The Last Days of Summer

  The cooler night air and the smell of new school supplies (yep, I'm a school nerd!) reminds me that we are in the last days of summer.  We've been blessed in our remote little town with some beautiful sunny days to end our summer season.  It hasn't been much of a summer, but these last few days of sunshine remind us all why we live where we do.

With school starting officially on Monday, I've been busy getting my classroom ready. It promises to be a challenging year, but my mottoes are: One day at a time!  and The only person you have any control over is yourself!   I think as the year gets going I may also take Lukkas's advice and...

when I'm feeling overwhelmed or exhausted, just curl up on the bean bag in my school closet and take a nap! 

While Papa has been back to work for almost a month already, I've been in and out of the classroom until this past week.  Both Leinna and Lukkas returned to full time day care. Trust me, I'm a much better Momma for going to my classroom a week early than I would be keeping my kids home and stressing about all that I need to get done.  I'm so thankful for our Ms. Sarah and the wonderful job she does.  Mister Lukkas as transitioned very well to day care and Leinna seems to enjoy having her brother there.   The best part about my kiddos being at day care, is there smiling happy faces when we get home!

With these sunny last days of summer, we've been enjoying every evening moment we can. Even though being tired for working all day, we eat dinner and then outdoors we go!

Leinna's been learning the fine art of berry picking!  She's a regular pro now :-) 

Lukkas has been patiently watching his sister have fun at the park, in hopes that one day he will figure out how to enjoy the play equipment too!

Now for those of you with a fear of blood or spiders, you may want to stop reading.

We've also had a "Not so Itsy Bitsy Spider" catching flies at the house...

And a minor injury to Momma's thumb...

Yep- was slicing a bun open for dinner, told myself 'be careful so you don't cut yourself' and sure enough - slip and sliced my thumb.  It was pretty tender for a few days. I never realized how much I use my left hand thumb until this.  As I was nursing my injury I kept telling myself, imagine what my students go through everyday with their disabilities and how there isn't a "cure" for them. They must learn how to advocate and adapt to the world around them.  I'm so blessed to work with such a unique population of students and I hope to remember this all as we end our summer days and begin the new school year.

Oh... can't forget to show off Mister Lukkas another week older...

20 weeks!