross Country this year. We are only a few days in but so far so good....fingers crossed.

Our family theme this school year is "O be wise..." {Jacob 6:5} with the reminder to be wise in all that we do.  Be wise in our choices, be wise in our daily dealings, be wise in our studies...so here is to te new school year.  Be Wise.

School Days, School Days....

It's that time of year again...yay!! This year I'll have a preschooler (Liam), 1st grader (Julianna), 4th grader (Elise), 6th grader (Brinton), and 7th grader (Ashlynne) and of course the babies at home. It seems so odd to me that I have 2 middle schoolers this year. I hardly feel like an adult most days so it really does just mess with my head sometimes.

This week has been jam packed with Back to School activities starting with a 6th Grade Welcome Night on Monday where the 6th graders got to go to the middle school and go to a pep rally, ice cream social and take some time to find classes and try opening lockers. Aidan tore Brinton's schedule and combo to shreds so we had to come back the next day and practice.  It was kind of nice to go when it was quiet though because it was less  chaotic. I'm so proud of Brinton because he was able to open it 9 times out of 10!

 It was also a special night for Ashlynne because it was the first pep rally she got to perform in as a 7th grade cheerleader. They got to lead the fight song and the crowd involvement cheers...I was so proud!(there is a little video of her doing the fight song on Facebook if you are facebook friends with me)

Elise and Julianna are my only two left at the elementary school this year. Elise has always had an older sibling with her in school and now it's her turn to be the biggest sister in the school. She was so protective over Nanna so I think she is settling into the role nicely. Tuesday night they had their Sneak Peek Ice Cream Social where they got to meet their teachers, check out their classrooms, drop off their supplies and of course eat ice cream. Elise was so excited that she woke up and got dressed at 6am but it didn't even begin until 5PM!!! Every so often she would let me know how much longer till we needed to be there and complaining about how slow the day was going. I was totally over the whole thing before I even got there but I'm glad she is so eager to learn.

Julianna and her first grade teacher at the Sneak Peek on Tuesday

Elise and her 4th grade teacher at the Sneak Peek

ICE CREAM!

 

Today, the 15th, was the actual 1st day of school for elementary and the 6th graders at the middle school. They like to give the 6th graders one day without all the 7th and 8th graders to get used to the school and relax. I don't think they even went to any classes today just got to know every one and had an assembly and lunch.

Here are their first day of school pics for the day....

More later because tomorrow it's Ashlynne's first day!!!

Strings Camp...

When Brinton was 5 (almost 6) we bought him a cello and he began taking Suzuki Cello lessons at the Nevada School of the arts.  That continued until he was 7 and we moved to Kansas.  We kept his cello in hopes that we would find a teacher out here and he could continue but there were so many millions of things going on that I never really got my stuff together to get him a teacher.  :(

In our school district they start orchestra in 5th grade...sadly during 5th grade we weren't in this district and even if we had been Brinton would've missed 3 months of it because of his surgery and recovery.  So when I saw that they offered a Strings I camp through the summer school I begged and pleaded that they'd allow him to participate even though he hadn't so much looked at a cello since he was barely 7.  I was extremely happy when the school said, "Yes."

It was much like baptism by fire because all the other kids there had been playing all year and he was only 1 of 2 cellists.    Camp ran for 5 weeks, 4 days a week, 2 hours a day and in that time he got really, really good. I also have him taking private lessons once a week on the side. His only problem is he has a really good ear for the music so he picks it up super quick (probably from his time doing Suzuki method) but he really isn't that great at reading the music....that'll come.

So here is a short little excerpt from their strings concert at the end of their camp session.  He was the only cellist there that day and he really held his own.

Brinton turns 11....

The 10th year of Brinton's life was by far the hardest.  He endured major spinal surgery, a stay in the Pediatric ICU, over a week in the hospital, 3 months out of school and in a halo, less activity/mobility than a 10 year old boy should ever, ever have to deal with, a move to a new school just as he was readjusting to life back at his old school and the list goes on and on and on....So it is with great pleasure that we say good bye to being a 10 year old and HELLO 11!!!!!!

Brinton turned 11 on May 2nd and after months and months of not being able to participate in any sort of physical activity he received a very special delivery.

He has been in HEAVEN with his new bicycle and I cry every time I see him get on it and ride.  Is this real?  Is this my boy who was just literally in a wheel chair and walking with a walker now riding a bike?!  Nearly a mile to school and back!  Every day!  Yep.  Sure is.

I'm so proud of him.  

May 11 years old be the very, very best year.  

I love you Bubba.  Happy Birthday!

Today is the day!!!

As I write this blog post I'm sitting in a surgery waiting room with Jeremiah and Brinton. Today is the day Brinton will have his Halo Orthosis removed and we couldn't be happier. It's been 3 months and 6 days since it was placed on during his surgery in November.

When they did the surgery they fused together the top two vertebrae c1 and c2 using bone they grafted from his pelvis. To hold everything together they placed 4 screws and 2 metal rods into his spine. The halo is basically like a cast to hold everything stable while it fuses and heals. Brinton had a CT scan last week which showed that everything was healing and fusing the way it should. Today the Halo Orthosis will be removed and he will placed in a hard collar neck brace for the next month to continue his healing. We are very, very excited for this next chapter in the healing process to begin. So now we say good riddance to his halo...as one of my friends on Facebook said, "na, na, na-na, na, na, na-na, hey hey hey GOOD BYE!"

17 Days Left...(Brinton Update)

It's countdown time 17 more days to go and then he can get that wretched halo OFF! Only 17 days! That's an eternity!!

Top 3 things Brinton wants to do when he gets his halo removed:

1. Take a normal shower or a 3 hour bubble bath because he is so entirely sick of sponge baths.

2. Wash and cut his hair. He hates his long, shaggy, unruly, icky hair and he is just ready to have nice, clean, nicely groomed hair.

3. Wear normal clothes. With the halo on we've had to modify all of his shirts to fit over the halo. He has missed being able to wear some of his favorite clothes and he is bored with plain white tees and hoodies.

Yesterday, we had to go to Children's Mercy to be seen for an infection in 3 of his pin sites. Deep down inside I was hoping they'd say "It's close enough....let's take it off today!". But alas they gave us antibiotic ointment and a prescription for some strong antibiotics to use for the next 17 days. Boo. So there are still 17 days.

After our little stint at Children's we went to get some energy out at the play place at Mcdonalds. Let me tell you for a boy who just a month ago was still using a walker to get around and sitting in a wheel chair for long distance, he was going so fast up those tubes he was making me nervous!

You know he could be sitting at home bummed for the next 17 days or whining about the pin site infection but here he is climbing to the top of a play set he really shouldn't be able to climb to the top of! He is seriously the happiest, most fun loving kid and he teaches me so much about life every day.