Year End at Bright Beginnings

"Preschool is a sweet time to plant seeds of faith."

We ended our first year at Bright Beginnings Preschool with a very special program and graduation ceremony.

The kids recited the Pledge of Allegiance and sang This is the Day like they do every day.

They signed Jesus Loves Me and sang He's Got the Whole World in His Hands...

...then finished with You are my Sunshine, I am Growing, and Rise and Shine. They did so great! And aren't they so cute!

Then we recognized our little friends with ribbons and hugs, telling about a few of their favorite things...really comical :)

They were so excited, and I was so proud!

Then Mrs. Mandy gave awards and diplomas to the preschool graduates. Audrey received the "Most Cheerful" award :)

Sweet memories all night...

It will be so fun watching these kids grow up and graduate together again someday. I just hope it doesn't get here too soon!

We were proud to have lots of family and friends surrounding us as we celebrated a year truly blessed by God at our preschool we love so much.

 I was happy to give the kids and parents their scrapbooks, too! They were wrapped with LOTS of love.

 "Our future is so BRIGHT at Bright Beginnings!"

Dental Field Trip

Brenna Baby had a run-in with our fence a couple weeks ago. Literally she ran into it...chasing a bubble that was floating up into the sky. She bounced off crying but eased up pretty quickly...especially when she had to stop to spit a small chunk of tooth out of her mouth.

Yes, she chipped it pretty good, but the most alarming thing was the small line that ran across the middle of her front tooth. I wasn't sure if it was just black paint from the fence or if it was indeed a crack. I was leery to wiggle it...so we decided to call good old Dr. Easley. 

He wanted to check it, so all six of us were off on a new adventure. They all waited very nicely in the dentist's office while Brenna bravely let him examine her mouth. He declared it a minor chip and crack considering the blow, filed it down smooth again, and passed out a plethora of pencils, whistles, and stickers (no candy cause he's a dentist.) 

 We can now chalk that one up as a really cool field trip, and we are, of course, thankful for Brenna's beautiful smile!

Wonder Dog

This is our black beauty Pidgey Widgey. She is very smart, very sweet, and verrrrrrrrrrrrrrry busy.

This is where she can usually be found..."hunting" at the back fence. It is pure torture that our neighbors have cats, a goat, and chicks. Pure torture for a hunting dog to be on the wrong side of the fence.

Ms. Linda's white kitty made the mistake of coming into our yard the other day. She can definitely hold her own with dogs, and normally she has the tree for Plan B. 

That is until Pidge decided she could climb trees this week. Look closely for the black dog chasing the white cat 10 feet up in the tree. Kitty would slap her, Pidgey would jump down, and then immediately climb right back up...over and over and over. The kids thought it was hilarious, and I took some great video. 

But since dogs weren't really intended to climb trees, I was worried the next thing would be Pidge falling out of the tree...or climbing on to the roof...so we put her up and the fun was over.

We didn't realize we had such a Wonder Dog on our hands.

Praise Him through the Storm

This is what loomed around us this week. This photo was taken about 10 miles from Comanche.

Then a couple days later, Comanche was warned about more severe weather on the National Weather Channel for hours on end. We decided to take a joy ride away and around it!

Let me just say how thankful I was for this new addition Josh and Pop built a week before!

More to praise God for...lots of great rain and reason to wear rainboots!

And my greatest praise...although our house looks like a tornado really did hit it this week, I am forever thankful that the little twisters that ransack it every day are healthy and safe as we continue to pray for our neighbors to the north.

Our Prince has come...

In honor of our 8th anniversary, I gave my hubbie away to the loving embrace of two beautiful princesses. It was truly a scene taken straight out of a Disney movie...

 The Prince twirling the beautiful Princess...

...shimmering ball gowns...

...grace and beauty...

 ...a loving close-up with the hero...

...adoring gazes with the Rangers playing in the background...

 (He was a really good sport as they showed him every step of the Disney dance scenes...to several songs ;)

"My Prince has come...his name is Daddy."

Happy Anniversary to a man who knows how to love all his girls and who is loved adoringly right back three times over!

Kindergarten Round-Up

We got signed up for Kindergarten last week...sigh. These two friends will be on a new adventure when August arrives.

Audrey is super-excited. And I am, too, when I get past the thought of her growing up and away from me! But check out this monstrosity of a playground she will call hers next year!

She was disappointed when she discovered that she didn't actually start K the next day...and I know someone else who will be disappointed when she doesn't get to stay on that first day of school with big sister...

 Yep, it's a little hard making this big step of life...so at least we have a really cool slide to make it a little easier when we reach the top!

Happy Mother's Day...

Yes, I am one Happy Mother indeed.

I Wanted to Know All about God

"I wanted to know all about God, so I went looking for Him in signs of His creation.

I wondered what God does in the mornings. Then I smelled the dew on the grass at dawn.

I wondered where God is at nighttime, and I felt safe and warm in my bed.

I wondered if God is gentle, and a butterfly floated on the air in front of me.

I wondered if God is strong, and the ocean roared in my ears.

I wondered how God's reflection looks when He smiles, and the snow glittered in the sun.

I wanted to know if God likes music. Then I heard a pond on a summer night.

I wondered if God likes art, and I saw a spiderweb in my uncle's barn.

I wanted to know what colors God likes. Then I met several children of other races.

 I wondered how tall God makes his people, and the girl next to me looked up and smiled.

 I wondered if God's people have faith in each other, and my friend trusted me with a secret.
 

 I wondered if God is caring, and the new boy shared his crayons with me.

 I wanted to know where God likes to visit, and I felt someone knocking at my heart. Now when I go looking for God, I know exactly where to find Him."

by: Virginia L. Kroll