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Sitting in one of my favorite spots in the world, Brenton Point Newport, RI. Enjoying a peaceful morning.

I love PINK Field hockey games! Even in the cold rain! The two middle school teams teamed up to play against the freshmen. Megan played goalie for the high school team. Cutest goalie ever!!

So, I calculated today that I only get about 4 hours a day with Lucy now that she’s in school. We get an hour in the morning and about 3 hours between after school and bedtime. During those 3 hours I have to help with homework, run her sisters to and from different activities and cook and serve dinner. I have about 6 or 7 hours with Emma, Megan and Chloe. Lately, I’ve been able to spend at least an hour of alone time with each of them. Lucy and I only have our alone time in the morning getting ready for school. 

This morning was a chilly one! It was 39 degrees when we walked to the bus. Lucy refused to wear her winter hat because she was afraid it would mess up her hair. She was ready to put her gloves on by the time we reached the end of the driveway though. 

While we walk she tells me all about her friends and teachers. She fills me in on what’s going on in the classroom. 

We always hold hands, even though the long walk is just our driveway. She sings me songs that she’s learned in her class. Sometimes she recites the Pledge of Allegiance. 

She talks a lot about God lately. She is so fascinated by her prayer book and now her children’s Bible she got from CCD. She was a little concerned about Noah’s Ark though. She pointed out this tree this morning and wanted me to take a picture of it. I love that she is starting to notice the beauty of fall mornings. 

Sometimes her and Esme talk. Sometimes they ignore each other. 8:00 is early for 5 year olds. 

But, she is always smiling. Always happy.  She gives me at least 20 kisses before the bus comes. As the bus pulled away, I saw her say to her friend “that’s my mom.”

I just love this kid! 

I keep trying to tell myself that someday I will look back on all these hectic mornings and miss them. Ha! Monday mornings suck! But, they are part of my life and I feel like I should record them. There is ALWAYS rushing around. Sometimes some tears, more likely then not some arguments. BUT after what happened last year in CT I try to be as calm and as patient in the morning as I possibly can. I try to send my kids off to school happy or at least unstressed. Mondays are definitely a challenge. 

And then they all leave. I come home, clean my kitchen and enjoy the quiet for a little while before telling myself “well that wasn’t that bad.”

I’m sitting on the front steps waiting for the girls to get off the bus. The weather is absolutely beautiful today, 75 degrees! This is my favorite time of year!! Looking forward to more football, more baking, pumpkin spiced coffee, fires in the fireplace, warm sweaters, fall boots and snuggling up my 5 favorite people.

I really didn’t want to slow down on my blogging. I love taking pictures and recording all of our memories over here but I haven’t had much time. I’m busier now then I’ve ever been! Luckily I have my phone on me at all times so I have a few pictures to share. 

Emma’s senior year is going great so far! She keeps busy with her studies and working a few days a week. She gets home an hour before anyone else, it’s nice to get a little alone time with her a few times a week. 

Megan is ALWAYS busy! She is playing field hockey 5 times a week!! I love going to her games!

Someone (I’m assuming Lucy) stole my phone and took this picture of Chloe. She is still taking guitar lessons and is now playing guitar with her friend, Holly. I love hearing them upstairs playing and singing.

Lucy is still loving kindergarten and making lots of new friends! 

And of course with school comes sickness 😦 She is home from school today with a cold. I have to admit that I love having her here with me. I just wish she felt better.

Her lunch box was already packed when we made the decision to stay home so here she is having a picnic today. 

I’ve been baking a lot (and eating a lot). 

We celebrated both Jon’s and Daisy’s birthdays this weekend. It was a beautiful fall weekend and we spent most of it at home. It was nice not having to do anything. Although, Emma did start drivers ed this weekend!! Exciting! 

I read to Lucy every night at bedtime. She normally gets a book or two and then we read a couple of prayers out of this prayer book. That’s one of her favorite things to read from. We’ll finish the prayer book tonight. 

As you can see life is busy and wonderful. 

It’s finally here!! We started the weekend off by getting our fall/winter wood ready. By we, I mean Jon. I just stood there taking pictures and occasionally fetching him a glass of ice water. 

Brian and Marlene came up and brought the girls some pumpkins from Baba’s garden. 

We went down to the town orchard and picked a basket full of apples. They weren’t too good for snacking on but they were great to bake with. We came home and baked 3 apple pies. Gotta love free organic apples! 

I knew that most days the kids would come home from school and read my blog. I didn’t think they would notice when I took a break though. The truth is, life is getting busier and busier. I haven’t been doing a good job of slowing down and enjoying these late summer moments. The air is getting cooler, the leaves are starting to change and my days are getting shorter. I don’t have enough time to get done all the things that need to get done, but I’m working on it. I had a very nice day with a good friend today. We also had a nice surprise visit from Lucy’s new friend from school. She lives down the street and walked over with her mom and sister. I baked a bread from scratch and some soup for dinner. It was a nice day and I enjoyed it!

Miss Megan turned 13 on Saturday. Every time I would take the girls ANYWHERE when they were little people would love to tease me about the teenage years. I don’t expect the teenage years to be perfect but so far so good 🙂 I love you Megan! I hope all of your birthday wishes come true! 

Soon to be Senior in HIgh School!!

Soon to be 8th Grader!!

Soon to be 6th Grader!!

I can’t believe that today is the last day of school! Didn’t the girls just start? This has been the busiest and fastest year of my life!! From: field hockey, the musical, guitar lessons, tennis, lacrosse, chorus concerts, traveling, holidays, parties, sleepovers and hanging out with friends. To: the every day things like homework, appointments, chores, errands and everything else that comes with being a stay at home mom. I got to spend time enjoying the last year of that 4 year old goodness I always talk about. We spent a lot of time working in workbooks, going on “field trips” and learning most of what she needs to enter kindergarten confident in the fall. Jon travelled a lot which meant most of this fell on me and I loved every second of it! I love the chaos  of raising a large family. It was exhausting and exhilarating at the same time! I don’t expect my summer to be relaxing, we have a ton of fun things planned! I look forward to the summer chaos!!  It’s been really fun watching the girls grow and change over the last year. Recording all of this on the blog this year has taught me to slow down a bit and enjoy each of these moments. Happy Summer!