Taya's Getting Baptized

Taya just turned 8 years old which means it's time for her to choose whether or not to be baptized a member of our church or not.  In our church you can get baptized any time after you turn 8.  Some people are baptized at 8 years old, others wait until their teenage years, & others don't get baptized until they are adults.  Taya has been anxiously awaiting for this day.  We are very excited & proud of her for making this grown up decision.

She is getting baptized on Saturday, October 8th at our church building in Suffolk, VA.  Her Mimi & Baba bought her a beautiful white dress to wear to symbolize the clean feeling you get when your sins are washed away.

She looks like a beautiful little princess in her dress.  I can't wait to see her Saturday morning.  It's going to be a beautiful day.

Back To School

It's that time again.  Back to School.  The kids are THRILLED to be back in school again.  Summer is fun, but after 2.5 months, they get really bored & are eager to get back on a routine & learn again.

This year at Meet the Teacher night, we were thrilled with every single teacher our kids got this year. . . even if we're only going to be here for 2 months.

Cadence starts middle school this year.  I still can't believe I have a middle schooler.  She has LOTS of teachers & she loves it.  She has English & History in the morning, then lunch, then Math, Science, Music/PE.  She is loving every second of it.

Lorien is still at Westside Elementary (for 4th, 5th, & 6th graders) & she got the teacher she was hoping for:  Mr. Bailey.  She's the first of all our kids to get a male teacher & she just loves being in his class.  Lorien tends to get the super strict, no parties, no fun teachers so we were thrilled at this news.  Mr. Bailey is wonderful.  He has a fun way of teaching hard skills so they stick & he is full of treats, parties, & fun learning.

Bladen was thrilled to find out he got Taya's teacher from last year, Mrs. Lenz.  We LOVED Mrs. Lenz last year & are SO happy he has her this year.  She got Taya reading at a 5th grade reading level by the end of 1st grade last year & already in just a month, she's got Bladen up to a 2nd grade reading level.  She's the most amazing teacher my kids' have ever had.

Taya got Lorien's old teacher, Mrs. Operaji.  Lorien had Mrs. O. when we moved here 3 years ago & we loved her so we were thrilled to find out Taya got her this year.  She was very sad to learn that we are moving November 1st.

Mrs. O. still has a picture of Lorien on her classroom wall.  She was happy to have Lo visit her on Meet the Teacher Night.

The first day of school went wonderfully.  We have 4 kids going to 3 different schools this year so our mornings are a little bit on the crazy side.  Cadence leaves first at 6:40 am to make it to the middle school on time.  Her school starts at 7:30.

Lorien leaves 2nd.  Her bus comes at 7:45.  She was SO excited.

Taya & Bladen leave for school at 8:15.  They are still together at Carrollton Elementary.  I'm glad they have each other.

Happy 2015-2016 School Year.  We are excited to see what the new year brings both here in VA & in CA.  My kids are ready for the adventure.

Last Day of Summer Fun

As summer comes to a close, we like to try to have a little fun before the new school year starts.  School started the day after Labor Day, so we spent the day playing with the kids.

First we took them to the theater to see the movie "Minions."

They had fun at the arcade with the few quarters they brought.

Then we took a short trip up to Colonial Williamsburg to explore one more time before we move to CA November 1st.  We have always loved Williamsburg.  I think it's going to be one of the biggest things I miss when we leave here.  I love walking up & down the old streets with all the costumed colonials.  It's so much fun.  I'm going to miss being a part of the birthplace of America.

The Governor's Palace was beautiful.

And of course the kids wanted to play in the stocks next to the courthouse.

All the buildings down the dirt path are just amazing.  I can't believe some of them have been around since the 1600's.

The kids got to play with the hoops down the street & Taya got to play with the little ball toy they used to play with back in the day.  All the people in costume were in love with all our blonde kids.  We had so much fun.

Good-bye Summer & Good-bye Williamsburg.  You have been so good to us.  We will miss you.

Finger Fun

So, it's been a little stressful in the Potter house.  And we all know that when it rains, it pours.

Just 2 days after finding out about the move, the girls were dancing around in the living room & Cadence's finger got caught in Lorien's shirt sleeve when they both spun in opposite directions.  Cadence let out a scream & I told them to stop messing around.  I looked down at Cadence's hand & one of her fingers was pointing in the wrong direction.

Yup, let's add hospital visit to the crazy week, shall we?

Sure enough, it was broken. . . right at the tip.  "You can fix it right?" we asked the doctor.  "She's going to need surgery to pin it correctly!"

OF COURSE SHE IS!

Let me just add this to my endless list of to dos this week.  ha ha ha.

So finally after seeing 4 different specialists, we finally got a date for her surgery.  Poor girl.  They had to go in & re-break her finger so it would be a "clean break," set it properly, & then put 2 pins in it to hold the bones in place.

She was a real trooper.  She wasn't scared at all & didn't even flinch when they put in her IV.  I was amazed at how strong this kid is.  She makes me so proud.

The surgery was really fast & it was a total success.  Everything is good with her finger now & it can heal properly so there won't be any future side effects.

Now she has a huge cast on to hide the pins sticking out of her finger.  She goes back in in 10 days to get the pins removed & a real cast put on it.  Poor thing.  This is not the way you want to end your summer vacation, but she's been a real trooper.  I'm very grateful for her positive attitude.  It's really helped out during this stressful time.

Poor Cadence.  The first of 6 kids to break a bone . . . & I'm sure she won't be my last.  But she did really well & I'm really proud of her.