Happy Halloween from Scar, Simba, Rafiki, Sarabi, Zazu and Nala!

Highlights from Halloween 2021:

• Scar totally scaring the kids! Will played the part very well.

• Blasting The Lion King soundtrack from our bluetooth speaker which was in the front of the kids powerwheel. It was legit.

• Visiting “Witchie-poo” in our neighborhood. One of our neighbors goes all out for Halloween and we’ve never been to her house. She dresses as a witch and calls herself Witchie Poo. In Milly’s words, “That was WEIRD!”

• Laughing so hard at the kids, at Scar, at peoples reactions! Haven’t laughed that hard in a long time

• Zazu sleeping the whole time like a champ!

• Simba and Scar having a final battle in our living room at the end of the night. Don’t worry… Simba won!

It’s going to be a sad Halloween when we choose costumes that don’t have their own theme music. The last three years have been amazing! Greatest Showman, Frozen, and now the Lion King! Here’s to forever being a kid at heart :)

One of the things I was MOST nervous about before having our 4th baby was the fact that my due date was 2 weeks before school started! Having a first grader in a University Model School (Milly in class on Mondays and Wednesdays and she homeschools with me Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays), with 2 preschoolers at a different school than Milly, and a newborn baby who needed to eat every 2-3 hours was quite overwhelming to me! While I had a few days of feeling panicked, thinking how in the world am I going to be able to do this, I decided to try to get a game plan of help in place and put in place rhythms that would help me. I listened to this class called the Back to School 3 R’s and it reminded me of practical ways I could train my kiddos to be more responsible and help themselves instead of relying on me for every little thing! Many of my ideas listed below come from that class, and some others are things we’ve just done on our own.

Here are 5 things that have helped this transition back to school run much more smoothly than I even anticipated!

1. Worship Playlist for our drives
   There is something SO powerful about getting our minds and spirits singing praises on the way to school! It cheers up some of our grumpier mornings and honestly, it helps me get my heart right on hard days too.
   

2. Clipboard Checklists
   My girls, ages 6 and 4, each have a morning checklist, afternoon checklist, and evening checklist. They only have to complete them Sundays through Thursdays, and they get a reward at the end of each checklist if the complete everything by the time the timer goes off! I made them in Pages, and I grabbed the icons through Canva.
   

3. Time Timer
   I cannot say enough about this timer. It is such a helpful visual for kids who literally have zero concept of time! Before we leave in the morning, I set the timer in front of them, and they know that when it goes off, we hop up and get in the car to leave. Same for before dinner, same for bedtime. THEY are responsible for doing their checklists, and only when they check everything do they get to watch TV, read a book, etc! It helps them understand time and manage it at an early age. It takes a few days of getting used to (and saying “I’m sorry, but you can’t watch TV because the timer just went off!”) but it is so worth it once they catch on!
   

4. Weekly Family Meetings
   We are juuuust starting this one. But I can already tell it’s going to be a sweet little rhythm for us. It goes a little something like this:
   - Share encouragement for each member of the family (What do you love about ___? Then we each take a turn sharing uplifting words for that person)
   - Go over weekly schedule
   - Share our feelings (when they get older, we can discuss problems / issues)
   - Pay them for their work / chores
   - End with a game or family activity! (Last week we did the hokey pokey, ha!)
   

5. Organized Grandparent/family help for the first 2 months of school
   Asking for help is so hard. SO hard. I want so badly to be able to do everything myself and not feel like an inconvenience. But what I’ve learned is that A) I CANNOT do everything in this season of life and B) the grandparents actually like to help! They just need details, communication, and planning ahead. So I got a game plan / loose schedule outlined before Benji was even born, of pick ups and drop offs for school and preschool in September and October. It has made ALL the difference. Also I know that this won’t last forever - it’s just helping me get on my feet with 4 kids. I’m so blessed to have grandparents who live close and I never, ever want to take that for granted!

Any thing on this list you’d like to try? Also I’d love to hear any rhythms you have for making school transitions more pleasant and fun! Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments!

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These photos. Gosh they already hold such a special place in my heart. Thank you to my dear friend Olivia Suriano for taking these photos we will cherish forever!

As I’m approaching my due date, these photos remind me what an absolute gift it is to carry life inside of me. Something I will never, ever take for granted.

Things I never want to forget about pregnancy

• Feeling flutters for the first time

• Crying when I heard the heartbeat

• Driving to my midwife appointments, and also welcoming her into my home for some appointments as well

• Being surprised by the gender - the mystery of wondering the whole time is so special. One of life’s last greatest surprises

• The taste of ginger ale while pregnant (it’s soooo good, but only when I’m pregnant haha!)

• The look of Lyndon’s face when she feels the baby’s hiccups. Pure wonder and the biggest sile I’ve ever seen!

• Beaufort saying “It’s moving!” every time he touches my tummy (even though the baby is sound asleep and not moving at all)

• Milly having little midwife hands! She feels for the baby and can even guess the body parts and positioning… and she says she wants to be a midwife one day

• Laying in the bed with Will at night and letting him feel baby dance and kick

• Watching my belly move and change shape completely by itself as baby moves

• Learning to trust God deeply, claiming faith and giving no place to fear, and focusing on victory in the months leading up to birth, as well as during labor and birth itself

• Being so hot and sweaty and swollen in the summer

• My legs going numb when I sit too long, and my ankles getting swollen when I stand too long

• Waking up every time I need to roll over

• My pillow tower for my heartburn

• Feeling like everyone everywhere smiles at me - being pregnant literally creates so much wonder in everyone around you

• Teaching our kids about how sacred and beautiful life is, how mommy’s body was made to do this, and how special it is to have a secret brother or sister who will come meet us any day

This pregnancy has for sure been my most difficult one, but I’m overwhelmingly grateful to be healthy and have a healthy baby. Trying to soak in every feeling, every emotion, every baby kick and roll, and the mystery of it all. What a gift, thank you Jesus.