School is out for the summer! By the grace of our Great God, we made it through the year! It seems surreal to be done for the year as the school’s around us still have a few weeks. A few school districts in our area don’t get done with school until June 23!
The last ten days have been a blur, but I know if I don’t write something down, I’ll forget almost everything! The last week of school was over before I could even blink! We had field trips, made tie-dye shirts, tried a few experiments that went wonky, went on a beach combing hike, awards chapel, and the last day of school! My students were tired, and so was the teacher by the time Friday came around! While I was ready to be done with the school year, I did cry as I looked into the faces of my 16 kindergartners one last time. We learned so much together this year. They learned 11 Bible verses, and probably about 40 Bible songs. We studied miracles of Jesus, what is prayer, the story of Queen Esther and so much more. They learned academics, but I hope above the academics they grasped the fact that their Heavenly Father loves them and He desires a personal relationship with them. I love them all dearly, and I am looking forward to seeing how God uses their lives.
We had a special class time in our kindergarten room this past week when Pastor Mark came in to our classroom to answer some of their questions. My students enjoyed the opportunity to visit with him, and it was good for them to have some informal discussion with our pastor.
Thursday was awards chapel for grades pre-k through 9th. No matter how short I think it’s going to be, it’s always longer than I planned! For the most part, my class did very well sitting through over an hour of talking and awards! I did share a few funny moments from my class when I got up to present my classroom awards. Here are a few of my memories:
One Friday, I wore nylons with my dress to chapel, one of my students rubbed my ankle and then promptly asked, “What happened to your real legs?!”
I was overhearing a conversation in the hallways between two of my students. Student A: “You’re such a tattle tale!” Student B (immediately): “I am NOT! I’m going to tell the teacher you said that!”
We’ve been learning the books of the New Testament. I asked my students to tell me one of the books of the New Testament. One student excitedly said, “II Kilometers!” Um - I think you mean II Corinthians!
When I presented the awards of certificate of completion to my kindergartners, almost every one of them gave me a hug. The one child that did not hug me, put out his hand and gave me a very formal handshake! I about laughed out loud because this is the child that has constantly hugged me, wanted to sit on my lap, and be right close to me alllll year long! It’ll be a fun memory!
Emma received an award for “Self-control” in her classroom. Travis received an award for “Perseverance” as well as the “Royal Knight Award” for the 2nd quarter (an award for displaying positive Character traits in a school quarter). Wyatt received the Royal Knight Award for the first quarter. Chandler received the Royal Knight Award for all four quarters in his class as well as “Male Athlete of the year”. And Garett received the Royal Knight Award for the 1st and 3rd quarter as well as a special book from one of his high school teachers. I was so proud of them as those are awards that are a reflection of their character! They are FAR from perfect, but I am so proud of them for sticking it out through a difficult school year. God is good. Roger and I are thankful for each one of our children, and while we have our very difficult days, God gives us grace and new morning mercies. He also provides forgiveness and restitution. I am blessed.
On Friday night (5/27) Chandler had his 8th grade graduation. He did wear dress clothes, but then he forgot his belt! He immediately went to change after the ceremony, but he looked nice and presentable. His teacher presented him with some fishing lures as his graduation gift as she knows how much he enjoys fishing. Chandler’s teacher was/is amazing! I have been so thankful for her, and her Godly influence on Chandler’s life. She’s mentored me, challenged me, and prayed with me many, many times over the school year, and I will miss her. I am thrilled that Chandler had her for his teacher. God knew that Chandler would need her for his teacher this year.
Chandler had a soccer game in Boston this past weekend. Due to the graduation on Friday night, we ended up leaving for Boston at about 3:45am. It was a long day, but a good day with the kids. It looked like rain, but thankfully the rain held off during Chandler’s game. We did take a short trip into Rhode Island just because we’ve never been there before, and then we could cross another state off our list of places we’ve never been. However, we ended up in downtown Providence, R.I. And it was in the middle of a college graduation! It was a nightmare of traffic! Travis got car sick, and he was throwing up in the car. I cannot handle barf, so I was trying to drive and not throw up! Needless to say, it was an experience we will never forget! We had a good time as a family, and although we missed Roger greatly, I was thankful to have some time with our children that was not centered around school activities, school projects, or school property! Also, I was pretty impressed that I drove to and from Boston with five kids by myself! I’m not a huge fan of big city driving, but God gave us protection and good traveling weather.
Monday was Memorial Day! We celebrated by going up to Hannah and Josh’s in the morning. We went to a lake park with them and their family. The boys enjoyed fishing while Emma did go swimming in the frigid lake water! They ate a lot of food, played, fished and swam and then it was time to go home. It was a fun morning of visiting with family, and we were thankful for the opportunity. On Monday afternoon we went over to the Davis’s house for supper. Our kids enjoyed playing basketball, football, and swimming in their pool of very frigid water! I enjoyed some adult conversations with Tim and Jess about many things including discussions about Christ, the church, and the role of the church. I’m not a theologian or deep thinker by any means, but I do enjoy discussions on things that matter for eternity like missions, evangelism, families, discipleship, etc. Wyatt ended the evening with coming home with a swollen hand. He had had an exuberant fist bump with someone, and then his hand started swelling. I’m not a “rush to the ER” type of person, so we tried ice, some pain medication, and I was hoping that a good night’s rest would solve the problem.
However, Tuesday found us in the walk-in clinic in the afternoon. I had texted my sister, Hannah, about Wyatt’s hand. She said that she would probably take him in to be seen due to the swelling in his hand. I called the pediatrician and they suggested bringing him to the walk-in clinic or the ER. We went to the walk-in clinic and spent most of the afternoon there! Wyatt took a nap on the exam room table, and I sat on the floor and closed my eyes. I thought they had forgotten about us, but they were just busy. When the doctor came in, she looked at his hand, suggested that it might be broken, and said that we should head over to the hospital for xrays. So, we had about an hour and forty-five minute wait, and then a five minute visit and then over to the hospital! Fun times! Thankfully, the hospital visit was quick and we were in and out of x-rays in 15 minutes. The doctor called about an hour later and said that yes, Wyatt’s hand was broken! He would need to go see the orthopedic doctor in the morning. WHAT?! We made it almost 16 years without any broken bones and here we are! Oh, his brothers are never going to stop giving Wyatt grief about being the first person to break a bone among the kids! They will tease him about breaking a bone so that he doesn’t have to move moving boxes, but then help him with his sweatshirt or pouring a cup of milk (at least for the first day!). When we went to the orthopedic doctor on Wednesday morning, she said that she wanted to cast his hand. I told her that we were moving out of the state in 18 days! She said that she would like to cast it and then we will come back right before moving to have the hand looked at again. For some reason, the doctor thought that casting the hand might be better than a splint once she heard that Wyatt had three brothers! Haha! She said that she felt like a cast would allow Wyatt to do more of what he wants to do rather than trying to be really careful with the splint/brace on. It didn’t take a very long time, and we walked out of the clinic with a hand in a cast! We are praying for a quick healing!
We closed on our house in North Carolina on May 23! The closing went fairly smoothly, and we are thankful to have a property in North Carolina. We have some things that we know need fixing (quite a few) so Roger has been busy on those projects. We will be continuing on various projects on the property to make it “home” for a while, but I am thankful to have things to do to keep everyone busy this summer. We ended up purchasing the property for 20k under the asking price, without any other offers on the property, and an expedited closing (less than 30 days). God is so good! The kids are looking forward to some space, and I’m looking forward to them having some space!
We will be leaving Maine on Father’s Day weekend. Ironically enough, it’s will be almost six years to the day when we moved TO Maine! Roger will be flying in on Friday, June 17th. We will be emptying out our storage unit and packing the moving truck on Saturday. Then we plan to leave on Sunday morning after church. It’s sure to be an emotional Sunday, but God has always been so faithful. We are very much ready to be together again as a family. We know we will have some hard learning curves as we re-adjust to life as a complete family again but also in a totally new environment and space. I still remember a very, very long, lonely summer six years ago when we moved to Maine, and we did not know anyone in the area. God was faithful then, and He will be faithful now.
Please pray for us as we will be looking for a church to attend become involved with. We are praying for wisdom about the school year. (We would kinda like to possibly put them in a Christian school again, but school is expensive! I would need a job to be able to afford to put them in Christian school. However, God has done miracles for us before.) We would appreciate your prayers for our family.
The past ten days have been very full of activities as well as lots of emotions. We are so ready to be together as a family again, but also we are feeling the sadness of moving away from what is familiar and secure to us. Emma was two when we moved to Maine, so this has been her life. Wyatt is still struggling the most with moving, but now that school is out, he is becoming more excited. I was able to finish packing up my classroom at school this week with the help of my friend, Shaina. It was a bittersweet feeling to walk away from the little classroom that bustled with the life and enthusiasm of 16 students. I’ll miss teaching, but we will see what God does in and through us as we continue to follow Him. He is so faithful-even when I’m not! Thank you for your continued prayers.
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