What a Week!

Well it's finally Friday which means the Brownings have officially completed the first full week of school.  We are all exhausted.  Our afternoons are again busy with carpool lines, homework, gymnastics, football practice (more on that later), church, piano lessons, and somewhere in there we manage to eat and sleep.  Matthew and Macy have slipped back into the routine quite nicely and Harris, well, he's getting used to it.  It might take him a bit longer to figure out how to unwind from a long day of school without having a complete meltdown each day.  But he's working on it and we all know that he'll get used to the new routine soon enough. 

This week has been packed full.  Matt's asthma has flared up, so he's been back to the doctor for his wheezing.  We've ramped up his albuterol and added some steriods to help him get back into the swing of things.  To say that he is a little hyper would be an understatement.  The medicines really make him jittery and wild, but they are needed.  So for now, we are practicing our fruits of the spirit and emphasizing the self-control  :)

He missed lunch at school while at his doctor's appointment, so he and I enjoyed a very rare lunch alone together.  Here's a peek at my lunch date:

 

On the way back to school, this sweet boy told me that he "loved having lunch with just you Mama.  I wish it could be just the two of us more often."  At that moment, I realized that although being a twin is a wonderful gift from God, it does have some disadvantages.  Scott and I have always tried to make sure we spent time with Matt and Macy individually, but frankly, we've not done it enough lately.  Matt's gentle reminder made this Mama's heart smile :)  I am also determined to make sure he and I spend more time together.  I'm not sure how much longer he'll actually want to be seen with me in public.

 

Music and Missions kicked off Wednesday night at church with a "Going for the Gold" theme.  The kids dressed up like their favorite Olympic athletes.  We have a Gabby Douglas and two Michael Phelps:

 

 

At church, Macy won a gold medal in the shake your booty competition. She was able to shake ping pong balls out of the kleenex box tied around her waist faster than this sweet boy.  She was pumped to have beaten a boy!







To end this week, Matt's class sang on the Red Steps during chapel.  They did a great job! Here's a picture of us after the chapel service taken by Mrs. Barnard:

 

 

 

 

Matt and Macy have been reading Freckle Juice this week.  They made freckle juice at school today and developed blue freckles!!  They came home like this:

 

 



All in all, it was a great first week.  We plan to relax this weekend and get ready for Hurricane Isaac.  I am one blessed Mama whose cup continues to overflow.  And for these three, I am so grateful. 

 





Back to School...and New Beginnings

Summer got lost somewhere along the way.  My last blog post was Harris' last day of preschool and here I am ready to post pictures of his first day at St. Paul's.  We've had a very fun summer and I blame my lack of blogging on having too much fun with my kids to stop and type.  I'll be sure to post summer pics soon.

I've said for several months that I was ready for all three Browning children to be at the same school.  And I still am.  Here's a picture before we left for school:

And a few more...







But I think I underestimated the "mommy" in me...I was certainly not ready for this day to come.  I kept thinking this morning that Harris could not possibly be starting K4.  I seriously just brought him home from the hospital and now he's headed off to school with M&M.  Here's a look at our big school boy:

 Isn't he the cutest thing ever in that uniform?  I am so proud of him and know that he will have a great year in Miss Poole's class.  As we walked toward his classroom, he was so excited. 

We stopped outside the door to take this photo and I noticed that his mood had begun to change.  He definitely has a nervous smile in this photo!

Harris went right up to Mrs. Poole to give her his gift.  Thankfully, he was greeted with a great big HUG! 

Harris' new friend Jack offered to show him where to put his frog on the attendance lily pad :)  I know that sweet Jack was God's little helper for Harris today.  He was in need of a new friend and God provided!



When it was time to say goodbye, Mrs. Poole snapped this picture of us.  I'm not sure who was holding tighter...Harris or me :) 

Leaving Matthew and Macy was not nearly as difficult. I snapped a few pics as we walked to the 2nd grade classrooms upstairs:

 In fact, Matt asked me not to walk him to his room.  Sorry Matt, I am the Mama that will always want a picture on your first day of school!  And so, here it is.  Matt with Mrs. Barnard (his K4 teacher and now his 2nd grade teacher):

Sweet Macy is very excited about being in Miss Engelmeier's class.  She was more than okay with me taking this snapshot of her and Miss E:

Today was only a half-day for us and to be honest, I'm not sure I could have made it all day.  Harris jumped up and down and waved his biggest wave when he spotted me in carpool.  I can tell you that I was doing the same!  I've never been so happy to see my little man :)  He teared up a little when he got in the car, but you know what?  So did I.

Matt and Macy both said they had very good days and are already wishing it was tomorrow.  We had lunch with Daddy right after school and for that hour, having all five of the Brownings together at the same table, this mama's heart was whole again. 

 I know that each of the kids are going to have a fun-filled year.  And I will find joy in knowing that Scott and I have prepared them well for this short journey.