The jump from Summer into Fall is never an easy one because the pace seems to pick up at an alarming rate. We go from long, leisurely days to feeling like we never stop until our heads hit the pillow! It's a busy life, but filled with blessings and memories that we wouldn't trade for anything.
The kids are staying busy with school and activities. Caleb started at the 4th through 6th grade building and is loving it. The atmosphere is totally different and he already seems so much older after just a couple months as a student there. He loves having two teachers (the kids switch for math) and is eagerly joining some of the many after school clubs that they offer. He also really enjoys getting to walk or ride his bike with buddies to and from school each day. Leah is enjoying 2nd grade. Her teacher is new to the building this year, but has already won Leah's affection. She has also made some new friends, but is happy to be in class with some of her favorites from last year....including the boy she calls her boyfriend....Lord help us all! Joel has been a happy camper since day one in kindergarten. He's learning so much and is changing day by day. He is so eager to read, write, and show off all that he's learning. The giant smile on his face each day as he jumps off the bus tells me that he's loving life as a full-time student!
They are all staying busy after school as well. Joel is loving his first year in flag football. Daddy is doing double-duty by coaching his team and Caleb's....what a guy! Caleb is having a blast once again, but keeps reminding us that he's ready to play tackle football even though we are definitely holding off on that for a few more years. Leah is enjoying another season of soccer. She does pretty well with is. Unless, of course, the coach decides to torture us by putting her in as goalie (she just a bit too spacey to have that much responsibility on the field)! Leah is also having fun in her first year as a Brownie. Her troop has grown a lot over the past year and they are staying busy with a lot of fun projects and outings. All three kids are doing another year of Awana and we definitely enjoy the kid free evening each Wednesday!
Our annual chili cookoff was a blast again this year. The weather was wonderful and everyone had a great time. Adults ate well and kids played hard. Our neighbor, John, took home the chili award and Grandma Leslie won for desserts.
Chesney celebrated her birthday in September and officially made us parents of a teenager! It's hard to believe she's already 13. She's still kicking, though she did give us quite a scare for about 48 hours. She woke up one morning and couldn't stand up and put weight on her back legs. She slept all day, didn't eat, and looked completely out of it. The next morning, she was still in just about the same state, so we called the vet to get her in. About an hour before the appointment, she totally snapped out of it and was completely back to normal. We aren't sure what happened, but are just thankful it all seemed to clear up (and, just in time to save us from spending way too much money at the vet)!
Despite the busy schedules, we still manage to find some precious downtime at home. The kids are all in a great phase where they play (and often fight) with each other more than they hang around us. Though we despise the moments when they don't get along, we treasure the fact that they have each other as built in buddies. We also have quite a few inherited siblings from neighborhood kids....and, though it's often loud and crazy in our house with so many kids, I wouldn't trade it for the world! Caleb is our kid that desperately needs time with friends, and it is so great that the ones he has nearby are such delightful kiddos. Leah loves being with friends too, but she definitely enjoys her alone time. Joel tries so hard to keep up with all of them, but is often left frustrated by the fact that he just can't quite keep up with the big kids. Thankfully, he is our biggest shadow and helper. When his siblings and friends aren't cutting it, he is often following one of us around asking to help or just watching closely to see what we're doing.
