Here We Go!

We just finished a wonderful 6 week "summer" break and are now ready to embark upon a new school year. This will be our 13th school year to start at RVA (since we spent a couple of them back in Michigan too!). There is always a mixture of excitement, nerves, sadness, and celebration on this day. Our dusty roads are full today - with parents dropping off their students and school busses doing airport pick ups (that is where Jeff is right now!). Our family is excited and ready for this new year. We had a lovely break - complete with house projects, down time, some work in our classroom or office, and a little family get away to the coast. Now we are ready for our students to return and this place to fill up again with laughter, noise, and activity.

The kids really enjoyed playing in the sand when we got away. The favorite activity was chasing crabs.

The girls enjoyed getting "henna" painted on their hands. It only lasted about a week.

My favorite moments were in the early morning, watching the sun rise over the ocean. God's creation is breath-taking!

Here is my classroom door - all ready for the new class of fifth graders!

I will have all the fifth graders on my own this year. It is not a big enough class to have 2 sections, like last year, but still a good size - I will have 18 this term. 

Here are all the new families registering at the New Parent Orientation, which was held yesterday. We have 100 new students coming this year, representing 17 different countries - so cool! 

Please pray for us as we kick off a new school year. Pray for stamina, joy, and purpose as we teach, love and guide these precious kids.