Craigmile Crew: Sally's first day of 3rd Grade!

**Hopefully I'm back on a more regular basis**

Sally's 1st day of 3rd grade, she's been ready since the last day of 2nd grade. Girlfriend LOVES school!

She's looking forward to mastering her multiplication and division facts, learning cursive and losing and hopefully growing more teeth! We're excited for a great year, she's got a great teacher!

We're so proud of our sweet Sally Ann! I can just see her potential and I'm certain she'll do great things in life!

Each family chooses what's best for them, so what's to follow isn't to make my choice seem like the best or your choice less than, but I had lots of feels today.

Here goes:

It was a great summer, a hard summer, a demanding summer. So much of me at all times.

A nursing newborn, a stubborn 2 1/2 year old, a quality time lover 5 1/2 year old and a "disrupter" of peace 8 year old.

I don't mean to shed the negative light, because I absolutely love my children. All 4 home for 3 months gets to be a lot. But we did have a lot of fun and it was a good ol' fashioned summer where the kids go outside and play and use their imaginations and catch frogs and play with neighbors and become fairies and have a sale and make memories. We slowed down and let the kids be kids, because how much longer can I get away with that? Hopefully for quite some time :)

But we get to that point. We are ready for school and to have some of our own space back, each of us.

So I was fully expecting to do cartwheels as I walked out of school, down one child, and I was, but then we got home and Libby and Emma started playing so well together. Libby even helped Emma go potty :

I nursed Mason, which I love how it forces me throughout the day to stop and just be for a minute.

And then I got to thinking how fast it goes. Sally's in THIRD grade, Libby's about to start Kindergarten. All of the other beginning of school year's we've been preparing to add another member to our Crew, but now that we're done, I can actually see the end and it's getting closer and closer. I will never have 3 at home again. Each year I'm one step closer to an empty daytime nest.

I quickly realize how fleeting these really hard days really are. Then I snapped these pictures and sent them to Reid with the caption "thank you for working so hard so I can be home for moments like these":

and then the tears came as I remembered that I once was a teacher and how I loved that, but how I am SO grateful for my time home to raise our children. That I can be here for the first day of school, to get them on the bus, make the extra special caramel rolls, follow the bus for one last hug and high five. To greet them off of the bus with snacks and love and hear all the details of their days and all of the important moments in between.

As I was tucking Emma in tonight and we were doing her prayers I asked if there was anything special she would like to pray for? "ummmm I would like to pray for all of the people in Texas (pause) are you sad mommy?" She knows this pulls on my heart, when she listens and is so aware and then she turns it over to God.

This morning during our morning petitions I got a little emotional when we prayed for all of the children in Texas who were excited for their first day of school, but may be quickly disappointed if their going to school was effected by the hurricane.

Moments like those when I get to be the one to feed them with information during the day and answer their questions and help them face their fears and then can keep Reid involved throughout the day too.

I am so grateful for the many many blessings in my life. God has been so very good to us. I'm excited to see where He continues to Lead us.

The end. Time for pictures and to wrap it up :)

Annual back to school nails

Keeping Grandma Peggy's tradition alive with 1st day of school Caramel Rolls

I think they were my best batch yet!

Loving every bite!

The first day of school Sally rides the bus and we quickly follow behind to send her off one last time. I love how excited they get for each other!

Stay tuned for Libby's 1st day of Kindergarten coming up on Thursday!!

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More pictures that relate to the end of summer, beginning of school:

My last day trip to target with all 4 solo...we only did this a handful of times throughout the summer...there's no room in the cart, even if we get a "big dawg"

Back to school, Meet & Greet and picture day. Love that Libby was willing to wear her uniform for her picture, I wish I would have thought of that when Sally was in Kindergarten