My Tiny Dancer

Our graceful ballerina has worked so hard in her ballet class this year, and her dedication culminated beautifully Sunday evening in her end of year recital. Since she decided to drop soccer after the fall season, ballet has been the only organized sport or activity in which she participates. I worried a bit whether she would miss soccer, but ballet seems to be her true love, even though she does miss her soccer buddies. Last year, she took a ballet class along with two friends from church, so there was built in camaraderie already established. This year, Mallory chose a new class scheduled in the middle of the day, filled with girls she had never met before. Most of the girls attend a private school together that has half day classes for second grade, which is why they can take a class in the early afternoon. Stepping out of her comfort zone is often hard for our sweet girl, but she has impressed me this year with the way she embraced this unfamiliar setting and made some new friends.

 

Mal told me the other day, "Everyone at ballet has a buddy, and Alexandra is my buddy!" I'm so grateful for Alexandra! She and Mal have already made plans to be pen pals. 

This girl is such a treasure! She and I had fun just spending some down time together between rehearsal and recital on Sunday.

Good pictures are sometimes hard to achieve during the performance, but a got a few during rehearsal. The recital was titled Happy Trails, and her group were the Indian Paintbrushes.

We also got to see a couple friends perform. Here's sweet Nora...

and Miss Caroline!

The SMU campus provided a nice backdrop for pictures after the performance.  Nana & Papa came to support our pretty little flower.

These two sometimes roll their eyes about having to sit through girly dance recitals, but they love their sister dearly. They even sat nicely through the two and a half hour performance!

Mallory, we've never seen a ballerina more beautiful than you, inside and out. You have a heart of gold, and we love seeing you shine as you share the gifts God has given you.

School is in Session

School is in full swing at the Chamblee house!  On August 25th, Jake and Mallory began their first year of full-time homeschool.  We have less than two weeks under our belts, but so far, so good!

I have always held that I was NOT cut out to be a teacher, but the prospect of teaching takes on a whole new light when it's your own kids who will be your students.  It also helps that there are not 20+ of them!  After much prayer and discussion, Justin and I decided that this route was best for our family right now.  As scared as I am that I'll screw it up, I'm also very excited about this adventure.  We have no idea whether we'll continue to homeschool throughout the kids' educational experience, but we're here for now.  We'll take it one day at a time.

My beautiful Mallory is usually excited about school time, though she definitely has a stubborn streak when it comes to skills in which she's not confident.  Give her a creative outlet, however, and she's on cloud nine!

Jake is my methodical man.  He absolutely inherited the Scobey mind for all things logical from Justin's mom's side of the family.  Worksheets are welcomed, as is reading, although he's always thinking through how quickly we can be done with school in a day.

I love that they have a buddy to share in this experience and encourage along.

Goobers.

I've been asked often what on earth I'm going to do with Beau while the big kids and I are having school time.  Little Man usually joins us for things like story time, devotionals and any kind of game.  He's also a big fan of math manipulatives! When we're doing something that doesn't interest him, he's quite content to play on his own in a nearby room.  It's always fun to play with your big brother's toys without interference or limitation!

Beau started school today and is already quite taken with his new teacher, Mrs. Alison.  Bonus: When your teacher shares a name with your mom and one of your babysitters, it's awfully easy to remember!

He's a ham, but he sure is cute! 

Me and my buddy before we dropped him off this morning! And for the record, that bow in the background belongs to Mallory.  :)

Walking in so confidantly!

It hadn't really occurred to me before today that the big kids would miss their little buddy while he was at preschool. Last year, they were either all at school or all at home.  Mal kept asking throughout the day what I thought Beau was doing right then.  Sweet sister.

Everyone is enjoying school so far, and when the task before me seems too large, I will remind myself that this is fleeting.  The days that drag sometimes will in fact all fly by too quickly.  I'm humbled to take on the task of educating our children and trust that God will make something beautiful from the perfect mess that I offer up to Him.

Happy Birthday, Jake & Mallory!

 Each year, I note that time flies when raising kids, & I think I won't be surprised when the next year goes by quickly as well.  But the next year doesn't fly just as the past one has - it seems to pick up the pace even more.  It's hard to believe that my babies are five years old!

We began the morning of their actual birthday with a little surprise for each of them & some birthday donuts.  I think Jake liked his Mike toy!

This is classic Mallory, basking in the spotlight as we sing to her.

Her new Tinkerbell had to be laid aside for the hard work of blowing out candles.

After going to the movie theater to see Planes, the fun continued once Mimi, Pops & Gigi arrived.

They're now equipped to travel in style!

Sweet hugs for Gigi

I love this pic of us with our big 5-year-olds!

t

When birthdays happen in August, it's hard to have an outdoor party unless it involves water.  Both kids like my suggestion of a splash park, & each of them picked a theme for party decor.  My Little Pony for Mal!

Star Wars for Jake!

It was a fun morning & actually turned out to be much cooler than I had expected so the adults didn't suffer in the heat while the kids played!

Happy birthday, Jake & Mallory!