Mary Ellen's First Haircut

It was finally time.  I mean she's almost 4 years old!  It has taken us this long to grow out shoulder-length hair!  It finally was getting long but the straggly, uneven ends were pretty bad.  So I decide to just even it out across the bottom.  Bless her heart...she was as patient and still as a solider.  I was so worried I'd cut off her curls or make it too short for a ponytail.  But it looks great and so much healthier!

First Day

Finally the day was here.  We had counted down the days.  We bought the backpacks.  We talked endlessly about sharing toys and following the rules.  We met our teachers.  The first day had arrived and M&M were beside themselves excited!

So after a breakfast of grits, bananas, and chocolate milk we are finally ready to get into the van and be on our way.  I think I was just as excited as they were.  I knew they were going to love it!

Yes, they are running to the front doors!

Since we are about 30 minutes early, I know but we were SO excited, we stopped by the rock to take a picture.  Under the cross it says "This is a Place of Grace"; and it certainly is.  Alice Drive Baptist Church has been such a blessing to us and we are thrilled that M&M will get to experience it in a new way through Kingdom Kids.

Lets go find our classroom!

Putting our backpacks where they go...yep, you guessed it we're the first ones there!

Pictures around the classroom...Ms. Kristina and Ms. Dawn they're our teachers!

Picture by the rainbow wall that we all made at meet the teacher night.

First task at hand...play-doh!!

My last glimpse.  I just couldn't stop taking pictures!  Really I just didn't want to leave.  At some point I realized that I was interfering and just had to leave.  And I was very proud that I made it all the way back to the van before I started crying!  How is it that I turned into this blubbering Mama that couldn't leave her kids for 3 hours at the very church where they go every week anyway?!  But in that moment I realized that it really wasn't about leaving them at Kingdom Kids.  I knew they would love them and take care of them.  It was ALL that it represented.  I saw our whole journey on that car ride home.  I saw the years of praying for them and the struggle that nearly broke us. I saw how thrilled we were when we found out there was two..a boy and a girl.  I saw them in the NICU working very hard to learn to breath and eat on their own.  And all that time when they still needed us so much for their very sustenance.  And although they still need me, I realized it is getting drastically less and less as each day passes.  That's the point isn't it?  To raise them to be happy, responsible, fulfilled people who love God.  I know that.  But this one milestone, I cried for how fast it all went by.  By the time I picked them up I had straightened myself out and was ready to rejoice with them on a thrilling first day.  And I realize now that there are so many of these milestones to come.  And yes, I will probably cry at every one....

Kingdom Kids Meet the Teacher Night

We had been counting down the days to school for a solid month.  Finally it was here!  M&M were so excited to go and meet their teachers Miss Kristina and Mrs. Dawn.

We were able to tour their room, meet their teachers, and see what their routine would be.  I was already super impressed with the whole program but especially touched by how much they were so loved already!  Michael and Mary Ellen couldn't be in better hands.  Now if Mama will only be able to get through it!

One proud Mama with her two LOVES!  I fear we may have some waterworks tomorrow morning when it comes time to drop them off...

Emerald Coast

I was so excited to be going home for a week.  I really think I go through withdrawals if I'm gone for too long!  It was a special treat to have all 4 Thornes together for a real vacation.  My sister, niece, and nephew were also visiting from south Florida.  So it was a full house but fun watching the kids play together.  Emily and Christopher entertained M&M so well sometimes we forgot they were all in the house!  Of course we attempted to go to the beach as much as possible.  The first day we went to Beasley Park on Okaloosa Island.  This is one of my favorite beaches because it has great facilities and is usually never crowded.

 

M&M love the beach.  Mary Ellen can play in the sand for hours and Michael can push his dump truck in and out of the surf forever.

As fearless as Michael is of the waves Mary Ellen needs some time to get used to it.  The waves "coming after her" really scare her.  She's content to stand with Daddy...or have him hold her.

 

 We met our friend Tonya and her son Seth at the beach that day.  It was nice to have the kids play so Tonya and I could catch up.  Three of the cutest kids around!

We have decided that this is the best kind of vacation.  We are spending time at some of the most beautiful beaches in the world and we have Grandma to watch the kids anytime Andrew and I want to go out by ourselves!  It happened to be my 40th birthday that week so Andrew and I had a few special dinners out and an overnight stay in Sandestin.  WONDERFUL!!

We tried to do as many fun things as we could for the kids.  We went to see the Cars 2 movie which they had been counting down the days to see.  We also went to one of my childhood favorites, Goofy Golf.  It was so great to see them enjoying it as much as I did growing up.  We are now convinced that Mary Ellen could have a career in the LPGA.  But Michael was the only one to get a hole-in-one in the snakes mouth at the end, with a little help from me.  He excitedly received his card for a free game next time.

We also discovered a great new cupcake shop, Cupcakes By The Beach.  So after a fun and HOT game of Goofy Golf we each chose a cupcake for after lunch.

We decided to go to Marler Park on our last full day in Florida, which is on the bay side of Okaloosa Island.  Now I know why we spent so much time here growing up.  The kids loved it.  There was no fear of undertow or waves and they ran in and out of the water by themselves, no problem.

It was certainly a memorable vacation.  One I'm hoping we can repeat in years to come!

Georgia On My Mind

On our way to Florida to visit Grandma Dee, we stopped in Brunswick Georgia.  It was a great way to split up the long drive.  Andrew had to give a brief to the Georgia National Guard, so it worked out great as a mid-way stop.  It was Mary Ellen and Michael's first night staying in a hotel...they loved it!  We layed in bed and watched TV and swam in the pool.  But, their favorite thing about vacation...going out to eat!  It is such a treat for them. 

When Andrew was finished with his brief, we took a drive over to Jekyll Island.  What a one-of-a-kind beautiful little island.  Andrew and I agreed that we were going to return just the two of us to stay at the historic Jekyll Island Club Hotel.

The beaches were surprising too.  I guess I expected them to look more like Myrtle Beach since it's on the Atlantic Ocean.  But it reminded me much more of the white sand beaches of the Gulf of Mexico where I'm from.  There was a pretty nasty afternoon storm blowing through so we didn't stay long.  We drove around the island and looked at all the sites and then went back over the amazing Jekyll Island suspension bridge to Brunswick and had supper.  We swam in the pool and then got in bed for our adventure on to Florida the next morning!

Last Swim Lesson

Each Friday they did a safety lesson before they got into the pool.  M&M loved getting the "homework" after each lesson.  They were surprisingly attentive; mostly due to their teachers.  I was super pleased with their first introduction into swimming.  Most important, they had a ball!

The last lesson they got a cupcake and chips and were able to swim in the kiddie pool for a while.  They also got achievement certificates and a bag of fun prizes.  It was definitely one of the best parts of this summer!

Hiding Place

After a year and a half in our house we thought it was time for the carpets to get a good cleaning.  Potty training and just day to day toddler abuse can be pretty rough on carpet.  We had to pile some of the furniture up to clear off the floor.  The ottoman on top of the chair made the perfect little hiding spot for two little 3 year olds.  I love how they can find the fun in every day stuff!

4th of July

We spent the 4th of July morning at the pool which has become an M&M favorite since their lessons.  We planned on going to Dillon Park to watch the fireworks that evening.  But we got home and decided that we weren't in the mood to fight the crowd and keep M&M up until 11pm.  The bad thing about east coast time zone...summertime sunsets after 9pm!  So we went to one of the many firework stands and bought a bunch to set off ourselves.  Andrew was probably more excited than the kids :-)

Sparklers are always kid favorites!  Nice that they weren't afraid of them this year.  They're getting so big.

We actually had quite a few really good fireworks.  Most were just OK.  Of course it was all amazing to our two 3 year olds.  The above is a picture of our "Grand Finale"!  And they were in bed before 10pm!

Happy 4th of July!

First Swim Lesson

We could not have been more excited about starting swim lessons.  In fact, M&M were so excited they took to asking me everyday, sometimes several times a day, "Can we go to swim lessons today?".  So we made a calendar and counted down the days.  The calendar worked out well considering there were so many things in the months of June and July that they were looking forward to; the free movies at the Beacon, swim lessons and our trip to Dee's house in Florida.  We signed them up for lessons at Shaw AFB.  I was considering the YMCA also but was so thrilled when I saw how the lessons were organized on base.  Michael and Mary Ellen and one of their MOPS friends Joshua, were the only ones in the "group".  Joshua is two, so on the days he pooped out early they essentially had one-on-one lessons!

Miss Heather, who was home for the summer from Clemson, was so patient and kind to my timid swimmer Mary Ellen.  She had to really encourage her to try to do those things that frightened her.  And if she wouldn't jump off the side she just helped her and they went on.  I think this really helped keep her enthusiasm high for going back every day.

Miss Brittney helped Michael and Joshua and it was no time, literally the first lesson, when Michael was ready to be on his own (with waist floaties and kick-board of course).  Michael was fearless to try each new thing and LOVED being in the water.  In fact the only issue I had to deal with was him crying each day when the lesson was over.  He never wanted to leave!

Learning to jump off the side into the water.  Miss Brittney used the noodle as a line in the water and Michael would jump over it.  Mary Ellen still needed hands to jump off.  But either way, they both had a ball and were excited for the next lesson.

As a treat for a good first lesson, blowing the whistle.  They also got to slide down the big tube slide that they were both excited about.  Afterward however, they both realized that it was a bit scary and could wait until they were bigger!