The Growing Caldwell Family

August 12 was a much anticipated day as the kids excitedly headed back to school. I have to give so much credit to our school leaders for their proactive planning that made it possible for them to go back in person. The school started its planning for bringing the kids back in person during the spring while we were all at home during quarantine. In May they started monthly webinars to share plans and get input from parents. So, the big day back was one we had all been waiting for! This guy was ready for second grade! Headed off to fifth grade! She was excited and nervous to make the transition to the upper school building! A new uniform, new building, and some new faces joining the school. Lots of changes, but she was ready for them! Here they are after that first day! Charlie was very excited to be back with his friends! His only hiccough during the day was finding his classroom. One change this year is that parents could not walk kids to classes and meet the teacher was done virtuall...

SG LOVED Spirit Week!  She was excited to go each day and the finale showed us just how much she loved the music and the crafts.  She was also thrilled to get a t-shirt and even more so that it was green, her favorite color! I remember feeling that same excitement after camp in the summer or after Happening.  You just loved it so much and people who weren't there don't know how good it felt. I hope she has that same joy many times more.

Spirit Week is what our church calls Vacation Bible School.  I like to think they call it this because the kids are filled with the Holy Spirit.  I can't believe Sarah Graves is old enough to go!  She is in the Australia class and our friend Greg is in her class.  She didn't talk a lot about it yesterday, but it must have been fun because she jumped up and got ready to go today! She was a little nervous yesterday, but she was brave when it was time for me to drop her off and she was very excited that Aunt Nay came to pick her up! I hope that we hear more stories about what they do there as the week goes on!

I'm not sure where the day goes between nursing, diaper changes, and helping SG with Kate, but my days fly by!  Sunday morning Grancy left to go home and I took on the task of getting these two sweethearts ready for church.  It was sort of the first day of school equivalent for church and I was anxious to see how the new 9 o'clock service would work and for Sarah Graves to try attending preschool children's chapel.   We managed to get there on time and everyone was mostly happy!  It was good to be at church and we really enjoyed the service at the new time and having music during the service (the 8 o'clock service we had gone to didn't have music).    SG just adores him! It really warms my heart to see them together! Charlie was quite popular during his first visit to church and he was really sweet.  He nursed during the sermon, then settled in for a long sleep during the rest of the service. Rather than going to the nursery, Sarah Graves...

Well, I made it to Sunday. This morning our church, St. Benedict's , moved into it's new worship facility. We've been meeting for two years at the gym of Campbell Middle School in Smyrna, but on this triumphant All Saints Sunday we started worshiping at our newly renovated space at 2160 Cooper Lake Road in Smyrna . Though some of the renovations (i.e., some paint, kneelers, hymnal racks, some classrooms, some pews) are still ongoing, we worshiped with a packed house today. This was a celebration of God's miracles, in three years our little parish has gone from zero to about three hundred regular worshipers. From now until May 2010, we are expecting 10 new infants in our church. That's Sarah and nine fast friends all in our parish. This kind of church growth is almost unheard of in mainline denomination parishes in the U.S. today. We are blessed with three dedicated priests, several devoted church staff, and many volunteers. Last Sunday was our last Sunday in ...