These Little Moments...

Seriously, where does the time go? It seems that just yesterday Sean and I were preparing to drop Gracie off for her first day of preschool! Now, our baby boy is embarking on this same new and exciting journey. Ethan started in the 4-year-old preschool class this past Monday. This first day was considered a "short visit" and gave the kids (and parents!) a chance to ease into the preschool experience. Sean and I took Ethan from center to center and explored the classroom with him. Parents were then asked to leave while Mrs. Handy and Mrs. Matics had story time with the students. Ethan didn't want us to leave the room at first, but once we did, he was okay. I was much more nervous for how Wednesday, his first "real" day, would go. Ethan didn't seem nervous necessarily, but he did ask a few questions as we walked him inside. He asked if we were dropping him off and leaving the building... We told him that we were, but that we weren't going to be far ...

Last Wednesday, Gracie headed back to school. She is now in the 2nd grade! It is always such an exciting time. We love the back-to-school shopping, meeting new teachers, and seeing old friends we've missed over the summer months. Gracie is in a class full of kids she already knows, but there are also a few new faces, which is great! We absolutely love her teacher, Ms. Darnell. She has been teaching for 35 years and has been a teacher at Calvary Baptist Day School since 1980. I love her approach to teaching; she views her classroom as the mission field God has chosen for her. I believe this makes all the difference in each and every day and I truly believe my daughter is in great hands this year. I cannot even express how thankful I am for our school and the school family we learn, live, and love alongside. This was the day before school started. We attended the student open house, which gave the students a more relaxed, less hectic setting in which to speak with their teache...

In July, our family joined my sister's family for an Oak Island, NC beach trip. This was our first vacation together with our husbands and children, and it was fantastic! I don't think it's always easy to vacation for an entire week with another family, but with Ashley, Landon, and the kids, it was effortless and relaxing. We hope to make the Vaughan-Levan (Levan-Vaughan?) vacation a yearly thing.  I have so many "favorite" pictures from this trip. We were blessed with wonderful weather and zero shark sightings. ;) I captured this incredible moment on our very first evening. If only the picture did justice to God's beautiful creation... This was Ryleigh's first time on the beach! It was so special being able to experience this with her. Austin was very young the last time he went to the beach, so it was also like the first time for him. Once he was in the water, it was hard to get him out! We spent a l...