First Grade is EXHAUSTING!!

First Day of First Grade!

Our Big FIRST Graders!

 Both girls want to be a cook and an artist when they grow up: (Emma- pink dress, Ella- green dress)

 Sisterly Love:

 Excited to be at school:

 Waiting to go to class:

 Once in class, Emma's nerves hit again:

 Ella was just excited:

 Already hard at work:

 When I picked them up after school, Emma ran to me, jumped into my arms, and said, "Today was awesome!!"  Loved that!  Ella also reported having a great first day.  So, we went for ice cream and french fries to celebrate, then went home to do homework.

Back to School Blessing

This evening, our church had the Back to School Blessing for all the school age children.  The elders said a few words and prayed for our children to have a good year and to be good examples to their classmates.

 After the service, popsicles, snow cones, and pickles were available to eat and plenty of fun games to play.

 Hand painting:  Emma got a ladybug, Ella got a flower.

 Beanbag Toss: our girls were very good at this game!

 Horseshoe Toss:

 Tug of War:

And many other games I didn't get pictures of.  We are so blessed to be part of a church family who care so much for our kids!

Meet the Teacher: 1st Grade

Tonight was meet the teacher at our girls' school.  Emma will be in Mrs. Maupin's class, and Ella will be in Ms. Puroff's class.  Their classes are next door to each other and share a bathroom.  They will still be able to go to P.E., Music, lunch, and recess together.  Emma was a bit nervous and didn't really want her picture taken.  Ella was more excited than nervous.  We are praying for our girls and their teachers to have a great year in first grade!

Cousin Time

Ella and Emma's cousins, Price, Annmarie, and Caroline were in town visiting for a few days, so Memaw invited us to join them for some fun activities.  Yesterday, we went to Chuck E. Cheese.  So glad our girls were feeling well enough to go play!  (Emma- gray shirt, Ella- purple shirt)

 Then, today she took all 5 grandkids bowling.  Again, a fun time was had by all!

Our girls love spending time with their cousins!

Recovering

It has taken 2 solid weeks for recovery, but I think our girls are finally about well.  We had some good days and some days with more pain.  Ella and Emma really did very well about not complaining, and generally being good sports about everything.  God has blessed us with no coughing before or during surgery, or in these two weeks post-op.  And I discovered how wonderful Lavender Essential Oil is: would take away their pain within minutes while the prescription pain medicine started to work.

These pictures are from a few days ago when the girls were having a really good day:

"Fixing" Mommy's hair:

We went out for some birthday cake ice cream:

When we got home, we noticed an estate sale across the street.  The girls wanted to go look around, and they spotted this doll house in one of the first rooms we went in.  After a little negotiating and getting pity on two precious girls who just had their tonsils out and have to stay relatively calm for more than another week, we got a really good deal for the house, all the furniture, and a family of dolls.  They played and played with this during their recovery time!

Our girls even felt well enough to walk around in the little rain shower we got this afternoon:

We are so thankful that everything has gone as well as it has!

Tonsillectomies & Adenoidectomies

A BIG DAY for our family!  Today is the day we are praying will take care of all the strep throat infections and coughing (see note at the bottom).  Today, both our girls had their tonsils and adenoids removed.

Watching Frozen on the iPad while waiting for our turn:

 In a great mood before surgery:

 It's Emma's turn and she is ready!  (She did cry a little as they rolled her down the hall, but I was told by the doctor and anesthesiologist that she stopped as soon as she got in the operating room.)

 When Ella's turn came, she was a little more nervous because she had heard Emma crying, but I managed to get a smile before they rolled her down the hall.  (She also cried a little, but did great once in the operating room.)

 Emma Post-op:

 Both girls did great with their surgeries and wanted to eat when they got home.  God answered our prayers for safe surgeries and continues to bless us with how well they did today.  We are praying for a quick and complete recovery.

(Updated Oct. 31, 2014: Unfortunately,  Emma has gotten strep once, and both girls are coughing again since the surgery.)

August Rewards

Our girls have been working on a small 1st grade level workbook to keep their minds working throughout the summer.  We promised them a special treat if they could finish it before school started.  They both finished already, so we went for ice cream with sprinkles before gymnastics today.

Since today would be our girls last day at gymnastics for the summer, our girls also received their medals. (Ella- purple, Emma- blue)

A good nap can be a reward by itself (or maybe it's just a reward for Mommy):