Last night we joined a few of our friends for dinner and pumpkin carving fun. The kids did the hard job, of cleaning out the pumpkins, picking out patterns, pocking/tracing the patterns on the pumpkins, and even helped us carve them. They turned out really good, unfortunately, I never captured a picture of them holding their pumpkins.
In the last chapel of each month the teachers pick a child in their class that represent a "Student of Great Character" for that month. This month's word was, "FRIENDSHIP" and Caleb was chosen for his class. His teacher spoke about how he is kind and inclusive to all his classmates. We were so proud of him!
One of our first pieces of furniture finally hit its end. We decided today that the best way to get rid of it was to burn it to pieces.
This week VIP (Very Important Person) started in Ian's class. Every Monday and Friday his teacher picks a child to be the VIP for that day. The teacher picks one student who has shown great character and they get to spend the day sitting at the special table using the special markers and toys. Ian was chosen yesterday and he felt really special as he should. So proud of him!
This past weekend we joined nine of our closest families from Legacy and headed north for our annual camping trip. We once again were blessed with borrowing a camper from friends and couldn't have had a better weekend. The weather was in the low to mid 70's with the sun! We spent our time outside watching the kids play, participating in some competitive bocce-ball, fishing, swimming, attending our own church service, bike riding, taking hikes, and lots of time around the campfire laughing and/or sharing stories. We even started two new things that everyone agreed needed to be a tradition, a night dance, and leaving the camp saying positive things about each of the 34 kids and praying for them. All our hearts were so filled and we already have it booked for next year because it really is something we all look forward to!
Today, our baby girl is celebrating her last year before officially becoming a teen. She has grown up so much in the last year that I feel like I already have a sixteen-year-old in the home. She is so full of life and loves being around friends and family. She continues to love drama, singing, volleyball, basketball, and swimming. She tends to be the life of the party and can be found talking, listening to music, or dancing on any occasion. She continues to love the Lord and we pray that never dies. Her personality can still be described as extroverted, enthusiastic, kind, and a night owl!
Today was the first birthday that did not involve our traditions as Elyse asked not to have any cake or a homemade meal. She instead wanted to just go out to eat at Pizza Ranch. She ate all her favorites and so did the rest of us. We did open gifts and were sung to. Thanks to Labor Day, school events, and other plans, her friend party will be celebrated in weeks or months to come. We love you so much Elyse and hope you had a wonderful day.
HAPPY 12th BIRTHDAY, SWEET BABY GIRL
