Yesterday I mentioned that it's school Spirit Week in honor of Homecoming. We can't resist a good theme, so it's been so much fun getting into the spirit this week! Monday was PJ Day, which is my least favorite because it's such a fine line between cute and trashy, you know?  I'm always worried that I'll miss the mark and send my kids looking like little mud-flatters.  Is that even a thing?  My dad always used that term, so my apologies if it's fake.  Anyway, Ellie wore pajamas but Eli did not so I didn't get any pictures. Tuesday was Jersey Day, and we were covered with Eli.  He literally had about a dozen or so to choose from.  Ellie, on the other hand, didn't have a single Jersey in her wardrobe.  I happened to remember that Eric's mom had given us one of his old football jerseys, so I dug it out for Ellie.  Bless her prissy little heart, she was so excited but also wanted to glam up her look.  We found an adorable pair of skinn

It's Spirit Week at school in honor of Homecoming on Friday, and we've had a blast dressing up for all the themed festivities!  I plan to do one long post later this week to recap all of their outfits, but I had to interrupt because it's school picture day.  Can we just take a moment and cherish this beauty? Elie has something red all over her face, and I haven't the slightest clue what it is.  Meanwhile, Eli looks like his puppy died or like he's about to pass an explosive amount of gas. I am hoping beyond all hope that the official photos turn out better, but goodness what a memory! Bless them! We are working on our mornings, by the way.  And for the record, it's not going well. 

Sunday was our annual church picnic, which is one of our favorite weeks of the entire year!  After church, we all make our way down Main Street to the local park.  We pull out our lawn chairs, whip up our best dishes, and enjoy some good, old-fashioned, Baptist fellowship. Eli doesn't have a lot of boys at church who are his age, but he found a buddy he knew from school and quickly started a game of football followed by a game of basketball, followed by any sport they could think to play. Ellie basically lived her very best life on the playground while Eric and I lived our best life eating all the food.  If you've lurked around this blog for long, you know that our church family is just like real family.  Traditions like this one make us so grateful for this amazing group of people and our little Mayberry.

I think as moms we all tend to worry about our kids.  Are they where they need to be academically, socially, athletically, etc.  I am no different and was kinda hyper-concerned about these things with the kids transitioning into a new school. However, one of the first things I heard from Ellie's teacher was a comment about her kindness. I can't image a parent being any more proud. This past weekend, I saw that on full display as my sweet girl and her friends attended the Step Up For Down Syndrome walk in honor of one of their classmates.  I am so proud of Ellie and the precious friendships she is making.  Nothing is more important in life than kindness and strong relationships, and she is cultivating both.  I was so proud of her classmates, teachers, and principal as they spent a busy Saturday supporting an amazing organization. I was involved in the National Down Syndrome Society and Special Olympics throughout my high school and college years and seve

Friday was our First Fall Festival at the new school.  We obviously had never been before but were warned that parking can get a little crazy.  We decided to leave my car at the office and have Eric pick us up for dinner so that he could park his truck in the grass if it was crowded when we got back.  As we were walking out to meet him, we noticed the fun signs and decided to snap a few pictures before heading out to eat.  We decided on Mexican and enjoyed a delicious meal before making it back to the school for all the fun! Eli pretty much ditched us as soon as we got there so that he could run around with his buddies, but Ellie wasn't afraid to be seen with us. We had a blast walking through the school, playing games, getting her face painted, selecting the perfect nail color and eventually a hair dye to compliment the look. We were super excited to find out that she has excellent aim and we could possibly have another littler baller on our hands.  Do

I realize that I haven't done a very good job of updating this little space, especially considering all of the changes for our little family.  I owe everyone a MAJOR update on the house among lots of other things, but let's start with the biggest change to our family...the new school for the kids. In case you missed my last post, this year  we made the decision to move both kids to the school that shares a parking lot with my work building. It was something that we discussed and prayed about for months leading up to the beginning of the year. We talked at length about the pros and cons of transitioning them to the new school and ultimately decided that it is the best choice for our family. The thing is, no matter how sure you are about something, there's always a level of uncertainty that comes with a major change.  But ya'll, the kids have blown me away.  They have been so brave! I wasn't much worried about Ellie because she is so young and just hasn'