Let me begin by apologizing to everyone who has checked in on our family only to find that I hadn't updated our website. Let me assure you that everything is fine. Everyone is healthy and happy. We've just had a really busy summer! Over the last couple of weeks I've received numerous emails and Facebook messages from folks asking if everything is ok. I had no idea that so many people still checked the website for updates. Now that I know, I promise to be better about updating it. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your concern, your sweet messages and your continued prayers for our family, especially Brea. Now...let me get busy getting everyone updated!
The summer seems to have flown by! We've spent time in the pool, at the library, reading lots and lots of great books, traveling and at various camps. I've watched the little ones grow and blossom over the summer. Bailey learned to swing on her own, Brea learned to swim after just two weeks of swim lessons (Bailey took lessons to but prefers for Mommy to hold her in the pool instead of her trying to swim) and both girls learned to catch, throw and hoola hoop (kind of). The big kids have grown and changed over the summer to. Baker has been busy with football camps. He is almost as tall as me now and my fears of him getting hurt on the football field are almost gone since he is the biggest kid on the team! Brooke is the typical teenager...on her cell phone day and night and constantly at a friends house or having friends over. She has been to two dance camps this summer with her dance team and practice for the new school year starts next week. At UDA dance camp at LSU she tried out for All American and made it! She was invited to dance in the Houston Thanksgiving Day Parade and her team was invited to compete at Walt Disney World.
Our summer travels were not what you'd expect...no cruises, beach trips or Disney World. Nope, we chose something different this year. We took a road trip to Charlotte, NC to visit family and then up to Washington DC to visit more family and to take in the sights. The kids were less than thrilled to learn that our vacation would be "educational" but once we were there they enjoyed themselves. We swam, went to Carrowinds in Charlotte, visited the Smithsonian Museums and the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC and most importantly...we spent lots of time with family. We also took several trips to Brookhaven, MS to visit Danny's Dad and stepmom. The kids challenged Grandma to lots of games of Scrabble and had lots of fun playing outside with Grandpa.
The summer has also had a few unpleasant moments for the little girls. Bailey came to us not knowing what a toothbrush was. She had never seen one, had never used one and had no interest in learning anything about dental hygiene. Once we convinced her to let us brush her teeth we took a trip to see Dr. Ripple (pediatric dentist). After carefully cleaning her little teeth he broke the news to us that she had EIGHT cavities! The cavities were so bad that once they drilled out the decay he had to insert little plates in the bottoms of her teeth so he could fill them. It was all done in one visit while she was sound asleep so she doesn't really remember it other than waking up a little groggy and stumbling around the living room. Brea's visit to the dentist was a lot less painful. She had a tiny pin hole cavity and it was filled in less than five minutes with no ouchies. Brea also had her quarterly check up at the cardiologist. The report was EXCELLENT! Her echocardiogram, EKG and labs all looked wonderful and she doesn't go back to the cardiologist until September!
Now that summer is coming to an end and school is just around the corner there are lots of things that have to be done. Brea will be starting KINDERGARTEN!!! She is very excited...me, not so much. Don't get me wrong...I am very excited for her but I am going to miss her while she is gone all day. We went uniform shopping and I was shocked when the 4T and 3T skorts just fell to the floor when she tried them on. We left the uniform shop with size 2t skorts and size 4t jumpers (for the length). We also bought size 4T blouses so she could keep them tucked in so she doesn't get an infraction. The big kids were much easier to fit and were a lot less thrilled about getting new uniforms. We've also been supply shopping. I have no idea how long it takes teachers to think up the crazy stuff on the supply lists but it has to be an insane amount of hours. After three trips to Wal-Mart for supplies we are still missing a few hard to find things. Fortunately back packs and lunch boxes were easy to come by so now we just need to go shoe shopping. This is by far my least favorite part of back to school shopping since there are so many uniform rules which means lots of moaning and groaning from the big kids as they try to find shoes to fit the rules.
Before I start uploading months worth of photos I'd like to ask you to pray for Brea as she begins school. This will be the first time her little body will be exposed to so many germs. We've met with the school principal, teacher and school nurse and all are aware of the precautions that need to be taken but I am trusting that God will protect her and I would really appreciate your prayers for her.
Enjoy the photos of our summer...
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