The past few days...

Here are a few pictures from the past few days:

The kids are adjusting well to school.  Everyone is happy with teachers/friends/classes, etc.  Mary Beth still loves school, although she tells me that every now and then she gets sad because she misses me.  When she tells the teacher this, the teacher gives her a hug and says that she is like the mommy of the classroom.  This makes Mary Beth feel better.  This is why I love Mary Beth's teacher! ;)

Sweet Matthew holding Mary Beth's hand getting her on the bus.

We took a brave step on Friday and let the kids ride the bus.  The routes have been changed, and the bus comes by our house just as we are leaving to take the kids to school.  So, instead of carpool, we are opting for the bus!  Mary Beth loves it, and I feel good knowing that the boys are keeping an eye out for her.  Matthew and Thomas have been so loving and protective of her during this transition.  It makes me fall in love with them all over again!

We told the kids that they could each chose a sport to play this fall.  Matthew and ME chose soccer, and Thomas chose baseball.  Today, Mary Beth and Matthew had their first games.  Mary Beth did a great job picking daisies and running the entire game.....5-10 yards away from the ball! ;)  Since this was her first game ever, we cut her lots of slack, and the coach was just happy that she was running instead of crying on the sidelines like a few little girls!  Matthew's game was fun to watch, like always.  Soccer is his favorite sport, and it always makes me burst with pride watching him play his heart out!

Mary Beth and I went on a date tonight while the boys had movie night.  It was good for us to spend some one on one time together.  We went to Barnes and Noble to read some books, then on to Panda Express, her favorite restaurant, for a little chinese food.  A great night with my favorite little girl!

What a fun start to the weekend!

Bless her heart, even the smallest soccer shorts fall off of her!  She ran holding her shorts up!




Other than the cute uniform, Mary Beth loves the social part of team sports most of all.  She and her teammate are holding hands getting ready for the ball! ;)
Moral support from big brother.

First Day of school 2009-2010

I can't believe how busy I have been since I dropped the kids off yesterday! I am really dropping the blogging ball!

In the weeks leading up to school, I had mainly been excited about the year and anxious to find out the kids' teachers.  Like an impending hurricane, I knew the waterworks were going to hit, I just didn't know when and where!  Well, after a day of non stop errand running the day before school, I sat on the couch with all three children tucked in bed and sobbed.  It was just so hard to imagine saying goodbye to Mary Beth.  Especially after cutting off her long curls, she is looking and acting much more grown up.   It is hard to be ready to say goodbye to my baby girl.

It also hit me that this was the last year I would receive a phone call from Matthew's teacher telling me how excited she was to have Matthew in class.  I am pretty sure they don't do that in intermediate school!  With so many emotions running through me, I didn't get much sleep the night before school.  And for whatever reason, I got really sad thinking of Thomas being a 2nd grader.  Wasn't he just a kindergartner last year?  It really feels like that to me.  After school starts, the years melt away.

By the time that 6 a.m. rolled around yesterday, I felt much better.  One look at my excited Mary Beth made me feel so happy for her.  She was so ready to go and join her brothers.  We had a great morning of picture taking, breakfast eating, and some prayer time as well.  Then, the 5 of us got in the car to head to school together.  Again, the last time that this will ever happen!

When we got to school, Mary Beth found a wild flower in the grass and picked it to give to her teacher.  Instead, she found the principal waiting for her at the entry, and she gave the flower to him.  A very good first impression!  We all walked her to class, helped her find her seat, gave hugs and kisses, then left.  I left her room feeling so much pride for my sweet Emmy Lou.  She was just so confident and excited.  Not a bit of trepidation.  She is definitely ready for this new adventure in her life.

Next was Thomas's turn.  He is so excited about being in 2nd grade and also being a part of a special group of kids.  We have a large elementary school and the odds of having several good friends in his class was pretty small.  He is with several best friends as well as parent friends of mine.  Thomas loves his teacher, and I know it will be a great year for him.

Finally, it was our big man on campus, Matthew's turn to head to class.  Matthew's teacher is a coaches wife and a huge sports fan.  Matthew and Mrs. W talked on the phone last week and spent a lot of time talking about football.  Of course, this won huge points with Matthew, and he already adores his teacher.  I have enjoyed getting to know her, and we hit it off right away.  Matthew also had several sweet neighbors/friends in his class, and I think this year will be wonderful for him to finish off elementary school.

After drop off, I went and had breakfast at Starbucks with some friends, and then headed to work all day.  I only had one patient this summer, but just this week started getting evaluation notices.  It was nice to keep busy yesterday.  I wasn't quite ready for the empty house.

Well, 3 o'clock couldn't get here any faster!  I walked over to the kid pick up and was thrilled to see 3 happy faces!  Matthew and Thomas think it's going to be the best year ever.  Mary Beth also had a great day.  She said, "I made a sad face.  My teacher asked me what was wrong.  I said I missed my mama.  Then she said she loved me."  Other than that one mama missing moment, she had a great day!  

I am feeling much happier today, and have enjoyed the peace and quiet that my kid free house has to offer.  Still, I am anxious to pick up the kids and see how Day 2 went!

I love that Mary Beth's back pack takes up half her body!  I know that this picture will make me smile as she gets bigger and bigger! Day 2:  Mary Beth was showing a girl, who was sick yesterday, where to put her lunch box.  She is already a kindergarten pro!

What a bittersweet, joyful, tearful, special day this has been.  I must admit that I am emotionally and physically worn out.  I'll try to write the story tomorrow.  At the end of the day, I was happy to meet up with 3 very happy little Barnhills at school.  What a blessing, and what a fun year this is going to be!

In the few 

Updated First Day of school 2009-2010

I can't believe how busy I have been since I dropped the kids off yesterday! I am really dropping the blogging ball!

In the weeks leading up to school, I had mainly been excited about the year and anxious to find out the kids' teachers.  Like an impending hurricane, I knew the waterworks were going to hit, I just didn't know when and where!  Well, after a day of non stop errand running the day before school, I sat on the couch with all three children tucked in bed and sobbed.  It was just so hard to imagine saying goodbye to Mary Beth.  Especially after cutting off her long curls, she is looking and acting much more grown up.   It is hard to be ready to say goodbye to my baby girl.

It also hit me that this was the last year I would receive a phone call from Matthew's teacher telling me how excited she was to have Matthew in class.  I am pretty sure they don't do that in intermediate school!  With so many emotions running through me, I didn't get much sleep the night before school.  And for whatever reason, I got really sad thinking of Thomas being a 2nd grader.  Wasn't he just a kindergartner last year?  It really feels like that to me.  After school starts, the years melt away.

By the time that 6 a.m. rolled around yesterday, I felt much better.  One look at my excited Mary Beth made me feel so happy for her.  She was so ready to go and join her brothers.  We had a great morning of picture taking, breakfast eating, and some prayer time as well.  Then, the 5 of us got in the car to head to school together.  Again, the last time that this will ever happen!

When we got to school, Mary Beth found a wild flower in the grass and picked it to give to her teacher.  Instead, she found the principal waiting for her at the entry, and she gave the flower to him.  A very good first impression!  We all walked her to class, helped her find her seat, gave hugs and kisses, then left.  I left her room feeling so much pride for my sweet Emmy Lou.  She was just so confident and excited.  Not a bit of trepidation.  She is definitely ready for this new adventure in her life.

Next was Thomas's turn.  He is so excited about being in 2nd grade and also being a part of a special group of kids.  We have a large elementary school and the odds of having several good friends in his class was pretty small.  He is with several best friends as well as parent friends of mine.  Thomas loves his teacher, and I know it will be a great year for him.

Finally, it was our big man on campus, Matthew's turn to head to class.  Matthew's teacher is a coaches wife and a huge sports fan.  Matthew and Mrs. W talked on the phone last week and spent a lot of time talking about football.  Of course, this won huge points with Matthew, and he already adores his teacher.  I have enjoyed getting to know her, and we hit it off right away.  Matthew also had several sweet neighbors/friends in his class, and I think this year will be wonderful for him to finish off elementary school.

After drop off, I went and had breakfast at Starbucks with some friends, and then headed to work all day.  I only had one patient this summer, but just this week started getting evaluation notices.  It was nice to keep busy yesterday.  I wasn't quite ready for the empty house.

Well, 3 o'clock couldn't get here any faster!  I walked over to the kid pick up and was thrilled to see 3 happy faces!  Matthew and Thomas think it's going to be the best year ever.  Mary Beth also had a great day.  She said, "I made a sad face.  My teacher asked me what was wrong.  I said I missed my mama.  Then she said she loved me."  Other than that one mama missing moment, she had a great day!  

I am feeling much happier today, and have enjoyed the peace and quiet that my kid free house has to offer.  Still, I am anxious to pick up the kids and see how Day 2 went!

I love that Mary Beth's back pack takes up half her body!  I know that this picture will make me smile as she gets bigger and bigger!









Day 2:  Mary Beth was showing a girl, who was sick yesterday, where to put her lunch box.  She is already a kindergarten pro!

What a bittersweet, joyful, tearful, special day this has been.  I must admit that I am emotionally and physically worn out.  I'll try to write the story tomorrow.  At the end of the day, I was happy to meet up with 3 very happy little Barnhills at school.  What a blessing, and what a fun year this is going to be!

In the few 

Last Day of Summer!

Mary Beth and her buddies had a great play date yesterday, and I loved watching them hold hands and giggle down the street!  

Today is the last day of summer.  

I am always so happy that it is summer, and so happy when we return to school.  I love having the kids in school!  I love the homework, getting to know the teachers, activities, helping at the school....all of it!  I love having time to myself each day to get errands done, so when the kids are home, I can completely concentrate on them.

This seems to be a really good group of teachers and kids in each class, and I am looking forward to all three classes.  I told the kids that my favorite years in school were kindy, 2nd, and 4th grade, so I am really going enjoy all three kids in my three favorite grades!  We absolutely love our elementary school, and I am going to enjoy every day of having all three kids in one school.  The next time Matthew and Thomas will be together will be when Matthew is a junior in high school!  What a special year I am anticipating it being!  Looking forward to tomorrow!

Our kindergartner!

Well, this is a huge week for one very special member of our family!  Our sweet Mary Beth is going to be a kindergartner!  The Children's Ministry had a ceremony for the newest school age kids at church today, and Mary Beth was thrilled to receive her very own bible.

Since the day she was born, Mary Beth has always been my side kick.  We enjoy doing many of the same things, and it was rare for one of us to be seen without the other.  I am going to dearly miss my sweet girl, but I am so excited for her to begin school!  We found out who her teacher was on Friday, and I couldn't be more thrilled. I had a vision in my head of who I thought would be the best fit for Mary Beth, and Mrs. B seems to fit the bill.  They had a nice talk on the phone on Friday night, and Mary Beth is already telling the boys that she has the best teacher of them all!

I was looking at Mary Beth this morning in church, and thought that the times she was home with me all day were the happiest of times.  I will always have wonderful memories being a stay at home mom to my baby/toddler/preschooler.  I feel blessed that I got to spend so much quality time with her, and I can't wait to see her as a big student!

By the way, I took Mary Beth in for her 5 year appt., and she was in the 67% for height and 50% for weight.  The doctor thinks she will be as tall as me, which surprises me, since she has always been a little peanut!