First Day of Preschool

The day Brenley had been dreaming about for so long finally came. I woke up and got myself ready before the girls got up. She woke up early and she was ready to go right that minute. The morning went by quickly with breakfast, getting dressed and of course the first day of school pics. But we still had time to kill. Brenley was so anxious to go but I kept having to stall her.

Once we got there everything was going so smooth. The first day they let the parents walk the kids into the room and get them settled. We put her stuff up, found her seat and she got started on a coloring page. I thought she was good so I kissed her goodbye but she grabbed my arm and begged me to stay. So we stuck around and watched her color for a while but more and more parents were leaving and I knew it was time to go. I tried to leave again but she wouldn't let go of my arm. She was calm and quiet but had a death grip on my arm. I knew she would be fine once I left, it's just the leaving thats hard. So I got one of her teachers to come over and talk to her to distract her as Brooklyn and I made our way to the door. She did great that day and loved every single second of preschool. I had a rough time though. As Brooklyn and I walked down the hall and out of the church it was all I could do to hold back the tears. I even had to pick Brooklyn up and kind of hide my face behind her so no one could see my quivering chin and watery eyes. Once we got to the car I was a goner. I cried all the way to my moms house and then when she asked me how it went I lost it all over again. I finally got myself together and was so happy to see my girl at the end of the day. 

Brenley is flourishing in preschool. She was Queen of the Week last week and can't stop talking about how much she loves it. We've seen big changes in her behavior and in her maturity. It's only been three weeks  and it's already been a great thing. I love seeing her so happy and learning so much.

Here are my beautiful girls. Bren wanted her sister in her picture too. Makes her mama happy  :)

My big girl on her very first day of school!

Coloring at her seat (There's nothing wrong with her hair, it's the top of the boy's head behind her)

We celebrated her first day with some frozen yogurt! 

Little sister loves it too!

We are so very proud of our precious Brenley Ruth Buster!!!

Brenley's First Meet the Teacher Night

A few days before her first day of school we had Brenley's very first meet the teacher night.

She was all about posing for pictures before we left and she wanted Brooklyn in the pictures with her. 

She was SO EXCITED to go to school but neither of us had any idea what to expect.

When we got there we saw her seat and met the teachers and checked out the room. I really wanted to get a picture of her sitting at her table or with her teachers but she did not want to pose while we were there. She did make herself at home though and walked right over to sand table and started to play. I was glad she wasn't shy.

Brooklyn wanted to do whatever Brenley did. I had a hard time getting them away from this table they loved it so much. 

My sweet girl is turning into such a big girl! I'm so proud of her! 

Boosting Our Immune Systems

I know I usually just write blogs about our family, but I'm really excited about this and wanted to share it with you. A friend of mine posted this video on Facebook about how to make your own elderberry syrup. I've been giving my girls elderberry syrup most of their lives because it's a great anti-viral, homeopathic medicine. It's great when your kids are sick and it's even better to give them every day to keep them from getting sick. But the stuff I buy at the store is like $12 a bottle and it doesn't last very long, especially when they are sick and it has more unwanted "stuff" in it too. I love this because I know exactly whats in it. 

So, I got online and ordered a pound of dried elderberries and bought ginger root, honey, cloves and cinnamon sticks at the store. It's super easy to make. I won't go into all the details, I'll just let you watch the video if you want to do it. 

I've already started giving my girls a tablespoon a day. With Brenley starting preschool and a new baby on the way I don't want the girls to be sick all winter and risk getting the baby sick too. This is a much cheaper way to get it done. I was a little surprised at how expensive cloves and cinnamon sticks are but they will last a long time. Oh, and if you make this I recommend only using 1/2 cup of honey. It doesn't need all that honey. 

My girls love it and love taking their "medicine" every day! 

I hope you'll go out and try it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOYzWyFGkqM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Final Fun of the Summer

The week before Al went back to school we took the girls to Chuckie Cheese for the first time. This spring when the Baseball program blessed us with a HUGE gift basket full of gift cards they had some gift cards to Chuckie Cheese. This was the perfect time to go because there was hardly anyone there. We had a blast and loved watching our kids laugh and have a good time.

We're sad summer's over but we know this year will bring some amazing things. Brenley starts pre-school next week and of course we will have the birth of our precious baby boy in Janurary/February! It's going to be a great year!!!

The Day We All Went Swimming

Yesterday we had a cookout with some sweet family friends that we've known nearly all my life. It was great to see everyone and let the kids play and swim.

After dinner we let Brenley get back in the pool because she's a pretty good and very independent swimmer. Brooklyn had her swimsuit on but we had told her she could only splash around on the steps because Al and I didn't really want to get back in the pool. We were sitting down, visiting with some friends while the kids played/swam. The pool had a few blind spots but our friend Mike had a good view of the girls. At one point I saw the look on Mike's face that something wasn't right. He hopped up to check out the girls and I jumped up right behind him and before I knew it I was in the pool with all of my clothes on.

I guess Brooklyn either jumped or fell into the pool and Brenley thought she needed some help. So Brenley grabbed a hold of her and tried to get her to the side but instead she was pulling them both down. They were bobbing up and down in the water and the look on Brooklyn's face made me forget all of my life guard training and jump right in to get her. They weren't that far from the side, but not close enough for me to just reach out and grab them. Brooklyn is a decent swimmer and I know she could have swam to the side on her own but Bren but was trying to save her. It was a pretty scary moment for all of us.

My girls have both been in swimming lessons and are pretty aware of their limits in the water and have been taught how to save themselves. I think this just made us aware of the need to teach our kids how to help someone who is struggling in the water and how NOT to. Brenley didn't know any better than to try to "carry" Brooklyn to the side. But I think if they had been out any farther and if we hadn't seen them they both could have gone down. Such a scary thought!

So we have some work to do with our girls to teach them more pool safety. But I thank the Lord that Mike was paying close attention and that our girls are just fine. God is faithful and all our prayers of protection over them were answered yesterday. They both went swimming again today, so thankfully they weren't scared at all. Brooklyn told me later that evening, "Mommy, you saved the day!" Oh how that melted my heart!