Evie Moments

Oh my goodness, I don't even know where to begin this post. My emotions are completely overwhelming me these days. Evie Grace will begin full-day Kindergarten in two days! She is SO ready for school and more excited than I have ever seen her, and that is saying something! She will be attending Balsz Elementary, a public school a couple of miles down the road. We met her teacher, Ms. Wade, a couple nights ago at 'Meet the Teacher Night' and Evie really likes her and her new classroom.  I'm so thankful that Evie is excited, because it helps me breathe a little easier throughout this new process. Besides the normal feelings that go along with letting my baby go to full-day school away from me for the first time, the only 'issue' I'm nervous about is preparing Evie's lunches. The school provides both breakfast and lunch free-of-charge, which is an awesome program. However, due to Evie's dairy issues, we've decided to forgo the cafeteria and send her own lunch. I know that once I get into a routine everything will be fine. We're getting Evie a bento lunch box so that she will have a variety of foods to eat that should be fun and healthy at the same time. :)

Over the past couple of weeks I have spent a great deal of time praying, specifically about my own anxiety. I have been completely stressed out trying to make the most of these 'last' moments with Evie before our lives dramatically change as we enter years and years of school. My mind has made a HUGE deal about these changes to the point where I have been freaking out, dealing with anger, yelling, crying, and any other crazy emotions I feel I have no control over. However, 'God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control' (2 Timothy 1:7). I do have control over my emotions, because God has given it to me. I do not need to be anxious, because fear is not from God. My hope, as our family enters into this new phase of life, is that I become so obsessed with God and what He has done for me that there is no room for freaking out. I want to focus more on the fact that our family will be more scheduled and productive by having places to be throughout the day. My prayer for Evie is that she loves her classmates and school and that her initial excitement lasts. And my prayer for Jackson is that he can find enjoyment in time alone with his daddy and me, even though it's already very evident that he is going to struggle some with his sister not by his side.

Part of our time together the past couple of weeks has included playing lots of games, blowing bubbles, and watching the sunset every night. We have had so many amazing sunsets and storms and have captured many of them with the camera. Evie commented on one rainstorm, 'God sure is wonderful and nice for giving us rain, isn't He?' Yes, he is wonderful always.