Kindergarten, Here we come!!

It's finally here...Kate started Kindergarten today!! Seems impossible that it is already time for this! She is going to a half-day kindergarten out at Bay Leaf Baptist Church. It's really exciting how it all came to fruition. I won't bore you with all the details, but we've been on this journey since January and it was incredible to watch God work out all the details in His perfect timing.

We got to go meet Kate's teacher on Monday. Her name is Mrs. Streit and she taught Kindergarten for many years before retiring a few years ago. She has come out of retirement to teach this inaugural class at Bay Leaf and we are so excited to have someone with her qualifications and experience shepherding Kate!! She is wonderful...Kate went straight up to her and gave her a big hug :) Sweet to see that, and good for my heart.

Next order of business after meeting the teacher was checking out the toys! Carter wanted in on that...

Pausing on the way in this morning to check out the pretty flowers...

Our big girl! No hand-holding, no hesitation whatsoever. She was ready!!

I was reflecting on her very first day of pre-school two years ago when she was 3...We've come a long way!!

Oh, so proud of my girl! And myself too! Didn't even cry! I wasn't so sure how I was going to do this morning as I was packing her lunch with a huge lump in my throat :) But Kate was so confident and excited, I just had to be proud for her...Can't believe I'm the mom of a kindergartener!!

Right to work! It's a small class...Kate is one of four students. Two boys and two girls. In talking with several people who have backgrounds in education, this is unparalleled in terms of the amount of individual instruction they will receive. Plus, there is a transitional kindergarten class there too that they share their playground time and science class time with, so there are plenty of opportunities for socialization.

And, another bonus! Three families that we are very close with, the Lyons, Davis' and Creswells, all have their kids at Bay Leaf, so we got to meet up in the halls this morning! It's wonderful because all the kid's classes are grouped right there together, plus Stephanie's class that she'll be teaching as an assistant there 3 days a week, and Rachael's class (once she has Tucker and returns from maternity leave!) So fun!! And such comfort to me to know that Kate will see plenty of familiar faces throughout her days...

Carter and Abby Lyon had a great time playing out in the lobby after Steph and I dropped the big girls off at their classes :) What is it about kids and a mirror?

I found this picture of them from last year's first day of preschool when Kate and Anna Kate were out at Wake Cross Roads...can you believe how much Carter and Abby have grown?! They've loved each other from the beginning :) And I had to laugh about the hair. It's like they've traded 'dos over the last year :)

And speaking of first days, Josh started fall semester this week! We've come full circle, and now have a year of seminary under our belt! We are so excited about what this semester will bring! It's definitely going to be challenging as Josh has upwards of 3600 pages assigned reading, plus research for several papers. He's taking Greek III, Baptist History and Patristic Christology. He's also doing the internship at N. Wake which is super exciting, and edifying!! The internship will last the entire year. Had to snap this of him leaving for his first day. We have somehow misplaced our insulated lunchbag, so Kate was very generous to let Josh borrow hers! You know a man is secure in his manhood when he can pull off carrying a monogrammed, ladybug lunchbag to class without feeling the need to hide it in his bookbag!! Love him!

This is just completely random, but such a normal occurrence in our family, so I thought I'd share...

The other night we went out to eat at a local Thai restaurant that we really like up here. Carter was cracking us up flexing as we were encouraging him to eat vegetables so his muscles would get stronger. Had to break out the camera. His face is what cracks us up. Such intensity :)

Of course, then everyone else wanted a picture! Hudson poses now, which is hilarious. He makes a noise that sounds very much like he's saying "Cheese!"

Hudson's picture reminded me so much of how Kate looked at 14 months...amazing similarities, huh?

Here's Kate's turn

She insisted that I not be left out...and do you see that yummy Pad Thai on my plate? So good!!

Josh's goofy self trying to communicate how spicy his dish was!! It really was spicy...and he even asked for only medium spice!! Can't imagine the full-blown deal...yikes!

Round 2

And lastly, I love hand-me-downs!! This is one of my all-time favorite outfits that Carter wore as a baby, and I am loving it on Hudson now! We broke out his red shoes for the first time because they finally fit Hudson now, and boy is he ever proud of them!! Hudson showed them to anyone that even remotely looked in his direction...sweet boy!