The First Day...of First Grade!!!

 Well, it's official, our baby girl is all grown up and going to Big school!  Reese started first grade on Monday!  Honestly, this entire summer I would get a sick feeling in my stomach when I thought about her going to school, so I just tried not to think about it...but it came anyway!  Last Friday we headed up to Vestavia Hill East Elementary to meet Reese's teacher.  She was really nervous and I was fighting back the tears.  I was beyond excited to meet her teacher...especially after we had about 5 friends come up raving about her to us!  Also, Reese has 3 friends from her Covenant Kindergarten in her class which is crazy, considering there are about 10 first grade classrooms and only about 8 children from Covenant at this school.

Also, one of her sweet friends that she does gymnastics with is in her class...I know that God totally handpicked everyone in that class and I could not be more thrilled!  Reese had a great first day, I wanted to walk Reese in, she wanted me to walk her in on Monday and Tuesday and she about squeezed my hand off the first day, but when I picked her up she was grinning ear to ear!

Our family has a tradition of doing "Roses and Thorns" to tell our highs and lows of the day, week, ect.  Reese said her "rose" of the day was spending time with her teacher (I love that).

Our beautiful first grader ready to go!

Jason and I tried to make last week a special week for Reese.  Jason took her out on one of their "daddy-daughter dates" and she was in heaven.  Hadley and Brynlee were both crying that they did not get to go, but their date will come soon as always.  

Reese and I did a special Mommy-daughter afternoon date...Reese's first Pedicure!  She was really excited and just like her mommy she giggled and squirmed during most of it!  We did a little shopping and had some sweet treats together!

She picked out a doughnut with the chocolate "squishing out" as she said!  After having this treat she asked if we could come here all the time...sorry sista!

Big girl in front of her school sign, beautiful smiles!

This is by far my "rose" for the week!  One of Reese's homework assignments from yesterday was to bring in 2-4 items that would fit in a brown lunch bag to help her class get to know her better.  Her teacher gave ideas like: small stuffed animals, toys, favorite candy, pictures, ect.  Reese wanted to do some pictures so I gave her a stack of about 10 pictures that were still in a stack of things I have yet to unpack in the new house  I had.  She picked out the one of she and sisters at the beach, one of the girls and Bebe and then asked for one of the dogs.  Then she put in a ceramic cross that was in her room.

I asked her if she wanted to put in a toy or something, I said you don't have to do lots of pictures.  She looked right at me and said, "none of that stuff matters, what matters is Jesus and my family!"  I was wishing I had given her a picture of Jason and myself was blown away!  I mean, don't get me wrong this girl can argue and fight with the best of them and scream over who gets what toy...but it just made me think that in her heart...she knows what matters!  

We are so proud of you Reese, you shine so bright in our family and we know that you will shine for Jesus wherever you go!

4 years for our Sweet Hadley

Today marked the making of another 4 year old at the Beckner house!  Hadley Grace turned 4 today...although she seems to most like she has been 4 for a long time!  Words to sum up our sweet Hadley, well, sweet, kind, tender, feisty, loving, girly, sassy and a lot of spunk!

Hadley is so darn smart...she really remembers everything and while it scares me a little it is a huge help because she remembers people's last names...as in she knows their first and last name the first time she meets them...and sometimes she remembers her friend's mommies names for me!  She is my wing girl!  Hadley really seemed to grow up a lot this year, became more and more independent and she was a huge help.  She loves to be held as always but is very content playing quietly in her room with all of her princesses.  She dresses up almost every day...and on the rare occasion that I dress up when I dress up, her eyes light up as she scans my dress and jewelry trying to decide what she wants.

I joke that Hadley may be our family evangelist, she LOVES Bible stories...but the funniest thing about it is that she will walk around with any book and just start quoting Bible stories.  Like I mentioned earlier, her memory is amazing so she will tell stories word for word how we read them to her. The Jesus Storybook Bible is her favorite, and mine actually, if you have children and don't have this book...get one, and even better get the audio cd's that go with it.  She remembers her Bible verses so well, and it is the best reminder to me, whenever I am not having a good day she will look at me and say, "mommy, God is always with you."  It melts my heart, it was our theme verse in the car this year as the girls would be sad about doing something new or going to the Dr, ect, and we would quote Joshua 1:9 as some encouragement.  

Hadley, we are beyond blessed to be called your parents, you teach us so much...please don't stop.  Happy Birthday sweet girl, you give our lives so much LIGHT!

Hadley loved every minute of Disney this year...she asks all the time when we are going back!

Hadley completed her first year of ballet this year and she loved it.  I am pretty sure she loved wearing a tutu the most, but she has said she wants to do it again, we will see.

Hadley loves the water, and this year she has started to swim all on her own...so we have put the lady bug vest to rest.  

Like I mentioned earlier, Hadley never misses a chance to dress up...no matter where she is.  Here she is at Bebe's house and has put together an ensemble of an Abe Lincoln hat that my brother used for school and a fancy top of my mom's...basically she is channeling her inner Slash!

There is not a picture that sums her up more than this one...Diva princess at her best.

It's the small things...

  We have been in the throws of selling our house and buying a new house.  We have been so excited about and it for sure feel very blessed.  To start, a few months ago...well, for those of you who know me, I like to plan things out and I like them to go that way...I think God just smiles at me and says, “you will learn”!  

In my mind we would have put our house on the market in early April so that it would have time to sell and we could find a house well before Reese would start school.  Well, life happened and we just could not get it listed, I had been so frustrated for two months but finally two weeks before we listed it I had a light bulb moment where I said to God, “I’m crazy...it does not matter how cute the house is or how perfect, its not my house to sell....if You want it to sell it will...I give up trying.”  I really said that, and I meant it.

We listed the house the last Friday of May...it went into the MLS on Friday morning at 10:00 am, we had a call at noon saying people wanted to see it that afternoon, we had a call Saturday morning that people wanted to see it that afternoon...we had a contract on the house on Monday!  Dumbfounded...in awe...felt crazy that I had even thought it would sell because of anything I had done. I totally felt as if God was saying...”Lauren, step back, do your part but let me do mine.”  

We were so excited, but we did not have a house to move into, so we began to frantically look at everything there was...we looked and looked...NOTHING. (at least nothing we liked that we could afford).  Here it came again...that doubt that part inside of me trying to figure out what I could do to fix this...then the reminder to just let it go and trust.  Then, right as Jason was about to secure us an apartment to live in, a neighbor was over and said she had a friend who was about to sell her house and she thought we would love it, I had my doubts.  I WAS WRONG...we loved it...we put a contract on it!

We were amazed and  humbled seeing God’s hands wrapped around the whole thing...and knowing we don’t deserve it, we don’t deserve a house at all...we could only point to Him in the whole thing.  It was hard for me to swallow, knowing the things that people struggle with, knowing the heartaches that people have and the struggles my own family has gone through...all of this seemed so silly and us so undeserving...but then we serve a God who loves us and wants to show us that we don’t deserve it, but He wants to give us things.

I began packing the house...top to bottom...we were living like hoarders with boxes everywhere...but it was fine we were going to close in a week....then that week came and went...closing pushed back 3 days, 5 days, a week, two weeks!  I was coming apart...I was telling God that I did trust Him, that I did believe regardless of what happened that it was going to be the best for it...but trying to get my stress level to agree with what I was telling God was hard.  I would think back to 17 year ago, as my mom waited days, and weeks and months to find out what was wrong with my brother.  Then as we would all wait days and weeks over and over to find out results of tests and more tests.  Closing on a house is so small in the grand scheme of things...why is it sometimes easier for me to trust God with the big stuff...but not the small stuff?!

All that being said, we finally closed on our houses...and God’s timing was so much better than what we had planned.  Stressful, yes!  Ups and downs, yes!   Things are not perfect, but the reminder that they don’t need to be and that God is just begging us to do our part and then hand it over to Him and say whatever it is BIG or SMALL we trust you.  Jason reminds me that as we read through the Bible it is full of amazing people who did the same thing...doubted and God had to remind them to trust, there was even one of Jesus’ disciples who we call “doubting Thomas”.  I hope my name is heaven doesn't have "doubt" in front of it...but looking back over the past few months it might fit!

We are beyond grateful that all of this happened, not that we got the house, but that God got us to a point again where we realize what matters is to trust regardless...to live knowing He is in control of the Big and Small...struggles have always pushed me close to my Savior...as hard as it is to say...if that’s what I need...keep them coming!

A picture of the new house

 We moved in...and because we are crazy...we started demo the day we moved in...so here is a peak into a lot of craziness that is going on!  Hopefully updated pictures will come soon...

Our prayer through all of this is that we keep our focus on what is important...with the ups and downs having children was the best reminder.  As stressed and disappointed I was at times...knowing there are three precious girls watching how their mommy responds makes a difference.  So, each time our plans were turned upside down I would say, "Mommy is a little sad and mad that it is not going how I thought...but God says to trust Him and we know He loves us...right?"  They all agreed, so with each up and down I would ask them all to give me reason why it was good that we ...(could not move when we thought we should...and then again and again).  I think it helped me way more than them to hear their sweet hearts and positive thinking!