the first day of first grade...

i honestly can't believe that i have an almost 7 year old who is in the FIRST GRADE!!  we had a great morning and she was all smiles and full of excitement starting a new school year.  i know she is going to have a fantastic year.

she looks so grown up and didn't even want a backpack.  check out the messenger bag.  :)  

sweet olivia.

this is how she felt about starting school.  so excited!!!

posing in front of her school.  if they would only trim that tree a bit.  :)

olivia and her teacher, mrs. graham.

her desk.

and her fun classroom.

i read this on a friend's blog and i think it speaks perfectly to how i feel and what i desire right now.  i have adopted it and prayed this everyday...

Dear Lord,

Thank you for the gift of motherhood and for entrusting us to raise these little girls in your name.  As they begin a new school year, we pray that their lives would be grounded in you.  May they live for you, reflect your love to others, and call on your name in times of joy and times of sadness.  May they grow in wisdom and make memories that will stay with them for a lifetime.  Jesus we pray patience for all teaching and joy in all friendships.  Help us as mothers to walk along them in this journey, pointing out their strengths and helping them grow.  In both good times and stressful moments, let our parenting words glorify You so that we may nurture their academic experience and enhance their faith.

Amen.

a week of awards...

and it is only wednesday!!!  her birthday is over, but we continue to celebrate olivia this week.

monday night, her soccer team had a team dinner to celebrate a great fall season.  at the end of the dinner each of the girls were presented with a trophy and the coaches told them what a good job they did this season.

christman telling her how proud he was of her and the way she played all season.

coach john, o, and coach christman- the best coaches!!

first good look at the trophy!!

our last game is this saturday.  to be honest, i am looking forward to a break from weekly practices and games, but i am going to miss getting to see olivia shine on the soccer field.  i am also going to miss all of her sweet friends and their parents.  hopefully team lyon will be back together in the spring for more soccer fun!!

but wait, there is more!!!  yesterday, olivia's school celebrated all the achievements of the second six weeks of school at their award assembly.  jack and i were there because last week ms. pattillo sent me and email saying that olivia would be receiving the principal's award.  this is a BIG deal!  only one student from each class is chosen to receive this award each six weeks.  ms. pattillo said that o was selected because "she always works very hard and does her best work AND she is very helpful to other students in our class."  to say that i was proud of her is an understatement.  :) (sadly, mark had an important meeting and couldn't be there.)  sorry for the poor photography- forgot the good zoom lens.

her name was called!!

ms. kirpatrick giving her the award.

her teacher, ms. pattillo, o, and her principal, ms. kirpatrick

what a fun week!!  so proud of you o!!  we love you and it brings us such joy watching you accomplish great things!!

daddy daughter donut date...

olivia made daddy this very fashionable invitation to a very special event at her school-- donuts with dads. notice the rainbow colored tie daddy is sporting. the invitation is glued to the back!:)

olivia is always thrilled to have a special date with her daddy (yes, they do it often), but she was SUPER DUPER excited about this one because she was the one doing the inviting. :) she also loved that daddy was going to get to take her to school, meet her friends, see her classroom, and meet her teachers. sounds exciting, right! :) the few details i got from the morning go as follows-

olivia's version: "mommy, we ate donuts and drank juice. i got a plain one and daddy gave me water, not juice. daddy had a donut too. we sat by kk and christman."

mark's version- "it was good. we ate donuts and had juice. then olivia showed me her art work. she is the best artist in her class!"

mark's last statement makes me smile. i love that he truly is blind that other children in the world might be more talented or more special than his own children. but i think that is just the way it is supposed to be. :) and honestly, olivia feels exactly the same way about her daddy- no one in the whole wide world has a better daddy than she does!! as i took their picture and sent them off on their morning date, i thought about how great their bond is and how thankful i am that olivia has a daddy who loves her unconditionally, that is her biggest cheerleader, and that understands her in a way no one else can- their personalities are SOOO much alike. he always knows exactly how she is feeling and exactly what she needs to hear to be comforted, encouraged, and feel loved. one day olivia will be able to look back and be truly grateful for her daddy and the unending ways that he was there for her, but for now just thinking that he is the BEST daddy in the whole wide world is more than enough thanks and gratitude and one of my greatest joys to watch every single day!!

angels we have heard at school...

sweetly singing christmas songs!
this year for the christmas program at o's school the four year old classes dress up a bit. girls were angles and the boys were shepherds. it was so cute!! sadly, i had to miss the performance because i was working, boo! :( but no worries, she still had a LARGE crowd of supporters in the audience.

this year gram lois AND gram millie were able to be there. o loved that!

and here is all of the ladies from her cheering section. the daddies (mark and christman) and the grandpas were there too!

daddy was there to capture the performance and gave me a full report. he said that it was many of the same songs as in years past, she just got to sing a more songs and be on the stage for longer.

i really do think that the sounds of angels singing praise to god might sound like children singing, it is the sweetest sound. :)

another one bites the dust...

another school year that is!! it was another GREAT year filled with sweet teachers, new friends, and great memories. end of the year moments i don't want to forget...

olivia walking down the aisle right before her "end of the year music performance"...

she was so proud to see her family there to support her AND i think she likes being on the stage. ;)

a few of my favorite moments during the performance...

ms. cavanaugh and ms. ghoreshi, the best 3 year old preschool teachers in town...

they are wonderful- so encouraging, loving, creative, and patient. (sorry that o's eyes are closed, but i had to include their picture.)

ms. tammy and ms. melissa are some of jack's most favorite people in the whole wide world...

ms. tammy
ms. melissa (a.k.a. "missa")

his precious teachers loved him so much and brought smile after smile to his face all year. what a gift these ladies have for making little ones feel so special and loved!!

it was a FABULOUS year!! yay for summer fun, but i know we will all be ready for school to start again soon!!

olivia performs...

her preschool songs. during the last week of olivia's school the families were invited into the music classroom to watch a performance of favorite preschool songs. olivia was noticeably nervous, but did a fantastic job singing her heart out and doing some really cute motions.


after the "show" we went back to the classroom and had a little snack and a chance to take pictures. olivia's teachers passed out the memory books they made for each of the students. it is such a precious gift, a book filled with pictures of olivia and all the memories she made during her year in 2 year old preschool.

ms. anderson, olivia's wonderful teacher...
ms. lacey, olivia's other incredible teacher...
and of course, olivia's bff, kingsley...
what a special year it was. we are so thankful that olivia loves school, has had teachers that love and encourage her, and got to experience it all with precious friends.

the first day of preschool in review...

olivia started preschool on september 3. she has been going to "mothers day out" for several years, but now she is old enough to be in preschool. we went to meet the teacher the day before her first offical day of school. she was very confused as to why she could not stay longer and why i was at school with her, so she at drop off the next day she walked right in and waved good-bye. this being the first time i have done drop off because i used to work on her school days, did not go so smoothly for me. i was not emotional, just a bit scattered. i didn't prepare as much the night before because in my head i was going to have plenty of time the next morning, wrong!!! i must have forgotten that i now have a baby that has to also be fed, held, changed, and make it in the car with us. so due to my poor planning, we were rushing out the door, quickly snapping pictures to capture the occasion, and speeding to school. we did make it on time so i was thinking all was well, but nooooo! when we got there i realized i forgot the two special items for the first day the teacher requested- a family picture and olivia's favorite stuffed animal- larry the lion. i had to explain to olivia that i forgot these items and i was so sorry. she patted my sholder and said, "it's ok mommy. i will be alright." then turned around and ran to sit down at the table to begin her artwork. at that moment, i let out a sigh of relief and thought, i have the best 2.75 year old ever! how did i get so lucky today?! notice i thought today.
as expected her first day was great! she created picnic art with stamps and stickers, loved eating out of her new lunch box, played on the playground with her cousin kingsley, sang songs, and took a good nap- at least that is what she has told me. i am confident that we are going to have another great year, and i am hoping that i will get better at this morning routine.

the only good pic i was able to capture- olivia with her school bag all packed, well minus a few items that i forgot.

olivia's teacher is super great and has created a website to post pictures, blog about the happenings, etc. if you would like to check it out click HERE and email for the password. i must be respect the privacy of all the other kiddos in her class.