August 2013

August was a month of transitioning into our new normal.  We closed on our house August 3rd and moved in on August 4th.  We were blessed to have my mom come to help and Robbie and Connie came down to help too.  Because we were moving into a split level home, we also needed to hire a moving crew for our heavier furniture.  It was a great decision and the move went really smoothly!  The kids stayed with our friends, the Johnston's and had a lot of fun too.

My mom stayed for a week, so I got busy finishing up my Kindergarten classroom.  All of the teachers at Yocum have a theme.  I picked a garden theme but it was mostly a color scheme:)  I love the bright and cheery look of things!

I officially became a working mom again on August 7th.  Nathan and I both had to do a lot of Professional Development before the first day of school.  That's always hard when we have 2 school aged kids who need child care.  Luckily my mom kept them the first week (while Mallory was still easing into daycare).  That weekend, we took her back to Little Rock to fly home and took Madeline and Will to Conway so they could stay with their Granny for the next week of Professional Development for us.  

We love to hit Chick-fil-a when we get a chance since we don't have one in El Dorado.  This was Mallory's first try of their ice cream and she loved it!

The day we headed back to El Dorado, I decided to do some teacher supply shopping in Little Rock with Connie, so we met up with her Robbie, John, Lindsey, and Lucy at P.F. Chang's for dinner.  The girls had fun playing together at the table and loved their Chinese food!

We worked hard that next week to get ready for our students between meetings.  Mallory got adjusted to going to daycare full time as well.  She did so well with it:)

The weekend before school started, Nathan and Mallory went back to Conway to pick up the big kids.  I took advantage of the time on my own to get the kids' rooms settled.  We had done some shopping with Nathan's mom the week before and she got both big kids some really cute bedding and decor.  Nathan had worked hard to paint Will's bunk beds turquoise for Madeline's new room  Here is the finished product:)  She loves having a "bigger girl" bedroom now!

 We picked out a queen sized bed for Will's room, as it will double as our guest room when my parents come to visit.  I really like his new color scheme too.  He still needs a new chest of drawers and some wall art, but it was a good start.  I so wanted them to both be settled in their new rooms before school started and I accomplished it in the nick of time!

On August 19th, Madeline had her first day of 3rd grade!  She was excited to start a new year.  This will be the first time she will trade classes for different subjects between 2 teachers.

 Will was ready for his new Kindergarten year.  He was supposed to have Mrs. Ponder again but, sadly, she was having some health problems.  So, he was meeting a new teacher, Mrs. Preston.  He was excited to meet new friends and was especially proud of his new Batman backpack and lunch box!

A friend of mine who teaches at Will's school caught this picture of him and Brylee in the classroom.  It was hard on me not to walk the kids in for the first time.  I had always done it:(  But, I was thankful Nathan was able to, and for a friend who shared this moment with me to make me feel better.

As we settled into our new routine, I realized how much I missed catching pictures of the kids throughout the day, so I started taking pictures in the morning before I left.  

Here's a sweet selfie of Mallory and I:

 This is one of my favorites of the three of them:)

Madeline was so ready for dance to start back in September, so she did some practicing on her gymnastics mat.

 Mallory decided to try too!

 It was a month I had dreaded, but we made it through!  Nathan's job stayed as busy as ever and mine was tough due to some of the unique behavioral needs of some of my students.  I honestly had some regrets about some of our decisions, but I knew God could carry me through anything and He did.  It was hard then, but it is easier now to see the good that was happening in our lives too.