bear hug time!!

Yesterday was a REALLY BAD day for me in so many ways. But my children are EVERYTHING to me, so I was blessed to have some super sweet moments and memories with them to offset some of the horrible that was everywhere else!

At the school that my children attend student recognition is REALLY BIG. They have a "Bear Hug" Assembly every week (well except we missed the last two weeks because the multipurpose room had storm damage and could not be used) where each teacher has the opportunity to recognize something outstanding about one or two of their students. By the end of the year EVERY STUDENT on campus will have received a Bear Hug! How cool is that? I really like that they work so diligently to encourage the students and point out their victories!! This week Audrey received a Bear Hug from her teacher!!

She jumped right up, so was SO EXCITED for her turn to shine!

She found me in the audience pretty easily and posed so cute through the rest of the kids getting honored for me to get pictures of her, sweet girl!

One of Audrey's dear friends Francesca also got a Bear Hug from her teacher. Aren't they just so sweet together??

At the end of the assembly each time the whole group of kids who got Bear Hugs gets their picture taken and it goes on a special board in the office. By the end of the year everyone in the school will be on that board somewhere! This is a really big group this week, but keep in mind it's really three weeks worth of awards because of the damaged Multi Purpose room!

But this was a double special Bear Hug Assembly for me! Nathaniel is now in the fourth grade, which means that he is old enough to sing in the choir!! And this was the first time that the choir has performed together this year, so it was the first time I got to see and hear Nathaniel singing with his friends. How sweet to this momma! I had the hardest time not crying from the sweetness of seeing my special boy up there with his friends, most of whom are not SDC kids! I LOVE how inclusive our school is, that SDC kids are right up there with all the "normal" kids, and that every accommodation is made for them to participate in all of the activities! God Blesses our community so much with this school, these fabulous teachers and administrators who make EVERY child important and the sense of community that they work so hard to faster. I thank God all the time that I have such a wonderful school for BOTH of my children to attend TOGETHER!

So here is the whole choir, made up of 4th, 5th and 6th graders that choose to be in it. Nathaniel is in the front row, third from the right.. the one NOT looking at me, of course!

Here he is singing his heart out!!

And here is a quick video of them singing a song from the movie Shrek. (Don't forget to mute my play list so that you can hear the video!)

I am amazed over and over again at the COMPLETE blessing of my children, and am so thankful that God chose ME as their mother. How lucky am I?

We are off to our final TOPSoccer game today. And then a busy day at Butterfly. I am praying for God's peace and strength to endure it all.

May your day be BLESSED too!