Wednesday, September 4, 2019

School 2019-20

Everyone in the same school, everyone on the same school schedule and holiday breaks, everyone sharing memories together about pep rallies and art class, everyone wearing uniforms or crazy clothes on the same silly, dress-up days - these are just a few things we are experiencing for the first time as our children all started school this year. We are very thankful for Aylett's offer of scholarships to bring our whole family together under one roof of this small but delightful school that has been a big blessing for Leila and her academic needs. Aylett goes up to 8th grade, and then we will likely be off schedule again with Leila heading to the local high school, but until then...here we go, all together, with a very thankful daddy and momma cheering them on. 










The Summer Days of August

From Geoff's 40th birthday to the beach and beyond, we finished summer well and are heading into the fall feeling very blessed for the many adventures we went on and the memories we made. When I think that I really only get about 18 summers with each of my children, it reminds me how fast their childhood goes. This perspective helped me on those hard, "please stop touching me," "she looked at me funny" kind of days. 


It was awesome to celebrate my amazing husband with so many friends and family. Though he was slightly uncomfortable, many came with stories of how Geoff has made a difference in their life, encouraged them to dream, pushed them toward Jesus and showed great grace through the way he lives and loves people. Of course, there were some funny stories mixed in, but hearing the impact he is making made me very thankful to be his wife. 



Birthday brownies to accompany ice cream sundaes were requested by the birthday boy. 


Some of the many children excited to share in the birthday treat.


The kids spent several days this summer "working with Daddy." Some days they actually worked and other days they played and enjoyed the Gatorade and Chick-fil-a. 


We spent out 3rd year with 4 other families from church in Nags Head, which meant a daily trip to get ice cream. Sweet Abi (in the middle) left us halfway through the week to head to her first year at Liberty. 


So many children meant so much laughter and games. 


The water was quite cold most of the week, but we still enjoyed it. 


Benaiah especially loved the beach! He loved the water, no matter what the temperature was. This kept us busy!


He also loves his buddy, Stella. Here they are getting ready to go to dinner. 

This year we ate out just once as a family. Before we even received our meal, we remembered why we had made that decision. The kids did better eating at home with Daddy and Blake as the chefs. 


Such a cute beach baby.


Very thankful for each of these special individuals. 


When we weren't on the beach, the ladies were exercising with an online barre class. Check out my helper. 


August at our church means our At The Movies series is hoppin'. This is when we welcome lots of people from the community to check out our church and communicate through modern-day movies the great love God has for them. Geoff worked hard on all the sets and here's Leila as a minion one Sunday.


To prepare for the upcoming school year, many moms and children from my MUMS group gathered to pray over our schools, the administrators, the teachers and all of our students. 


August gave us some cooler days, so we were able to enjoy several after dinner fires on the porch. And when there are fires, there are always marshmallows.


Labor Day meant some final trips to the lake and Nonnie and Grandad's pool. 


The 2 big boys traveled to Texas over Labor Day to celebrate Grandpa's 70th birthday and Geoff's 40th birthday. The Lawrence boys (Grandpa, Geoff, Kameron and Frazier) gathered to go white wing dove hunting, which is something Geoff has very fond memories of as a kid. 


Frazier was very proud of the 3 he shot down all on his own. 


He also experienced horseback riding on the ranch owned by some friends of Grandma and Grandpa. 


And finally a tour at the famous King Ranch along with an afternoon trip to Mexico rounded out their long weekend in south Texas.