Kaeleah's Last Day of School

I woke up this morning to Kaeleah asking me "Do you know what today is?" Now, having 20 different things on my mind, and already knowing it was her last day of school, I assumed she was talking about something else. I proceeded to say, "No, I have no idea what today is." With a look of horror, she snapped, "How could you forget what today is, I can't believe you forgot, it's my LAST day of school as a 3rd grader!!" I started laughing and told Kaeleah how dramatic she really is. She quickly responded by saying how insensitive I was for not caring if she cries today or not, and made sure I knew how sad she was. Oh, the drama.

Now, as her mom, I do feel bad for her. Next year she will be starting a brand new school, Bell Elementary. This school is being built in our subdivision, and of course, the school zoning changes. So Kaeleah has no choice, she has to go to Bell(I couldn't even imagine doing this as a child, I hated change, so I do feel for her). With the school only being 5 blocks away from our house, Billy and I are super excited. Kaeleah, on the other hand, is not. Even though she's only been at Carriage Hill Elementary for a year and a half, she has made some good friends and she's adapted to this school very well. So of course, she will really miss her friends and everyone at Carriage Hill Elementary. She's not looking forward to more change.

So, when I picked her up from school, I could see the sadness in her face. I asked her how her day went and she said "Good, but I'm sad that I can't come back here next year." Being a mom, it broke my heart that she was so sad. I mean, it's summer!! I don't think I was EVER sad school was over(except graduation, but that's a completely different story). She should be jumping for joy that she doesn't have school for the next 2 months. But even with that, she was still sad school was over. That was the final straw. I just couldn't stand seeing her sad anymore. I decided to put a new spin on this situation. I needed to cheer my little girl up! I needed to make the idea of going to Bell Elementary the coolest thing ever!

On our way home, I decided to go drive by her new school real quick. I put on my happy face and with an exciting voice, I said "There's your new school, Kaeleah!" I told her how LUCKY she is to be able to go to a BRAND NEW SCHOOL! She'll be the first one ever to sit in her desk, she'll have all new equipment, new books, gym, library, playground...everything will be brand spankin' new!! How cool is that!?! WOW!! I never got to go to a brand new school and made sure she knew that she is pretty special to have an opportunity to be able to go to a new school AND make new friends.

Now that I got her kind of excited about the idea of a brand new school, I looked back at her and I said, "You know Kaeleah, everyone going to this school will be a " brand new" student, so they are probably just as nervous and sad as you are. They are all going to have to make new friends, just like you." And with that, she looked out the car window, she smiled, and I heard a slight sigh of relief. That smile and sigh absolutely made my day.

Even though these past 2 years have been somewhat hard on Kaeleah, I know she's a strong little girl who can get through anything. I know she is nervous, but I also know she will make many more friends this next year in school. She is a smart, fun-loving, energetic, charismatic, beautiful, girl and I'm SO proud to call her my daughter. She has more confidence, that I only wish I had. I'm SO looking forward to the day that I get to walk her up to the doors of Bell Elementary, give her a kiss, and wish her a great first day of school, just to have her smile back at me and say "I will, Mom."

Until then, we will enjoy our summer break, swimming, reading, working on projects, going to Orlando, playing games, and much more. Farewell 3rd grade and hello summertime!

Whee!! Swinging is fun!

Here in this video my niece, Afton, & Brynn are swinging while their big sisters push them. Kaeleah gets a little crazy with the swinging, but Brynn is used to it. If you can't tell, Brynn & Afton are really enjoying themselves. Whee!

Publish Post

Wedding Fun!

This weekend, Kaeleah, Brynn, and I went back to Hays to see family. On Saturday we went to a wedding and we had a really good time. The girls, as you can see, had a blast! This was Brynn's first wedding experience and she danced the night away(like her mom). Kaeleah, on the other hand, was a little more concerned on what boys were looking at her. She did dance but she was a little distracted by the little boys that were watching her. UGH! It's already started. At her age, I still thought boys had cooties. I just keep praying that God will give me the strength to get through her teen years. I guess I'll let Billy handle that. HA! ;o)

A Determined Faxer!

I had to set a box on the office floor yesterday, and within seconds, Brynn was standing on top of the box. She had a mission, and that mission was to play with the fax machine(it's not hooked up, so no faxes were sent during this mission). After she was done pushing buttons, playing with the phone, and doing her business, she looked at me, clapped her hands, and said "YAY"! She was extremely proud of herself. I have to say, I was a little worried on how she was going to get off of the box by herself(I would help her, but that would make her mad and she would get right back on top of that box. So I wanted her to figure it out by herself). Thankfully, she figured it out. It may not be the way I would have liked her to get down, but she didn't cry, there was no blood, scrapes, or bruises, so I was happy(see pic below). It's the little victories that count. ;o)

While I work....

While I'm just typing away and concentrating on a project for work, I feel a little tickle on my toes, I look down and to my surprise this is what I see.......


I guess I'm a little too caught up in my work, I didn't even notice them crawl underneath me.

Soccer Pictures

Kaeleah, after her first goal scored. If you can't tell, she's pretty excited. ;o)

Kaeleah's #1 Fans.

Kaeleah's Soccer Game

This weekend Kaeleah had her last soccer game for this season. Technically, her last game will be next weekend, but we are going to Hays, so she will miss it. Kaeleah played really well. Her team won 2-0, and Kaeleah made both of the goals! Here are a couple videos of her playing. The first video she almost made another goal, but hit the post. The second video she almost made another goal, but it hit the side of the net. Unfortunately, I didn't get her on video when she made both goals. She played really well this weekend and she was PUMPED that they won. :o)

Happy Mother's Day!

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day
With little time to stop and pray
For life's been anything but calm
Since You called on me to be a mom
Running errands, matching socks
Building dreams with building blocks
Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes
And other stuff that children lose
Fitting lids on bottled bugs
Wiping tears and giving hugs
A stack of last weeks mail to read
So where's the quiet time I need?
Yet when I steal a minute, Lord
Just at the sink or ironing board
To ask the blessings of Your grace
I see then, in my small one's face
That you have blessed me
All the while
And I stop to kiss
That precious smile
~
I'm so proud to be a mom, I don't know what my life would be without my girls. I thank God everyday for them...he has truly blessed me with all of the smiles, laughs, hugs & kisses(and so much more). Thank you to my mom, grandmothers, aunts, and all of the rest of the women that have made a difference in my life. Happy Mother's Day!

Does it ever end!?!

So, I'm sitting here in our office and noticing the toys on the floor, the papers that need to be shredded, recycled, or filed away and I realize that my job is never ending! It seems like I clean and clean and clean, just to wake up the next day and repeat the process all over again. I would like to know who is in my house while I'm sleeping and why are they messing it up? I mean, how is it possible, that I clean my house and then I wake up the next day and it's messy again. I just don't get it. These are the days that I wish I was Samantha on "Bewitched". I could just twitch my nose and *Poof*, my house is clean. UGH!! I need a maid...

The Chicken Dance

Kaeleah came across some of her old toys this weekend. She found her chicken that plays "The Chicken Dance" song. Needless to say, Brynn just LOVED it!

Fun on the sidewalk

Brynn was easily entertained with the little step in the sidewalk. She spent 20 minutes going back and forth, up and down. I just had to get it on video.

Bubbles, Sidewalk Chalk, & More.

This weekend was such a beautiful weekend, we really tried to stay outside as much as possible. The girls played basketball, we blew bubbles, played with sidewalk chalk, and Kaeleah rode her bike & scooter. I wish everyday was as nice as it was this past weekend. Gotta love spring!

Kaeleah can finally shoot some hoops...

We have been promising Kaeleah that we would get a basketball hoop for the past 2 years. We were planning on getting one when we lived in KC, but we moved so we had to wait. So to make a long story short, we FINALLY got one installed! Kaeleah is so excited, but I think Billy is more excited than any of us. We envision many days and nights playing PIG, HORSE, and just shooting hoops. :o)

First of many posts...

Have you been wondering what the Russell's are up too? Well, now you can keep tabs on all of us with our blog! I feel this will be an excellent way for my family and friends to keep updated on all of the exciting and fun Russell news. I feel bad that my family is missing out on so much, I don't want them to miss out anymore. My plan is to post a story, picture or something every other day, but we'll see on how well I keep up with that. I'll at least post something new once a week. Brynn is changing daily and Kaeleah is growing up SO fast. I'm so excited to keep you all updated with pics, stories, and much, much more! I hope you all enjoy! With much love ~ The Russell's :o)